Chapter 83 The Neighbor

On the evening of August 30th, Master Liu Hai also moved to his new home, becoming Xu Jingming's neighbor and the owner of house number 7 in the residential complex.

In the courtyard of the residence, the lights were dim and yellow.

"Master, do you live here alone?" Xu Jingming and Liu Hai sat in the courtyard.

"I've been used to it for many years," Liu Hai said with a burly frame and a smile. "Besides, I'm a martial arts fanatic who doesn't care about anything when I practice! My wife likes excitement; she has her own career in Beijing. My children also have their own careers in Beijing. They can move here when they want to."

Xu Jingming felt that it was a bit too lonely for his master to live alone.

"It's good to have some peace and quiet."

Liu Hai asked, "Jingming, what have you gained from exploring the virtual world network?"

"I just feel that the entire universe human alliance is so vast, with countless civilizations," Xu Jingming said with emotion. "On Blue Star, I thought I was pretty good. But after being exposed to the ocean of the entire universe human civilization, I realized that I'm just ordinary. If I randomly enter a virtual game world, there's a whole bunch of people stronger than me."

"The universe is vast, and there are always experts beyond experts," Liu Hai said, looking forward to it. "My Xia nation's Tai Chi lineage was created by our ancestors and perfected over generations. If it can absorb the nourishment of countless civilizations in the universe, I wonder what level of transformation the Tai Chi lineage can reach."

Xu Jingming nodded, "After becoming a cosmic lifeform, you have a long lifespan. In your hands, Master, the Tai Chi lineage will definitely reach an unprecedented height."

The predecessors may have been incredibly wise, but limited by their knowledge and lifespan, the achievements of the Tai Chi lineage were limited to that extent.

Liu Hai now has a lifespan of three thousand years. How long is the history of the Xia nation?

"I feel like you, you should have already broken through to the mid-stage of cosmic lifeforms, right?" Liu Hai looked at his disciple. He could sense that even though his disciple's life aura was restrained, it still had a faint sense of oppression.

"I just broke through a few days ago," Xu Jingming nodded. "Master, I estimate it won't be long before you break through as well."

"Yeah."

Liu Hai nodded, "Becoming a cosmic lifeform greatly enhances the mind and consciousness. I directly broke through to the fifth level, 82%. It's not far from the sixth level. By the way, do you have any advice for the virtual world network? I'm completely clueless right now."

Xu Jingming thought for a moment and said, "You can start by researching the virtual worlds that are ranked in the top 100 in the universe. Try to explore them. The first month or two should be spent exploring. Don't rush to settle down in a certain virtual world for a long time. My core focus is currently the 'Blood Rain World.' If I can establish a foothold there, I can invite Master to come with me. Right now, I'm still in the wandering stage."

"Blood Rain World?" Liu Hai's eyes lit up. "You're planning to settle down in that world?"

"The Blood Rain World has a very special origin and is worth investing more effort in," Xu Jingming nodded. "I estimate it will take a few more months before I can establish a foothold."

In a month, he had to serve as a guard for the Fei family, escorting them to the Imperial Capital.

Xu Jingming was thinking of establishing a foothold in the Imperial Capital of the Blood Rain World!

If there was a way, he would help his master, Liu Hai, also establish a foothold in the Imperial Capital. Two good heads are better than one. In the Blood Rain World, with his master's help, many things would be more convenient for him.

"Alright, then it's settled," Liu Hai stood up. "I'm too curious. I'm going to take a look at the virtual world network first."

"Then I won't disturb you, Master," Xu Jingming said with a smile as he got up to bid farewell.

He was in a good mood.

Since the virtual world was officially opened on Blue Star, he was the first cosmic lifeform in the Xia nation, and his master was the second. Next, there would be a third, a fourth… It wasn't just him alone striving for the entire Blue Star civilization, but a group of people!

******

Virtual world network, personal space.

Xu Jingming first chose to serve as a sparring partner in the 'Apex of Cold Weapons' virtual world and set the price at "20,000 universe coins per hour."

