Chapter 16芒飞’s Choice

Xu Jingming transformed into a shooting star and landed on a desolate planet. *Boom!*

At the summit of a tall mountain, Xu Jingming, with his shield on his back, gazed into the distance. On another mountain peak not far away stood a gaunt old man. This gaunt old man wore a close-fitting robe, as if he were attending a grand event, except he had a full 39 black spears floating behind him.

"Mr. Wu Ming, I'm very happy to be able to exchange blows with you." The gaunt old man, Mang Fei, smiled slightly. "Seeing you with a shield on your back, are you planning to use shield techniques against me? It seems I won't have the chance to experience Mr. Wu Ming's spearmanship."

"If I were to use spearmanship, I wouldn't have the slightest chance of winning." Xu Jingming said modestly, "Only with shield techniques might I have a chance to prevail." This old man before him, Mang Fei, also had an undisclosed true identity!

But he had participated in the Peak Combat for more than 1,200 years, using over a thousand years to grow from an ordinary eighth-order limit to the current ninth in the Hunter Cosmos域!

Someone with such a high ranking, even if they hadn't participated in the Mysterious Land selection, would definitely be recruited by some top power. At the very least, they would receive a Cosmos Legend-level inheritance, or even a Supreme inheritance. After all, there were quite a few Supreme inheritances.

Someone at the level of the top ten in the Hunter Cosmos域 was bound to have skills and a mind that were close to the limit. Barring special circumstances, they were figures who could become Origin lifeforms.

"In terms of offense, I'm inferior to him." Xu Jingming understood this point very well. "But overly fierce and violent offenses must have deficiencies in defense. That's my opportunity."

"This Wu Ming is rumored to have only cultivated the evolution method for thirty years. His talent far surpasses mine. I've cultivated for over 8,000 years, always wanting to charge into first place in the Hunter Cosmos域 and then become an Origin lifeform." Mang Fei thought to himself, "But seeing such a peerless genius, I'm afraid he'll quickly surpass me before long. Perhaps, it's time to become an Origin lifeform."

He had reached the threshold for becoming an Origin lifeform in terms of both body and mind.

But he wasn't in a hurry, continuing to pursue an even higher limit in his skills. However, Xu Jingming's brilliance was too dazzling, and his speed of progress was too fast. Mang Fei vaguely understood that his pursuit of first place in the Hunter Cosmos域 was probably hopeless.

"But I've cultivated for over 8,000 years, while he's only cultivated for 30 years. I'm still qualified to suppress him." Mang Fei's entire body suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light. His whole person transformed into a light being. His physical body was being converted into energy!

"There are countless types of cosmic energy." Having transformed into a light being, Mang Fei's eyes were also dazzlingly bright. He looked at Xu Jingming; his voice echoed throughout the entire planet, "Borrowing external power can far surpass oneself."

*Rumble!*

A huge, dark vortex suddenly appeared in the sky. Endless cosmic energy poured through the dark vortex, merging into Mang Fei's body.

Mang Fei stood there, and an incomparably huge human phantom appeared behind him! The phantom was over a hundred kilometers tall, entirely composed of dense cosmic energy. "Using one's own power to leverage cosmic energy." Xu Jingming watched this scene.

Although it still couldn't compare to the vast and boundless power that an Origin lifeform could leverage, the amount of external power that Mang Fei could mobilize as an eighth-order limit… still amazed Xu Jingming.

"In terms of mobilizing external power, I'm far inferior to him." Xu Jingming understood this point. This was the aspect that the other party excelled at; it was normal for him to be inferior. "Mr. Mang Fei, please!"

Xu Jingming was already holding his shields in both hands. As soon as he finished speaking, endless light also gathered from all directions, converging on his entire body. Xu Jingming also transformed into a light being, except the power he absorbed didn't leak out in the slightest; it all gathered within his body.

Clearly, he had a completely different style from Mang Fei. Mang Fei pursued the extreme degree of mobilizing external power. Xu Jingming pursued perfect control over all power, using close combat to face the enemy.

"Hahaha…" Mang Fei laughed loudly. The huge human light figure behind him manifested a spear over a hundred *li* long, and violently hurled it out. *Boom!!!*

This spear tore through the sky, reaching Xu Jingming almost instantly. Xu Jingming's figure became illusory, dodging this enormous spear that was over a hundred *li* long.

