Chapter 90

The final blow was blocked by Master, which left Xu Jingming somewhat regretful. But after calming down, he understood: "When it was one-on-one, Master only used a single saber. The combination of shield and saber is truly Master's real strength. Even the Shadow Thrust can't threaten Master now."

Leaving the battle space, Xu Jingming returned to the Xia Kingdom's official live stream and went to the stands where his family and friends were.

"Captain!"

"Jingming!"

"Old Xu!"

"Son!"

Various calls, everyone greeted him with smiles. No one felt regret, as they all knew that Liu Hai was currently the world's number one, and his strength far surpassed Xu Jingming's.

Yang Qingshuo smiled and said, "When we first formed the team, I never dared to think we could make it to the finals of the Seed Cup National Tournament... second place! Runners-up, defeating so many formidable teams."

"We won by default," Heng Fang said, hugging Yang Qingshuo. "We were eliminated so early so many times. I knew that this time, we could only win with Old Xu and Yi."

"It's thanks to the captain," Wang Yi said. "I only managed to break through in the semi-finals. If I were in a weaker team, I might have been eliminated long ago, and my breakthrough would have been much later."

"We are a team, and teamwork makes us stronger," Xu Jingming said. "With Yi, we made it to the finals."

"I'm the one who benefited the most without doing much work," Li Miaomiao bowed in gratitude. "Thank you all, thank you so much. And everyone knows, during the Seed Cup tournament, how many downloads did my single 'Liumu' get?"

Wang Yi and the others were unsure.

Heng Fang simply checked the song downloads.

"56 million downloads," Li Miaomiao said happily. "And these are paid downloads! More than the total downloads over the past few years. And it also boosted my other songs, it's really great."

"Our team's anthem has a cumulative paid download count of less than 100 million," Heng Fang said, looking at the song download data. "As a member of the Liumu team, I think it's necessary to promote my sister-in-law."

"We should promote Catcat," Wang Yi nodded. "I agree."

"Brother Xu, our promotion isn't enough," Yang Qingshuo looked at Xu Jingming. "It has to be you, Brother Xu, who promotes. After this tournament, your popularity will definitely skyrocket. The more you promote your sister-in-law, the more popular her songs will become. 'Liumu' is our team's anthem, so it needs more promotion."

"Promote, definitely promote," noticing Li Miaomiao's gaze, Xu Jingming immediately said decisively.

At this moment, the towering Liu Hai appeared with a smile and walked over.

"Captain," Xu Hong and Dai Tongda immediately greeted him.

"Master," Xu Jingming, Yang Qingshuo, and Heng Fang were surprised and hurried to greet him.

Liu Hai smiled at Xu Jingming, "This tournament was good, especially that final thrust. Did you break through in your spear technique?"

"A little breakthrough," Xu Jingming nodded. He had immediately checked his personal combat stats after the match ended and returned to the battle space.

"Breaking through is a good thing," Liu Hai nodded. "But the gap between you and me is still quite large. Keep working hard! I'm waiting for you... to defeat me. As your master, I look forward to the day when you surpass me."

Yang Qingshuo and Heng Fang looked at each other, surpass? The gap feels like it's getting bigger.

Xu Jingming stepped forward and asked quietly, "Master, I want to ask, how much of your strength did you use in our final confrontation?"

"Hmm..." Liu Hai thought for a moment, "About 50%."

"50%?" Xu Jingming had a vague idea of the gap between him and his master.

"Keep working hard," Liu Hai smiled, very much looking forward to it. Perhaps because of his age or his long tenure as a master, he enjoyed teaching his disciples and seeing them grow, finding it more joyful than his own breakthroughs.

He tried his best to break down and clearly teach his combat techniques to his disciples.

In the process of teaching, he himself gained deeper insights and reached higher realms. With the arrival of the virtual world, he became the world's number one. But what he most looked forward to was his disciples catching up to and surpassing him.

"Captain, get ready. As the champion team, we need to go on stage to receive the award," Xu Hong looked at the prompt and immediately reminded them.

"Still have to go on stage to receive the award? What a hassle," Liu Hai immediately gathered his teammates from the Liu Hai Senior Team.

