"Jump off the stage now!"

Yuan Shang was truly panicked. If he didn't get Xu Ke to concede now, Li Ming's attack would land immediately. In Xu Ke's current state, he surely wouldn't be able to withstand it.

But how could Xu Ke possibly hear him at this moment?

Before him, Li Ming's fierce face was nearly on top of him, his momentum terrifyingly powerful, like a tiger descending a mountain. Had it been an ordinary person seeing Li Ming charging like that, they would have been scared out of their wits, unable to even react.

At the same time, the flying knife from the other side followed doggedly, like maggots clinging to bone. But compared to Li Ming's earth-shattering momentum, the sound of the knife seemed much weaker. It even looked somewhat flimsy, as if dodging it would be simple. Any ordinary person in this situation would know where to dodge without a second thought.

But with Xu Ke's keen eye for hidden weapons, he immediately saw that while the knife seemed flimsy, it actually contained a soft, yielding force. In other words, the flexible True Qi within the knife was incredibly powerful! If he actually dodged Li Ming's attack only to face the flying knife, he would truly fall into Li Ming's trap.

With this thought, Xu Ke smiled faintly and simply stood his ground. After all, I'm "poisoned" now. Where would I get the strength to dodge?

Seeing this, Li Ming's pupils shrank, and he cursed inwardly—This Xu Ke is formidable indeed, to see at a glance that my frontal attack is weaker than the knife.

But he soon felt a smug satisfaction. This is even more proof that Xu Ke has no strength left. If he had any power, he could have easily evaded both my frontal assault and the hidden knife attack. But he's not dodging or evading; he's staying put to face it head-on. Clearly, it's because he has no extra strength to dodge and can only rely on his sharp eyes to judge which attack is easier to withstand…

BOOM!

The next moment, Li Ming reached Xu Ke, stomped forcefully on the stage to borrow power, and threw a straight punch toward Xu Ke's Dantian. He was aiming to cripple him!

THUD.

That was the sound of the flying knife embedding itself in the stage floor.

The next moment, everyone saw Li Ming's fist fiercely smash into Xu Ke's Dantian…

BANG—

A sound like a cannon blast echoed through the amplifiers, ringing in everyone's ears. A smug smile instantly curled Li Ming's lips!

He had won!

Seeing this, the crowd exclaimed, "Why didn't Xu Ke dodge?"

"Are you an idiot? He's been poisoned, how could he possibly dodge?"

"Damn, does that mean Xu Ke is going to be crippled?"

"Not necessarily. Xu Ke took Wang Qiang's attacks head-on in the beginning."

"That's different…"

In the competitors' area, Qian Jun stood up and said indifferently, "Sikong Mao, get ready for the next match with me. I'll give you a proper workout."

"Yes, Boss!" Sikong Mao got up. Qian Jun's demeanor made it clear he believed Xu Ke was finished. The outcome was decided.

On the stage, Li Ming's fist seemed nailed to Xu Ke's Dantian. Xu Ke stared intently at Li Ming, blood beginning to ooze uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth…

"Hehe, Xu Ke, it's over!" Li Ming raised an eyebrow, a triumphant smirk on his face. He's already coughing up blood. How could he possibly make a comeback? In his dreams!

"Isn't that right?" Li Ming laughed heartily, retracted his fist, and gave Xu Ke a gentle push.

Xu Ke stumbled back several steps, then collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

THUD!

The entire arena fell into a dead silence.

Seeing this, Yuan Shang's eyes looked as if they would split from rage as he roared, "Xu Ke!!"

Chen Xiong shot up from his seat in a panic. How is this possible? How could Xu Ke really be hit so hard he's spitting up blood?

Wang Qiya panicked as well, turning frantically to Tang Yingchang. "Elder Tang, what's happening?!"

Elder Tang's confidence was shaken. "This… this…" Xu Ke hadn't told them he would be beaten until he collapsed, coughing up blood!

"Hahaha…" Jin Hankang roared with laughter. The members of the Huang and Ye Families clapped in unison. Ye Chong, in particular, laughed heartily, thinking to himself—Xu Ke, now it's your turn to have your Dantian crippled. How deeply satisfying!

