261: Chapter 261 The Capital Second Team's Show of Force - The entire arena fell silent!

In a fraction of a second, his enchanting eyes—which had originally radiated "three parts cold detachment, three parts mockery, and four parts nonchalance"—smoothly switched to the clear, dead-fish eyes of someone thinking, "Who am I, where am I, and why am I still alive?"

The terrifying "Abyssal Demon King" pressure that had enveloped the entire venue vanished without a trace in an instant.

In its place was a thick, salty-fish aura of someone who just wanted to go home and sleep.

"Huh? Did I come back again?"

And in the time it took for him to space out.

Spade J, who was being held in his arms and whose Legs had gone weak under that previous "villainous demon king aura," acutely sensed that the large hand restraining her waist had suddenly lost its strength!

"Good opportunity!"

Spade J was ecstatic. Although deep down she had developed a strange palpitation for this "peerless pervert," her reason told her that if she didn't run now, when would she?

Even a Tier 6 expert had appeared, so she really dared not stay any longer.

With a slip.

Like a slippery loach, Spade J expertly wriggled out of Jiang You's embrace.

Before leaving, she turned back and took a deep look at Jiang You, her heart surging with turbulent waves:

"What a terrifying man! To be able to instantly suppress that earth-shattering demon king aura and disguise himself as a simple-minded, useless student!"

"This kind of return-to-innocence disguise technique... is simply miraculous!"

Filled with awe and shock, Spade J lifted her skirt and quickly vanished into the crowd, successfully making her escape.

Jiang You looked at his empty arms, then at his right hand still in the "waist-hugging" position, and scratched his head: "She ran pretty fast... Who was that lady just now?"

"The perfume was so strong it almost made my nose go numb. Whatever, at least I didn't get beaten up."

...

The disturbance was resolved with just a few words from President Xia Yun.

President Xia Yun, accompanied by Principal Pang Ban and other school principals and official leaders, smiled and walked through the crowd to the extremely luxurious crystal podium in the center of the hall.

"Good evening, students."

President Xia Yun took the microphone, his gentle voice reaching every corner.

"Tonight is a welcoming banquet, so I won't waste words. By tradition, the opening speech tonight should be hosted and delivered by the captain of our host, the Imperial Capital Martial Arts Academy."

Upon hearing this, the various prodigies in the audience pricked up their ears.

The captain of Imperial Capital Martial Arts University!

That was Qin Zhuo, the legendary prodigy who awakened the SSS-grade Supernatural Ability "Divine Phoenix Undying Fire" and was hailed as the brightest pearl of the younger generation in the Great Xia!

Many people came here tonight just to catch a glimpse of this Divine Phoenix successor's peerless demeanor!

However, President Xia Yun gave a helpless, bitter smile and sighed:

"Unfortunately, student Qin Zhuo suddenly asked for leave this afternoon, saying that she... was unwell and had caught a cold, so she will be absent from tonight's banquet."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole hall was in an uproar, and countless people looked at each other in dismay.

"What the hell? Did I hear that right?"

"Qin Zhuo is an SSS-grade fire-type Supernatural Ability awakener! The Divine Phoenix Fire in her body can even melt profound iron, and you're telling me she has a cold?"

"Is this insulting my intelligence or the medical profession of Great Xia?"

On the stage, President Xia Yun coughed twice, forcefully suppressing the discussions of the crowd:

"Ahem, so, tonight's opening speech will be delivered by the captain of our Imperial Capital Team 2 on behalf of the school. Come, let's have a round of applause!"

Amidst warm applause.

A boy wearing thick black-rimmed glasses, looking somewhat frail and with "social anxiety" written all over his face, walked out from backstage, extremely nervous.

He walked tremblingly to the microphone, his palms sweating, and looking at the dozens of top prodigies in the audience whose gazes seemed ready to eat him, he swallowed, his Legs starting to shake uncontrollably.

"He... he... he... he, hello, everyone..."

"My name is Captain Shen Xiuan!"

"I am the captain of Imperial Capital Team 2!"

Captain Shen Xiuan stuttered for a long time before managing to squeeze out these few sentences of self-introduction.

The crowd below, having just witnessed the contest between several top prodigies, looked at this captain of Imperial Capital Team 2 who couldn't even speak properly, and their eyes immediately filled with extreme disappointment.

"Is this it? Is this the foundation of Imperial Capital Martial Arts University?"

"He stutters even when talking, with Qin Zhuo not here, is there no one left at Imperial Capital Martial Arts University?"

Just when everyone was deeply disappointed, and some even started to sneer.

This socially anxious captain of Imperial Capital Team 2 on stage seemed to be stimulated by the jeers from below, and he suddenly took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes and grabbed the edge of the microphone tightly with both hands, as if suppressing something extremely terrifying inside his body.

When he opened his eyes again, a tangible, extremely eerie scarlet light flashed from behind those thick black-rimmed glasses!

Silence.

Dead silence.

The luxurious hall on the second floor of Zhaixing Tower, which could accommodate thousands of people, had originally been filled with whispers and sneers at Captain Shen Xiuan, but the moment that eerie scarlet light lit up, all sound was abruptly cut off as if by an invisible hand.

"Crack!"

The specially made alloy microphone in Captain Shen Xiuan's hand was crushed into a twisted shape by his seemingly thin hands under the watchful eyes of everyone.

He slowly raised his head, and the previous socially anxious, somewhat hunched appearance completely disappeared, replaced by an extreme madness and coldness.

"Huff..."

A breath of foul air exhaled from his mouth actually condensed into tangible dark red killing intent in the air.

"Just now..."

Captain Shen Xiuan spoke again, his voice raspy like grinding sounds from hell, with no stuttering at all, "Who was laughing at me?"

Boom!

A terrifying pressure, no less than the "Demon King version of Jiang You" from earlier, exploded outward in a circular ring, centered on Captain Shen Xiuan!

Below the stage, the group of prodigy captains all changed their expressions.

"Tier 5! It's Tier 5 again!"

"No... this aura... doesn't seem to be a true Tier 5, but rather like some kind of rare 'berserk' type Supernatural Ability? Or some kind of strengthening spirit technique?"

Zhao Zhenlei and Chu Tiankuo stared fixedly at Captain Shen Xiuan on the stage. Although their strength prevented them from being crushed by this pressure, the gravity in their eyes had reached its peak.

"Is this Imperial Capital Martial Arts University... hiding so much?"

Zhao Zhenlei transmitted his voice to Chu Tiankuo in a muffled tone, "A captain of Imperial Capital Team 2 actually dares to casually throw out such a show of force while giving a speech?"

Chu Tiankuo pressed his hand against the slightly vibrating long sword at his waist, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

In his logic, when prodigies spar, it should be "subtle."

"Usually, when we use deterrence, we use at most thirty or forty percent of our strength, just to make a point."

Chu Tiankuo squeezed a few words through his teeth, "But the pressure this kid released is too terrifying. If this is just him doing it casually, then his upper limit is probably..."

The more they thought, the more shocked they became.

If a captain of Imperial Capital Team 2 is already like this, how terrifyingly strong must that legendary captain of the first team, Qin Zhuo, who awakened the Divine Phoenix Fire but took leave because of a "cold," be?

Meanwhile, the calmest—or perhaps most confused—person in the entire hall was still Jiang You, standing in the corner by the food table.

He was still clutching the handkerchief left behind by Spade J, wiping the grease off his hands, feeling extremely depressed.