"What's wrong, Lanxiu?"

Hert looked puzzled, thinking Lanxiu was not feeling well: "Your face looks terrible, did you not rest well on the way? Or did something go wrong during your practice?"

Lanxiu reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead and asked, "Didn't you see?"

"See what?"

"At the ten o'clock direction to the left of where I was standing just now, there were three people standing there."

"Is this some kind of new supernatural joke?"

"I'm serious."

Seeing that Lanxiu wasn't joking around, Hert put away his cheerful boyish smile and shook his head seriously: "You're too tense, Lanxiu, there wasn't anyone there just now."

"..."

Lanxiu didn't speak further upon hearing this; he simply walked with a somber expression to catch up with the crowd.

The tone of mockery from the Chuyun people faintly drifted from within the crowd: "The match is about to start, acting all injured and sick. Is he preparing an excuse for losing later, to give himself an out?"

"He was acting so strong just now, now, hehe..."

"..."

Lanxiu's aura turned even colder, yet he didn't respond with words.

Instead, he glanced at those who spoke, finally fixing his gaze on the Sect Leader of the New Dang Stream, Takahara Chosin.

It was definitely not an illusion just now; he had only felt such a familiar and intense pressure from the captain of the Holy Knight Order before. That meant the young man he locked eyes with a few seconds ago was a genuine Martial Saint!

And also a Sword Saint!

The kind of sword intent where all things are void and everything returns to emptiness was unprecedented and unheard of!

Unexpectedly, the New Dang Stream still had such a master hidden away!

Lanxiu gripped his sword hilt tightly again, secretly wary: 'Indeed, the Land of Chuyun has some depth; I shouldn't underestimate this country full of savage and fierce nature, which actually hides such a powerful secret card.'

If he hadn't recently awakened the ancestral bloodline of the Hundred-Eyed Giant, granting his eyes the divine technique of 'seeing through illusions, revealing reality,' he might also have been blind to the existence of the three, like Hert and others.

Due to some misunderstanding, Lanxiu's mind was already wildly imagining at this moment; when his gaze swept over Takahara Chosin's back, seeing his side profile smiling as he talked with others, the more he looked, the more he felt that behind that broad smile seemed to be a hint of hidden cunning, like a hypocritical old fox.

If Takahara Chosin knew Lanxiu's thoughts, he'd probably cry out in frustration in the bathroom.

Since his most optimistic son, Takahara Iwao, inexplicably died in battle at the Kunlun Grotto Heaven of the East Pole, the Takahara Family, which inherited the Sword Saint legacy, began to decline somewhat. In order to safeguard the remaining family interests, he had to resort to smiling and making connections everywhere. How did he become seen as shrewd and calculating?

Clearly, it's because I lack the ability to fight fiercely anymore, so I've been striving hard to understand social etiquette, alright!

......

Inside the super-large venue that could accommodate a hundred thousand people, it soon became packed; competitors and spectators from around the world were full of anticipation for the upcoming tournament. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Among them, the earliest entering contestants from Europe, the Western Pole Kingdom, and the local Chuyun participants were already sitting calmly in the contest seats awaiting the imminent battle.

Especially the top ten martial artists in world rankings; these individuals with the title of "Half-Saint," their strength far surpasses an ordinary Silver Grandmaster, being the closest human to Martial Saint Strong Persons, standing at the peak of the Blue Star Martial Arts World.

With just one more step, they would truly ascend into the clouds, becoming extraordinary to saints.

Lanxiu pressed his sword with his hand and started to regulate his breath, bringing both his body and spirit to the best condition.

"Relax a bit, Lanxiu, you're too tense."

Hert possessed the typical ease of Western Europeans; naturally, this was also due to his confidence in his own strength, having found his own path in the Martial Dao.

With the backing of Mount Zhongshen, becoming a Martial Saint was merely a matter of time.

In Hert's eyes, the World Martial Arts Tournament was a place for mutual validation of one's path and will among various martial arts prodigies; the outcome is not important, rather, it is what kinds of insights one gains from it.

"I wonder how much Lingg Canghe has progressed over the past year; last time I lost by one move, this time I won't be defeated again."

Seeing Hert's confident stance, Lanxiu couldn't help but retort: "Was that losing by one move? Lingg Canghe only made the first move, and you couldn't handle it."

"I was careless for a moment!"

Hert was very unconvinced.

Of course, he was just being stubborn; after all, the opponent was Lingg Canghe, ranked number one among the strongest Grandmasters worldwide for ten consecutive years.

This martial artist originating from the Divine Strategy Army of the East Pole has dominated the ranks for ten consecutive sessions, and even in the last two years, there have been constant rumors claiming that Lingg Canghe could ascend to the Martial Saint Realm anytime he wishes, becoming extraordinary to saint.

Just as the two were chatting, the entire arena began to echo with thunderous cheering.

The spectators saw the invited guests beginning to take their seats.

Leading the entry were the Chuyun Three Saints, sitting unchallenged in the central position as hosts, followed by esteemed guests from the Western Pole Kingdom, the Divine Eagle Michael.

And seemingly as if tagging along behind Michael was the Baekje Arrow Saint Li Zaijun.

Michael stood at a towering height of two meters and two, his form upright, wearing a blue star-patterned jacket, with a long red cape billowing in the wind behind him, walking with confidence and radiating an impressive aura.