Chapter 11 Did He Lose?

"Lost?"

"Liu Hai lost?"

The official livestream, originally buzzing with excitement, fell silent. Countless viewers were dumbfounded.

But then, a clamor erupted! Over six billion viewers created an uproar that swept through the entire livestream like an earthquake. Countless viewers couldn't believe that Liu Hai, the world's number one, had lost just like that!

"The first semi-final is over. Tiano Xire won and successfully advanced to the final," the female host announced, still in shock.

"Too fast, the last move was too fast." Tu Ling couldn't help but say, "Master Liu Hai was clearly on the offensive, attacking for over three minutes, and then Tiano suddenly counterattacked! With a flip of his long staff, he struck and killed Master Liu Hai?"

"During the final counterattack, Tiano's movements were much more agile, and his staff techniques were much faster," Ye Shalova added. As a master archer, her vision was naturally extraordinary.

"Watch the slow-motion replay."

Haru Singh pointed to the slow-motion replay of the battle.

In slow motion, it was clear that Tiano's body was incredibly agile at the last moment, dodging Liu Hai's attack. In comparison, Liu Hai seemed much clumsier. Immediately afterward, Tiano thrust his long staff!

The speed of the staff technique was also much faster! Even in slow motion, it was so fast that it left a blurry afterimage.

The staff thrust... the shield defense failed to stop it, but Liu Hai's right-hand saber managed a risky block.

The long staff flipped!

Liu Hai's shield immediately moved upward, but it was still too slow. The long staff struck the upper edge of the shield, and almost simultaneously, the staff head struck the top of Liu Hai's head.

One strike, fatal.

"Fast," Haru Singh sighed. "Too fast! Master Liu Hai's shield and saber coordination was already near perfect, but at the last moment... Tiano's burst of staff speed meant Master Liu Hai still couldn't react in time and was struck in the head."

"When it's fast enough, there's no time to defend," Tu Ling lamented.

Even ordinary viewers understood the slow-motion scene. The staff speed that Tiano Xire unleashed at the end was too fast. He killed Liu Hai with just two strikes.

"Tiano is actually this strong! He used a powerful ultimate move and killed Liu Hai with two strikes."

"He deserves to be called the world's number one genius. After the virtual world opened for ten months, he has completely surpassed Liu Hai!"

"Once he gets serious, Liu Hai can't withstand even two strikes."

"This is outrageous."

"It's not that outrageous. Liu Hai is over seventy years old, while Tiano just turned twenty last year. Without any professional competition experience, Tiano's strength was already close to his after the virtual world opened for just over a month. Tiano's talent is truly terrifying."

Countless viewers discussed.

Although people around the world were shocked by Liu Hai's defeat, they could understand losing to Tiano. After all, Tiano had always been considered the world's number one genius!

However, the people of Xia found it difficult to accept.

"Liu Hai lost."

"Even if he lost, how could he lose so badly? As soon as Tiano went all out, he defeated Liu Hai with two strikes?"

"A new generation replaces the old!"

The people of Xia sighed with emotion.

...

In the stands, Liu Hai sat alone. He didn't join any of his friends, simply sitting by himself, watching the replay on the livestream.

He could accept defeat!

But to be killed with just two strikes at the end, that made Liu Hai quite upset. It was too crushing a defeat.

"Reviewing this battle," Liu Hai thought, "In the early stages, Tiano was relying purely on speed, strength, and agility to fight me. Even when I used my two ultimate moves to attack with all my strength, he was still relying on basic techniques to block and evade."

"He didn't use any special ultimate moves."

"With his talent, the Blue Star civilization must have given him a legacy. Moreover, he also earned contribution points in the total martial arts hall points ranking before, so he must have obtained a legacy and learned powerful ultimate moves from it."

"But..."

"He fought me for more than three minutes using just basic moves. It was only at the last moment that he used a killing move. Once he used a killing move, his movements were obviously more agile and his staff techniques were faster." Liu Hai shook his head slightly. "A legacy usually contains more than one ultimate move, possibly three, five, or even seven or eight."

