The sea turtle retracted its entire body into its shell. The shell began to glow brightly, and the spikes on it became hardened, radiating an even colder gleam.
“Useless,” Xu Zimo shook his head slightly.
As his massive hand came down, cracking sounds echoed from the turtle shell.
“Awooo!” a strange cry came from inside the shell, followed by the turtle shouting, “Stop! Stop! We agreed this was just a trial. Are you trying to beat this old turtle to death?!”
Seeing that the shell could no longer withstand the pressure and had begun to crack, Xu Zimo finally withdrew his hand and said calmly, “Does this mean I passed?”
“Passed, passed!” the turtle cautiously poked its head out from the shell.
Taking a deep breath, it spoke nervously, “Are you one of the participating disciples? How could the people of Nine Heavens let a monster like you in here?”
Xu Zimo smiled and walked step by step to the treasure chest.
The chest was entirely made of gilded gold, with no lock on it.
When Xu Zimo opened the chest, a beam of light shot straight into the sky.
Within the beam, a pure white token floated up.
“Grand Heaven,” the token had a single character on each side. Spiritforce surged around it as it slowly floated in front of Xu Zimo.
Xu Zimo took the token with satisfaction and looked at the turtle. “Do you want to die or live?”
“You can’t kill me,” the turtle shook its head quickly. “I have an agreement with the Nine Heavens. I help train their disciples, and in return, they let me reside here.”
“I don’t care about some bullshit Nine Heavens agreement,” Xu Zimo said. “I do things according to my own rules.”
“And what are your rules, sir?” the turtle asked cautiously.
“My rule is that there are no rules, I do whatever I feel like,” Xu Zimo shrugged. “Now, do you want to die or live?”
“Live, of course!” the turtle answered without hesitation.
“There are nine tokens in total. Do you know where the other eight are?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Uh...” the turtle hesitated, but upon seeing the sharpness in Xu Zimo’s eyes, he quickly nodded.
“Yes, yes, I know. The other eight tokens are with my eight old friends. Each one guards a token.”
“Then take me to them,” Xu Zimo said.
“But wouldn’t that break the rules of the trial?” the turtle said.
“You’re talking to me about rules?” Xu Zimo tilted his head and smiled.
“No, no,” the turtle shook his head quickly. His huge body rose from the island and began swimming toward the ocean.
Xu Zimo floated into the air and stood on the turtle’s shell.
…………
At that moment, the other eight Mountain Lords who were watching everything unfold began to panic.
“Fusion Heaven, he’s definitely reached the Fusion Heaven Realm,” Chang Qing said in shock. “How is that possible? He’s so young. How could he already be at the Fusion Heaven Realm?”
Whispers spread among the others. Clearly, Xu Zimo’s presence had completely disrupted the balance of the trial.
“How are we supposed to compete? Against a Fusion Heaven Realm cultivator, our disciples are just walking to their deaths!” Wang Yuntian stood up from his chair.
He looked at Lin Beisheng and said, “Nice move, Mountain Lord Lin. Planning to wipe out all the younger generation from our eight mountains?”
“Elder Mu, you must stand up for us,” Qi Hai and others pleaded.
“This elder is always fair and just. If anyone breaks the rules, I will punish them without mercy,” Mu Changge replied. “But can you tell me, what rule has Lin Qiu actually broken? What do you want me to do about it?”
“This...” the Mountain Lords hesitated. It was true, so far, everything was within the rules.
“Elder Mu, do you remember how he killed Shen Lang just now?” Elder Qin said calmly.
“He seemed able to block the spatial force. If that’s true, then no one he wants to kill can escape with the spatial talisman.”
“And so what?” Mu Changge asked. “That’s not against the rules, is it?”
“True, but have you thought about what happens if he decides to kill all the disciples in the ruins?” Elder Qin said. “That wouldn’t just be a loss to the Imperial Sect, it would be impossible to explain when we return. Rules are man-made. They can be changed.”
Hearing this, Mu Changge frowned. The situation was getting tricky.
Killing everyone... Mu Changge actually feared Xu Zimo might really do it.
If it happened, he’d have no way to explain it to the main sect.
“But even if we wanted to notify them now, it’s too late,” Mu Changge said.
“The trial has already begun. I can’t just stop it, unless we return to the main sect and forcibly extract everyone.”
“Can’t you connect to the spatial gate?” Qin Hansheng said.
“You can warn everyone to crush their spatial talismans and leave on their own. As long as they don’t run into Lin Qiu, I doubt he can stop the space force.”
“At this point, that’s the only option,” Mu Changge sighed and frowned.
“This kid really is strange. Once he’s out, we should capture him and question him properly.”
Qin Hansheng continued, “To reach Fusion Heaven Realm at his age, I don’t believe that’s a result of normal cultivation.”
“Elder Qin, isn’t that a bit out of line?” Lin Beisheng immediately stood up and said. “My son hasn’t done anything wrong. Why arrest him?”
“Don’t worry, Mountain Lord Lin. We won’t do anything to him, just ask a few questions,” Qin Hansheng smiled.
Lin Beisheng frowned deeply. He looked around and saw the other eight Mountain Lords clearly siding with Qin Hansheng.
Things had gone beyond what he could control.
“But he’s already in the Fusion Heaven Realm. If we provoke him...” Mu Changge said worriedly.
“What are you afraid of? Both of us are in the Fusion Heaven Realm too. You think we can’t handle one person?” Qin Hansheng said coldly. “Besides, the lords of the Eight Mountains are also here. You think he can turn the heavens upside down?”
Mu Changge sighed deeply. He raised his right hand, and endless spiritforce rippled through the air.
The Nine Heavens Grand Formation activated once again, connecting to the spatial gate. His voice carried heavy spiritual energy.
Through the power of space, his voice spread into the ruins.
“All Nine Heavens disciples, hear this: because Lin Qiu of Grand Heaven Mountain has reached the Fusion Heaven Realm, there is a severe imbalance in this trial’s power levels. We have decided to cancel the trial within the ruins. Everyone, crush your spatial talismans and exit immediately.”
Although Mu Changge’s voice entered the ruins, the space inside was too vast.
He had to repeat the message again and again, hoping more disciples would hear it.
…………
Xu Zimo sat atop the old turtle as it slowly made its way northwest.