124: Chapter 125 Lilia's Shocking News in Central and Southern China

A full minute passed.

The entire martial arts arena remained shrouded in a deathly silence of shock, with only faint, heavy breathing audible—the result of extreme terror.

Tens of thousands of gazes remained locked firmly on the arena—there, the holy Elf Priest stood quietly, the afterglow of Holy Light scattering like stardust; in the corner, the mighty Centaur warrior "Marathon" was like a frightened quail, his massive body still uncontrollably trembling.

Time seemed to have stretched in this moment.

The referee forgot to announce the result, the commentator stood with mouth agape unable to make a sound, several organizers were frozen on the rostrum, and even the most fanatical fans in the audience forgot to cheer.

Until a calm, even slightly helpless voice was clearly transmitted throughout the silent venue via the contestant area's loudspeaker array: "Um... Referee? Shouldn't you announce the result?"

The voice came from Lin Muyang.

He sat in the contestant area, one hand propping up his chin, the other waving casually, as if reminding them of a trivial matter.

This voice was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly breaking the suffocating stillness.

Everyone in the arena, as if waking from a dream, suddenly snapped back to reality!

Whoosh—!!!

A wave of sound, more intense and chaotic than any before, erupted!

Gasps, screams, unbelievable shouts, and incoherent discussions of excitement... various sounds wove together into a boiling ocean, almost blowing the roof off the martial arts arena!

On the rostrum, the middle-aged official responsible for hosting the match jolted, scrambling to grab the microphone in front of him.

Because he was too excited, his voice changed pitch, carrying undisguisable trembling: "An, announce the result! First round, second match, sixteen-person melee, the, the qualifiers—Summoner Lin Muyang! Summoner Senior Li Yun!"

His voice spread throughout the venue via the loudspeaker array, but was instantly drowned out by even more fanatical waves of sound.

On the arena, Lilia heard the result, breathed a sigh of relief, and a sweet, relaxed smile appeared on her face.

She winked playfully in Lin Muyang's direction, then her figure gradually became illusory, finally turning into a soft white light, disappearing from the arena—she had been temporarily recalled to the summon space by Lin Muyang.

Only then did the audience truly see the full picture of the arena.

Except for the charred Centaur on the edge, the entire arena was as clean as if it had just been washed with holy water, leaving not even a trace of battle.

Those fourteen powerful summons, along with any blood, equipment fragments, or even elemental residues they might have left behind, had been completely purified in that pure Holy Light Punishment.

"Since we've qualified, I'm applying to leave early." Lin Muyang's voice sounded again, drowning out part of the clamor.

He had already stood up with Seraphina, Feng Ling, and Gui Wanwan, signaling to the organizers, "According to the rules, I will return before the second round of matches starts this evening."

After saying this, without waiting for a clear answer from the organizers, he took the three young ladies and turned to walk towards the contestant tunnel.

Their figures quickly disappeared at the entrance of the tunnel, leaving behind a silhouette that left people with endless room for imagination.

"O, okay, that's fine." The middle-aged official finally reacted, hurriedly adding a sentence into the microphone, but the voice could no longer reach the departing Lin Muyang.

He and the other organizers exchanged glances, both seeing the same numbness and shock in each other's eyes.

The rules allowed contestants to leave midway, especially when there were multiple rounds, but in the past, almost no one would do so; everyone wanted to stay and observe potential opponents.

But for this one... he seemed truly completely indifferent.

For Lin Muyang, there were dozens of dull melees to be fought throughout the afternoon, and sitting there was a complete waste of time.

Rather than watching a group of noobs pecking at each other, it was better to use this time to take the young ladies to find suitable secret realms in surrounding cities and seize the time to grind levels and improve strength.

That was the real priority.

In fact, even if Lilia stood there without moving, letting those level-100 summons attack, they would never be able to break her defense.

With multiple god-level defense Aura, her own [Impenetrable Fortress] Origin Skill, and the support of top-tier equipment, her dual defense stats had reached an astronomical number—both physical and magical defense had exceeded 700,000 points!

This was simply not something an opponent of this level could shake.

Lin Muyang was just too lazy to play that kind of "you hit me, I hit you" game of house with them.

Since he had the strength to crush them, he would just crush them directly—cleanly and efficiently, saving everyone's time.

With the departure of Lin Muyang and his group, the boiling in the venue cooled slightly, but the discussions became even more intense.

"He... he left? Just like that?"

"He... doesn't he even want to see who his subsequent opponents are?"

"My god, how much confidence must that take?!"

