At this moment,
Qi Peng suddenly calmed his breathing, and his face became composed.
With a graceful leap, he landed on the platform, not far from where Jiang Heng stood.
"Jiang Heng."
"I know I'm not your match, but don't think for a moment that I'll back down without a fight!"
"Come on!"
Qi Peng unsheathed his sword and shouted in a deep voice.
He shot forward.
Jiang Heng's expression remained calm as he raised his hand and fiercely slapped at the oncoming sword!
This palm descended like a massive meteor from the heavens, carrying a furious and overwhelming force that collided with the sword tip with a resounding clang!
Clang!
The sword blade shattered instantly.
Jiang Heng's palm continued forward without any hesitation.
The intense wind pressure hit Qi Peng, almost robbing him of his breath.
He suddenly turned, attempting to dodge this palm.
But Jiang Heng was faster, instantly transforming his palm into an elbow and simultaneously moving his feet.
A fierce elbow strike landed beside Qi Peng.
Boom!
Qi Peng's body was sent flying sideways and crashed onto the platform. After a few rebounds, he fell to the corner of the arena.
The perfected Profound-Grade "Mountain-Breaking Fist" was truly terrifying. Even a seemingly simple elbow strike had caused severe internal injuries, tearing Qi Peng's body apart.
With a single blow, his internal organs, muscles, bones, and flesh were all damaged!
Qi Peng couldn't get up for a long time.
There was an instant uproar in the audience.
"He got defeated in seconds!"
"Jiang Heng is indeed the unbeatable powerhouse of the outer sect! Even Qi Peng, one of the championship favorites, couldn't withstand a single move from him."
"Don't mention Qi Peng; I'm afraid that anyone in the outer sect wouldn't be able to withstand his attack."
"I dare say Jiang Heng is undoubtedly the strongest physical realm cultivator in history!"
In one corner of the platform,
Qi Peng endured the excruciating pain that tore through his body and struggled to get up.
Looking at Jiang Heng's youthful face, a complex expression washed over him.
Who among those who could enter the outer sect wasn't a genius?
Who among those who became championship favorites wasn't the cream of the crop?
Yet, even a genius like him was completely powerless against Jiang Heng.
Casually, with a single strike, he was severely injured.
"I've lost."
Qi Peng said with a bitter tone.
Then, he got up and staggered toward the area below the platform, looking dispirited.
This defeat had dealt a blow to his confidence like never before.
All his pride and vanity had vanished like a dream.
However, on the platform, Jiang Heng showed no intention of stepping down.
He surveyed the surroundings.
Wherever his gaze landed, the crowd fell into silence.
Finally, with an assertive and domineering look in his eyes, he turned his attention to those waiting in the combat zone.
"You're too weak!"
"All of you, come at me together!"
"Let me feel some excitement! Experience a real battle!"
Jiang Heng grinned boldly.
The qi and blood within his body surged wildly, and his aura continuously rose. His black hair floated recklessly, appearing as if he were going mad!
The spectators around the arena felt a tingling sensation all over their bodies, and their blood boiled with excitement.
At this very moment, Jiang Heng's youthful face exuded an aura of dominance in the eyes of everyone, as if he could sweep away all opposition.
One person challenged all the others at the top of the rankings simultaneously!
What tremendous strength! What confidence! What dominance!
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted from below, "Step onto the stage!"
Gradually, others joined in, chanting, "On the stage! On the stage!"
Soon, all the onlookers were excitedly shouting in unison:
"On the stage!"
"On the stage!"
The endless roar echoed back and forth across the square, further igniting the fervor in everyone's blood.
Next to the platform,
The referee, who was also a steward, was about to speak up to stop this, but a large hand rested on his shoulder.
Turning his head, the steward saw that it was Senior Steward Su Qinghe.
He shook his head, but his gaze remained interested in the action on the stage.
"Don't stop him!"
In the waiting area,
Apart from Jiang Heng, the other top fifty candidates had all gathered here.
Their faces were stiff, and they clenched their fists.
