Using Wood as a Sword

Chapter 338 The Admiration of the Cherry Blossom Courtiers! Watching Others Perform

"Is this the legendary... hero who can save the world?"

"No wonder Patriarch Tanaka praised him so highly... his strength is truly terrifying..."

"The most outrageous thing is that his strongest normal state has no side effects!"

"And judging by the speed of his energy dissipation, he can maintain this terrifying state for a very, very long time."

"Of course! This is a normal state, not like the secret technique he used when he unleashed the Sea-Breaking Demon Whale..."

"Initially, I thought Patriarch Tanaka's enthusiastic recommendation meant Lin Ran would be a wise and far-sighted leader... I never expected his individual combat power to be so formidable!"

"I declare that Lin Ran has conquered our families! No matter what, we must recruit him to our team!"

"..."

Judging from the shocked expressions of the patriarchs and nobles, they were truly greatly shaken.

Their gazes towards Lin Ran, who was walking back to the arena, began to become conflicted and complex.

Hidden Room.

"Is this Lin Ran, whose heroic aura can crush everyone... truly terrifying..."

"Although I hate to admit it, he has indeed surpassed me by far..."

Kanna Guji gasped, and tremblingly sat back in her chair.

Earlier, when she saw Lin Ran continuously forging divine artifacts to elevate his aura to its peak, she had involuntarily stood up in excitement and cheered for him.

Anyone watching would have thought Lin Ran had already agreed to join.

Only after her intellect regained control did she silently calm down.

The bodyguards beside her also felt quite displeased.

After all, their master had never praised outsiders so highly. Now, bestowing such praise upon a stranger was no different from slapping them in the face.

"Your Majesty, you needn't belittle yourself..."

"You are definitely no worse than anyone else!"

To prove their loyalty, the bodyguards spoke with utmost conviction.

However, Kanna Guji did not appreciate their good intentions and sighed again:

"Tell... tell Patriarch Tanaka..."

"Say... say that regarding his plan... I... I fully agree..."

"As for anything else... don't say anything else..."

After saying this, Kanna Guji slumped onto the chair as if all her strength had been drained.

The bodyguards exchanged glances. Though their eyes were filled with helplessness, they could only dejectedly accept the situation.

However, all this commotion from outside had no effect on Lin Ran.

Grinning smugly, he returned to Luo Qingyan's side and promptly began boasting about his various maneuvers.

Luo Qingyan desperately wanted to interrupt Lin Ran's meaningless and long-winded bragging, but seeing Lin Ran's childish excitement, she could only sigh in her heart and mumbled responses.

Next, the two watched the performances of the subsequent contestants on stage.

He started as strong as ever, and facing his old acquaintance, Catherine, he showed no intention of holding back, defeating her with his Judgment Holy Light as usual.

Catherine felt helpless, but after drawing Caesar, she had largely resigned herself to her fate and accepted her defeat with relative equanimity.

Arthur, on the other hand, faced Sandu, the Corrosive Current from the Oceanic Federation. Wielding his knight's sword, he defeated Sandu with standard knightly swordsmanship, meticulously and steadily.

His precision was such that he didn't even unleash any impressive skills.

The only thing discernible was that Arthur was indeed a Holy Light user, and his Holy Light techniques were quite well-executed. Whether he had any hidden abilities, it was truly impossible to tell.

However, Lin Ran keenly noticed a subtle clue.

For instance, the sword he wore at his waist was highly questionable.

This sword, at first glance, appeared remarkably plain, lacking any magical enhancement devices or decorations.

Yet, Lin Ran could not overlook it.

From the moment he first saw Arthur, this sword had been constantly at his side, never removed.

However, Arthur had never drawn it to use.

The only time there was a hint of its use was when facing the dire situation with the Sea-Breaking Demon Whale; he had placed his hand on it, seemingly preparing for a desperate gamble.

It seemed this sword was definitely a powerful weapon...

As for why Arthur didn't store such an important sword properly in a storage container, Lin Ran suspected it was probably the same reason as Su Chen's Sky-Swallowing Sword back then – it couldn't be stored.

Lin Ran also observed the Shimada brothers clearly.

Their Dragon power, under the scrutiny of Lin Ran's Eternal Kaleidoscope, had its power system fully exposed.

Hanzō and Gen both bore mysterious tattoo-like decorations.

These tattoo-like markings provided both of them with an additional source of magic and life force...

In other words, the Shimada brothers fought with backup hidden energy.

When others faced them, it was like facing an unknown number of opponents simultaneously.

The tattoo-like Dragon decorations could continuously supply the Shimada brothers and provide other supplementary benefits, almost like a special cheat.

Many times, Lin Ran felt it was somewhat akin to cheating...

But since these decorations were affixed to the Shimada brothers' bodies and were inseparable, it could be considered part of themselves.

Although Lin Ran, through the scrutiny of the Eternal Kaleidoscope, could clearly discern that this power was entirely different from their inherent magic and life force...

Furthermore, another individual caught Lin Ran's attention: Anfia, the Ancient Roar from the Polar Bear Nation.

This young girl, not particularly tall and with a remarkably ample chest, was not as sweet and amiable as her appearance suggested; rather, she was an extremely fierce entity.

Especially when paired with her near-perfect talent – the Thunderous Savage Bear – and her monstrous physical strength.

Doru, the Deadly Golden Boot from the Panama Federation, was considered one of the peak fighters in the grappling category, but he was still ruthlessly suppressed by Anfia's aggressive offense.

Being outmatched in his strongest domain, Doru's performance was quite dismal, almost a one-sided slaughter.

One moment he was numb from the surging lightning, the next he was being beaten down by pure physical strength.

However, Lin Ran could somewhat understand his situation...

After all, Doru's only expertise was close-quarters combat, and if he couldn't even compete in that, then his defeat was inevitable.