Shock!
Silence!
Even those who favored Jin couldn't cheer.
Because everyone had seen it—
The truth behind the "victory."
Jin Yuanzhan had barely won.
He had to burn his core, cripple himself, and expend a legendary artifact's power… just to defeat a man one entire realm lower than him.
A man once considered a nobody.
Lin Xuan, lying there, bloodied and broken, had still struck the deepest blow of the match—
To Jin Yuanzhan's pride.
Moreover, everyone knew that after this match, Jin Yuanzhan's chance of winning the Dragon and Phoenix Competition was almost zero.
Gasps still lingered in the air like the fading embers on the stage.
"…He lost?"
"No… he won," an elder muttered, eyes narrowed as he gazed at the scorched platform. "Even in defeat… he stole the spotlight."
Lin Xuan's body was carefully lifted off the stage by the medical team.
As they began preparing Grade-2 healing pills to stabilize him, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"Wait!"