There was no other way. In reality, his life level had increased, and after reaching the mid-stage of cosmic lifeforms! His body had evolved, and his brain had naturally evolved as well. His mind and consciousness had been greatly enhanced… making his movements more subtle and precise during combat, naturally improving his combat strength.

Moreover, he had also mastered the *Space-Time Scroll* in the five volumes of gunplay, officially reaching a combat bonus of 1020%.

Being able to break through the threshold of a ten-fold combat bonus meant that the sparring price naturally had to increase.

"The higher the sparring price, the lower the probability of being selected," Xu Jingming thought to himself. He chose to serve as a sparring partner just to have it listed there! Because the waiting time would be very long. If he was lucky, someone might choose him as a sparring partner in a little while. If he was unlucky, it might take several hours for someone to choose him.

Because among the cosmic citizens, there were very few who were willing to spend so much money for just one hour of sparring.

"Meteor training."

While idling, Xu Jingming practiced his gunplay in his personal martial arts training ground.

Burning meteorites, traveling at super high speed, tore through the sky and smashed towards Xu Jingming's area.

"Bang, bang, bang." The spear danced, causing the meteorites to fall to the side. Xu Jingming tried to combine the artistic conceptions of the *Flowing Water Scroll* and the *Space-Time Scroll* gunplay, pursuing the limits of power and speed.

"The mind should be as silent as a star, comprehending the forms of all living things, drawing on the power of all things, and gathering gun momentum. As the momentum gathers, it will become greater and greater, so that it can be unstoppable and unleash that kind of extreme power and speed." Xu Jingming practiced his gunplay. Although he had gained some understanding from Lord Luo's words, he knew that knowing was one thing, and practicing was another.

Because momentum is constantly changing.

The enemy is targeting you, trying to defeat or even kill you!

I want to grasp all the surrounding factors and guide the momentum of all things, but the more skilled the enemy, the more they will 'interrupt' and 'destroy' this momentum. This process of mutual struggle requires enough patience! The mind also needs to be calm enough to seize every opportunity to win.

"Bang, bang, bang." Countless meteorites fell, and Xu Jingming resisted them one after another, his gunplay becoming more and more fierce.

"Boom."

Suddenly, a spear directly penetrated a meteorite, causing it to completely explode.

The other meteorites in the sky all stagnated and then turned into nothingness.

Xu Jingming glanced at the 'Apex of Cold Weapons' virtual world: "I've been idling for so long, and no one has chosen me?"

Perhaps among the group of sparring partners who had reached a 'ten-fold combat bonus,' he was too unremarkable.

"It's about time. With a combat bonus of ten times! I can try 'Escape from the Dark Abyss'," Xu Jingming first canceled the sparring partner idle status and then clicked on the 'Escape from the Dark Abyss' side quest in the Dark Abyss world.

This task only had three large-scale events each day. Of course, Xu Jingming was also reluctant to spend the money.

"A large-scale event costs one million universe coins to start. In the entire Hunter Cosmos Region… there are only three events each day. There are too many experts among the participants. Some 'eighth-order star streamers' often stream the escape from the abyss. Occasionally, ninth-order powerhouses try it out," Xu Jingming shook his head.

The prize money for large-scale events was attractive.

But the competitors were too strong! Occasionally there were ninth-order, and there were generally over a hundred eighth-order! There were generally tens of thousands of seventh-order! Among the tens of thousands of seventh-order experts, there were naturally some who were extremely strong in actual combat. Many were experienced! As for some fifth and sixth-order participants, most of them were 'money-gifting boys'! Unless they had extremely rare talent, willpower, and luck, it was difficult for those below the seventh-order to reach the top 100.

"That Lord Luo, who is so much weaker than me, is probably just donating money if he participates in a large-scale event," Xu Jingming thought to himself.

Because it was difficult to earn money, and because his hometown, Blue Star civilization, had a weak foundation, Xu Jingming was also very cautious when spending money.

"On the other hand, because there is no limit to the number of medium-sized events, you can participate at any time. There are far fewer experts," Xu Jingming thought to himself. "I can try to compete."

"Sign up! 100,000 universe coins!"

