Chapter 113 Wedding and Summons

"Di di di."

Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao were kissing when a message notification interrupted them. They stopped, smiling at each other.

"Let me see," Xu Jingming said, tapping open the light screen. "It's an official summons from the virtual world for the top ten players in global points."

"Official summons? Then you should go quickly," Li Miaomiao said.

"No rush, it's in half an hour." Xu Jingming hugged his girlfriend. "The most important thing for us now is tomorrow's wedding. Let's double-check everything to make sure we're prepared."

Li Miaomiao also opened her light screen, looking at the preparation checklist: "Invitations for family and friends, our outfits, the banquet menu..."

Xu Jingming checked alongside her.

Because the wedding was being held in the virtual world, the requirements were naturally higher.

...

Half an hour later.

"Accept invitation." Xu Jingming gently clicked, accepting the virtual world's official invitation.

Whoosh.

He arrived at a large conference room with a massive circular table, each person having their own seat.

"Hmm?" Xu Jingming sat down in his seat. His master, Liu Hai, was beside him, and Tiano Xire was on the other side of Liu Hai.

"Hello," Tiano Xire said with a bright smile, showing his pearly white teeth as he greeted Xu Jingming and Liu Hai.

"Tiano," Xu Jingming and Liu Hai said, looking at the young man.

Tiano Xire was younger than both of them, and his rate of progress was terrifying.

"I didn't expect your Xia country to produce two such experts," Tiano Xire said with a grin, holding a drink in one hand. "Especially Liu Hai, you're so old, yet your strength is growing so quickly; you managed to suppress me for months. But... you're slowly falling behind. The battle for the strongest on Earth will likely be between me and Xu Jingming."

Liu Hai looked at Tiano and smiled. "Young man, your courage is commendable."

"My strength is also very strong," Tiano Xire said proudly, his gaze turning to Xu Jingming with curiosity and anticipation. "Xu Jingming, your progress is much faster than your master's! You were so much weaker than me in the third level of the Star Tower, but you caught up to me and your master in the fourth level. I'm looking forward to fighting you."

"I'm ready for a match anytime," Xu Jingming replied.

"No rush, no rush," Tiano Xire said, shaking his head. "There's no point in fighting now; let's wait until we break through to the fifth realm."

As they spoke, the other experts in the top ten of the overall rankings gathered. Ajinlov, Tiger Foson, Jon Pierre, Miyakawa Akari, Haru Singh, Zhao Fan, and Merritt also observed the exchange between the world's top three.

"Hello, Senior Jon, you were the martial arts athlete I admired most when I was young. You never gave up on martial arts despite enduring so many hardships," Haru Singh said to Jon Pierre with a hint of admiration.

"Haha..." Jon Pierre laughed. "The suffering I've endured is nothing compared to yours."

"After I became paralyzed, I didn't dare to hope for anything from martial arts. There was no need to persevere; I just drifted along, eating and waiting for death," Haru Singh said, shaking his head. "It was the emergence of the evolutionary method that changed my fate. But Senior Jon, your repeated injuries and comebacks, your dedication and persistence in martial arts are even more admirable."

Jon Pierre said with a smile, "Those are all in the past. Today, countless people around the world are striving, and the competition is much more intense than it used to be."

Xu Jingming also noticed the middle-aged white man.

Jon Pierre was a legendary martial arts athlete from the White Eagle Federation. His past achievements were not as great as the Three Kings of the martial arts world, nor even as high as Tie Lianyin's. His fate was full of twists and turns, and his experiences had once inspired Xu Jingming.

Xu Jingming had broken his leg, but Jon's experiences were even more fraught with setbacks, and his injuries were much more severe than Xu Jingming's.

