Chapter 76

Xu Jingming, Heng Fang, and Yang Qingshuo arrived at the live broadcast stand, where Li Miaomiao, Wang Yi, and Liu Chongyuan, along with assistant Xiao Zeng and Kong Jie, warmly welcomed them.

"Captain, I now admire you immensely!" Liu Chongyuan stepped forward, his face filled with reverence.

"I am the one who admires the captain the most." Yang Qingshuo immediately said.

"Move aside!"

Li Miaomiao shouted, and everyone immediately stepped aside. Li Miaomiao walked forward, and Xu Jingming smiled at his girlfriend.

"You fought really well." Li Miaomiao smiled happily, "I am now a member of one of the four strongest teams in all of Xia. Captain, I, as a substitute, decide to give you a reward."

Xu Jingming immediately bent down and kissed his girlfriend on the lips.

Li Miaomiao widened her eyes and blushed, glancing around, "There are so many people here!"

"Oh wow." Heng Fang clapped and cheered, and everyone around, including Wang Yi and Kong Jie, burst into laughter.

"Xu Brother is amazing; we are now in the top four." Yang Qingshuo's eyes sparkled, "The prize money for the top four teams is one hundred million. I, being carried by the team, get 16%, which is sixteen million... Wow, I've never earned such a large sum of money in my life!"

"This is also the most money I've ever earned." Liu Chongyuan said excitedly.

"And this money will be directly distributed to us by the virtual world; we just need to pay taxes." Yang Qingshuo said happily, "The prize money is considered a windfall, so we only need to pay 20% income tax. In the end, we still get over ten million, truly delightful."

"The top four prize money is the minimum; the prize money for the champion and runner-up is even higher!" Liu Chongyuan said.

Before the virtual world appeared, Xu Jingming and Heng Fang had already earned a decent income, but Liu Chongyuan and Yang Qingshuo had indeed never earned so much.

The highest earner present was Wang Yi. Wang Yi became famous at a young age, winning three consecutive Olympic championships, a top-tier figure. She earned so much just from endorsement fees. In the virtual world era, she was also one of the top three streamers, with a considerable income.

She quietly watched from the side, feeling the joy of Yang Qingshuo and Liu Chongyuan.

"The later the stage, the more the match relies on the captain." Wang Yi said quietly, "The captain has already given me enough training. I have been in dire straits multiple times, even being assassinated by opponents. But under the pressure, I still haven't broken through to the third level."

Wang Yi was very competitive at heart; she couldn't tolerate this sense of powerlessness and yearned to break through.

...

On the stand, Fang Yu also walked to his elders and relatives.

"Little Fang Yu, how do you feel?" Liu Jianfeng asked.

Fang Yu looked at the live broadcast scene, where the host and guests were replaying the highlights of the battle, watching the slow-motion replay... where he had completely lost the initiative under Xu Jingming's gunplay.

"What a fast shot." Fang Yu watched the entire replay and saw the final move, the Shadow Stab, "So fast that I didn't even react."

"The secret of the Shadow Stab is that the time it takes to fire is shorter than the human reaction time!" Liu Jianfeng nodded, "As long as he gets the chance to fire, you won't have time to react and will already be hit! Many people know why this shot is powerful, but they can't learn it."

Fang Yu nodded, "Any move has a starting point and a buildup. The process of building up and releasing power takes the most time. Even a jab or a quick strike... must have a buildup."

Beside him, Fang's father said, "Xu Jingming's Shadow Stab also has a buildup, but his buildup time is very short. He abandoned the follow-up moves, focusing solely on making this move as fast as possible! I have watched this move in slow motion many times and tried to learn it, but I couldn't."

"What is a killer move? It's not that easy to learn." Liu Jianfeng laughed.

"This shot is too fast, and his footwork is also excellent." Fang Yu nodded, "I do have a gap with him now, but I believe once my footwork breaks through, with my physical advantages, I can definitely win."

Liu Jianfeng, Fang's father, and the other elders all nodded.

As long as Fang Yu's combat skills are not far behind his opponent, he can win with his physical advantages. He has a head start in this regard.

