Chapter 22

"Someone is definitely in the second floor of the inn to the left of the tavern!" Old Master Liu Jianfeng said over the team voice chat, "But be careful, I still haven't found the tricky dual-sword wielder Dong Xu. He could attack at any moment."

"That inn!"

Dagao, the Mighty God, sprinted forward, each step causing the stone road to tremble. If before he was just hurrying, now he was charging! Blood Axe King Qiao and War Goddess Sun Yuting also held their shields and charged straight for the inn.

"Let's see what you've got, Gaochong." The burly man Wu Sai, also clad in heavy armor, appeared on the street, holding two large shields.

At this moment, Xu Jingming also appeared to Wu Sai's left, holding a single shield. However, his twin shields were noticeably smaller, with a diameter of only sixty centimeters, and he wore light protective armor. As for the spear, it was split into two sections and carried on his back.

Once Gaochong engaged in battle, he became ferocious and wild! In the World Martial Arts Competition years ago, he charged through from the first match to the last, fighting his way to the top of the world! That was in real combat. Now, in the virtual world, he was even more unrestrained.

"What a bunch of scum!" Gaochong, leading the charge, swung his spear directly at Wu Sai! The swing was like the reversal of a celestial river, with an extremely fierce momentum.

Wu Sai, holding his twin shields, was accustomed to boxing and defensive stances. He believed that with his twin shields, he could withstand any opponent's assault.

"Boom—"

The spear swing, like the reversal of a celestial river and the furious axe of Pangu splitting the heavens, struck the shield directly.

Wu Sai felt the impact force through the shield, and his body was uncontrollably thrown back. He couldn't believe it: "What the hell?"

"His practical combat skills with martial weapons are 0%, right?" Xu Jingming, seeing the situation, was dumbfounded.

This legendary boxing champion, with high control over his body, and with commonalities between boxing and shield techniques, had a base combat power of at least 1200.

But his practical combat experience with weapons was terrible.

"Can you resist a spear swing carried by the momentum of a charge in heavy armor weighing hundreds of kilograms?" Panda Zhang Qian, who was hiding in a residential area preparing to ambush, immediately rushed out. His three-pronged double-edged knife transformed into a dragon, blocking Gaochong's follow-up attack.

"Clang!"

The spear and the three-pronged double-edged knife collided, the knife's shaft bent, and Zhang Qian took two steps back, barely withstanding the blow.

"Thanks, Panda." Wu Sai also took the opportunity to stand up, somewhat ashamed, "I have no experience, please bear with me."

"Hurry up and help." Zhang Qian was already under great pressure after just a few moves.

On the other side.

"Let's take out Xu Jingming first." Blood Axe King Qiao and War Goddess Sun Yuting saw their chance and formed a two-on-one.

Xu Jingming, holding his twin shields, took a slight step back as the two approached. He tilted and swung his shields, making Qiao and Sun Yuting's charges awkward and uncomfortable.

"His shield technique is taught by Liu Hai, based on Tai Chi, like sticky glue." Sun Yuting, though her shield strike missed, still struck like a venomous snake. Blood Axe King Qiao also swung his axe.

"Thud." "Clang."

Xu Jingming, one-on-two, defended flawlessly.

If he relied solely on a large spear, it would be difficult to defend. But shields have a significant advantage in defense. Master Liu Hai's shield technique, while having explosive moves, mainly focuses on using and redirecting force.

In the residential area opposite the inn, the marksman Wang Yi watched the battle on the street.

Gaochong charged violently, one-on-two, overpowering Panda Zhang Qian and boxing champion Wu Sai.

Xu Jingming, resisting the attacks of Sun Yuting and Qiao, defended flawlessly.

"Gaochong." Wang Yi drew his bow, the arrow on the string.

Gaochong's violent techniques left his head less protected compared to War Goddess Sun Yuting and Blood Axe King Qiao.

Wang Yi's eyes turned cold.

"Whoosh."

He released the arrow.

An arrow instantly shot out of the window, tearing through the air, and rushed towards Gaochong at terrifying speed.

Gaochong, a world champion, wasn't really that reckless. He was always on guard against the hidden marksman.

"Too fast!" Even with his constant vigilance, the blurry arrow shadow still startled Gaochong. He merely raised his spear and tilted his head.

Pfft!

The arrow grazed his face, tearing off a piece of flesh, and his right ear disappeared.

"There!" Gaochong, instead of being startled, was delighted, looking at the residential area and charging madly.

"The marksman is there." War Goddess Sun Yuting and Blood Axe King Qiao also focused on the residential area, no longer engaging Xu Jingming, and charged towards the building.

"Hold them back." Wu Sai, holding his twin shields, went to resist.

Panda Zhang Qian also rushed forward, working together to block Gaochong. However, with a skillful upward thrust, Wu Sai, holding his twin shields, was thrown back, and Zhang Qian was forced back several steps by a spear strike.

Zhang Qian gritted his teeth: "In this life evolution world, the pain sensation is only one percent! Otherwise, that arrow would have exposed Gaochong's weakness just from the pain."

The pain sensation was reduced to one percent because in life-or-death battles, many injuries would be severe. If the pain wasn't reduced, many would collapse from the pain.

Wu Sai and Zhang Qian couldn't hold back the mad Gaochong.

