Chapter 577: Peak Tournament Champion! The Despairing Prodigies!

Silence—

The entire stadium, which held over a hundred million viewers, fell deathly still.

Countless people stared dumbfounded at the holographic projection, at the corpse lying on the ground.

Dead?

America's SS-class Catherine had actually died just like that?!

Some ordinary people, and even first- and second-tier ability users, hadn't even seen clearly how Catherine died!

They only saw two streaks of golden lightning flash past, and Catherine's skull was blasted through.

At that moment, the holographic projection in midair began replaying the scene just now in slow motion.

They saw Xu Jingming's right hand fire its shot, and without a moment's pause, his left hand fired again!

In the blink of an eye, he blew Catherine's head off and killed her.

Judging from the holographic projection, the footage was already slowed down by a full four times!

Yet Xu Jingming's movements were still faster than some third-tier enhancement-type ability users!

As the slow-motion replay ended, the stadium, which had been utterly silent, instantly erupted!

"What a ferocious attack! He won! Lei Di won!"

"Lei Di fought his way through, crushing strong enemies left and right—I knew he'd win!"

"Lei Di! The strongest!!"

"......"

Before the finals began, no one had thought Xu Jingming would win.

But Xu Jingming gave them a surprise right from the start—trump card after trump card was revealed, and his strength skyrocketed to the same level as Catherine's!

And now, seizing a fleeting opportunity, he cut Catherine down and claimed final victory!

At this moment,

Countless citizens of Great Xia flushed with excitement, rose from their seats, and cheered at the top of their lungs!!

As if wanting to release all the disappointment and suppression from earlier at once.

"An angel! My angel was actually killed?"

"Gods, strike down that blasphemer!"

"Catherine is an angel—angels can resurrect! This match isn't over yet!"

"......"

Compared with the excited people of Great Xia, the Western audience was utterly crestfallen.

Some devout believers of the Holy Court even fainted on the spot.

An angel being killed—this was undoubtedly trampling on their faith!

Some extreme zealots even believed Catherine wasn't dead and would resurrect again!

However, facts proved they were overthinking it.

Catherine's corpse, just like the contestants Xu Jingming had slain on the arena before, dissolved into specks of light and vanished.

And the commentator appeared at the very center, announcing in a high-pitched voice:

"The Peak Tournament finals are over! The winner of this match is... Great Xia's Xu Jingming!

Let us congratulate him—congratulations on becoming the champion of the 21st Global Genius Exchange Peak Tournament!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!......

Countless fireworks bloomed above the arena, and a wave-like roar of cheers rose inside the stadium:

"Lei Di!"

"Lei Di!"

"......"

In the stands, Su Yu, Andre, Wang Dong, and many other prodigies all watched this scene with envy.

Su Yu in particular wore a look of endless emotion.

He had originally thought this Genius Tournament would be the match where he made his name and appeared before the world as the ultimate victor.

He never expected he wouldn't even place in the top two......

"I thought after the Genius Tournament my reputation would surpass yours, but now it seems I won't get that chance."

Su Yu shook his head helplessly.

He was already twenty-six this year, so he definitely wouldn't be able to participate in the next Genius Tournament five years from now.

In other words, the only chance in his life to win such an honor had slipped away just like that.

Though a little disappointed, he conceded the defeat wholeheartedly.

Whether it was Catherine or Xu Jingming, both were stronger than him—this he couldn't deny.

"Catherine is one thing—she was trained by America's strongest, so having this kind of strength is normal.

But Xu Jingming, how can you be such a monster?"

Su Yu instinctively looked toward the arena, at that tall, sturdy young man's figure being watched by countless gazes.

Xu Jingming's teacher, Su Qingli, was Great Xia's youngest ninth-tier Law Saint.

In other people's eyes, that was indeed already very impressive.

But for him, who studied under Teacher Zhou Yuanwu, one of the strongest, it amounted to nothing.

One could say,

the educational resources and cultivation resources he and Xu Jingming enjoyed were simply not on the same level at all!

Even so, twenty-year-old Xu Jingming was still stronger than him—this was something he simply couldn't figure out.

"No, I can't keep thinking about this, or Xu Jingming might become my shadow, hindering my future cultivation."

Su Yu shook his head vigorously, finally casting all thoughts aside.

As an SS-grade psychic awakening, he held strong faith in himself.

It was merely a temporary setback—the path to the peak is still long.

He believed that one day in the future he would surpass Xu Jingming... surpass his ass!

Sixth-rank lower tier at age twenty!

When I was twenty, I'd barely reached the peak of third rank!

"Forget it, let it be what it will be.

I don't expect to surpass Xu Jingming—I'll set a small goal first: become stronger than Catherine."

Su Yu, who had always been confident in himself, felt a flicker of despair in front of Xu Jingming.

With a genius like Catherine, he might still surpass her with enough effort.

But for Xu Jingming, who was only twenty—he truly had no idea what to do...

"Xu Jingming... actually won the championship of the Peak Tournament?"

Not just Su Yu, Wang Dong also sank into silence.

How long has it been since Xu Jingming joined the Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym's Prodigy Training Camp?

Half a year?

No! Not even half a year!

Xu Jingming arrived at the Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym headquarters on June 17; today is November 23.

All told, it's been just a little over five months.

"From upper fourth rank to sixth rank in five months—and his combat power exceeds that of a sixth-rank mid-tier SS-grade! Is this even human?"

Thinking of how long it took him—over a year—to advance from fifth to sixth rank, Wang Dong went numb.

He and Xu Jingming had never been opponents on the same level from the start.

"I remember Teacher Hu was still planning to target him.

Forget it—I'll apply for early graduation and go guard the Lei Ting Secret Realm..."

Wang Dong silently thought to himself.

He was originally scheduled to graduate from the Prodigy Training Camp next June.

But he felt continuing to stay in the training camp now seemed pointless.

Originally, he was to be assigned to the Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym branch in Shanghai.

That branch was one of Lei Ting's most critical core divisions.

But now he sensed隐隐 that a direct confrontation was about to begin between Director Su Qingli and his teacher Hu Jinyu.

Such a key location as the Shanghai branch would inevitably spark major conflicts later.

If he went there, he'd almost certainly cross paths with Xu Jingming again.

If so, he could only settle for the next best option: the Lei Ting Secret Realm.

Although less important than the Shanghai branch, the Lei Ting Secret Realm was still valuable.

At least it wouldn't draw him into the power struggle between the director and vice-director.

Meanwhile, on the American audience seats, Catherine had angrily reappeared...