Nangong Huai Tian firmly pushed the spoon back, then said with a serious expression, "I think you're trying to poison me."
Xu Mu shrugged innocently and said, "How could that be? Everyone knows you love medicinal herbs the most. Even the valley master of Medicine King Valley wants to take you as a disciple. How could I possibly poison your medicinal soup?"
"Yes, then what is this?" Nangong Huai Tian looked at the dark medicinal soup in her hand, her beautiful face creased with worry.
"I appreciate your kindness."
"I have my own pills, so I won't trouble you."
Hearing this, Xu Mu didn't insist. He quietly took back the medicinal soup and scratched his head, saying:
"Alright."
"Are you sure you don't want to eat it?"
Nangong gave Xu Mu a glare and said impatiently, "I'm sure."
"..."
Xu Mu fell silent, no longer speaking. He slowly retreated fifty paces away, facing Nangong Huai Tian quietly.
In the final round, it was their turn to battle. The winner would directly become the number one of the Myriad Races Alliance and be crowned the Supreme.
Outside, countless people watched in silence as Xu Mu and Nangong exchanged a round of "flirtatious banter." They were all so angered that their teeth itched.
In a corner, a few youths gathered, constantly discussing.
"To do such a thing on the battle stage, do they have any public morals? Are they even here to fight?" a young man in his twenties with stubble said sourly.
"Damn it, my Saintess Nangong, how dare he get so close to Saintess Nangong! When he comes out, don't stop me, I'm going to kill him!" Beside him, a youthful-looking boy clutched his sword, constantly gesturing at the phantom image of Xu Mu in the sky.
"Dream on. If nothing unexpected happens, this Mu Xu should be the number one of this Myriad Races Alliance. Crushing someone like me is as easy as crushing an ant!" The stubbled youth glanced at him and said disdainfully.
As soon as he said this, the initially indignant boy was stunned. He said unconvincingly, "If Saintess Nangong hadn't been injured in the previous round, the final outcome wouldn't necessarily be what it is now."
"Mu Xu received a bye. I think this is unfair to Saintess Nangong. I demand that he also fight a match first. At least, he should be matched against an opponent of Zuo Ming Qiu's caliber before fighting Saintess Nangong!"
The stubbled youth glanced at him disdainfully again and said helplessly, "Do you think the Myriad Races Alliance is your home? These rules were jointly decided by five highly respected judges. You want to change them just like that?"
Before the sword-wielding boy could reply, he heard protests erupt from other parts of the clouds:
"That's right, this is unfair! We demand that Mu Xu also be matched with an opponent, and the opponent must be strong, otherwise, this is too unfair to Saintess Nangong!"
"It's okay not to arrange an opponent, or you could wait until Saintess Nangong has recovered before fighting. We can all wait!"
"Yes, yes, fighting like this is too unfair to Saintess Nangong. Why don't we just call it a draw then..."
For a time, the clouds were filled with chaotic protests. All the cultivators who liked Nangong, and those who had just begun to like Nangong Huai Tian, spoke up to seek justice for her, their voices rising and falling.
As for the families who had grievances with Xu Mu, such as the Ye family and the Qi family, upon hearing the global sentiment, they realized it was unfavorable to Xu Mu. Thus, they also began to conceal themselves within the crowd and shout with all their might, seeking fairness for Nangong Huai Tian.
On the judging platform, the five judges gathered. They listened to the thousands of discussions from all directions, their heads aching. The judge Li Huan of the Li family was about to reprimand them when he was stopped by the gaze of Daoist Tian Shui from Bai Yun Daoist Temple.
"Wait."
"This matter is indeed not ideal. It is of great importance, and we must carefully deliberate and decide."
Hearing this, Li Huan frowned and asked, "Do you mean we should really find an opponent for Mu Xu, as they say, or postpone the finals for a few days?"
Daoist Tian Shui shook his head and sighed, "The second option is impossible. The cultivators of all hundred races have stayed long enough in the Holy City. If they don't return to their respective territories soon, foreign forces might take the opportunity to stir up trouble."
"As for the first option, it is feasible. It's just that, who should we find to fight Mu Xu?"
As the question arose, the other four judges fell into thought. After a while, the old monk from the West, chanting a Buddhist verse, said:
"This old monk believes that Chen Chang Kong of the Chen clan is the most suitable, but he has already been taken away."