Xu Jingming quickly signed up for the second-level task of escaping from the Dark Abyss. The registration fee was 100,000, and there were 1 million participating cosmic citizens. The total prize pool was 100 billion universe coins and 50% of the audience's tips.

……

For the second-level task, once the quota was full, the competition could start immediately!

And the registration was open to the entire Hunter Cosmos Region (different cosmos regions were too far apart, and there was still a delay through the virtual world network, so they would not compete on the same stage). The number of registrations grew very quickly. When Xu Jingming registered, there were only over 300,000 people, but in a little while, there were over 500,000 people.

Xu Jingming waited for about three minutes before the number of registrations reached 1 million.

"Whoosh."

Xu Jingming felt his vision change and arrived in a dark and empty place, with only himself.

At this moment, he was wearing shoes and sportswear, empty-handed.

"Please choose to modify your clothes and appearance." A voice sounded in the dark place. Xu Jingming looked at the panel that appeared in front of him, made no modifications, and chose 'Confirm'.

……

"I'll change my appearance first, otherwise, if my identity is exposed and I'm surrounded and attacked by others, it would be too embarrassing to be eliminated early," a blue-skinned woman wearing a hat said to her audience with a smile. "I need to make myself cuter."

As she spoke, she made herself smaller and adjusted her eyes, making them look like crescent moons when she smiled.

"Alright! My goal this time is very simple, at least to be in the top three, right?" The blue-skinned woman said with a smile.

"Tata, one punch for each."

"Tata, invincible iron fist."

"Tata, you're an eighth-order limit old monster. It's too bullying to participate in the medium-level escape from the Dark Abyss."

"Watch Tata lose!"

In her personal virtual live broadcast room, countless viewers were sitting in the stands watching, and the number of viewers had already reached tens of millions.

These viewers were all cosmic citizens!

Such a number of viewers was already astonishing.

"Alright, once the escape from the abyss event starts in a little while, I won't be able to see everyone's messages," the blue-skinned woman said. "But, everyone, watch my performance!"

As a cosmic lifeform who had cultivated for more than five thousand years, she had achieved many brilliant achievements. She had even represented the Star Alliance and fought fiercely with teams from other Star Alliances. She had also achieved extremely high achievements in multiple virtual worlds, which was how she had accumulated so many cosmic citizen fans.

……

"I made a mistake in the last match. I was careless and was schemed against and surrounded," a gray-skinned bald man rubbed his head. "But to be honest, is it so difficult to escape from the abyss even at the medium level now? I used to get first place several times. I haven't been in the top ten even once in twenty-one consecutive days!"

"Let's try again." The gray-skinned bald man's eyes were full of fighting spirit.

"Demon Blade, you're too arrogant. You need to be more cautious."

"I don't think you'll even be able to get into the top 100 this time."

"You should still choose the weakest level to escape from the abyss. This level is too difficult for you now!"

Many viewers were talking.

This star streamer named 'Demon Blade' was a seventh-order cosmic lifeform, but his swordsmanship was extraordinary, and his live broadcasts were also very interesting. Hundreds of thousands of cosmic citizens were watching.

……

"Ake and I are here again! This time, our brothers don't have high requirements. We just need to get into the top 100," two brothers with soft tentacles chatted as they entered the dark and empty place and began to change their appearance and clothing. "We need to change our appearance, otherwise, we'll be surrounded and attacked if we're recognized."

Both of them were only sixth-order cosmic lifeforms, but their combat skills were relatively strong. They were also small streamers in the universe, with several hundred viewers watching their live broadcasts. This was already the result of the brothers' desperate efforts. There were countless 'sixth-order cosmic lifeforms' in the universe, and it was too difficult to make a name for yourself.

******

"5…4…3…2…1!"

Xu Jingming felt the scene in front of him change, and he was in a vast land with a dark red sky and densely packed people.

They wore different clothes and had different appearances! Some were less than a meter tall, while others were more than five meters tall. Some had delicate and translucent skin, allowing you to see the blood vessels inside, while others had thick skin like rocks. These 'one million cosmic citizens' came from countless civilizations in the Hunter Cosmos Region.

