Chapter 1 The Beginning

The virtual world network, World of Generals.

Xu Jingming, carrying a long spear, appeared on a grassy field in the countryside.

"For an eighth-order Starry Sky lifeform to become a Source lifeform, the greatest obstacle is the 'mind and will'," Xu Jingming said, looking at a city in the distance. "Back then, I went to the Demon Subduing World to temper my mind, and later I underwent the 'Cosmic Peak Battle' to hone it, ultimately becoming a Source lifeform."

"However, in the history of the human race, many methods of enhancing mind and will have been tried, and there are many virtual worlds used to temper the mind. The World of Generals is one of them!"

"The World of Generals and the Demon Subduing World are both used to temper the mind and will, but its reputation is far inferior."

"Its method of tempering is rather crude!"

"In this world, the most crucial aspect of battles between armies is the duel of generals. Generals rely on their mortal bodies, superb weapon skills, and the collision of their minds and wills to ultimately determine victory or defeat."

"Powerful generals are almost all eighth-order Starry Sky lifeforms. Even within the virtual world, where they only have mortal bodies, they still unleash extremely strong power and speed. Combined with their minds and wills... one person is enough to stand against an entire army."

"The collision between generals is a collision of skills, but even more so, a collision of minds."

Xu Jingming was somewhat sentimental. "I never expected that the path of the World of Generals would be so similar to the spear technique path I saw in the Void Abyss figure."

"The path of the World of Generals has two ways of using mind and will: one is to release it externally to suppress the enemy! The other is to condense it within the weapon, internally guarding against the enemy's mind and will impact."

"The spear technique path I saw is to condense 'mind and will' within the weapon."

"Refining mind and will through skill."

Xu Jingming thought, "Eighth-order limits, by refining their mind and will to a certain realm, have a chance to break through to become Source lifeforms."

"However, according to the path seen in the Void Abyss figure, weapon skills refine the mind and will, and the mind is constantly refined! Each refinement brings a qualitative change. Ten refinements bring ten qualitative changes..."

"As for what weapon to use to refine the mind? There is no difference! It can be a saber, spear, sword, staff, or any other weapon. The only requirement is sincerity."

"And for me, the most suitable is the spear."

For the Lord of the Void Abyss, casually using any weapon would unleash incredible power.

Xu Jingming had only just come into contact with this path, so naturally he would choose the most familiar weapon to begin with.

"The World of Generals has existed for countless years. Mind and will are condensed within weapons, pursuing one's own limits, and the mind becomes increasingly refined. But no one has ever discovered that this path can lead to higher dimensions. That is because... there is no guidance!"

"Lifeforms in low-dimensional worlds have not looked up to see higher dimensions, and without a goal, they will never become high-dimensional lifeforms no matter how much they wander around. The Primordial Star lineage, the Abyss lineage, and other lineages also obtained some high-dimensional treasures first, understood the power of higher dimensions, and then explored the path."

"Historically, no one in the human race has looked up to see the higher dimension of 'weapon skills', but I have seen it!" Xu Jingming thought, "Now that I have seen it and know the direction, I will naturally move in that direction."

Perhaps, the Dean, the Eternal Pagoda Master, and the Space-Time Overlord have seen the high-dimensional path of weapon skills, or perhaps none of them have.

But what is certain is that the human race has no record of such knowledge.

"I'll take the first step from the World of Generals," Xu Jingming thought.

As Xu Jingming entered the World of Generals, the official operators of the World of Generals also learned of this news.

"Councilor Tie You, we didn't dare to disturb Lord Wu Ming after discovering him, so we immediately notified you," the person in charge of operating the World of Generals said respectfully. Beside him was a tall man in purple robes wearing sunglasses.

Councilor Tie You is a councilor of the Cosmic Human Alliance and is also responsible for hundreds of officially operated game worlds. With his status, he would not be responsible for trivial matters.

"Senior Brother Wu Ming?" Tie You was surprised. "Very good, Senior Brother Wu Ming has a special identity, so it's not appropriate for you to disturb him. I'll go see him in person."

What kind of person was Senior Brother Wu Ming!

