Chapter 11 The Style That Suits You Best

The third level of the Starry Sky Tower featured a tropical rainforest environment.

In the dim and humid rainforest, vines grew wildly. Xu Jingming, wielding dual shields like a phantom, darted through the forest. Simultaneously, large, fierce tigers, equally swift and agile, growled as they surrounded and attacked him, naturally coordinating their efforts.

Bang!

While dodging, Xu Jingming slammed a shield directly onto the head of one tiger, staggering it. The tiger tumbled, then scrambled back to its feet.

"The body is like fire. With a thought, power erupts from the body."

"The shield techniques Master taught me lean toward control, treating the enemy like a chess piece. That's meant to complement the state where the body is like water," Xu Jingming thought. "I'm different from Master. Although I've reached Tier 3 and my evolutionary method has broken through, my body is like thunder and fire, erupting with a single thought. So my spearmanship, shield techniques, including footwork, should all suit my style."

"My shield techniques shouldn't be about control, but about eruption as well! The ultimate eruption!"

"Eruption!"

Xu Jingming's eyes faintly reddened. He charged forward, his shield strikes sending large tigers flying. A poke with the edge of his shield caused a tiger to cough up blood and suffer severe injuries. Clearly, after his evolutionary method breakthrough, his physical fitness was in no way inferior to these large tigers, and he even had the advantage in skill.

As long as the tiger king didn't attack, the tiger pack was excellent for practice.

"Baji, Tiger Pounce!" Xu Jingming exerted force with both feet, rushing forward in two steps. His entire figure blurred, and the pair of shields resembled two giant tiger claws colliding head-on with a pouncing tiger.

Boom!!!

Shields against a large tiger, Xu Jingming stood his ground, his feet sinking to knee-level in the ground. The large tiger, however, was sent flying backward. After crashing to the ground, the tiger foamed blood from its mouth and nose, twitching slightly before falling still.

"The force exertion of the Baji Tiger Pounce is fairly smooth, but the force exertion in other moves always feels a bit awkward." Xu Jingming glanced at his personal combat strength panel. His shield techniques and footwork were still stuck at Tier 2, 99%. Clearly, the virtual world system didn't recognize his shield techniques as having reached Tier 3.

"My Tier 3 spearmanship is completely based on the eruption of thought; the body's eruption is smooth with every move. But my shield techniques… only one move can barely be considered smooth," Xu Jingming said to himself. "I still need to practice more."

"If my shield techniques can also break through, my control over my body will be even more perfect." Understanding this, Xu Jingming continued to fight with the tiger pack. The large tigers also went all-out to besiege the human.

******

Morning, at home in the courtyard.

Xu Jingming practiced the Heavenly Python Evolutionary Method in the courtyard. In reality, practicing three times a day, with each session separated by at least an hour, was quite easy.

"Whoosh." After completing a session, Xu Jingming was flushed red, with heat rising from his body. His internal blood and Qi were also boiling, and his muscles and bones were deeply vibrating. A natural heatwave emanated from his body, surging and impacting the surroundings.

Li Miaomiao, eating a steamed bun, watched this scene and couldn't help but say, "Jingming, when you practice the evolutionary method, you turn all red, and I can feel the heatwave from several meters away. When I practice the evolutionary method, there's no reaction."

"You'll have a reaction when you reach a high-level evolutionary method," Xu Jingming said. He only felt as if there was a huge furnace inside his body, with surging heat deeply affecting his entire body.

"I'm only at the elementary stage of the evolutionary method, still far away," Li Miaomiao sighed. "Oh right, the Fire Seed Cup Tournament's official competition, the first round we're facing is the No. 22 team, Thousand Sails Squad. Have you seen their team information? What do you think?"

"Thousand Sails Squad only has Hao Fan, who used to be a member of the national team. The other members are all amateur players; they don't even have an archer," Xu Jingming said. "For a team configuration like that to be ranked No. 22 is very commendable."

Li Miaomiao nodded.

"Their team is excellent, and those amateur players are also remarkable," Xu Jingming said. "But they pose no threat to us."

"That's good then," Li Miaomiao responded.

…

A rural courtyard.

