Chapter 16

"Still haven't been ranked," Xu Jingming explained, "I've been training in the martial arts arena."

"Hard practice is important, but life-and-death battles are also crucial!" Liu Hai asked, "Is your basic combat power sufficient?"

"It is." Xu Jingming nodded and looked at his personal combat power panel.

Player: Xu Jingming

Gene Evolution Method: *Tian Python Evolution Method* (Intermediate 20%) (Practice Time 735 days, cannot be upgraded)

Body: 115

Skills: Spear Technique (Level 2 75%), Footwork (Level 2 16%), Shield Technique (Level 2 62%)

Basic Combat Power: 1380

After all, he had trained in the martial arts arena for nearly eight hours. The *Tian Python Evolution Method* reached the initial stage after one practice session, and now it has reached 20% of the intermediate stage. After enhancing his body to its limit, he naturally became even stronger.

After the body evolved, his strength, speed, and neural reactions all transformed. Therefore, Xu Jingming also chose a sparring partner in the martial arts arena to familiarize himself with his shield and spear techniques, ensuring he could fully utilize his strength.

"Good, as long as your combat power is sufficient." Liu Hai nodded. He also knew that the threshold for divine-level basic combat power was 1000, and if one wanted to directly enter the divine level through the ranking match, the basic combat power needed to reach 1200, which was quite challenging.

"Did you keep practicing your shield technique after retiring?" Liu Hai asked.

"In the national team, there were many teammates to practice with. After retiring, the sparring partners were much fewer." Xu Jingming said, "But I still practice a few times every week."

"Practicing the shield technique is very helpful for mastering body strength." Liu Hai said, "It's a lifelong matter; you can't slack off."

"I understand, Master." Xu Jingming said.

He had practiced spear techniques since he was young, and after joining the national team, his master Liu Hai taught him the shield technique.

Master's shield technique originated from the Tai Chi lineage.

"Hurry up and get ranked. There are already 31 people who have reached the divine level, and our Xia country is full of hidden dragons and tigers." Liu Hai sighed and then hung up the communication.

"Already 31 people?" Xu Jingming didn't hesitate, clicked on his personal panel, and directly entered the combat space.

...

Upon entering the combat space, it was a void.

A man in a green robe appeared in the void and said, "Xu Jingming, welcome to the combat space. Your basic combat power has reached 1380, which is over 20% above the 'divine level' threshold. You can directly participate in the divine-level ranking match. Do you want to proceed with the ranking match?"

"Sure." Xu Jingming nodded.

"The combat space has five environments: small town, mountain forest, city, snowfield, and ancient battlefield. Please choose one of these environments as the venue for your ranking match."

Xu Jingming thought for a moment and said, "Mountain forest!"

"Please choose your equipment," the man in the green robe said, "You can carry a maximum of two weapons, and you cannot wear any protective gear on your head."

"Only the head must be exposed?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Yes, even if you wear heavy armor, the head must be exposed." The man in the green robe nodded, "This is a rule set by the virtual world game, so the head will be the most vulnerable part during combat. You must be careful to protect it."

Xu Jingming nodded.

He lightly tapped and began selecting equipment. He had already tested it multiple times in the martial arts arena, so he was very familiar with it.

"A set of light armor, close-fitting and does not hinder movement." Xu Jingming selected the body armor. After selection, he was wearing a dark red armor, and his feet were in a pair of light and sturdy boots.

"Two shields, both 60 cm in diameter, relatively light." Xu Jingming placed the two shields on his back and then selected a spear.

"The spear weighs 36 kg, quite handy." Xu Jingming held the spear.

The total weight of the full set of close-fitting light armor, including the boots, was 55 kg. The two shields weighed 30 kg, and the spear weighed 36 kg. For Xu Jingming, whose body index reached 115, this was indeed a relatively light set of equipment. Heavy armor weighed several hundred kilograms and had much stronger defensive effects. Those who practiced the *Xuan Gui Evolution Method* or *Giant Bear Evolution Method* were more suitable for such heavy armor.

"Let's start the ranking match." Xu Jingming clicked on the ready button, and immediately, five maps appeared in front of him. He then directly fell into the 'mountain forest' map.

******

The mountain forest after the rain, the mountain path was muddy.

Xu Jingming descended from the void, stepping on the muddy ground, and looked around.

In the distance, under a large tree, there was a messy man sitting cross-legged on clean grass, with a sword at his waist. When Xu Jingming appeared, the messy man looked up.

"Another one who's not afraid of death." The messy man muttered to himself, laughed softly, and slowly stood up.

"Ragged clothes, just a sword?" Xu Jingming observed his opponent, "He's wearing ragged clothes, while I'm in armor. Spear against sword, I have a significant advantage. His external equipment is at a great disadvantage, so his own strength must be very strong."

If his strength and equipment were both weak, it would be too unchallenging.

"Since you're here to die, I'll send you on your way." The messy man moved, and his body blurred, moving extremely fast, rushing directly at Xu Jingming.

