Chapter 59

Xu Jingming and the other four appeared in the stands.

"Against a large-scale charge, and facing heavily armored warriors in close combat, even a master archer is at a disadvantage," Wang Yi was still recalling the battle. "No wonder Zhou Yi hasn't been able to pass the third level of the Starry Sky Tower yet."

"The Starry Sky Tower's tiger pack is far more terrifying than the orc army," Xu Jingming said.

"Although it was a bit reckless at the end, the ranking is still pretty good," Yang Qingshuo said with a smile.

Xu Jingming, Heng Fang, Liu Chongyuan, Yang Qingshuo, and Wang Yi all looked at the rankings displayed in the live stream.

1st: Zhou Yi Team (Captain: Zhou Yi), Kills: 1000

2nd: Xianzi Team (Captain: Zhang Qing), Kills: 1000

3rd: Yunshan Team (Captain: Huo Qingshan), Kills: 1000

4th: Jinpeng Team (Captain: Tielian Yun), Kills: 1000

5th: Wuling Team (Captain: Fang Yu), Kills: 1000

6th: Shield Axe Team (Captain: Xiong Tianshan), Kills: 1000

7th: Tianyin Team (Captain: Zhuang Ziyu), Kills: 1000

8th: Three Rats Team (Captain: Feng Baiyu), Kills: 1000

9th: Limu Team (Captain: Xu Jingming), Kills: 1000

11th: Jian Chun Team (Captain: Qin Ge), Kills: 1000

12th: Frost Language Team (Captain: Gu Chong), Kills: 1000

...

25th: White Dragon Team (Captain: Zheng Bailong), Kills: 998

...

821st: Happy Team (Captain: Pang Yun), Kills: 22

"Ranking ninth is pretty good," Liu Chongyuan said. "In the final wave, we cooperated less, focusing more on honing our own skills."

Xu Jingming and the other four also joined their family and friends.

"As a substitute, I'm very happy to have made it to the main event," Li Miaomiao greeted them with a smile. "The five of you, you've worked hard. We've achieved our goal in the preliminaries, and now we need to prepare for the main event."

Heng Fang nodded. "In the first round of the main event, Master Liu Hai and Senior Lei Yunfang's teams are the 1st and 2nd teams. The top 30 teams from the preliminaries are the 3rd to 32nd teams. The format is a head-to-tail match, 1st vs 32nd, 2nd vs 31st, 3rd vs 30th, and so on, with 16th vs 17th."

"The head-to-tail match is to ensure that the stronger teams can advance to the next round," Xu Jingming nodded. "Otherwise, if Master Liu Hai and Senior Lei Yunfang faced each other from the start, the appeal of the event would drop in the middle and later stages!"

"At least, more teams need to face Master Liu Hai and Senior Lei Yunfang," Wang Yi said.

"Mom." Xu Jingming walked to where his mother was standing. "Where's Dad?"

"Your father is being mysterious; I don't know where he is," his mother shook her head, then smiled. "Son, your performance in the match was really impressive! I watched carefully from start to finish, and your shield was used so well that the orc army couldn't even hurt you. Even Master Liu Hai and Senior Lei Yunfang praised your shield talent in the guest seats."

Xu Jingming was surprised: "Praised my shield talent?"

His spear talent was even higher, reaching the third level.

He needs to practice his shield more.

"Grandson." Xu Laozhai ran over, giving a thumbs up. "You did great."

After getting closer, Xu Laozhai lowered his voice and whispered, "Grandson, if I'm not mistaken, have you made some breakthroughs?"

Xu Jingming looked at his grandfather in surprise.

"Your shield defense was truly impressive. No matter how the orc army charged, you were never threatened. I watched several top-ranked teams, and your shield could easily be ranked first," Xu Laozhai said. "Trust Grandpa's eyes; I can spot even the slightest difference."

Xu Laozhai was extremely confident.

Xu Jingming sighed inwardly; his grandfather was truly amazing. In terms of shield technique, he didn't have any particular advantage over others. But after reaching the 'Body Like Fire' realm, even if he deliberately restrained his strength and speed, his reaction time had significantly improved.

