Chapter 79

In the stands, Xu Jingming and the other five watched the two teams on the commentary platform. After a round of interviews and chats, the two teams finally headed to the battle space.

"It's about to start," Xu Jingming said, "Watch this match carefully. The situation Xianzi Team faces is similar to ours, and we can learn from their experience."

"Liu Hai hasn't truly shown his strength in a long time. I hope this match will reveal something," Wang Yi also said.

Everyone in the stands watched intently, and Li Miaomiao was among them, looking very serious.

The first semi-final match took place in a forest map.

The forest after the rain was somewhat muddy.

Liu Hai's team of five and Zhang Qing's team of five descended in different areas—some on the hillside, some on the ground, and some in the trees.

"Four of you team up to deal with those four seniors first," Zhang Qing said, wearing tight-fitting light armor and carrying two swords. She was a beautiful woman, but her eyes were as sharp as her swords. "Coach Liu Hai won't interfere in your fight."

"Yes, Captain."

"Yes, Master." The four female team members responded.

In the forest, Xianzi Team's Sun Yuting, Wang Nuan, Dai Xiaqing, and Yuan Yujiao faced off against Liu Hai's team of Xu Hong, Dai Tongda, Tian Yiqu, and Zhou Fan.

One-on-one battles, with the support of archers, arrows whistled through the air, and the fight began.

Liu Hai watched this scene with interest, admiring the combat of these juniors: "Zhou Fan and the others, after my guidance and through many competitions, have become more skilled and their teamwork has improved. Those young girls... they are quite beautiful, but they are too young and not steady enough."

After a fierce battle,

Xianzi Team's four members were all defeated, and Liu Hai's veteran team's archer, Zhou Fan, was the last one standing!

"Whoosh."

When her team was down to just herself, Zhang Qing moved, her figure incredibly fast, heading straight for Zhou Fan.

Zhou Fan didn't run; he stayed in place, watching silently. When Zhang Qing was thirty meters away, he suddenly started shooting arrows rapidly, one after another! Zhang Qing didn't dodge; she charged straight in, her two swords slightly shimmering, deflecting the arrows.

"Whoosh." A sword swept past Zhou Fan's body, and his figure turned ethereal, disappearing.

Zhang Qing turned her head and looked at Liu Hai, who was already approaching.

"Coach Liu Hai, aren't you going to get a weapon?" Zhang Qing asked.

"I will if I want to." Liu Hai, tall and muscular, with his hair loose and eyes burning, was eagerly anticipating the battle. "Go ahead."

Whoosh.

Holding her two swords, Zhang Qing's figure moved with incredible agility, charging straight at Liu Hai.

Zhang Qing's sword technique was different from others, exquisitely beautiful, almost like art. She had many fans because watching her use her sword was a feast for the eyes.

Similarly, her sword technique, beneath its beautiful exterior, was also extremely ruthless, and she was widely recognized as the first swordswoman of Xia Country.

"Clang." The moment Zhang Qing approached, Liu Hai, who was still empty-handed, instantly drew his waist knife and blocked the attack.

Zhang Qing didn't stop, her figure moving swiftly, and she struck one sword after another, thrusting, slashing, and slicing, creating a dazzling array of sword light. The sound of sword and knife clashes filled the air.

Zhang Qing seemed to transform into several figures, with countless sword lights attacking Liu Hai from all directions.

Liu Hai stood still, moving only his knife, which perfectly blocked Zhang Qing's every strike.

"Zhang Qing has already pushed her agility and sword technique to the extreme," Xu Jingming watched the live stream. "The most terrifying is Master. His knife movements are very short, achieving the best effect with the least movement. He doesn't waste a single bit of strength."

"Master's control over strength and space is beyond imagination," Xu Jingming was somewhat shaken. "Zhang Qing's agility and dual swords are very fast, but all the changes in her sword techniques are completely under Master's control."

"Master once said, control the enemy's speed. But now, Master has completely controlled the space," Xu Jingming felt Master's ease.

...

"I've taken over a hundred of your strikes; now you take one of mine." Liu Hai, who had not moved a step, suddenly moved.

Boom.

A step forward, his figure blurred, and Zhang Qing's face changed. She couldn't determine Liu Hai's final attack area and was extremely alert to his knife.

"Bang!"

Liu Hai's left fist, as fast as lightning, pierced through the air and struck Zhang Qing's abdomen.