Xu Jingming stood still, calmly waiting.

The distance closed!

Xu Jingming held the spear handle with his left hand and the middle of the spear with his right hand, ready to attack.

"Whoosh." The moment the messy man approached, his figure twisted strangely, and the sword flashed.

Bang.

The sword struck Xu Jingming's spear, but the spear, like a dragon emerging from the sea, vibrated slightly, and the spear shaft struck the sword with terrifying force, sending the messy man flying. He landed far away after touching a tree trunk and flipping over, his hand holding the sword trembling.

"Very fast, very agile movements." Xu Jingming looked at the opponent, "My movements are not as good as his."

The messy man stared at Xu Jingming and slowly approached again.

He wanted to kill with one strike, but with a three-foot sword plus his arm, he had to get close enough to stab Xu Jingming. However, Xu Jingming's spear was 2.6 meters long, and before the messy man could close the distance to attack, he was already within Xu Jingming's range! This was the advantage of the weapon! The messy man was forced to attack Xu Jingming's spear.

He had to split the spear first to get close.

Whoosh.

The messy man approached again.

"Clang clang clang."

He circled around Xu Jingming, moving at high speed, striking quickly and repeatedly, and colliding with Xu Jingming's spear, looking for an opportunity.

"His movements are better than mine, and his sword technique is decent, but his equipment is too poor." Xu Jingming understood this, "The normal way to kill him is to rely on the equipment advantage. But... it's not necessary."

When the messy man patiently probed and looked for an opportunity again,

Xu Jingming's spear moved.

"Whoosh!"

A strange wind whistled.

A blurred spear shadow tore through the air, even forming a wave of air. The spear tip was already in front of the messy man. In a panic, the messy man swung his sword to block, but it was too late, and a hole appeared in his throat, and the spear tip had already retracted.

The messy man clutched his throat and fell down.

"This is my ultimate move, 'Shadowless Thrust.' Once you enter my attack range, you can't block in time." Xu Jingming said silently, "Your movement speed is faster than mine, but my spear is faster."

After killing the messy man, the rain-soaked mountain forest world began to dissipate, and Xu Jingming returned to the void.

In the void, a slow-motion replay of the kill appeared in the air: Xu Jingming's spear, fast enough to tear through the air, with the air wave splitting to the sides, the spear tip piercing the messy man's neck, while the messy man's sword had only swung halfway, clearly much slower.

Combat Score: 98 points.

Level: Divine Level 1 Star.

And on the side, Xu Jingming's personal combat power panel appeared—

Player: Xu Jingming

Gene Evolution Method: *Tian Python Evolution Method* (Intermediate 20%) (Practice Time 735 days, cannot be upgraded)

Body: 115

Skills: Spear Technique (Level 2 75%), Footwork (Level 2 16%), Shield Technique (Level 2 62%)

Basic Combat Power: 1380

Combat Power Bonus: 20%

Total Combat Power: 1656

"More combat power bonus? And more combat power?" Xu Jingming understood, "No wonder it was called basic combat power before. Adding the combat power bonus makes it the complete combat power."

"Indeed, the timing and utilization of various factors in combat are also very important." Xu Jingming was very clear about this.

"Congratulations, you passed the ranking match with nearly full marks." The man in the green robe smiled, "I also have to tell you that as of now, the virtual world game has been open for 8 hours and 36 minutes, and there are a total of 32 divine-level players in Xia country."

Xu Jingming nodded, many people were faster than him, and Xia country was indeed full of hidden dragons and tigers.

"Do you want to start a match?" the man in the green robe asked, "In the combat space, players form teams of five and engage in life-and-death battles with another five players in one of the environments: mountain forest, snowfield, city, small town, or ancient battlefield."

"You can queue up alone and let the game assign you four teammates, or you can invite friends to form a team and then start the match."

"Queue up alone?" Xu Jingming was puzzled, "Queue up?"

"Yes, there are only 32 divine-level players now. Some are in the martial arts arena, some are watching live streams, and some have queued up and then canceled. It may take some time to form a team of ten." The man in the green robe explained, "It's the first day of the game, and there are too few divine-level players, so the queue is slow. After ten to fifteen days, the queue will be much faster."

"Then let's start queuing." Xu Jingming's eyes were filled with anticipation, "Those who can reach the divine level now are not ordinary experts."

Xu Jingming clicked the match button.

A prompt appeared— "Six people are ready..."

"There are six people in the queue now." The man in the green robe said, "Once ten people are ready, the match will begin."

"How long do you think it will take?" Xu Jingming asked.

"It might take some time. The longest person has been in the queue for two hours." The man in the green robe said, "Some people queued up early but then canceled. You can queue up while training in the martial arts arena, watching live streams, or even logging off! Once ten people are ready, you will receive an immediate notification. You just need to log in within three minutes."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly, "Then let's queue up."

"Once this match starts, it will be the first divine-level match in Xia country." The man in the green robe said.

"The first divine-level match in Xia country?" Xu Jingming thought.