Surrender

Admitting defeat and surrendering meant about the same thing when used interchangeably, but strictly speaking, they had completely different meanings.

Tu Gou and Deng Yuanlei could admit defeat; that only represented their personal positions. But they couldn't surrender, because that would mean betraying their sect and the entire Central Plains.

"You... what do you mean?" Tu Gou felt for a breath beneath Tu Pianpian's nostrils and relaxed a little. He stood up and asked blankly.

"What do I mean? The Dragon King wants us to kneel and swear allegiance to him, to become his subjects from now on."

Tu Gou looked even more lost. He glanced at his unconscious sister, but she couldn't offer him any advice, so he turned to the dozens of Kongtong Sect disciples. "What do you say? Can we do this?"

The disciples were all juniors. Who would dare make a decision about something like this? They looked from one to another, and no one spoke. After a long while, one disciple finally shouted, "Let's all attack together, capture the Dragon King alive, and force him to hand over the antidote!"

"Bah." Tu Gou looked at the disciple with contempt. "We agreed to a duel to the death. I'd rather be killed by the Dragon King than bully him with numbers and break my word."

The disciple retreated sheepishly. Deng Yuanlei called out loudly in approval. "Brother Tu is right. A scholar would rather be killed than humiliated. Dragon King, go ahead and strike. You won this duel today."

Tu Gou didn't see it that way. He hurriedly said, "Wait, don't attack. Let's talk it over. Just kill me and let my senior sister go. You can still count it as a win."

Gu Shenwei was about to speak when Fan Yongda of the Kongtong Sect