Volume Two, Travels in Qi State Chapter 148: I Won, Didn't I?

Amidst the incredulous gazes of the crowd, three forces of different attributes slowly merged together. They formed a massive spiritual energy sphere in front of Zhang Heng, radiating an extraordinarily terrifying coercion.

Zhang Heng had been struggling bitterly to sustain it, the spiritual energy within his body continuously being sapped by that sphere of energy. His legs trembled uncontrollably. Blood began to spill from the corners of his mouth, and even his consciousness was becoming slightly blurred.

"He actually succeeded?"
"How is this possible?"

Everyone was stunned. Those Tianyuan realm masters who had lived for hundreds of years looked at each other in dismay, all of them having never witnessed such a scene before.

It had never been heard of that someone could fuse martial arts techniques of three different attributes together. Even ancient texts bore no record of it. Zhang Heng's action was a groundbreaking precedent.

When three forces collided, they actually produced no repulsion? Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it.

By now, everyone had no choice but to admire this low-level cultivator at the third tier of the Qi Sea realm named Zhang Heng. His talent for martial arts could be called the number one in the entire continent without exaggeration. If nothing unexpected happened and he was allowed to grow like this, he would undoubtedly become a top-tier powerhouse looking down upon the world.

Looking at Zhang Heng struggling bitterly in the arena, Wu Hong finally understood why the peerless Sword Saint Dugu Bai held Zhang Heng in such high regard, and even gave his own natal magical artifact, the Heart-Protecting Sword, to Zhang Heng.

It was because Zhang Heng was a true monster—a once-in-an-eternity monster.

Finally, the spiritual energy sphere seemed to have eaten its fill, ceasing to absorb Zhang Heng's spiritual energy and hovering in the air right before his eyes, spinning incessantly.

Zhang Heng, whose entire body's strength had been drained, lay weakly on the ground. Relying on the mere sliver of consciousness he had left, he retrieved a spiritual fruit from his spatial ring and began to recover his spiritual energy.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuan's technique was also fully prepared.

All-encompassing golden spiritual energy formed numerous spears that flashed with cold light continuously. Their might was by no means inferior to the spiritual energy sphere formed by the fusion of Zhang Heng's three techniques.

Up on the second floor, Emperor Qi and Wu Hong both felt a secret sense of apprehension at such immense power. If they truly clashed, Zhang Heng and Qi Xuan would both likely be injured.

However, they did not step in to stop them. Zhang Heng and Qi Xuan were both super geniuses, and both possessed their own pride; naturally, they had to fight to the death. Let them be willful this time; at worst, after the fight concluded, they would just dispense a few more body-nourishing medicinal pills to them.

Everyone held their breath and concentrated, fearing they might disturb the two individuals on the stage.

On the arena stage, the two attacks, brimming with potent spiritual energy, "gazed" at each other from afar.

Such powerful attacks moved even those Void-Returning and Tianyuan realm powerhouses. They asked themselves that if they had been at Qi Xuan and Zhang Heng's age, they would definitely not have been able to execute such ferocious techniques.

This strike embodied all the pride of the two youths.

Yet, regardless of the outcome, the two of them had already won the recognition of everyone present.

Before long, the two attacks rushed toward each other carrying heaven-shaking coercion.

Had it finally come? The all-out collision between two peerless geniuses—everyone widened their eyes and sharpened their focus, terrified of missing a single detail.

The two attacks collided, and a powerful shockwave instantly swept across the entire arena. A massive explosion rang out. Even the arena, constructed from special materials, was blasted to ruins by their attacks. Stones and dust flew continuously from the stage, causing the spectators below to dodge repeatedly.

When all the dust finally settled, everyone looked toward the arena. They saw a deep crater blasted into the very center of the stage. Zhang Heng and Qi Xuan lay on opposite sides, their auras both extremely feeble.

Emperor Qi and Wu Hong were the first to react. In a flash, they arrived upon the arena stage.

