Chapter 1 Setback

Sun Li sat on his sofa, holding a glass of red wine, gently swirling it. Looking at the red hue in the glass under the light, he chuckled softly.

"I really misjudged him back then. I thought Xu Jingming, who was ranked seventh when the virtual game had just started, was young, had great potential, and would shine in the Fireseed Cup competition," Sun Li murmured. "I was thinking of latching onto a great teammate and earning a big bonus. Who knew he was a fake?"

"He's even worse off than I am now. At least I made it into the Top Ten Archers, even if it was just at the bottom. But I'm still a first-rate archer in Xia country."

"Now there are close-combat warriors everywhere, and archers are scarce. I'm much more sought after than Xu Jingming," Sun Li thought. "Nowadays, many large groups and companies are entering the virtual world to form teams. Professional teams are the most promising."

"I joined the Golden Roc team. The captain is Tie Lianyun! The other three teammates are also on the same level as Xu Jingming. It's just that archers are too scarce that they found me." Sun Li still felt very excited.

The captain was Tie Lianyun!

Tie Lianyun had won three world championships in the World Martial Arts Competition! Nowadays, only Liu Hai, Lei Yunfang, and Zhou Yi dared to say they were stronger than him.

"Buzz."

Sun Li looked at the incoming call, put down his wine glass, and answered the video call.

"Sun Li," the silver-haired youth on the other end of the phone smiled. "Did the money arrive?"

"I received it," Sun Li said with a smile.

"During the Fireseed Cup competition, I'll be watching your performance," the silver-haired youth said. "This is the Golden Roc Group's first foray into the gaming industry, and you, as an archer, are a very important part of the team."

Sun Li nodded and said, "Don't worry, Director Tian. My four teammates are very strong. Working with them, I'm confident I can perform even better."

The silver-haired youth nodded. "But there's one thing I have to remind you. The team is still trying to recruit Wang Yi. If Wang Yi is willing to join our Golden Roc team, you can only be a substitute. Don't worry, you won't get a penny less!"

"Director Tian, I understand," Sun Li said with a smile. "If the Great Demon King Wang Yi comes, I will naturally be a substitute obediently. I am very clear about the gap between her and me."

The silver-haired youth nodded. "Okay, get ready. In an hour, we'll start a practice match."

"Okay," Sun Li nodded with a smile.

After hanging up the phone, Sun Li's face turned gloomy, and he sneered: "Great Demon King Wang Yi? She was already a god-level archer on the first day the virtual world opened, and she's much more terrifying now. Among today's archers, Zhou Yi is in a league of his own, and second only to him are Wang Yi and Zhuang Ziyu! Wang Yi is also a beautiful archer and a super popular streamer. I know there are several large group teams vying for her. Is it so easy to get her?"

"I really envy them."

"Zhou Yi built his own team and disdains cooperating with any group. A group of experts took the initiative to join!"

"The Great Demon King Wang Yi, the strongest female archer, is extremely popular, and major groups are chasing after her."

"Zhuang Ziyu, Tianyin Group is cooperating with him, building a team entirely around him as the core."

Sun Li sighed, "Only those three archers are so special."

There was no way around it.

In terms of archer strength, those three were significantly stronger than the archers behind them.

For a long time, Xia country only had three super archers: Zhou Yi, Wang Yi, and Zhuang Ziyu.

All three of them became god-level archers in the ranking matches on the first day. Their archery skills were already terrifying in real life, and they had long been on Xia country's key cultivation list. After a month of hard training in the virtual world, their archery skills naturally became even more incredible.

...

In the living room, after Xu Jingming finished his call with Sun Li, he opened the light screen and added Sun Li to the blacklist.

"Jingming, don't be angry," Li Miaomiao said softly.

Xu Jingming said, "Actually, I should have realized long ago that Sun Li joined my team because of the strength and potential I showed. It's not surprising that he's leaving now."

Li Miaomiao comforted him: "Don't blame yourself. Sun Li is a petty person. How could you know what petty people think when you judge others by yourself? If he wants to leave, he should have left earlier. It's already the 25th today, near the end of the month! The experts who should have teamed up have already done so. Leaving the team at this time is really harmful!"

Xu Jingming nodded and said, "He did it on purpose. He didn't even bother to say hello to the three teammates! Everyone has been training and cooperating for so long, and he just leaves, without even an apology."

Li Miaomiao said, "Don't bother with such a petty person in the future. It's not worth getting angry over. Actually, when the team was formed, everyone signed a contract. With a contract, he wouldn't be able to quit."

"Our team was just a verbal agreement, and there was no signed salary, so it's not easy to contractually restrain him," Xu Jingming said. "Since we're not of one mind, it's fine if he leaves!"

Li Miaomiao nodded. "What's most urgent for us now is to find the last teammate! At the beginning of the month, many people were willing to team up with you. But now, those who aspire to the Fireseed Cup competition are probably already teamed up. Where can we find someone now? Especially an archer."

"Let's slowly figure out a solution. I'll go find Ashuo and the others. I have to tell them about this." Xu Jingming got up and walked towards the bedroom.

