In the guest seats, Montano's face was extremely unpleasant.

Luo Jue's defeat was expected by him, but losing so quickly and so miserably was beyond his anticipation.

"Hehehe~"

Aurora let out a bell-like laugh, clearly delighted to see the heir of Rapids Castle losing face publicly. She even teased Montano: "Is this the two-handed swordsmanship of your Rapids Castle? It's really an eye-opener for me."

The Goman Empire and the Northern Alliance have loved and fought each other in Europe for nearly a hundred years. Eighty years ago, they even wagered their national fortunes, leading to a great war.

In the end, the Northern Alliance won a pyrrhic victory, while the Goman Empire was dismembered after its defeat, and the enmity between the two could be described as deep as the ocean.

Between Rapids Castle and the Winter Palace, these years in the Martial Arts World of Europe, they have been bright and dark in their struggles, looking down on each other for a long time.

On Europe's swordsman rankings, Montano ranks second, Aurora ranks third, and the two have always been in competition.

Seeing someone from Rapids Castle suffer, Aurora naturally gloated. Beneath her beautiful appearance, she is actually both cunning and sharp-tongued, always able to say things that drive people crazy.

"Hmph~"

Montano, having interacted with Aurora many times, was naturally aware of her unpleasant character, and thus retorted: "You have perfected the super-tier martial technique 'Frosty Heaven and Snowy Earth' of the Winter Palace and seamlessly integrated it into your swordsmanship. Do you dare to take the stage and compete with 'Absolute Sword'?"

"Haha~"

Aurora sneered disdainfully: "I indeed don't have the assurance of certain victory against Ye Qingzhou. Do you? Do you have the confidence to withstand that sword just now?"

Meanwhile, on the exclusive stands, Sikong Jingming and Qi Shengtian also wore astonished expressions.

"You should have seen through the mystery of that sword just now, right?"

Qi Shengtian's expression was grave, his eyes holding both the joy of witnessing the emergence of talents in the Martial Arts World of Dongji Kingdom and the feeling of desolation and loneliness from being left behind by the times.

Sikong Jingming nodded upon hearing this: "It's not just about speed, it releases powerful mental intent through the sword light, causing a confusion in the time sense of those around."

Both of them being strong at the Martial Saint Level, naturally understood that this meant Ye Qingzhou had already touched and utilized the power belonging to the Path of Time.

"Essentially, time is a perception. People sense the flow of time through observing the movement and changes of matter with their five senses. Anyone illuminated by Ye Qingzhou's sword light just now would misjudge the speed of time's flow. Only a Martial Saint could resist this mental infection by creating a domain formed by the power of mental imagery."

Sikong Jingming calmly stated his judgment, a testament to being Dongji Kingdom's contemporary 'Celestial Sword,' possessing unparalleled eyesight and judgment.

Even the secrets Montano and Aurora hadn't discovered yet were unraveled by him at this moment.

Qi Shengtian voiced his admiration: "It seems the Divine Sword Jade Scroll unearthed a few years ago in Lingyun Grotto Heaven contains Martial Arts recorded on it, which should be the long-lost 'Heart Sword' Secret Technique."

"According to the records of the Feather Kingdom's literature in Kunlun Grotto Heaven, Heart Sword is the exclusive Heart Method of the Divine Feather Sword Emperor. Over these millennia, even the Eight Great Phoenix Royal Families have been desperately searching for it, not expecting it to fall into his hands."

Sikong Jingming's emotions at this moment were even more complex than Qi Shengtian, as the Sikong Family was indeed one of the nobility from the Feather Kingdom, a branch of the Eight Great Phoenix Royal Families. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Don't be deceived by the fact that the Heart Sword Secret Technique is just a super-tier martial technique; actually, many supreme martial arts of the Feather Race need to base themselves on the Heart Sword Secret Technique to maximize their power, equivalent to a critically pre-required martial art.

If this was two years ago, Sikong Jingming might indeed get involved shamelessly to seize it.

But now Ye Qingzhou's status has hugely transformed, befriending national pillars like Gu Minghui and the Cyan Dragon Divine General, exhibiting extraordinary potential himself, and receiving firm official protection.

Moreover, at this moment, the Vermilion Bird Divine General is almost inseparable from Ye Qingzhou, so even if Sikong Jingming truly wanted to take action, it would be self-defeating.

But the inheritance of the Sword Emperor is right in front of him, and to give up just like this, Sikong Jingming was clearly reluctant.

Seeing his long-time friend so conflicted and melancholic, Qi Shengtian laughed and reminded him: "Don't you have a granddaughter? If both families could become one, it wouldn't be difficult to ask for the Cultivation Technique. After all, your Sikong Family is originally a descendant of the Sword Emperor's lineage, naturally justified to reclaim the ancestral martial arts inheritance."

"Am I someone who would sell my granddaughter for glory?"

Sikong Jingming quickly shook his head, as he only had Sikong Xingyan, this precious granddaughter, doting on her usually.

But thinking again, he realized Ye Qingzhou's swordsmanship talent even surpassed his own, with boundless future prospects, and being handsome and elegant also matching with his granddaughter.

"Tsk tsk... Don't say that... I'll consider it."

"You've actually considered it?"

Qi Shengtian, speechless: "Ye Qingzhou should be the one considering, shouldn't he? I've heard that he's close with the Linjiang Xu Clan's sisters, Xu Yunxi and Xu Yuebing both have extraordinary beauty, and Xingyan might not be able to compete."

"!!!"

Though Sikong Jingming was reluctant to admit, it seemed his granddaughter might really struggle to compete.

Now, it was Sikong Jingming's turn to be anxious.

........

Ye Qingzhou walked down from the stage.

Xu Yunxi greeted him with a smile: "Congratulations, opening with a victory and claiming the top spot."

"Did you get a clear view of that sword just now?"