Chapter 90: Victory and Defeat
Now, only he and his master were left in the forest.
Xu Jingming didnât hesitate to throw away the dual shields in his hands and remove the two spear segments on his back. He connected them together and twisted them into place with a click.
At this moment, Xu Jingming wasnât distracted; he only had eyes for his opponent.
âThereâs no more suspense left for the finals now,â Zhang Qing said softly on the commentary platform.
Liu Xin nodded. âWith Wang Yi killed, thereâs only Xu Jingming and Teacher Liu Hai left on the battlefield to fight one-on-one. I have to admit that thereâs a huge gap between Xu Jingming and the world champion, Teacher Liu Hai. It looks like the outcome of this battle is decided. Teacher Liu Haiâs team will probably win the Firestarter Cup.â
âOf course, I also hope for a miracle and that what Iâve said will only slap me in the face.â Liu Xin smiled brilliantly. âThat would be a miracle that will shock the entire country.â
âA breakthrough in martial arts isnât something that can be accomplished overnight,â Lei Yunfang said. âXu Jingming is far inferior to Liu Hai. If Wang Yi were still alive, there might be some variables. Liu Hai is too cautious and didnât want to put himself in a dangerous situation, so he finished off Wang Yi first.â
âHeâs very cautious.â Zhang Qing nodded.
âWeâre going to lose.â Li Miaomiao, Wang Yi, Yang Qingshuo, Liu Chongyuan, Heng Fang, Xu Hong, Dai Tongda, Dai Xiaoqing, and the othersâincluding many of their relatives and friendsâwatched the battle.
Although they were looking forward to Xu Jingmingâs victory, anyone with a shred of rationality knew how slim his chances were.
Xu Jingming suddenly charged forward. His combat boots stepped on the muddy forest, but his figure was fast as he produced afterimages while lunging at Liu Hai.
âNot a bad start.â Liu Hai held a shield in one hand and a saber in the other.
Xu Jingming rushed over and moved his hand, spinning his spear like a dragon at Liu Hai! The dancing red embellishments made the spearâs trajectory even more unpredictable.
Liu Hai casually swung his saber, easily blocking with a saber beam. He then struck the spear shaft, causing it to tilt to the side.
Xu Jingmingâs footwork changed, and he instantly retracted his spear and stabbed out again.
In the livestream footage, Xu Jingmingâs spear instantly split into more than ten. Although he stabbed out more than ten times in a row, the swift speed allowed the ten-plus spear afterimages to remain in everyoneâs vision as if they were stabbed out simultaneously.
In a battle of spear versus shield, the advantage goes to the weapon length. My attack range is greater, but Master needs to get close.
âMoreover, the spear is good at piercing! This is the fastest way to deliver consecutive strikes.â
Xu Jingming knew how to use the advantage of his weapon.
Instantly, spear after spear after spear shot out like arrowsâit was a dazzling sight.
Liu Hai held the shield in his left hand but didnât use it to block. Instead, he only used the saber in his right hand to block. The saber swung left, right, and pressed down⊠In fact, he was drawing arcs; these arcs were also a part of the circle.
The single saber drew an arc, and Xu Jingmingâs swift and fierce attacks were naturally blocked.
âTaiji is best at defense.â Liu Hai was very relaxed. He didnât even need to use a shield; he just needed a saber.
The many spear afterimages Xu Jingming stabbed out suddenly produced an impulse with Crush. He intended to send Liu Haiâs strike flying.
Liu Haiâs seemingly gentle saber beam turned much more resilient the moment Xu Jingming struck out. A slight jolt dissipated 70% to 80% of the Crush force, leaving nothing to worry about.
Xu Jingming stabbed out repeatedly and suddenly delivered another short-range cleave. The saber beam Liu Hai executed with his single saber was extremely tenacious, and it similarly blocked the sudden strike.
In an instant, Xu Jingming unleashed an onslaught of attacks. His combat method was different from before; he pursued speed and instantaneous force delivery, making his moves harder to defend against. Yet, Liu Hai defended against them.
âThis young man from China has fierce spearmanship.â In the Earth Allianceâs envoy delegation, the envoy from Japan knew the most about spearmanship and could tell how fierce Xu Jingmingâs spearmanship was.
Japan itself was a country that practiced a lot of spearmanship. Although swordsmanship in Japan was flourishing, spearmanship was ranked second. In particular, spearmanship was much more advantageous than swords in weaponry combat⊠It had been more than a month since the virtual worldâs launch, but spearmanship was already approaching swordsmanship in terms of popularity.
âThis Xu Jingmingâs spearmanship is fast in every sense of the word. Moreover, many of his strikes, jabs, and moves are very smallâthey all deliver force instantaneously. The movements to gather strength are very minute, and itâs very difficult for the opponent to block it.â The Japanese envoy wore a solemn expression. âThis would be first-rate spearmanship in my country. We have to study the video of this Chinese competition well.â
Envoys from all over the worldâsuch as India and the United States of Americaâobserved carefully. They couldnât help but compare them with the domestic experts, and their expressions turned solemn. This was because Xu Jingming could be among the best of their respective countries, while Liu Hai was unfathomable.