As the champions of the Xia Kingdom's first national tournament, the Seed Cup, the Liu Hai Senior Team members happily went on stage and began the award ceremony.

...

Xu Jingming and the others in the stands watched enviously.

"500 million in prize money," Liu Chongyuan watched with amazement and envy, as the prize money was being awarded.

"Our prize money has also been credited," Yang Qingshuo, who had been monitoring his personal account, immediately reminded everyone upon noticing the change.

"Wow..."

"So much money! We're rich, we're finally rich after so many years!"

Heng Fang and Liu Chongyuan were overjoyed, with Liu Chongyuan even shedding tears of joy, as he had never earned such a large sum before.

"9.6 million after tax for a substitute player?" Li Miaomiao was also very happy. "The tournament organizers are really efficient, they even withheld the taxes for us."

Xu Jingming and Wang Yi watched with smiles, remaining relatively calm.

Wang Yi had always earned a lot, and Xu Jingming, after participating in the Seed Cup, had received enough tips. From the battle against Tie Lianyun onwards, each match brought in high tips for Xu Jingming. The more popular he became, the more fans he gained, and the more tips he received.

After a few matches, Xu Jingming was known nationwide. After all, each match had over a billion viewers.

In terms of martial arts fame, Xu Jingming was definitely among the top in the country, even surpassing the highly popular Wang Yi. No real-world event in the past could match the influence of the virtual world's Seed Cup tournament.

******

The Blue Star Alliance delegation, after watching the award ceremony, also began to leave.

"This tournament has broadened our horizons," the leading white-haired elder smiled. "The experts of the Xia Kingdom are indeed remarkable, whether it's the world's number one, Liu Hai, or the young generation, the spear expert and the goddess archer, they are all outstanding. We believe that when the Blue Star civilization enters a new era, the Xia Kingdom will make greater contributions."

Director Zhou smiled, "The Xia Kingdom is a part of the Blue Star, and we will naturally strive for the entire Blue Star civilization."

"Great power comes with great responsibility," the Roman delegate said. "Currently, two of the world's top five experts are from the Xia Kingdom. The strength of the Xia Kingdom is evident, but on Mars, the Xia Kingdom's contribution is still insufficient."

"Speaking of experts, the White Eagle Federation also has two on the Star Chart," Director Zhou said. "And regarding the contribution on Mars, the initial agreement was for each party to bear a certain share. The Xia Kingdom has not fallen short in any way, but India has only fulfilled one-third of its promised funding."

"We are making efforts, our share..." the Indian delegate said.

"Let's discuss this at the next alliance meeting," the leading white-haired elder said. "In any case, the Xia Kingdom's final match was very impressive."

"Welcome to visit again. The Xia Kingdom is a land of etiquette, and we welcome any friend," Director Zhou said.

The delegation quietly left.

Director Zhou and the other deputy directors also disappeared, leaving the live stream.

...

Xia Kingdom, Life Evolution Bureau.

Director Zhou and three deputy directors gathered in the meeting room. Deputy Director Liang Qian attended via projection.

"The Seed Cup tournament has concluded," Director Zhou looked at those present. "We must determine the second batch of national key cultivation candidates. According to the rules, we five will first deliberate. The results will be submitted to the highest authorities."

"This batch of cultivation is different from the first. The first batch received equal cultivation support. Now that we have seen the experts' strength and progress, we will focus on the top three, while the remaining seventeen will receive the same level of support as the first batch."

"So the list of the top three is particularly important. First, who should be the top candidate for the new list?" Director Zhou asked.

"The top candidate for the new list must be either Fang Yu or Xu Jingming," Deputy Director Liang Qian's projection said.

"I agree with choosing Fang Yu. He is only twenty years old and, without any professional tournament experience, has grown to this level. He is the only one in the country with an evolution method compatibility over 100%, at 103%. You should know that in the later stages of cultivation, reaching the limit and finding it difficult to break through is very common," Deputy Director Wang Shuqi said. "When everyone is stuck at the limit and unable to break through, Fang Yu with 103% compatibility will be the strongest, as his body will surpass other competitors in every aspect."

"Such a genius must be cultivated, and cultivated vigorously," Wang Shuqi said.