On the other side, Xu Jingming couldn't hold back two people alone, but when Sun Yuting and Qiao charged towards the residential area, Xu Jingming also rushed forward, issuing a team voice chat: "Marksman, work with me!"

Boom! Boom!

Xu Jingming took only two steps, and the full force of his legs exploded, making his speed terrifying.

"What?" Sun Yuting immediately sensed something was wrong. She felt that the Xu Jingming who was now exploding with a terrifying ferocity, like an ancient beast charging, was more terrifying than the Mighty God Gaochong.

"Thud."

Even though her left hand was already holding a shield and she was prepared to redirect the force,

At the moment of approach, Xu Jingming's twin shields suddenly struck out. The momentum of his charge and the full force of his body were almost perfectly transferred to the shields, and through the collision with Sun Yuting's shield, the force was completely transmitted to her.

Sun Yuting felt her shield twist her arm and collide with her chest, causing her to be thrown back. The impact made her mouth taste sweet, and she couldn't help but spit out blood.

"Whoosh."

At that moment, she also saw an arrow, still shooting from the residential area.

However, Sun Yuting, who was thrown back, couldn't dodge. The arrow pierced through her neck, and her body dissipated, disappearing from the town.

War Goddess Sun Yuting was killed! After being hit by Xu Jingming's twin shields and thrown back, she could only die in front of the marksman.

"What?" Blood Axe King Qiao couldn't believe it. In one move, his companion was thrown back and severely injured, "This isn't the shield technique taught by Liu Hai."

Xu Jingming, holding his twin shields.

Shield technique?

When he first learned shield techniques, he had to follow his teacher's instructions. But after reaching a high level, he naturally took his own path. What he learned from a young age... was Ba Ji Zuo Jiao!

His father's proudest move was Ba Ji Hu Po! His father spent forty years mainly practicing this move. As his proudest technique, he taught it to Xu Jingming by hand when he was young.

"This shield technique is my father's ultimate move!" Xu Jingming said silently, "Ba Ji Hu Po!"

...

In the Xia Kingdom's official live stream room.

Xu Hong, seeing this, couldn't help but feel his eyes moisten, muttering, "Ba Ji Hu Po!"

In his youth, he was a martial arts blogger, learning many martial arts styles, but not specializing in any. But he loved it! Later, he came across the move "Ba Ji Hu Po" and fell in love with it from the bottom of his heart.

He spent a lot of effort, found a master, and learned the true Ba Ji lineage. He even built the Ba Ji School in Mingyue City.

He practiced many moves every day, but most of his time was spent on one move—Ba Ji Hu Po!

"Son, Ba Ji Hu Po is all about the 'po' (pounce). It's not just about the strength of the body, but also the momentum of the pounce." Xu Hong demonstrated Ba Ji Hu Po in front of his young son.

"Regardless of the opponent's move, my Ba Ji Hu Po can break through the center, push the opponent's arms apart, and strike the chest."

"Many say that a tiger climbing a mountain is powerful, but Ba Ji Hu Po is even purer."

"Master one move, and no matter what the opponent, one pounce is enough."

Xu Hong was a devout believer in this move.

The young Xu Jingming, not fully understanding, just believed in his father and practiced move after move.

During the three years after retirement, Xu Jingming felt his shield technique wasn't fierce enough and thought Ba Ji could be integrated, so he gradually merged the two, forming his own shield technique, different from his master Liu Hai's.

In the Xia Kingdom's official live stream room, countless viewers were boiling with excitement.

The battle was originally evenly matched, with Mighty God Gaochong being very strong, one-on-two and still having the upper hand. Xu Jingming could only defend against Qiao and Sun Yuting on the surface.

But the situation changed instantly! As soon as Xu Jingming showed his fangs, he instantly threw Sun Yuting back, severely injured.

"Look, in just two steps, Xu Jingming's body burst to a speed of 30.8 meters per second." Watching the slow-motion replay, Coach Huang Yong was extremely excited, pointing out, "If he practiced the Shadow Leopard Evolution Method, I wouldn't be surprised by the speed. But Xu Jingming's physique and strength are clearly not from the Shadow Leopard Evolution Method, yet he burst to such a level! Clearly, his body control is astonishing."

"Two steps, and his speed reached a terrifying level. The twin shields were like a tiger's two large paws, striking War Goddess Sun Yuting's shield. Even with the shield, she was still hit and thrown back, spitting blood." Huang Yong shook his head in admiration, "Too powerful."

"In the World Martial Arts Competition, Xu Jingming's shield technique wasn't this fierce." Qin Yiwén exclaimed.

"Before, it was the essence of Tai Chi, now it has the flavor of Ba Ji." Huang Yong said, "What a fierce move, Xu Jingming is stronger than three years ago!"

In the live stream room's comment section, countless comments rolled in.

"Awesome!"

"Two equally skilled experts, directly hit and thrown back, spitting blood?"

"His shield isn't just a shield, as Coach Huang Yong said. Those twin shields... are like a tiger's two large paws."

"Not just any tiger, but a tiger demon! Two large paws of a huge tiger demon."

"Xu Jingming, don't call yourself the Spear Demon, call yourself the Shield Demon!"

The viewers were boiling with excitement, and in a closely fought battle, what they needed was a decisive move to seal the deal!