Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword-Chapter 40 - The Number 1 of the Outer Sect

“That kid relies on his mysterious movement technique, but in terms of real combat power, he may not necessarily be Kong Xiang’s match!”

Around him was a buzz of discussion, everyone voicing their opinions, but the consensus seemed to be that people didn’t have high hopes for Zhou Heng to emerge as a dark horse this time.

Zhou Heng looked toward Kong Xiang and the other nine.

Kong Xiang, ranked last, was sitting on the far right, so the person who was seated first from the left should be Jing Tian, the number one of the Outer Sect!

This was a young man of about eighteen years old, very ordinary-looking with eyes that were always slightly squinted, giving off a lackadaisical appearance.

But when Zhou Heng stared at him for less than a second, Jing Tian sensed it immediately, raised his head to give Zhou Heng a glance, then lazily lowered it again, not taking him seriously at all.

The number one person of the Outer Sect, indeed extraordinary.

In Zhou Heng’s eyes, there was only Jing Tian; since he was going to challenge, why not challenge the strongest?

As a martial artist, one should have a heart unbeatable by peers, and now that he was also at the Ninth Layer of Body Refinement, he naturally feared nothing.

Before long, a blue-robed elder lightly floated forward and said, “I am Ai Songtao, the referee for this challenge day.

According to the old rules, all disciples of the Outer Sect may challenge until sunset, let’s begin!”

That was straightforward.

Zhou Heng’s gaze sharpened; he knew that only an expert of the Spirit Gathering Realm could serve as a referee, hence Ai Songtao must be someone from the Spirit Gathering Realm!

But judging by the elder’s appearance, there was nothing extraordinary, he looked as plain as any ordinary old man.

The difference between the Spirit Gathering Realm and the Body Refinement Realm was substantial, and looking with old perspectives simply didn’t work anymore.

This was the first Spirit Gathering Realm expert Zhou Heng had ever seen, but no matter how he looked, he couldn’t discern anything special about him.

“I will!” A shout rang out as Shi Qingfeng jumped down from the spectators’ seats, “I challenge Kong Xiang!”

That guy had been defeated by Kong Xiang with a single punch, his pride stung; he was desperate to defeat Kong Xiang in public to save face.

Kong Xiang sprang onto his feet with a sneer, “You couldn’t be my match even if you practiced for ten more years, a trash will always be a trash!”

“Bastard!” Shi Qingfeng shouted angrily, and immediately launched his attack.

Boom, boom, boom, the two of them fought fiercely.

It was undeniable that Shi Qingfeng had made great progress in these twenty-some days, but it was still far from enough.

After over fifty moves, he was blasted out of the training ground by Kong Xiang.

Defeat!

According to the rules, regardless of whether the challenge was a success or failure, the person involved could take a twenty-minute rest to prevent the unfairness of being worn out from consecutive battles.

Therefore, those who wanted to challenge Kong Xiang had to wait for another twenty minutes.

The strength of the top ten of the Outer Sect increased according to their ranking, and since everyone wanted to challenge someone, they naturally aimed for the “soft persimmons” to squeeze; most people’s gazes were fixated on Kong Xiang, rather than challenging others, resulting in a momentary lull.

“I challenge Gu You!” a figure glided down to the field, with a petite nose and almond eyes, stunningly beautiful; it was Shen Xinqi.

“No way, to challenge Gu You right from the start, that’s the sixth rank!”

“I heard Junior Sister Shen is the granddaughter of Elder Shen Luohe, she has the confidence!”

“Hiss, is that not a direct line of Elder Tianzhu’s lineage?”

“Just watch!”

Gu You, the one called out, stepped onto the field in response and began combat with Shen Xinqi.

Their strengths were quite evenly matched; they fought fiercely for half an hour before ending with Shen Xinqi narrowly winning by a move.

As a result, Shen Xinqi successfully claimed the sixth position, while Gu You fell out of the top ten, needing to fight his way back again.

On the other side, Kong Xiang had also rested enough and once again accepted someone’s challenge, still successfully defending his spot.

However, Gu You naturally would not be content; unable to battle Shen Xinqi again on the same day, he could challenge Kong Xiang and the others, implying that at least the top seven ranks were bound to see a significant reshuffle.

Zhou Heng grew impatient and seized a gap to jump down, saying, “I want to challenge Jing Tian!”

As soon as the words were spoken, the whole place fell silent, followed by laughter.

“This guy, he hasn’t even figured out the rules of challenging!”

“Only those ranked in the top ten can challenge the top three!”

Zhou Heng then realized he had made a blunder, but he didn’t mind.

His gaze swept over the crowd and he said, “Then, I’ll start with the fourth-ranked one!”

The fourth-ranked one?

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This guy didn’t even know who was in the fourth place, his eyes were only on the first!

Bold, very bold!

“Hey, I’ve also been hearing your name these days and just wanted to see what you’re capable of!” Amidst a cold laugh, a towering youth stepped forward.