What others found dangerous and terrifying, to him, seemed slow. With his continuous practice of shield techniques, he naturally appeared much steadier than others.

"The match is over," Xu's mother said.

Xu Jingming looked up; yes, the match was over.

A total of 58 teams successfully passed, with the last few teams fighting until only one member remained. The other teams were eliminated by the orc army.

"The match is over, why hasn't your father come yet?" Xu's mother muttered, then her eyes lit up as she saw Xu Hong appear on the stands, walking toward the family and friends with a smile.

"Dad." Xu Jingming stepped forward.

"Good performance," Xu Hong nodded in approval.

"Didn't you say you formed a middle-aged team with Old Dai?" Xu's mother asked. "Why didn't I see your match among the 821 teams? When I asked you about your team name, you were evasive, saying we'd know during the match. But I didn't see you today!"

"Look."

Xu Hong pointed to the commentary stand.

In the live stream, the host Liu Xin was saying, "The preliminaries are over, congratulations to these 58 teams for defeating the orc army. Although teams ranked 31st and below cannot participate in the main event, being able to defeat an entire orc army with just five people already proves your strength. Oh... the top 30 teams are confirmed, and the first round of the main event for the Fire Seed Cup is set."

"Please look at the match schedule. The first round of the Fire Seed Cup main event starts at 00:00 on September 2nd, and our official live stream will continue until 08:00."

"September 2nd, 00:00: First match, Liu Hai Elderly Team vs. Changnan Team."

"Liu Hai Elderly Team members: Liu Hai, Tian Yiqu, Xu Hong, Dai Tongda, Zhou Fan, substitute member Qiu Yong."

"Changnan Team members: Liu Bo, Lei Chong..."

"September 2nd, 00:30: Second match..."

...

The detailed match schedule, with one match every half hour, would last for eight hours.

"Liu Hai Elderly Team?" Xu Jingming, Li Miaomiao, Xu's mother, Xu Laozhai, Wang Yi, Yang Qingshuo, Heng Fang, Liu Chongyuan, and many other family and friends looked at the list.

"Captain said," Xu Hong had a helpless expression, sighing, "to avoid controversy, we were asked to keep it secret and stay low-key until the official announcement."

"Dad, why did you form a team with Master?" Xu Jingming couldn't help but ask.

"Sending you to the national team, I naturally had more contact with your master, and we became closer," Xu Hong said. "Didn't your master come to Mingyue City? I and Old Dai entertained him for several days. This time, he invited us to form a team, and we naturally joined."

The host Liu Xin, looking at the list, couldn't help but say, "Teacher Liu Hai, why did you name your team the Elderly Team?"

"Haha, we're all not young," Liu Hai laughed. "The youngest is Tian Yiqu, who is 55 this year. By the way, let me introduce more: Zhou Fan is older than me, he's Zhou Yi's father! He's 88 this year! Xu Hong is Xu Jingming's father, Dai Tongda is Dai Xiaqing's father, Tian Yiqu is Tian Xiao's father, and the substitute Qiu Yong is my in-law."

Liu Hai smiled brightly, introducing the team members.

Lei Yunfang's eyes twitched slightly: "My team's lineup isn't as impressive as Liu Hai's."

"Zhou Yi's father, Xu Jingming's father, Dai Xiaqing's father, and Tian Xiao's father?" Host Liu Xin was surprised. "Zhou Yi, Xu Jingming, Dai Xiaqing, and Tian Xiao all made it to the main event."

"Talented fathers don't have mediocre children," Liu Hai smiled. "To all the teams in the main event, if you want to face me, you'll have to get past these old guys first. They're not easy to deal with!"

Thank you to the Silver Alliance members, especially Hongmeng Universe's Master. There are several Silver Alliance members, and I'm deeply moved! Also, thank you to the new Alliance members: Xini's Love, Why Be Single, Hongmeng Reading 2021's Brother Shuo, Hongmeng City Lord Daohe Wang, Dahuang Feige, Mengzhong Bufeiqing, and Hongmeng Reading 2016. Seeing these names, I know many are from the Hongmeng Alliance, long-time readers of Tomato. Thank you all! I'm deeply moved! I'll continue writing!