Chapter 32

Six days later, in the canyon of the virtual world.

Xu Jingming lay on the muddy mountain path, his body filthy, breathing heavily and weakly. There were still traces of blood on him. He lightly tapped his personal interface, and his body instantly recovered to its peak state. Only then did he stand up with renewed vigor, pick up the tattered pair of shields, and tap them lightly. His clothes became clean, and the dents and scratches on the shields disappeared, making them look brand new.

"Really tough, even with a base combat power of 800, it's so hard to withstand their encirclement," Xu Jingming said, holding the shields in both hands. "Again!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A dense crowd of figures appeared in the canyon.

A hundred fierce bandits, each wielding a spear, a large axe, or a heavy hammer. The large axes and heavy hammers were powerful in impact, while the spears were fast and more troublesome.

"Kill him!"

The hundred fierce bandits, each with a base combat power of 800, surged from all directions.

Even though these virtual bandits didn't have high combat intelligence, it was still very difficult for Xu Jingming to withstand their encirclement.

"Swoosh." Xu Jingming immediately moved, knowing he couldn't just stand there foolishly. He had to use his agility to create a favorable environment.

But with a hundred people surrounding him from all sides, no matter how he dodged, a dozen or so bandits would soon rush to him.

"Bang."

Xu Jingming held a shield in each hand, his shield technique extremely proficient. It was as if the shields were two spider webs, making the attacks ineffective, and even using the force against the attackers, causing them to stagger and stumble.

His agility was also very nimble, weaving through the crowd of bandits, trying to minimize the number of attacks on him.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!" While blocking three large axes and two heavy hammers, three spears stabbed from the gaps behind him. The sound of the spears tearing through the air made Xu Jingming's scalp tingle.

Xu Jingming instinctively dodged, narrowly avoiding the three spears.

"Kill him!"

"Kill him!"

The bandits went wild, and he was constantly facing a barrage of large axes, heavy hammers, and spears, making him quite flustered. He could only dodge left and right, trying to use the force against the attackers.

"According to Master, the will should be integrated into every part of the body, sensing every part, making everything feel natural," Xu Jingming thought. "My agility, compared to Master, seems so clumsy. My shield technique isn't as fast, and my ability to deflect and use force isn't as perfect, clearly showing that my control over my body isn't enough."

"I need to be faster, more agile."

"Move the shield faster!" Xu Jingming tried to mobilize his body, imagining his body as water, his will sensing every part of his body, and striving to mobilize every part of his strength.

"Thud."

A spear pierced through Xu Jingming's shoulder from the side. His right arm went limp, and the shield he was holding couldn't resist. The heavy hammer and large axe struck the shield and hit Xu Jingming's body, causing him to fall down without struggling.

Because all the bandits around him had dispersed, as per the rules, the bandits would disappear once they attacked him.

"Failed again."

Xu Jingming lay in the mud, recalling the recent battle, pondering his shield technique.

After lying there for a while, Xu Jingming tapped his personal combat interface.

Player: Xu Jingming

Gene Evolution Method: *Tianpyang Evolution Method* (Intermediate 75%) (Practice Time 721 days, Cannot Upgrade)

Body: 127

Skills: Spear Technique (Level 2 88%), Agility (Level 2 62%), Shield Technique (Level 2 83%)

Base Combat Power: 1651

Combat Bonus: 23%

Total Combat Power: 2030

"The virtual world has been open for seven days, and the evolution method is still not at the advanced stage. The shield technique and spear technique have progressed slowly, but the agility has improved faster," Xu Jingming thought. "It might be because my agility was originally weaker."

He had broken his leg at the age of 20, and the long-term leg injury prevented him from practicing many agility techniques.

Now, with the high-intensity training in the virtual world's training ground, being surrounded by a hundred bandits, the improvement in agility was significant. Even an ordinary person with no foundation, if surrounded by a hundred people hundreds or thousands of times, would see a significant improvement in agility.

"It's almost seven? Time for dinner." Xu Jingming checked the time on his personal interface and immediately tapped to exit the virtual world game.

******

After dinner, in the living room.

Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao sat on the sofa, eating fruit and watching a program on the screen.

"You, a god-level expert, can spend up to sixteen hours a day in the virtual world, while I can only spend up to ten hours," Li Miaomiao grumbled, eating grapes. "You should spend more time with me, don't always be immersed in the virtual world."

