Swords, magic, and martial arts

After quickly filling his stomach, Rhodes returned to his room to continue his research.

He wanted to try out his daytime idea and see what would happen if he circulated the fused energy along his meridians.

He separated a small portion of his magic power and internal energy and mixed them in the optimal ratio, then controlled the mixed energy to circulate along the path of the Divine Illumination Technique.

It seemed like nothing special. After circulating the energy for one cycle, Rhodes closed his eyes and carefully experienced it.

No, it seems that some of the magic power was consumed after circulating it for one cycle. It seems that some of the magic power has merged into the body and nourished the body together with the internal energy. In order to verify whether this was his illusion or the truth, Rhodes continued to circulate the Divine Illumination Technique until the next morning before stopping.

He felt it again, and it seemed to be true. Combining magic power and internal energy and circulating them along the Divine Illumination Technique could slightly strengthen the body, but the effect was not as good as he had imagined. It was not much different from pure internal energy. On the contrary, it was more mentally taxing because he had to control magic power and internal energy at the same time, which was several times more difficult. It was not worth it. The overall strengthening effect after one night was not as good as circulating internal energy alone.

Rod pondered what he should do in the next few days. There was still some time before their competition. Referring to the time it took to practice Iron Head Kung Fu, he felt that he should be able to master the Mighty Vajra Leg within these few days.

For the next few days, he did nothing but eat, cultivate, and sleep. He originally wanted to use the "Embrace the Yuan and Guard the One" technique to replace sleep, but he found that it would increase his mental and magical power. However, he did not want his magical power to continue to grow rapidly, so he could only choose to sleep to restore his mental energy.

Soon it was time for their match, and Rod was woken up early by Baron.

"What have you been busy with in your room these past few days? I haven't seen you much," Baron said while eating a fried egg.

"Nothing much. Have you practiced what's written on that animal hide I gave you last time?" Rod asked. A few days ago, he translated a manual of Iron Shirt martial arts for each of Baron's men.

"After looking at it, it seems we can only practice the first part. I've never heard of what they call internal energy, nor have I heard of meridians or acupoints," Baron said after thinking for a moment.

The Divine Illumination Technique is currently untranslatable by Luo De; the incomprehensible text on it is like a celestial script. If there's an opportunity, he can only share it with them later when he obtains a simpler internal skill.

Over the past few days, Rhodes has carefully studied all the martial arts manuals he had obtained and even mastered the Mighty Vajra Leg technique. The martial arts he learned through the manuals are somewhat different from those he learned directly from the system. Each martial art, even Iron Shirt and Taizu Long Fist, has an internal energy circulation path recorded in the manual. Circulating internal energy along the path can improve the martial arts from the inside out, whereas the Iron Shirt technique he had previously mastered could only be improved by taking hits.

"I couldn't continue practicing a few days ago. The combat technique you discovered seems to be incomplete," Miles said from the side. "It's missing the method for cultivating that internal energy. But it's still somewhat helpful. Last time I had a nightmare and fell off the bed, I didn't feel any pain."

"Why are you wearing makeup?" Rod asked Miles curiously, as he had almost not recognized him before.

"This is one of my plans. I've come up with a brilliant way to win today's game," Miles said mysteriously.

"What method?" Baron asked curiously.

"With so many participants, the spectators in the stands won't know who's on whom. Once the match starts, a few of us will pretend to fight, and the teams next to us will definitely go looking for other opponents. When there are only a few people left on the field, I'll pretend to be defeated and fall to the ground, then be moved off the field by the mage. You guys can save your energy and then deal with those who have already fought several battles. That way, we can easily win today's match," Miles whispered to Rhodes and the others.

"Aren't you afraid of being recognized? Isn't the point of participating in this competition to gain fame?" Hammer asked.

"That's why I put on makeup today. We'll play well in the next final. As long as we win the final, nobody will care about someone who's been knocked down in the previous matches. There are so many participants, nobody will remember them," Miles explained.

"Aren't you afraid of those mages monitoring the arena?" Messiah asked.

"There's no rule against it. We're doing it within the rules. Even if we get caught, it shouldn't matter. Maybe some lords will even admire my intelligence because of it," Miles said narcissistically.

"We can win the championship without these underhanded tricks," Baron said confidently. "Now that we've finished eating, let's hurry over."

After saying that, Baron walked out of the hotel.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

"Are you really not going to reconsider?" Miles followed and asked.

……

The team competitions of the tournament were held outside the city. In order to host the tournament, the former Duke of Orn specially built a large area outside the city with wood to serve as the venue for the tournament, and built stands around it for the audience to watch.

Seats in the stands for each match also cost money, with prices varying depending on the location. The cheapest seats were affordable even for ordinary people from poor families, resulting in every match being packed. Furthermore, due to public demand, the stands were expanded for each major sporting event.

A few days ago, Messiah invited Rhodes to watch the game together, but they were unable to buy tickets. Rhodes was able to stay in his hotel room for more than ten days without going downstairs.

Holding the wooden tags that the officials had given them when they registered a few days ago, Rod and his companions entered the rest hall prepared for the participants of the competition without any trouble.

"I need to use the restroom," Miles said.

"Don't be so nervous. Once the match starts, you can just lie on the ground." Baron patted his shoulder.

"You underestimate me. Do you think I'm that kind of person?" Miles said seriously.

"Alright, I thought you were a bard, and I was afraid you wouldn't know how to fight," Baron explained.

"How could a great poet like me, who has traveled to several countries, not know how to fight?" Miles said confidently.

"Not planning to throw the game anymore?" Rod asked Miles in a low voice.

"You can if you want," Miles replied softly.

"It's our turn to choose our weapons," Misell reminded them.

Rhodes nodded and followed.

There were many blunt swords available for them to choose from, with almost every style. Rhodes chose a hand-and-a-half sword that was about seventy centimeters long.

Baron and Hammer each chose a massive two-handed greatsword. Even if it was a blunt sword, if it hit someone, they would probably be smashed in the head and bleed profusely.

Messil chose a light, one-handed sword and a spindle-shaped shield.

As for Miles, he came over with two shields...

……