With a single stomp, the entire martial arts field trembled.

Of course, this was deliberate, but being able to do so was a testament to his extraordinariness.

“My name’s Fei Qing, remember that!” The youth burst forward with a heavy punch, hurling it fiercely at Zhou Heng.

——One could go all out in the martial arts field, as referees would intervene in critical moments.

The experts of the Spirit Gathering Realm certainly had that ability!

“I’m not in the habit of remembering the names of those I defeat!” Zhou Heng did not resort to weapons; instead, he utilized the Cloud Flying Step, moving directly to his opponent’s side.

His right fist surged with power as he launched it!

Boom!

Fei Qing’s tall body was instantly thrown into the air, crashing heavily onto the ground.

A gush of fresh blood spilled as he spat out, trying to get up but ended up falling back down, losing consciousness.

One punch!

Just one punch had knocked down Fei Qing!

Hiss, this strength was indeed enough to challenge Jing Tian!

Reaching the Body Refinement Ninth Layer is not unusual; there are over forty people in the Outer Sect at this level.

But to knock down a peer with a single move, that’s something only the top ten strongest could achieve!

And now, even the fourth-ranked among the strongest ten had been felled by one punch, which begged the question: just how formidable was Zhou Heng’s strength?

The crowd mulled over the process of the fight.

Zhou Heng hadn’t employed any fancy moves or martial arts techniques; he simply closed in and struck cleanly and sharply, simplifying complexity and flowing like clouds and water.

The more they pondered, the more they discovered the profound simplicity of his actions, from which they could derive countless insights.

Zhou Heng glanced at Jing Tian and took Fei Qing’s seat—according to the rules, he had to wait for twenty minutes before he could fight again.

“So arrogant!” Guo Gang snorted coldly, “You’ve only defeated a loser ranked fourth!”

“Kid, the number one spot is mine.

Don’t even think about it, just sit tight in your current place!” Ma Yunlong also spoke coldly.

Both of them felt extremely aggrieved as Zhou Heng elegantly ignored them.

Zhou Heng didn’t even lift his head, simply rested in a state of detached contemplation, and mused that if that damn donkey were here, it would probably infuriate these two to no end.

Meanwhile, Gu You also challenged Wei Jinping, who was ranked seventh, and successfully took his place.

And Wei Jinping, not content with being ousted, as well as Fei Qing once he recovered, would not give up their top ten rankings easily, so the competition was heating up.

After twenty minutes, Zhou Heng gracefully entered the field and saluted Jing Tian with a boxing gesture, saying, “Senior Brother Jing, I challenge you!”

The entire field went silent, filled with anticipation.

Jing Tian was a legend within the Nine Spirit Sect!

He was a late bloomer; up until fourteen years of age, he was a homeless child taken in by an old man from a sect, not even a formal disciple.

Yet in just three short years, he entered the Bone Refinement Realm and was officially accepted by the sect as a disciple.

By eighteen, he reached the Body Refinement Ninth Layer and soared into the ranks of the Outer Sect’s strongest ten, taking the first place, a position he maintained until now!

A year later, Zhou Heng also burst into the ranks of the ten strongest in a similar fashion, aiming for number one.

Would this write a new legend, or would Jing Tian continue his undefeated tale?

How could this not excite everyone!

Jing Tian stood up, smiling slightly at Zhou Heng, and pointed to the seat below, saying, “This is yours now!”

The whole place was astir!

What was going on?

Retiring without a fight, was this still Jing Tian?

Zhou Heng, at first stunned, then clasped his hands and smiled, “Congratulations, Senior Brother Jing!”

Congratulations?

Congratulations my foot!

This guy was taking advantage, playing coy even now!

“I’ve broken through to the Blood Refinement Realm.

I was yet to report to the Sect when I was pulled into this,” Jing Tian volunteered an explanation, “Today, no matter who challenges me, I cannot accept the challenge.”

The Blood Refinement Realm!

Hiss, nineteen and in the Blood Refinement Realm; this was truly terrifying!

Looking across the entire Nine Spirit Sect, even the high-ranking experts of the Spirit Gathering Realm, how many could claim a breakthrough to the Blood Refinement Realm by nineteen?

Zhou Dinghai was considered the Zhou Family’s strongest genius in a century, but he didn’t advance to the Blood Refinement Realm until he was past thirty!

The threshold of Blood and Bone Refinement has thwarted countless individuals over the ages!

A boundless future!

“Congratulations, Senior Brother Jing!” the crowd couldn’t help but shout out loud, for nineteen and in the Blood Refinement Realm, wherever you put him, was a genius among geniuses.

Wouldn’t even the Black Water Hall scramble for him, disregarding their image?

Jing Tian smiled faintly and bowed to Ai Songtao, saying, “Elder Ai, Jing Tian will take his leave!”

“Go ahead!” Ai Songtao stroked his beard, a satisfied smile on his face.