"For this 'Escape from the Dark Abyss' task, the participants come from 933,255 universe civilizations, including 2 eighth-order cosmic lifeforms, 156 seventh-order cosmic lifeforms, over 100,000 sixth-order cosmic lifeforms, and the rest are all fifth-order cosmic lifeforms."

"The one million cosmic citizens, the last one to survive, is the only one who is qualified to escape from the Dark Abyss, and he will receive 50% of the prize money in the prize pool."

"You are currently in the 20th level of the Dark Abyss. The rules for the first round are: As long as you kill one person, you can go to the 19th level of the abyss."

"Now, the task begins."

The mighty voice resounded everywhere.

The one million cosmic citizens participating in the event, including Xu Jingming, who was participating for the first time, had long understood the rules. They had even watched many videos.

"Passing the first three rounds will earn back the registration fee," Xu Jingming knew this very well. If he couldn't pass the first three rounds, he wouldn't have any income. As long as he passed the first three rounds… at least he wouldn't lose money! The further he went, the more he would earn.

"In the first three rounds, I need to be careful and not run into any tough opponents," Xu Jingming carefully looked around.

"What are you looking at?" A gray-skinned man with a height of three meters shouted and rushed to Xu Jingming, slapping him with his palm.

Xu Jingming's figure flashed. His footwork was very fast, and he was also relatively small and more agile. While dodging the slap, he also got close to the gray-skinned man.

*Puff!*

A lightning-fast spring kick from his right foot accurately kicked the three-meter-tall giant's vital spot in his lower body.

Xu Jingming had practiced *chuojiao* (piercing foot) since he was a child, but he was also good at other kicking techniques! *Chuojiao* had great power, but the moves were relatively slow. The 'spring kick' was the fastest move Xu Jingming had practiced. His calf was like a spring, popping out instantly, as fast as a phantom.

"Oooo--" The giant's eyes widened, and he clutched his lower body, squatting down with his legs clamped together.

*Puff!*

His right foot followed with another spring kick, kicking the giant's throat. *Crack*--his throat caved in. The giant had a look of shock and anger in his eyes and then collapsed weakly.

"So what if you're big? In the escape from the abyss task, everyone has the same physical attributes. This alien giant probably doesn't have a combat bonus of more than 200%," Xu Jingming thought as a dark red pillar of light descended, enveloping Xu Jingming and sending him to a higher level—the 19th level of the Dark Abyss.

……

"Puff."

Xu Jingming's fist was like a spear, turning into a phantom and piercing through the chest of a red-haired, red-skinned strong man.

"Scared me into using my full strength. Another weakling," Xu Jingming secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was impossible to tell from the surface whether his opponent was a fifth-order or an eighth-order! After all, they all had the same physical attributes.

……

An adorable alien with a fluffy tail, only one and a half meters tall, had a ghostly movement technique that was even better than Xu Jingming's and treated Xu Jingming as prey.

"Little darling, don't resist." The alien stuck out its little tongue and licked it, flashing its figure and reaching out its claws to grab Xu Jingming's throat.

Xu Jingming had always been cautious and followed his own gunplay ideology, meeting the enemy head-on.

Xu Jingming's arm was like a spear shaft, blocking the alien's claw with a horizontal movement. At the same time, he took a step forward and smashed his elbow. The alien actually used its tail in a strange way to block the elbow strike in front of its chest. Xu Jingming's hand, which had been raised high during the elbow strike, slapped down! A slap directly struck the petite alien's face, smashing its head into nothingness.

A dark red pillar of light descended, and Xu Jingming arrived at the 17th level of the Dark Abyss.

"Good luck," Xu Jingming thought to himself happily. "The opponents in the first three rounds weren't very strong. Only the one with the tail blocked a few of my moves."

"After passing the first three rounds, at least I've earned back the registration fee."

Xu Jingming stood on the vast land. In the 17th level of the Dark Abyss, the sky was gloomy, the ground was gray, and cosmic citizens arrived here one after another.

Finally, 125,000 cosmic citizens arrived here! Of the one million who had signed up before, only this many remained.

"It's going to be dangerous from now on," Xu Jingming became even more cautious. The rules would become more and more stringent later on, and it would be easier to encounter experts.