Jia Lan Tusu heard this, glanced at the probing eyes of cultivators from other factions around him, and then at the solemn monk. The muscles in his face twitched fiercely, and he had to back down, saying:
"I, Jia Lan Tusu, retract my previous words."
"But no matter what, the outcome of the competition is already very clear. I ask everyone to act impartially and bring Zhou Jie out of the Yaochi Immortal Realm. I need to treat him to prevent any accidents."
The old monk, leaning on his nine-ringed staff, made a solemn Buddhist salute and said, "Amitabha, Brother Jia Lan, this old monk is powerless in this matter."
"Whether Zhou Jie lost the match is not for you or me to decide; it's for him to decide. According to the rules, as long as he remains on the battle stage for a single breath, the battle has not yet concluded."
Jia Lan Tusu's face turned ashen. He suppressed his anger and roared, "He's already being trampled underfoot, and you're saying he hasn't lost? Do we have to wait until he's dead to prove it!"
The old monk shook his head slightly. "Amitabha, according to the rules, unless it's a force majeure, we will not allow any participating heavenly prodigy to lose their life in this segment. If Mu Xu intends to kill him, I will stop him."
Jia Lan Tusu, with a sullen face, asked again, "Then what exactly must happen for Zhou Jie to be considered defeated? Are we going to wait here indefinitely while his injuries worsen and he bleeds out!"
"Besides crushing the jade slip or falling off the battle stage and admitting defeat himself, according to the rules, being unable to move for the time it takes an incense stick to burn out after falling to the ground also counts as a surrender."
The old monk said, looking at Zhou Jie, who was being trampled underfoot on the battle stage, his expression serious. "It has only been one hundred and twenty-seven breaths since the time it takes an incense stick to burn has passed."
"Benefactor Jia Lan, if you wish for him to surrender, you must wait a little longer."
...
"An incense stick! Even if he doesn't die after an incense stick burns, he'll be crippled!" Jia Lan Tusu was infuriated by the old monk. He gathered his special abilities around him but was powerless. He could only shout again, "Mu Xu, I concede on behalf of Zhou Jie. You only need to crush his jade slip for him. This match counts as your victory!"
As soon as he said this, no one said anything else, because he was conceding for their own heavenly prodigy, not winning.
However, according to the rules, his concession was invalid. Whether Zhou Jie could leave depended on whether Xu Mu would grant the elder ancestor of the Jia Lan clan this favor.
On the battle stage, Xu Mu, stepping on Zhou Jie, displayed a faint smile at the corner of his mouth and taunted, "Counts as my victory? Do you have any doubts about the outcome of this battle?"
"You're pushing your luck!" The head of the Jia Lan clan was immediately enraged and wanted to reprimand Xu Mu, but he was stopped by Jia Lan Tusu.
Jia Lan Tusu looked at Xu Mu with a grim expression and said loudly, "No doubts. You have won this match. Zhou Jie is no match for you. I implore you now, crush his jade slip and let him come out to heal!"
"Let him go?" Xu Mu heard this and looked down, smiling faintly. His eyes gradually turned cold. "I would like to let him go, but Zhou Jie has repeatedly tried to kill me."
"If I were to let go of someone who tried to kill me so easily, the future consequences would be endless, wouldn't they?"
As Xu Mu spoke, a flickering ball of lightning gathered in his palm, aimed at Zhou Jie's back. His voice was icy and filled with killing intent.
"Don't be impulsive!" Jia Lan Tusu's face turned pale, and he hastily tried to persuade him, "I will agree to any condition you name. Please, don't do anything foolish!"
Xu Mu, however, remained still, the lightning in his hand growing more intense, his killing intent undiminished.
Many people watching this scene could not help but sigh. It seemed Xu Mu had made up his mind to kill Zhou Jie today.
This was understandable. Zhou Jie had provoked Xu Mu so many times, vowing to kill him. Now that he was inferior in strength and in Xu Mu's hands, killing him was only natural. Moreover, whether Xu Mu let him go or killed him, he would surely offend the Jia Lan clan. Therefore, no one could predict Xu Mu's choice.
