Chapter 1011: Leaving Without a Trace

Only at this moment did most of the spectators begin to realize what had just happened.

He won?

The Blue Gold Tree clan's clan leader had actually defeated the Fire Dragon clan leader, Fire Dragon King Tang Mohuang? And not only that, but he had even won despite Tang Mohuang using his clan's most powerful divine item?

It all seemed unbelievable, yet also strangely natural. After all, what Jin Miaolin relied on wasn't his own strength, but the Sword Saint Demon Emperor's sword might, borrowed through the statue.

But speaking of that, what was with the second strike? Didn't they say when they sold it that there was only one strike's worth of power?

Tang Mohuang had managed with difficulty to withstand the first one, but when faced with the second, he had no choice but to concede in order to save his life, and that was perfectly understandable. But that second sword strike seemed to have dissipated on its own afterward!

By the time Tang San returned to his lounge, the Blue Gold Tree elders were already celebrating in a wave of cheers. Jin Miaosen even rushed forward to hug him, only to be stopped mid-leap by Tang San's outstretched hand.

Only the watching Emperors truly understood what had happened. What Tang San did was actually very simple—he had injected a vast amount of life energy into the Sword Saint statue, which forcibly empowered the sword intent within. But the statue was somewhat connected to the Sword Saint Demon Emperor himself, and even he felt the nourishment of life energy. It was to the point that when the statue was triggered, part of the Emperor's power was fed back into the statue. This resulted in the formation of the second sword beam. Though in truth it was just aura without substance, it was definitely terrifying enough to scare someone.

And so, Fire Dragon King Tang Mohuang met his tragic fate.

To the audience, it looked like Jin Miaolin had done almost nothing, and yet, he'd somehow won again. And with this win, he had advanced into the top twenty. If another match later in the day resulted in both participants being injured or eliminated, and if Jin Miaolin won one more time, he might just enter the semifinals.

Everything seemed natural, yet at the same time rather absurd.

"Luck, it's all luck," Tang San said with a smile, calming the overexcited elders.

Though none of the Blue Gold Tree elders believed Tang San would get all that far in the tournament, the fact that he had already secured two consecutive victories in such a pinnacle-level competition was far beyond their expectations. More importantly, Tang San had only used one of the more affordable items they had purchased at the Super Auction. He had far more up his sleeve!

The consecutive wins inevitably led the elders to start entertaining greater ambitions.

Meanwhile, the dragon race's side entertained entirely different feelings. After all, this was the first dragon to be eliminated!

Xu An'yu sat in his lounge with narrowed eyes. Tang Mohuang's loss didn't particularly bother him; among the dragon contestants, Tang Mohuang was young, so he was on the weaker side and too hot-headed. Xu Anyu hadn't expected him to make it to the semifinals anyway. But losing to Jin Miaolin? That gave Xu Anyu an odd feeling. It was as if this Blue Gold Tree clan fellow was born to counter dragons. He had forced the dragon race to pay a steeper price during the auction, and now he had been the first to eliminate a dragon in the tournament. On the surface, he hadn't done much, but was that really the case?

While others focused on the shocking sword light produced by the Sword Saint Demon Emperor's statue, Xu Anyu had paid close attention to Tang San's expression at that moment. He remembered clearly: When Tang San activated the statue, he had worn a faint smile and looked perfectly composed. Aside from some initial fear, which Xu An'yu was sure had been faked, everything else had proceeded smoothly. Furthermore, when the sword beam clashed with Tang Mohuang's full-power defense empowered by the Everblaze Sunflower, the resulting shockwave was immense, yet Tang San remained completely unharmed.

One might say he had borrowed the statue's power, but controlling such a force with such finesse required a tremendously powerful spirit. This person was definitely not simple. His divine consciousness had to be extremely strong; only then could he wield the Sword Saint statue so effectively. Even if someone else owned the statue, they might not be able to use it to defeat Tang Mohuang.

He's no simpleton. There's a lot more to this Blue Gold Tree clan leader than it shows on the surface.

For the first time, Xu An'yu began to view Tang San as a threat in the Battle for the Throne.

***

Back in the lounge, Tang San sat down. The competition continued, and the next match had already begun. But he didn't watch it. He closed his eyes, appearing to rest, but in truth, he was mentally replaying the recent battle.

There was nothing new to reflect on in the actual fight against Tang Mohuang; everything had gone according to plan. What he was analyzing were the shifts in divine consciousness scanning him during that battle.

At the time, nearly all the Emperors had their attention on him and Tang Mohuang. When the Sword Saint Demon Emperor sensed the surge of life energy he provided, the divine consciousness scanning him had increased severalfold. The Soul Capturer Nymph Emperor had also been monitoring his changes closely.

The other Emperors' divine scans had intensified notably at the moment the statue unleashed its second sword beam.

All of this had been part of Tang San's plan. As for the weaker divine scans, they didn't matter. He wanted to leave the Emperors with the impression that he was a clever and somewhat capable person, one with noteworthy life energy abilities and nothing more. So from start to finish, he had truly only used the Blue Gold Tree clan's life-attribute bloodline imprint. But when it came to controlling the battlefield and activating the statue, the power of his divine consciousness couldn't be hidden. Anyone with sharp insight would now realize: his divine consciousness was on par with the very best of peak Great Demon Kings.

This couldn't be helped; completely hiding everything was impossible. As long as he didn't arouse true suspicion, it was fine.

"Let's go," Tang San said, opening his eyes and addressing the elders.

"Clan Leader, aren't you going to observe your potential opponents?" the Grand Elder asked.

Tang San replied helplessly, "Would observing them help me in any way? Besides, I don't even know who I'll face next. Better to return and rest."

Jin Miaosen grinned, "Did you use up that much energy? Still need to rest?"

Tang San glared, "Do you think activating that statue was as easy as it looked? I spent quite a bit of energy. Let's go."

With that, he led the way out, and the other elders quickly followed.

By now, the audience's attention had shifted back to the ongoing matches, and few noticed that the Blue Gold Tree clan had quietly departed.

Leaving the venue, they returned directly to the White Tiger Hotel, traveling by carriage and not stopping elsewhere. As per Tang San's request, they also held no celebration for today's victory.

Back in his room, Tang San locked the door, then sat cross-legged on the living room sofa. A gentle, twisting radiance spread from him—the power of the Spacetime Lighthouse. That soft light heightened his spiritual sensitivity, allowing him to detect any probing divine consciousness. Though he wasn't yet on the Emperors' level in terms of cultivation, his divine consciousness was on a vastly superior level quality-wise thanks to his divine seat. In this focused state, no scan could escape his notice.

After surreptitiously feeling things around for about fifteen minutes, Tang San's figure faded away within the warped radiance, vanishing without anyone being any the wiser.

The Spacetime Lighthouse greatly empowered both the Peacock Transformation and the Chrono Transformation, granting them capabilities on par with transcendent bloodlines. He was capable of quite the impressive feats thanks to that.

When he reappeared, Tang San was in a shadowy alleyway somewhere in the Ancestral Court's periphery. His appearance had changed drastically; he now looked like an ordinary human, and he was clad in a large cloak that concealed his figure entirely.