"That old Mr. Liu Jianfeng is going to attack Jingming," Xu Mu said nervously from the livestream viewing platform. "Can Jingming withstand his sneak attack?"

"The key to a sneak attack is surprise," Xu Hong said solemnly. "That old Mr. Liu Jianfeng moves silently and is extremely fast. Once he attacks... if Jingming discovers him even a little late, he might not have time to react and be killed by a single sword strike. That's the power of an assassin."

"Wouldn't he be the first one eliminated?" Xu Mu worried.

"But as long as he can detect the opponent, there's nothing to worry about," Xu Hong said.

"Uncle, can Jingming detect him?" Li Miaomiao asked.

"I don't know. Both sides are god-level experts, so it's hard to say," Xu Hong said, staring intently.

Countless viewers in the livestream were watching, focusing on the impending clash.

...

Xu Jingming held his spear in his right hand, watching in all directions, listening to everything, and carefully advancing rapidly along the alley.

He was wearing light body armor and carrying a shield, so there would definitely be some subtle sounds when he moved. Those who wore soft leather armor and practiced the *Yingbao Jinhua Fa* (Shadow Leopard Evolution Method) or *Huanmao Jinhua Fa* (Phantom Cat Evolution Method) could move almost silently.

He didn't know that at that moment, above him in the alley, a thin old man, Liu Jianfeng, was lurking. Liu Jianfeng was curled up there, silent, only paying attention to Xu Jingming out of the corner of his eye. His breathing was so weak that it was almost nonexistent, and everything around him seemed to be quiet.

Xu Jingming didn't notice and continued to move forward.

Just when the two were about three *zhang* (approximately 10 meters) apart.

Liu Jianfeng narrowed his eyes.

Boom!

In an instant, his entire being was like lightning, diving down from above the alley. When Xu Jingming looked up, he saw a sword light already in front of him.

The moment Xu Jingming looked up, the spear in his right hand instinctively lashed out to block.

The spear shadow was blurred, and it was also terrifyingly fast!

Clang.

The stabbing sword light turned and struck Xu Jingming's spear, and at the same time, using the force of the impact, the small, monkey-like figure stepped on the wall of the alley, jumped above it, and disappeared.

The attack failed, and he had already fled.

"Damn!" Cold sweat appeared on Xu Jingming's forehead. "There wasn't any movement at all. I only felt the air currents when he attacked. If I had been a fraction of a second slower, I would have been dead."

Before, whether it was sparring in the training hall or ranking matches, the opponents were virtual.

This was Xu Jingming's first time fighting against real masters in the virtual world.

As for the martial arts competition in reality, it was a fair one-on-one match in the arena! This was also Xu Jingming's first experience of being assassinated by a master.

The brush with death made Xu Jingming's scalp tingle. "Fortunately, I often practice the Wu Ying Ci (Shadowless Thrust), and my instantaneous burst of power is fast enough. I escaped this time."

And far away.

The thin old man, Liu Jianfeng, also had a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Not bad, little fellow. I launched a surprise sword attack within three *zhang*, and he was actually able to react."

...

This first clash between god-level experts instantly caused a frenzy in the Xia Country's official livestream.

"Beautiful!" Huang Yong exclaimed.

"The assassination was beautiful, and the block was also beautiful!" Qin Yiwen's eyes also shone.

Liu Xin waved his hand and selected the 'high altitude' area of the livestream's combat space to replay the previous exchange in slow motion.

"Look, when old Mr. Liu Jianfeng was hiding, he was like a dead tree, without any movement. Xu Jingming didn't notice anything. When they got close, old Mr. Liu Jianfeng attacked," Huang Yong said, pointing at the screen.

In the slow-motion scene, Liu Jianfeng's pounce made him look like a sword being thrust out.

"Xu Jingming only noticed when he attacked," Huang Yong said, pointing at the screen. "At the moment he looked up, the tip of Liu Jianfeng's sword was only about one *zhang* away from him. The distance was too close. According to the speed of that sword, it would have pierced Xu Jingming in about 0.06 seconds."

"Although human reaction time has become shorter after practicing evolution methods," Huang Yong said, "body movements still take time. Look closely, Xu Jingming is holding the spear with one hand, exerting force from his body, and lashing out with the spear. The shadow of the spear is blurred because it's a one-inch punch (a technique that focuses power into a small space) exerted in an instant! As fast as lightning! Even so, it's not enough to block the sword. His spear is directly aimed at old Mr. Liu Jianfeng's body."

