A minute or two flew by as the announcer desperately called with staff members.

The stands were still in utter chaos, each person convinced about their own opinion.

’’I don’t care about him!’’

’’I paid twenty bucks to be here, give me what I came for!’’

’’They are just kids... so it’s fair enough.’’

’’With spells that strong, he’s bound to have a great future.’’

Finally, the announcer cleared his throat awkwardly.

The entire arena slowly fell quiet, curious to see what would happen.

"A-After discussing it with the judges..." he said loudly, "Owen Wilson’s withdrawal request has officially been accepted!"

Another wave of mixed reactions erupted through the crowd immediately.

Some booed loudly. Others just looked disappointed.

But many still cheered wildly after remembering the monstrous transformation they had just witnessed.

"The automatic winner of the finals..."

The announcer paused dramatically before pointing toward the VIP stands.

"...Theo Lane!"

Screens all around the area lit up, showing the water tornado highlight again.

The noise in the arena only grew louder.

Barely anyone still complained about not getting a final match, most having switched back to cheering for Theo.

Up in the stands, Theo wasn’t quite sure what to say.

’’Just... like that?’’

After everything... he’d somehow won while sitting in a chair cultivating.

Beside him, Iris let out a small laugh.

’’Congratulations,’’ she said warmly.

Theo rubbed his forehead slightly, still feeling a little dazed from how everything had unfolded.

For a moment, he went completely silent as it really set in.

’I can’t believe it,’ he thought, glancing at his the palm of his hand. ’Two months ago... I was still utter trash. And now, I did this?’

A strange feeling stirred in his chest.

Before he could think any deeper about it though, his gaze drifted back down toward the arena grounds.

And just like that, the emotional moment vanished completely.

The person who had practically handed him the championship looked extremely pleased with himself.

Owen handed the microphone back to the stunned staff member before slowly making his way off the arena grounds.

Even while walking away, he occasionally clutched his chest dramatically like he was on the verge of death, only to continue walking normally a second later.

Theo’s eyelid twitched.

"He’s enjoying this way too much," he muttered.

Beside him, Iris covered her mouth slightly, clearly trying not to laugh.

"He’s actually pretty smart sometimes," she said.

Theo snorted.

"Unfortunately."

Down below, several medical staff quickly approached Lyra and her tiger while judges began discussing something amongst themselves near the destroyed arena.

Just then, the announcer’s voice rang out again.

"We’ll now begin repairing the arena," he said loudly. "The award ceremony will begin shortly after!"

Another wave of cheers erupted through the crowd.

"All participants who reached the quarter-finals will be invited onto the stage for the ceremony," the announcer continued loudly. "Please prepare yourselves backstage once the arena repairs are complete!"

Theo fell silent for a moment.

’Award ceremony?’ he thought, slightly caught off guard. ’I forgot about that...’

Beside him, Iris smiled faintly.

’’We should probably head down,’’ she said softly.

Theo let out a quiet sigh.

’’Right.’’

Slowly standing up from his seat, he stretched his sore shoulders slightly.

His core still ached faintly from overusing mana earlier, though the worst of it had already recovered.

Below, several earth element users had already entered the arena. They lifted large chunks of stone into the air and quickly began filling the cracked sections.

The speed was honestly ridiculous.

"It’ll probably look brand new again in five minutes," Theo muttered.

Iris nodded lightly before standing up as well.

"Come on," she said. "We shouldn’t keep them waiting."

Theo followed after her without another complaint.

As the two stepped back into the corridor, the arena’s noise slowly faded away behind them.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Theo’s mind was already fully concentrated on what he’d do next.

’I’ll turn the one million dollar reward fully into cultivation resources,’ he thought. ’Both lightning and water preferably.’

And after that?

’I’ll cultivate for just a day or two longer. Then I’ll finally break through to the Silver Core stage.’

His heart pumped with excitement just by thinking about it.

There were so many things he was curious about, which could get answered during his next breakthrough.

’Will the system show up again? Or do I just time it well with the system?’

’Also, can I get advanced elements already?’

And not just that...

With both SSS-rank affinities supporting his cultivation, even Theo himself had no idea how strong his next breakthrough would actually be.

’Maybe I’ll be able to throw Silver Core spells around effortlessly,’ he thought. ’Or even—’

’’Theo.’’

He snapped out of his thoughts immediately.

Turning his head slightly, he found Iris looking at him quietly.

’’Yes?’’

Iris smiled faintly.

’’Thank you for not holding back,’’ she said quietly. "It’s nice knowing you actually took me seriously."

She glanced down at the ground.

’’Now... I might’ve lost, but at least I learned a lot from the fight.’’

Theo looked at her for a moment, his eyes widening just a little.

Only now did Theo realize this fight had meant far more to Iris than he initially thought.

’’It’s only fair that way,’’ Theo said, glancing ahead. ’’Though I’m sorry I nearly drowned you.’’

Iris let out a soft chuckle as she began twirling her hair around her finger.

’’It was pretty terrifying,’’ she admitted. ’’Thankfully Alia stepped in to stop it.’’

Theo scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

For a brief moment, the atmosphere between them grew noticeably lighter.

Then, as the two turned the corner of the corridor, both of them slowed down slightly.

Two familiar figures were already standing there.

Owen leaned lazily against the wall with his arms crossed, looking completely refreshed compared to earlier.

Opposite of him stood Lyra. Though her expression was still pretty pale, her eyes remained locked on Owen.

The moment Owen spotted Theo, a massive grin spread across his face.

"There he is!" he shouted loudly. "The tournament champion himself!"

Theo’s eyelid twitched immediately.

"...You’re way too energetic for someone supposedly dying from backlash."

Owen coughed dramatically into his fist.

"Don’t expose me in public," he whispered shamelessly.

That’s when Lyra suddenly stepped forward.

Her gaze shifted toward Theo and Iris.

Then, after a brief pause, she lowered her head a little.

’’I owe the two of you an apology for my rude behavior,’’ she said quietly. ’’I was way too overconfident beforehand.’’

Owen’s head immediately snapped back.

’’Only two?’’ he said, squinting.

Lyra locked eyes with him.

"Even though you beat me," she started, "you’ll be the last person on this planet I’d ever apologize to!"