Just as everyone inside and outside the Yaochi was waiting for Xu Mu to make his decision, a familiar figure spoke up, persuading Xu Mu to spare Zhou Jie.
"Let him go. Killing him will do you no good in the future," Dong Fang Yu Chu said to Xu Mu, his expression solemn.
Xu Mu glanced at him and said indifferently, "Oh? Are you two still friends? No wonder you colluded on the Holy Ladder."
Dong Fang Yu Chu's eyes suddenly turned sharp.
What Xu Mu was referring to was the incident where he tried to claim Nangong Huai Tian and Xuanyuan Shen Nian. That incident was witnessed by everyone in the world and mocked by everyone. Even though he was usually a man of great evil deeds, he couldn't help but feel a flush of shame.
"No matter what you think, I'm doing this for your own good," Dong Fang Yu Chu said to Xu Mu, with a hint of threat. "Although you defeated Zhou Jie, looking at your own state, you must be almost at the end of your strength."
"I am not using my clan's power to suppress you, but I am warning you in my own name. If you do not spare Zhou Jie now, then after this round, I will definitely find an opportunity to fight you and kill you!"
Xu Mu heard this and his expression remained calm. "Oh, is that so?"
"What should I do? I actually didn't intend to kill him, but since you said that, I've changed my mind and want to kill him."
As Xu Mu spoke, the power of the lightning ball in his hand suddenly erupted, with terrifying special abilities leaping within. It seemed that due to his injuries, the lightning ball was extremely unstable, and it could explode at any moment, making everyone's heart pound.
"Don't be impulsive!"
"Think about the consequences!"
Jia Lan Tusu and Dong Fang Yu Chu both spoke to Xu Mu at the same time.
Xu Mu ignored them, slowly dispersed the lightning ball in his hand, then clenched his fist and smashed it down towards Zhou Jie's back.
Boom!
Along with Zhou Jie's muffled groan, the sound of breaking bones was also heard. The sound was not loud, but to everyone's ears, it was like a thunderclap.
Because this represented Xu Mu's attitude.
He would not let Zhou Jie go.
Thump!
With another stomp, Zhou Jie's body collapsed. He didn't even have the strength to struggle. The dying Zhou Jie turned into a puddle of mud, completely falling into a pool of blood, with no breath left.
"The longevity lamp is extinguished!"
In the Jia Lan clan, a woman's face turned deathly pale. She held a soul lamp in her hand, which contained a trace of Zhou Jie's soul fire. Now that the soul fire was extinguished, it represented that Zhou Jie's life had come to an end.
"No, this isn't real, it's not real!!!" The middle-aged patriarch of the Jia Lan clan, seeing this, clutched his head, his lips turning purple as he trembled and muttered, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Zhou Jie was the genius with the highest talent to appear in the Jia Lan clan in thousands of years. He had awakened a hell-level special ability and had limitless potential. He could be considered the hope for the Jia Lan clan to advance further. But now, in front of the world, he had died on the battle stage in the Yaochi Immortal Realm, crushed to death by that Mu Xu!
"Good, good boy!" Jia Lan Tusu's complexion was no better, but as the elder ancestor of the clan, he had to remain calm. So, he simply gritted his teeth and said four words before flicking his sleeve and flying down from the clouds, leaving behind a group of Jia Lan clansmen and members of the hundred clans looking at each other in dismay.
"Zhou Jie is dead after all."
In the Yaochi Immortal Realm, Zuo Mingqiu also shook his head slightly. Zhou Jie's fate today was entirely his own doing and no one else's fault.
Chen Chang Kong, who had instigated Zhou Jie to challenge Xu Mu, now had a subtle smile slowly appearing in his eyes.
With Zhou Jie dead and Xu Mu heavily injured, this was simply the best news for him.
"I will not let you go!" Dong Fang Yu Chu stared at Xu Mu, his face icy and filled with killing intent.
Xu Mu heard this, turned and walked off the battle stage, and said with a faint smile, "I hope you, like Zhou Jie, will not just talk but take actual action."
"No matter when, I am always ready."
...