The coordinators of the Prodigy Summit acted like nothing unusual had happened, encouraging for the tournament to continue as planned and forcing the audience to forget about the incident, and very quickly, the attention and anticipation of the spectators soon shifted to the participants.

On the spectator's stand, some powerful figures were secretly analysing the incident earlier, but they were each thinking about different things.

The corners of Claude Rayforth's mouth curled up in amusement. He had imagined that the Prodigy Summit was going to be just a normal tournament. But this was unexpected. Although Claude had the memories of the previous owner of his body, he definitely didn't have any grasp on the political side of the martial world.

He turned to look at his senior, Wilfred Beldon, with an expression that seemed to be demanding answers about the incident that just occurred.

But unfortunately for Claude, Senior Beldon simply smiled at him and didn't reply, and instead lifted his hand and pointed at the platform. "The tournament is going to be starting soon Claude. You have more important stuff to worry about!"

Claude was surprised at first, and a light flickered in his eyes. Glancing in the direction of the Royal Family Minister and then back to his senior, he nodded his head after a few seconds.

"I understand. I will do my best," Claude replied. He realised that this might not be a suitable location for such a discussion, and decided to ignore the issue for now.

"Do your best, don't disappoint us." Senior Beldon laughed.

"Is it finally beginning soon?" Countless gazes were fixated on the towering platforms. A lady who appeared to be in her late twenties, possessing beauty and emanating the sense of a mature woman, entered the arena and raised up an envelope, and the eyes of the spectators followed the beautiful engravings on it, enchanted by its beauty.

She slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a card from the inside. "Sirius Scott of Trinity Academy versus Claude Rayforth of Golden Avarice Academy!" And as the sound of her voice faded, and the crowd yelled out in excitement. The tournament had officially begun!

"Wow, the first match! Are you sure you're not nervous?" Senior Beldon laughed as he looked at Claude. "There really isn't any difference. First or last, I've been ready to fight since the moment I was born into this world," Claude shrugged his shoulders and the corners of his lips curled up into an icy smile as he walked towards the platform.

"So you're going to be my prey today?" A rugged looking youth, Sirius Scott, jumped out onto the platform as soon as Claude stepped in, his eyes scanning interestingly at him. Claude locked eyes with his opponent, but didn't utter a single word, and darkness appeared on his face.

It was natural for the disciples of the Trinity Academy to feel superior to the students of Golden Avarice Academy. After all, they have been the winners of the Prodigy Summit for over thirty years, with the Golden Avarice Academy placing second place every single time. With this knowledge in his mind, the youth was trying to anger his opponent by calling him 'prey'. However, contrary to his expectations, Claude didn't seem fazed by his comments at all!

'No matter… I'll still win in the end,' Sirius thought to himself, and the aura around his body began to spread out.

The young man in front of him was only at the Eight rank of the Earth Realm, where as he was already at the First rank of the Sky Realm. In his mind, he had already declared himself the winner!

Whoosh!

A sword that was condensed from spiritual energy appeared in his hand, and a raging wind shook the platform they were on.

'It's started,' Claude didn't feel nervous at all and looked deeply at Sirius, whose sword intent rose to the peak.

"Take this!" Under the attention of everyone, Sirius' body erupted into motion. His eyes were like lightning as his sword pierced through the air leaving a long and bright streak behind, lashing forward in Claude's direction.

Claude didn't move. He simply stood there, his expression as calm as it was before. As he stared at the fast approaching Sirius, his mind began analysing the youth's movements, studying his techniques.

Claude scanned his opponent's eyes, and the direction in which he was staring.

'My right shoulder,' Claude thought to himself. But he had to be sure.

'The angle at which he swung his sword..' His eyes then darted towards the spiritual sword that Sirius was holding. Although that sword strike looked extremely powerful, it seemed it wasn't very versatile in motion. The path of the sword strike needed to be predetermined simply because of how powerful the attack was, and so, Claude was able to study its direction and came to the conclusion that Sirius was indeed aiming for his right shoulder, which was what he had predicted.

'Now then, let's finish this nice and easy..' At this moment, a stunning energy pervaded the air, and for a single second, Sirius felt as though he was being suffocated.

Floating Footsteps technique!

Claude's body erupted into motion evading the sword strike by jerking left, deciding to meet him halfway. In that moment, his body instantly appeared in front of Sirius, and his expression changed.

Invisible Sword Technique!

Buzz! In the next instant, boundless sword lights gathered together in Claude's palm, manifesting into a silver sword and causing Sirius' movement to slow down as a result.

Peng!

A great sound rang out as Claude's attack landed on Sirius' chest, pushing him backwards. Fortunately for Sirius, he had been learning body strengthening techniques, which he utilised to reduce the impact of Claude's attack.

However, Claude was already expecting some form of resistance from his opponent.

Astral Wing Blade!

Claude attacked once again without giving his opponent time to think, and countless light gleams immediately rose up and flew towards Sirius, colliding with his body.

Tong! Tong…!

Taking these blows, Sirius felt his body turn numb, but he was rooted to the spot due to the shock and surprise he felt.

Claude exploded forward at him, his whole body moving as he utilised the Floating Footsteps technique once again and closed in on Sirius. He tried flinching away, but Claude caught him on the ear, pulled him down and rammed his knee right in his chest. Sirius cried out miserably as he staggered backwards, and fresh blood flowed and dripped onto the stage.

Star Fury Palm Strike!

Without wasting any time, Claude then used the bounce to jam forward once more, brandishing his palms. In an instant, it was as though a beam of bright light flashed past Sirius, and he went down like a dropped marionette.