Chapter 61 Virtual World, Cold Weapon Peak

Xu Jingming looked through the information on these virtual worlds.

"The most popular evolution-type worlds, ranked first and second, are the Life Evolution World and the Dark Abyss World." Xu Jingming observed, "The Life Evolution World's 'mission space' has a vast number of missions."

The virtual world of his home planet, Blue Star, had too few mission space tasks. For now, there were only the Starry Sky Tower, Martial Arts Hall, and Underground Palace. The Underground Palace was introduced after the World Competition. Of course, Xu Jingming had already become a Starry Sky lifeform and wasn't well-suited to participate in Blue Star's internal competition.

"Pang Ze is right, the Life Evolution World is somewhat outdated." Xu Jingming glanced over the information. "The fundamental reason for its top ranking is its profound foundation! Many major forces have long resided there. For example, there are 'apprenticeship missions' in the mission space, and many tenth-order powerhouses reside there! There are also 'Star Alliance Rankings' and 'Cosmic Domain Rankings'... if your ranking is high enough, you can directly join some of the universe's top forces."

Xu Jingming saw that the Life Evolution World had a long history and many opportunities for fame and fortune.

"I'm still a bit far from being a 'first-rate expert' in the Blood Rain World, so there's no way I can compete in the Life Evolution World's rankings." Xu Jingming gently shook his head.

Only when he became a top-tier expert in the Blood Rain World would he perhaps be qualified to compete for rankings.

"The 'Dark Abyss' world, ranked second in popularity, is also remarkable," Xu Jingming noted.

The main gameplay mode of the Dark Abyss World was countless players struggling to survive in the Dark Abyss, striving to reach the next layer. They would constantly break through layers, and when they reached the bottommost end of the Dark Abyss, they would have cleared the Dark Abyss game.

"The Dark Abyss is also a dark abyss of human nature." Xu Jingming read the description. "Only a true powerhouse can reach the end of the Dark Abyss."

The process of exploration not only required increasingly higher strength, but also a higher level of mental fortitude.

"Historically, all humans who reach the end of the Dark Abyss will immediately be cultivated by top forces, and can reach at least the ninth order in a short period." Xu Jingming saw in the introduction that many geniuses, even with high talent, still had many shortcomings in their mental states and needed to undergo various trials.

Across the entire universe, very few could reach the end of the Dark Abyss. Such individuals had reached almost the limit of humanity in terms of mental state and skill. There was no need to further refine them; they were the most perfect unpolished jade! With a little carving, they could become ninth-order!

"The Dark Abyss is too difficult." Xu Jingming read the introduction. "This is the most basic gameplay. Now there are also side 'missions'. These side 'missions' are the reason for its popularity."

The various side missions derived from the Dark Abyss had also boosted the Dark Abyss World's popularity to 'second in the evolution category.'

"These missions have various requirements, and some even require money?" Xu Jingming was amazed. "A free game world with internal side missions that cost so much. The most outrageous... starting a mission costs 100 million cosmic coins? That's insane!"

The Dark Abyss's side missions required a lot of money, and the massive amounts of money also attracted many people to enter the Dark Abyss World.

...

Xu Jingming researched the top 100 most popular evolution-type worlds. To be ranked in the top 100, each had its own appealing aspects.

"The Pinnacle of Cold Weapons World." Xu Jingming nodded. "This is good. It has the most popular sparring system in the entire universe, and the sparring system can earn money."

"Choose to be a sparring partner."

"My combat bonus is 890%, so let's set the price at 10,000 cosmic coins per hour." Xu Jingming entered this virtual world and set his sparring price.

The game would charge a 10% handling fee for the sparring system.

It was Xu Jingming's first time trying to earn money as a sparring partner, and he found it quite novel.

******

"Your Majesty, the thirteen northern cities have rebelled!" A minister knelt and said.

Luo Luotean sat high on the throne, staring down and angrily asked, "Why have they rebelled?"

"The north is experiencing a snow disaster, the people are suffering, and bandits are leading rioters in looting. It has now engulfed the entire thirteen northern cities," the minister immediately replied.

Luo Luotean was annoyed.

Was it easy to manage an empire? He was still planning to expand his territory, but the empire was filled with all sorts of problems.

"Why are you only reporting this now?" Luo Luotean scolded.

