When the dust settled, the entire arena had fallen silent, as though someone had pressed pause, plunging it into endless stillness.
Only the drifting clouds of dust and the shattered Spirit Fighting Ring bore witness to what had just happened.
The Shrek Seven Devils had been defeated by the Martial Soul Hall Second Team.
In an overwhelming, almost brutal fashion.
Every one of the more than eighty thousand spectators wore an expression of utter astonishment, horror, and disbelief.
For a moment, they seemed unable to believe that the match had ended in such a terrifying way.
Of course, many had already considered the Shrek Seven Devils' defeat a foregone conclusion, so the outcome itself was hardly surprising.
Any spectator with a discerning eye could tell that, from the very beginning, there had been no suspense about this battle.
After all, the Martial Soul Hall Second Team's strength was plain for all to see. They were the undisputed overlords of the Preliminary Tournament, without a single loss in any match they had entered across all twenty-nine rounds.
Even Blazing Academy and Skywater Academy, whose strength ranked above the Shrek Seven Devils', had chosen to forfeit against this team, let alone the Shrek Seven Devils Team.
Defeat had been inevitable.
The presence of three Advanced Soul Ancestors alone was already enough to give the Shrek Seven Devils Team a bitter cup to swallow.
And the Martial Soul Hall Second Team also had four powerful Soul Kings.
Three Soul Ancestors and four Soul Kings-the overall strength Spirit Hall had revealed in this match was what truly terrified and shook everyone to the core.
The match might have looked fierce, and the Shrek Seven Devils had displayed considerable strength, with everyone and their brother showing off their moves.
But...
Anyone with eyes could tell