"That's right," Qin Yiwen said. "If old Mr. Liu Jianfeng had continued to dive, the spear would have pierced his body first! The old gentleman changed his move extremely quickly, and the sword light turned and slashed down. That turn of the sword light... was also as fast as lightning. They say swords are fast! But to be this fast is truly remarkable. It struck the shaft of the spear, and instantly used the force of the impact to tap the wall and escape."

Qin Yiwen praised, "From the attack to the escape and disappearance, the entire process took 0.68 seconds, less than a second. It's simply too wonderful! In the past World Martial Arts Competitions, there has never been an exchange that was so precise!"

"We must admit that old Mr. Liu Jianfeng is truly terrifying! Xu Jingming's spear technique is also terrifying. He deserves to be called the Spear Demon. The old and the young have shown us a true visual feast!" Huang Yong praised endlessly. The more one is involved in martial arts and fighting, the more one is intoxicated by such an exchange. Isn't this a hundred or a thousand times more exciting than any movie?

On the livestream viewing platform, the audience was also in an uproar.

"Is this something a human can do?"

"If I were Xu Jingming, I wouldn't even be able to detect it, right? Even if I looked up and saw it, I wouldn't have time to use my spear."

"How could the spear strike be so fast in just an instant?"

"Let me give you some common knowledge: Spear Demon Xu Jingming's globally renowned ultimate move is called 'Shadowless Thrust,' and he's famous for his fast spear strikes."

"Xu Jingming's spear strike is fast, but old Mr. Liu Jianfeng's change of moves is also fast. The moment he saw Xu Jingming's spear strike, he changed his move with the sword."

"The exchange between the two sides is truly awesome."

"From old Mr. Liu Jianfeng's assassination to his escape and disappearance, it only took 0.68 seconds! Is that human?"

"That's a god!"

"Is this a god-level battle?"

"Mommy, Daddy, I'm scared!"

Countless messages were constantly scrolling in the livestream's comment section.

The host, Liu Xin, was also excited. "This is a god-level battle, and this is just the first exchange in this god-level battle."

The number of viewers in the livestream was also rapidly increasing, and it had now reached five hundred million, which was an incredible number.

"Beautiful."

"Beautiful spear technique."

Old Mr. Xu Guishun, Xu Hong and his wife, Li Miaomiao, and the others were all holding their breaths nervously before, but they became excited when the exchange ended. Listening to the commentary from the two national team coaches made them even more excited.

"Jingming's spear technique is truly beautiful. My eyes can see it, but my hands can't learn it," Old Mr. Xu Guishun sighed.

"One assassination was beautiful, and the counterattack was beautiful. I was the one who taught Jingming how to use one-inch punch, but now I'm not as good as him," Xu Hong exclaimed with a smile. "How many people in the world can practice one-inch punch to this level? My son is awesome!"

Li Miaomiao's eyes were also shining. "So amazing." She practiced swordsmanship, and she felt that the swordsmanship of that old Mr. Liu Jianfeng was even more terrifying than that of the national team expert, Cong Yao, but her man still forced the old gentleman to retreat.

Li Chen'an and his wife also watched the scene of their future son-in-law fighting, nodded in satisfaction, and their smiles unconsciously became even brighter.

******

The drizzling town.

Archer Wang Yi was crouching on the roof of a restaurant, carefully observing. This restaurant was not the tallest building, but the view was already very good. The angle of the roofs in front of and behind the restaurant allowed her to hide.

"I've arrived," Xu Jingming said in the team voice chat after arriving at the back of the restaurant.

"I'm watching the front street of the restaurant," Wu Sai said. He was hiding in a residential house opposite the restaurant and could monitor a large area of the restaurant's front street.

"Jingming and Wu Sai, you two protect our archer first. I'll be there soon," Panda Zhang Qian said in the team voice chat. "I'm fat and walk a little slow. Please forgive me."

"I'm patrolling within two hundred meters of the archer," Double Blades Dong Xu, a master, was also silently patrolling in various places. At that moment, a nimble figure flashed across the roof not far away. Double Blades Dong Xu saw the other party and immediately transmitted in the team chat, "I've found Miao Saber heroine Lian Shuang!"