The banquet grounds fell silent, all eyes watching more intently than during any previous Sword Chess match.
Shao Xiuyuan sensed the atmosphere.
He stared straight at the youth before him, whose lowered sword pointed at the ground, every bundle of muscle in his body taut.
He still had many trump cards.
It was not true that he stood no chance against someone in the top twenty. He still harbored many plans and contingencies, enough to carry him through the entire Sword Banquet.
He had remained composed throughout the earlier Sword Chess matches; in truth, what he had prepared for with all his strength was a fight against someone in the Teal List's top twenty.
That was also why he had volunteered to let His Highness the Crown Prince choose his opponent.
"Clear Lake Record" was merely the first sword art he had intended to reveal today. He had learned Half Moon over the Calm Lake four years ago.
He still had the ancestral sword art "Lone Crossing of the Four Seasons" unrevealed, and the set of Intent Sword techniques "Sunken Jade Reverie" concealed within him.
His goal was simple too: even if he could not win, he could at least gain the upper hand for a few moves, then lose with grace.
What did victory or defeat at the Sword Banquet matter? This was not the actual Feather-Scale Trial.
What mattered was whom those eyes remembered.
So now, facing this youth, his intention remained the same.
First "Lone Crossing of the Four Seasons," then a direct transition into "Sunken Jade Reverie," leaving absolutely no opening between them for his swordwork to be broken. Shao Xiuyuan scrutinized himself with absolute rigor, stripping away any move that carried even a trace of wishful thinking.
Staking four years of lying low and accumulating