"Bro, the official competition starts tonight," a burly young man said. "Our opponent is the Pear Wood Squad. Can we win?"

"Qianyun."

A middle-aged man resembling an old farmer smiled and said, "A competition isn't just about winning. It's about discovering your shortcomings and becoming stronger! Now that the virtual world has only been open for a little over a month, professional players like me and Xu Jingming still have an advantage. But in the later stages, you talented ones will have a wider future."

"Bro, you've reached the top eight in the world; you're also talented," the young man said.

"Haha, your talent is even greater than mine," Hao Fan said with a smile. "In any case, we must admit that the Pear Wood Squad has Wang Yi, the top three archers in the country, and Xu Jingming, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Liu Chongyuan protecting her… This team is stronger overall than us. With the attitude of learning and discovering our shortcomings, let's enjoy the competition."

"The next major competition will be when you make a name for yourself across the country, even the world," Hao Fan said expectantly, looking at his younger brother. After retiring, he returned to his hometown and started taking in disciples. Among the disciples in his hometown, his younger brother, Hao Qianyun, had the most potential, even more than him, a former national player.

"Okay," Hao Qianyun nodded.

******

The Fire Seed Cup Tournament's official competition was held on September 2nd at 0:00 sharp.

The official livestream room had a host and two guests.

"The opening battle of the Fire Seed Cup is between the Willow Sea Oldies and the Changnan Squad," the host, Liu Xin, said with a smile. "Let's interview the two teams first."

The six members of the Willow Sea Oldies and the six members of the Changnan Squad stood to the side.

"Let's start with Teacher Liu Hai's team." The host, Liu Xin, walked to the side and asked with a smile, "Teacher Liu Hai, do you have anything you want to say to your opponents?"

Liu Hai smiled, looking at the five teammates beside him.

Dai Tongda, who wore small braids and was also the most handsome, smiled and said, "Changnan Squad, we won't hold back! If you want to fight Teacher Liu Hai, you'll have to get past the four of us first."

"You must respect the old and cherish the young," Zhou Fan, the oldest, said with a chuckle.

"The best way to respect you is to eliminate you," said Liu Bo, the bald captain of the Changnan Squad.

…

A moment later, on the snowy battlefield.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot," Liu Bo said, covered in blood. "Can you give me a one-on-one opportunity?"

His four teammates had all been shot dead, leaving him alone.

"Old Zhou, your archery skills are extraordinary, definitely comparable to the top ten archers," Dai Tongda said with a smile. The old man Zhou Fan, holding a bow and arrow, laughed heartily, "Zhou Yi's rapid archery firing was taught by me personally!"

"I'll give you a one-on-one opportunity," said Xu Hong, who was burly and fierce-looking from the Oldies squad.

Xu Hong was much more burly than his son Xu Jingming, and also weighed much more.

"Good!"

Liu Bo became somewhat ferocious, charging forward, thinking to himself, "No matter what, I have to kill at least one! Otherwise, it would be too miserable to not get a single kill."

Liu Bo wielded dual axes, sprinting through the snow, each step causing the snow to tremble.

"Kill!" Liu Bo charged toward Xu Hong.

He was somewhat moved; finally, he didn't have to worry about that terrifying arrow!

"Roar~~~"

Xu Hong let out a low roar, his eyes like a tiger's. The Raging Tiger Evolutionary Method he cultivated allowed him to unleash terrifying power in two steps, and a pair of shields slammed out! That was a move he had practiced for forty years! A lifetime dedicated to this one move!

Compared to Xu Jingming, Xu Hong's moves were purer, more direct, and even contained Xu Hong's spiritual will.

No one can stop my pounce!

Even if the sky falls, I can split it open with a pounce!

Baji! Tiger Pounce!

"Bang!!!"

Under the collision of the shields, Liu Bo furiously chopped with his dual axes but felt a terrifying force transmitted to him, causing him to involuntarily lift his feet off the ground and fly backward.

"咻!" A throwing knife passed through Liu Bo's neck as he flew backward.

Dai Tongda, holding the throwing knife in his hand, smiled from the side, "Kid, let me tell you a truth. During a competition, don't trust your opponent."

The Changnan Squad was completely defeated!