"Many cities fell too quickly, and the previous messengers were intercepted on the road," the minister said in fear.

Luo Luotean suppressed his anger and looked at the many ministers below. "Which general is willing to quell the northern rebellion?"

"This minister is willing to go."

"This minister is willing to go."

Several generals took the initiative to volunteer.

Luo Luotean was satisfied and scanned the generals.

Suddenly—

"Luo Luotean, you should study!" A deep voice sounded in Luo Luotean's mind, and Luo Luotean's expression changed slightly.

"General Yuqi, you will be responsible for quelling the rebellion," Luo Luotean said, while simultaneously selecting smart auto-pilot.

"I'll just go on auto-pilot first."

Luo Luotean's consciousness departed.

The AI would replace him, continuing to lead the empire and manage it, starting to mobilize troops and prepare to quell the rebellion.

...

"It's so annoying, I have to practice every day, practice this, practice that. My parents have too many demands." Luo Luotean returned to his personal space, feeling rather helpless and grumbling.

Luo Luotean opened the 'Pinnacle of Cold Weapons' world. Every time he practiced cold weapons, he did so in this virtual world.

"Find a sparring partner to play with. Right, this month's allowance should have arrived." Luo Luotean opened his personal account, glanced at his personal account balance, and pouted. "So stingy, only giving me five million cosmic coins a month."

His parents were too strict, forcing him to 'cultivate' every day and controlling his allowance.

"I'm a man who inherited a life planet's territory at birth! Only giving me five million cosmic coins a month. You stingy parents are swallowing up the money from my lord's planet." Luo Luotean was angry, but he had no choice.

Before he reached 'one thousand years old,' he had no management or control rights over his life planet.

In reality, governing a life planet was not easy. Poor management would not only fail to make money, but would also require pouring money into it.

"This time, I'll choose a more powerful sparring partner." Luo Luotean swiped through the list of sparring partners, arranged from lowest to highest combat bonus. The further he swiped, the higher the combat bonus, but the more expensive the sparring fee.

A sparring partner with a 300% combat bonus only cost 300 cosmic coins per hour.

A sparring partner with a 500% combat bonus generally cost 2,000 cosmic coins per hour.

A sparring partner with a 10x combat bonus cost 20,000 cosmic coins per hour.

"I'll choose this one." Luo Luotean clicked, and happened to click on Xu Jingming's account.

Whoosh—

In a virtual space, there was a circular arena, one hundred meters in diameter.

Luo Luotean appeared here, looking at a black-haired human man who had appeared before him.

"Hello, Teacher Jing." Luo Luotean bowed slightly. This was what his parents had taught him since childhood: respect every teacher.

"Hello, Lord Luo." Xu Jingming smiled. This Luo Luotean was about 1.5 meters tall, with golden hair and was slightly chubby.

He could see the other party's registered information—

Player: Lord Luo (Hunter Cosmic Domain, Changjian Star Alliance)

Level: 8

Combat Bonus: Privacy Protected

Xu Jingming's own information was—

Player: Jing (Hunter Cosmic Domain, Wu Hook Star Alliance)

Level: 1

Combat Bonus: 890%

As a sparring partner, one had to disclose their combat bonus.

"Choose your weapons and armor." Luo Luotean had already put on armor and was holding two short spears.

Xu Jingming was only holding a long spear.

"You're not choosing armor?" Luo Luotean frowned. "Then I won't be polite."

"Come on."

Xu Jingming smiled. His most accomplished *Flowing Water* spear technique was good at defense.

"I'm coming." Luo Luotean moved and pounced, his speed extremely fast.

One had to know that in this 'Pinnacle of Cold Weapons' world, everyone had the same physical fitness! Only then would it be more suitable to train in cold weapon skills. This Luo Luotean was obviously quite skilled in body techniques and speed.

"He's even faster than me." Xu Jingming was somewhat surprised, but facing the oncoming Luo Luotean, his spear changed, and the moment it touched Luo Luotean's short spear, it followed the momentum and stabbed into Luo Luotean's chest.

*Pfft.*

With one spear, he pierced through his chest.

Luo Luotean was impaled! Like a meat skewer!

He widened his eyes and looked up at Xu Jingming.

"Your spear, how is it so slippery?" Luo Luotean angrily said. "Again."

*Whoosh.*

Luo Luotean returned to his original position, and his injuries disappeared, restoring him to his peak state.

