Chapter 41

**Whoosh.**

A short spear tore through the air. At close range, a large bear had no time to dodge and was impaled through the neck, vanishing into nothingness. The other four large bears immediately became enraged and discovered the enemy who had thrown the spear.

**Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.**…

One after another, the spears flew like lightning. The figure darted through the forest, continuously throwing spears. In less than half a minute, all twelve spears were thrown.

The large bears were all dead.

The Bear King roared and charged out of the cave. The figure was a well-built man in armor, Xujingming's former national team friend, 'Heng Fang.' He now took out two sections of a long pole from his back, connecting them to form a snake spear.

Holding the snake spear, Heng Fang stared at the Bear King. **Roar~** The Bear King was already charging at him.

"Come on." Heng Fang bravely met the challenge.

After a long while.

The somewhat disheveled Heng Fang looked at the bleeding Bear King and smiled: "The Star Tower has been open for more than three days. On the ninth attempt, I finally killed the Bear King. Let's try the third floor!"

A moment later.

"The third floor is too difficult." Heng Fang, back in his personal space, lightly tapped to contact his good brother.

"Old Xu, you're practicing hard in the training ground." Heng Fang smiled at the displayed image.

"Lord Heng, what's up?" Xujingming joked. Among the best brothers in the national team, Heng Fang was the most vain! He would spend a long time in front of the mirror every morning, combing his hair meticulously. He even carried a comb and skincare cream with him, and the national team teammates jokingly called him 'Lord Heng,' which he was quite proud of.

During their time in the national team, the two had similar strength and often practiced together, forming a very close bond. They even shared the same dorm room.

There were four people in the national team dorm: him, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Zhuang Fu. Zhuang Fu was somewhat more distant from them.

"Have you heard about the Seed Cup National Competition?" Heng Fang said, "Shall we team up and give it a try?"

"Sure." Xujingming smiled, "With the two of us working together, we'll be invincible. What about the other teammates? Have you invited them?"

"Not yet, I thought of you first." Heng Fang raised his eyebrows, "Let's also invite Ashuo, then we'll have three people, right?"

"You, me, and Ashuo…" Xujingming thought for a moment, "What do you think of Daxiong?"

"Daxiong is a good person, and his shield and axe skills are solid." Heng Fang nodded in agreement, "But we need an archer. Most of the current god-level archers are from the archery circle, and I'm not very familiar with them."

"Neither am I." Xujingming said, "The competition is still a long way off. We'll figure it out. If it doesn't work out… five warriors, charging together."

"Sure, you decide." Heng Fang smiled, "I trust you, Old Xu."

"Ha, it's settled then." Xujingming said.

Heng Fang gave an OK sign.

"Alright, I'll go talk to Ashuo and Daxiong." Xujingming ended the call and immediately contacted Yang Qingshuo, who was training in the Star Tower. Upon receiving the call, he exited the Star Tower.

"Brother Xu." Yang Qingshuo answered.

"Know about the Seed Cup Competition? Let's team up, what do you think?" Xujingming asked.

"Sure, no problem." Yang Qingshuo smiled happily, "Who else is joining?"

"You and me, Lord Heng, and Daxiong." Xujingming said, "The archer is still undecided."

"I think the four of us can take on five." Yang Qingshuo laughed happily, all familiar friends.

"Don't get too cocky. Our master could take all four of us alone." Xujingming said, "Stay grounded and humble."

"Right, Brother Xu, you're right." Yang Qingshuo obediently said.

"Alright, I'll go talk to Daxiong." Xujingming ended the call and contacted Daxiong Liu Chongyuan.

…

Daxiong Liu Chongyuan was battling the Bear King on the second floor of the Star Tower.

After practicing the *Giant Bear Evolution Technique*, Liu Chongyuan's already robust body became even more imposing. He now stood at 2.26 meters tall, with a significant increase in weight.

Holding a large shield, Liu Chongyuan resembled a smaller version of the Bear King. When the Bear King swiped, Liu Chongyuan, holding the shield, was knocked flying but quickly got back up, despite the blood at the corner of his mouth, he continued to resist.

"Master Liu Hai's shield techniques are so powerful, why am I so far behind?" Liu Chongyuan raised his shield again to block the Bear King's swipe, "I'll try to withstand five of the Bear King's attacks this time."

Suddenly, a call came in.

He glanced at it and temporarily exited the Star Tower.

"Old Xu." Liu Chongyuan smiled.

"Know about the Seed Cup National Competition? I, Yang Qingshuo, Heng Fang, and you, let's team up and give it a try?" Xujingming said.

