"Less than three hundred breaths remain, it seems he has given up."
Some who recognized Xu Mu shook their heads with complex expressions. It seemed their alliance leader had sustained severe injuries, rendering him unable to ascend the Saint Stair further.
Even so, his points were still sufficient for him to be among the final one in five thousand.
Outside, the Ye family's old ancestor, Ye Geng, could barely contain his mocking smile.
"This Mu Xu's strength is indeed formidable, having caused my grandson some trouble," Ye Geng said as he stood up and brushed off his sleeves, his tone laced with insincerity. "Alas, there are still three hundred breaths left, ample time for him to take three hundred steps. I only hope he doesn't surpass my grandson now."
His words immediately ignited widespread laughter throughout the crowd, as everyone understood Ye Geng was ridiculing the Jiang family.
The Jiang family members looked displeased, their resentful gazes falling upon Jiang Li. It was he who had declared earlier that Xu Mu would surely overtake others, yet the current reality was a profound humiliation.
"Junior Mu Xu's inaction must have a reason behind it," Jiang Li said, feeling a bit embarrassed. However, recalling what Mu Xu had done before, he regained some confidence. He turned to the members of the Jiang family and said earnestly, "I believe his actions are undoubtedly justifiable!"
"And his justification is to cause our Jiang family to lose face?" Jiang Liyun roared at Jiang Li, a hint of schadenfreude surfacing in his heart.
Due to Mu Xu's emergence, Jiang Li's lineage, once easily manipulated by him, had gradually gained the capital to contend with him. Even the Old Ancestor's attitude had undergone a tremendous shift, making him deeply uneasy and unhappy.
Therefore, now that he had caught Jiang Li in a vulnerable position, he naturally intended to criticize him thoroughly.
"In my opinion, he's deliberately making our Jiang family lose face, intending to use this as leverage to gain greater benefits!" Jiang Liyun stared at Jiang Li and declared coldly, "Even in the preliminary rounds, it's like this. What about the future Myriad Clan Assembly? If he causes such trouble again, demanding exorbitant prices, what will our Jiang family do?"
"How can our Jiang family be arbitrarily blackmailed by an outsider junior!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Li immediately began to shake his head in panic, explaining, "No... it's not like that. Junior Mu Xu is not that kind of person."
Jiang Liyun was unapologetic and continued, "Whether he is that kind of person or not, the outcome is already evident."
"He's a flesh-body cultivator at the third stage. How serious can his injuries be to remain motionless? We watched his entire combat process, and he was energetic throughout!"
"No... it's not like that." Jiang Li's expression turned pale, as he felt the Old Ancestor's gaze towards him gradually turn cold.
While Jiang Shu might not necessarily believe Jiang Liyun's words, he would certainly harbor some doubts.
These doubts could be extremely fatal to his collateral branch, which had only recently begun to show promise, potentially leading to immense losses.
Jiang Li's lips turned pale as he gazed at Mu Xu, who was meditating cross-legged in the Profound Void Realm, unable to refute anything.
After Jiang Liyun finished speaking, his expression was icy, but inwardly, he felt immense pride and satisfaction.
"Let's see what you can do!"
With this thought, he glanced at the incense candle used for timing, which had burned down to its very end.
Less than thirty seconds remained before the competition concluded.
Jiang Liyun sneered, just about to mock a few more words, when he heard a commotion from the crowd.
"He's moving, he's moving!"
Following the shouts, Jiang Liyun abruptly raised his head and looked towards the Profound Void Realm.
There, Xu Mu, who had been sitting still, was now slowly standing up and stretching.
"Phew, I thought something had happened," Jiang Liyun said with a sigh of relief, then yelled at the noisy crowd, "Stop your clamor! How can you be so impatient!"
"With less than twenty-five seconds left before the competition ends, what use is it for him to stand up? Is he still planning to ascend the Saint Stair!"
Jiang Liyun's words silenced the crowd.
Seeing this, he assumed his intimidating presence had worked and smugly turned his head, looking back towards the Profound Void Realm.
Then, his body froze abruptly.
For now, after standing up, Xu Mu had twisted his ankles and wrists, then with a powerful leap, he ascended the first step of the Saint Stair.
Jiang Liyun inexplicably felt nervous. He glanced at the incense candle, realizing only fifteen seconds remained. What was Xu Mu planning to do?
"In fifteen breaths, can he still turn things around... or not." His words abruptly stopped.
For at this moment, in the Profound Void Realm, Xu Mu on the first step of the Saint Stair had directly leaped up, taking five steps forward, reaching the sixth step in a second, but that wasn't all!
"Rumble!"
With a thunderous clap, on the Saint Stair, Xu Mu's expression remained calm, his hands behind his back, his flesh resisting the surging waves head-on. Yet, his body was like a towering mountain standing in the sea, unshakeable!
At this moment, only ten seconds remained until the third round of the competition ended.
Xu Mu did not pause, ignoring the astonished gazes of the crowd, and took another step forward.
Rumble!
This step, another five steps, he directly reached the eleventh step. The pressure above could not shake him, so without a second thought, he moved forward again.
One step, sixteenth step, another step, twenty-first step.
As the roar of the heavens and earth continued, Xu Mu ascended step by step, his momentum rising, bypassing one extraordinary individual after another.
Bang!
Jiang Sheng remained at the forty-fourth level. As Xu Mu passed him, he turned and smiled at him.
Bang!
Qian Qian and Qi Lan were both at the fifty-seventh level, looking disheveled and bloody. As Xu Mu passed, he casually tossed them a potent medicinal pill.
Bang!
Wan Yan Zhenyao was at the sixty-second level, surrounded by lightning. But as Xu Mu passed by him, the lightning was involuntarily drawn to Xu Mu, integrating into his Dao Source and transforming into even more powerful lightning.
At this point, only three seconds remained until the competition ended.
Ahead of Xu Mu, there were still four people.
The sixty-fifth level was an unknown rogue cultivator whom Xu Mu didn't recognize, so he stepped directly past him, arriving behind Jiang Taixu.
Jiang Taixu looked at Xu Mu with a shocked expression. He wanted to speak, but Xu Mu had already walked past him.
At this moment, only one second remained until the competition ended.
Xu Mu stood on the seventy-fourth level, looking up at Ye Gong, and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
Time was insufficient.
Rumble!
In the final second, he took ten steps.
His might was like thunder. The pseudo-Saint Stair seemed to feel insulted, unleashing an impact far beyond its level, intending to push this disrespectful individual off. Jiang Zheyue, beside him, also suffered, so he quickly prostrated himself to survive.
Buzz!
Time was up.
The pressure on the Saint Stair vanished completely.
Jiang Zheyue, prostrate on the eighty-fourth step, stared rigidly at the pair of cloth shoes beside him.
He raised his head.
Xu Mu stood straight, hands behind his back, and smiled at Ye Gong, saying, "Congratulations, you have won."