"Winner Yu Xuan!" the referee announced, voice ringing across the arena.
The crowd erupted in a mix of cheers and groans.
"My money! My money, gone!"
"Hahaha! I got rich!"
"This match was totally unpredictable!"
"Who would've thought Lan Hao would be defeated twice in the same week?"
"I bet all my points on him... damn it."
As the noise roared around them, Yu Xuan approached Lan Hao, who was still catching his breath. There was no enmity between them, just a clash of skill and will — so he helped the him get off the platform, he was still unconscious.
A few disciples rushed over to carry Lan Hao for treatment. Among them, Yu Xuan spotted a girl with the same fiery red hair and bronzed skin.
'So, they were related after all,' he thought.
He didn't linger on it.
Yu Xuan, too, found the match satisfying. It had forced him to bring out the best of his martial instincts, honed his sense of rhythm in battle, and pushed him closer to mastery.
