Chapter 64

Xu Jingming was somewhat admiring: "The Thousand Sails Team doesn't have a divine archer, but each of them has mastered excellent throwing techniques." Although he held dual shields, Xu Jingming did not use the shields to block. Instead, he used his body techniques, swiftly taking a step forward, and two flying axes flashed past him.

"My greatest flaw now is my footwork. If my footwork reaches the third level, my strength can improve by another level. Perhaps then I will have the qualifications to face my master and Senior Lei Yunfang." Xu Jingming was very clear-headed. When Senior Lei Yunfang first displayed his strength in the virtual world, his footwork was already terrifying, let alone now, when it has reached a divine level.

The outside world all says that Senior Lei Yunfang has the world's best footwork. Master Liu Hai is even the world's strongest!

If my footwork doesn't reach the third level, I'll just be a target in front of Senior Lei Yunfang.

"After my shield technique broke through, my ability to mobilize my body's strength has become even stronger. For example, with the Ba Ji Tiger Pounce, I can burst to a speed of 50 meters per second in just two steps. My leg power is already quite high, and my footwork for dodging can be very fast. The key now is mastering body balance." Xu Jingming was very clear about this.

Combat skills are interconnected. The more techniques that reach the third level, the easier it will be for other skills to reach the third level as well.

For example, the partial force application in gun techniques is similar to shield techniques.

The leg power in the Ba Ji Tiger Pounce also has similarities with footwork. However, the Tiger Pounce is a full-force charge forward, while footwork for dodging involves moving in all directions, which is more complex.

"Thud, thud." Liu Chongyuan held a large shield and used it to block the flying axes.

Yang Qingshuo held a long spear, and Heng Fang held a snake spear. Both used their footwork to dodge the flying axes that almost simultaneously covered them, and even used their long spear and snake spear to block the flying axes.

After barely blocking the flying axes, the five members of the Thousand Sails Team had already rushed to their faces.

"Kill!" Hao Fan roared, holding dual knives and charging first.

"Kill!" The four behind him, except for one holding dual shields, all held dual knives, each fearless and charging towards Xu Jingming and his three companions.

...

Not far away, Wang Yi watched this scene, frowning: "All five members of the Thousand Sails Team are in light armor, now entangled with our team. At close range, their footwork changes, and my arrows, once released, will reach them... but they will definitely have moved to another position by then. Knowing of my existence, they will be very cautious and won't easily give me an opportunity."

"What a reckless team," Wang Yi thought, quickly approaching.

"As long as the distance is close enough! Once an arrow is released, their bodies won't have time to move much." Wang Yi's killing intent was intense.

"The divine archer is approaching, we must fight to the death! Otherwise, there will be no chance!" Hao Fan ordered in the team's voice chat.

"Yes, Master."

"Yes, Brother."

"Yes, Captain!"

The team members became even more frenzied.

Except for Xu Jingming, who held dual shields and was deliberately practicing his footwork, mainly dodging and occasionally using his shields to block, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Liu Chongyuan all faced extremely difficult situations. Xu Jingming calmly watched this, knowing his teammates needed enough pressure!

"Thud, thud."

Yang Qingshuo and Hao Fan simultaneously left wounds on each other. Yang Qingshuo pierced Hao Fan's left arm with his spear, while Hao Fan slashed Yang Qingshuo's chest. However, Yang Qingshuo deflected the force, and the slash was not deep enough, only leaving a crack with blood seeping through, but it was not fatal.

"Thud!"

A knife forcefully pierced Heng Fang's chest. Heng Fang's snake spear also killed a member of the Thousand Sails Team. He looked at the young man, Hao Qianyun, who had pierced his chest, with some surprise.

"Good knife technique," Heng Fang praised. He was confident in his snake spear technique, taking on two opponents and killing one, but Hao Qianyun's knife technique was unexpectedly vicious.

In his praise, Heng Fang and the Thousand Sails Team member both vanished into nothingness.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!"

Wang Yi had already approached, directly shooting arrows at close range towards the Thousand Sails Team members.

The Thousand Sails Team members were entangled in close combat with Xu Jingming's team, making it difficult to break free. At a distance of thirty meters... in close combat, each arrow was supersonic, and almost instantly, three members of the Thousand Sails Team fell, including the heavily injured Captain Hao Fan!

At this moment, only one member of the Thousand Sails Team, Hao Qianyun, remained alive.

Now, the arrows were only targeting Hao Qianyun.

"Thud, thud, thud."

Hao Qianyun wielded his dual knives, like layers of floating clouds, and managed to block Wang Yi's arrows one after another.

"Is there anyone among you who dares to face me one-on-one?" Hao Qianyun, the gentle youth, now had a fierce look, "Divine archer, do you dare to face me one-on-one?"

"Let me face him one-on-one!" Wang Yi shouted, her eyes full of fighting spirit. Liu Chongyuan, Yang Qingshuo, and Xu Jingming temporarily retreated, admiring the last member of the Thousand Sails Team, Hao Qianyun, and respecting their teammate.

"Kill!"

Hao Qianyun's eyes were faintly red, charging at Wang Yi, his footwork changing as he leaped.

Wang Yi stood still, not moving, just drawing her bow and shooting arrows.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!!!

