Only I Am A Reader

The number of participants left by the start of the sixth round just happened to be 7. A Mount Hua student would have voluntarily left again if possible, but their two main participants had already been eliminated.

"Kim Geochin will be exempted from this round."

Left with no other choice, one had to get a pass straight to the next round, and that person also just happened to be the protagonist.

'Their attempt at building up hype had to go his way.'

The Great Mount Hua Sect weren't hosts for nothing. Considering how quickly Geochin finished his matches, his participance in the quarterfinals could potentially dull things out. Instead, meeting in the match that would decide the final matchings was much more interesting! Luckily for him, he also 'coincidentally' just happened to need that rest…

"Cheng Gihu! Cheon Baekho!"

With only three matches to be held, it came as no surprise that Leo had to open up the round once more. A youth in green robes walked to his front, he was the same opponent that Cheon Yong would have faced in his place… The head student of the Qingcheng Sect!

Roar!

After getting used to how things worked atop Mount Hua, Leo directly started channeling his Internal Energy. Experience in sword battles wasn't something that he lacked anymore, so he wanted to quickly finish this in preparation for the vital next round.

Woooo!

The wind dancing with the falling plum blossom petals whistled, swirling around before rushing to support Cheng Gihu's sword, pine cones and green leaves spun alongside the wind, increasing the pressure he produced.

The Pine Wind Swordplay was another great sword style that allowed one to comprehend the true concept of the natural sword, but Leo's sword of cutting had already claimed the 'head' of two similar sword styles. Just like Cheon Yong's raging fire, their slaughter sword path directly nullified their opponents' natural advantage.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Although he wasn't at Geochin's level, Cheng Gihu's sword was as swift as the wind. Blocking always pushed him back, but redirecting the force was particularly effective against Leo's White Tiger.

Klang!

Unfortunately for him, that was as far as he could go. The White Tiger's Transfigurations was made precisely for such a battle, the balance that the Black Dragon maintained was meant to be broken by the White Tiger!

Klang! Klang! Klang! Klang…

Most importantly, the way Leo integrated a dozen other schools of martial arts into his own style only maximized such a benefit. With the correct sequence of exchanges, Leo's speed quickly reached Cheng Gihu's level!

Thud!

"Cheon Baekho wins!"

"Thank you for your guidance."

With his sword falling behind him, Cheng Gihu peacefully bowed before bending to pick up his sword. Unlike the rest of the opponents that Leo had met, his micro-expressions didn't even show a hint of regret, displeasure, or jealousy. He was truly okay with anything as long as he did his best…

'I guess it's impossible.'

Being locked in a battle of speed like this, Leo had tested how far he could go. In the end, he confirmed one fact that he was more or less sure of… He was still incapable of competing with the protagonist when it came to speed.

'Not that it's necessary…'

"Chen Mu…"

Returning to his seat, Leo calmly watched the battle ensuing between the students of two other great mountains. The head student of South Mount Heng Sect, whose rules were the opposite of the North Mount Heng Sect, was currently facing a student of the Mount Song Sect.

"Chen Mukang wins!"

After a great display of swordplay, the student of Mount Song won the battle by a close call. Already knowing the result, Leo didn't pay much attention as he extended his sight to take a look at the other fields. In any case, the winner wasn't his to face.

"Cheon Yeon! Peng Ryu-yeon!"

Barely a couple of hours had passed, but the final match of the round quickly commenced. As another great family that focused on the practice of sword play, the Habuk Family's status wasn't that much worse compared to the Noble Namgung Family. At the very least, their younger generation's genius managed to make it to the quarterfinals!

"Cheon Yeon wins!"

Unfortunately, that was also the end of his journey. Considering that the difference between the semi-finalists' strength wasn't that apparent anymore, Yeon successfully retained her unbreakable momentum.

Although rounds lasted shorter and shorter, the breaks were further extended to make up for the higher expenditure of stamina and Internal Energy. The sixth round ended a couple of hours after midnight, but the seventh round only proceeded at noon!

"Chen Mukang! Cheon Yeon!"

Breaking Leo's streak, Yeon took the lead in the semi-finals. Acceptance was the only thing that could be seen on Mount Song's student. After barely managing to win his last match by a hair, it seemed like he succumbed to fate…

"Cheon Yeon wins!"

…The semi-finals was a pretty good place to stop at.

One of the finalists was already decided and all that stopped the Sword Conference from reaching its finale was just one more match!

"Cheon Baekho! Kim Geochin!"

Leo slowly stepped over the stage's stairs before his eyes met his opponent's. To him, this wasn't just the last semi-final match… This was also the first battle between a protagonist and a reader!

Geochin who adopted his old surname of 'Kim' confronted Baekho who was part of Leo. Everything so far had been following the same script, albeit with some small deviation, but this battle was the start of the Mount Hua Sword Conference's greatest diversion!

Shiing…

Slowly unsheathing White Tiger, Leo's eyes drifted to Geochin's iron sword. If their swords were to make contact, he would win as fast as the protagonist usually did. Unfortunately, this was far from being a battle of quality.

'Let's see…'

Swordsmanship, Internal Energy, or Physique, all of these attributes didn't matter in this specific battle. There was only one thing that truly held any meaning, this was…

'Who has it better?'

…A battle of cheats.