Daoist Tian Shui nodded and sighed gravely, "Yes, Chen Chang Kong is the most suitable, but unfortunately, he is gone. And Zuo Ming Qiu, whose combat power is at the same stage as Xuanyuan Shen Nian, is severely injured and cannot fight again."
"How about... we let that prince from the Great Zhou Dynasty try?" Li Huan suddenly had an idea, casting his gaze towards Zhou Yuan.
He had heard some of Zhou Yuan's deeds and knew that he was a virtuous prince with extremely high cultivation talent, expected to become the next emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"His strength is indeed sufficient. There are not even two people in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty who can contend with him. However... Yuan Pu is by his side."
Daoist Tian Shui glanced at the middle-aged man accompanying Zhou Yuan and then sighed helplessly, "Even if Young Prince Zhou is willing, Yuan Pu will definitely not agree. This fellow is arrogant and is also Zhou Yuan's half-master. He has always only allowed Zhou Yuan to fight against the number one ranked opponents in various competitions."
"In the Great Zhou Dynasty, there was a competition similar to the Myriad Races Alliance, called the State Banquet. Yuan Pu did not even allow Zhou Yuan to participate in the State Banquet, stating that he only needed to wait for the number one to appear and then defeat them. And that's exactly what he did later. Zhou Yuan successfully defeated the top ranker of the Great Zhou Dynasty's State Banquet, becoming the undisputed number one."
Hearing this, the old monk touched his bald head and said with a smile, "In that case, since Yuan Pu didn't even let Zhou Yuan participate in the State Banquet, he certainly won't let him deplete Mu Xu's strength for us."
Li Huan nodded and clicked his tongue, "Yes, and this kind of thing seems to be detrimental to the royal family's dignity."
"But if not Zhou Yuan, what can we do? Zhou Jie is dead, Chen Chang Kong, Yan Yu, and Zuo Ming Qiu can no longer fight. Who else can we find whose strength is close to Xuanyuan Shen Nian? What about the young town guardian of the Mo clan in Zhong Tian?"
"I don't know either."
Daoist Tian Shui also frowned. At this point, he didn't know what to do. Before the quarter-finals, he hadn't expected Yan Yu and Chen Chang Kong to be eliminated simultaneously, leading to a bye.
Because Xu Mu received a bye, it had seriously affected the fairness of the competition and had caused protests from cultivators throughout the hundred races' territories. Therefore, he had to find a way to maintain fairness, but where was this solution?
He couldn't find it.
Thus, above the white clouds, the voices of the world rose higher and higher, their power shaking the heavens, even reaching the battle stage of the Jade Pool Immortal Realm.
Xu Mu looked at Nangong and shrugged with a slight smile:
"They seem to have a lot of opinions about me."
Nangong Huai Tian heard the voices. She first frowned, then said somewhat helplessly, "Indeed, there should be some."
Xu Mu nodded in agreement. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly looked at Nangong and asked, "How about we fight after you've recovered from your injuries?"
Nangong Huai Tian's eyes were clear. She shook her head slightly, "It's impossible. The people of the hundred races have been away from their territories for too long. They must return as soon as possible."
"What does it matter to us whether they return soon or whether we fight today or in the future?" Xu Mu said naturally, cupping his hands in a salute and asking.
Nangong was startled by his words and asked hesitantly, "It doesn't matter... does it?"
Xu Mu nodded and took out a jade slip from his embrace, saying earnestly, "Of course it doesn't matter."
"In fact, I don't particularly care about the ranking in the Myriad Races Alliance. Being the Supreme or the second place is the same to me, because I am not from the hundred races' territory in the first place."
"And if you and I are to fight, and if we must fight, it certainly won't be at this time. Your condition is too poor, and my victory would be unearned."
Nangong Huai Tian looked at Xu Mu, her eyes somewhat dazed, not understanding what he meant by these words.
But when she saw the jade slip in Xu Mu's hand, she understood what Xu Mu was about to do, yet she dared not believe it.
Under the sacred radiance, Xu Mu looked at Nangong Huai Tian and, with a smile, crushed the jade slip in his hand:
"We'll meet again outside."
"Miss Nangong Huai Tian."
...