#852 - First defeat

The leaders of Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy and Sacred Path Ancient Mansion began to argue.

Everyone watched them, guessing that the conflict arose over the detailed rules of the Heaven's Mandate battle.

"Myriad Ancient Sky, what do you mean by that? What do you mean 'compromise'?" Song Zan said sternly, "I just want to maintain the fairness of the Heaven's Mandate battle as much as possible. It's clearly your Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy that wants to take advantage, and when you didn't achieve your goal, you became angry out of embarrassment?"

The Great Elder sneered, "Song Zan, you have truly taken shamelessness to the extreme. The Heaven's Mandate battle has always prohibited the use of forbidden artifacts, but items other than forbidden artifacts have never been prohibited. What reason do you have to demand a ban? Furthermore, you actually want to add a melee rule. No previous session has ever had a melee mode!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood what was happening.

Song Zan's intention in implementing such rules was clearly to be wary of Jun Wuxie's armor. He wanted to prevent Jun Wuxie's armor from being used in battle, thereby weakening his advantage.

As for the melee mode, the number of top young supreme beings on the Sacred Path Ancient Mansion's side was significantly greater than that of the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy.

According to the previous one-on-one format, the Sacred Path Ancient Mansion could only use a rotation battle against Jun Wuxie at most. However, if it were a melee mode, they could attack him as a group.

These rules were all designed to secure the greatest benefits for the Sacred Path Ancient Mansion, placing the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy at a disadvantage.

Many of the watching forces were filled with contempt.

It was understandable to seek favorable conditions for one's own side before a battle, but Song Zan's rules were all new, never used before, and only benefited himself while weakening his opponents. This seemed a bit shameless, yet he spoke with such sanctimony.

"Myriad Ancient Sky, who are you calling shameless?" Song Zan said in a deep voice, "These rules are not only used to restrain the students of your Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy, but also the students of our Sacred Path Ancient Mansion. Both sides are under the same rules, which is very fair. Your people cannot use weapons or armor, and neither can ours. As for the melee mode, both sides have the same number of participants, which is also based on the principle of fairness. What reason do you have to disagree?"

The Great Elder's face darkened upon hearing this.

Song Zan's words seemed reasonable, but in reality, he was subtly changing the concept.

Weapons and armor are inherently part of one's strength. Why can't they be used? Under such rules, even those who cultivate the Sword Dao cannot use swords, which is simply absurd.

"Great Elder."

Jun Wuxie stood up and said, "It doesn't matter if we agree to these unreasonable demands from the Sacred Path Ancient Mansion. Otherwise, they will never understand what it means to be utterly defeated."

"Wuxie!"

The Great Elder met his gaze, his heart filled with worry.

He believed in Jun Wuxie's strength, but these rules were too unfavorable to the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy.

In a one-on-one battle, he believed that no one of the same generation was Jun Wuxie's opponent, but if the melee mode was allowed, it would mean that during a duel between two people, members from both sides could join the battle at any time.

On their side, only Jun Wuxie, Ji Yinlan, Yan Qingcheng, Mu Yunxi, Kun Rong, and Kun Yu could truly play a role in this battle. The others were basically just there to make up the numbers.

Although those people were also young supreme beings with outstanding talents, they were still significantly behind the people of the Sacred Path Ancient Mansion in such a battle.

In this way, if a group battle really took place, Jun Wuxie would not only have to deal with his own opponent, but also have to take care of others.

"Little Jun, you are truly arrogant!"

Song Zan was enraged by his words. Every time he thought of the scene of him arriving with his waist full of heads, he gritted his teeth with hatred.

"Old thing, didn't your mother teach you what cultivation is? I, Jun Wuxie, as the strongest leader of the Immortal Execution Dynasty, am on equal footing with you in terms of status and position, yet you call me 'little one' repeatedly. Where is your upbringing?"

"Impudent!"

Song Zan suddenly shouted, how could he endure being reprimanded in public like this by a young supreme being?

"You're the one who's impudent!"

Jun Wuxie said coldly, "Don't push your luck! There are so many eyes watching here, and Fairy Qingyue is also broadcasting live. The entire starry sky is watching. Your Sacred Path Ancient Mansion has proposed all sorts of rules that benefit you, and I, Jun Wuxie, representing the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy, have agreed to them. You didn't even say a word of thanks, but instead came to criticize me. Do you really think everyone has to indulge you? I, Jun Wuxie, am not your father, and I have no obligation to accommodate you!"

"You!"

Song Zan was so angry that his hair stood on end, and violent true energy fluctuations filled his body.

If the Great Elder's killing intent hadn't been firmly locked on him, he probably would have attacked directly.

