Liu Hai had always let his disciples make the first move when sparring over the years. Of course, his Taiji Shield-Knife technique was also adept at defensive counterattacks.

"Master, be careful." Xu Jingming looked at his master from afar. His thoughts focused, he stomped on the ground, causing it to tremble. He transformed into a dark-red blur as he charged toward Liu Hai. His speed was so great that the air shrieked piercingly as he passed.

Liu Hai held a large shield in one hand and a saber in the other, as solid and immovable as a mountain. He calmly watched Xu Jingming's attack.

The more important the battle, the calmer Liu Hai became. Even when he appeared excited and full of fighting spirit, his heart remained like a tranquil lake, clearly reflecting every detail of the battle.

"Bang!"

The long spear suddenly slashed down, colliding with the large shield. The terrifying force of the impact rippled outwards. Liu Hai's hair flew wildly, while Xu Jingming's eyes burned with fighting spirit.

"Clang clang clang!"

Xu Jingming wielded his spear in a frenzied attack, hacking, smashing, thrusting, and sweeping… One strike followed another in a relentless barrage, the speed astonishing. He was determined to shatter any obstacle in his path, even a mountain.

Liu Hai didn't counterattack at all, instead relying solely on his large shield to defend, perfectly blocking every one of Xu Jingming's attacks.

No matter how Xu Jingming attacked, Liu Hai remained like a reef in the water, withstanding every impact.

"Jingming, your spearmanship is just so-so," Liu Hai said. "I think I'll start attacking now."

"Master, come on, don't hold back," Xu Jingming replied with a smile.

Liu Hai suddenly took a step forward.

The step forward propelled his shield forward, like a mountain pressing down! It collided with Xu Jingming's spear, causing Xu Jingming's expression to change slightly. He retreated several steps.

"Master cultivates the Raging Tiger Evolution Method, so his strength is much greater than mine. His shield is also a large one, so the shield strikes are very powerful." Xu Jingming retreated rapidly. Liu Hai closed in with a stride. Xu Jingming's spear flicked out in a strange arc from below, attempting to pierce Liu Hai's body.

Liu Hai easily pressed down with his left-hand shield, blocking the spear. As he blocked, he continued to charge forward, his saber flashing.

Xu Jingming's spear missed, and he retreated in advance. The saber light grazed his chest, about three inches away.

"The shield is forceful, but the saber is subtle," Xu Jingming thought, already aware of his master's fighting style, so he was always wary of that saber.

The master and disciple exchanged blows.

Liu Hai's shield and saber worked in perfect coordination. His defense revealed no openings, while his attacks were fierce and unpredictable.

Xu Jingming had the advantage in footwork, his speed extremely fast! He gave Liu Hai no chance to get close.

As the two fought, the mountain valley suffered! Weapons clashed, trees exploded, the mountain walls rumbled as large pits appeared, and even the ground was scarred with huge ravines and craters.

There were no spectators for this battle; the outside world was completely unaware.

But this duel was the strongest real battle since the opening of the virtual world!

"Boom!" Liu Hai was extremely fierce. He subtly shifted his large shield, causing Xu Jingming's spear to miss. Liu Hai immediately advanced, trying to close in.

"Pfft pfft."

Xu Jingming's spear suddenly moved.

At close range, he unleashed a lightning-fast thrust.

"What?" Liu Hai's heart tightened. The spear had used up its momentum, yet it was able to generate more force. His saber, which had been about to attack, immediately changed direction.

Clang! The saber light struck the shaft of the spear.

The spear spun, and a second thrust came.

A double strike!

Liu Hai's left-hand shield finally arrived in time, narrowly defending against the spear.

"What fast spearmanship," Liu Hai said, looking at Xu Jingming. "My left-hand shield and right-hand saber almost couldn't block it."

"Master, don't lose to your disciple," Xu Jingming said with a smile. He had just used the foundation of one of the five great spear techniques recorded in the upper volume of *Hua Guang*: the Consecutive Strikes Spear Technique.

Among the five great spear techniques, Xu Jingming valued consecutive strikes the most.

Because of his experience possessing 'Xuan,' Xu Jingming knew very well that Xuan's strongest spearmanship was only one move: 'thrust,' or rather, consecutive thrusts! All kinds of consecutive thrusts. Xuan could strike consecutively millions of times.

Consecutive strikes had become instinct for Xuan.

When Xu Jingming tempered his will, he practiced the *Hua Hong* Spear Technique, pursuing consecutive strikes.

"Pfft pfft pfft!!!" Xu Jingming began to reveal his fangs. He had only been warming up at the beginning, while also giving his master the 'illusion' that his spearmanship was just so-so. Then, without warning, he unleashed the Consecutive Strikes Spear Technique!

This was the battle strategy that his master often taught! A sudden reversal would shock the enemy, and even a 'tiny' delay in reaction time could lead to victory.

Liu Hai was indeed caught off guard, but he was too skilled in defense with his shield and saber, managing to hold on.

