"Yan Jiaojiao is already at the Yellow rank?"
No one had seen how Yan Jiaojiao made her move earlier. They only saw a flash of yellow light, and the disciple from the Three Swords Academy was sent tumbling off the stage.
The entire process was as swift as a lightning strike. If everyone hadn't been intently watching the stage, waiting for the show, they might have missed the entire spectacle in the blink of an eye.
"Save... Yan Jiaojiao is this strong? I remember she's only in her teens. And didn't someone say before that her inner core was shattered? You call a shattered inner core Yellow rank?"
"Does that mean Yan Jiaojiao cultivated to the Yellow rank after her inner core was repaired?"
"Are you listening to yourself? Do you think that's even possible? It's already incredibly difficult to repair a shattered inner core. Not only did Yan Jiaojiao repair it, but she also managed to cultivate back to the Yellow rank?"
"..."
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
At this moment, they couldn't find any reason to explain what they were seeing.
Meanwhile, the referee on the stage was slow to announce the result. Yan Jiaojiao raised an eyebrow and looked towards the referee, "Referee, aren't you announcing the result?"
"Ah? Oh, oh, first stage, Yan Jiaojiao wins!"
Everything had happened too quickly, even the referee was a bit stunned.
The disciple from the Three Swords Academy was carried away by their people. They hadn't expected to be the first ones to be humiliated. As they left, they slunk away, not daring to look at anyone else's expression.
"Third stage..."
Soon, the referee announced the next match on the third stage.
It was still a one-hit kill. The opponent hadn't even had time to react before being sent flying down. Their face was still bewildered as they landed.
Everyone watched as he landed with a face full of confusion, asking "Who am I, where am I?" Their hearts were filled with immense shock.
Even with a rank suppression, Yan Jiaojiao's level of suppression was terrifying.
How was she able to unleash her moves instantaneously and leave her opponents with no chance to retaliate?
Xiao Hei, curled up on Yan Jiaojiao's seat, watched the expressions of the people around him change. He scratched his ear with his front paw and, feeling a little speechless, crouched down.
These people were too easily surprised.
If they knew that the little black dog beside the 'dead woman' was actually a Demon Emperor, would they be so shocked that they'd want to commit suicide?
After all, the gap in power would be too immense...
Thinking this, Demon Emperor Dongfang Cangwu slowly grinned, resting his head on his front paws.
Boring, so boring. Watching this 'dead woman' crush everyone was worse than sleeping.
Yan Jiaojiao was unaware of Dongfang Cangwu's absolute confidence in himself.
However, she also had absolute confidence in herself.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to step up so boldly.
To avoid revealing her full strength, she had suppressed her cultivation to the Yellow rank from the beginning.
After all, the Yellow rank was a very delicate level.
Among all the academy disciples, it was rare for someone of her age to reach the Yellow rank, but it wasn't unheard of. Moreover, other academies might have older and more powerful disciples.
This way, other academies wouldn't have a reason to complain that no one could defeat Yan Jiaojiao, and they wouldn't resort to dirty tricks.
At least, this ensured fair competition for everyone.
But if Yan Jiaojiao directly revealed her Green rank, it would disrupt the balance. Then, others would definitely find ways to deal with her. Yan Jiaojiao wouldn't be afraid, but the other disciples of Genan Academy might suffer.
Yan Jiaojiao had genuinely started strategizing and calculating every detail to help Genan Academy win the academy competition and prevent it from being disbanded.
Others didn't know how Yan Jiaojiao had arranged everything. They only knew that Yan Jiaojiao was incredibly powerful, which left everyone in utter shock.
"A Yellow rank at this age, no wonder the people from Genan Academy dared to participate in the academy competition this year. Not to mention the individual matches, with Yan Jiaojiao, their team matches and group matches would be like adding wings to a tiger."
As disciples around them constantly praised Genan Academy, the disciples of Holy Grail Academy turned ashen.
"Alright, stop boosting others' morale and diminishing your own. Aren't we strong too? What are you all chattering about!"
Seeing that the people from Holy Grail Academy had spoken, the others no longer dared to continue.
Everyone's gaze swept over the faces of the disciples from Holy Grail Academy and other academies. They soon noticed that the higher the academy's ranking, the more grim their expressions became.
The academies with lower rankings, however, were quite composed. Clearly, they hadn't expected to defeat Genan Academy before.
Where there is no hope, there is no disappointment. Since they never harbored such thoughts, seeing someone from Genan Academy winning and stepping forward now didn't bring them any sense of loss.
After all, from the very beginning, they didn't believe their academies stood a chance against Genan Academy in a duel.
They say a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Even if all the disciples of Genan Academy ran away, their heavenly treasures and cultivation methods would still be out of reach for them.
Fortunately, these people had never held out hope, so they weren't disappointed by the current outcome.
In fact, they even felt a bit of schadenfreude.
They had been so confident before, and these people thought they would surely crush Genan Academy.
Who knew they were just like this.
"Shall we place some bets?"
As the development of events became more exciting, everyone naturally didn't want to miss this opportunity.
Gambling was an unerasable desire in the human heart. Once someone started, the gambling urge in others would constantly swell.
At this moment, in the resting area for Genan Academy's disciples.
"Someone's actually setting up bets. Junior Sister Jiao Jiao is a miracle. Does she have the Eye of Heaven? Can she predict the future?"
Thinking of what Yan Jiaojiao had said earlier, that as soon as she stepped out, someone would definitely place a bet, they couldn't help but be a little surprised.
While it was true that there would always be bets in any competition, Yan Jiaojiao had said it word for word, and every detail matched up. This was truly too strange.
If she had guessed one or two things, others might have understood, but she had gotten every single thing right. This level of accuracy was astonishing.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Where is there an Eye of Heaven? Can't you just say Jiao Jiao is smart?"
Don't spout such irrelevant things, lest others think we're engaging in some kind of cheating.
"Ah yes yes, I misspoke. Our Senior Sister Jiao Jiao is truly formidable. Her brain seems to be wired differently from others."
Sheng Mo Bai: "..."
Fine, not a single one of these people from Genan Academy spoke pleasingly.
"Who was in charge of this matter before? Hurry and place your bets."
Xu Chang Zong, who had been silent among the crowd, slowly stood up.
All the disciples instantly turned their attention to Xu Chang Zong.
"Jiao Jiao actually assigned such an important task to you?"
Sheng Mo Bai was extremely indignant.
"You look like you've never gambled before. Who would trust you?"