Bai Zihan and Kong Zhanghong, having slipped away from the arena to avoid the lingering crowd, wandered through the quiet corridors behind the main stands.
They hadn't expected to encounter anyone—yet as they turned a corner, a tense scene froze them in place.
At the far end of the hall, the golden-robed Azure Sun Holy Sect elder loomed over Jin Yuanzhan, who was still visibly weakened, his breaths ragged, his body trembling from the earlier fight.
"No! Please!
"
Jin Yuanzhan gasped, his voice desperate.
"Elder, I—please uphold your promise! I swore to protect the honor of the Azure Sun Holy Sect, and I—"
The elder cut him off with a cold, disdainful laugh, the sound echoing sharply through the corridor.
"Promise?"
He spat, his tone venomous.
"Do you think you have earned anything? You have neither won the Competition nor even defeated Nie Fengzhuo. Do you think that entitles you to make demands? Ridiculous!"