The spear, like light, slammed into a mountain, causing it to completely explode into powder. The spear had already pierced deep into the earth, causing the earth's crust to rumble and shake, with the force propagating outwards, affecting an area of over a thousand kilometers.

And that giant human light figure moved extremely quickly. As soon as it threw out one spear, it immediately grasped a second spear and hurled it out. One spear after another!

In less than a second, a full 39 spears, each over a hundred *li* long, were launched, bombarding the area where Xu Jingming was located.

This area was blasted into a massive pit with a radius of several hundred *li*. The terrifying impact force affected the entire planet's landmass. Xu Jingming, with dreamlike light and shadow footwork, dodged most of the spears. Even when he couldn't dodge, he used the shield in his hand to resist.

Upon contact, after being weakened by the shield, Xu Jingming was only forced to retreat by the force, without suffering any injuries himself.

"What terrifyingly comprehensive attacks." Xu Jingming held his dual shields, using them to block twice, while relying on his footwork to evade the rest.

"The Primordial Research Institute's lineage of footwork is indeed formidable." Mang Fei said with a smile. The giant figure behind him suddenly extended arms, a full thirty-nine arms all grasping spears from the earth.

Thirty-nine arms, holding thirty-nine spears. "Destruction!" Mang Fei softly uttered the two words.

The giant figure seemed to come alive, charging towards Xu Jingming!

Such a giant, with thirty-nine arms, thirty-nine spears each a hundred *li* long, stabbed towards Xu Jingming. Each strike was like an asteroid colliding with a planet, with the power to destroy all life on the surface of a planet.

The 39 spears were like heavenly pillars, even larger than many spaceships. Some spaceships would probably be pierced through in an instant in front of them. Each spear was as fast as lightning, and the 39 spears transformed into countless afterimages. A sky-covering, earth-shattering rain of spear shadows! "Come then." Xu Jingming's figure moved. During their last close combat, he used his shield to resist twice, testing the power of these spears. This time, Xu Jingming began to unleash his footwork to the limit.

Perhaps it was because of the *Primordial Star Conjecture - Light Chapter*; after so many years of research, Xu Jingming's greatest progress had been in his footwork. *Buzz*

When Xu Jingming moved, the flow of time around him seemed to slow down, and space was warping. Clearly, these spears were densely packed, without any gaps, but when the flow of time changed and space warped, gaps appeared.

Xu Jingming transformed into a flowing light, flowing through the gaps in these spear attacks, occasionally using his shield to resist. Each collision between the two sides generated terrifying aftershocks.

"Impressive."

"The clash between the ninth and eleventh in the Hunter Cosmos域 is truly terrifying." "Ordinary eighth-order limits wouldn't be able to withstand even a single move in front of them, right?"

"They've already reached almost the theoretical highest combat power level for eighth-order Star Cluster lifeforms. Even the one ranked first in the entire cosmos might only be slightly stronger, by one or two levels?"

"A difference of one level might be the difference between first and tenth place in the Hunter Cosmos域." Countless viewers focused on watching. The number of online viewers had already exceeded 6 billion. After all, Mang Fei also had a large number of fans, and Xu Jingming's fans were also constantly entering the live broadcast room, all watching this battle.

Some seventh- and eighth-orders could directly watch the battle. With their brain's processing speed, watching wasn't a problem. But what about those with weaker strength? They had to watch in 'slow motion.'

"Mang Fei's offense is fierce enough, and the cosmic energy he mobilizes is vast enough. Those ranked below 100 in the Hunter Cosmos域 wouldn't be able to withstand such a crazy attack." Chi Tong watched and praised, "I wouldn't be able to withstand it either."

"You wouldn't be able to withstand it either?" Qi Xiao laughed, "Aren't you very confident?"

"I haven't participated in many Cosmos Peak Combats," Chi Tong said. "Look at my junior brother, this footwork… He must have contemplated the Primordial Star a lot. He's already starting to influence space-time. Slightly influencing space-time can avoid 99% of the attacks, and he can resist the rest with his shield techniques." Qi Xiao nodded.

Her boyfriend's 'Junior Brother Wu Ming's' footwork was indeed unfathomable.

"Faced with such footwork, he could kill me with one move. I wouldn't even be able to touch him," Qi Xiao exclaimed.

