Chapter 147: Reconciliation

When James Lanster was once again pressed to his knees by Li Mochen's longsword on his shoulder, the stands throughout the gymnasium fell silent for a full ten seconds.

Then countless plastic water bottles, soda cans, trash bags, and the like were suddenly hurled down toward the center of the arena.

“Two cheaters!”

“Bullshit! Lanster, you’re a piece of shit!”

“How did he lose? WHY? Can’t they replay the video? All I saw was the two of them spinning around for no reason, and then Lanster knelt down—is this a performance?”

“Double Sword Prince? You don’t deserve that title, Lanster!”

“Fake! This is fake! The betting companies must be rigging it; those two both took dirty money!”

“Why won’t you stand up? You bunch of cheaters, you’re fooling us!”

“I protest! The NHSAA competition committee can’t let them get away with this!”

“If I see you on the street, I’ll beat you to a pulp! Lucky Andre, you made me lose money!”

The clamor once again shook the eardrums, and the various debris raining down from all directions was terrifying.

Li Mochen, however, remained composed. He was still pressing James Lanster down with his sword while joyfully savoring his own gains.

After the referee declared him the winner, Li Mochen felt a change within his soul. The two distinct souls had further merged, making it difficult to distinguish between them.

If he had to put a number on it, he had at least assimilated one-seventh of the original owner’s soul.

A few seconds later, two more referees came up and used tranquilizer guns to knock James Lanster unconscious. Only then did Li Mochen withdraw his sword and, with a tender gesture, kiss his lucky bracelet.

At that moment, the magical array in the arena had fully expanded, blocking all foreign objects ten meters above. Yet still, a torrent of water bottles, soda cans, and even dismantled seats rained down like a storm, forming a strange tableau with Li Mochen kissing his bracelet on the platform.

“That kiss was great, very stylish. The image will definitely become a classic.”

When Li Mochen stepped off the stage, Carl Holton greeted him with a smile: “Why the sudden change in fighting style? I thought you’d win with speed this time.”

“It was a spur-of-the-moment decision after seeing his condition. That guy isn’t just slow in movement; his source energy is also stiff—something I couldn’t tell from the videos you gave me.”

Li Mochen removed his visor: “Didn’t you want to humiliate him as much as possible? I thought this method would be most fitting.”

“It was indeed the most fitting. A-Mo, you not only did it but exceeded our expectations.”

Carl’s smile was radiant: “Executive Payton just called me and asked me to convey his thanks. Also, our Nathan Sports Group will send you some gifts—ones that are sure to surprise you.”

Li Mochen raised an eyebrow: “I’m looking forward to it! Can you give me a hint?”

He was indeed eager, especially since not long ago he had received two bottles of perfect-grade primary Sacred Oak potions and two bottles of equally flawless primary Titan potions from Nathan Sports Group.

With the help of his wish spell, he had already taken one bottle of ‘Sacred Oak.’ The potion’s effects were no less than the ‘Heavenly Heart Pill’ from the Primordial Void Realm, increasing his mana by a full twenty percent overnight.

The key was the primordial spirit. ‘Sacred Oak’ greatly aided in repairing his primordial spirit, mending many of the cracks in his sea of consciousness.

Li Mochen naturally hoped for more such medicines, but for one thing, the materials for Sacred Oak and Titan potions were indeed rare, often unavailable on the market despite demand; for another, these potions were difficult to brew, especially the easily absorbed perfect grade, which required not only高超的 alchemical skill but also strict environmental conditions.

From what Li Mochen had learned, the production of ‘Sacred Oak’ in this world was indeed limited.

So when he heard the word ‘gifts,’ Li Mochen’s curiosity was immediately piqued.

“At least one bottle of ‘Sacred Oak’ and one bottle of ‘Thinker.’”

Carl didn’t disappoint Li Mochen: “As for the rest, please let me keep it a secret? We want to give you a surprise.”

The main issue was that the sales of the lucky bracelet hadn’t been determined yet; they needed to base the final ‘reward’ on Li Mochen’s influence and ability to drive sales.

At that moment, William also came over to help Li Mochen remove his Gushan armor: “Holy shit, you actually won! I have to say, A-Mo, you were really cool just now. A few spins of your sword, and that Double Sword Prince was kneeling obediently. Coach Rikal said you used the technique of overcoming hardness with softness and borrowing force to strike, right?”

“It’s indeed a martial technique from the East. The school library has secret manuals for ‘Tai Chi Sword’ and ‘Tai Chi Fist,’ and I drew inspiration from them.”

Li Mochen paused: “But I took a shortcut this time. That guy must have just advanced to Level 7 recently. He was too fast, too hasty.”

“In any case, you won!”

Yet William’s face carried a hint of sorrow. Damn it! He had bet a thousand gold shields on James Lanster—two months’ worth of hard-earned savings from part-time work, all gone—

Why had he been so foolish? But he had actually believed A-Mo’s words a little.

“But come to think of it, you were never this strong before. We were evenly matched, at most a seventy-thirty split. But now I feel like even if you tied one hand behind your back, I wouldn’t be your match. The head coach said your combat power has at least reached the 9S level.”

“That’s because my father left me some things. What you saw last time was a legacy from the older generation.”

Carl Holton’s eyes flickered at this, and his face showed understanding.

“Also, our school’s internal library taught me a lot of good stuff—”

Li Mochen’s voice suddenly stopped.

Because in the distance, an old man with white hair and a beard as stiff as iron wire was approaching—their head coach, Rikal.

When he reached Li Mochen, he said with a wry smile: “I’m sorry! Andre, I’ve caused you trouble during this time. Louise was right; I was blinded by preconceived notions. In fact, Andre, you are very outstanding and deserve the school’s scholarship.”

Li Mochen, without holding a grudge, took Rikal’s outstretched hand and then, in the American style, gave Rikal a warm hug.

“There’s no need to apologize for this, Rikal. You were just doing your duty. The way I obtained the scholarship was indeed questionable—that was my fault. I hope you coaches can forgive my willfulness.”

He bore no ill will toward the coach. Although the coach had judged the original owner’s prospects in magical cultivation to be limited, the club had never skimped on the resources due to Li Mochen.