Shooting at the fastest speed, Wang Yi's arrows were terrifying, and she shot six arrows in rapid succession at such a short distance! Although the arrows had special properties, the most crucial was Wang Yi's terrifying archery skills.

Hao Qianyun, relying on his footwork and defensive dual knife technique, approached Wang Yi to within ten meters. The distance was too close, and he couldn't block the final sixth arrow.

"Swoosh." However, as he charged close, Hao Qianyun also threw his dual knives.

Thud!

The arrow pierced Hao Qianyun's forehead, making his body turn ethereal.

The dual knives also quickly reached Wang Yi, who narrowly dodged. One knife cut across her shoulder, leaving a wound, and blood stained her robe over the soft armor.

Even though she was injured, Wang Yi's expression remained calm, and she looked at Xu Jingming and the others.

The four team members also turned ethereal, leaving the battlefield. The Pearwood Team won!

"What a fierce Thousand Sails Team, all members have mastered throwing techniques." In the official live stream of the Xia Kingdom, the audience was excited, and the male commentator praised, "Especially Hao Qianyun, his knife technique is very subtle in defense and vicious in attack! Heng Fang didn't expect that snake-like knife, which pierced his chest. Although the Thousand Sails Team was completely wiped out, they managed to kill one member of the Pearwood Team."

"The final one-on-one between Hao Qianyun and Wang Yi was also very intense. If Hao Qianyun had thrown hand axes instead of his heavier dual knives at the last moment, he might have killed Wang Yi," the female commentator also praised.

"Sister Ju, Hao Qianyun had no choice. Wang Yi's close-range rapid shooting was too threatening, and he had to use his dual knives to block the arrows. At the last moment, he could only throw his dual knives. He didn't have time to take out the hand axes!" the male commentator said.

The female commentator nodded: "Wang Yi is also very strong. In the one-on-one with Hao Qianyun, she remained calm even when injured. She is very composed."

"Wang Yi won three Olympic archery championships in a row because of her stability, which made other competitors despair," the host Liu Xin said. "With the opening of the virtual world and human evolution, Wang Yi's archery skills are much stronger than before. However, she still has some gap with Zhou Yi... I look forward to Wang Yi reaching Zhou Yi's level."

"That's bound to happen," the female commentator smiled. "The skills of experts will gradually improve, and Wang Yi will eventually reach Zhou Yi's level."

"By then, Zhou Yi might be even stronger," the male commentator smiled.

...

Xu Jingming and the other four appeared on the viewing platform.

"I've let everyone down," Heng Fang said guiltily. "I was the only one who died in our team."

"This is also a test," Xu Jingming said. "Being able to die means the pressure was sufficient."

Wang Yi nodded: "Hao Qianyun is quite strong, likely reaching the second-level limit in all aspects, and his knife technique has a certain spirit."

Heng Fang agreed: "His defense is watertight, and his killing moves are like a venomous snake, unexpected. And he looks younger than us."

"Will our team's combat power be ranked 15th or 16th?" Yang Qingshuo asked.

"You four all gave it your all," Xu Jingming smiled. "I also fought one of their members, mainly dodging and occasionally counterattacking, but I still had the upper hand... in the system's evaluation, I should be stronger than that member. With your four fully爆发的战斗力……战斗力排名，应该还行，不至于垫底。"

"我们是真的拼命了。" 杨青烁道。

“嗯。” 王怡也点头，最后郝千云给她的威胁也很强，必须全力以赴。

许景明五人也走向亲朋好友们聚集的地方。

“我的五名队友，你们辛苦了。” 黎渺渺笑着迎接， “作为替补队员，就这样躺赢了，感觉真好。”

“这场比赛，你和队长，是最轻松的两个。” 衡方也调侃道。

“能轻松，那是实力！” 黎渺渺抱着许景明的手臂，得意道。

“爸爸！”

三个女孩飞奔向刘冲远。

“老爸，你真棒！” 一个男孩也跑向杨青烁。

“妈妈，你太帅啦！” 少女拥抱向王怡。

衡方见状捂头： “一个个都有娃了，真羡慕。”

许景明和黎渺渺彼此相视一眼，这一刻，也挺想有个孩子的。

在轻松娱乐的气氛中，许景明和亲朋好友们，又看了接下来的几场比赛。

到了上午8点，火种杯全国大赛第一轮正赛，十六场比赛便全部结束，也决选出了十六支获胜的队伍。

---

Translation:

Xu Jingming and the other four walked towards where their friends and family were gathered.

"My five teammates, you've worked hard," Li Miaomiao greeted with a smile. "As a substitute, I just lay back and won, it feels great."

"In this match, you and the captain were the most relaxed," Heng Fang teased.

"Being relaxed is a sign of strength!" Li Miaomiao hugged Xu Jingming's arm, smugly.

"Dad!"

Three girls ran towards Liu Chongyuan.

"Dad, you're amazing!" A boy ran towards Yang Qingshuo.

"Mom, you're so cool!" A young girl hugged Wang Yi.

Heng Fang, seeing this, covered his head: "Everyone has kids, I'm so envious."

Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao looked at each other, and at that moment, they also felt the desire to have a child.

In a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, Xu Jingming and his friends and family watched the next few matches.

By 8:00 AM, the first round of the Fireseed Cup National Tournament had concluded, with sixteen matches completed and sixteen winning teams selected.