"Mang Fei's strength is more than just this," Chi Tong observed. Although he was somewhat inferior in actual combat compared to these two, he was still close in level and could see more of the undercurrents in the battle.

"Bind!" Mang Fei said softly.

Xu Jingming, who had been battling the hundred-kilometer-tall giant, suddenly felt the surrounding air as if it had solidified. He encountered immense resistance even moving.

"As expected of Mang Fei." Xu Jingming had studied many of the opponent's battle videos before the exchange, which was why he chose dual shields. "Him leveraging cosmic energy to create a hundred-kilometer-tall giant is just the surface! The cosmic energy he's mobilizing also has a lot centered around the giant, influencing the surroundings."

"The giant's close-quarters combat and the invisible cosmic energy also affect the surroundings, silently forming an energy net with a radius of several hundred *li*." "Any movement I make within the energy net will be met with tremendous resistance." With such great resistance, Xu Jingming's footwork was greatly weakened. Mang Fei watched this scene from afar. He was long used to controlling that area with vast power like countless interwoven threads! It was naturally difficult for the enemy to win after falling into this net. *Boom boom boom.*

One spear after another continued to stab down madly. Xu Jingming could only evade a small portion of the spears with his footwork now; he needed to resist the others with his shield. *Rumble~~~* What terrifying attacks! The world-destroying spears were continuous and unending!

Mang Fei remotely and continuously guided the cosmic energy. The enormous vortex above him slowly rotated, maximizing the intensity of his attacks! "Hmm?" Mang Fei frowned slightly under the continuous onslaught.

Although Xu Jingming's ability to mobilize power was inferior to Mang Fei's, he completely gathered and perfectly controlled the power within himself. At this moment, he held his dual shields with boundless power. The shields moved like light and shadow, repeatedly resisting the spears.

"Footwork like a mirage, traveling through space-time. Shield techniques also possess the changes of space-time." Xu Jingming never used head-on confrontations. Each time there was a collision, most of the enemy's power was deflected. "He's withstood a full three minutes of frenzied attacks?" Mang Fei felt a slight throbbing in his head, and the intensity of his attacks slowed slightly. "Continuously mobilizing such vast power must be a great burden on the mind, right?" Xu Jingming's voice echoed everywhere. Mang Fei was stunned. "It's my turn."

Xu Jingming suddenly charged forward, heading straight for Mang Fei's real body in the distance.

"Hmph." Seeing this, Mang Fei controlled the giant, furiously stabbing and slashing with its thirty-nine spears, intercepting Xu Jingming like a forest of spears. Xu Jingming's footwork changed, and he borrowed the force from the collisions between his shield and the spears to continue advancing. These spears couldn't stop Xu Jingming.

"Whoosh." Mang Fei transformed into a stream of light and flew backward.

While flying backward, he remotely controlled the giant. "Explode!" Mang Fei thought.

The hundred-kilometer-tall giant, as well as the binding energy surrounding it, suddenly exploded! The explosion at that instant made the planet seem to have birthed a dazzling 'sun'!

At the center of the explosion, within a radius of two to three hundred kilometers, a huge mushroom cloud rose into outer space, and shockwaves swept across the entire planet. Spears also shot out in all directions. The extreme energy that Mang Fei could mobilize, combined with the maximized destructive power of the explosion, was enough to destroy an eighth-order limit Star Cluster lifeform. "Hmm?"

Mang Fei's expression suddenly changed. He saw it.

In the very center of the explosion, Xu Jingming used the dual shields in his hands as a skeleton, with formless light extending to cover every part of his body and the area around him. After gathering, this light resembled a miniature planet. Xu Jingming himself was inside the miniature planet. The miniature planet resembled the Primordial Star.

"He blocked the destructive explosion? And he wasn't even injured?" Mang Fei knew things were bad. *Boom.*

Having blocked the strongest initial wave of the explosion, Xu Jingming continued to charge towards Mang Fei. Mang Fei was escaping very quickly, but he couldn't match Xu Jingming's speed. The distance was rapidly shrinking.

"What strong footwork, what strong shield techniques… And also, your control over cosmic energy is so exquisite?" Knowing that he couldn't escape, Mang Fei stopped. "To be able to withstand such a large-scale explosion!"

