Chapter 103 Water Style and Fire Style

Personal space training field.

"Ready." Xu Jingming stood in a wide-open space, with a series of electromagnetic cannons in the distance. "Electromagnetic cannon battery, fire!"

These electromagnetic cannon shells reached ten times the speed of sound. Each shell was a ten-kilogram metal projectile. When fired, they tore through the air, forming a visible white shockwave. The power was terrifying as they instantly hurtled toward Xu Jingming.

The electromagnetic cannon battery was programmed to lock onto Xu Jingming, and each shell would chase after him.

Xu Jingming stood his ground, wielding a long spear.

"Bang."

The spear danced, like a dragon rising from the water, accurately striking the metal projectile from the side, altering its course.

"Bang, bang, bang!" After deflecting one shell, Xu Jingming naturally used the momentum to strike other projectiles. In an instant, the long spear in Xu Jingming's hand transformed into a blur, deflecting more than a dozen consecutive shots in the blink of an eye.

The spear borrowed strength, flowing as naturally as water.

The power of the shells fired by the electromagnetic cannon battery increased, gradually accelerating from ten times the speed of sound: 3,500 meters per second, 3,600 meters per second, 3,700 meters per second…

As the speed increased, Xu Jingming had less time to react, and the electromagnetic cannon shells became more powerful.

However, Xu Jingming stood there, his spearmanship like flowing water, perfectly deflecting each shell. None could harm him in the slightest.

When the speed of the shells reached 4,600 meters per second, after deflecting more than a dozen consecutive shots, Xu Jingming finally made a mistake and had to dodge a shell that grazed his body.

All the electromagnetic cannon shells abruptly stopped.

"I didn't deflect it; I dodged it with footwork." Xu Jingming shook his head slightly. "Of the five ultimate moves in the first volume of Xuan's *Hua Guang* (Transformation of Light) lineage, ‘Water Style’ is still far from being perfected. None of them can be considered truly mastered yet!"

The five ultimate moves in the first volume of *Hua Guang* were of different types, and continuous attacks were just one of them.

Although Xuan's greatest achievement was the pure 'spear thrust,' it didn't mean that he only knew that one move! What Xu Jingming called 'Life-Nurturing Spearmanship' actually encompassed many of the basic techniques of spearmanship. In the early stages of life evolution, it was essential to cultivate a strong foundation in all aspects, and the requirements were very high.

"According to the lineage description, the stronger you train the four ultimate moves—‘Mountain Style,’ ‘Water Style,’ ‘Fire Style,’ and ‘Spatial Domain’—the better. Only with a deep enough accumulation in these four ultimate moves can you integrate them into the final continuous-attack spearmanship move, ‘Transformation of Light Style,’" Xu Jingming thought.

Just like Xuan, he practiced 'Life-Nurturing Spearmanship' for a long time before the most critical battle of his life; it was all about building momentum.

"According to what Xuan said, at the peak of a Planetary lifeform, the Transformation of Light Style can unleash thirty-six consecutive strikes, making you a match for few at the same level." Xu Jingming shook his head slightly. "I'm still a bit far from that."

"Next, I'll practice the next move: Fire Style," Xu Jingming continued his training.

…

In the blink of an eye, it was already 9 p.m. on June 5th, the second round of the World Martial Arts Tournament elimination matches. Today, the top four players in the world would be decided.

"Welcome to viewers from all over the world. Today, our live broadcast has invited three new guests." The female host looked to her side, at the cold and detached Miyakawa Akari, the amiable bald man Alan Amelianenko, and the burly, towering beast-like Riven Gullit. "Our three guests are all experts who have reached the fifth level, and they can give us a more detailed explanation of the mysteries of the battles."

"Hello everyone." Alan, the bald man, smiled, and Miyakawa Akari bowed slightly.

"We will definitely give a good introduction to the competition, but in the upcoming matches, there may be things that we don't understand," Riven Gullit said with a chuckle. "Everyone has to understand us; after all, these experts are all stronger than us."

Alan and Miyakawa Akari nodded, a little surprised that Riven Gullit was quite articulate.

"Today, the eight strongest players in the world will compete in four matches to determine the top four," the female host said. "The first match is between Tu Ling and Tiano Xire. Which of the three do you favor?"

"Of course, it's Tiano!" Alan Amelianenko nodded. "Tiano's talent is among the best in the world, and his strength is terrifying. Although Tu Ling has a very high talent, there is still a clear gap when compared to Tiano."

Miyakawa Akari nodded. "Tiano, Liu Hai, and Xu Jingming should be in a league of their own globally."

"Haha, everyone has seen my match against Tiano," Riven Gullit said helplessly. "In front of him, I'm like a fool, he can kill me however he wants."

…

In the stands.

Xu Jingming and his friends and family gathered in the same section of the stands, chatting about the matches in small groups.

"Whoosh." A figure suddenly appeared; it was Liu Hai.

"Master," Xu Jingming immediately stood up.

"Captain," Xu Hong and Dai Tongda immediately greeted him. Li Miaomiao, Wang Yi, and the others also greeted him politely.

Liu Hai nodded with a smile and sat down next to Xu Jingming. "You sit down too."

"Master, it's rare for you to watch a match with me," Xu Jingming said with a smile.

"The first match today is Tiano," Liu Hai said. "If I win the second match, then my opponent in the next round of the semi-finals will be Tiano! To be honest, Tiano's talent is extremely terrifying. He has never truly shown his full strength in any public battle to date. He is like a cloud of fog to me, so I want to hear your opinion."

He knew that his disciple was an expert at the same level as him. Their understanding of martial arts was different, so their perspectives on watching the match would naturally be different as well.

"Mm." Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

His master was in the upper bracket, while he was in the lower bracket.

Whether it was his master or Tiano… he would only face them in the finals. Of course, the premise was that he had to be the only victor in the lower bracket! Otherwise, he wouldn't be qualified to enter the finals.

"The match has begun," the female host said excitedly. "The map for this battle is a mountain forest map!"

Rain-soaked mountain forest, with muddy ground.

Tu Ling wore dark-gold light armor, holding a shield and saber, and stared intently at her opponent, Tiano Xire. Tiano was still wearing black light armor, but he was holding a golden long staff.

"Long staff?" In the live broadcast box seats, Liu Hai watched and said softly, "This is the first time Tiano has publicly used a long staff."

"For the quarter-finals, he should be more cautious; this might be his most proficient weapon," Xu Jingming also said.

"A sixteen-year-old girl; she's really young," Tiano said with a playful smile, casually carrying the long staff on his shoulder. "Come, come, come, just attack with all your might."

"Alright."

Tu Ling's expression was solemn, and she simply responded before moving instantly.

Whoosh—

Three 'Tu Ling' figures appeared at the same time, moving eerily. They moved among the trees in the mountain forest, sometimes on the ground, sometimes on the branches of large trees, changing unpredictably and quickly approaching.

"Quite agile." Tiano still held the long staff on his shoulder with one hand, very relaxed.

"Swoosh."

The three 'Tu Ling' figures approached at the same time, each holding a shield and saber.

"Whoosh—" As they approached, Tiano made the first move! After all, the staff was longer, and the attack range was greater! He grabbed one end of the long staff with one hand and swept it horizontally! The sweeping staff tore through the air, creating a visible white shockwave, causing the three 'Tu Ling' figures to dissipate. Tu Ling's true body was sent flying backward after being struck by the shield, landing on a large tree in the distance.

Tu Ling stared at Tiano, feeling suffocating pressure.

"His staff techniques are too fast. A simple sweep is already so fast; I can't get close at all." Tu Ling felt the huge gap.

"The summer country's Tu Ling is the most agile person I've seen in this World Martial Arts Tournament," Alan Amelianenko said. "There are several people who are faster than her in pure speed, but she is very agile and can constantly change direction! Her shield and saber skills are also very brilliant…"

"It's useless. Tiano is just one word—fast! His long staff sweeps randomly, but because it's fast enough, Tu Ling can't avoid it," Riven Gullit shook his head.

…

The match proceeded as expected. Tu Ling used unpredictable footwork to approach and attack, but Tiano simply swung his staff, either horizontally, diagonally, or upwards, sending Tu Ling flying backward each time.

"Little girl, I let you attack seven times. Now it's my turn." Tiano took a step, as if teleporting, and instantly arrived in front of Tu Ling.

Tu Ling was frightened and retreated.

But the staff had already struck her body. Although she wanted to raise her shield to block, the staff was too fast! It flashed past the edge of the shield and struck Tu Ling's throat. Tu Ling's entire body began to turn illusory.

"Although I have fully reached the fifth level, there is still a huge gap in every aspect compared to Tiano." Tu Ling understood this.

"What do you think?" Liu Hai looked significantly more serious and asked Xu Jingming beside him.

"During the live broadcast, the screen showed…" Xu Jingming looked at the slow-motion footage. "Tiano reached a speed of 403 meters per second when he reached Tu Ling at the end. Even I don't have much of an advantage over him in terms of speed. And that might not be his maximum speed."

"Jingming, can you break through 400 meters per second?" Liu Hai looked at his disciple.

He was far from being able to do that.