Chapter 32 A Changing Era

While Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao enjoyed their time alone, Heng Fang and his wife were shopping at the mall.

"This is the most bustling commercial complex in the city. Is it always this deserted?" Heng Fang and his wife strolled, looking up at the sparse crowds on each floor. "Those selling gold and jewelry seem to have more salespeople than customers."

His wife also observed, "Ever since the virtual world opened up, fewer and fewer people come out at night. Most head into the virtual world after work."

Heng Fang nodded slightly. "That's right. Now, goods are mostly sold via livestreaming in the virtual world. You can try on clothes as much as you want in the virtual world. You can find any kind of clothing you want! It's convenient and not tiring to shop. Real-world shopping… takes time, and there's less to see."

"Look over there." His wife pointed to several closed-off areas in the mall. "Those are all closed. Many tenants have already terminated their leases. The virtual world has only been open for a little over a month, and it's already had such a big impact… In my opinion, in half a year, there will be far fewer merchants in the mall than there are now."

"If it gets any more deserted, the mall might have to close down," Heng Fang said.

"Closing down won't matter. You can order food delivery, and they're all from top-notch chain restaurants. The chefs are all top-of-the-line professional robots," his wife said. "Some entertainment is also much cheaper in the virtual world."

"Cherish the malls while they're still here. They'll become memories in the future," Heng Fang sighed.

This was the tide of the times. Originally, some internet companies were impacted, but now the physical industry was being impacted across the board. Those selling goods were also turning to the virtual world. The cost of selling goods was lower there, and there were more customers.

…

"Are you eating so slowly on purpose? It's been half an hour! And you're still not done!" Liu Chongyuan, as burly as a bear, roared at his three daughters. "When I was your age, I would wolf down my food in a few minutes. You chatter and talk so much while eating. Don't you know it's impolite to talk while eating?"

The three daughters lowered their heads and ate slowly.

"Eldest, it's just a piece of meat, can't you chew it up and swallow it in one bite? That piece of meat has been in your bowl for ten minutes. How many times have you gnawed on it, and you still haven't eaten half of it?" Liu Chongyuan stared at his eldest daughter.

"The meat is a bit tough," the eldest daughter said softly.

"And you, second daughter, look, look at how many grains of rice are on your table! Is your mouth leaking? Clean it up yourself!" Liu Chongyuan roared.

"Okay." The second daughter picked up a tissue from the side and wiped it.

"One tissue is enough, can't you be less wasteful?" Liu Chongyuan's veins were popping with anger. He turned his head and stared at his third daughter. "Third, don't laugh! You're the slowest eater."

"Dad, I feel a little dizzy." The third daughter covered her head. "I might have had heatstroke from exercising today."

"You've already trained in evolution techniques, and you still get heatstroke? Can't you come up with a better excuse? Stick out your hand!" Liu Chongyuan picked up a ruler from the side.

"Mom!!!" The third daughter immediately shouted.

Their mother in the distance watched the screen, watching the news, very calmly. She said casually, "Don't call me. Your dad is in charge of your meals today. I'm not in charge of anything!"

"Snap! Snap! Snap!" Liu Chongyuan grabbed his third daughter's palm with one hand and slapped it with the other. "I'll teach you to lie again! I'll teach you to lie again!"

Eight minutes later.

"Let's go to the virtual world!" The three daughters immediately went to their rooms.

Only then did Liu Chongyuan come to the living room, as if he were exhausted.

"Too tiring. Watching them eat a meal is more tiring than fighting ten matches," Liu Chongyuan said as he sat down.

"Don't worry, it'll be better when the children are older," his wife comforted.

"How did we end up having three? One is enough to give me a headache, three… Where are they my father's little cotton-padded jackets? They're three big mountains." Liu Chongyuan sighed.

His wife said helplessly, "How would I know how I would give birth to three in one go?"

"Also, we're preparing to look at houses," Liu Chongyuan said. "We need to quickly change to a bigger house. The three little girls are always chattering; it gives me a headache. We'll also buy a better butler robot to help take care of the children."

His wife immediately became expectant. "We have money?"

"Soon. Once the competition is over, the prize money will be in hand." Liu Chongyuan said happily as he thought of the prize money. "At least ten million in prize money. If we make it to the finals, the prize money will be even higher! This is the most I've ever earned. Old Xu really carried us this time. I purely piggybacked my way to victory!"

"You have to work hard too. Don't hold us back," his wife said.

"Don't worry, I'm also working very hard," Liu Chongyuan said.

"Do you have confidence in today's semi-finals?" his wife asked.

"Well…" Liu Chongyuan said with a headache, "Senior Lei Yunfang is still a bit scary."

…

"You got three-digit addition and subtraction right, but you got two-digit addition and subtraction wrong?" Yang Qingshuo looked at his son. "Yang Tao! What's wrong with you? You can even get 18 plus 3 wrong? You could do these questions in kindergarten!"

"I misread it," Yang Tao said, lowering his head.

"Do a hundred two-digit addition and subtraction problems. You're not allowed to enter the virtual world until you finish them," Yang Qingshuo said.

"Okay." Yang Tao hugged his father and leaned on him. "Dad, don't be angry. I'll do them seriously."

Yang Qingshuo gently stroked his son's head.

"Little Shuo, I could hear you roaring in the house. You need to be patient when teaching children," Yang's mother walked out.

