Chapter 144 Semi-Finals Begin

On the evening of June 6th, Old Master Xu, Xu Hong and his wife, and Li Chen'an and his wife all came to the young couple's residence for dinner. The dinner was quite lavish.

A large beef leg sat on the plate in front of Xu Jingming. He easily pierced the beef with his chopsticks, picked out chunks of meat, and ate them quickly. Just like an ordinary person eating tofu, the pieces disappeared rapidly into his stomach. Soon, the bone of the ten-plus-kilogram beef leg was picked clean.

"Jingming," Xu Hong said, looking at his son, "Didn't you say the Life Evolution Bureau sent you some high-energy food? Why are you still eating meat so fast?"

"It's a habit," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "Eating meat isn't just for energy replenishment; it's also because I like it. Eating meat makes me happy!"

"Eat if you like," Old Master Xu said cheerfully. "People should enjoy every day."

Xu Jingming nodded.

Meanwhile, the women had finished eating and gone to watch some light screen programs.

"There are only two matches tonight: Tiano versus Liu Hai, and Tiger Fosen versus you," Old Master Xu said. "Are you confident?"

"I have confidence, but no certainty," Xu Jingming said. "I've never fought Tiger Fosen before. I haven't been able to see his limits in this competition yet."

Old Master Xu nodded slightly. "Don't underestimate any enemy. Treat him like your greatest enemy, and give it your all."

"I understand," Xu Jingming nodded.

On the light screen program, the host's voice could be heard, "There's only an hour and a half left until the semi-finals. The four strongest people in the world are about to engage in a life-or-death battle. They've never fought each other publicly before, so it's really hard to predict who will win."

"In our program's audience vote, Liu Hai ranks first, Xu Jingming ranks second, and Tiano and Tiger are still third and fourth. But our program's audience is mainly from Xia country, so they naturally favor Liu Hai and Xu Jingming more..."

...

After having dinner with his family, the elders left around eight o'clock.

Xu Jingming practiced the evolution method for a while, and around 8:50, he went to the bedroom and put on his virtual helmet.

******

Virtual world, official live broadcast room.

At this moment, it was packed with people, and the number of viewers had climbed to over 6 billion.

"Wow, it's over six billion?" Li Miaomiao exclaimed, looking at the number displayed in the live broadcast room as soon as she sat down. "Is this the first time the number has exceeded six billion since the World Martial Arts Competition began?"

"The duel between Tiano and Master is obviously very attractive," Xu Jingming nodded.

"The first public battle between the three strongest people in the world," Li Miaomiao said with emotion.

"Old Xu." Heng Fang, Wang Yi, and others arrived.

"Brother Xu, why are you only here now? The competition is about to start," Yang Qingshuo said. "We arrived in the live broadcast room half an hour ago and found that you hadn't logged on yet."

"What's the rush? The competition starts on time at nine o'clock," Xu Jingming said, looking at his friends.

As Xu Jingming and his wife logged on, many friends came.

"Old Xu, today's competition depends on you."

"Old Xu, I believe you can defeat that Tiger Fosen."

Many friends wished him well.

"Master, good luck," Pang Yun shouted. "My dad said he's most optimistic about you."

"Thanks," Xu Jingming said, feeling everyone's enthusiasm. "Everyone, hurry up and watch the competition. It's about to begin."

Everyone sat down and looked at the commentary platform.

The commentary platform featured a female host and three guests: Tu Ling, Yeshalova, and Haru Singh.

"Liu Hai, Tiano, and Xu Jingming all passed the fourth level of the Starry Sky Tower on the same day, and are also recognized as the three strongest people in the world," the female host said. "Also, in the total points ranking of the martial arts gym, they are also in the top three, and the number of paid downloads is far ahead... Since the virtual world opened, they are recognized as the three strongest people in the world. Moreover, the three of them have never fought each other publicly!"

"Today's first match is Tiano versus Liu Hai," the female host said. "Our official live broadcast room has an unprecedented number of viewers, exceeding six billion. This shows the world's expectations for this battle."

"Our three guests today are all in the top eight in the world," the female host said, looking at the three guests. "Three, tell us, who are you more optimistic about in this first match?"

"Although I lost to Tiano, and Tiano is also very strong," Tu Ling said with a smile, "I'm more optimistic about Master Liu Hai!"

"I'm also optimistic about Liu Hai," Haru Singh nodded. "Liu Hai's combat performance is too strong."

"I'm more optimistic about Tiano Xilai," Yeshalova smiled slightly, captivating countless viewers. "Tiano Xilai, the number one genius in the world, has easily won all previous competitions. I think his true strength... may be beyond his imagination. Once he reveals his true strength, it will scare a lot of people. I believe Master Liu Hai should be able to make Tiano show his true strength."

The female host nodded. "I'm also looking forward to the true strength of Tiano and Master Liu Hai. Okay, the two of them have entered the battle preparation space and are starting to choose weapons and equipment."

"The weapons and equipment they chose are as always."

"Master Liu Hai is wearing light armor and has a shield in one hand and a saber in the other. Tiano is also in light armor and has chosen a long staff."

"The two enter the map."

"The battle map is an ancient battlefield."

"Let us enjoy this visual feast! The most peak life-and-death battle in the world!"

The host and guests all had a somewhat fiery look in their eyes; they were also extremely looking forward to this battle.

Pang Ze, Director Zhou, and other members of the Blue Star Life Evolution Department also carefully watched this battle.

...

Ancient battlefield.

Two figures landed, Liu Hai and Tiano Xilai. The two looked at each other from a distance.

Tiano held a long staff and walked over leisurely, still looking relaxed. He opened his mouth and smiled, "Liu Hai, I've actually been waiting for this battle for a long time! I've just been holding back, waiting for the most appropriate time to have a match with you."

"Tiano, you're really young," Liu Hai said, looking at Tiano with admiration. "Your talent amazes me, and I've always been looking forward to this battle."

"Hahaha... whether you're young or not is meaningless," Tiano shook his head. "For people like us, whether we're twenty or eighty years old, the amount of time we spend training in the virtual world is the same. We all have roughly the same starting line. It's even more commendable for an old man to not be old-fashioned, constantly surpass himself, and constantly improve."

As Tiano spoke, the fighting spirit in his eyes grew stronger.

"Ever since you appeared on the Starry Sky Rankings, I've been looking forward to this battle."

"Nine months."

"It's all for this battle," Tiano said. "Don't disappoint me."

"Fight, and you'll know what surprise is," Liu Hai said, smiling at him.

"Is that so?" Tiano's voice had barely faded when—

*Whoosh!*

His entire person transformed into a black afterimage, rushing close to Liu Hai. The sound of the terrifying air explosion followed his figure, and at the same time, in the twisting air currents, a staff shadow came crashing down! The sound produced by the staff shadow was even more piercing and terrifying.

"What?" Everyone watching the battle was shocked.

From the beginning of the competition until now, Tiano had never unleashed such a fierce attack!

This time, fighting against Liu Hai, his first move surpassed all his past moves, showing how much Tiano valued Liu Hai!

"Hmm?" Liu Hai immediately advanced a step, raising his shield to block.

*Bang!!!*

The staff struck the shield, and even after the terrifying impact force was dissipated by Liu Hai's shield, Liu Hai was still blasted backward uncontrollably. His feet plowed a deep groove in the ground, and he flew backward for dozens of meters before stabilizing himself. His right hand, which was holding the shield, trembled slightly. He looked at Tiano in shock.

Although he had already raised his prediction of Tiano's strength, Liu Hai was still shocked when they actually fought. "What terrifying power! Purely in terms of strength, it's at least twice mine!"