"Please." Xu Jingming looked at him with a smile. The other party was paying, so he naturally had to smile at his customers.

"Ya!!!" Luo Luotean roared, his figure drawing an arc, running around Xu Jingming. Suddenly, without any warning, he threw out one of his short spears. The moment he threw it, he charged up!

Xu Jingming spun his long spear, like water, engulfing the thrown 'short spear.'

Using force to deflect force!

The flow of water! Following the force of the short spear, guiding it!

*Whoosh.* The engulfed short spear flew back, hitting Luo Luotean, who had already rushed up, and Luo Luotean flew out, spitting blood.

"I don't believe it." Luo Luotean widened his eyes and charged again.

*Pfft!*

But when he rushed close to Xu Jingming, waving his pair of short spears, somehow, Xu Jingming's long spear merely drew an arc and passed through the gap between the two short spears, piercing his chest again before he could react. He was impaled again!

...

Again and again!

Xu Jingming's spear wasn't fast, and his strength wasn't great, but as soon as they exchanged blows, he would defeat him in one or two moves.

"Stop!"

Luo Luotean raised his hand to stop, staring at Xu Jingming. "I usually choose opponents with a 500% combat bonus, today it's a bit too high, I'm not used to it. But I'm paying, not to get beaten. From now on, you're not allowed to counterattack. Only defend."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Xu Jingming politely said. The paying customer had the final say.

"Good."

Luo Luotean grinned. He slowly walked towards Xu Jingming, the distance between them only five meters.

Too close!

Xu Jingming's long spear was three meters long!

"I won't bully you either, I won't get closer." Luo Luotean raised an eyebrow. With the distance between them being only five meters, he took a step forward, and his two short spears suddenly thrust out, fast as afterimages.

Xu Jingming swirled his long spear! The spear circle was like water, naturally engulfing the two short spears, *bang! bang!* Both short spears were engulfed and thrown away.

Luo Luotean's hands were numb, and he stood there in a daze.

"Continue." Luo Luotean was unwilling to admit defeat and charged again.

Since he could only defend and not counterattack! Then Xu Jingming would focus on defense, even if he exerted force, it would only be to knock away the other party's weapons.

Again and again, the short spears were thrown away.

"The power of your spear technique is unpredictable." Luo Luotean was completely defeated and stood there, muttering to himself, "The power seems great, but when you touch it, it might be extremely small. When my momentum is exhausted, the power you explode with suddenly becomes extremely great. It's constantly changing, I can't understand it at all."

Luo Luotean was bewildered.

"No, no, no!" Luo Luotean suddenly gritted his teeth. "Father said, don't bother with those strange moves, as long as you solidify your foundation, with the same body, when you execute a move, the greater the power and the faster the speed! The combat bonus will naturally increase, listen to father."

Luo Luotean was no longer confused.

His eyes were firm, and he charged up again and again, continuing to use his pair of short spear techniques.

He was just pursuing faster speed! Greater power!

Xu Jingming still simply blocked. Hearing Luo Luotean's muttering, his heart was shaken.

"The spear technique I've comprehended, the 'Flow of Water', and the initial comprehension of the 'Aspects of Living Things', although they are unpredictable, allowing me to exert five or even ten times the effect with one point of force," Xu Jingming thought, "but power and speed are the foundation."

"Like Xuan's spear technique, it's also the fusion of the five spear techniques, integrating with the *Transformation of Light*." Xu Jingming thought, "*Transformation of Light* pursues the ultimate speed! Which also brings the ultimate power."

"One must not abandon the fundamental for the superficial."

"The flow of water, the aspects of living things... the ultimate goal of many spear techniques is only one! The ultimate speed and power!" Xu Jingming had a clear concept in his mind.

"Other spear techniques are just tools."

"Tools to pursue the ultimate speed and power."

Xu Jingming looked at Luo Luotean, his eyes burning with intensity.

He was just a guy from Blue Star without a famous teacher to guide him! He was blindly groping his way, looking at the first part of the *Transformation of Light* inheritance. Now, Luo Luotean's self-comforting words had enlightened Xu Jingming. This was cultivation, a single word of true transmission! False transmission, ten thousand scrolls!

"Teacher Jing, can you put down your weapon and go barehanded?" Luo Luotean blinked his eyes, looking very sincere.