In his life, having lived for ten thousand years, no one had ever dared to speak to him like this, as if he were scolding his grandson, making him feel extremely embarrassed and losing all face.

"Song Zan, we have already agreed to the rules you proposed. Don't get too big for your britches!"

The Great Elder said coldly.

"Hmph!"

Song Zan glared at Jun Wuxie coldly, flicked his sleeves, turned around, and returned to the position where the Sacred Path Ancient Mansion's people were.

He forcibly restrained the anger in his heart, and then said loudly, "First of all, I would like to thank all the fellow Daoists in the starry sky for coming to watch the Heaven's Mandate battle between our Sacred Path Ancient Mansion and the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy. Now, I announce the rules of this battle."

"This session of the Heaven's Mandate battle has two modes: one-on-one battle mode and melee mode. There is no fixed time period for these two modes of battle. Students from both sides can choose one-on-one or melee mode at any time."

"In addition to the battle modes, there are also some prohibited rules. Combatants can only use their own secret techniques and divine powers to fight, and cannot use any weapons or armor. Violators will immediately be deprived of their combat qualifications."

"The way to distinguish victory and defeat in this Heaven's Mandate battle is until one side has no students who dare to come on stage. In the battle, fists and feet have no eyes, and life and death are not discussed!"

"Song Zan!"

The Great Elder was shocked and angry. Song Zan hadn't exchanged views with him on the point of not discussing life and death.

In previous sessions, killing people was not allowed during the battle. It was only necessary to severely injure the opponent.

Jun Wuxie tugged at the Great Elder's sleeve and shook his head at him.

The Great Elder stopped speaking.

Seeing that he was no longer speaking, Song Zan naturally would not take the initiative to argue, and said, "Well, this time, I and Great Elder Myriad Ancient Sky of the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy have reached an agreement that the winning side of the Heaven's Mandate battle will have ninety places for personnel to enter the Heaven's Mandate Secret Land, and can enter the Secret Land one day in advance; the losing side will have ten consolation places, and must wait until the winning side enters the Secret Land one day before they can enter!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was not surprised.

The previous Heaven's Mandate battles were also like this. There were only one hundred places in total to enter the Heaven's Mandate Secret Land, and the allocation ratio of winning and losing places was not much different from the past.

"Now, I announce that the Heaven's Mandate battle officially begins!"

Song Zan's voice resounded throughout the entire mountain range, constantly echoing in the sky.

"Friends in the starry sky, the Heaven's Mandate battle is about to begin, so let us look forward to the wonderful battle scenes together!"

Qingyue held a large starry sky rune communicator and stirred up emotions on the live broadcast platform.

In fact, she didn't need to stir them up at all. The live broadcast platform was already boiling, and countless people were frantically spamming the screen.

The atmosphere in the mountains became tense.

On the side of the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy, a student walked out of the crowd and headed towards the battlefield.

Jun Wuxie stopped him and said, "Remember, don't try to be brave. Your individual victory or defeat is not important. I don't want to see any of you die on the battlefield. If you are no match, don't persist and come back quickly."

"Okay!"

Jun Wuxie's words naturally carried weight. Now, the entire Emperor Beginning Star generation respects him very much.

"Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy, who among you will come to die!"

A short-haired youth from the Sacred Path Ancient Mansion first entered the battlefield.

The moment he passed through the barrier and stepped into the battlefield, he was directly teleported by the magic circle inside the barrier to the central area of the vast space, far from the edge.

But miraculously, despite the great distance, his voice was clearly transmitted, making everyone hear it clearly.

"I'll come and learn!"

The young supreme being from the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy passed through the barrier.

"You dare to come to fight like this?" The short-haired youth sneered, he stepped forward, rushing over with rolling true energy, "Your Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy has always been a group of trash since ancient times. You were completely defeated in the past, and you still can't escape your destiny now!"

Boom!

The two collided together.

Vast true energy exploded in the high sky of the battlefield, impacting the stars under their feet slightly, and the true energy was surging, sweeping in all directions, like a vast ocean.

As soon as the two made a move, they used secret techniques to attack each other, and back and forth, they instantly pushed the battle to a fever pitch.

The sky was full of their phantoms, only seeing the phantoms constantly flashing and colliding, and the secret technique runes blooming in pieces, fighting fiercely.

A quarter of an hour later, in the roar, all the afterimages disappeared, and a body was blown away and fell on a star in the battlefield, causing the star to tremble and sink a little.

"Alas, the average strength of the young supreme beings of the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy is still far inferior to that of the Sacred Path Ancient Mansion."

Someone sighed like this. After fighting for a quarter of an hour, the people of the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy fell into a disadvantage and suffered heavy injuries.

In the battlefield, the short-haired youth sneered, swooping down towards the star, his palms shining with true energy runes, descending from the sky, blasting down, causing large areas of the void to collapse.

With a bang.

The moment the short-haired youth's palm print blasted on the star, the young supreme being from the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy soared into the sky, dodging this blow, but his severely injured body was still impacted by the aftermath of the secret technique, coughing up blood.

"Come back, you are no match for him. Continuing the fight is meaningless and will only lead to a senseless death."

Jun Wuxie sent a voice transmission to the young supreme being.

The young Supreme was in a complicated state, blood trickling from his mouth. Seeing the short-haired youth attacking again, he gritted his teeth and turned to rush towards the edge of the battlefield.

"Trying to run?"

The corners of the short-haired youth's lips curled up, his eyes full of coldness. Runes bloomed beneath his feet as he chased after him: "Since you've come, don't even think about leaving alive!"

With a loud bang, the young Supreme of the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy had no choice but to exchange a palm strike with the short-haired youth. His entire arm snapped, and his body fell towards the edge of the battlefield like a shooting star.

The short-haired youth rapidly pursued, and as the young Supreme reached the edge of the barrier, a palm blade sliced through the sky, like a silver river flashing.

Poof!

Half of the young Supreme's body was cut off.

If he hadn't reacted at the critical moment of life and death and dodged slightly, this attack would have taken his life.

His upper body rushed out of the barrier. Below his chest, his entire body was severed, left on the battlefield, dripping with blood, a tragic sight. Half of his internal organs had disappeared.

"How are you?"

Jun Wuxie hurriedly stepped forward to check his physical condition, injecting vital life force into his body.

"Divine Lord Jun, I'm useless, I've disgraced our Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy..."

The young Supreme's face was pale, and the pain was not just physical.

"You haven't. I was the one who asked you to come out because I didn't want to see any of you fall."

Jun Wuxie comforted him.

"I'm afraid it will be a long time before he can recover."

Ninth Elder walked over and said with a sigh. His lower body had been completely shattered by the palm blade and could not be reattached. It could only slowly regrow, which could not be done in a short time.

"Damn it!"

Behind them, a young Supreme's eyes turned red as he rushed towards the barrier battlefield.

"Come back!"

Jun Wuxie sucked him back with a wave of his hand.

"Divine Lord Jun, I can't swallow this!"

"Are you going to your death?" Jun Wuxie said, turning to look at Kun Rong and Kun Yu, and said, "Although so many of us have come, not everyone has to enter the battle. I don't want you to make unnecessary sacrifices. Kun Rong, Kun Yu, you two siblings will go next."

"Hahaha, this is the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy for you. I've seen the preserved images from previous sessions, and this scene is so similar to the scenes from previous sessions. You still want to win? How pathetic and laughable."

The short-haired youth stood with one hand behind his back, looking down from the battlefield, his face full of mockery.

Kun Rong coldly looked at the arrogant short-haired youth in the battlefield, and then said to his fellow disciples: "Divine Lord Jun is right, you shouldn't make unnecessary sacrifices. What is our purpose in participating in the Heavenly Position Competition? It is to defeat the Tong Sheng Ancient Mansion, win a spot, and obtain more Dao Fruits. So the process is not important, the ending is the most important. How to get the desired result at the smallest cost is the wise choice."

"He severely injured our people, I will make him pay the price!"

Kun Rong stepped forward, walking step by step towards the barrier battlefield. With each step he took, the aura on his body would increase by one point. His thick black hair flew in the surging true energy, and the void around his body turned into a black hole.

Making all the spiritual energy within a thousand miles sucked over and devoured by him.

"Another one coming to die? You Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy only produces trash, as always for several epochs!"

The short-haired youth was extremely arrogant, and his words were very harsh. He wanted to use this strong posture to打击万世古院参赛者的自信，践踏他们的尊严，扰乱他们的道心 (strike at the confidence of the Myriad Worlds Ancient Academy participants, trample on their dignity, and disrupt their Dao hearts).

Kun Rong did not speak, but his eyes were extremely cold.

He stood with one hand behind his back, dressed in blue, heroic and extraordinary, and stepped into the battlefield, appearing in the vast void, stepping on the stars as he walked.

"Divine Lord Jun..."

"Stop talking, take good care of yourself, and watch how Kun Rong kills that arrogant guy."

Jun Wuxie took out a bottle containing a lot of divine beast blood.

He handed it to the Ninth Elder and said, "Ninth Elder, take this divine beast blood to heal him. Leave the next battle to Kun Rong, Kun Yu, Yan Ruyu, Yun Xi, Qingcheng, Yin Lan, and me. The rest can watch the battle in peace."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you to arrange. This old man doesn't want any students to fall either."

The Ninth Elder took the severely injured young Supreme to the side, preparing to heal him.