"Aren't I here with you now?" Xu Jingming smiled. "And I believe that with your talent, you will reach the Sun level in a short time. Then you can spend twelve hours in the virtual world."

"Sun level? It's too hard."

Li Miaomiao sighed, "I practice agility and sword techniques every day, but since reaching the Silver Moon level 20 stars, I win one match and lose two! It's too hard for me!"

"The Silver Moon level only needs 30 stars to be maxed out, which is still quite fast," Xu Jingming said. "And your base combat power hasn't reached the Sun level threshold yet, so don't be too anxious. I'll teach you for half an hour every day, and I believe your base combat power will reach 400 within a month."

"Within a month?" Li Miaomiao looked distressed.

"If you work hard, it might take just half a month," Xu Jingming smiled. "In the early stages, the virtual world is very effective for improving combat skills."

At his level, progress becomes much slower.

"By the way, today, Lei Yunfang finally participated in a god-level battle," Li Miaomiao said. "The battle was sudden, and the officials didn't have time to live stream it. But the video came out later. Have you seen it?"

"No." Xu Jingming shook his head and smiled. "I was planning to watch it with you after logging out."

"Tch."

Li Miaomiao pouted but still controlled the screen, changing the program to a battle video.

"The three legendary experts of the Xia martial arts world, Tie Lianyun acted on the first day the virtual world opened, Liu Hai on the third day, and Lei Yunfang on the seventh day," Li Miaomiao sighed. In the video, the ten combatants were selecting weapons and equipment, but upon seeing Lei Yunfang, the other nine looked somewhat shocked.

"Senior Lei Yunfang is actually only 56 years old, much younger than my master. He participated in the third World Martial Arts Competition and has a long history in our martial arts circle. During the competition, he was at his physical peak and displayed even greater strength than my master," Xu Jingming explained. "He is also widely recognized as the strongest in the Xia martial arts world."

Master Liu Hai is, after all, old.

Senior Lei Yunfang was active on the world stage from his twenties to his thirties, displaying much greater strength.

Li Miaomiao nodded, "I know, Senior Lei Yunfang is one of the three kings in the world martial arts circle."

"Right."

Xu Jingming nodded, "In the past thirty years, the three most outstanding competitors in the World Martial Arts Competition are our Xia's Lei Yunfang, the White Eagle Federation's Kui Sheng Mills, and the Roshcha's Alan Emelianenko, known as the three kings of the martial arts world. Whenever they participate in the World Martial Arts Competition, they can easily crush other opponents. There's a saying in the martial arts world... only a king can defeat a king!"

"For example, Lei Yunfang and Kui Sheng Mills have had mixed results!"

"Kui Sheng Mills and Alan also have had mixed results!"

"No one else has ever defeated the three kings."

Xu Jingming sighed, "At their peak, the three kings could easily crush other opponents, showing a visible gap. This is something other competitors find very hard to achieve."

As he spoke, Xu Jingming also watched the battle on the screen, which took place on a 'Snowfield' map.

In the vast snowy landscape.

Lei Yunfang had a stern face with a scar. He wore a simple robe and carried two swords on his back, moving through the snow with ghostly agility.

"Whoosh."

An arrow shot at him but only hit his moving afterimage.

"Among the three kings, Lei Yunfang has the best agility, the most terrifying in the entire world martial arts circle," Xu Jingming observed. Lei Yunfang moved through the snow, suddenly spotting an enemy in the distance. His speed burst forth, turning into a blurred afterimage as he pursued the enemy.

The enemy couldn't escape, and three of them immediately gathered to face Lei Yunfang, while a hidden marksman fired an arrow!

"Under normal circumstances, they should have targeted the marksman first," Li Miaomiao exclaimed. "But Senior Lei Yunfang directly attacked the three gathered enemies, completely ignoring the hidden marksman."

"Too confident." Xu Jingming sighed as the blurred afterimage of Lei Yunfang quickly reached the three god-level experts. In just a few steps, he was among the enemies, his sword flashing.

The three god-level experts all fell.

Some had their throats cut, others had their chest armor slashed, all of them dead.

"Killing god-level experts is like slicing through melons and chopping through vegetables," Li Miaomiao said. "Jingming, how do you compare to him?"