The spectators below all thought they had misheard.
Li Xin might not have been the absolute top genius of the Great Sacred Hall, but even as a second-tier genius of the Great Sacred Hall, he could still hold his own against the top-tier geniuses of other sects.
Moreover, the Sacred Wolf clan was known for their aggressive combat instincts. Yet after just two punches, he had voluntarily admitted defeat?
Every match in this Grand Ceremony's martial competition had proceeded normally—except for every single bout involving Mu Gaoqi. Every single one! Why did every fight involving him seem so abnormal?
In his first match against Feng Pao of the fifth-ranked sect, Feng Pao was only at the seventh level of the Origin Realm, yet Mu Gaoqi had fought with tremendous difficulty, drenched in sweat from head to toe.
In his second match against Wang Jing of the Sacred Sword Palace, Wang Jing's strength was undoubtedly several times greater than Feng Pao's, and his offensive power could be described as devastating. Yet when those attacks landed on Jiang Chen, it was as if a gentle breeze had brushed his face—not the slightest sensation. Wang Jing himself was instead sent flying by a single kick.
This third match was even more bizarre. Li Xin, whose strength far surpassed Wang Jing's, was even more pitiful this time—he didn't even get the chance to throw a single move.
After just a few simple punches, he spat out a mouthful of blood and then voluntarily surrendered.
What was all this supposed to mean?
It seemed like every one of these opponents was cooperating with Mu Gaoqi to put on a show.
"Did any of you catch that? How come Li Xin just surrendered?"
"Couldn't see it too clearly. Were those few punches from Mu Gaoqi actually powerful?"
"Who knows? I sure couldn't make out anything special."
To be fair, Jiang Chen's few punches were indeed far too ordinary. Just like fighters at the True Qi Realm going at each other—forget about any aesthetic appeal, there was nothing to be seen of any exquisite fist technique or profound martial meaning.
Paying no attention to the stunned looks from the crowd below, Jiang Chen strolled leisurely off the stage.
This time around, he had actually become the first person to advance in this round—the speed at which he dispatched his opponents was even more impressive than those Holy Realm geniuses!
However, not long after Jiang Chen came down, Holy Realm geniuses also continuously finished their fights and walked off the stage with ease.
Jiang Chen glanced around. This time, the various sects of the Myriad Domains had sent all their elites, and the number of Holy Realm geniuses among the younger generation was truly greater than what he had seen at the last Huanbo Mountain Pill Competition.
"It seems that at the Huanbo Mountain Pill Competition, some martial arts geniuses considered it beneath them to even participate." As Jiang Chen watched these Holy Realm geniuses descend one after another and took a rough headcount, the Great Sacred Hall alone had four Holy Realm geniuses—the four most outstanding members of its four great families.
The Sacred Sword Palace, meanwhile, had three who had broken through to the Holy Realm.
The Northern Darkness Sect, the Carefree Sect, and Dan Qian Palace each had two.
Had the Three Stars Sect not willingly brought ruin upon itself, the top sixteen of the first tier at this Grand Assembly martial competition really could have been swept entirely by Holy Realm geniuses, with no slots whatsoever falling to those below that level.
Aside from the Holy Realm geniuses, there were also some relatively lopsided bouts that had gradually reached their conclusions.
Ling Bi'er, for example, had drawn excellent luck this round—her opponent came from a non-fourth-grade sect, and she likewise coasted to an easy victory.
With that, not a single Dan Qian Palace contestant had any trouble—all four advanced easily into the next round.
But the remaining Nie Chong was having a miserable time of it.
His opponent was none other than Jin Feng, the Sacred Sword Palace's second-ranked genius, whose strength had also reached the peak of the first level of the Holy Realm. In terms of raw combat prowess, even Shen Qinghong might not necessarily have been able to defeat him.
At this moment, Nie Chong was giving his absolute all—unleashing every trump card from the very first exchange—yet he had still immediately fallen into a disadvantage.
Jin Feng clearly had no intention of holding back. Facing Nie Chong's all-out, desperate assault, he felt a measure of wariness but was far from thrown into disarray. After all, as the Sacred Sword Palace's second-ranked genius, his strength held a firm edge over Nie Chong, and his trump cards likewise maintained a decisive advantage.
Even though everyone had warned Nie Chong beforehand to give up if he couldn't win.
But once you were caught in your opponent's rhythm, giving up was easier said than done—you had to have the opportunity first.
Jin Feng clearly had no intention of giving Nie Chong that chance. He pressed his attack relentlessly, obviously planning to cripple Nie Chong in one overwhelming burst.
On the Dan Qian Palace side, every face was grim with tension.
But on the arena stage, no one else could intervene. All they could do was watch from below, burning with anxiety.
"Master, is there any way to get Nie Chong out safely?" Shen Qinghong couldn't help but ask Elder Liancheng.
Elder Liancheng smiled bitterly. "This is the Grand Ceremony tournament. The rules are laid out plainly—if we intervene, all of your results will be disqualified. And even if we did step in, the people from Sacred Sword Palace are no pushovers. They won't just stand by and watch."
Shen Qinghong glanced toward the Sacred Sword Palace side. Every last one of them was glaring over like hungry tigers, eyes fixed on Dan Qian Palace—clearly on guard against any interference.
Not only that, but every Sacred Sword Palace member wore a look of thick, undisguised provocation in their eyes.
Dan Chi spoke in a low, heavy voice: "You gamble, you take the loss."
Jiang Chen looked up at the battle and knew that if things continued like this, Nie Chong would either die on the spot or be crippled at best. Speaking of which, although this matter didn't directly concern him, even if he hadn't crippled Wang Jing earlier, the Sacred Sword Palace people would surely have shown no mercy upon encountering a disciple of Dan Qian Palace.
His crippling of Wang Jing had only made matters worse.
Jiang Chen glanced at the arena. Nie Chong was already in desperate straits, on the verge of collapse at any moment.
Although Nie Chong had a brash temperament, he was still a disciple of Dan Qian Palace after all. If something happened to him, it wouldn't reflect well on Palace Master Dan Chi.
Without hesitation, Jiang Chen secretly sent a voice transmission to Long Xiaoxuan: "Brother Long, go break up the fight. No need to reveal your divine form—just interrupt things briefly so my fellow disciple has a chance to forfeit."
Long Xiaoxuan was of true dragon bloodline, and being asked by Jiang Chen to do something as lowly as breaking up a fight was something he really wasn't keen on. However, the two had gotten along quite well during this period, and Jiang Chen rarely made demands of him.