"I originally thought he had to rely on Senior Li Yun to qualify... turns out, Senior Li Yun was the one who benefited from his light and wasn't insta-killed along with them!"

"That Centaur looks so miserable, it got charred just from being grazed by the aftermath of the skill..."

"Who exactly is this Lin Muyang?!"

In the audience, countless people craned their necks to look at the tunnel entrance where Lin Muyang had disappeared, their faces filled with complex, unspeakable emotions—shock, adoration, awe, disbelief, and a trace of confusion after their worldview collapsed.

The education and common sense they had received since childhood told them that level suppression was an iron law, and class characteristics determined positioning.

But today, a level 56 Elf Priest used one skill to clear out over a dozen level-100 summons of various classes in two seconds, completely shattering their understanding.

This was completely unscientific and made no sense at all!

Because there were no specific damage numbers displayed in Dungeon and real-life battles, people only knew that those summons were "insta-killed," but could not accurately quantify just how terrifying Lilia's attack power was.

But the result of being "insta-killed" itself was enough to explain everything—Lin Muyang's strength had long since far exceeded the scope of ordinary level-100 powerhouses, reaching a level they could not understand.

Many people who had previously secretly mocked Lin Muyang for overestimating himself, thinking he could only qualify through insider connections and Senior Li Yun's protection, now felt their faces burning, ashamed and unable to find a place to hide.

All their previous speculations and malice seemed so ridiculous and childish in the face of absolute strength.

The gap was too big, so big that they couldn't even feel jealousy, only admiration and envy.

"Our Zhongnan City... is about to produce a true dragon!"

"More than a true dragon, I'm afraid this is a legendary divine dragon!"

"Dual SSS-Rank Talent! It must be that both the Summoner and the summon are SSS-Rank Talent!"

"Too terrifying... this kind of talent, this growth speed, the future achievements are simply unimaginable!"

"The last SSS-Rank Talent Summoner from Xia Kingdom is now a Nation-Guarding Level tycoon, with two SSS-Rank Talent summons under his command. This Lin Muyang..."

People discussed excitedly, imagining both Lin Muyang and Lilia as peerless geniuses with "dual SSS-Rank Talent."

In their limited understanding, SSS-Rank Talent was already the pinnacle of talent, and only this could explain the unbelievable scene before them.

However, they would never know that the talents of Lin Muyang and his young ladies could not be measured by mere "SSS-Rank Talent."

At this moment, the most shocked and embarrassed were none other than the fourteen Summoners whose summons had been instantly "evaporated."

They sat on the contestant seats like wooden chickens, faces pale, eyes hollow, not yet recovered from the massive blow.

They had originally been calculating how to deal with Senior Li Yun's Centaur, how to maneuver against other opponents, but the match ended as soon as it began, and it ended in such a crushing, defenseless way.

They didn't even see how their summons disappeared.

And Senior Li Yun, this seasoned veteran powerhouse, slowly sat back in his seat, but his trembling fingers exposed the turmoil in his heart.

He looked in the direction where Lin Muyang had left, his eyes complex to the extreme.

There was lingering fear, shock, disbelief, finally turning into a long, emotional sigh.

"The younger generation is formidable... no, this is no longer something 'formidable' can describe."

He whispered to himself, completely putting away that little "looking after the younger generation" mindset he had before.

He finally understood that Lin Muyang's words about "fearing accidental injury" were not arrogance, but the most plain statement.

He even felt that he was able to qualify entirely because the other party showed mercy, or because his Centaur was lucky enough to be far enough away.

The following third match, fourth match... the melees began one after another.

But after experiencing that earth-shattering scene in the second match, the subsequent matches, no matter how intense they were fought or how flashy the skills were, seemed dull and tasteless to the audience and contestants, like chewing wax.

Everyone's thoughts seemed to still be lingering on those two seconds of Holy Light brilliance.

Even in Long Aotian's match, his carefully arranged Frost Warrior coordination, although successfully qualifying, only caused routine cheers from a small group of fans; in the dull and distracted atmosphere of the whole venue, it seemed exceptionally weak.

Long Aotian himself sat in the contestant area, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

He gripped his fists tightly, his nails digging into his flesh.

"Elf Priest... Light-attribute attack..." He calculated rapidly in his heart, a ruthless look flashing in his eyes, "If I meet him in the next round... I must spare no cost to get a set of high Light-resistance equipment! No, it would be best to get special items that are immune to Light-attribute damage!"

There were far more than just Long Aotian with this thought.