******

On the commentary stand, host Liu Xin looked at the prompt in front of him and smiled, "The third round of the Seed Cup competition has officially ended. The virtual world has also calculated the winning team's strength. Apart from Liu Hai's team and Lei Yunfang's team, which are fixed as No. 1 and No. 2, the other teams are ranked by strength."

As he spoke, a large team ranking chart appeared on the live broadcast scene.

1: Liu Hai's Elderly Team (Captain: Liu Hai)

2: Lei Yunfang's Team (Captain: Lei Yunfang)

3: Li Mu Team (Captain: Xu Jingming), Team Strength: 23,220

4: Xianzi Team (Captain: Zhang Qing), Team Strength: 21,680

"Tomorrow, we will hold the semi-finals of the Seed Cup." Liu Xin said excitedly, "One match will be between the world's top player, Teacher Liu Hai, leading his team, and our Xia's top female player, Zhang Qing, leading her team. The other match will be between the world's top footwork expert, Teacher Lei Yunfang, leading his team, and the young Xu Jingming leading his team."

A battle chart also appeared on the side.

September 5th, 00:00, First Match: Liu Hai's Elderly Team vs. Xianzi Team

September 5th, 01:00, Second Match: Lei Yunfang's Team vs. Li Mu Team

...

The six members of the Li Mu Team looked at the battle chart.

"Our opponent is Lei Yunfang's team." Li Miaomiao was a bit nervous but also excited, "Lei Yunfang is the world's top footwork expert."

"He demonstrated his footwork at the third level in the virtual world for the first time." Xu Jingming nodded, "After more than a month, how strong his footwork is, we won't know unless we face him personally."

"Those who have faced him also find it hard to describe how strong he is." Wang Yi said, "In Xia, there are very few who can force Lei Yunfang to show his true strength."

All the team members agreed and felt the pressure.

"At least it's easier than facing my master, Liu Hai." Xu Jingming laughed, "My master, Liu Hai, is strong in every aspect, with no weaknesses."

"Let's defeat Lei Yunfang's team first, then meet Master Liu Hai in the final!" Yang Qingshuo clenched his fist.

"You're quite confident." Heng Fang laughed.

Wang Yi said, "Confidence is necessary. Compared to Lei Yunfang's team, at least Lei Yunfang's four teammates are relatively weak. We mainly have to deal with Lei Yunfang."

"Yes, just him." Xu Jingming nodded.

"The only one on our side who can threaten Lei Yunfang is the captain." Yang Qingshuo said helplessly.

Wang Yi was silent.

She was a marksman and should have played a role.

But Lei Yunfang was too terrifying. From ten meters away, Wang Yi had no confidence in hitting him with her arrows. As for within ten meters? With Lei Yunfang's world-class footwork, daring to get within twenty meters would be suicide.

...

"My next opponent is Xu Jingming, right?" Lei Yunfang, with a stern expression, stood up, "Finally, a somewhat interesting battle."

So far, Lei Yunfang had not faced any real threat in the Seed Cup. In the match against Xu Jingming, Lei Yunfang felt... he needed to use some of his true skills.

...

"My next opponent is that girl, Zhang Qing." Liu Hai also stood up, "Then in the final, who will I face?"

******

In the personal space, the training ground.

Xu Jingming stood there and opened his personal strength panel.

Gene Evolution Method: "Tian Python Evolution Method" (Advanced 5%) (Practice Time: 602 days, Cannot Upgrade)

Body: 190

Skills: Gunplay (Level 3, 43%), Footwork (Level 3, 3%), Shield Technique (Level 3, 31%)

Base Strength: 4608

Combat Bonus: 40%

Total Strength: 6451

"The improvement in footwork has indeed comprehensively enhanced my body's power generation techniques, improving both my gunplay and shield technique." Xu Jingming nodded slightly at the panel, which matched his expectations, "But now that all three aspects have broken through, further improvement will require gradual accumulation."

"My strength has improved significantly; I can try to challenge the Star Tower again." Xu Jingming thought, "To defeat Lei Yunfang, I must first pass the third level of the Star Tower."

Xu Jingming immediately opened the mission space and headed to the Star Tower.

Whoosh.

Like a meteor falling, he landed at the base of the tower. Xu Jingming looked up at the familiar Star Tower ranking, which had only six names, with anticipation. He then walked into the Star Tower.

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