Chapter 87

After the rain, the mountain forest was muddy.

Liu Hai, wearing a shield and a sword, and dressed in black light armor, stood in the forest and said in the team voice chat, "You are free to act, do your best."

"Yes, Captain."

"Let these young people know that we are not to be trifled with."

Zhou Fan, Xu Hong, Dai Tongda, and Tian Yiqu, four familiar teammates, had always acted together in the Fire Seed Cup competition. If they resolved the battle, Captain Liu Hai wouldn't need to intervene; otherwise, Liu Hai would be the one to finish it off.

Xu Jingming advanced halfway up the mountain and saw Liu Hai standing openly in the distant forest. Liu Hai, tall and imposing, had put on armor, showing respect for Xu Jingming's team.

"Whoosh." Xu Jingming immediately dived down the mountain, heading straight for his master.

"Master is at point A, everyone avoid it," Xu Jingming said in the team voice chat. "I will keep an eye on Master."

"Alright, let's deal with the others first," Wang Yi immediately led the other teammates into action.

In the forest.

Xu Jingming faced his master Liu Hai from a distance.

"The scenery in the virtual world is quite nice, isn't it?" Liu Hai smiled at his disciple, speaking privately, which the live stream couldn't hear. Liu Hai looked around the forest, picked a leaf, and sniffed it, "The scent after the rain in the forest, this scent can only be found in old forests. The scent in city parks is different, too light, while here it is deeper and more enduring."

Xu Jingming also saw the residual water droplets on the trees and leaves.

"Life is not just about martial arts. You need to know how to relax and observe the world," Liu Hai said. "The principles of the world and martial arts are interconnected."

While they were talking, Wang Yi and the others were fighting with Xu Hong and Dai Tongda's team.

Wang Yi, having reached the third level, didn't fight too fiercely, allowing the older generation to fully engage.

Xu Jingming and Liu Hai, the two team leaders, faced each other from a distance.

"Yes, the principles of the world and martial arts are indeed interconnected," Xu Jingming nodded, speaking privately.

Liu Hai continued, "Like a leaf, it has its resilient moments and its withered moments. When it is weak, a child can tear it, but when it is sharp, a leaf can pierce a tree." Liu Hai flicked the leaf with his fingers, and it shot into the tree, half of it embedded.

Xu Jingming was secretly amazed.

"Everything has yin and yang, and so does martial arts. Rigidity cannot last, and softness loses its dignity. The balance of rigidity and softness, the harmony of yin and yang, is the true path," Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming.

"The principles of everything..." Xu Jingming said, "can be called physics!"

"All martial arts can be reduced to physics," Xu Jingming looked at his master. "The speed of this move, the force, the time needed to build momentum, the reaction time of the opponent, my move from building momentum to piercing the opponent's throat is faster than the opponent's reaction time, so the opponent naturally can't dodge."

"The distance between me and the opponent, the distance I advance, the advantage of the weapon... naturally, I can kill the enemy without being touched."

"The body's power comes from internal muscle groups and lever techniques. An ordinary person's punch is much weaker than a professional's, because the professional has mastered the techniques." Xu Jingming said, "These are all physics."

Xu Jingming looked around, "Everything, the growth of trees, leaves absorbing light, the sunny side grows better. The ground is hard, but it becomes muddy when water seeps in. When the water dries, it becomes hard again... everything has logic, has scientific principles, not mysterious. Everything is like this, and so is martial arts!"

"Everyone says rigidity cannot last, but the sun can continue to shine," Xu Jingming said. "The concepts of traditional martial arts need to be studied for their roots, not everything the ancients said is correct."

Liu Hai smiled, "Disciple, science has its limits, and they can only understand so much now. The principles of everything may exceed the scope of scientific exploration."

The battle continued nearby.

One by one, team members fell.

"The principles of everything, some are correct, but some are even wrong," Xu Jingming said. "The ancients did not grasp the essence, they wanted to, but the technology was not advanced enough at the time."

