He took a glance at the crowd before shifting his gaze toward the pair of beautiful figures—Elder Yao and Ling Ruxin.
"Is he looking at us?" Ling Ruxin asked, noticing Lao Xie standing in the middle of the platform, his eyes seemingly fixed in their direction.
"Probably admiring that hair ornament you're wearing," Elder Yao said teasingly.
Ling Ruxin's face turned red the moment she heard those words. "S-stop teasing me, Elder Yao!"
Though that was what she said on the outside, deep down she hoped otherwise—hoping that Lao Xie truly had noticed the ornament she was wearing, the one he had personally bought for her.
Meanwhile, the elders' area had fallen into a quiet uproar.
The bulky-looking elder turned toward Elder Mu with a stunned expression. "I thought you were exaggerating about his strength… but now…" Sweat rolled down his cheek as he spoke.
"That's true sword qi…" murmured one of the elders from Azure Edge Peak, his eyes narrowing.
"Completely different from Shen Yun's version. His was just an imitation."
Another elder leaned forward, eyes wide. "That kid can already use sword qi? Isn't that something only achievable once you reach the Qi Refinement Realm? You need to refine your qi and channel it into your blade before it can manifest as sword qi."
The Azure Edge elder fell silent for a few moments before replying. "Normally, yes… unless he's a heaven-gifted prodigy. It's practically impossible for any outer disciple to manifest sword qi. All of them are still within the Body Tempering Realm." His voice grew quieter, thoughtful.
"Moreover, the one we're talking about is… Lao Xie. The very same who was once judged as talentless by the Judgement of Stars."
The other elders continued whispering among themselves, some shocked while others remained completely silent.
The bulky elder, who had been listening intently the whole time, finally sent a voice transmission toward Elder Mu.
"Can you read his realm, Brother Mu?"
Elder Mu's brows furrowed slightly at the sudden question. "As impossible as it sounds, I can't. Not since the first match where I served as his overseer. And why the voice transmission, Brother Li?"
After Elder Mu's reply, Elder Li stayed silent for a moment, his brows furrowing deeply.
"Can't read his realm?" he finally said through voice transmission, eyes narrowing at Lao Xie's distant figure. "Are you saying he's masking it, or…"
Elder Mu shook his head slightly. "No… it's not masking. It's like there's nothing to read at all. Like standing before a lake that shows no reflection."
Elder Li's expression stiffened. Around them, the other elders exchanged uncertain looks. The air between their seats grew heavy even the inner sect overseers were whispering quietly among themselves.
"It's impossible for him to be stronger than us," Elder Li muttered under his breath. "It really is."
Elder Mu exhaled slowly, his gaze never leaving Lao Xie. "The only explanation I can think of… is that he might be carrying some kind of concealing artifact."
"Artifact?" Elder Li repeated softly, his tone laced with disbelief.
Back on the stage, the match overseer's voice echoed across the arena.
"The winner of the first semifinal—Lao Xie."
A murmur swept through the spectators as Lao Xie turned away from the stands. His expression didn't change—instead, it's calm. His sword gave a faint hum before he sheathed it and slipped it back into his storage ring.
As he stepped down from the platform, the crowd instinctively parted to make way for him.
Whispers followed him as he passed.
"Did you see that sword?"
"It didn't even release light—just… silence."
"No one even knows what that technique was…"
"He's used that move multiple times before, but no one's ever figured out what kind of sword art it is."
Lao Xie didn't glance at them. His gaze drifted once toward the elders' seats, briefly meeting Elder Mu's eyes, before turning toward Ling Ruxin and Elder Yao. Then, without another word, he walked off the stage.
Elder Yao chuckled softly beside Ling Ruxin. "He's looking at you again. See? He clearly noticed."
Ling Ruxin's face flushed red instantly. "E-Elder Yao, please stop with the teasing already!"
Elder Yao only smiled knowingly, her eyes glinting with quiet amusement.
The scene shifted back to the elders' seats.
Elder Mu and Elder Li remained quiet for a moment before their voices brushed against each other again through sound transmission.
"Did you see that, Brother Li?" Elder Mu's tone was low, but there was a faint weight in it.
Elder Li nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed on the stage where Lao Xie had just stood moments ago. "Yeah. Just for a brief moment… his eyes were directly locked onto you."
Elder Mu's gaze didn't waver. "He already realized that I was watching him."
The silence that followed between the two carried unspoken meaning. Elder Li frowned slightly, folding his arms as he sank into his own thoughts. Elder Mu, meanwhile, sat still with a calm face, but the faint crease between his brows betrayed a trace of unease.
Neither of them spoke further, each lost in quiet speculation. Around them, the rest of the elders continued to murmur, their voices overlapping like ripples—disbelief, curiosity, and hushed awe mixing into a single subdued tension.
The scene then shifted back to Ling Ruxin and Elder Yao.
Elder Yao, who had been watching the crowd disperse, suddenly turned toward Ling Ruxin with a sly glint in her eye. "Well," she said in a teasing tone, "isn't it about time for you to go chase after him?"
Ling Ruxin blinked, caught off guard. "Ch-chase him?" Her face turned pink again almost immediately. "As much as I want to, I can't. The second semifinal's about to start, and I promised Mei Yan I'd watch her match."
Elder Yao sighed dramatically and stood up, brushing her sleeve. "Well, it can't be helped then…" She smiled faintly, the kind that carried mischief. "Don't mind if I do."
"Huh? What do you mean, Elder Yao?" Ling Ruxin said, turning toward her in confusion as the older woman began walking away.
"Where are you going?" she asked again, half curious, half alarmed.
Elder Yao waved a hand over her shoulder, her voice light and teasing. "Oh, I just remembered—I have some business to settle."
Ling Ruxin could only watch as Elder Yao's figure slowly disappeared into the corridor, her heart stirring with a mix of curiosity and a faint, nervous hunch.
The Martial Hall's crowd had begun to scatter, their excitement still buzzing in the air. Lao Xie walked quietly through the corridor, his steps unhurried. The echoes of his earlier battle still clung faintly to the walls—the murmurs, the awe, the disbelief—but he paid them no mind. His sword rested within his storage ring, and the calmness that settled around him was almost eerie in contrast to the storm he had unleashed moments ago.
Just as he was about to step out through the grand archway of the Martial Hall, a familiar voice brushed faintly across his mind.
"Leaving so soon?"
Lao Xie stopped mid-step, his gaze flicking over his shoulder. At the far end of the corridor, a graceful figure emerged from the side passage—Elder Yao, her robe fluttering slightly as she approached, her expression carrying that same mild amusement she always wore.
"Old Hag?" he greeted lightly, turning fully toward her. Surprisingly, his tone was quite polite this time.
"I thought you might slip away again without a word," Elder Yao said, her smile deepening just a little. "You do that quite often, don't you?"
Lao Xie's lips curved faintly. "Well…old habits die hard."