Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

Only this one thought remained in Shi Chu's mind.

However, Xia Jin did not give him more time to think.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

The hand that gripped the blade suddenly exerted force—

"Buzz!!!"

A terrifying force erupted from Xia Jin's palm. Shi Chu felt an irresistible force sweeping along the blade, making his tiger's mouth numb and his entire right arm tremble.

The yellow crystal broadsword in his hand had fine cracks appearing on its blade.

Shi Chu's expression changed drastically. He quickly loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword and retreated rapidly.

But Xia Jin was faster than him.

The moment he released his knife, Xia Jin had already pounced on him.

That towering figure, like a moving mountain, with an overwhelming momentum, instantly approached Shi Chu.

There are no fancy moves.

There was no dazzling brilliance.

Xia Jin simply raised her fists.

Then the first punch landed squarely on Shi Chu's chest.

A visible shockwave rippled out from the yellow crystal armor, causing Shi Chu to stagger backward. However, the yellow crystal armor only developed a few fine cracks and did not shatter.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

The second punch, the third punch, the fourth punch...

Xia Jin's fists rained down like a storm, one punch after another, slamming into Shi Chu's yellow crystal armor.

Ten punches.

He unleashed a full ten punches.

Although Shi Chu's yellow crystal armor was covered with dense cracks, it never broke.

His body, protected by the armor, only suffered a slight shock, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

That's it.

"Hahaha......"

Shi Chu staggered to his feet, then looked up at Xia Jin. A wild, triumphant gleam rekindled within the two golden flames.

"You are very strong... but you still can't kill me."

"In my Yellow Crystal form, my defense is invincible. Your punch... is indeed heavy. But that's all."

A sinister smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

"With an attack of this level, even if I stood still and let you fight me for a whole day and night, you still wouldn't be able to do anything to me."

"I didn't expect your shell to be so hard. But you seem to be mistaken. Just because we can't break your shell from the outside doesn't mean we can't break it from the inside!" Xia Jin walked towards Shi Chu with a smile.

"What do you mean by that?!" Shi Chu's nerves tensed instantly, and he looked warily at Xia Jin who was walking towards him.

He instinctively wanted to back away and create distance, but an inexplicable sense of oppression emanated from Xia Jin, giving him the illusion that he could not move.

Xia Jin walked up to him.

Close at hand.

Then, he raised his right hand.

The hand that had just grabbed Huang Jing's broadsword with its bare hands and unleashed more than a dozen heavy punches was now unusually gentle.

Spread your fingers and place your palm down.

It landed gently on Shi Chu's head.

Shi Chu was stunned.

He didn't understand what Xia Jin was doing.

This palm strike had no power, no spiritual light, and not even temperature.

But in the next moment, deep within Xia Jin's sea of ​​consciousness, the Eastern Emperor Bell, which had been repaired to three-fifths, suddenly trembled.

A strange wave passed directly through Xia Jin's hand, through the opponent's yellow crystal armor, through flesh and bones, through all of Shi Chu's defenses, and reached the depths of his sea of ​​consciousness.

"Click."

A cracking sound, audible only to Shi Chu himself, echoed in his mind.

His soul shattered like glass under the impact of this wave.

Then, the yellow crystal armor on his body began to peel off.

Piece after piece of yellow crystal detached from the body's surface, losing their luster and turning into dull, colorless pebbles that clattered and fell to the ground.

Shi Chu's body reappeared.

His withered flesh never regained its fullness.

The two golden flames in his sunken eye sockets went out.

His eyes were unfocused.

It lost all its luster.

Shi Chu died, just like that, quietly and without a trace.

At that moment, the entire venue fell silent.

Everyone stared blankly at the corpse lying on the ground on the battle stage, their minds completely blank.

What happened?

No one could see it clearly.

Nobody understands.

Without even sensing a trace of spiritual light, Shi Chu just... died?

One side of the battle arena.

The Wuhuan elder's smile froze on his face.

"No......"

"impossible……"

The old woman in black armor beside him was equally stunned.

Her wrinkled old face had lost all color and turned ashen white.

"Young Master...is he dead?"

Wuhuan finally regained his voice, but it had changed and was trembling with an almost collapsing quality.

He turned his head sharply to look at the old woman beside him, as if seeking a negative answer.

But the old woman just stared blankly at the corpse on the fighting platform, her lips moved a few times, and finally she only uttered two words:

"...Dead."

Wu Huan's knees buckled, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Only two thoughts remained in his mind.

The young master is dead.

They... are finished too.

On the remaining five battle stages, those alien prodigies...

At this moment, their reaction was even more appalling than that of the two elders.

"Young...Young Master..."

"It's over...it's all over..."

The way they looked at Xia Jin was no longer filled with the same apprehension they had before.

It was fear.

A fear that runs deep in your bones.

On the battle stage.

Xia Jin withdrew her hand and let it hang at her side.

He glanced down at Shi Chu's corpse at his feet, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

Then, he looked up.

His gaze passed over the corpse and landed on the several alien prodigies.

"If you lot admit defeat now, you might save your lives."

"Otherwise...it will fall into my hands..."

"You must die."

Just a few simple words.

There were no threats, no intimidation, and not even any harsh words.

But those few casual words struck a chord deep within the hearts of the remaining alien prodigies present.

It broke with a "snap".

broken.

Admit defeat?

These two words, when they reached the ears of the Wuhuan, were like a red-hot iron needle, piercing his chest.

He suddenly raised his head, and all the fear on his old face instantly turned into a ferocious expression.

"Admit defeat?! Impossible!!! We, the Huangjing lineage of the Stone Clan, have never had the option of admitting defeat, only dying in battle!!!"

The old woman in black armor beside him didn't reply. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only let out a heavy sigh and slowly lowered her head.

Meanwhile, the alien prodigies who were still standing on the edge of the battle stage were in a completely different situation.

They heard the Wuhuan elder's roar, but no one dared to respond.

The five people looked at each other in bewilderment.

No one spoke, but their eyes conveyed so much.

hesitate.

Yes, hesitation.

Unprecedented hesitation.

Their young master, a direct descendant of the Huangjing lineage of the Stone Clan, is dead.

He died silently at the hands of that human youth.

Even the young master was no match for that person, so are they just going to their deaths?

"How about... admitting defeat?"

One of them moved his lips slightly and uttered those four words in a very low voice.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he shivered and subconsciously glanced in the direction of the Wuhuan elder.

The Wuhuan elder stared intently at them with a gaze that seemed to want to devour them.

The alien prodigy who had spoken made a dry swallowing sound and quickly shut his mouth.

But once the thought of giving up arises, it grows wildly like weeds and can no longer be contained.

If you don't want to admit defeat, you have to step onto the battle stage.

Once you step onto the battle stage, you're very likely to encounter that person.

I met that person...

They stole a glance at the figure standing with his hands behind his back on the battle stage, and their hearts skipped a beat.

Even the young master is dead.

Will they survive?

Even if you manage to win the first match by sheer luck, what about the next one? The second? The third?

As long as that person is still on the fighting stage, they have no chance of winning.

None.

The five men's faces alternated between pale and flushed, and cold sweat poured from their foreheads.

If they admit defeat, the Wuhuan elders will not let them off the hook when they return, and the clan's rules will certainly not let them off the hook either.

Refusing to admit defeat, they stepped onto the battle stage...

Then you could really lose your life here.

dilemma.

It's a dead end.