The square fell deathly silent for a moment, then erupted into an uproar fiercer than any before.
Everyone sprang from their seats, rubbing their eyes in disbelief, as though they had witnessed something that overturned everything they knew.
Ever since Yun Che had appeared, Shi Hansan of the Stonefolk Clan, Yan Jin of the Fire Feather Clan, and even the championship favorite, She Qianjie of the Thunder Snake Clan, had all fallen in a single move. No one had lasted more than one move against him, much less blocked his attack head-on.
"Good, good, good! Someone finally broke this brat's streak of defeating everyone in one move!"
Although none of them had any grudge against Yun Che, watching some inexplicable humanoid Guardian Spirit take the championship left them feeling rather unwilling and unconvinced.
On the platform, the youth holding the ink-black lotus stood straight and tall. He wore a plain green robe and had delicate features, with a trace of composure between his brows that belied his age.
The ink-black lotus in his arms was now giving off a faint green glow, its petals slightly open. The compound eyes of the Green Beetle that had previously fallen asleep lit up again, flickering with a deep, mysterious light.
It was the spatial fluctuations emanating from this beetle that had formed an invisible barrier before the youth, barely blocking Yun Che's seemingly casual finger strike.
"Heh! That beetle is your Guardian Spirit, isn't it? I suppose it barely qualifies as the thing with the strongest defense I've seen so far."
As Yun Che watched the youth before him, a ripple finally stirred in his calm eyes. He could sense that although the aura coming from his opponent was not overwhelming, it was exceptionally strange, especially that Green Beetle.
The youth raised his