Finally, after Director Mu Yunsang's lengthy speech, the eleven sword teams from the five courts made their appearances one by one. Unsurprisingly, the most highly anticipated team was the Central Court's sword team led by Li Yunting.
Li Yunting's strength needed no introduction. Moreover, his team now included a peerless genius, Mu Liufeng!
Mu Liufeng's reputation was well-deserved, having achieved a hundred consecutive victories on the Hundred Battles Ranking. While he suffered an unfortunate loss during the battle against the envoy delegation from the Tianyang Empire, it wasn't due to a lack of strength but because he fell into their trap.
After that battle, Mu Liufeng underwent rigorous secret training, even giving up the opportunity to enter the Battlefield of the Gods and Demons. His strength had improved significantly compared to a month ago.
Meanwhile, Ling Feng was another rising star in this Five Courts' Sword Team Grand Competition. His victory over the Tianyang Empire's Eleventh Prince during the Imperial City's training ground event left a lasting impression.
However, the contest between sword teams often depended on the collective strength of the team, especially in clashes between the stronger squads.
The Central Court's sword team was undoubtedly formidable.
Regardless, the status of the East Court's sword team had improved drastically this year. In the past, the East Court's team was barely on par with the secondary teams of the other courts. While Gu Tengfeng, their captain, was no less capable than the captains of the South, North, or West Courts' teams, the overall strength of his teammates left much to be desired.
This time, however, the East Court's team had a monstrous talent like Ling Feng and the "Little Sword God" Li Bufan. During their skirmishes with the Tianyang Empire's geniuses, Li Bufan had demonstrated remarkable prowess.
Ultimately, though, the outcome would depend on each sword wielder's performance during the competition.
Before long, all eleven teams took their places on the arena stage. Even before the competition officially began, tension was palpable as rivalries flared.
"Hmph, Gu Tengfeng, pray that your East Court's team doesn't meet our West Court's sword team too soon!"
Xuanyuan Ao, captain of the West Court's team, cracked his knuckles with a sound like popping beans, sneering as he glared at Ling Feng and Gu Tengfeng. He had always been a rival to Gu Tengfeng and harbored grudges against Ling Feng due to prior conflicts involving Liu Shengjie, a member of the West Court's team.
This competition was the perfect opportunity to trample Gu Tengfeng's team into the ground and restore his honor.
Unfortunately for Xuanyuan Ao, reality might prove harsher than his aspirations.
"You should be the one praying that your West Court's team doesn't face our East Court's team too soon," Gu Tengfeng responded coldly. In the past, he might have considered the West Court a formidable rival, but now...
The two teams were no longer on the same level!
As the teams prepared for battle, they sized each other up with subtle hostility. Yue Yunlan, however, gestured gently at Ling Feng, her voice soft and encouraging, "Good luck, Mr. Ling!"
Ling Feng was slightly taken aback but nodded. "Mm-hmm. See you in the finals!"
His confident statement immediately drew scoffs from the crowd.
"Hah! What arrogance! Who does he think he is to assume he'll make it to the finals?"
"Exactly! Even if his personal strength is decent, he's far too naive to underestimate the importance of teamwork in a sword team!"
Ling Feng ignored the sneering remarks. In his mind, there was only one goal—first place!
When the opening ceremony concluded, Ling Feng and his companions quickly left for General Weiyuan's Mansion, where a banquet was being prepared.
Despite the short notice, General Deng and the elder members of the Alchemist Guild were expected to attend. Furthermore, with the presence of the "human emperor Yan Cangtian," anyone scheming against Ling Feng would have to think twice about their own standing.
By the time Ling Feng and his group arrived, the mansion was bustling with decorations and preparations. Even though the message had only been sent that morning via Su Hongxiu, the enshrined protectors of the mansion dared not delay after witnessing Ling Feng's capabilities.
In just half a day, the banquet was well-organized. Invitations had also been dispatched to prominent families across the empire. The enshrined protectors, being Spiritual Element Realm experts who had once served the court, still commanded some influence.
"Brother Feng, this mansion is impressive!" Ye Nanfeng exclaimed, giving Ling Feng a thumbs-up and laughing heartily. "By tomorrow, everyone in the imperial capital will know of General Ling's name!"
"Haha, a banquet means good food!" Jiang Xiaofan rubbed his belly, grinning widely.
"Hehehe..." Wang Yishan, a notorious freeloader, naturally tagged along.
As captain, Gu Tengfeng maintained a composed demeanor, nodding slightly. "Ling Feng, my family still holds some standing in the imperial capital. I'll have them prepare some gifts to send over."
"Thank you, Captain!" Ling Feng cupped his fists in gratitude. The gifts themselves were secondary; the Gu family's gesture mattered most. As Ling Feng knew, the Gu family was a military household. While not as prominent as General Deng's lineage, they remained a force to be reckoned with in the imperial capital.
"I'll ask my family's patriarch to join the fun too!" Ye Nanfeng grinned and cheerfully headed home.
Similarly, Xue Xiaolin, Yu Sixian, and Lin Mochen returned to their families to prepare gifts, their sentiments outweighing the value of the presents.
Even Li Bufan, without saying much, nodded to Ling Feng and returned to the Grand Commandant's residence. As one of the Three Lords, Grand Commandant Li's presence would rival half the imperial capital's noble families combined.
"Brother Ling, it's a pity my Liu family in Jiangdu is too far from the capital; otherwise, we'd also send a grand gift!" Liu Yunfei said apologetically.
"Your thoughts are appreciated, Brother Liu," Ling Feng replied with a faint smile, realizing that most of his companions in the academy were influential figures in their own right.
Meanwhile, Lin Xian'er and Qin Wanwan offered to help Su Hongxiu in the kitchen, nearly giving Ling Feng and his friends a heart attack. If those two decided to experiment, the banquet might be mistaken for an assassination attempt!
After much persuasion, Ling Feng managed to divert their attention by offering to teach them a set of Flying-Immortal Sword-Controlling Art techniques, much to their delight.
Since he was teaching anyway, Ling Feng invited Ouyang Jing, Liu Yunfei, and others to join. They were all academy mates; offering them an opportunity for growth seemed only fitting.
Whether they could grasp it, however, depended on their own fortunes.