Chapter 1 The Confrontation

When Li Miaomiao received the message, Xu Jingming was in the quiet room on the second floor, cultivating his mind. This was something he did every day.

Xu Jingming sat cross-legged, his mind as still and eternal as the celestial stars.

His mental consciousness naturally expanded, sensing everything around him without a single thought arising. In this state, his perception of his body and the surrounding environment was clearer than ever before.

His mind was like a mirror, reflecting everything.

Time passed, and the sun gradually moved westward. It was already past four in the afternoon when Xu Jingming finally opened his eyes. He got up and left the quiet room, habitually heading to the courtyard to practice his evolution method.

He practiced the evolution method three times a day: once in the morning, once in the late afternoon, and once after dinner.

"Jingming," Li Miaomiao called from the living room. "Director Zhou contacted us today."

"Director Zhou?" Xu Jingming became serious. "Is there something important?"

"It's about Sakura Country," Li Miaomiao said. "Miyagawa Akari has sent a message through Sakura Country's official channels, wanting to challenge you. We can decide on the time for the battle. Do you want to accept it?"

"Miyagawa Akari?" A smile appeared on Xu Jingming's face.

Although his strength wasn't that high, his techniques were indeed the most unpredictable in the world right now, perfect for honing my shield skills.

"Accept it," Xu Jingming said.

Li Miaomiao's eyes lit up. "Good. The challenge requires an exact time, down to the second!"

"Then let's make it 9:15:33 PM tonight," Xu Jingming said, setting a time.

...

That night, after entering the virtual world, Xu Jingming reserved a queue time in 'Global Clash', setting the time to 9:15:33 PM. Then, he continued to practice his shield techniques.

When the time arrived, the system automatically began matchmaking.

At that moment...

On the Global Clash platform, there were many God-level experts waiting for a match, but the closest in strength to Xu Jingming was naturally Miyagawa Akari, who was queuing up at the same time. The virtual world naturally paired the two together.

Inside the battle space, Xu Jingming appeared out of thin air and immediately saw his four teammates.

"Xu Jingming!" The four teammates were shocked and immediately turned to look at the opposite area. The opposite side was the Sakura Country team, and among them was a young man with a unique aura, a figure of great renown in the world. This surprised the Xia country team even more. "Miyagawa Akari!"

"It's a battle between Xu Jingming and Miyagawa Akari! We actually ran into it."

At the same time, the four members of the Sakura Country team were also surprised and delighted, looking at Miyagawa Akari with reverence and admiration, and then looking at Xu Jingming in the distance.

There was no doubt that this was a duel at the pinnacle of the world! And they were able to participate in it.

Xu Jingming and Miyagawa Akari also looked at each other.

...

"Both sides have entered the preparation area." In the Xia country official livestream, the host and two guests were somewhat excited. After all, they had hosted so many livestreams, but this one was clearly much more popular.

"Without a doubt, apart from some experts like Liu Hai who haven't shown their full strength, Xu Jingming, Miyagawa Akari, and Tiger Fussen should be at the highest level in the world. This battle between Xu Jingming and Miyagawa Akari... has attracted global attention," Jin Fan, the male guest, was visibly more excited.

"Yes," Liu Xin, the host, looked at the data and said, "The number of viewers worldwide has already broken records, surpassing the 4 billion mark! Major countries are all broadcasting it live."

The number of Xia country viewers in the livestream was also climbing.

Because Global Clash had occasional livestreams, the public had become numb to it. Some matches had difficulty breaking 100 million viewers! However, today was Xu Jingming's second time participating in Global Clash. Xu Jingming's appeal was great enough, and his opponent was Miyagawa Akari, so a large number of people came to the livestream, and the number had already climbed to 900 million.

"Last time, Xu Jingming completely crushed Alan Emelianenko. It was so satisfying to watch. In this battle, Xu Jingming will definitely beat that Sakura Country kid to a pulp!"

"Xu Jingming is invincible!"

"Xu Jingming has never let me down!"

Countless people left messages.

After the battle with Alan, Xu Jingming's fan base had clearly grown a lot.

