"It's over, Old Petra..."
Lin Ran stretched leisurely, glancing at Petra, who had completely lost his ability to act independently.
Petra weakly moved his head, unsure how to answer Lin Ran.
After all, his injuries were severe, and he couldn't speak much.
"It's okay, losing to me is no shame!"
Lin Ran, still grinning, slung the Hundred Kill Arrow on his back, then raised his hand to retract the arrows formed by the Spear of Destiny, and let Petra down.
*Plop!*
Falling from the sky, Petra grimaced from the impact. By the time he came to his senses, Lin Ran was already standing before him.
Life Drain!
Lin Ran extended his hand, unleashing a life-element skill that came with his awakened Natural Spirit Body.
However, the target of this Life Drain was not Petra.
Or rather, Petra was not the one whose life force was being drained.
Because Lin Ran was releasing a reverse Life Drain, extracting vitality from himself and infusing it into Petra.
This simple method wouldn't normally warrant using a skill...
But without this skill, Lin Ran would have to make physical contact to heal Petra.
Lin Ran certainly wasn't willing to do that with such an arrogant old man.
If there was going to be any contact, Lin Ran would only accept it with a beautiful maiden!
Under Lin Ran's healing, Petra quickly regained his former vigor and stood up with shame, cupping his fists:
"Brother Lin's power and magnanimity deeply impress me!"
"I, Petra, accept my defeat wholeheartedly!"
Lin Ran rolled his eyes:
"Alright, alright, since you lost, don't waste any more time..."
"There are six more people on your team, hurry up and have them come up for another round of KOF."
"I don't want to take advantage of you giving me free time to recover."
Petra laughed heartily:
"Brother Lin, have you forgotten where we come from?"
Lin Ran blinked:
"Huh? Where do you come from?"
"Aren't you from Rooster Country?"
Petra nodded:
"I am quite familiar with our country..."
"Especially these team members I personally brought out, I know them like the back of my hand."
"Normally, even minor setbacks and difficulties would make them want to evade..."
"Let alone today's situation, where the captain surrendered immediately, and the opponent is full of momentum in such a disadvantageous position?"
Lin Ran still hadn't caught on:
"So..."
Petra didn't look back, he simply waved his hand behind him:
"Come up, I had already guessed you would do this anyway..."
Lin Ran followed his gaze to the rear and immediately saw a sight that made him want to laugh uncontrollably.
The remaining six members of Rooster Country were triumphantly waving white flags, playing music, and marching towards Lin Ran with great fervor:
"Please, sir, accept our surrender!"
Even though Lin Ran had seen his fair share of dramatic events, he almost burst into laughter at this scene.
Looking at their proud faces, utterly unashamed, one would think they were the victors, or a marching band celebrating victory!
After enduring and suppressing his laughter, Lin Ran coughed twice:
"Cough, cough, alright, alright, I accept your surrender... Let's head down first."
"There are so many people watching, it's not good to keep up this charade..."
Petra bowed elegantly:
"Brother Lin, I must correct you slightly..."
"The ceremony we are currently performing is not a prank or mere formality, but a highly ritualistic step."
"You must understand, Rooster Country has always possessed this sacred tradition..."
Lin Ran hastily waved his hand, not wanting to engage in any more mawkishness with these old men.
After confirming his victory with the referee, he immediately slipped off the stage.
The commotion on the stage ended, but the one off the stage was far from over.
Even after Lin Ran accepted the surrender of the entire Rooster Country team and the next two teams stepped onto the stage for their turn, they were still reeling from Lin Ran's earth-shattering arrow...
What kind of arrow was that... that instantly killed the seemingly impenetrable Petra...
Petra, with his defensive barrier, was already a headache for countless people, let alone Petra with countless layers of barriers stacked up...
And yet, such a seemingly despair-inducing Petra couldn't even withstand a single arrow from Lin Ran...
Watching Lin Ran gradually return to his normal self from the golden-green light, shedding the divine artifacts fused to him, the contestants wore complex expressions.
"This person will definitely be someone standing at the peak of Tier Ten in the future..."
"Indeed, the nickname 'Great Demon King' couldn't be more fitting for him... This despair of being dominated brings back memories of the Nightfall Era."
"Let alone the future, even now, this guy is an absolute monster... The fully powered him just now felt like he could easily deal with a weaker eighth-tier powerhouse."
"Be bolder, even a strong eighth-tier peak might not be enough!"
"Uh... I'm guessing Lin Ran could even go toe-to-toe with a ninth-tier expert..."
"No wonder he dared to come to Sakura Country to compete with just his girlfriend... He's practically here on vacation!"
"The championship we fight tooth and nail for might just be something he does on a whim!"
"His true objective is likely to appreciate the foreign scenery!"
"And don't forget, the words Lin Ran spoke before making his move..."
"'My strongest in normal state!'"
"Doesn't that mean he also possesses even stronger combat power in abnormal states?!"
"Definitely! Didn't you forget that secret technique that obliterated the Sea-Turning Demon Whale? Truly a one-man crushing of a Lord-class entity!"
"Lin Ran is... truly too monstrous... Why do I feel like I don't stand a chance against him now!?"
In the grand scheme of things, Lin Ran's performance had so overwhelmingly crushed the mindsets of countless contestants vying for the championship that they sat in their seats, sighing dejectedly, uttering words of self-abandonment.
Of course, among those present, there was an even more shocked group.
These were naturally the Sakura nobles and officials who had specifically come to witness Lin Ran.
They had thought that someone so exaggeratedly praised by Tanaka Ken'go would undoubtedly be powerful, but he was, after all, just a young awakened one.
Lin Ran's initial performance had already exceeded their expectations.
And that final arrow had directly struck their hearts... right in the bullseye!