Today marked the semifinals of the martial arts competition held at the Lotus Sect.

As audiences entered the Lotus Sect arena, many wore puzzled looks.

“Something feels... different about the Lotus Sect,” murmurs echoed among the crowd.

In just one day, Grayvale’s largest sect seemed to have lost its vibrant energy and left behind an air of desolation.

Dustin and Joseph remained seated in the main seats.

But today, there was a stark difference: the Lotus Sect’s leader was bustling about and personally serving tea to the two of them. He treated Dustin with extreme respect.

“Wasn’t the Lotus Sect at odds with Dustin? Why are they fawning over him now? Even the sect leader himself is doing that…”

Audiences were baffled as they were unable to make sense of the situation.

“Where are the five front-runners from earlier? None of them are here. Are they exempt from the semifinals? Sure, it’s just a formality, but skipping it outright reeks of favoritism. It’s hard to ac