"Cough cough cough..."
The few who were previously stunned by the collapse of the arena finally came to their senses, looking almost no different from mud figures.
Xin Fu sat up, his gaze dull as he glanced at Yun Ran, then at the others, alright, everyone looked the same.
He just opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but because of the overwhelming dust, he choked and coughed repeatedly.
Forced to interrupt what he wanted to say.
It’s said that when people feel guilty and embarrassed, they always pretend to be very busy.
Yun Ran saw such a scene, immediately turned her head pretending she didn’t see anything, and then began to gesture through the air.
No one understood what she was gesturing, but many could tell that Yun Ran was clearly trying to patch something up.
But they didn’t think Yun Ran’s patchwork was of any use, as the one mainly responsible for the current situation was her.
Immediately, some people gloated.
"This competition is going to be famous, it’ll probably become a classic case in the future."
"There was no precedent for competitors damaging public property and needing to compensate, but there will surely be such a rule in the next competition."
"Speaking of which, can we apply for compensation? Look at what we’ve turned into!"
Perhaps because the person they disliked was finally about to have bad luck, many who had their defenses broken because of Yun Ran now felt immensely relieved.
Even though they were in a wretched state themselves, it was not a big deal; even people with a penchant for cleanliness found the dust unusually pleasing to the eye.
However, they soon fell back into a state of continued defense breaking.
Yun Ran, who was deemed to be making random gestures to relieve her embarrassment, suddenly had a giant wind-fighting vortex appear around her.
The flying dust was immediately sucked up by a powerful force into that Wind Fighting Vortex.
Before everyone fully reacted, the dust that was scattered everywhere and had turned countless people into mud figures was just so light-heartedly cleaned up.
Looking around them, everything was as clean as new.
If it weren’t for the fact that the arena below only had a big pit left, they might have thought that the previous mess was all just an illusion.
Those who wanted to curse out loud suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness, not knowing how to describe their current emotions.
Yun Ran’s ability to cause trouble is top-notch, but her ability to solve problems is equally top-notch.
If Yun Ran were from the Mystical Sect, the people of the Xuan Sect Family Alliance would definitely recommend her as a key individual to nurture.
Unfortunately, she is not, and she even comes to compete for the resources of the Mystical Sect families.
This feeling, it’s as uncomfortable as swallowing a fly.
Watching the dust being cleaned up, Yun Ran let out a slight sigh of relief, this could be considered some sort of remedy.
The dust-absorbing vortex gradually settled down until it disappeared without a trace, and no one knew where Yun Ran had taken all that dust.
The Judging Panel took a deep look at Yun Ran and then replayed the surveillance video of the arena being shattered by Yun Ran’s sword.
The video was slowed down by twenty times before they could determine the order in which the other three landed.
Xin Fu was lucky; standing behind Yun Ran at that time, he was the last of the three to land and thus secured the second-place result.
Nevertheless, the two others, rather coincidentally, landed at the same time.
After discussions by the Judging Panel, it was determined that the two had tied for the third place.
"Do any of you have objections to the results of this competition?"
Yun Ran and Xin Fu naturally had no objections, and the other two exchanged glances, feeling a tinge of regret for only securing third place, but they raised no complaints.
All of them immediately shook their heads: "No objections."
"Since everyone is in agreement, the results of the competition will now be submitted to the Special Administration Bureau for review... Additionally, due to the damage to the arena, the Judging Panel has decided to cancel the prize ceremony."
Yun Ran could distinctly feel the judge’s gaze sharply signaling her when the cancellation of the prize ceremony was announced.
Instantly, Yun Ran turned her head away, pretending not to have seen or heard anything. As long as her name wasn’t explicitly called out, she would feign ignorance.
Only the judge himself knew how infuriated he felt upon witnessing Yun Ran’s audacious behavior.
According to the established procedures, they should have come forward to congratulate Yun Ran on becoming the Leader.
But, given that Yun Ran had really "broadened their horizons," they simply had no desire to converse further with her.
The lead judge concluded his remarks without sparing another glance at the award recipients, and turned to leave.
Others also gradually stood up and departed. With the event not turning out as expected, they naturally weren’t inclined to congratulate Yun Ran either.
However, in the crowd, Ginsengfruit charged towards Yun Ran like a cannonball, holding a tube of fireworks in his hand.
Several loud blasts of fireworks resounded, startling some of the audience members who were just about to leave, causing them to tremble.
"Come on, under these circumstances, how could Yun Ran and her group be brazen enough to celebrate with fireworks? That’s just too arrogant!"
"Have you forgotten? When we first came to the island, someone had already started campaigning for Yun Ran. If it wasn’t for her screw-up, it would probably be even more over the top."
"After causing such a mess, if it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have the face to celebrate!"
Ginsengfruit rushed to Yun Ran’s side, speaking pleasing words with a beaming smile: "Congratulations Master on becoming the Leader!"
The fireworks he held weren’t some defective products, but had been prepared well in advance by Gu Yuan, who originally intended to set them off himself.
Unfortunately, Gu Yuan was not present on the island, but Ginsengfruit wouldn’t let his preparations go to waste.
No sooner had Ginsengfruit launched the first firework, than the people left behind by Gu Yuan immediately followed suit, setting off a succession.
This made the arena, which looked clean but was actually heavily damaged, seem somewhat lively and festive due to the scattered fireworks.
Xin Fu also hurried over, with nothing but congratulatory words: "Congratulations, Lady Yun."
Yun Ran nodded her head. The current atmosphere, although not as bustling and universally attention-grabbing as imagined, was still festive.
It’s a pity that at times of joy, there are always some who inappropriately spoil the mood.
The head of the logistics department, holding a tablet in his hand, walked up to Yun Ran with a serious expression.
After swiping the tablet’s screen, he handed it to Yun Ran: "Lady Yun, you’ve caused significant damage to public property. Here is the assessed damage cost. Please confirm the amount, to facilitate further compensation procedures."