"I forfeit," Shi Yu said with a sigh. When she saw the smirk on his face, veins bulged on her forehead, and she felt an overwhelming urge to continue fighting and beat him up. However, she resisted the urge.
"D-Disciple Wang Ming wins," the elder referee announced, still in shock. He glanced at Shi Yu with horror, as he had nearly been affected by her technique himself. Turning back to Wang Ming, he regarded him as an even greater anomaly before stuttering out the result.
The crowd fell silent for a few moments before erupting in excitement.
"Heavens, what just happened? And what was that weird mist? I've never seen a technique like that before!" exclaimed one disciple.
"Yeah, illusion techniques are usually pupil-based. This is the first time I've seen someone use mist for illusions—and it seems far more powerful," another disciple commented.
"This fight was way too weird," said one disciple. Many in the crowd had expected a clash of weapons and fist techniques, not a battle of strategies and strange powers.
"Yeah, and Wang Ming didn't even move. He just stood there the entire time," a female disciple said in a perplexed tone.
"This kind of victory..." one of the disciples muttered, unable to keep from twitching their lips.
"But why did the beauty give up? She was about to win!" a male disciple grumbled through gritted teeth. He had apparently been one of Wang Ming's previous victims and was still bitter about it.
"Are you blind? Didn't you see the mist didn't affect him at all? What else was she supposed to do?" another disciple snapped.
"Yeah, and he can heal instantly! Honestly, if I didn't know he was human, I'd think he was some kind of beast in human form," another murmured, shivering at the thought.
---
"Everyone," the referee announced, drawing the crowd's attention, "now that the knockout matches have concluded and more than half of the participants have been eliminated, the battles for the top positions will begin. This time, there is a special reward for the top three."
This announcement instantly piqued everyone's interest, including Min Li's.
"The top three will be eligible to enter the Spirit Dimension," the elder continued.
"!!!"
The crowd erupted in shock, and even some elders appeared visibly surprised.
'What? Could this be because of him?' Min Li wondered, her gaze instinctively darting toward Wang Ming. She was well aware of the Spirit Dimension's significance. Every major sect possessed such a dimension—a special area where spiritual energy was ten times denser than usual. Only Core Disciples were typically allowed entry. Moreover, these dimensions often held rare techniques and treasures.
Even she had been cultivating diligently to earn a chance to enter. This was one of the primary reasons she had joined the sect. She had underestimated the competition here, assuming it would be less intense compared to other sects. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected an anomaly like Wang Ming to appear.
"Did I hear that right?" asked one of the disciples who was among those eligible to participate.
"Heavens, this..." A look of excitement appeared on a female disciple's face.
"Even if we enter, can we actually win?" another female disciple asked, glancing at Wang Ming with a bitter smile.
However, the referee's next words made everyone's expressions change.
"One more rule: this will be a battle royale, and participants are allowed to team up and gang up on the stronger contenders," the referee announced.
Immediately, all eyes turned toward Wang Ming, who responded with a calm smile.