Generally, opponents of the same level would be severely injured even if they managed to survive the explosion. How could Xu Jingming be like this, with the miniature planet completely withstanding the explosion, leaving him completely unharmed?

"You pursue the strongest power, while I pursue the strongest control." Xu Jingming charged up close.

Mang Fei reached out and gently touched him, smiling. "I lost. I can't possibly beat you while remaining at the eighth-order Star Cluster lifeform stage. Being able to exchange blows with you in my last Peak Combat is my honor."

With Mang Fei actively admitting defeat, this battle came to an end.

"My last Peak Combat? What does Mang Fei mean?" "Mang Fei is preparing to completely give up on the Peak Combat?" "Is he going to become an Origin lifeform?" "Wu Ming's battle forced Mang Fei to become an Origin lifeform?" Countless cosmos citizens discussed animatedly.

Having reached this level of strength, they weren't surprised that he could become an Origin lifeform. What was surprising was… that this became Mang Fei's last Peak Combat. "He gave up on the Peak Combat?" Hearing the other party's words, Xu Jingming guessed his meaning and was somewhat surprised.

He didn't know that Mang Fei had been considering retiring even before this battle. "Actually, he's very strong. If I had used spearmanship, I wouldn't have been able to withstand his attacks at all," Xu Jingming thought. On the planet, which had been ravaged by the explosion, Xu Jingming received a system email before he could exit the battle world scene. Xu Jingming lightly tapped it. The email content was very simple:

Mr. Wu Ming, in light of your reaching tenth place in the Hunter Cosmos域, you will obtain the authority to challenge the top ten from other Cosmos域. Starting today, you have the right to engage in battles across Cosmos域 (Your login device has no lag across the cosmos, and you don't need to change login devices.)" Battles across Cosmos域?" Xu Jingming's eyes lit up as he read.

"I heard long ago that the top ten in each Cosmos域 are qualified to fight across Cosmos域. 34 Cosmos域, which means 340 of the strongest experts clashing," Xu Jingming was quite expectant. He opened his personal panel.

He lightly tapped—Challenge!

Challenge successful. Tomorrow at 20:50, you will battle the 'Thousand Mountain Lord' from the Guhe Cosmos域." The system prompted. At the same time—

The entire 'Life Evolution Game' platform also issued an announcement:

Cross-Cosmos域 Peak Combat—Hunter Cosmos域 'Wu Ming' vs. Guhe Cosmos域 'Thousand Mountain Lord'. (Reservations for viewing are available!)

There were four similar announcements.

Almost every day, there would be several cross-Cosmos域 battles!

Such battles would also have extremely high viewership because viewers from many Cosmos域 would be watching. "Big Brother Wu Ming is going to start fighting across Cosmos域 too? Wow, exciting!" x100. This message was displayed on the entire platform. And it was displayed a hundred times! Clearly, it was his old friend, Qu Fang.

…

The Cosmos Peak Combat had a unique method for calculating combat power. Although he defeated the ninth-ranked in the Hunter Cosmos域 once, after Xu Jingming's combat power increased by a level, he only became the tenth-ranked in his own Cosmos域.

But with this, he possessed the qualification to fight across Cosmos域, which still made Xu Jingming quite excited. Challenging someone before was too difficult.

Now, with cross-Cosmos域, the scope was wider, making it much easier to challenge someone.

After participating in a Cosmos Peak Combat and then participating in some random team matches, Xu Jingming ended his live stream. He currently had very few Cosmos Peak Combat attempts left, so he had no choice but to fill the gap with team matches.

"Today, I should be able to take the mental strength test. I'll go test it first." Xu Jingming arrived at the Primordial Research Institute's virtual world.

There were only six peripheral members on this island now. After all, Senior Brother Gu Shan and Senior Sister Mo Yu had previously become Origin lifeforms. "Master." The intelligent robot Hunter 1027 immediately came to greet him. Xu Jingming nodded and headed to the cultivation room. Inside the cultivation room.

Xu Jingming sat cross-legged and began to fully release his mental strength, impacting the walls of the cultivation room. *Buzz~~* The walls of the cultivation room were vibrating slightly. An invisible force enveloped the cultivation room, analyzing Xu Jingming's mental strength. After about three minutes. "There's a result." Xu Jingming was also quite expectant; after all, he could only apply for a test once every 330 days. The evaluation result appeared before his eyes—

Mental Strength Index: 9991.