Chapter 1 A Rain of Spears

"Whoosh."

A short spear tore through the air. At such close range, a large bear had no time to dodge, and the spear pierced its neck, causing it to vanish into nothingness. The other four bears were instantly enraged; they had spotted the enemy who threw the spear.

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

One after another, spears flew as fast as lightning. The figure dodged through the mountain forest while continuously throwing spears. In less than half a minute, all twelve spears were empty.

All the bears were dead.

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

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

"Roar~~~" The Bear King had already pounced.

"Come on," Heng Fang shouted, bravely meeting the attack.

A long time passed.

Heng Fang, looking somewhat disheveled, watched the Bear King bleed to death and smiled. "The Starry Sky 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 just too hard." Back in his personal space, Heng Fang tapped lightly, contacting his good brother.

"Old Xu is training hard in the practice field." Heng Fang smiled as he watched the image appear.

"Young Master Heng, what's up?" Xu Jingming joked. Among the best brothers on the national team, Heng Fang was the vainest! 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. The national team teammates jokingly called him "Young Master Heng," a title that Heng Fang rather enjoyed.

On the national team, the two were evenly matched and often sparred together. Their relationship was excellent, and they were in the same dormitory.

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

"The Fireseed Cup National Competition, you know about it, right?" Heng Fang said. "Want to team up?"

"Sure," Xu Jingming laughed. "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 Ah Shuo too, then there'll be three of us, right?"

"You, me, Ah Shuo..." Xu Jingming thought for a moment and said, "What do you think about Da Xiong (Big Bear)?"

"Da Xiong is a good guy, and his shield-axe skills are solid." Heng Fang nodded in agreement. "But we're lacking an archer. Most of the current top archers are from the archery circle; 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 figure it out later. If we really can't find one... five warriors, charging together."

"Sure, 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 "ok" gesture.

"Alright, I'll go talk to Ah Shuo and Da Xiong." Xu Jingming hung up and immediately contacted Yang Qingshuo. Yang Qingshuo was training in the Starry Sky Tower, and he exited the tower upon receiving the call.

"Brother Xu," Yang Qingshuo answered.

"The Fireseed Cup competition, want to team up with us?" Xu Jingming asked.

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

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

"I feel like the four of us could take on five." Yang Qingshuo said happily, all of them being familiar friends.

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

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

"That's it then. I'll go talk to 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 Starry Sky Tower.

After practicing the *Giant Bear Evolution Method*, Liu Chongyuan's already burly figure had become even 'burlier'. He was now two meters and twenty-six centimeters tall, and his weight had increased significantly.

Holding a large shield, Liu Chongyuan resembled a smaller bear. When the Bear King slapped at him, Liu Chongyuan held up his shield, but he was still sent flying by the impact. However, he got back up. Although there was blood at the corner of his mouth, he continued to endure.

"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 the Bear King's attacks five times."

Suddenly, a call came through.

After taking a look, Liu Chongyuan temporarily exited the Starry Sky Tower.

"Old Xu," Liu Chongyuan smiled.

"You know about the Fireseed Cup National Competition, right? Me, Yang Qingshuo, Heng Fang, and you—wanna team up?" Xu Jingming said.

"Among the four of us, I'm probably the weakest." 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 not as good.

He had struggled for so many years, participating in national team training camps, but he had never been a main member of the national team! 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 in the competition. All of them were stronger than him, and younger than him too.

"Now that everyone's undergoing life evolution, anything is possible. Didn't I beat Gao Chong and Wang Qiao?" Xu Jingming said. "Stop dwelling 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 lifted a bit. "My teammates are all so strong, I need to work even harder." He had originally thought that he would spend the rest of his life mentoring newcomers at the Sports Bureau, but who knew the virtual world would arrive? He, Liu Chongyuan, would once again raise his shield-axe and begin his martial arts journey.

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

He needed to work harder so he wouldn't hold his teammates back!

*****

In the evening, Xu Jingming had dinner with Li Miaomiao.

"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."

"When forming a team, the important thing is that everyone is happy and working towards the same goal." Xu Jingming laughed. "And I've invited all my best brothers."

"You've settled on four people, so you're missing one?" Li Miaomiao said.

"We're missing an archer," Xu Jingming said.

"With your strength, Jingming, you must be getting a lot of invitations, right? No archers among them?" Li Miaomiao asked.

"I have been getting a lot of invitations, but I turned them all down, saying that I've already decided on a team." Xu Jingming said. After all, he was one of the top-ranked players in Xia Country, and young too. Many people had high hopes for his future.

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

"Archers are rare. Of the top thirty-six players in Xia Country ranked by Wang Xianggu, only three are archers." Li Miaomiao agreed. "The top archers are all highly sought after."

Xu Jingming nodded.

Suddenly, a call came in. Xu Jingming tapped lightly.

"Sun Li?" Xu Jingming looked at the man on the other end. Sun Li was also a national team teammate, but because he was a second-string member, they didn't interact much.

"Old Xu, I'm here to freeload for the Fireseed Cup National Competition." Sun Li laughed. "Let's team up? I've been practicing archery lately."

"Archery?" Xu Jingming said in surprise. "You were practicing dual blades on the national team, right?"

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

"Archery at the second level?" Xu Jingming praised. "Impressive!"

"How about it? Close-range combat with dual blades, long-range 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, Ah Shuo, and Young Master Heng were on the first team. Although they weren't that close, there were no conflicts between them. They were all teammates after all.

"Sure, our team is in need of an archer." Xu Jingming laughed. "With you as our archer, we won't have to worry about assassins. The other four on our team are me, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Liu Chongyuan. If you're okay with it, then it's settled?"

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

After all, they knew many national team teammates.

"In terms of shield techniques, Da Xiong is pretty good. He was only a little short of making it to the World Martial Arts Competition back then." Xu Jingming said. "And in the virtual world, everyone is starting a new struggle. Don't underestimate Da Xiong."

"Alright, you're the carry on the team, I'll listen to you." Sun Li said. "I trust you."

"So it's settled?" Xu Jingming said.

"Settled." Sun Li nodded.

Xu Jingming, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, Liu Chongyuan, and Sun Li created a 'battle team group' specifically for the five of them.

The others were quite happy about Sun Li's joining. Even if Sun Li's archery skills were slightly inferior, he was currently at the second-level! And he was improving rapidly. By the beginning of next month, his archery skills would definitely be even more advanced. Plus, Sun Li himself was skilled in combat, so they wouldn't have to worry about assassins!
Hu Die Lan