"Okay."

Xu Jingming nodded, then put away his weapon, looking at Luo Luotean with his bare hands.

"Hehehe..." Luo Luotean smiled and charged up, "There's a big difference in strength with or without weapons!"

A short spear had already attacked.

Xu Jingming flashed, and his left hand slapped the spear shaft, causing Luo Luotean's body to be affected. Then Xu Jingming's right hand was as fast as lightning, chopping down on Luo Luotean's neck.

Luo Luotean only felt his vision go dark, and he had already returned to his original position.

"I lost?" Luo Luotean couldn't believe it.

"My two arms are like a pair of short spears." Xu Jingming said, "The body is a weapon, don't you understand that?"

Luo Luotean looked at Xu Jingming in frustration. "I should still choose a sparring partner with a 500% combat bonus in the future, it's so boring, always losing, there's no entertainment at all."

"*Di di di—*"

Suddenly, a notification sound rang.

Luo Luotean revealed a happy expression and immediately said to Xu Jingming, "I'm going to sign up for the Dark Abyss game! Let's end it here today."

"It hasn't been an hour yet." Xu Jingming was surprised. This sparring session was scheduled for an hour.

"You won't get less money." Luo Luotean clicked on a page. "Alright, I'll give you a rating! Anyway, I can feel that you're very strong, and you're a dedicated sparring partner. Unlike the last sparring partner, who had a stinky face. I'll give you a rating... full marks, ten out of ten!"

Luo Luotean grinned. "I'm going to the Dark Abyss game, are you going? There are only three large-scale events every day, let's participate together. Right, the registration fee for starting a mission is 1 million cosmic coins."

"You go, I have something to do." Xu Jingming said. The registration fee was too expensive.

"If you don't want to spend the money, just say so." Luo Luotean chuckled. "I'm leaving, when my combat bonus reaches 500%, I'll call you for sparring again." Saying that, he disappeared and left.

"Dark Abyss, three large-scale events every day, the cost to start a mission is 1 million cosmic coins?" Xu Jingming wondered.

...

Returning to his personal space, Xu Jingming carefully examined the Dark Abyss.

"The Dark Abyss World has many side missions." Xu Jingming carefully examined it, and then understood, "So he was talking about the 'Escape from the Dark Abyss' side mission."

Among the many side missions, 'Escape from the Dark Abyss' had high popularity.

"The 'Escape from the Dark Abyss' side mission has three levels of daily missions. The first level has an entry fee of 1 million cosmic coins. The second level is 100,000 cosmic coins. The third level is 10,000 cosmic coins." Xu Jingming looked at the detailed introduction.

"Each event has 1 million participants! The registration fees and 50% of the audience's tips go into the prize pool."

"The longer you survive escaping from the abyss, the higher the prize."

"Finally, the only one who escapes from the abyss will receive 50% of the total prize pool."

Xu Jingming blinked.

Luo Luotean was participating in the largest daily event, with a starting fee of 1 million. Then with one million participants... the total prize pool would be 1 trillion cosmic coins plus some tips.

Of course, the Dark Abyss World was the second most popular game in the entire universe in the evolution category. There were many players for the 'Escape from the Abyss' side mission, and even ninth-order Source lifeforms occasionally participated. But in the game, everyone had the same physical fitness.

Therefore, even a ninth-order powerhouse could stumble and possibly lose to an eighth-order powerhouse.

"All players compete!"

"Only one can escape from the abyss and receive half of the total prize pool." Xu Jingming was tempted.

One million cosmic citizens from various civilizations were competing!

"Don't rush, I'll research it more. I still know too little about the 'Escape from the Abyss' side mission." Although Xu Jingming was sure he would participate in an Escape from the Abyss event, he didn't rush to participate immediately, but instead collected a lot of information and even watched some 'Escape from the Abyss' videos.

...

The more he understood, the more calm Xu Jingming became.

At the same time, he was also diligently honing his spear technique. One was researching the 'Aspects of Living Things', wanting to enter the *Space-Time Volume* of the five spear techniques. The second was to improve his *Flowing Water Volume* and *Space-Time Volume* to pursue the ultimate speed and power.

In the quiet days, before he knew it, it was the end of August, and Xu Jingming had naturally reached the 'middle stage of Starry Sky lifeform' in reality.