"Science is becoming more advanced, see? Even the virtual world has emerged, presenting everything you think about in a 100% virtual form," Xu Jingming said. "Having a pair of eyes to observe physics, exploring the essence of martial arts, is the only way to make martial arts progress further."

Plop! Plop!

After Yang Qingshuo and Heng Fang were defeated, Wang Yi finally went all out.

Arrow after arrow.

Even Xu Hong, holding two shields, finally fell, and the last arrow pierced Zhou Fan's body. The other four members of Liu Hai's old team were all defeated.

"Yin and yang in Tai Chi are inherently inclusive, embracing everything," Liu Hai said. "Everything can be absorbed, but there is always a foundation. Tai Chi yin and yang are the foundation, and many techniques can be unified and used for our benefit."

"All martial arts conform to physics. Science is infinite, and physics is infinite," Xu Jingming said. "Martial arts also have infinite possibilities."

Liu Hai smiled, "Very good, you have the courage to stand firm in front of me."

"Master, your martial arts achievements far exceed mine," Xu Jingming said. "But when I realized my body was like fire, I understood... I need to follow my own principles. What I understand on my own is truly mine. What others teach me is ultimately what they control."

"What I understand on my own is truly mine?" Liu Hai nodded slightly, his smile becoming more radiant. "Then let me see how much you have grown."

Saying this, he picked up two stones from the ground.

He suddenly threw them!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Liu Hai threw two stones, one after the other, like bullets, instantly streaking through the sky.

Xu Jingming was amazed and warned in the team voice chat, "Be careful!"

He didn't have time to say more because it was too fast.

"Whoosh"

In the official live stream of the Xia country, the audience couldn't hear the conversation between the master and disciple, but they saw the two of them talking and the other four members of both teams fighting until the end.

Suddenly, Liu Hai picked up two stones, each about the size of a palm, and threw them with great force.

In the live stream, the virtual world naturally displayed the maximum speed of the two high-speed flying stones.

"723 meters per second! 718 meters per second!"

These were the maximum speeds of the two stones, and this number made all the experts present change color.

Lei Yunfang, Zhang Qing, Zhou Yi, Fang Yu, and others were all shocked by this number.

"How can it be so fast?"

The Blue Star Alliance delegation, attending the Xia country's Fire Seed Cup competition, was partly for courtesy and partly to observe the top experts of Xia country. But Liu Hai's thrown stones really made them incredulous.

"These are just two stones picked up casually, how can they be as fast as a third-level archer's arrows?"

"Stones are much heavier than arrows."

"How strong is this Liu Hai?"

All the delegates were shaken. This global first, Liu Hai, threw stones like real bullets, exceeding 700 meters per second. This speed was a despair for other third-level experts.

To know that Fang Yu's thrown short spear reached 400 meters per second, which already amazed Xu Jingming, was considered very powerful among high-level evolutionists.

But compared to Liu Hai, it was like heaven and earth!

"Do ordinary third-level experts and the global first have such a huge gap?" Some of the Blue Star Alliance delegates, who were originally confident in their country's experts, were now worried after seeing the bullet-like stones and the displayed speed.

...

In the forest.

"What?" Wang Yi and Liu Chongyuan, who received Xu Jingming's warning, turned to look.

But the stones were too fast!

When they turned to see the two bullet-like stones, Wang Yi barely managed to move a step. The stone passed through in front of her chest, the shock wave streaking through the sky, the terrifying wind impact tearing her robe, leaving marks on the soft armor.

Liu Chongyuan, however, reacted a bit slower. The stone pierced through his head, and his entire body turned into a phantom and disappeared.

This stone made Wang Yi feel a chill, looking at Liu Hai from a distance with shock. The entire forest map was only about a kilometer in range, and Liu Hai was in the center of the forest. Wang Yi and the others were more than 300 meters away, which was quite far.

But it was still almost enough to be killed by a stone.

"Alright."

Liu Hai drew his sword from behind, holding it in one hand, looking at Xu Jingming and then at Wang Yi in the distance, "There are only the two of you left."