While the others were whispering to each other, deliberately avoiding eye contact with the referee.
"Are you insane?" one senior whispered frantically to his friend. "Did you not hear the rogue cultivator? The guy who punched through the stone already surrendered! I am not getting turned into a braised meatball!"
"I heard he uses a spatula because real swords shatter under the weight of his bloodlust," another whispered back. "Don't look at him! If you make eye contact, he'll add you to the grocery list!"
The referee cleared his throat again, feeling a drop of sweat roll down his temple. The silence was becoming suffocatingly awkward.
"I repeat!" the referee shouted, his voice cracking slightly. "Are there any Senior Disciples who wish to challenge Candidate Lin Ji'an?!"
He looked toward the Class 2 section, the burly, combat-hardened veterans.
