Awkward silence (see the author's note!)

A perfidious, petrifying silence filled the stage.

To a degree, it was only to be expected, given how there were only a sum total of maybe fifteen people stuck within Leila's protective barrier designed to keep what happened inside from those who were on its outside.

But still, silence was the only means through which everyone commented on what happened.

"Ekhem… excuse me?" I managed to gather my wits after a few moments, relaxing my body as I stood back and lowered my hands, giving Jubley a slightly weirded-out look.

"Ah!" The man opened his eyes wide, as if only now coming to terms with what he did.

He was here to be my practice partner, a judge of just how strong my attack was.

More importantly, however, Jubley was a cultivator. One that reached levels that I couldn't even see through, implying he had long since ascended from the mortal realm to what awaited the cultivators beyond it.