All of them were the cream of the crop among nearly ten thousand outer sect disciples, truly outstanding geniuses.
But now,
Jiang Heng, a single person, was challenging all forty-eight of them simultaneously, which was a direct insult to their abilities!
However, Jiang Heng's strength was evident to all.
Even Qi Peng, who had a great chance of winning the championship, couldn't withstand a single move from him. So, everyone here might face the same fate when confronting Jiang Heng.
Even if they attacked together, they wouldn't be able to break through his defenses, and there was no hope of victory.
On the platform,
Jiang Heng shook his head in disappointment, and then he sternly reprimanded:
"If you want to fight, step onto the stage!"
"If not, admit defeat!"
"As warriors, either rise to the challenge or have the courage to admit your weakness. If you cower and hesitate, what's the point of talking about martial arts?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the onlookers around the waiting area began to jeer and hiss.
All sorts of disdainful words reached the ears of those waiting.
The candidates' faces alternated between pale and flushed.
At this moment, Lan Gaozhuo, who had been one of the championship favorites, deeply exhaled, seemingly murmuring to himself and addressing everyone at the same time:
"Yes! If we don't dare to face our own strength, what's the use of talking about courage and progress in martial arts?"
Then, he raised his head high, puffed out his chest, and declared loudly:
"I, Lan Gaozhuo, admit defeat!"
The noisy and bustling square suddenly fell silent.
Then another person raised his head high and declared, "I, Mi Peipei, admit defeat!"
One after another, the candidates in the waiting area began to speak, and soon, everyone admitted defeat.
Someone shouted excitedly, "Senior Brother Jiang is invincible!"
All the onlookers immediately echoed:
"Invincible! Invincible!"
The deafening roar echoed in all directions, and even a bird passing by in the sky had its internal organs shattered by the sound waves, falling to the ground dead.
Qi Peng, who had taken healing pills and was sitting cross-legged in the corner, looked at Jiang Heng on the platform with a complex expression. It took him a long time to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He had completely let go of his obsession, and his mentality had become calm and peaceful.
He had clearly realized that Jiang Heng was an opponent he couldn't match.
On the other side,
Meng Lingshuo, the talented young woman who had lost to Jiang Heng in a duel on the platform over a month ago, also had a complicated expression.
A little over a month ago, she had faced Jiang Heng on the platform. But now, her opponent was so confident and dominant, crushing the entire outer sect, and becoming the absolute number one.
She even had an instinctive intuition that this handsome young man was becoming a legend step by step.
She couldn't help but recall the moment when they dueled back then, when his fist had brushed past her, and her face had turned red.
On the platform,
Jiang Heng raised his hand and gently pressed down, instantly silencing the crowd.
He looked at the candidates in the waiting area with approval.
"Not bad! Only by facing your own strengths and weaknesses can you truly become strong!"
"Now that you've all admitted defeat, I am the champion of this tournament!"
Saying this, he looked to the side at the Senior Steward Su Qinghe, silently seeking confirmation with his eyes.
Su Qinghe chuckled and then announced loudly:
"The champion of this tournament is Jiang Heng!"
All the onlookers cheered as if they had won the championship themselves.
The cheers and shouts continued for a long time.
After stepping down from the platform, Jiang Heng watched as two more candidates ascended the stage to engage in intense battles.
But the spectators remained enthusiastic, discussing the scene that had just unfolded.
Jiang Heng found a corner to sit down and closed his eyes to rest.
The matches continued one after another.
After the first round, it was immediately followed by the second round.
By noon,
The entire tournament was coming to an end.
Jiang Heng was undoubtedly the well-deserved champion.
As for the other contestants, their rankings were gradually determined through further matches.
Runner-up: Lan Gaozhuo.
Third place: Gu Zhaojun.
Fourth place: Qi Peng.
It's worth mentioning that Qi Peng, after suffering serious internal injuries in his battle against Jiang Heng, was still affected even after taking healing pills, which hindered his performance. In the second round, facing another championship favorite, Lan Gaozhuo, he was defeated.
With that, the finals came to a close!