Chapter 50

"Finally, my spear technique has broken through to the third level." Xu Jingming was somewhat excited. After all, many of the world's top experts were stuck at the second level, unable to break through, proving that this bottleneck was indeed very difficult to overcome.

"I thought I would be stuck at this bottleneck for a month or even longer."

"Fortunately, it happened earlier than I expected." Xu Jingming grinned, then showed a puzzled look, "But why does my feeling differ from what Master described?"

Xu Jingming extended his hand, and a long spear appeared in it.

"Ten bandits with a base combat power of 2000." Xu Jingming set it up easily, and soon ten bandits appeared, both men and women, some robust and towering, others thin and wretched, but none of them were easy to deal with.

"Kill."

The ten bandits naturally spread out and surrounded him, attacking from all sides.

Darts and hidden weapons flew through the air, heading straight for Xu Jingming.

"Boom."

Xu Jingming's eyes turned slightly red, and his figure blurred as he swiftly charged forward. In his eyes, the movements of the bandits around him, even the darts and hidden weapons, seemed to slow down significantly.

"Their movements can't possibly slow down; it's just that my reaction time has improved." Xu Jingming's spear circled, easily blocking several darts.

Whoosh!

At the same time, five bandits had already rushed to close range. They moved in an orderly manner, attacking with knives, spears, and chain hammers.

Xu Jingming took a step back, avoiding most of the attacks, and his spear moved.

Thud, thud, thud!

In an instant, the throats of the three closest bandits were pierced.

"Even my ordinary attacks are now faster than the Shadow Thrust!" Xu Jingming was delighted, "My body feels like it's on fire, burning with heat, my blood boiling! With a single thought, my entire body responds. My speed and strength have reached a new level."

"The most important thing is that my reaction time has improved even more." Xu Jingming cared about this the most.

Faster reaction time means taking the initiative in every move.

When the enemy attacks, I can counter before they finish.

Even against a master archer, my dodging ability is much stronger.

In a group attack, I can easily control the situation. After all, the enemies around me are moving in slow motion, making it much easier to counter.

"Bang! Bang!" Xu Jingming's spear swept like a blade of grass, sending four bandits flying.

"Boom."

A powerful spear strike sent a bandit with a large shield crashing into the ground, half-buried, spitting blood before disappearing.

"Feels great, my body hasn't improved, my physical index is still 135, but the burst of strength and speed is much greater. Now I understand why Master can easily overpower me even with the same physical attributes." Xu Jingming freely wielded his spear, each bandit being killed and disappearing.

"Shadow Thrust!"

This Shadow Thrust was truly the real deal. The bandits with a base combat power of 2000 couldn't even see Xu Jingming's spear thrust or retraction; their chests were already pierced.

"So fast." Xu Jingming marveled, even he could only vaguely sense the spear's thrust and retraction, "This is what Shadow Thrust is all about. If the enemy can see it, it's not a Shadow Thrust."

All ten bandits disappeared, leaving only Xu Jingming in the training ground.

"Ha ha ha ha ha..." Xu Jingming laughed heartily, "Master really misled me, saying my body should feel like water! I don't feel anything like water!"

"My body feels like it's on fire, as if I'm burning, and with a single thought, I burst into action!" Xu Jingming enjoyed this feeling. If his body was a slow old car before, now it was a super sports car, accelerating with the slightest touch.

Agile, terrifying strength, explosive power...

Even in this state, his brain's thinking speed and reaction time have improved.

"From the second-level limit to the third level, it's a complete qualitative change. Nothing else about me has changed; just my spear technique improved from 99% of the second level to 1% of the third level, and my combat power increased by about a thousand." Xu Jingming sighed inwardly, "No wonder other experts in the entire Xia Kingdom are powerless against Master Liu Hai, Lei Yunfang, and Zhou Yi!"

"Moreover, my evolution technique hasn't broken through yet. Once it reaches the advanced stage, there will be another improvement!"

"No rush, I'll consolidate my spear technique first, then go to the Star Tower!" Xu Jingming was full of fighting spirit and headed straight for the mission space.

At the base of the Star Tower.

Xu Jingming looked up at the huge leaderboard next to the Star Tower, seeing the six names: "It won't be long before I'm on this list too." With that, he rushed into the Star Tower.

However, just ten minutes later, Xu Jingming was kicked out.

"The Tiger King is too fierce; one claw and I'm gone." Xu Jingming muttered, "Looks like I need to reach the advanced stage of my evolution technique."