Jon Pierre came from the slums of the White Eagle Federation. Back then, the Blue Star Alliance's welfare system wasn't yet widespread, and his childhood was very difficult. Jon Pierre had an extremely high aptitude, and at the age of 25, he won first place in the World Martial Arts Competition. After that, he suffered a broken leg and was forced to retire for three years to recover. After his comeback, he reached the world's top four. Then, his left arm was broken, and he was forced to retire again.

He retired three times, and he had dozens of injuries all over his body. There were three injuries that were enough to force a professional athlete to retire completely, but he persevered. He spent most of his career recovering from injuries, making one comeback after another with his scarred body.

What the martial arts world admired most was that Jon Pierre never complained about his misfortune despite encountering so many hardships, and he was never stingy with his guidance to the younger generations of the martial arts world. He was like a martial arts kaleidoscope, having taught many professional athletes in the White Eagle Federation. Now, he was over fifty years old.

He had only recently barely passed the fourth level of the Star Tower, and he had also fought with Fang Yu, losing to Fang Yu.

However...

Jon Pierre's martial arts courses had very high ratings, and with the support of the entire White Eagle Federation, his total points were ultimately eighth! Many players who were stronger than him didn't have as many total points as he did.

"Master Liu Hai is proficient in all kinds of martial arts," Xu Jingming thought. "Jon Pierre is a weaker version of Master! He's also proficient in all kinds of martial arts and is good at teaching."

"Jingming."

Liu Hai also looked around, sighing. "I originally thought that with billions of people competing globally, the top ten professional players would be very few in half a year. But now it seems I was wrong. There's you, me, Jon, and Tiger Foson, who are all professional players."

"The further one goes in martial arts cultivation, the more important it becomes to temper the heart," Xu Jingming also nodded. "Many professional players have devoted half their lives to martial arts and have invested too much emotion in martial arts. Perhaps they are also more devout."

"Professional players who are devout enough to martial arts are also in the minority," Liu Hai said, shaking his head. "Many professional players only treat it as a profession, a way to make money."

He had taught many disciples and had long seen things clearly.

"Although the devout are in the minority, there are still some," Xu Jingming said. "Today, countless people around the world are focused on martial arts for long periods of time every day. There must be many who are devout and many who are talented. The vast majority of professional players will be surpassed! But a very small number of professional players who are talented enough and devout for decades may well stand at the peak for longer."

"Like Master, Tiger Foson, and Jon Pierre," Xu Jingming said. "They are all devout enough to martial arts."

Liu Hai nodded. "Only those who are truly focused on martial arts can achieve great things."

Focus was only one aspect; talent and comprehension were also very important.

Tie Lianyin was also very focused and crazy, but in the era of global competition, his growth rate was clearly still a bit slow.

"Everyone."

At the conference table, besides the top ten in total points, were twelve officials from the virtual world. The twelve people were of various races, and the meeting was hosted by a middle-aged black man.

The middle-aged black man smiled and said, "First, on behalf of the entire Blue Star Alliance, I would like to thank you for your contributions to the people of Blue Star."

"You will also receive contribution points," the middle-aged black man said. "First place receives 100 contribution points, second place receives 60 contribution points, third place receives 50 contribution points, fourth place receives 40 contribution points, fifth place receives 35 contribution points, sixth place receives 30 contribution points, seventh place receives 25 contribution points, eighth place receives 20 contribution points, ninth place receives 15 contribution points, and tenth place receives 10 contribution points."

"To obtain contribution points, you must make contributions to the entire Blue Star Alliance," the middle-aged black man said. "Every contribution point is very precious, so please cherish them."

"This is the exchange form."

As the middle-aged black man spoke, forms flew toward Xu Jingming and the other ten.

"You must carefully consider what resources you want to exchange for, because it will be very difficult to obtain contribution points again," the middle-aged black man said. "There is no time limit for exchanging contribution points for resources. You can exchange them now, or you can exchange them in three or five years."

"But there is one condition: the resources exchanged can only be used on yourselves," the middle-aged black man said.

Xu Jingming and the others were now looking at the exchange list.