He became a tenth-order Source lifeform after cultivating for just over two hundred years. Everyone believed that Wu Ming would become a Cosmic Legend sooner than Chi Meng and had a chance to impact the Supreme Realm. It was said that in the battlefield of the Void Space Clan, he won consecutive victories, causing the Void Space Clan to dare not deal with him again.

For an ordinary person in charge of the game to meet him would be disrespectful to Senior Brother Wu Ming!

Xu Jingming was wearing black robes. The material of these robes was absolutely black. After all, this was a virtual world, and Xu Jingming had deliberately imitated the robes of the 'Lord of the Void Abyss' when choosing his robes, pursuing absolute blackness.

Wearing such robes, Xu Jingming felt even more in tune!

"Hmm?" Xu Jingming looked at the purple-robed figure that suddenly appeared before him.

"Senior Brother Wu Ming," the purple-robed man, Tie You, was tall, but very humble and polite.

"So it's Junior Brother Tie You. Are you in charge here?" Xu Jingming said with a smile.

Tie You was an ordinary tenth-order Source lifeform in the Primordial Research Institute.

Faced with Xu Jingming's bright smile and enthusiasm, Tie You was somewhat flattered and immediately said, "Yes, I'm in charge here. Senior Brother Wu Ming, the World of Generals is for Starry Sky lifeforms to temper their minds and wills. Is there something important you're here for? I have all the information about this world. If there's anything you need help with, just say the word, Senior Brother."

Was he looking for someone? Investigating something?

As Councilor Tie You, he could understand everything from the background and quickly help Senior Brother Wu Ming solve it.

"There is indeed a small matter," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "Give me permission to teleport long distances within the World of Generals."

"A small matter!" Councilor Tie You nodded. "I will set you as the number one boss in the World of Generals, with the highest authority and no tasks."

Normally, in games, officials deliberately arrange for experts to act as bosses, and there are usually tasks involved.

Those who disrupt the balance of the world! Those who disrupt the layout of the world! Those who use game permissions to make a lot of money... will all have some experts directly descend to resolve those players who disrupt the balance.

When pushed to the limit, the officials will directly send down heavenly lightning.

Even more ruthless, they simply expel them from the world, preventing players from ever logging in again.

When a character like Xu Jingming comes in, the person in charge of the official world has to help open up permissions.

Xu Jingming nodded and smiled, "Thank you."

"Then I'll leave first. Just let me know if you need anything," Tie You said.

Xu Jingming nodded in satisfaction. "With Junior Brother Tie You, I won't be polite."

Tie You smiled brightly as he heard this. "Then I won't disturb you, Senior Brother."

"Didn't they say that Senior Brother Wu Ming keeps people at a distance? I feel that Senior Brother Wu Ming is quite enthusiastic," Councilor Tie You muttered to himself as he left. According to the information, Senior Brother Wu Ming was focused on the path of evolution and didn't get involved in various circles. Even at some occasions, when others met Xu Jingming, he would generally just nod with a smile, and it was very rare to get a word out of him.

Today, Councilor Tie You felt very good! Senior Brother Wu Ming valued him!

"Being able to teleport long distances saves me from wasting time on the road." With a wave of his hand, a huge map of the World of Generals appeared before Xu Jingming, with the locations of every powerful general marked on it.

"Giving me so many permissions is indeed convenient. I'll find the first general to test the waters." Xu Jingming selected one. "It's you, Ding Shuo!"

Zhao Country, one of the seven kingdoms in the World of Generals, Xu City.

Xu City was shrouded in misty rain, a beautiful sight. The reason why the people could live in stability was because Xu City had a world-renowned general—Ding Shuo. Ding Shuo alone was enough to stand against a thousand troops! Suppressing all who were not convinced.

A man in black robes arrived at the front of the Ding mansion.

"Get out of the way."

"Don't you see what place this is?" The guards in front of the mansion immediately stepped forward and berated him. With the influence of the Ding mansion, even outsiders who came to visit would stand at the side gate. Few dared to block the main gate.

Xu Jingming took a step, his figure blurred, and he kicked the main gate. Boom! The two gates exploded directly.

Xu Jingming, carrying a long spear, walked directly into the front courtyard of the Ding mansion. The front courtyard was hundreds of meters long and wide, quite spacious.

"Ding Shuo, come forth and die!" Xu Jingming's voice resounded throughout the entire mansion, causing the doors and windows to shake.

