Tao Ran didn't answer, didn't even pay attention to what his opponent was saying. After walking onto the platform, he silently looked at the sword in his hand, feeling both familiar and strange.
The familiarity came from learning swordsmanship at age ten, and over the following twelve years, gradually elevating his sword technique to the realm of "ultimate concealment of intent," which was also his capital for dominating the Original Dome Realm in his early years.
But since proving his golden core at twenty-two and switching to sword control techniques, how long had it been since he last held a sword in his hand?
Tao Ran felt his originally boiling and churning emotions suddenly cool down. He thought to himself, Tao Ran, what are you rushing for? Hasn't your usual peaceful, detached, magnanimous and cheerful state of mind always been your greatest pride?
Though this body wasn't his own, it had good foundation and natural spiritual bones, with cultivation talent far superior to his original flesh. As long as he could break through the original owner's dying obsessions, it wouldn't be difficult to achieve perfect fusion, unity of body and soul. He might even go further and condense the "acquired dao embryo" he had always yearned for but couldn't obtain.
While this world was strange to him, its elemental essence was far richer than his "homeland" of the Original Dome Realm. With his dao cultivation foundation and accumulated knowledge, as long as he had sufficient resources, within fifteen years, or even ten years, he could elevate this physical body to the great ascension realm and restore his primordial spirit to its original state.
As for the Original Dome world - before leaving he had severely wounded the demons, and presumably these evil creatures would choose to lie dormant for a while before causing havoc again; though the traitor held a key position, there were the Three Masters and Five Swords he had personally cultivated within the sect, enough to deter that person; as for the current emperor of the Langya Celestial Dynasty, though ambitious, his claws and limbs had all been severed, making it difficult to cause trouble in the short term; there was also the southern "Heavenly Dao Gate," but before heading north they would have to bypass the two first-class major sects: Xuanyuan Sacred Palace and Lingnan Sword Sect.
Calculating carefully, these troubles would take at least twenty years before erupting one by one, so he still had time, didn't he?
He, Tao Ran, should have more confidence in his achievements from thirty years of leading the Divine Sky Gate, and in the many rising talents within the sect.
As the saying goes, heroes emerge from hardship, true character shows in wind and rain. For the past thirty years, the Divine Sky Gate had been under his protection, so the numerous disciples all seemed mediocre, appearing as ordinary as common fish and scales at a glance.
But after his departure, there might well be outstanding successors emerging, blooming with their own brilliance.
With the Divine Sky Gate's accumulated heritage, what was there really to worry about?
Just as Tao Ran's thoughts gradually calmed, his chest suddenly exploded with a thunderous bang. The violent impact made him stagger back seven steps, nearly losing his footing.
Tao Ran immediately snapped back to attention, looking ahead to find that this cold weapon comprehensive combat match had already begun. The referee beside him also raised the red flag in his hand: "Direct heavy hit! Five points!"
Across from him, that guy named Ichabod Wood was smugly waving his heavy sword: "BOY, what are you daydreaming about? Are you too stupid to even know how to surrender? Don't blame me - God-Arm Ichabod already gave you a chance."
Tao Ran couldn't help frowning, gripping his sword tightly. He began focusing his mind, turning his attention to the present. Just as he tried to circulate his qi, blood, and divine consciousness, familiarizing himself with this body and the sword in his hand, trying to recapture the feeling of swordsmanship from decades ago, the referee suddenly swung down the black flag in his right hand.
The next instant, another muffled "bang" sounded. The heavy force caused magical arrays to spontaneously deploy in layers outside his shoulder armor. But the power transmitted from his shoulder side still made Tao Ran grimace and stagger backward on the platform again.
This caused anger to flicker faintly in Tao Ran's eyes.
Ever since his sword control techniques had also reached the realm of ultimate concealment of intent, even someone as powerful as the Nine Heavens Desire Demon Dugu Tianyi had never dared to be so presumptuous before him.
"Side hit, three points!"
As the referee's announcement rang out, Ichabod across from him was quite dissatisfied: "Hey, can you just stand still? There are only two more hits before this ends! Do you insist on taking more beatings?"
Tao Ran didn't get angry but smiled instead, having already suppressed the trace of restlessness that shouldn't have been in his heart. He then stood solemnly erect, drawing his sword in a wondrous semicircle, finally stopping three feet before his knees, pointing diagonally forward.
His divine consciousness also entered a wondrous state as his breathing adjusted, his heart like still water, his mind like a clear mirror.
At this moment below the platform, William Jacques had already covered his eyes with his hands, unable to bear watching, not having the heart to continue looking.
