After the thrilling draw ceremony ended, the grand opening ceremony of the tournament commenced.

"Next, please welcome our two special guests who are present today, Mr. Montano from the Goman Empire, and Ms. Aurora from the Northern Alliance!"

Then, a man and a woman appeared on the stage.

The man had a tall stature and handsome appearance, carrying a two-meter-long great sword on his back, with dense and short whiskers on his chin. Just standing there, he resembled a majestic and imposing mountain.

The woman was tall with fair skin and possessed an unparalleled beauty similar to the Winter Elves in mythical tales; her straight golden hair casually draped over her shoulders, exhibiting a captivating cold elegance and grace.

At this moment, both of them exuded an astonishing aura only seen in High-Tier Silver level experts, equivalent to the peak grandmasters of the Heaven-Ascending Sixth Layer realm in the Dongji Kingdom, considered the strongest and most elite martial artists below the Martial Saint.

"Please enjoy the sword dance performance from foreign guests!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The host's words completely ignited the audience's enthusiasm, and roaring cheers filled the venue.

"This year's Celestial Sword Cup actually invited the best disciple of the Goman Sword Saint, Liechtenwana?"

"Montano is reputed as a millennium genius in swordsmanship from the Goman Empire, a twenty-seven-year-old High-Tier Silver Knight. I wonder what elegance he will display."

"Aurora from the Northern Alliance is also exceptional, isn't she? She's known as the 'Pearl of the Frost Winter,' acclaimed as the first beauty of the Slavic people! Her swordsmanship talent is incredible; she showed her brilliance at five and later entered the Winter Palace, becoming a member of the Steel Heart Stream."

"I support Aurora!"

Many LSPs [Literal Sword Patrons] voiced their unwavering stance on the spot.

Following that was the sword dance performance match between Montano and Aurora.

Though called a match, it was more like a ceremonial dance. The purpose of their swordsmanship display was not to decide life and death but to compete in sword skills, assessing whose swordsmanship was more refined, movements more coordinated, techniques more complex, and techniques more beautiful and splendid.

Zheng~

On the stage, both sides' sword qi resounded, each showcasing the utmost brilliance of the Martial Dao.

Montano's great sword appeared cumbersome yet not clumsy; its speed surpassed many wielders of single-handed swords, whistling through the air, the blade stirring the surrounding air like agitating flowing water, manipulating the changes in airflow.

Ye Qingzhou recognized the opponent as the same European swordsman seen with Lin Bingwen at the auction.

Even Ye Qingzhou was continually amazed by Montano's displayed sword skills.

"Is this the core secret of the Rapids Castle's school, 'Wave Swordsmanship'? Everything has fluctuations, and by guiding them with the sword, one can wield this power."

Activating the Celestial Eye, Ye Qingzhou absorbed the mysteries of 'Wave Swordsmanship' as if observing patterns in the palm, refining and assimilating it into his own sword principles within moments.

Meanwhile, Montano's opponent, the 'Pearl of the Frost Winter' Aurora from the Northern Alliance, showcased war pattern martial arts that also greatly enriched Ye Qingzhou.

At this moment, six pure white runes appeared around Aurora, these mysterious texts possessing incredible spiritual power, almost akin to laws capable of interfering with all matter in the world.

"War patterns? This seems similar to totemic power, infused with thought ability via daily prayers and visualizing an extraordinary existence, continuously reinforcing and solidifying it, then borrowing its power when needed."

Ye Qingzhou pondered deeply.

The principle behind this martial arts is extremely unique, akin to artificially creating a cache, where one's surplus essence, qi, and spirit are infused into it via secret techniques.

Upon confronting an enemy, one can utilize this stored power.

"Martial arts of the faith school, huh? It seems the Dongji Kingdom abandoned this faith-path way as early as the era of the Golden Crow Sacred Dynasty, 3600 years ago; there appear to be significant hidden dangers."

Just a brief contemplation allowed Ye Qingzhou to understand the biggest issue with this school: most martial artists of the faith school find it difficult to retrieve the essence, qi, and spirit once deposited within.

After all, the Northern Alliance adheres to Monotheism, visualizing the same "God," thus theoretically, different people can call upon the deposited essence, qi, and spirit.

According to the Matthew Effect, twenty percent of people occupy at least eighty percent of societal resources.

Thus, the strong remain strong, and the weak stay weak.

Once the upper echelon of the martial arts world starts exploiting others, martial artists at the bottom will experience harsh exploitation, eventually losing the motivation to strive.

Because if your effort only results in an additional sports car for your boss, without bringing any benefits to yourself, is such effort still meaningful?

"No wonder that over the past decade, the martial arts world of the Northern Alliance has been increasingly declining, forcing even its most outstanding talents to perform on stage…"

Ye Qingzhou shook his head and sighed, yet soon he realized the martial arts ideology of the faith school was not without merit: "Exploiting others is not sustainable, but exploiting oneself?"

Ye Qingzhou immediately thought of his own creation, the "Twenty-Four God Existence Visualization Technique": "I have carved out divine thoughts within myself, condensing into twenty-four gods. I can fully sustain the Twenty-Four Gods with my own essence, qi, and spirit, infusing the excess energy beyond conversion limits into them for future use."

In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingzhou formulated a new approach for refining his cultivation techniques.