Li Miaomiao watched this scene and opened her work group: "Sister Kong, Xiao Zeng, quickly check all the information of the archers for me. Have they joined a team? Is there any possibility of inviting them?"

"Received!"

"Received!" The two assistants immediately went to collect information.

******

Inside the virtual world, in one's personal space.

"Why did you suddenly summon us? What's up?" Heng Fang lay comfortably on the sofa, holding grapes and looking at the icy lake scenery on the snow-capped mountain peak outside the window.

"Why isn't Sun Li here?" Liu Chongyuan and Yang Qingshuo also sat aside, eating casually.

The brothers were always casual with each other.

Xu Jingming sat there and said, "He quit the team."

Heng Fang, Liu Chongyuan, and Yang Qingshuo were all stunned.

"Are you kidding me?" Liu Chongyuan couldn't believe it. "It's already the 25th today. We're registering in three days, and he quit? How many times have we trained together?"

"I saved his video call with me. You can watch it." Xu Jingming sent the video.

"... Help me pass the message. There's no way. I have to make money too." In the video, Sun Li hung up very simply after speaking.

"A man's word is his bond! Does he treat what he said in the past as farts?" Heng Fang had a fierce look between his eyebrows. "Even if he wanted to leave, couldn't he have said it earlier?"

Yang Qingshuo, who had the best temper, was also a little annoyed: "The virtual world has only been open for a month, and we've been training together for twenty days! He suddenly quit the team, wasting our training time."

"We were his sparring partners! Surrounding him and training his close-range archery." Liu Chongyuan also said angrily, "His archery skills have improved, but he suddenly quit the team! He didn't even bother to say hello to us!"

"Without a few of us as free sparring partners, could his close-range archery skills have improved so quickly? Could he have entered the ranks of the Top Ten Archers?" Heng Fang cursed, "The competition is about to start, and he quit the team, without even an apology. What an ingrate!"

"He's just a petty person," Xu Jingming said. "The most important thing now is to find the last teammate."

"It's too difficult to find an archer now," Liu Chongyuan shook his head.

"We're registering soon, and we're looking for an archer now?" Heng Fang also had a headache. "In Wang Xianggu's ranking of the top hundred experts, there are only ten archers. The strongest is Zhou Yi, the second tier is Zhuang Ziyu and Wang Yi. There are also two in the third tier. There are five in the fourth tier."

"As far as I know, the only ones who haven't decided on teammates are the second-tier 'Wang Yi' and the fourth-tier 'Fang Sheng'," Heng Fang said. "Several teams are also inviting Fang Sheng. Wang Yi is even being snatched up like crazy. The previous Tianlan Group directly offered a signing bonus of one hundred million to sign Wang Yi, but Wang Yi ignored them. Several well-known large groups are vying for her."

"Everyone knows the importance of the virtual world. Wang Yi's popularity as the strongest beautiful archer is what those large groups value. What the large groups want is popularity," Yang Qingshuo said.

"We can't use money to pave the way. The chances of inviting Wang Yi and Fang Sheng are very low," Liu Chongyuan said.

"Brother Xu, don't you know Wang Yi?" Yang Qingshuo said.

"We've only fought a few times. We don't have a deep friendship." Xu Jingming shook his head. "Let's think of a way first. If we really can't find an archer, then we'll find another warrior. Five warriors can also charge forward."

"With an archer, the team undergoes a qualitative change," Heng Fang said. "If we can't find any of the Top Ten Archers, even if we invite a weaker archer, it won't be of much use."

"Let's think of ways separately. We'll meet again in three days. After all, the registration deadline is the evening of the 31st," Xu Jingming said.

"Okay, let's think of ways separately."

The four temporarily dispersed.

...

"Boss, this is all the information we've collected on the famous god-level archers. There are twenty-seven in total. The famous Top Ten Archers, and the seventeen behind them... Their strength is very close to Sun Li, who quit the team, but their close-combat fighting is not as good as Sun Li's," Sister Kong said.

Li Miaomiao looked at the information in front of her and stared at a name above: "Wang Yi?"

"Wang Yi is the archer second only to Zhou Yi. She is also in the second tier in the expert rankings set by Wang Xianggu," Sister Kong said. "Among the archers in the second tier, there are only Wang Yi and Zhuang Ziyu. She is also a beautiful woman and is very popular. Many large groups are vying for her now."

"We've met Wang Yi before, right?" Li Miaomiao said.

"Dai Xiaoqing brought Wang Yi here. Wang Yi is still your fan and likes your songs very much," Xiao Zeng said.

"Xiaoqing and Wang Yi are good friends." Li Miaomiao thought for a moment. "You guys leave first. I'll chat with Xiaoqing."

"Okay." Sister Kong and Xiao Zeng left.

Li Miaomiao directly invited Dai Xiaoqing.

Soon...

"Whoosh."

A tall and spirited young girl came to Li Miaomiao's personal space.

"Sister-in-law, what's the matter you're looking for me for?" Dai Xiaoqing said with a smile. She was Dai Tongda's daughter and Xu Jingming's junior sister.