Many Summoners who felt they had the strength to challenge for a spot in the Provincial Tournament were now secretly using communicators to urgently contact familiar equipment merchants and pharmacists, inquiring about and purchasing equipment, accessories, and even temporary buff potions with high Light-attribute resistance.

Although Lin Muyang might not necessarily send that Elf Priest out in the next match, to be on the safe side, no one wanted to follow in the footsteps of those fourteen unlucky guys.

A set of high Light-resistance equipment became a potential "lifesaving straw" in their eyes.

Meanwhile, everything that happened in the martial arts arena was spreading at a viral speed through the mobile phones and social media of the audience present, towards the entire Zhongnan City and even a wider range.

Short videos filmed from different angles were uploaded to the internet: the Elf Priest holding up her scepter, a holy magic circle instantly spreading out; fourteen beams of light descending simultaneously like divine punishment; the mighty Centaur "trembling" in the corner; the empty arena and the back of the youth leaving indifferently...

Every video was accompanied by extremely exaggerated titles and exclamation marks.

"Shocking Zhongnan! Level 56 Elf Priest insta-kills fifteen enemies! Battle ends in two seconds!"

"This is not a match! This is a miracle! A peerless genius Summoner appears in Zhongnan City!"

"Senior Li Yun reduced to a background board? The real big shot is actually him?!"

"Elf Princess descends! The ultimate combination of beauty and strength!"

"Discuss: What is it like to have an SSS-Rank Talent Priest wife? (Dog head)"

These videos were forwarded, commented on, and liked at an astonishing speed, quickly rushing to the trending lists of local and even national social media platforms.

Countless people who were not at the scene, after seeing the videos, also fell into the same shock and madness as the audience at the scene.

Lilia's holy and beautiful image, and her power to judge everything with a wave of her hand, instantly gained countless fans.

Countless people started searching for her name, building fan sites for her, and making support images.

And Lin Muyang's calm and indifferent posture, as if everything was under control, triggered countless speculations and adoration.

Many fans of other contestants, especially young women, also "defected" after watching the videos, becoming Lin Muyang's "casual fans" or even "hardcore fans."

Of course, Lin Muyang himself did not need, and completely did not care about these.

These videos and the resulting tsunami of public opinion had an influence that far exceeded the scope of ordinary netizens.

They were like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, and the ripples stirred up quickly reached certain higher levels.

In the relevant departments of the capital of Jiangnan Province, and in the offices of certain special agencies in the capital of Xia Kingdom, some "big shots" who were handling official business or resting were almost simultaneously attracted by the urgently delivered intelligence or the videos going viral on the internet.

"What? An abnormal situation occurred at the Summoner Tournament in Zhongnan City?"

"A registered level 56 Summoner, the Elf Priest he summoned, cleared the first round of melee with one skill?"

"The opponents' average level is over 90, and there are even some over 105? Ended in two seconds?"

"Investigate! Immediately retrieve all surveillance and record data from the scene! I want all the information on this 'Lin Muyang,' from birth to now, everything that can be found!"

"Notify the Zhongnan City side, must ensure the safety of this contestant, and satisfy all his reasonable requests! At the same time, raise the information blockade level to avoid early attention from foreign forces!"

"This youth is probably... much more special than we previously estimated."

One by one, the big shots who held pivotal influence in the Xia Kingdom, after watching the short report or that dozen-second video, had almost the same reaction: pupils constricted, gasped, and then their faces became incomparably serious and grave.

The information and insight they possessed far exceeded that of ordinary people, but precisely because of this, they were even clearer that for a level 56 Summoner, no matter how high their talent was, to achieve the effect in the video, it required how outrageous attribute support, skill levels, and equipment bonuses.

This could no longer be described as "genius," this was simply an "anomaly" that broke the existing understanding of the power system!

"It seems that the previous reports from Sword Saint, Zhou Wenyuan, and those old guys, as well as the events at the border and in India... are very likely all related to this kid."

In a heavily guarded office, an old man with star emblems on his epaulets put down the tablet in his hand, rubbed his eyebrows, eyes flashing with sharp light, "Dual SSS-Rank Talent? I'm afraid... it's not that simple.

Notify the 'Star Observation Platform,' activate the highest priority observation protocol, target: Zhongnan City, Lin Muyang.

I want to know every step of his future movements, and... where his true 'limit' is."

A storm triggered by a city-level match was quietly sweeping towards a wider world.

And the center of this storm—Lin Muyang—was currently flying over the city with his beautiful young ladies, looking for new leveling spots, seemingly unaware of the monstrous waves he had stirred up behind him, or perhaps, he simply didn't care.