In fact, Xu Jingming had long guessed that it wouldn't be so easy to pass the third level of the Star Tower.

He had watched Master Liu Hai's video of his Star Tower run, where the Tiger King's strength, speed, and agility were all superior to Master Liu Hai. Master Liu Hai had to use all his combat skills to pass. As for Lei Yunfang, who had long reached the advanced stage of his evolution technique and had a terrifying third-level movement technique, it still took him a long time to pass, making him the fifth person globally to do so.

As for Zhou Yi? He hasn't passed yet.

"After a while, my spear technique improved to 2% of the third level? I'll keep practicing, consolidate my spear technique, and then practice my evolution technique." Xu Jingming was incredibly enthusiastic, and after breaking through the bottleneck, he finally started improving again.

...

"Chomp, chomp, chomp."

At lunchtime, Xu Jingming ate quickly, devouring his meat and vegetables.

"Is it necessary to be so rushed?" Li Miaomiao ate slowly, "Why are you eating so fast today?"

"I'm done, I'm going to seclude myself. Miaomiao, don't disturb me unless it's something really important." Xu Jingming put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and immediately ran to his bedroom. With the virtual world open for a month, his body had already undergone a complete transformation, and he ran much faster, like a gust of wind, disappearing into his bedroom in a flash.

Li Miaomiao ate alone, muttering, "Don't disturb him unless it's something really important? He's secluding himself? Looks like he really has made a breakthrough."

"I knew it! In the battle with Cheng Zihao's team, Jingming was so fierce, his whole body seemed to be on fire, he must have made a breakthrough. Some people said Jingming was stimulated and entered a super state. A so-called super state? That's just a legend, not so easy to achieve." Li Miaomiao thought.

In reality, some people do suddenly burst with far greater strength than usual.

But such occurrences are extremely rare.

Although Xu Jingming was very angry during the previous battle, he still remained within his limits... after all, it was just a virtual world battle, and it didn't push him beyond his mental or physical limits.

It can only be said that Xu Jingming's accumulation was deep enough, and his anger was the catalyst. His burning anger made his body feel like it was on fire, breaking through the bottleneck.

The first breakthrough was still unfamiliar, and the burst was too intense, even causing some capillaries to burst. Once he became familiar with mobilizing his body's potential and consolidated it, he could burst with ease.

******

That night.

Li Miaomiao invited Wang Yi and Dai Xiaqing to her personal space.

"Kitty." Wang Yi, though aloof, ran over happily to hug Li Miaomiao, "My idol actually invited me, I'm so excited."

"Calm down, calm down." Li Miaomiao, caught between laughing and crying, said, "You're the strongest female archer in our Xia Kingdom, you should have the demeanor of a great demoness."

Wang Yi released her hug, sat down, and looked at the blue sea, picking up a watermelon to eat, "People should be true to themselves, liking what they like and disliking what they dislike. Why pretend? Kitty, I really love your singing. When are you going to do a live stream? Make sure to let me know in advance."

"Sure, sure. I always prepare for live streams. I plan to do another one after the Seed Cup tournament." Li Miaomiao said.

"My sister-in-law's live stream is like a concert." Dai Xiaqing said, "She prepares thoroughly."

"Singing is about immersing yourself and enjoying it." Li Miaomiao said, "By the way, Archer, I have something to ask you."

"Kitty, just ask, I'll tell you everything I know." Wang Yi said.

Li Miaomiao said, "I heard that many teams have invited you to join, but you haven't decided on a team yet?"

"Um."

Wang Yi nodded, "Actually, many teams value my popularity. The teams are backed by large corporations, hoping my popularity will bring them a marketing effect. Every time I live stream, there are usually millions of viewers... it's like free marketing for them every day."

Li Miaomiao nodded.

"But I don't care about these things. Popularity? Marketing? I don't care about any of that." Wang Yi said, "I want to pursue higher archery skills. I want to know what the pinnacle of archery skills looks like. I want to explore and master it myself. That's the most fascinating thing."

"How does that relate to your choice of team?" Li Miaomiao asked.

"So I want strong teammates." Wang Yi said, "The stronger, the better! Strong teammates can help the team go further. This time it's just a national tournament, but in the future, it will be a global tournament... the team needs to go far to face more strong opponents! Otherwise, being eliminated in the first round means no chance to face top-tier opponents."

"The true top-tier battles are the most challenging and the most beneficial for improvement." Wang Yi's eyes were filled with passion.

"I understand." Li Miaomiao nodded.