Now that he had revealed his consecutive strikes, Xu Jingming no longer held back.

"*Hua Hong* Spear Technique."

"Kill!"

Xu Jingming abandoned all other spear techniques, focusing solely on thrusts, fully displaying the *Hua Hong* Spear Technique!

Continuous consecutive strikes.

Two consecutive strikes, three consecutive strikes, six consecutive strikes!

According to Xuan's requirements, Xu Jingming could now only execute 'six consecutive strikes' in a qualified manner! The so-called six consecutive strikes didn't mean that each interval was the same, but that each strike had to gather momentum and borrow force, each strike borrowing the power of the previous one, ultimately directing all the force into the sixth strike, making it the fastest.

It was just that the requirements for executing it meant that two consecutive strikes were the simplest. The more strikes in the sequence, the more difficult it was for Xu Jingming to execute with his current level.

"What fierce spearmanship!" Liu Hai's left-hand shield was already fully engaged in defense, and he had to use his right-hand saber to assist.

Xu Jingming's attacks were too fierce, like a tidal wave, the shadows of his spear constantly flickering.

Continuous spear thrusts!

Any slight opening, and the spear would follow that opening to strike and kill him. So Liu Hai didn't dare to be distracted in the slightest.

"Break, break, break, give me a break!" The better his master defended, the stronger Xu Jingming's will to attack became. Normally, when practicing his spear, whether against air, arrows, stones, or virtual opponents, it was never as satisfying as facing his master! His master's defensive techniques were too perfect, driving Xu Jingming to pursue even stronger spearmanship.

In his excitement, with his mind and will growing increasingly fiery, Xu Jingming's spear became like a phantom. As he unleashed six consecutive thrusts in one breath, he followed through with a seventh strike. At that moment, Xu Jingming felt completely refreshed, as if it were the most natural thing in the world—the seventh strike, the eighth strike, and finally, the explosive ninth strike!

Nine consecutive strikes!

According to Xuan's description, being able to execute nine qualified consecutive strikes at the Planetary lifeform stage meant that he had achieved a minor success in consecutive strikes. Reaching thirty-six consecutive strikes would be considered a major success. At the Planetary lifeform stage, he would be hard to match among his peers.

"Refreshing, refreshing." When he unleashed the nine consecutive strikes, Xu Jingming felt incredibly refreshed, so exhilarating that his scalp was about to explode.

He thrust his spear tens of thousands of times every day, pursuing stronger spearmanship.

When he finally broke through, the sense of accomplishment and exhilaration made his mind and will tremble with fervor.

At that moment—

The "Combat Bonus: 85%" on Xu Jingming's personal combat power panel had quietly changed to "Combat Bonus: 100%."

"This spearmanship…"

While Xu Jingming felt refreshed and exhilarated when he unleashed the *Hua Hong* Spear Technique's nine consecutive strikes, Liu Hai, who was facing the spearmanship, felt the opposite! He instinctively sensed a great sense of threat!

He felt like death was descending; he couldn't block such spearmanship!

"Could it be that I can't even defend?" At that moment, Liu Hai's mind and will were also trembling, trembling with anger and unwillingness! His lifelong cultivation, although he had studied various schools from around the world, was based on Taiji!

With Taiji as its foundation, combined with his shield and saber, he was most skilled in defense.

He had never been injured since his first participation in the World Martial Arts Tournament!

And now, he had an eighth-order inheritance and had possessed a cosmic legend, both of whom were experts in shield and saber techniques that were also compatible with him. His defense had become even more extraordinary, and defense was what he was most proud of.

His disciple was now also at the fourth-order limit. Being at the same fourth-order limit, he could tolerate being suppressed! But he couldn't tolerate being unable to defend! This was his last bit of pride in 'defense'!

"Block him!"

When Xu Jingming thrust out the ninth spear, it was also the most terrifying strike of the nine consecutive strikes.

Liu Hai only had one thought: he had to block it, no matter what the cost.

At that moment, he was retreating rapidly. The shield was too heavy and he didn't have enough time. His right-hand saber turned, drawing an incredibly graceful arc, narrowly, at the last moment, striking the shaft of Xu Jingming's spear, causing the spear to change direction and graze past Liu Hai's body.

"Blocked it." Liu Hai felt immense joy, and at the same time, he understood. "I finally understand why that cosmic legend's saber was so fast."

At that moment, the "Combat Bonus: 102%" on Liu Hai's personal combat power panel had changed to "Combat Bonus: 120%."

"What?"

Having unleashed the most exhilarating nine consecutive strikes, Xu Jingming felt that he could win, because the last strike, which condensed the momentum of the previous eight strikes, was just too fast.

But when his master retreated with his shield, the saber light turned, and a mark of an incomparably graceful saber light was etched in Xu Jingming's heart. And this saber light had unbelievably blocked that last strike, leaving Xu Jingming unable to believe it. He could even block that?