Chapter 164: Xu Jingming’s Turn

Translator: CKtalon

“There were a total of 24 matches for four groups today.” The female host was in high spirits in the virtual world’s official livestream. “A total of eight contestants were selected: Tu Ling, Riven Gullit, Tejano Xire, Mickey, Liu Hai, Alex, Madeleine Logan, and Japlov. They will also enter the next elimination round.”

“Liu Hai!”

“Riven Gullit!”

“Alex!”

The number of viewers in the stands remained above 5.5 billion. There was a wave of cheers that sounded like an earth-shattering tsunami as they cheered for the peerless experts of their country.

It was already impressive to be able to enter the main competition, but only 16 people could enter the single-elimination tournament! The difficulty was much greater than the main competition, and most of the people who could enter the single-elimination tournament came from the large countries.

For example, large countries like China, the EU, and the United States of America had a larger population and more resources for grooming. There were only a handful of experts from smaller countries that entered the round of sixteen, and their citizens supported them even more fervently.

“Almost all eight of these experts are from large countries.” Li Miaomiao sighed with emotion. “Only Alex is from South America’s Amazon Federal Republic. The Amazon Federal Republic also has a population of 200 million, but it’s the country with the lowest population among the eight contestants.”

“You forgot to count Tejano,” Xu Jingming said with a smile.

“Oh.” Li Miaomiao was taken aback. “Yes, Tejano has the weakest background. He’s so strong and famous that I subconsciously think that he comes from a very strong nation.”

“He’s very strong.” Xu Jingming nodded slightly. “From the first four groups, Tejano, Master Liu Hai, and Madeleine Logan are all very strong.”

“You aren’t confident either?” Li Miaomiao asked.

“I’m not confident.” Xu Jingming shook his head and got up. “I’ll go cultivate.”

Even during the competition, he still had to cultivate as usual and didn’t slack off at all.

…

The next day, at 9 p.m. on June 3, the matches for the subsequent four groups were held. Many of the upper echelons of Earth came to watch.

In Group 5’s matches.

“Ysa!”

“Ysa!”

Countless people cheered.

Ysarova had an extraordinary bearing, and her appearance seemed to be a product of all the beauty in the world. Under natural light, her skin was crystalline as if it were glowing. She wore silver armor and held a bow and arrow as if she were a descended angel. Moreover, she was terrifyingly strong!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

In Group 5, she shot three arrows in each of her three matches, each arrow stronger than the last! The third arrow would definitely kill the opponent, and the opponent felt suffocated in front of the arrow as though they were trapped in a web, unable to escape.

“Ysarova isn’t bad. She gives each opponent enough pressure.” Director Zhou and the other Earth executives nodded in satisfaction. “Madeline Logan was too ruthless; she didn’t show any mercy to those Lv. 4s.”

The upper echelons of Earth couldn’t do anything about it either because they had secretly groomed people on a small scale for so many years. There were barely more than ten people who had reached Lv. 5, and some people were so strong that they became cosmic citizens. It wasn’t suitable for them to participate in the competition.

Those who were stuck at the early stages of Lv. 5 had relatively appropriate strength. After making multiple selections, they decided on Ysarova and Madeleine Logan. These experts had their own temperaments and were destined to be cosmic citizens, so the Earth Alliance had to give them some respect.

“Of the two spots in Group 5, Ysarova will definitely be first.” Li Miaomiao watched nervously. “Zhao Fan and Merritt are fighting for second place. Whoever defeats the other will obtain a spot.”

In Group 5, the battle between Zhao Fan and Merritt made the citizens of China and the EU extremely nervous and expectant.

“Zhao Fan, if you dare lose, I’ll make you kneel on the washboard when you get home!”

“Zhao Fan, win, and I’ll have babies with you.”

“The posters before me are dreaming. It’s time to announce my sovereignty—Zhao Fan and I have already registered our marriage.”

“Merritt, I love you.”

“Merritt, you are the God of War.”

…

Countless comments flooded in. Zhao Fan and Merritt were extremely popular in their countries.

Zhao Fan was only nineteen this year, and he looked young and handsome. Moreover, he had only started cultivating martial arts after the virtual world’s launch, but he had already become a world-class expert. He was practically favored by the heavens! He had countless fans…

It was the same for Merritt. He was young, handsome, and talented. Countless women from the EU were obsessed with him.

The clash between two peerless geniuses.

