Chapter 255 A Slight Disruption

The wave of applause that had already erupted suddenly began to falter at this moment, eventually fading into silence.

The spectators who had been cheering for Sun Xiang awkwardly stopped, while those who had felt sorry for Han Wenqing were suddenly lifted from hell to heaven, unsure how to react.

Even the host was startled and then secretly relieved. He almost announced the wrong result. He, too, had thought Han Wenqing was done for and was about to declare Sun Xiang the victor.

The deathly silence in the arena lasted for several seconds before the audience finally snapped out of it and erupted in applause again. Meanwhile, the production team used this moment of shock to quickly cut together the footage of the final moment from multiple camera angles. All the electronic screens simultaneously switched to this newly edited clip, playing it on repeat.

The audience could finally see clearly.

As One Autumn Leaf's Coiling Dragon Spear (Fu Long Xiang Tian) materialized into a roaring black dragon, Desert Dust, still in mid-air, repeatedly stomped in the air.

Familiar with Glory, the audience could recognize that he was using the Eagle Stamp skill.

Eagle Stamp wasn't just a single kick. As the skill level increased, the maximum number of kicks could reach five. Desert Dust's skill was clearly maxed out at five kicks. Although the character was bounced away by the collision with Sky Strike, the Eagle Stamp skill hadn't been interrupted. Then, these four consecutive air stomps forced Desert Dust to descend diagonally downwards.

It was this descent that allowed Desert Dust to slip past the roaring black dragon. Upon landing, he immediately threw a punch upwards. One Autumn Leaf hadn't even finished executing Coiling Dragon Spear at this point, so how could he avoid this punch? With only a sliver of health remaining, he immediately fell to this small, level 10 skill.

This brief moment was played repeatedly. The production team was also working hard to quickly cut out the few exchanges between the two after the blood red warning and then began displaying them on the big screen from different viewing angles. Normal speed, the cooler-looking accelerated speed, or the clearer, more realistic slow motion...

The applause echoed continuously.

Han Wenqing had already risen from his competition stage. As he had when he entered, he calmly walked down to the center of the arena.

And what about Sun Xiang? At this moment, he was more incredulous than anyone else. He couldn't believe that he had failed on this final strike.

As a professional player, winning and losing were common occurrences. It was just that he had spoken too boldly before this match. He had declared that he would settle the score between Excellent Era and Tyranny. But now, he was the one who lost, and he felt utterly ashamed.

Sun Xiang really wished he could hide in this competition booth and secretly leave after the first day of the All-Star Weekend was completely over. But he knew that was impossible. Hiding wasn't the solution. The longer he hid, the more awkward it would be.

Sun Xiang took a deep breath and finally stood up.

What needed to be faced would eventually have to be faced.

He walked down from the competition stage and saw Han Wenqing already standing in the center of the arena. He wasn't speaking or leaving, just standing there.

Sun Xiang's eyes twitched a few more times.

Han Wenqing was waiting for him, and he was definitely going to say something. He was certainly not an amiable senior.

He finally reached the center of the arena and saw Han Wenqing's icy gaze fixed on him.

Sun Xiang walked up to him and managed to squeeze out a smile.

They were mortal enemies in the league, and Sun Xiang had said those things before the match, so the atmosphere of this competition was obviously unpleasant. Even the experienced host was at a loss for words at this moment. He looked to the left, then to the right, and suddenly caught Han Wenqing coldly staring at him. The host panicked again. Without saying anything, he subconsciously held the microphone in front of Han Wenqing.

"Heh heh," Han Wenqing chuckled. "Kids these days want to change dynasties already? Still too green."

The entire stadium erupted in an uproar, especially the media members who didn't mind the chaos, who were all excited.

No one had expected the rookie challenge to be so interesting this time.

Han Wenqing! As expected of Han Wenqing, known for his domineering presence. His mockery wasn't just aimed at Sun Xiang, it included Tang Hao, who had been shouting "the younger generation surpasses the older generation." Or perhaps Gao Yingjie, who had defeated Wang Jiexi, could also be included.

In this year's rookie challenge, people constantly launched real challenges against their seniors. The previous two had succeeded, but Han Wenqing finally helped the veterans regain their ground. His "still too green" was a powerful rebuttal from all the veterans to all the rookies who couldn't wait to take over.

Sun Xiang looked miserable, but what could he say? Han Wenqing's counterattack came after winning the match. With this fact as proof, even the weakest rebuttal could amplify the damage a hundredfold.