"Mom, can you help me take care of Tao Tao for a while? I'm going to the virtual world first. The semi-finals are tonight, so I need to practice more," Yang Qingshuo said as he got up.

"Go, go," Yang's mother said with a smile.

…

Inside the personal space training grounds.

In a battlefield scene, hundreds of cavalrymen galloped toward Wang Yi. Wang Yi, alone with her bow, rapidly fired arrows one after another. The arrows flew at incredible speed, and the cavalrymen fell one after another. When the last cavalryman charged to within five or six meters of Wang Yi, he was also shot dead with an arrow.

"Archery has long become an instinct, but I still haven't broken through to Tier 3," Wang Yi thought. "The Tier 5 Archery Technique the country gave me—I've been studying according to the methods in it, but I still can't break through."

"Why is breaking through to Tier 3 so difficult?"

Wang Yi had long reached 99% in all aspects of Tier 2 and had been stuck at the bottleneck for more than half a month.

"If I don't break through to Tier 3, I won't be able to play any role in this competition." Wang Yi continued to practice archery. "I'll keep practicing."

******

Late at night, the official livestream room of the Xia country in the virtual world was extremely lively. A massive number of people constantly poured into the livestream room, and the number displayed in the livestream room jumped and rose constantly—five hundred million, six hundred million.

In recent days, various media outlets had been reporting on the Firestarter Cup competition across the board. This was the biggest event in the entire Xia country in recent days. People were naturally attracted, and the further it went, the more intense the battles would be, and the greater the attraction would be.

Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao also arrived at the stands together and saw both sets of parents who had arrived early.

"Old Xu!" Liu Chongyuan shouted from afar, bringing his three daughters along.

"Old Xu, why are you so late?" Heng Fang and Yang Qingshuo also walked over.

"You guys are too early. The match doesn't start until 12:00 AM. There are still twenty minutes left," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "Sister Yi hasn't arrived yet? I'm not the slowest, after all."

A group of people gathered together.

"Jingming, I need to gather with the team. You come with me and say hello to your elders," Xu Hong called out.

"Coming." Xu Jingming immediately went over.

"Let's go."

The two lightly tapped their systems, and they were directly transported to Liu Hai's surroundings on the stands.

Liu Hai was standing there, surrounded by Dai Tongda, Tian Yiqu, and Qiu Yong. There were also some relatives, including Dai Xiaoqing. At this moment, Zhou Fan also appeared with his son, Zhou Yi.

"Quickly come and meet your elders." Xu Hong led Xu Jingming over.

"Master." "Master."

Xu Jingming called out to Dai Tongda and Liu Hai. Dai Tongda smiled and said, "Jingming, strictly speaking, you've only had three masters all these years. Me, his dad, and Team Leader! Now, all three masters are on our team… Jingming, if you make it to the finals and attack us, you'll be betraying your teachers!"

"Listen to you," Zhou Fan walked over and said with a smile, "Xu Jingming doesn't even need to attack you. His teammates can deal with you. The only person Xu Jingming needs to attack is Team Leader."

"I'm looking forward to him defeating me," Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming.

"I'm still far behind Master," Xu Jingming said. "Moreover, the biggest hurdle we face now is Senior Lei Yunfang. The semi-finals that are about to begin are putting a lot of pressure on our team. We don't have much confidence in making it through."

The people on Liu Hai's Oldies team nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

"Lei Yunfang is very powerful," Liu Hai nodded. "With his movement techniques, it will be difficult for you to form a siege. In a one-on-one… This semi-final is very dangerous for you. In short, don't think too much and do your best to fight."

"You won't know who's stronger or weaker until you fight," Xu Hong said.

Xu Jingming nodded.

"Xu Jingming." Zhou Yi walked over and shook hands with Xu Jingming.

"Zhou Yi," Xu Jingming also reached out his hand.

"I watched your battle with Fang Yu. You completely suppressed Fang Yu and utterly defeated him. I admire that," Zhou Yi said. "I lost to him."

Xu Jingming said, "He was wearing heavy armor, so it was a bit of a counter to you."

"If I encountered you, even if you were wielding two shields, you would still be able to rush in front of me and smash me to death with one shield," Zhou Yi shook his head. "My strength is indeed weaker than both of you. My archery isn't good enough, otherwise Fang Yu wouldn't be able to defend against my arrows, and my movement techniques aren't fast enough. If I were fast enough, he wouldn't be able to get close to me."

"Let's all work hard together," Xu Jingming said.

Zhou Yi took a deep look at Xu Jingming, nodded, and left.

Xu Jingming walked toward Dai Xiaoqing.

"Senior Brother," Dai Xiaoqing said with a smile.

"Are you feeling a lot of pressure?" Xu Jingming looked at the girl.

"A tremendous amount of pressure," Dai Xiaoqing said with a bitter face. "My dad and his other elders are all cunning and crafty. The most terrifying one is Senior Liu Hai. He's the number one in the world. Our entire team is fighting with the thought of giving it our all. We'll try to take down as many as we can."

"Good luck," Xu Jingming encouraged.

Dai Xiaoqing glanced at the system notification and said, "I have to gather with the team. We're about to take the stage."

"Go quickly," Xu Jingming nodded.

…

After making a round and meeting some friends, Xu Jingming returned to his own team's side. The time had also reached 12:00 AM. The Firestarter Cup semi-finals, under the attention of the entire nation, finally began.

Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi