Chapter 1 The Spear

"Whoosh."

A short spear tore through the air. At close range, a large bear had no time to dodge before the spear pierced its neck, turning it into an illusion that vanished. The other four bears were immediately enraged, having spotted the enemy who threw the spear.

"Whoosh." "Whoosh." "Whoosh."...

Spear after spear flew like lightning. While dodging through the mountain forest, the figure constantly threw spears, emptying all twelve spears in less than half a minute.

All the bears were dead.

The Bear King roared as it charged out of the cave. The figure was a strong man in armor, none other than Heng Fang, Xu Jingming's former national team friend. He took out the two sections of a long staff from his back and connected them with a click. It was a serpent spear.

Holding the serpent spear, Heng Fang stared at the Bear King.

"Roar!!!" The Bear King had already pounced close.

"Come on." Heng Fang bravely met the attack.

After a long while.

A somewhat disheveled Heng Fang looked at the Bear King, who had bled to death, and smiled. "The Cosmic Star Tower has been open for more than three days. This is my ninth attempt, and I finally killed the Bear King. Time to try the third level!"

A moment later.

"The third level is too difficult." Back in his personal space, Heng Fang gently tapped and contacted his good brother.

"Old Xu, hard at work in the practice field, huh." Heng Fang smiled as he looked at the appearing image.

"Young Master Heng, what's up?" Xu Jingming joked. Among the best brothers on the national team, Heng Fang was the most vain! Every morning, he would dawdle in front of the mirror for a long time, combing his hair with the utmost care. He even carried a comb and skin cream on his person. His national teammates jokingly called him 'Young Master Heng,' which Heng Fang found quite amusing.

On the national team, the two were evenly matched and often sparred together. They had a great relationship and even lived in the same dorm.

Of the four in their national team dorm, there were him, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Zhuang Fu. Zhuang Fu was a bit more distant from them.

"The Huozhong Cup National Competition, you know about it, right?" Heng Fang said. "How about we team up?"

"Sure," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "With the two of us joining forces, wouldn't we be invincible? Have you invited the other teammates yet?"

"Not yet, you were the first one I thought of." Heng Fang raised his eyebrows. "Let's pull in Ashuo as well, then we'll have three people, right?"

"You, me, Ashuo..." Xu Jingming thought for a moment, then said, "What do you think about Da Xiong?"

"Da Xiong is a good guy, and his shield-axe skills are very solid." Heng Fang nodded in agreement. "But we're missing an archer. Most of the current god-level archers are from archery circles; I'm not too familiar with them."

"I'm not too familiar with them either," Xu Jingming said. "The competition is still a while away, let's think of something. If we really can't find one... five warriors, charging together."

"Alright, you decide." Heng Fang laughed. "I trust you to handle things, Old Xu."

"Haha, it's settled then," Xu Jingming said.

Heng Fang gave an okay gesture.

"Alright, I'll go talk to Ashuo and Da Xiong." Xu Jingming hung up the call and immediately contacted Yang Qingshuo. Yang Qingshuo was training in the Cosmic Star Tower and exited upon receiving the call.

"Brother Xu," Yang Qingshuo answered.

"The Huozhong Cup competition, how about we team up?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Sure, no problem," Yang Qingshuo happily smiled. "Who else is on the team?"

"You and me, Young Master Heng, and Da Xiong," Xu Jingming said. "We haven't decided on a marksman yet."

"I feel like the four of us together could take on five people," Yang Qingshuo happily said with a laugh. They were all familiar friends.

"Look at you getting all cocky. Our master alone could wipe the floor with the four of us," Xu Jingming said. "Be more down-to-earth, more humble."

"You're right, Brother Xu, you're right," Yang Qingshuo obediently said.

"That's it then, I'll go find Da Xiong." Xu Jingming ended the call and contacted Da Xiong, Liu Chongyuan.

...

Da Xiong Liu Chongyuan was currently fighting the Bear King on the second level of the Cosmic Star Tower.

After practicing the *Giant Bear Evolution Method*, Liu Chongyuan's already burly figure became even 'burlier.' He now stood at two meters twenty-six in height, and his weight had increased significantly.

Holding a large shield, Liu Chongyuan looked like a smaller bear. When the Bear King slapped him with a paw, Liu Chongyuan held up his shield but was sent flying. However, he got back up. Although there was blood at the corner of his mouth, he continued to tough it out.

"Master Liu Hai's shield techniques are so amazing, why am I so far behind?" Liu Chongyuan raised his shield again to block the Bear King's attack. "This time, I'll try to block five of the Bear King's attacks."

Suddenly, he received a communication request.

After taking a look, Liu Chongyuan temporarily exited the Cosmic Star Tower.

"Old Xu," Liu Chongyuan said with a smile.

"The Huozhong Cup National Competition, you know about it, right? Me, Yang Qingshuo, Heng Fang, and you, how about we team up?" Xu Jingming said.