This punch was so fast, with no warning, and once it was out, Zhang Qing couldn't react in time. It was similar to Xu Jingming's Shadow Thrust, a punch that exceeded the speed of neural reactions.

Zhang Qing was thrown back like a cannonball, crashing into a tree, which exploded.

Zhang Qing knelt on the ground, clutching her abdomen in pain. Her light armor had a huge indentation from the punch, and the impact had damaged her internal organs. Blood trickled from her mouth and nose as she looked at Liu Hai in disbelief: "One punch?"

Zhang Qing turned ethereal and disappeared from the battlefield.

Liu Hai stood in place, sighing softly, "Can't even take one punch?"

He had cleared the Star Tower in 38 minutes after it opened, and after more than a month of intense training and national support, Liu Hai felt lonely. Even someone as excellent as Zhang Qing... his punch was too fast for her to react, and she was killed in one punch.

The forest map collapsed, and Liu Hai's team won again.

******

The entire Xia Country live stream was in shock, and the live stream was replaying the previous battle in slow motion.

In slow motion, everything was clearer.

Zhang Qing's movements were as fast as a phantom, and her dual swords were even faster. Liu Hai, however, stood still with just a single knife, and his minimal movements completely blocked all attacks. This single knife... it was like an absolute spatial defense, blocking any attack within a three-foot radius.

"Liu Hai didn't even use a shield, and he passed the third level of the Star Tower with a shield and knife combination," the male commentator, Jin Fan, said, his voice trembling. "How much has Liu Hai improved in over a month since the virtual world opened?"

"Is the gap between other experts and the top experts on the Star List really that exaggerated?" the female commentator, Ju Wenqing, a die-hard fan of Zhang Qing, was stunned by the gap.

"Perhaps Liu Hai is the world's number one, so the gap between others and him is very large," the host, Liu Xin, said.

The male commentator, Jin Fan, countered, "Lei Yunfang is the world's number one in agility, and his speed is even more terrifying than Liu Hai's."

"I understand why the officials set Liu Hai and Lei Yunfang's teams as the 1st and 2nd teams in this Seed Cup," the female commentator, Ju Wenqing, shook her head. "They are just too strong."

Many viewers were also stunned.

"Watching so many matches, I always thought Xianzi Team was very strong."

"Winning all the way, Zhang Qing was always so relaxed and never used her full strength. But in front of Liu Hai... how could she not even take one punch?"

"Light armor can resist sword and arrow attacks, right? How could Liu Hai's punch through the armor kill the opponent?"

"Is Liu Hai's punch even a punch? It's more terrifying than a heavy hammer! Didn't you see how Liu Hai's knife split heavy armor in half?"

"Liu Hai's realm is too high. I guess his physical attributes and combat skills are both extremely high, which is why he can dominate like this."

"Is this the strength of the world's number one?"

"They say young people have potential, but why do I feel the gap between young people and this old man is getting bigger and bigger?"

Comments flooded the screen.

Xia Country people had mixed feelings about Liu Hai. On one hand, they were proud that the world's number one was a Xia Country person, but on the other hand, they felt Liu Hai was too strong, far surpassing others.

...

"Master is really strong," Xu Jingming was secretly amazed. "Throughout the entire Seed Cup, only when facing Zhang Qing did Master truly show some of his strength. But it's also a despairing strength."

The other teammates felt even more in awe.

If Xu Jingming could see through many of the subtleties and thought he could fight for ten or eight moves, the other teammates only felt the overwhelming strength, far beyond their reach.

...

"Liu Hai is really strong. His current realm should still be the world's number one," Pang Ze said in the stands.

Director Zhou nodded slightly, "Although other top experts in the world have also improved quickly, Liu Hai has been improving as well. His current combat data is still absolutely the world's number one."

"Having such an expert as a Xia Country person is truly a blessing for Xia Country," Pang Ze said.

Director Zhou said, "We are now very focused on him and are willing to fully support him. However, after choosing the fifth-level shield and knife technique, Liu Hai did not request any new resources."

"I have very high hopes for him," Pang Ze nodded. "His future is limitless."

Director Zhou was moved, knowing how sharp Pang Ze's judgment was.

"Besides him, who else among Xia Country's experts do you have high hopes for?" Director Zhou asked.

"Don't you know?" Pang Ze smiled. "Three years ago, I had my son learn gun skills from Xu Jingming. Who do you think I have the highest hopes for?"

Director Zhou nodded slightly.

So he has such high hopes for Xu Jingming?

This is an additional chapter for reaching 20,000 monthly votes.