Qin Jinghuan, being the closest, was elated beyond measure. He stepped out of the rest area, laughing triumphantly at the grief-stricken Yuan Shang. "Vice Alliance Leader Yuan, the match is over now. I can speak, right?"

Yuan Shang spun around instantly, staring him down with a murderous aura. Qin Jinghuan was so frightened he didn't dare utter another word. How could he possibly withstand the presence of an Innate Maestro?

The spectator area was also stunned. After a long, dead silence, they finally reacted. "Is it really over?"

"I thought there'd be a reversal."

"We've been waiting for almost ten seconds, and Xu Ke still hasn't gotten up."

"Do you really think he's a god? He was lucky enough to make it to the top four while poisoned!"

Just then, Li Ming, who had been looking down proudly at the fallen Xu Ke, raised his head and said indifferently, "I've been waiting a long time for my opponent to get up, but he hasn't. The match is over, right?"

"Elder Chang, please announce the victor," Jin Hankang said into the microphone, his tone filled with smug satisfaction.

Chang Yunmo shook his head, stood up, and was just about to speak.

But just then.

"Li Ming… do you think you've won?"

A halting voice cut through the silence. Everyone was taken aback. All eyes snapped back to the stage.

They saw that Xu Ke, who had been down for the count, was actually forcing himself to stand. His movements were slow, but his struggle against defeat was visible to all…

Li Ming's pupils shrank. How is that possible? I clearly struck his Dantian!

Soon, with blood still trickling from his mouth, Xu Ke stood up straight and stared coldly at Li Ming. Seeing this, the crowd couldn't help but gasp.

He actually stood up…

Jin Hankang's gleeful expression froze on his face as he cursed inwardly—Why isn't it over yet?

Li Ming was terrified, but he quickly composed himself and sneered, "So what if you stand up now? Do you really think you can still fight me? In your current state, I could cripple you with a single punch. But I'm a magnanimous and merciful person. I won't cripple you. You should just admit defeat yourself!"

Li Ming knew his punch had definitely destroyed Xu Ke's Dantian. If he attacked again, he might actually kill Xu Ke, and he would never withstand the Wang Family's retaliation. That being the case, he might as well force Xu Ke to concede. That way, he could avoid retribution and humiliate Xu Ke at the same time.

Hearing this, everyone agreed. Xu Ke was so weak; how could he possibly fight Li Ming? It was better to admit defeat!

Yuan Shang rushed to the edge of the stage, pleading anxiously, "Xu Ke, hurry up and concede!" He no longer cared about the Martial Alliance's rules; he had to save Xu Ke.

Qin Jinghuan taunted from the side, "Did you hear that? Even Vice Alliance Leader Yuan is telling you to give up. Just do it!"

"Exactly!"

"Xu Ke, hurry up and admit defeat! Li Ming is being so kind to you; you should be grateful. Go thank him when you get down."

Qian Jun's followers laughed, their words dripping with sarcasm.

But Xu Ke, the center of everyone's attention, turned his head to Yuan Shang. "Vice Alliance Leader Yuan, there's no need for me to concede."

"Why?" Yuan Shang was stunned.

Xu Ke suddenly cracked a smile. "Because I've already won."

"Won? Are you kidding me?" Li Ming scoffed. In a situation like this, any sane person could see who had won…

The crowd also erupted in derisive laughter. Had Xu Ke lost his mind?

But at that moment, as Qin Jinghuan was mocking Xu Ke, he suddenly noticed something was wrong with Li Ming. He turned back and saw Li Ming's lower abdomen slowly becoming soaked with blood. His expression changed drastically. "Li Ming, you… you…" He pointed at Li Ming's abdomen.

Li Ming was taken aback. "What?"

He instinctively followed Qin Jinghuan's finger and looked down. When he saw his abdomen densely packed with silver needles, he froze. The only thought left in his mind was—When were these inserted? Why didn't I feel anything?

The next moment, while the crowd was still mocking Xu Ke for his delusions, Li Ming collapsed like a toppled iron tower.

BOOM!!!

He fell without warning. He fell abruptly.

The entire gymnasium instantly went from roars of laughter to absolute silence.

Deathly quiet.