He was originally a figure who could rival the great gods like Han Wenqing, but the comment "still too green" ruthlessly erased the godhood Sun Xiang already possessed. At this moment, he was demoted to a genuine rookie, a rookie eager to rise to the top. But in reality, he had already risen to the top... the legendary case of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait.

However, Han Wenqing wasn't finished speaking.

The previous words were directed at all the rookies, but then he had a special message for Sun Xiang.

"Played well." Han Wenqing was saying the usual polite words, but his cold tone made it sound awkward no matter how you listened to it.

"That accurate Sky Strike delivered from behind, I really don't know how many people can do it. Impressive," Han Wenqing said.

Sun Xiang was surprised. That was indeed a magical display of his operation and judgment, very dazzling. He didn't expect Han Wenqing to specifically point it out.

The production team was also very cooperative. Listening to Han Wenqing's speech, they immediately singled out this wonderful Sky Strike and played it repeatedly. For a moment, the atmosphere became much more harmonious. The host's eyes lit up, and he immediately wanted to say something, but Han Wenqing preemptively said, "But if it were Ye Qiu, at least that Coiling Dragon Spear would never have missed."

After speaking, he turned and left the arena.

The situation immediately froze again. Han Wenqing's words to Sun Xiang went around in a small circle, but once he finished speaking, everyone immediately understood what he meant.

"You're considered powerful, but compared to the veterans, you're still too green."

And what made this sentence even more fatal was that he brought up Ye Qiu.

Those Excellent Era fans who jumped up to defend Sun Xiang all sat down in a daze after hearing this sentence.

Although Ye Qiu had retired, that glorious figure would not fade in their hearts. If Han Wenqing said that Sun Xiang was inferior to him, everyone would definitely jump up and ridicule him, but now he was comparing him to Ye Qiu, and the Excellent Era fans felt that this was acceptable. Chen Guo was one such person.

After Han Wenqing won and then began to mock him, she had already been furious. But after the last sentence mentioned Ye Qiu, she suddenly quieted down and sat back in her seat like a lady.

The arena was quiet again as everyone watched Han Wenqing calmly walk off the stage. The electronic screen was still playing Sun Xiang's wonderful Sky Strike, but the image was quickly changed. Obviously, the production team felt that it was inappropriate to continue playing it.

Sun Xiang was still left on the stage, and the host pitifully stood to the side, not knowing how to handle the situation.

But Sun Xiang took the microphone from him.

"Today I lost, and I have nothing to say about it. But tomorrow is not necessarily so!" After speaking, he handed the microphone back to the host and walked off the stage without looking back.

The entire audience silently watched him. This rookie challenge had brought them many unusual flavors. For a moment, they didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

The atmosphere in the arena was stiff, which was certainly not what the organizers and broadcasters wanted to see, so they quickly signaled to move on to the next segment.

The next segment was the final challenge of the day, which was originally a highlight deliberately arranged by the organizers. However, they didn't expect this rookie challenge to be so eye-catching. The show they had arranged probably wouldn't achieve the effect they had expected.

The organizer was Team Samsara, and the final match they had arranged was between one of their rookie players and their ace player, Zhou Zekai.

Of course, Samsara wouldn't sacrifice Zhou Zekai to promote their rookie. The original intention of this match was to use the rookie as a foil to further highlight Zhou Zekai. With their own people cooperating, it would be easier for Zhou Zekai to play more brilliantly than others. However, Samsara hadn't expected the rookies to be so strong this time, causing such a big wave.

For the rookie challenge, the organizers only knew the list of participating rookies in advance. As for who the rookies would challenge, it was all decided on the spot. They thought it would be the same as usual, with the rookies and seniors having a friendly match and then ending it. This way, the double act they had arranged would naturally be more eye-catching.

But this time, the rookies didn't treat it as a show and played for real. The veterans were also unwilling to be left behind, and it eventually became a competition between the new and old generations for the throne. This was far beyond the double act that Samsara had arranged. Now it seemed that they might as well have arranged their match as the first one. Relying on everyone's novelty and curiosity about holographic projection technology, a dazzling and exciting performance could at least explode people's eyeballs and leave a deeper impression.

But now? Once the challenge list was announced, the reaction from the crowd was noticeably subdued. Obviously, after the climax of Sun Xiang versus Han Wenqing, the audience didn't have much expectation for this match.

Samsara was depressed but had no choice but to proceed with their original plan. The rookie and Zhou Zekai went on stage, gave their speeches, and then competed. The double act was still very exciting and beautiful. After all, it was Samsara's home stadium, and the audience's reaction was considered enthusiastic, but it was just enthusiastic. As for passion, it was far from it.

Samsara was helpless. This carefully prepared double act had flopped in their eyes.

Hu Die Lan