One used a crescent saber and was known for being ferocious and domineering.

The other used dual swords, and Merritt’s sword was a Western-styled dagger. Its usage was different from that of the East, and it was much heavier.

The battle between the two parties was intense. After fighting for more than three minutes, Zhao Fan narrowly lost the match.

“Ah, he lost.” Li Miaomiao shook her head.

“Zhao Fan’s crescent saber attacks ferociously and indomitably.” Xu Jingming shook his head. “As for Merritt’s dual sword techniques, he’s good at both offense and defense. In a prolonged battle, Merritt naturally has the advantage.”

In the end, Group 5 ended with Ysarova and Merritt coming in as the top 2.

Countless people in China were disappointed, but the EU citizens were overjoyed.

“Next up is Xu Jingming.”

“It’s Xu Jingming’s turn.”

“Xu Jingming from China.”

The Chinese quickly became excited.

Xu Jingming’s influence in the world was much greater. He was recognized as one of the three strongest people in the world seven months ago. How strong was he now? It remained a mystery.

“Xu Jingming from Group 6 is a strong contender for the champion of this competition,” the female host introduced.

Countless audience members in the stands cheered loudly. Xu Jingming had many fans worldwide; most people around the world had watched and studied his nine martial arts classes.

“Xu Jingming came in first at the Martial Arts Center’s overall ranking last year,” the female host said. “I remember that when the virtual world first launched, his strength was much lower than that of Liu Hai and Tejano Xire, but he quickly caught up to those two. And today, seven months later… How strong is Xu Jingming? We will be able to see his true strength in today’s competition.”

“In this competition, I still think the best of Liu Hai, Tejano, and Xu Jingming. The first two participants already showed their chops yesterday, so we’ll be seeing Xu Jingming today,” the male guest, Owen, said.

“Xu Jingming is my favorite martial arts master.” Annie’s eyes lit up as she looked at Xu Jingming, who had appeared on the combat map.

“I’ve always been Xu Jingming’s fanatical fan,” Jin Fan stated with a smile. “The competition has begun. Xu Jingming’s first match in the World Martial Arts Tournament’s main competition is against Zhou Yi, who also comes from China.”

The modern city map.

Xu Jingming wore dark-red armor and held a black spear as he stood on the street.

He didn’t bring his shields! Since it was a one-on-one match, he could only use his spear to unleash his maximum strength. Although his opponent might be very weak… he wouldn’t let his guard down in any match at the World Martial Arts Tournament.

“Xu Jingming.” Zhou Yi leaped down from a tall building in the distance and landed on the street with a bang. The ground trembled as he stared at Xu Jingming.

“I know that I’m not your match,” Zhou Yi said seriously, “but I’ll give it my all and showcase my strongest archery technique.”

“I’m also looking forward to your archery,” Xu Jingming responded with a smile, even looking forward to these opponents breaking through.

Earth was his hometown! He also looked forward to Earth’s civilization producing more and more cosmic citizens.

Zhou Yi nodded and instantly charged at Xu Jingming with his bow and arrow. He knew very well that only by getting close could an arrow pose a threat to Xu Jingming.

Xu Jingming stood still and allowed the other party to approach.

Zhou Yi only suddenly released his arrow when he was 20 meters away.

I can’t get any closer. If I get any closer, he can stab me to death with a single step. Zhou Yi understood this. It’s even very dangerous to be 20 meters away, but… I have no choice! Any further, and my arrows pose no threat.

Zhou Yi instantly drew three arrows from his quiver, holding the three arrows between his five fingers and nocking them on the bowstring. He then drew the bow and shot out arrows as fast as lightning.

Every arrow simultaneously shot out at speeds exceeding 2,000 meters per second.

He had a total of two quivers and 60 arrows for his strafing.

Across Earth, Zhou Yi had the highest achievements in archery strafing. Although Ysarova was also good at archery and had reached Lv. 5, the aspect she was good at was completely different from Zhou Yi. Ysarova was better at maximizing the might of an arrow, while Zhou Yi was the best at strafing.

After simultaneously firing three arrows, he didn’t stop at all. He shot three more arrows again and again!

Instantly, arrows whistled over.

Clang.

Xu Jingming stood still and moved the spear with one hand, hitting an arrowhead. He then spun the spear naturally, hitting the other two arrows.

The shafts shattered, and the arrowheads distorted and were sent flying.