บท 268: True Face (3)

Lucavion's movements slowed, his estoc held casually at his side, as if even the effort to keep it raised was unnecessary. He glanced at Lira, who stood trembling, her blade quivering in her grip as the effects of the forbidden pill began to gnaw at her body. Then, with an unsettling calm, he turned his gaze to the crowd. 

"Tell me something," Lucavion said, his voice cutting through the arena like a blade, amplified not by magic but by sheer conviction. "How does the Cloud Heavens Sect always seem to produce so many 3-star and 4-star disciples?" 

The crowd murmured, the question hanging in the air like a storm cloud. 

"And yet," he continued, gesturing lazily toward Lira, "their techniques… they lack refinement. Their strikes lack purpose. They swing as if strength alone is enough to win. How do you explain that?" 

The murmurs grew louder, rippling through the audience as curious glances and hushed exchanges spread like wildfire.