"Among the four of us, I'm probably the weakest." Liu Chongyuan smiled, but felt somewhat insecure. He was the oldest among the four, and initially, he and Xujingming were on the Jiangnan Province team. Xujingming was a genius, recruited to the national team in high school, while Liu Chongyuan was much older and had poorer results.

He had struggled for many years, participating in national team training, but never became a main player! His highest world ranking was 39th, and he didn't qualify for the World Martial Arts Competition.

Xujingming and Heng Fang had both reached the top eight in the World Martial Arts Competition, and Yang Qingshuo had also participated, all of them stronger than him and younger.

"Now that we've all evolved, anything is possible. I've defeated Gao Chong and Wang Qiao." Xujingming said, "Don't always focus on past achievements."

"Understood." Liu Chongyuan nodded slightly.

"Alright, is it settled then?" Xujingming looked at him.

"Since you don't mind, I'll join. I'll do my best." Liu Chongyuan said, "I'll do my best."

"Relax, Daxiong, I believe in your strength." Xujingming said.

After the call ended, Liu Chongyuan felt more spirited: "My teammates are all strong, I need to work harder." He had thought his later life would be spent training newbies at the sports bureau, but with the virtual world, he, Liu Chongyuan, had once again raised his shield and axe, starting his martial arts journey again.

Now, Xujingming, Heng Fang, and Yang Qingshuo were all geniuses in the national team, and their willingness to team up with him filled Liu Chongyuan with determination.

He needed to work harder to not let his teammates down!

*****

In the evening, Xujingming and Li Miaomiao had dinner together.

"You've already decided on the team so quickly?" Li Miaomiao was surprised, "The registration for the competition is at the end of the month! There are still over twenty days left, and everyone's strength will change a lot in this virtual world."

"Forming a team is about everyone being happy and working together." Xujingming smiled, "And I've invited my best brothers."

"Four people are set, but you're still missing one?" Li Miaomiao said.

"A god-level archer." Xujingming said.

"Given your strength, many people must have invited you, right? No archer?" Li Miaomiao asked.

"Many have invited me, but I've declined, saying I've already formed a team." Xujingming said. After all, he was one of the top god-level experts in Xia, and being young, many people were optimistic about his future.

"But none of those who invited me were strong archers." Xujingming shook his head, "There are many warriors, but few archers."

"Archers are indeed rare. Among the top 36 experts in Xia, only three are archers." Li Miaomiao agreed, "Top archers are highly sought after."

Xujingming nodded.

Suddenly, a call came in, and Xujingming lightly tapped to answer.

"Sun Li?" Xujingming looked at the man on the other side, Sun Li was also a national team teammate, but as a second-line player, they had less interaction.

"Old Xu, for the Seed Cup National Competition, I want to join your team." Sun Li smiled, "Let's team up? I've been practicing archery lately."

"Archery?" Xujingming was surprised, "In the national team, you practiced dual swords, right?"

"I have a talent for archery and picked it up quickly. Let me show you my combat stats." Sun Li was proactive, displaying a screenshot of his combat stats.

"Your archery is already at the second level?" Xujingming praised, "Impressive!"

"How about it? I can use dual swords in close combat and archery in long-range combat, pretty good, right?" Sun Li said.

Xujingming thought for a moment.

Sun Li was initially in the second team of the national team, while he, Ashuo, and Lord Heng were in the first team. They weren't very close, but there were no conflicts, as they were all teammates.

"Sure, our team is missing an archer." Xujingming smiled, "You, as an archer, won't be afraid of assassins. The other four in our team are me, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Liu Chongyuan. If you're okay with it, it's settled?"

Sun Li, hearing this, was slightly puzzled: "Liu Chongyuan, he hasn't participated in the World Martial Arts Competition, isn't he a bit weak? Should we find a better shield expert? There are many stronger ones in the circle."

After all, they knew many national team teammates.

"Regarding shield techniques, Daxiong is quite good. He was just a step away from the World Martial Arts Competition." Xujingming said, "And in the virtual world, everyone is starting anew, don't underestimate Daxiong."

"Alright, you're the team leader, I'll follow your lead." Sun Li said, "I trust you."

"Is it settled then?" Xujingming said.

"Settled." Sun Li nodded.

Xujingming, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, Liu Chongyuan, and Sun Li formed a 'team group'.

The others were also happy about Sun Li's joining. Even though his archery skills were slightly inferior, they were already at the second level and rapidly improving. By the beginning of next month, his archery would be even better. Plus, Sun Li was also skilled in combat, making him unafraid of assassins!