"Hey." Huo Yuanjia called out to Su Yang as he walked away from the stage.

Su Yang stopped walking and turned around to look at him.

"Thank you… for stopping her." Huo Yuanjia continued.

"If you hadn't stopped her, it would have endangered her future as a Cultivator. Worst case, she might even become crippled from the backlash."

Su Yang smiled and said, "If you really want to thank me, send some willing beauties to my place."

"..."

Huo Yuanjia did not know how to respond to such words and remained silent with a frozen expression on his face.

Meanwhile, the audience was dead silent, almost like there was nobody there.

"The victor of this match is the Profound Blossom Sect!"

It was only when Zi Dong announced the result did the silence break.

"No way… this cannot be happening…"

"How can the Burning Lotus Sect lose when half of their participants are at the Earth Spirit Realm? And it's not as if they were fighting the Divine Sword Sect!"

"Damn it all! I even gambled all of my money on them winning!"

Many people seemed to be in disbelief, but even more people were in shock at the results of this match.

After all, the Burning Lotus Sect, who was thought to become the winner of this tournament by the majority of the people there had lost to the Profound Blossom Sect, one of the lowest-ranking Sect in this entire tournament.

"As expected of my Elder Brother… he's just so amazing..." Su Yin's eyes flickered with admiration.

"That technique he used to knock Lin Shao Shang unconscious… what on earth was that technique?" Bai Lihua could feel her back soaking with cold sweat after witnessing Su Yang's final technique that radiated with an otherworldly aura.

However, it was not just Bai Lihua. All of the experts there had felt a godly aura from the technique, almost as though it was of divine origin.

"Father, that technique Su Yang used…" Xie Xingfang forcefully swallowed.

"I know...but I also don't know anything…" Lord Xie held a serious expression on his face.

"Every technique in this world has a grade, and each grade has a unique aura to it. However, I have never felt this kind of aura before."

For example, most Mortal-grade techniques would emit an aura that makes it instantly recognizable as a Mortal-grade technique. This is how Cultivators usually appraise techniques that they have never seen or heard before — solely by its aura. However, the technique Su Yang used had emitted an otherworldly aura that nobody could recognize, suggesting it to be a new grade of technique or a really special technique.

"Although I do not know what grade this technique is, it's aura is stronger than any Immortal-grade technique that I have witnessed before, suggesting it to surpass Immortal-grade." Lord Xie speculated.

After a moment of silence, he continued, "As I thought, his Master must be a person from the mythical Holy Central Continent."

After the Profound Blossom Sect's unexpected victory, the tournament continued as usual.

Sometime later, Lin Shao Shang slowly opened her eyes.

"Nnng… what happened to me?" she mumbled as she sat up, feeling a soft and comfortable material underneath her.

"Senior apprentice-sister! How is your body feeling? Are you in any pain?"

The disciple watching over her immediately approached her after seeing her wake up.

"Besides feeling a little bit weak, I am feeling quite normal…" Lin Shao Shang replied in a soft and confused voice.

"Thank heavens you are fine!" The disciple sighed in relief.

"What happened to the tournament? Why was I sleeping here?" Lin Shao Shang raised an eyebrow.

"You… you don't remember anything? You had used the ultimate technique Lotus of Madness during your match against the Profound Blossom Sect!" The disciple gave her a brief explanation.

"..."

After a moment of pondering, Lin Shao Shang finally recalled everything that had happened, and memories of the match appeared in her head.

"Ahh… I see… not only did I lose the match to him, but I had even made a fool out of myself…"

"Don't say something like that, senior apprentice-sister. You tried your best. It wasn't shameful at all." The disciple tried to cheer her up.

"Stop it. You don't need to make such blatant lies. Even though I was under the effects of Lotus of Madness, he easily knocked me out as though he was breathing. He was actually toying with me the entire time."

After a moment of silence, Lin Shao Shang continued, "However, the match is not the only thing I have lost in that fight…"

Lin Shao Shang showed a bitter smile on her face.

The disciple quickly realized what she was talking about and looked at her with wide eyes. "Senior apprentice-sister Lin, surely you must not be thinking about giving him your body, right?"

"That was the bet, and it was a bet that I'd lost."

"So what if you lost?! You don't need to give him anything!"

"But it was witnessed by hundreds of thousands of people."

"Nonsense! The people will understand if you don't do it! In fact, I'm certain that they'd rather you not do it! Why don't you speak with the Sect Master? I'm sure that he'll do something about it."

Lin Shao Shang closed her eyes and became silent as she recalled what Su Yang had said to her before she lost consciousness.

A weird smile appeared on her face, and she mumbled, "Don't worry, as if I'd actually give him my body over something like this. I won't do anything for now."

"Really?" The disciple looked at her with worried eyes.

Lin Shao Shang nodded, before saying, "Can you get the Sect Master for me? I'd like to speak with him."

"Un." The disciple nodded and left the room shortly after.

Sometime later, Huo Yuanjia entered the room.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"A little bit weak."

"That's to be expected, since your cultivation base was temporary sealed. You'll return to normal within a few days… at least that's what Su Yang said."

"..."

Although Lin Shao Shang was silent, her expression was filled with questions.

"I'm sorry… for losing… for letting everybody down after everything that I've said." Lin Shao Shang mumbled a moment later with slightly watery eyes.

Huo Yuanjia shook his head and smiled, "A monster like him, I'm not sure even I can win against him, much less you. Don't think too much about it. All you need to know is that nobody is blaming you for losing."

Lin Shao Shang wiped her eyes and nodded with a gentle smile.