"Both sides are starting to choose weapons and equipment," the host Liu Xin said. "Jin Fan, Sister Ju, who do you think has a better chance of winning this battle?"

"Without a doubt, it's Xu Jingming!" The male guest Jin Fan said immediately. "Although Miyagawa Akari has been getting stronger, he has only recently become comparable to Xu Jingming. Xu Jingming wouldn't be standing still, so... what? He chose a shield?"

The host Liu Xin and the female guest Ju Wenqing also saw that Xu Jingming had chosen a spear and a shield this time.

"Last time against Alan, Xu Jingming only chose a spear," Jin Fan frowned and said. "But this time, he chose a spear and a shield. Since he chose it, he must have a plan to use it. Xu Jingming's shield skills are currently unknown."

"A person's energy is limited. His spear skills and shield skills must have one that's stronger and one that's weaker," Ju Wenqing said. "Instead of choosing what he's best at, he chose two weapons?"

Both guests felt that Xu Jingming wasn't being cautious enough.

He should be more cautious and choose what he's best at! He should fight with all his strength!

"Although I believe in Xu Jingming, he might be a little careless in this battle," Jin Fan said. "He can't be careless against an opponent like Miyagawa Akari."

"What do you know!"

"You just need to shout 666, don't question my Xu Jingming!"

"A Jin Fan who shouts 666 is the best Jin Fan!"

Countless comments immediately targeted Jin Fan.

...

In the Sakura Country official livestream, a male and female host were partnered up.

"Xu Jingming is a very strong opponent. The strength he showed when fighting Alan Emelianenko was enough to shock us. Although he hasn't fought recently, he has probably made some progress. Our Miyagawa Akari must be extremely careful and cautious, and must put in twelve percent of his strength to deal with him," the male host said solemnly.

"Xu Jingming is already twenty-nine years old, and Miyagawa is only seventeen! In terms of potential, Miyagawa is much higher," the female host also said. "I believe that as time goes on, Miyagawa Akari will leave Xu Jingming further and further behind, but for now, Miyagawa still needs to be cautious."

"What? Xu Jingming actually chose a spear and a shield at the same time?" the male host said in surprise. "Instead of choosing what he's best at, he chose two weapons? This Xu Jingming is too careless. His carelessness may cause him to lose this battle quickly."

As a host, he had broadcasted too many matches.

He knew that in one-on-one duels between global experts, the main reliance was on their best weapon. Generally, in five-person team battles, the combination of different weapons could have miraculous effects. But now... the four teammates were obviously not worth Xu Jingming and Miyagawa Akari sacrificing themselves to cooperate.

"Miyagawa!"

"Miyagawa is so cute!"

"How can Miyagawa be so strong!"

Countless people in Sakura Country were extremely excited.

...

At that moment, in the official livestreams of various countries, as well as the Blue Star Alliance livestream, experts from all over the world were watching the battle.

Liu Hai, Tiano Xire, Tiger Fussen, Haru Singh, Merritt, currently the number one expert in Roma Country, Akinlov, the number one genius in Raksha Country, Li Wenxiu, the number one expert in Silla Country, and the old generation of martial arts world three kings, Raven Gullit, Kiyosato Toichi, and others were all watching the battle in various official livestreams.

"Director, there are many opinions among the people now," the secretary said cautiously. "They feel that with the current strength of global experts, a one-on-one match format might be more exciting. As for team battles? After all, it's difficult for each country to put together a team of five members with comparable strength."

"The virtual world's competition system was not decided by my Xia country," Director Zhou said calmly while watching the match. "And the virtual world has only been open for three months. Our vision must be long-term. We must look at three years from now, thirty years from now, or even three hundred years from now!"

"Yes," the secretary nodded. "But is it possible to create a separate one-on-one format in addition to the current format?"

Director Zhou glanced at the secretary. "You've been with me for thirty years. You should understand that since the Blue Star Alliance has made this decision, there must be a reason for it."

The secretary's heart trembled.

As the director's personal secretary, he had access to many secrets and was very clear about the director's personality. The director saying 'You've been with me for thirty years' was actually a sign of displeasure.

"The battle has begun," Director Zhou said, looking at the livestream. The ten experts had already entered the battle map.