"He only used the first ultimate move and killed me."

Liu Hai realized this point. "He surpasses me far in terms of evolution. His foundation is much stronger than mine, so when he uses powerful killing moves, I can't withstand them."

This was a difference in evolution.

"The last time I sparred with Jing Ming, I realized that my mental awareness cultivation was inferior to Jing Ming's," Liu Hai thought to himself. "Clearly, in terms of evolution, I am inferior to Jing Ming and also inferior to Tiano."

"Even if I create some ultimate moves, without enough strength and speed to support them, powerful ultimate moves... are just castles in the air." Liu Hai knew very well where he lost this battle.

He lost in the foundation.

Tiano's evolution was clearly stronger. His strength was at least twice his! His speed was also faster, and he was more agile! Liu Hai could only gain an advantage by using his two self-created ultimate moves, but he still couldn't win completely.

And Tiano? He just used an ultimate move and won with two strikes.

"If my strength and speed could match Tiano's, then I would have a chance to win," Liu Hai thought to himself. "The difference in foundation is too great, and techniques can't compensate for it."

"Jing Ming is about to compete with Tiger Fosen for the other spot in the final."

"I won't disturb him. I'll talk to him about some information about Tiano after his battle is over," Liu Hai thought.

******

The World Martial Arts Tournament, the first semi-final had ended, and the second semi-final was about to begin.

"Liu Hai has also been eliminated. Now it's all up to Xu Jingming."

"Xu Jingming must win."

"Anything is possible in a life-and-death battle. Xu Jingming could also lose. Don't praise Xu Jingming too much."

"I believe in Xu Jingming."

The people of Xia were somewhat disappointed by Liu Hai's defeat, and at the same time, they were more nervous and looking forward to the next match... Now, Xu Jingming was the only Xia native left in the competition, so the people of Xia naturally hoped that their country's expert would go all the way to the end.

Now that Liu Hai had lost, would Xu Jingming also lose?

People weren't confident.

After all, more than seven months had passed since he cleared the fourth level of the Star Tower, and anything was possible.

"The next match will be the second semi-final, Xu Jingming from Xia against Tiger Fosen from the White Eagle Federation," the female host said excitedly. "This battle will also determine the last spot in the final."

In the stands.

"It's my turn," Xu Jingming said, standing up.

"Add oil," Li Miaomiao encouraged her husband.

"Captain, it's up to you," Wang Yi shouted.

"Brother Xu, you must defeat that Tiger Fosen," Yang Qingshuo said. "I believe in you."

"Hahaha... you little scoundrel!" Old Master Xu was very excited. "There are over sixty-two billion viewers at the venue. This is an unprecedentedly huge stage. The heat is much higher than my e-sports competitions when I was young. Now, all the people of Xia are watching you, and they are nervously expecting you to win! You must go all out, burn yourself, and charge, charge, charge! First, kill Tiger Fosen, then destroy Tiano Xire, and take the world's number one!"

"Charge!" Xu Hong and Dai Tongda also raised their fists.

"Yeah, first kill Tiger Fosen, then destroy Tiano," Xu Jingming smiled, and his fighting spirit became even more fervent.

In fact, after seeing his master Liu Hai being defeated by Tiano, he had a strong urge to fight Tiano, but according to the rules, he had to qualify for the final first! Tiger Fosen, judging from his previous matches, was also a hidden expert, and he couldn't be careless in the slightest.

At this moment, Xu Jingming suddenly saw a figure appearing in the distance. It was Liu Hai. Liu Hai's aura had also converged a lot, and he was much more peaceful.

"Master," Xu Jingming said. The others also saw Liu Hai.

"Go all out and kill your way into the final first!" Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming and encouraged him.

"Yeah," Xu Jingming nodded, tapped lightly, and entered the preparation space.