Rumble, a large number of guards涌ed out from all directions and appeared in the front courtyard, numbering over a thousand.

At this moment, a cold-faced man walked out. He was wearing armor, holding a long saber, and his eyes contained a fierce glint as he stared at Xu Jingming, as if he were a peerless beast. As an eighth-order limit, the mind and will contained in his eyes were terrifying enough. Weaker Starry Sky lifeforms would not dare to look directly at him.

Xu Jingming looked at him, his expression unchanged.

"Who are you?" Ding Shuo stared at Xu Jingming.

"The one who came to kill you," Xu Jingming said.

"Hahaha..." Ding Shuo laughed. Was he afraid of death? As an eighth-order limit, he came here to temper himself. Death only meant that he had encountered a stronger challenge, which was a good thing.

He could create another account and come in again.

"There are many people who want to kill me. What are you?" Ding Shuo was filled with murderous intent.

"Little fellow, you have a lot of courage," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "Don't blame me for bullying the small. I will only use weapon skills and won't rely on my mind to bully you."

His figure blurred, and Xu Jingming was already in front of Ding Shuo.

Ding Shuo didn't panic at all! In the World of Generals, everyone had ordinary bodies, limiting their strength and speed. Here, victory was determined by weapon skills and mind and will. And this arrogant black-clothed spearman in front of him indeed did not release his mind to suppress him, only guarding it internally.

Mind and will, only defending, not attacking.

"Arrogant." Ding Shuo's saber light instantly roared, and terrifying will accompanied the saber light, pressing over. This was not only a weapon but also a mental attack.

Clang clang clang!

As the weapons collided, Ding Shuo, after all, was an eighth-order limit. His weapon skills were extremely pure. One move followed another, swift and domineering. However, he was facing Xu Jingming... who had long been the number one in the Cosmic Peak Battle.

Even with his mind completely condensed internally, Ding Shuo immediately felt that he had encountered a strong enemy.

"His spear technique?" Ding Shuo was shocked.

Xu Jingming followed his understanding of the Void Abyss figure, his mind completely united with the long spear! His mind was guarding within the spear, without any external release.

His mind chased after the 'darkness' of the Void Abyss figure, constantly refining itself.

This darkness was like a black hole, devouring, containing, condensing, and transforming...

Although there was no detailed inheritance, Xu Jingming could only rely on his senses to explore. But after all, this was his first attempt, and Xu Jingming obviously had a lot of room for improvement. His mind and will were becoming increasingly refined within the long spear.

The more refined his mind became, the stronger his connection with the long spear.

He felt as if he had become a long spear.

"Sincere to the spear, pure in the spear." Although Xu Jingming saw the direction of the higher dimension, this first attempt still made him intoxicated and moved.

This was what a true spearman truly pursued, truly obsessed with.

The long spear had life, becoming increasingly agile and unpredictable.

Clearly, they both had ordinary bodies. Clearly, Ding Shuo was also mobilizing his vast mind and will to assist him. But Ding Shuo's saber technique was like a僵化的 dead object, while Xu Jingming's long spear was filled with endless vitality.

"Pfft."

After a dozen or so exchanges, Xu Jingming, who was just immersed in it, naturally had his long spear pierce through Ding Shuo's chest.

Even with armor protecting him, when three consecutive spears struck the same spot, they still pierced through the armor and killed Ding Shuo.

"He didn't even bother to pierce my throat, but forcefully broke through my armor to kill me?" Ding Shuo couldn't believe it. After so many years in the World of Generals, this was the first time he had been defeated so miserably.

Xu Jingming pulled out his long spear.

Ding Shuo collapsed to the ground, his blood staining the ground red. The surrounding guards were all dumbfounded. Ding Shuo, who was more terrifying than an army in their hearts, had actually died just like that?

"I only had a little bit of feeling, and this opponent died." Xu Jingming thought to himself, "It seems I have to limit my strength and speed, otherwise it won't be enough to fight."

Xu Jingming then turned and left. None of the Ding mansion guards dared to stop him, allowing this mysterious expert to leave and disappear. Ding Shuo, the general of Xu City, Zhao Country, was just the beginning.

From this day on, Xu Jingming began to challenge one general after another in the World of Generals, also exploring the path of spear techniques.