"Among the four of us, I'm probably the weakest, right?" Liu Chongyuan said with a smile, but his voice lacked confidence. He was the oldest of the four. He and Xu Jingming had both been on the Jiangnan Province team. Xu Jingming was a genius who had been specially recruited in high school, while he was much older and his results were much worse.

He had struggled for so many years, participated in national team training, but never been a national team regular! His highest world ranking was only 39th, not enough to qualify for the World Martial Arts Competition.

Xu Jingming and Heng Fang had both reached the top eight in the World Martial Arts Competition, and Yang Qingshuo had also participated. They were all stronger than him, and younger too.

"Now that everyone has undergone life evolution, anything is possible. I defeated Gao Chong and Wang Qiao, didn't I?" Xu Jingming said. "Don't always dwell on past achievements."

"Yes," Liu Chongyuan nodded slightly.

"Alright, is it settled then?" Xu Jingming looked at him.

"Since you guys don't mind me, then I'll join," Liu Chongyuan said. "I'll do my best."

"Don't worry, Da Xiong, I believe in your strength," Xu Jingming said.

After the call ended, Liu Chongyuan's spirits were lifted. "My teammates are all so strong, I need to work harder." He had originally thought that he would spend the rest of his life training newcomers at the Sports Bureau, but who would have thought that the virtual world would arrive? He, Liu Chongyuan, had once again raised his shield-axe and begun his martial arts journey.

Now, Xu Jingming, Heng Fang, and Yang Qingshuo were all geniuses on the Xia country national team. Their willingness to team up with him filled Liu Chongyuan with fighting spirit.

He needed to work harder so as not to hold his teammates back!

*****

In the evening, Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao had dinner together.

"You've decided on a team so quickly?" Li Miaomiao said in surprise. "The registration deadline for the competition is at the end of the month! There are still more than twenty days left. Everyone's strength will change a lot during this first month of the virtual world."

"For a team, the important thing is that everyone is happy and works together," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "And the people I've invited are all my best brothers."

"You've settled on four people, so you still need one more?" Li Miaomiao said.

"We're missing a marksman," Xu Jingming said.

"With your strength, Jingming, a lot of people must be inviting you, right? Are there no marksmen?" Li Miaomiao asked.

"A lot of people have invited me, but I've turned them all down, saying that I've already decided on a team," Xu Jingming said. After all, he was one of the top god-level experts in Xia country, and he was young, so many people were optimistic about his future.

"But none of the people inviting me are powerful marksmen," Xu Jingming shook his head. "There are a lot of warriors, but few marksmen."

"There are few marksmen. Of the top thirty-six experts in Xia country ranked by Wang Xianggu, only three are marksmen," Li Miaomiao agreed. "The top marksmen are all hot commodities."

Xu Jingming nodded.

Suddenly, a call came in. Xu Jingming gently tapped the screen.

"Sun Li?" Xu Jingming looked at the man on the other end of the call. Sun Li was also a national team teammate, but since he was a second-tier member, they didn't have much contact with each other.

"Old Xu, for the Huozhong Cup National Competition, I'm here to freeload!" Sun Li said with a smile. "Let's team up? I've been practicing archery lately."

"Archery?" Xu Jingming said in surprise. "You were a dual-blade user on the national team, right?"

"I have a talent for archery. I picked it up quickly. Let me show you my combat power panel," Sun Li said proactively, displaying a screenshot of his combat power panel.

"Archery, you've reached Tier 2?" Xu Jingming praised. "Impressive!"

"What do you think? Close combat with dual blades, ranged combat with archery. Not bad, right?" Sun Li said.

Xu Jingming's mind raced.

Sun Li had been on the national team's second team, while he, Ashuo, and Young Master Heng had been on the first team. Although they weren't very familiar with each other, there weren't any conflicts either. After all, they were all teammates.

"Alright, our team is missing an archer," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "As an archer, you don't have to worry about being assassinated. The other four members of our team are me, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Liu Chongyuan. If you're okay with it, is it settled?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Li was slightly puzzled. "Liu Chongyuan hasn't been to the World Martial Arts Competition, right? Isn't he a bit weak? How about we find a better shield expert? It would be easy to find someone stronger than him in the circle."

After all, they knew many national team teammates.

"Da Xiong is pretty good with his shield techniques, he was only a little short of making it to the World Martial Arts Competition," Xu Jingming said. "Besides, in the virtual world, everyone is starting a new struggle. Don't underestimate Da Xiong."

"Alright, you're the carry of the team, I'll listen to you," Sun Li said. "I believe in you."

"Is it settled then?" Xu Jingming said.

"Settled," Sun Li nodded.

Xu Jingming, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, Liu Chongyuan, and Sun Li created a 'team chat' specifically for themselves.

Everyone was quite happy about Sun Li's joining. Even if Sun Li's archery skills were slightly inferior, they were now at Tier 2! And they were improving rapidly. By the beginning of next month, his archery skills would definitely be even more advanced. Plus, Sun Li himself was a skilled fighter, so he didn't have to worry about assassins!