Until a melodious, clear and cold voice like a bell rang in his ear: "How's the situation? Does André have a chance?"
"Miss, you can see for yourself - Mo has already lost 8 points, he doesn't even have room to fight back."
William turned around to find their club president Louise Linden indeed standing behind him. His voice contained helplessness: "He seems to be scared stupid by Ichabod, can't even move. Damn! Obviously when he sparred with me in the club before, he fought quite well, evenly matched."
The young lady Louise was watching the platform, her beautiful pupils containing a trace of confusion.
She felt that guy's state was very strange - his entire being seemed to completely merge with the environment, becoming part of the background, even an inseparable part of this heaven and earth, like the 'unity of heaven and man' martial realm described by Easterners.
However, she quickly noticed the scoreboard beside them. Louise couldn't help shaking her head, thinking she must be hallucinating. The blow this time was too heavy, and wanting a miracle to happen too much had created this illusion.
"So William, do you have a chance of winning the match in fifteen minutes?"
"There's still some hope - my opponent's strength should be comparable to mine, with odds of seventy-thirty in my favor. But this is useless, my young miss."
William spread his hands: "I can at most make it to the third round, after that it's impossible. But our club so far only has four people entering the second round. The current situation requires at least two people to reach the top eight to gather enough points, but only Miss Louise can accomplish this."
"As expected—"
Louise's expression dimmed slightly, and just as she was lost in thought, the corner of her vision suddenly saw a burst of fire explode on the platform, accompanied by a tremendous shock that thundered throughout the venue like an explosion, causing everyone in the gymnasium to turn and stare.
Under their gaze, Ichabod Wood's body flew out twenty meters from the platform as if struck by a truck, then crashed heavily to the ground, causing screams from the surrounding spectators.
"What happened?"
"That's Ichabod?"
"It seemed like the armor suddenly exploded?"
"Does anyone know what's going on?"
"Couldn't tell - anyway the armor's magic arrays suddenly fully deployed, then there was an explosion and Ichabod's entire body flew out."
The referees on the platform were also shocked, hurrying to Ichabod's side to check his condition. Others rushed to the monitoring room to review the footage.
"Unconscious, but vital signs are present - minor cervical fracture, contusions all over."
"The neck component of the armor is also completely destroyed for unknown reasons, requiring professional assessment."
"Can he be awakened? Has the holy healer arrived?"
"It's useless - in his current condition, even if he woke up he couldn't continue fighting. Holy healers can't cure moderate or severe concussions."
"Is the footage ready? What exactly happened?"
"Still unclear - only saw the armor's protective arrays deploy, then suddenly explode. Presumed to be an armor malfunction."
This chaos and bustle lasted a full five minutes. Five minutes later, the referee presiding over Platform P12 returned to the stage with a dazed expression and raised the red flag in his left hand.
"Due to Ichabod Wood's unconsciousness, André Lee Wiltonstein wins and advances to the second round!"
Tao Ran beside him immediately frowned in dissatisfaction, but he ultimately said nothing and walked off the platform without a word.
Below, William Jacques and Louise Linden were stunned, then looked at each other in bewilderment.
"This works too? This luck—"
William said speechlessly: "Well, Miss, your luck isn't bad either. Mo has preserved some hope for us - now besides you, our school just needs one more person to reach the top sixteen to get enough points."
Louise smiled weakly, then left the P12 platform with heavy thoughts, walking in another direction.
William glanced sideways with sympathy in his eyes. He knew what this Linden Academy young miss was troubled about - this unexpected victory did indeed preserve some hope for Linden Academy.
But the situation was still not optimistic. Besides Elena and John Richardson who had transferred schools at the last minute, no one else in the cold weapon club had enough confidence to reach the top thirty-two.
Considering that those two people's withdrawal was clearly someone calculating against Louise Linden, the situation was even less optimistic.
At this moment, Tao Ran had walked back to his side. William immediately brightened and put his arm around his shoulder: "Hey! You lucky bastard, you actually managed to advance. I think I should call you Lucky André now? No, Lucky Mo!"
Tao Ran glanced at him indifferently: "You're mistaken - this wasn't luck."
William laughed heartily and pounded his chest: "Don't tell me you knocked him flying with one sword strike? Come on, Buddy, just wait for me a bit longer. My turn is in a few minutes. After I win this match, we'll go back together."
Then he paid no more attention to Tao Ran, walking alone toward another platform numbered 15, his expression full of confidence, as if victory was already in his grasp.