Xu Jingming attacked for a full three minutes, using all his spearmanship insights, but Liu Hai still blocked all his attacks with a single saber.
âJingming, Iâll begin attacking now. Moreover, my attacks will only get stronger and stronger. They will increase until they reach my limits,â Liu Hai suddenly said in a private chat. âLetâs see how long you can last.â
With that said, Liu Haiâs saber move changed.
When Xu Jingmingâs spear attacked like a venomous snake again, the saber flashed and stuck to the spear. This made Xu Jingming feel uncomfortable, and the moment it stuck to his spear, the single saber slid down the spear shaft! It wanted to chop off Xu Jingmingâs finger that was holding the spear.
Everything happened naturally and quickly as lightning went from sticking to the spear to the attempt at slicing off his fingers.
Thankfully, Xu Jingming immediately unleashed Crush the moment his masterâs saber stuck to the spear shaft, tearing open a distance between the spear shaft and the saber beam and avoiding the strike.
Liu Haiâs saber flashed as he closed in time and time again. As long as the saber touched the spear shaft, it would stick to it in a bid to gain control.
Xu Jingming was forced to constantly retreat while his spear broke free from his master.
âNow that youâve blocked this move, try the next one.â Liu Hai was very relaxed. The might of his moves increased, and his saber technique became faster. It was sometimes soft and sometimes fierce.
It made Xu Jingming find it harder and harder. In just a minute, he was forced to defend entirely.
Just one saber strike forced Xu Jingmingâwho was holding a spearâto defend. Xu Jingming felt aggrieved, but the saber beam was too terrifying! He felt that he might not be able to mount a defense even if he tried his best.
How can anyoneâs saber technique be so terrifying? Iâve met many opponents and have seen many weapon techniques in the virtual world⊠But it feels like Master far exceeds everyone. The difference is too great. Xu Jingming felt like he was suffocating.
He had fought Lei Yunfang before, but the latter only had terrifying movement techniques. His saber techniques didnât pose a fatal threat to Xu Jingming.
There was no need to talk about the others. Xu Jingming could suppress or even crush his opponents with his weapon when dealing with them.
Only when he met his master⊠His master was like the seaâboundless. He was putting in his all, but his master could still suppress him with a single saber.
In this situation, Iâm far inferior to Master in terms of pure technique. The solution is either to crack it with strength or speed, Xu Jingming thought. It hasnât been long since I raised my evolutionary method, and my bodyâs force delivery is inferior to Masterâs. I definitely donât have enough strength. The only thing I hope for is instantaneous speed.
Extreme speedâmy fastest move is Shadowless Thrust! Xu Jingming finally made a decision and made a final gamble when he was about to suffocate from the pressure.
In the past, he only attacked when he had the confidence to use Shadowless Thrust. This time, he still had to make a move despite not being confident.
He would reveal a huge flaw when he attacked! If he didnât succeed, he would die.
Now! Xu Jingming exerted his full strength without any warning when his masterâs saber approached.
With his masterâs suppression, the psychological effects brought about from the attention of countless people in the country, as well as using Shadowless Thrust without any confidence⊠Xu Jingming felt that the usage this time was different from usual.
Normally, it was a fatal strike that killed the enemy.
This time, it was a surprise finale attack that revealed its true intentions! It was a strike that disregarded his life!
Xu Jingming went completely crazy.
Xu Jingming pursued speed without any regard for anythingâeven his life. At this moment, he felt that while mobilizing his muscles and bones, he could dig into deeper strength. The force exerted by many of his muscles became even faster, and his speed increased once again. This was a speed that was even faster than usual.
Itâs faster than any move Iâve executed in the past! Perhaps I can win! Xu Jingming felt that this move was extremely splendid when he stabbed out. He even felt that he could win.
Liu Hai was as usualâhe kept increasing the pressure to see how long his disciple could withstand it. He had only delivered a very normal strike, but who wouldâve thought that Xu Jingming would suddenly unleash a strike?
The spear was too fast! Liu Hai felt his scalp tingle.
Not good. Liu Hai didnât even have the time to move as he immediately pulled the shield in his left hand towards his torso.
The spear stabbed into the shield!
Shields were ultimately weapons that were best at defense. Moreover, Liu Haiâs single-handed shield was slightly larger than Xu Jingmingâs shield. As long as he retracted his shield slightly, he could block a large area.
Once the strike was blocked by the shield, there was naturally a recoil. Liu Hai also discovered that Xu Jingmingâs spear had caused him to reveal an obvious opening.
Liu Hai very naturally took a step forward. With a flash of his saber, he tapped his discipleâs throat and penetrated it.
âIt was blocked,â Xu Jingming murmured. His ultimate strikeâwhich had exceeded his limitsâwas still blocked. It wasnât blocked by the saber but his masterâs shield.
I managed to force Master to use his shield after all. Xu Jingmingâs figure turned ethereal and disappeared from the forest map.
There was only one person left in the forest.
Liu Hai held his shield and saber and felt a lingering fear. This silly kidâs last move was really fast..