Chapter 1 Reality

It was noon in the real world.

In the suburbs of Jinmen City, inside a large factory building, besides a few tables and equipment in the corner and two maintenance robots, the place was mostly empty.

Inside the empty factory, a short, stout man was barefoot. He held a shield in his left hand and a saber in his right.

"Hoo." With a step, his figure blurred as he shot out more than ten meters, a saber strike following. When the saber was swung, it tore through the air with a cracking sound.

Taking another step, he shot out another ten meters, slamming the shield out, the shield producing a booming sound as it hit the air.

Advancing slash, advancing shield bash... step after step, the short, stout man practiced in silence, his feet shaking the factory floor. The shield bashes and saber strikes caused the air inside the huge factory to boom.

The movements seemed simple, but any expert who saw it would be astonished.

The momentum generated by the advancing steps was completely converted into the force of the 'saber strike,' or the advancing force was converted into the force of the shield bash, making each strike terrifyingly powerful. Most frightening of all, for the short, stout man, these moves were as natural as eating and drinking, requiring no thought at all, having become pure instinct.

"Ka-" The factory door opened, and a slightly chubby woman walked in carrying a large lunch box. After she entered, the factory door closed automatically.

"Shixiong (senior brother)," the slightly chubby woman called out with a smile.

Tie Lanyun stopped, turned around, saw the woman smiling, put down the shield and saber, and walked over, "Wife, what's for lunch today?"

"Of course, it's what you like." The slightly chubby woman walked to the dining table in the corner, took out layers of small lunch boxes, and placed them on the table, five dishes and a soup, along with a large portion of rice.

"It smells so good. I'm really hungry." Tie Lanyun simply washed his hands in a nearby sink, then sat down and began to eat heartily, eating quickly.

"You, even though there's a virtual world now, it's one thing to practice there for 16 hours a day, but you still continue to practice in reality?" his wife said, "You don't care about the children at home, and you don't care about business matters."

"Isn't that what I have you for?" Tie Lanyun said with a smile, "You asked me to join the Golden Peng Team, so I joined! Besides, our family has never been short of money, so business matters can take their own course. As for the children? Wife, thank you for your hard work."

"I knew what kind of person you were a long time ago. When I married you, I was prepared." his wife said helplessly, "It's just that you're not young anymore. You're almost forty years old. Are you going to work this hard for the rest of your life?"

"Wife, you may think it's hard work, but I enjoy it." Tie Lanyun said, "The pursuit of being the world's number one, the feeling of becoming the strongest in the world, is so interesting! When a strong opponent appears, I try every means to defeat him! Every time I surpass an opponent, it's wonderful."

His wife nodded, "Are you confident about the second round of the competition?"

"No."

Tie Lanyun said, "My Shidi (junior brother) Xu Jingming is a true genius! If he weren't so monstrous, entering the World Martial Arts Tournament too early, he would have had a chance to take the world number one title in his early twenties with a couple more years of accumulation. As for me? Among the Shifu's (master's) many disciples, my talent can only be considered average. I realized this a long time ago."

"But you've won the world number one title three times, the most of anyone in all of Xia country." his wife said.

"Because I practice the craziest." Tie Lanyun said, "I practice in the morning, in the evening, and at night. Except for sleep, I'm almost always practicing. When my body is tired, I simply practice the moves. When my body has recovered enough, I train my body."

"When I'm eating, I'm thinking about martial arts. When I'm sleeping, I'm dreaming about martial arts."

"Naturally, I've become one with martial arts techniques." Tie Lanyun said.

His wife looked at her husband, feeling the invisible pressure he exuded.

"Shifu was incredibly talented, winning the world number one title even in his old age. Lei Yunfang is also a monster, becoming the world number one in footwork right from the start! As for me? I've stumbled and bumped along the way, losing to many opponents." Tie Lanyun said, "But I've surpassed one opponent after another, and finally managed to win the world number one title again and again."

"I believe that perhaps I'll fall behind temporarily."

"But... the ultimate world number one will definitely be me!" Tie Lanyun said, "Because, they are all practicing martial arts. But me? I am a part of martial arts!"

Tie Lanyun's eyes were burning.

His wife smiled as she watched this scene. That night, on the national team's training ground, she saw this man practicing his saber barefoot all alone, and she was drawn to him.

"I believe in you. You will definitely be the world number one." his wife said.

"Becoming the world number one isn't the most fascinating thing." Tie Lanyun said, "The most fascinating thing is the process of becoming the world number one! Defeating one powerful opponent after another!"

After finishing lunch, Tie Lanyun picked up his shield and saber again and continued to practice alone in the factory.

One must have a strong heart to endure this loneliness forever.

...

That night, the second round of the national Huozhong Cup officially began.

"The competition has started." The six members of the Pearwood Team gathered together, sitting in the stands, watching the exciting duels taking place.