Emperor Qi had been infected by demonic energy, and now, forcibly circulating his spiritual energy, he could not help but cough once. However, he concealed it very naturally.

Both Zhang Heng and Qi Xuan had passed out, so this match could only end in a draw.

Just as the two men were about to help Zhang Heng and Qi Xuan up, they witnessed a soul-stirring sight.

Zhang Heng, lying on the left side of the arena, actually moved.

His clothes were torn to shreds by the blast. Blood stained the corners of his mouth. His aura was extremely faint. There was not a shred of spiritual energy left in his entire body, and his movements were agonizingly slow, as if every single action required enduring extreme pain. Yet, even so, he stood up.

Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone, he stood up.

"I won, right?" Zhang Heng uttered these four words with the utmost difficulty.

Wu Hong was struck speechless by this sight. He looked at Qi Xuan lying on the ground nearby and nodded blankly.

Zhang Heng mustered all his remaining strength to form an arc at the corner of his mouth, and then, unable to sustain himself any longer, he collapsed onto the ground.

He had won—yes.

Although Zhang Heng had never suffered so miserably before, this time, he was truly happy.

In his previous life, he had desperately tried to integrate into society. Yet the entire society rejected him, so no matter how hard he tried, he remained mediocre, living a life where mere survival was a luxury. Until the moment he died, he had never truly accomplished a single thing that satisfied him.

After transmigrating to the immortal cultivation continent, he was still just a low-level cultivator as insignificant as dust. All his actions had been arranged by the system. Everything he had was given by the system. Even the Heart-Protecting Sword he always used to show off belonged to Dugu Bai.

This time was the first time he had fought with all his might for himself, doing something of his own accord.

Therefore, he smiled.

Brother System, I finally didn't live up to your expectations. This was Zhang Heng's last thought before losing consciousness.

Zhang Heng's tragic yet brilliant smile was deeply branded into the minds of all the spectators. What kind of sheer willpower could possibly support him in standing up under such circumstances?

All the geniuses of the same generation lowered their heads in secret.

Even Mu Wanqing felt a sense of reverence upon seeing Zhang Heng like this. Her beautiful eyes flickered with a complex expression.

Today's battles had concluded.
Mu Wanqing versus Chiying: the winner was Mu Wanqing.
Zhang Heng versus Qi Xuan: the winner was Zhang Heng.

Due to the heavy injuries sustained by Zhang Heng and Qi Xuan, the final showdown originally scheduled for tomorrow was postponed to one week later.

All the spectators still felt unsatisfied, yet they consciously dispersed. The great figures of all the major sects also departed with their disciples.

Today's battle had engraved itself into everyone's hearts, every single scene touching them deeply.

The peerless clash of pride between two supreme geniuses, along with that soul-stirring smile, would surely spread throughout the entire Qi State.

Two days later.

At this moment, Zhang Heng lay in his own quarters. Standing before him were three old men: Wu Hong, Ling Tian, and Bai Chen of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion.

Zhang Heng never expected that upon waking from his first major injury and coma, the first things he would see were three old men.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" A sense of impending doom flashed through Zhang Heng's mind. He hurriedly pulled his clothes tighter. The three old men in front of him were all staring at him strangely.

Wu Hong muttered to himself, "Is it because my medicinal pill was miraculous? But pills are only supplementary after all; the most important thing is still his innate constitution."

Ling Tian continued, "His spiritual energy was completely exhausted, and his heart and spleen were damaged. Yet he is able to recover rapidly in such a short period of time."

Bai Chen chimed in, "It's simply impossible for an ordinary person. Could he be one of those one-in-a-million..."

Zhang Heng hurriedly spoke up to interrupt them, "Senior elders, I am already healed. You must all be very busy; you don't need to worry about me."

Zhang Heng offered a self-deprecating smile. "How could I possibly be any one-in-a-million martial arts prodigy! At best, I can only be considered a one-in-a-million martial arts good-for-nothing."