Su Qianyi rose and looked at the crowd below with an indifferent expression. However, when his gaze turned to Sen Lei, his eyes became sharp and then disdainful, as if everything was already predestined.
Sen Lei noticed this but didn't mind. To outsiders, his spiritual power seemed pitifully thin, but he knew that his spiritual power had long merged with his blood energy, becoming indistinguishable. In terms of spiritual power levels, he had already broken through to the eighth stage of the Spiritual Body Realm!
Yet, now Sen Lei had a new worry: the seal within his arm. He had no idea what it was about, and the fear of the unknown was immense.
On the stage, Emperor Sen Yan nodded and spoke, "Today, due to the rumors of the Crown Prince being deposed, there has been contention over the academy admission quota. Thus, we have set up this arena. Any martial artist of the same age as the Crown Prince in Sen Nation may compete."
The audience was silent for a moment before starting to murmur.
Some were surprised, some indifferent, and some disdainful.
Among the crowd were many soldiers from the Mighty Martial Army who had been "reminded" by General Su. It was a fact that the Crown Prince had been deposed. Even if it wasn't completely true, his strength was significantly reduced. For Su Qianyi to win the admission, it seemed a foregone conclusion. There was no need for much fuss; sending a few strong soldiers to fight would suffice.
Sen Yan looked at General Su Tao and said, "General Su, let them both get on stage."
Su Tao carefully placed his teacup down, wiped his mouth, and knelt on the ground, "It's better to give the people below a chance, to let the Crown Prince guide them, showing the magnanimity of our Sen Nation's Crown Prince. Wouldn't this be a great opportunity to nurture our younger generation?"
Upon hearing this, everyone cursed the old fox for his scheming. He clearly intended to humiliate the Crown Prince.
However, Sen Yan didn't seem to mind and simply said, "Alright!"
Su Tao was taken aback by the quick agreement, almost as if Sen Yan had anticipated this.
Sen Lei, unhurriedly, walked to the center of the stage, looked around at the audience, and recited, "Youth is always unaware of the height of the heavens, in one's view, everyone is a self-proclaimed genius."
The crowd murmured, "How arrogant!"
"Is this the Crown Prince of Sen Nation? The deposed one?"
"I can't tell where he's deposed. He seems strong to me."
"Shh! Just watch. He might embarrass himself later!"
There were those watching for fun, some joining the excitement. The Sen Nation's palace, usually desolate, was now bustling with activity.
No one knew who had arranged this, but if events unfolded as expected, with Su Qianyi winning and Sen Lei's deposition confirmed, Su Qianyi would gain the full support of Sen Nation's people. After all, the populace always supports true talents, even if they aren't the Crown Prince.
Would Sen Lei let them have their way?
The answer, of course, was no.
Sen Lei, dressed in a black trench coat, stood out on the spacious stage.
At this moment, a strange-looking man jumped onto the stage. Normal people's eyebrows are separated, but his were connected, making many in the audience laugh even before the duel began.
The man remained expressionless and bowed to Sen Lei, "Your Highness, I am Wang Hu. I've just entered the Spiritual Body Realm. Please, instruct me!"
The audience saw that Wang Hu, though rough-looking, was around the same age as the Crown Prince, about seventeen or eighteen, and already in the Spiritual Body Realm. They wondered if the Crown Prince could withstand this.
Sen Lei, without any unnecessary words, simply said, "Please!"
As soon as the words fell, Wang Hu launched his attack. Although he knew the Crown Prince was deposed, he didn't lower his guard. Someone had told him that if he won, he would get a lot of money. He wanted to end the battle quickly, so he used all his strength.
"Dragon Tiger Fist!" Wang Hu used his practiced spiritual technique, which he had honed for years, creating a form that astounded the audience.
Even the Grandmaster on the stage was slightly moved, feeling worried, "Can the Crown Prince withstand this move?"
Beside him, Wei Xiaoxiao shouted anxiously, "Be careful, brother!"
In the crowd, a veiled young woman also looked worried, clenching her hands tightly.
"Hah!" Sen Lei suddenly moved forward, stretching out his left hand to grab Wang Hu's neck.
General Su Tao sneered, thinking, "Not even using a spiritual technique to counter a practiced Dragon Tiger Fist?"
Wang Hu was actually arranged by Su Tao, discovered during his time in Luo City. He didn't expect to use him today.
But the next moment, everyone was shocked. Even Sen Yan's expression changed slightly. He didn't expect the Crown Prince to recover, despite observing his abnormal blood energy in recent days, which reassured him. But the current situation still surprised him.
"How is this possible?" Su Tao exclaimed.
Just as Wang Hu's spiritual power surged to shake off Sen Lei's wrist, he found that the blood-red left hand, like a pair of pliers, gripped his fist with such force that Wang Hu felt fear. His face contorted, sweat dripping onto the stage. With a shout, Sen Lei sent Wang Hu flying off the stage.
"How is this possible? Wasn't he deposed?" A voice from a black-cloaked figure emerged from the crowd.
"A Spiritual Body Realm fighter couldn't withstand a single move! Go notify the Monarch immediately. Tell him that the Crown Prince of Sen Nation is not deposed at all! Go!" The person shouted anxiously to those behind him.
The citizens of Sen Nation started chanting, "Long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Crown Prince!" Following the crowd, they cheered for the stronger side. As long as they weren't at a disadvantage, they were happy.
Seeing this, a girl in front of the stage sighed, "So handsome! Whoever becomes the Crown Princess will be so lucky!"
"Don't even think about it. You can't. Haha," the girl next to her mocked, "If anyone, it'll be me!"
"Hmph!"
Wen Wan found the bickering girls amusing, but she felt a bit lost, touching her face and murmuring, "Crown Princess, huh?"
On the stage, Wei Xiaoxiao, grabbing Wei An's beard, screamed excitedly, "Brother won!"
Wei An, grimacing in pain, pleaded, "Little ancestor, I know, your brother is the best, but can you let go of your grandpa? You're killing me! This is just the first match, don't be careless!"
Wei Xiaoxiao let go of Wei An's beard, angrily muttering, "Hmph! Seeing those Su people annoys me. Why bother with the arena? Just duel directly! What a scoundrel!" The more she thought, the angrier she got, tugging at Wei An's white beard again.
"Ouch!" The grandmaster, with no temper left, endured it.
On the stage, Su Qianyi, seeing Sen Lei's slightly reddened left hand after the battle, squinted his eyes.
"There's something strange about it."