"This is the sect leader of Aikido, Miyamoto East Stream, this is the elder of New Yin Stream, Yagyu Maruji, and this is the school head of Body House Stream, Marumo Shigeo..."

"And finally, the sect leader of Matsutake Hall Stream, Ooyama Tetsuya."

"Hmph."

Ooyama Tetsuya snorted coldly to show his attitude.

The elders of the other martial arts schools also had varied expressions.

Some were lukewarm, some clearly resistant, while some showed a smile expressing goodwill.

All of this was seen clearly by Lanxiu and Hert, it seemed the process of Dongji Kingdom transitioning from the East to the West over these years hadn't been smooth, leading to dissatisfaction within the country.

In simple terms, the Chuyun Country that had been subdued in the past was now feeling rebellious again.

But this suited them just fine, if everyone were docile, how could they find an excuse to challenge the heads of various schools and accumulate achievements?

Lanxiu, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke. He coolly glanced at the group several meters away and said, "It turns out you are the sect leaders and elders of Kyoto martial arts schools. At first glance, I thought you were some frail old men. The Chuyun Martial Arts World is truly declining with each generation weaker than the last."

Lanxiu's words were quite calm, lacking any sarcasm or emotional fluctuation.

Yet this calm tone made his words feel all the more piercing, as if he were stating a fact.

Indeed, among this group, half were already gray-haired old men, with the others not young either. Among those under thirty, there were hardly any Masters, let alone Grandmasters.

But even so, the foundation of Chuyun Country remains, beneath the Three Saints, each of the nine major schools has Grandmasters overseeing them, calling them frail old men is simply too excessive.

Chuyun only appears weak like a chicken in the eyes of the five powerful nations, but to other small countries on Blue Star, it still ranks as an inconceivably strong nation.

"You!"

Ooyama Tetsuya was the first to react, known for his fiery temper, and was now even more enraged by the ridicule, "Calling us frail old men? No matter what stupid European Three Stars title you have, you don't have the right to insult Chuyun's martial arts world like this!"

"Instead, you, at such a young age with a sharp tongue, haven't your master taught you to be more virtuous when out in the world?"

Other infuriated local Chuyun martial arts elders were also indignantly speaking out, "Even if you're part of the Holy Knight Order, young man, don't be so arrogant!"

The Chuyun Country was originally very dissatisfied with this group of "old-world aristocrats" from Europe, wanting to shed the identity of a defeated nation, especially those who lived through the world war of the past, harboring deep-seated grudges.

At this moment, with a bit of provocation, anger surged, and tempers flared.

An elder behind Lanxiu was about to step forward, but Lanxiu quickly responded, "Sorry, not long ago, I participated in several exchange matches in Dongji Kingdom. The martial artists there have an aura of vitality just from their presence, completely different from the stagnation of the Chuyun Martial Arts World. I momentarily felt inspired, my apologies."

Though he said he was apologizing, the expression on his face showed no change, and the words were so aggravating that people's eyelids twitched. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

So insidious!

So damn insidious!

Ye Qingzhou, accompanied by Huang Liwen and Zhu Jinfeng, watched the commotion on the side, enjoying the spectacle.

Is there anything more delightful than watching enemies biting at each other?

"Don't think you can speak recklessly just because you come from a prestigious background, you're far from qualified!"

"Dongji Kingdom? Three years ago, our Kyoto Martial Arts World also went to Modu for exchanges and sparring, with both sides being neither victorious nor defeated. Where are these subjective assumptions and nonsense you're spouting coming from?"

Immediately, several elders from Kyoto's martial arts schools spoke in rebuttal, their expressions showing indignation, refusing to let themselves be demeaned in such a way.

Especially by saying they were inferior to Dongji Kingdom's martial arts world, which got on their last nerve, making them instantly bristle and furious.

Lanxiu's expression was unchanged, he briefly exchanged glances with Takahara Chosin beside him, and then spoke again, "Since you all think you're not weak, then I'll boldly challenge several of you, how about making it the grand finale of the opening ceremony?"

A sharp aura soared into the clouds, filling the heavens, like a world-class sword unsheathed, its edge aimed directly at Ooyama Tetsuya, Marumo Shigeo, and others.

Qi Vibration, the sword sweeps across all heroes!

Feeling the domineering and decisive sword intent of Lanxiu sweeping through all, the Chuyun Martial Arts World elders, who were just now indignant, abruptly fell silent.

Lanxiu, with his sharp perception, naturally detected their hidden cowardice, a cold smile forming at the corner of his mouth, "Why isn't anyone speaking up, could it be you're afraid?"

"Afraid of what!"

Ooyama Tetsuya responded firmly, but his gaze turned to Takahara Chosin, who stood silently beside him.

Even though he's known to be impulsive, he's not foolish.

What Lanxiu employed was the simplest form of provocation, and challenging everyone most likely tied into recent plans by Europe, making this situation feel possibly orchestrated.

In the martial arts world, the elderly martial artists usually feel embarrassed to strike against the younger generation.

Yet they could let young martial artist prodigies take the initiative to challenge various schools' sect leaders and elders.

With such a match, losing is quite normal, winning could damage the school's reputation.

Moreover, the older the martial arts schools, the harder it is to reject such public challenges, as their reputation would suffer some negative impact.

Hence, since Lanxiu and Hert have come, there's certainly an intent to challenge the Kyoto martial arts schools.

Even if they don't accept the challenge today, sooner or later they'll be forced to fight.

Ooyama Tetsuya is fairly confident in his own strength; over fifty years old, his physical strength has yet to decline, and his experience is quite rich, considered still in peak condition, confident he wouldn't lose to Strong God Hert, his fellow Silver Grandmaster.

As long as neither side intends to fight to the death, the worst outcome would be a draw without losing the match.

As a result, they moved toward the central arena.

A significant group, over a dozen people, moving with considerable noise.

However, as they passed Ye Qingzhou and the others, the one known as 'Star Swordsman' Lanxiu suddenly froze, with all the hair on his body standing on end.

He instinctively grabbed the sword hilt with his right hand and sharply turned his head, his piercing gaze meeting Ye Qingzhou's.

In that moment, the surroundings fell eerily silent.

Lanxiu felt a spinning sensation, as if his senses were continuing to decline, the once clear world becoming blurred, with everything fading, except for those eyes reflecting the galaxy, still bright and sparkling.

At that moment, Lanxiu felt like he was drowning, his pupils dilating, breathing difficult, and heartbeat intensifying.

He seemed to be experiencing a hallucination, a dazzling world being twisted and swallowed by an invisible black hole, with even light unable to escape.

"Hey, Lanxiu, what's wrong?"

Suddenly, Hert's voice came from the front.

As if a wake-up call, it pulled Lanxiu back to reality.

He took a sudden breath of air, quickly closed his eyes and shook his head, that suffocating feeling and pressure gradually dissipating. The cold sweat on his back skin clung tightly, bringing an unpleasant chill.

Lanxiu turned again toward where Ye Qingzhou had stood, finding no one there, as if what had happened was just a figment of his imagination.

Only now did he relax, his hand slowly releasing the sword hilt, though the white bandage on his hand was already soaked with sweat.

Lanxiu looked around and realized he was trailing behind the group, while several meters ahead, the group's eyes were focused on him.