111: I've finally waited for you!

Yun Mu was dragged off the arena like a dead dog by several Yaochi Disciples, who were scrambling to move him.

His current wretched appearance formed a sharp contrast with the self-confident posture he had before stepping onto the stage.

Everyone's gaze was focused on the white-robed man who still stood in the center of the arena with his hands behind his back.

Shock, fear, awe... all sorts of emotions were intertwined in the eyes of the crowd.

Too strong! He was simply too strong!

Even though he had suppressed his Realm, and even though he was facing an opponent who could be called a Genius among those of the same rank.

Lu Yi still crushed him effortlessly, as if he were playing with a small child.

That composure made all the Yaochi Disciples present feel a deep sense of despair.

Was this... really a battle between those of the same Realm?

This was simply a dimensional reduction strike!

On the arena.

Lu Yi dusted off his sleeves, which didn't even have a single wrinkle.

His expression was calm as his deep eyes slowly swept across the remaining Yaochi Holy Land contestants.

Wherever his gaze landed, those Core Disciples who were originally eager to try avoided his eyes, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Next."

He repeated it again, his tone relaxed and even somewhat casual.

On the Yaochi side, the remaining Disciples looked at each other, their faces looking more unsightly than the last.

They looked back and forth, but no one dared to take that first step.

Even Junior Sister "Yun Mu" had lost so miserably; if they went up... wouldn't they just be fodder?

However, atop the high platform, the Sect Master's gaze was fixed firmly upon them.

This made them feel like they were sitting on pins and needles, forcing them to bite the bullet and ascend the stage one by one to challenge him.

Unfortunately, the result did not change in the slightest.

The second Disciple to take the stage was a Senior Sister who excelled in swordsmanship.

After she went up, within a few moves, the spiritual sword in her hand was lightly caught by Lu Yi using only two fingers.

Then, Lu Yi simply gave it a light flick.

"Clang!"

A massive force traveled down the blade, and the Senior Sister was sent flying straight off the arena along with her sword, left dazed and disoriented from the fall.

The third Disciple was a Junior Sister proficient in illusion arts.

She attempted to use illusions to maneuver and create false images to confuse Lu Yi.

However, Lu Yi didn't even lift a hand.

He merely gave her a faint glance, a starlight flash appearing in his eyes.

The illusion, which was realistic enough to be mistaken for reality, collapsed instantly, and the Junior Sister was knocked unconscious on the spot by Lu Yi's terrifying Divine Soul.

As for the fourth Disciple... before she even stepped onto the stage, her legs had already turned as soft as noodles.

Under Lu Yi's half-smiling gaze, she barely managed to endure three moves before her mental defenses crumbled, and she actively revealed a weakness.

She was "gently" sent off the arena by Lu Yi.

Four consecutive defeats!

And every single match was an absolute, suspense-free crushing!

At this moment, everyone present finally felt the profound impact of a cruel fact.

The so-called "battle within the same rank" was nothing but a joke in the face of absolute talent and foundation.

This was a cross-dimensional crushing!

Watching her carefully nurtured Prodigies being easily defeated like one would chop vegetables.

Aloft on the high platform, Luo Qingcheng's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot, so gloomy it looked as if it could drip water.

Her hand gripped the armrest of her chair tightly, her knuckles turning white, her heart filled with anger and frustration.

The Disciples of Yaochi Holy Land were even more dejected, a cloud of gloom hanging over them as their morale hit rock bottom.

Utterly humiliated!

After today, the face of Yaochi Holy Land was completely lost!

In contrast, the Hehuan Sect's side was quite different.

Chu Qianqian laughed so hard she trembled, her smug laughter sounding particularly piercing in the deathly silent plaza.

She led Wu Mingyue and Qing'er, her two "cheerleaders," in cheering wildly from the side, maxing out her taunting skills:

"Oh my, are these the geniuses of Yaochi Holy Land? Why is every single one of them so unable to take a hit?"

"Go Holy Son Lu! Bring on another one!"

At this very moment.

Only one person remained on the Yaochi contestant bench.

The Saintess, Chu Qianqian.

In this instant, all eyes converged on her.

Those were pairs of eyes filled with expectation, despair, and shame.

She was the last hope of Yaochi Holy Land, and its final fig leaf.

"Whew..."

Luo Qingcheng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fury in her heart, and said in a low voice:

"Qianqian, go."

Her voice carried a hint of fatigue and helplessness that she couldn't hide:

"No matter what... don't lose too embarrassingly!"

At this moment, this proud Sect Master didn't even dare to hope for a win anymore.

She only hoped Chu Qianqian could last a bit longer to reclaim even a tiny bit of Yaochi's face.

Faced with the heavy gazes of the crowd and this immense pressure.

Chu Qianqian slowly stood up from her seat.

There was no expression on her face.

There was no fear of facing a powerful enemy, no nervousness from being the last hope, and no anger over the Sect's honor or disgrace.

There was only a deathly indifference.

She was like an emotionless statue as her toes lightly tapped the ground.

Her figure was like a light falling leaf, drifting silently and weightlessly onto the arena.

With white clothes as pure as snow and an ethereal aura, she was like a Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens descending to the mortal Realm, untainted by a speck of dust.

Standing opposite her, Lu Yi keenly sensed that the current Chu Qianqian had undergone some subtle changes compared to when she was at the Hehuan Sect a few days ago.

She radiated an ancient, weathered, and high-and-mighty aura.

That aura was even denser and purer than when he had seen her a few days prior.

Even though she stood there, she seemed completely out of place with the surrounding world.

She acted with utter indifference, as if the victory or defeat before her, the honor of the Sect, and even her own life and death were all mere dust in her eyes, not worth mentioning.

"This is truly... getting more and more interesting..."

Lu Yi licked his lips; the playfulness in his eyes vanished, replaced by an unprecedented level of focus and excitement.

The two stood facing each other as a breeze blew past, fluttering their robes.

Lu Yi looked at her; his gaze was no longer that of looking at an ordinary opponent, but rather at a prey.

And as Chu Qianqian looked at him, there was only a void of indifference in those deep eyes.

It was as if the person standing before her wasn't a powerful enemy who had just swept through the Yaochi Disciples, but an unrelated stranger, a pocket of air.

Lu Yi felt the surging yet unfamiliar power within her body.

He did not act as casually as he had with the previous few people.

"Hum——"

With a thought, he adjusted his aura to a state equivalent to Chu Qianqian's.

This was respect for the prey, and also respect for the "good show" that was about to unfold.

In the deathly silent standoff.

The corners of Lu Yi's mouth curled up slightly as he was the first to break the silence.

He took a step forward, closing the distance between him and Chu Qianqian.

Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, he said softly:

"Finally... I've been waiting for you."