The first match was between the Willow Sea Oldies Team and the Frost Rain Team!

"Dad and the others won't have it as easy as they did in the first round." Xu Jingming observed and said.

"The Frost Rain Team has Gu Chong, Lian Shuang, and several other experts." Li Miaomiao said, "Four against five... Uncle and the others are still a bit short."

In this match, the four older members of the Willow Sea Oldies Team cooperated tacitly and their moves were skilled, but as the sharpshooter 'Zhou Fan' was forcibly rushed and killed by the Frost Rain Team, they completely fell into a disadvantage.

They fought until only Xu Hong, who wielded dual shields, was left before Willow Sea finally made his move.

The remaining two members of the Frost Rain Team also cooperated to besiege Willow Sea.

"Hua."

A saber strike.

The saber light flashed, simultaneously cutting through the two members of the Frost Rain Team, cutting through their heavy armor and light armor, killing them both.

The Willow Sea Oldies Team won!

"This is the world's number one!" Host Liu Xin couldn't help but say, "He even split heavy armor with a single strike, and he killed two people with one strike."

"The strength of the world's number one is truly terrifying." Male guest Jin Fan said, "Other experts can't even block a single move in front of him."

Female guest Ju Wenqing said with a smile, "As of now, only six people in the world have passed the third level of the Star Tower. But Shifu Willow Sea cleared it a month ago! He cleared it as soon as the Star Tower opened! His strength gives him a huge advantage over others on the榜单 (bǎngdān - list), not to mention ordinary experts."

"In the next match, we'll see the teacher Lei Yunfang, who is known as the world's number one in footwork." Host Liu Xin said, "He and Shifu Willow Sea haven't publicly fought each other in the virtual world yet."

...

The second match was between the Lei Yunfang Team and the Hundred Sparrow Team.

"The four teammates chosen by senior Lei Yunfang are a bit weak." Heng Fang watched and sighed, "Although Willow Sea chose folk players, each of them has powerful abilities. The four folk players chosen by Lei Yunfang are much more mediocre."

"Senior Lei Yunfang alone is enough to win." Wang Yi said.

Xu Jingming was also watching.

Lei Yunfang's four teammates barely managed to hold back two of the opponents. Senior Lei Yunfang, dressed in green, carrying two sabers on his back, moved with seemingly casual steps, but he was terrifyingly fast. In a blur, he quickly caught up with one enemy after another.

Each time he approached an enemy, it was with a single saber strike! Although he carried two sabers, drawing one was enough.

Forcing three members of the Hundred Sparrow Team to gather and fight Lei Yunfang, it was still a single saber that easily killed all opponents. The people of the Hundred Sparrow Team couldn't even touch Lei Yunfang's clothes.

His teammates killed one person, and senior Lei Yunfang killed four, ending the match.

"How can his footwork be so terrifying?" Xu Jingming watched intently. His footwork was still stuck at Tier 2 99%, while senior Lei Yunfang's footwork was already at Tier 3 when the virtual world first opened. Now it was even more marvelous. Xu Jingming felt it was a work of art.

He was clearly just taking two steps, but it was as if space itself was changing.

...

The third match was between the Shield Axe Team and the Sword Purity Team.

"Qin Ge of the Sword Purity Team is a talented folk expert who should be able to grow if given enough time." Xu Jingming praised, "But his opponent is Xiong Tianshan, who has already broken through to Tier 3 and has a wealth of combat experience. The Sword Purity Team has no hope at all."

It was a crushing victory.

...

The fourth match was between the Thunder Team and the Cloud Mountain Team.

"My god." Yang Qingshuo's eyes widened.

"They're going crazy!" Heng Fang also exclaimed in amazement.

Xu Jingming also watched solemnly. This match was unexpectedly exciting, with fierce fighting on both sides.

"There are a total of five players in Xia country who have won the World Martial Arts Tournament, including Yang Yu and Gao Chong." Liu Chongyuan said, "They are very strong when they team up. And although Huo Qingshan and Chang Qingpeng of the Cloud Mountain Team haven't won the world number one title, they are also two martial arts masters. The cooperation between these two masters... is actually not at all at a disadvantage."

The core of the two teams was Gao Chong and Yang Yu on one side, and Huo Qingshan and Chang Qingpeng on the other. The other teammates were clearly inferior.

"The two teams are very close in strength, so it depends on their performance on the spot." Xu Jingming could also see that the two teams were pulling back and forth, each calculating and cooperating.

This battle lasted for more than nine minutes, a rare occurrence, and in the end, only Huo Qingshan, with a severed arm, was left on the field.

The Cloud Mountain Team won! The Thunder Team was eliminated!

"This match was the most evenly matched of the first four." Wang Yi praised.

"The next match will be our turn." Xu Jingming said. Wang Yi, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Liu Chongyuan were also full of fighting spirit. After watching the first four matches, they were all eager for battle.