The sea turtle retracted its entire body into its shell, the entire shellās glow intensifying; the spines became more solid, their cold gleam even more pronounced.
"Itās no use," Xu Zimei shook her head slightly.
The moment her large hand descended, a series of "crack, crack" sounds came from the shell.
"Yelp," an odd cry came from within the shell, followed by the sea turtle shouting, "Stop hitting, stop hitting.
Didnāt we agree on a trial? Are you trying to beat this old turtle to death?"
The shell was about to give in, barely holding together against the growing cracks.
Only then did Xu Zimei retract her hand and said indifferently, "So, have I passed?"
"Passed, passed," the sea turtle carefully poked its head out of the shell.
Taking a deep breath, it spoke with fright, "Are you a disciple participating in the competition? How could the Nine Skies people let a monster like you in?"
Xu Zimei smiled and stepped towards the treasure chest.
The treasure chest was completely made of gilded gold, and it was not locked.
As Xu Zimei opened it, a beam of light soared straight into the sky.
In the middle of the beam, a pure white token floated up.
"Great Skies," inscribed respectively were two characters on the token which, accompanied by an influx of Spiritual Energy, floated gently before Xu Zimei.
Pleased, Xu Zimei picked up the token and looked at the sea turtle, "Would you prefer death or to live?"
"You canāt kill this old turtle, I have an agreement with you Nine Skies folks," the turtle shook its head in haste.
"I help you temper your disciples, and you allow me to live here," it said.
"What rubbish Nine Skies, I donāt care about their business," Xu Zimei stated.
"I do things according to my rules."
"And what are those rules, if I may inquire?" the old turtle asked cautiously.
"My rules are that there are no rules, I act according to my mood," Xu Zimei answered.
"Do you want to die or live?"
"Of course, I want to live," the old turtle replied without a second thought.
"There are nine such tokens, do you know where the other eight are?" Xu Zimei inquired.
"This...," the turtle hesitated, then quickly nodded to Xu Zimeiās piercing gaze, saying.
"I know, I know, the other eight tokens are with my eight old friends, each guarding one."
"Then lead the way," Xu Zimei commanded.
"But that would break the rules of the competition," said the turtle.
"Are you talking about rules to me?" Xu Zimei raised her head slightly and chuckled.
"Not at all, not at all," the old turtle hastily shook its head and stood up on its colossal body from the island, beginning to swim towards the open sea.
Xu Zimei flew up and stood directly on the old turtleās shell.
...ā¦
At this moment, the peak masters from the other eight branches were panic-stricken upon witnessing this scene.
"Melting Heaven, he must have reached Melting Heaven," Chang Qing said in shock.
"How is that possible? How young he is, how could he have reached Melting Heaven?"
The people nearby whispered to each other, clearly Xu Zimeiās appearance in the competition had thrown all the rules into disarray.
"How can we compete? Nest to his Melting Heaven Realm, our disciples are simply walking to their deaths," Wang Yuntian rose from his chair.
He addressed Lin Beisheng, "Peak Leader Lin has played a good game, itās as if you want all the young disciples of our eight branches to perish."
"Elder Mu, you must stand up for us," Qi Hai and others also hurriedly sought help.
"Elder Mu Changge has always been fair and just, and if anyone breaks the rules, they will be punished severely," Mu Changge said.
"But can you tell me, what exactly did Lin Qiu do wrong? What do I need to preside over?"
"This," a few Peak Masters hesitated, as it seemed to indeed be within the rules.
"Elder Mu, do you remember the scene where he just killed Shen Lang?" Elder Qinās gaze was calm as he spoke indifferently.
"He seems to have the ability to stop that spatial power. If this is really the case, doesnāt it mean that anyone he wants to kill canāt escape with the help of a Spatial Token?"
"So what?" Mu Changge asked, "Thatās not against the rules either, is it?"
"That may be true, but have you considered what would happen if he were to kill all the disciples within the ruins?" Elder Qin asked.
"It would not just be a loss for the Imperial Sect but also difficult to explain when we return.
Rules are made by humans after all, and they can naturally be changed."
Hearing this, Mu Changge frowned slightly. After all, this matter was indeed a bit tricky.
Killing everyone, Mu Changge was indeed afraid that Xu Zimei might just do it.
After all, if such a thing happened, it would be difficult to explain to the Main Clan upon his return.
"But even if we want to notify them now, itās too late," Mu Changge said.
"The trial has already begun, and I canāt interfere, unless I return to the Main Clan and forcibly take everyone out."
"Canāt you connect to that Space Gate?" Qin Hansheng said.
"You can tell everyone to crush their Spatial Tokens and leave the ruins on their own.
As long as they donāt encounter Lin Qiu, I suspect that the spatial power wonāt be able to stop them."
"At this point, thatās all we can do," Mu Changge frowned slightly and sighed as he spoke.
"This Lin lad has some oddities about him. It might be better to wait for him to come out and capture him for some clear answers."
Qin Hansheng continued, "To reach Melting Heaven at such an age, I donāt believe it was achieved through normal cultivation."
"Elder Qin, that seems somewhat against the rules," Lin Beisheng immediately stood up and said.
"My son hasnāt done anything wrong. Why capture him?"
"Peak Master Lin, donāt be nervous. We wonāt do anything to him, just want to ask him some questions," Qin Hansheng said with a smile.
Lin Beishengās brow was deeply furrowed, and he looked at the other eight branchesā Peak Masters, who obviously were siding with Qin Hansheng.
The situation had developed to this point, and it was beyond his control.
"But now that heās reached the Melting Heaven Realm, Iām afraid that if we provoke him," Mu Changge said worriedly.
"Afraid of what? Both you and I are at Melting Heaven; are we still afraid of him alone?"
Qin Hansheng spoke coldly, "Moreover, the ancestors of the eight branches are also here. Surely, we canāt allow him to turn the world upside down."
Mu Changge sighed softly, then with a wave of his right hand, boundless Spiritual Energy rippled through the void.
The Nine Skies Great Array was activated once again, connecting to the Space Gate, and his voice, infused with rich Spiritual Energy,
passed through the spatial power and into the ruins.
"All disciples of the Nine Skies, heed this order: since Lin Qiu of the Great Skies Peak has entered the Melting Heaven Realm,
there is a severe disparity in power for this trial, so we have decided to cancel this ruins trial.
Everyone crush your Spatial Tokens and leave as soon as possible."
Although Mu Changgeās voice had entered the ruins, the space inside was truly vast.
He could only continue to shout over and over again inside the ruins, hoping that more disciples would hear.
...
Xu Zimei rode on the back of the Sea Turtle, slowly heading towards the northwest.