The moment Xiao Yan and Xun'er entered the Martial Arts Arena side by side, the noisy square seemed to have its pause button pressed, falling briefly silent.
Countless gazes, curious, contemptuous, pitying, or gleeful at another's misfortune, focused on the two of them like solid beams from searchlights.
Especially when people saw the former genius, now a "good-for-nothing," actually walking alongside Miss Xun'er, whispers spread irresistibly like a rising tide.
Xiao Yan could clearly feel those piercing stares. He instinctively clenched his fists, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
Yet when he turned his head and saw the girl's profile beside him, as calm as still water, he forcibly suppressed the irritation that had been about to erupt within him.
I can't lose my composure here, much less show even a trace of cowardice in front of Xun'er. He straightened his back and calmly met the stares from every direction, as though those murderous gazes were no more than a breeze brushing his face.
In the guest seats on the raised platform, Xiao Zhan, the Xiao Clan's clan head, sat upright and solemn. His expression appeared imposing, but his eyes, fixed intently on his son in the arena, betrayed his intense anxiety.
Not long ago, he had discovered to his delight that Xiao Yan's dou qi, stagnant for three years, had finally begun to stir again! It had rekindled his hope.
"Next!"
At the loud shout, everyone's attention instantly shifted from Xiao Yan to the girl in the purple dress. Xun'er gave Xiao Yan an encouraging look, then walked gracefully toward the enormous black stone tablet in the center of the square.
While still several meters from the tablet, she lightly tapped the ground with the tip of her boot, and her slender body sprang up as lightly