With one last glance at the disciple, Fang Yuan committed his face to memory, silently adding him to his ever-growing kill list. He then turned towards Ji Mingxiu and, with a respectful bow, said, "I seek the Holy Lord's permission to return to my cave mansion for healing."
Ji Mingxiu, not thinking much of it, nodded and replied casually, "Permission granted."
He then turned his gaze to the other contestants and added, "All disciples are allowed one hour of free movement. However, failure to return within the allotted time will result in disqualification from the competition!"
"Thank you, Holy Lord!" Fang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, bowed again in gratitude, then took out his flying artifact and headed back to his cave mansion.
In his wake, several other participating disciples also left their respective fighting platforms.
After all, not every disciple could recover under the intense gaze of the vast crowd; some anxiety was inevitable.
