Chapter 172 The Final

Inside the quiet room, Xu Jingming was cultivating the mind-refinement technique, 'Star Observation Method'.

His mind naturally released its perception, and his consciousness naturally enveloped the surroundings. Even the dust in the air touching his skin felt as intense as small meteorites colliding with the atmosphere of a star. Through the disturbance of the air, Xu Jingming naturally sensed what was happening outside the quiet room, understanding the movements in the villa.

This perception wasn't deliberate; his mind was completely empty.

Suddenly—

Xu Jingming opened his eyes. At this moment, it was precisely 8:55 PM. He didn't need an alarm; during mind-refinement, his biological clock's perception was accurate to the second.

"It's time." Xu Jingming rose and naturally pushed open the door.

"Mind-refinement is over?" Li Miaomiao heard the sound of the door and came out of the bedroom, calling out, "The competition is about to start!"

"Coming."

Xu Jingming smiled slightly. After mind-refinement, his mental state was at its peak.

Since obtaining the upper volume of the *Huaguang* inheritance, he had shortened his daily mind-refinement time to four hours.

Inside the bedroom, Xu Jingming and his wife, Li Miaomiao, put on their virtual helmets and lay down.

…

The official virtual world livestream room.

"He actually logged on in the last few minutes," Xu Hong said, looking at the approaching couple with a smile. "He really knows how to hold his nerve."

"Mental state is very important," Old Master Xu said with a smile. "Some people perform exceptionally well at crucial moments, while others fail miserably. Jingming's mental state is much stronger than ordinary people; he's the kind who becomes more formidable the more crucial the moment."

Xu Jingming chatted briefly with his relatives and friends before sitting down.

"There are so many viewers today; it's estimated to set a new record again," Li Miaomiao said, looking at the soaring viewer numbers.

"Mm," Xu Jingming said, watching. "The competition is about to begin."

There were only two commentators on the commentary platform: a female host and Angus, the secretary-general of the Blue Star Alliance. Angus was definitely a big shot and was also serving as a guest for the World Martial Arts Competition for the first time.

"Since the opening of the virtual world, batches of experts have emerged from all over the world," Angus said with a smile. "The holding of the World Martial Arts Competition is an even greater visual feast, allowing people around the world to see the strength of the truly top experts. Today is the last day of the World Martial Arts Competition. According to the rules, the world's number one will be decided. At this moment, the number of viewers in the livestream has exceeded 6.3 billion. Everyone, please wait and see who will be the world's number one."

"Okay," the female host said, glancing at the time. "First, we'll start with the match for third and fourth place, between Liu Hai and Tiger Fursson."

Countless people looked at the livestream scene.

Liu Hai and Tiger Fursson had already entered the battle preparation area and chosen their weapons and equipment, after which they entered the battle map.

"The battle has begun." Xu Jingming, Xu Hong, Dai Tongda, Dai Xiaoqing, the Limu team members, and others watched attentively.

Modern urban scene.

Liu Hai and Tiger Fursson didn't hide and quickly arrived at the most spacious street square in the center, facing each other from a distance.

"Senior Liu Hai and Senior Tiger Fursson were the earliest first and second on the Starry Sky Rankings," Wang Yi said. "Now they are competing for third and fourth."

"Being among the first to be listed on the Starry Sky Rankings does indeed show their strength," Yang Qingshuo praised.

While they were talking, the battle had already begun!

This battle was exciting enough.

Their strength and speed were at the same level, so they fought with gusto.

Before them, one had fought Tiano, and the other had fought Xu Jingming. They were far behind in terms of basic aspects such as strength and speed…so they were naturally defeated. Today, Liu Hai and Tiger Fursson finally met the most suitable opponents.

"The old seniors pay great attention to defense in battle," Xu Jingming said as he watched.

His master goes without saying; the combination of shield and saber, yin and yang, makes him the most adept at defense among all the experts he knows.

Tiger Fursson's two large axes were also like two smaller shields, and his defense was also very strong.

Both of them had both offense and defense, and their fighting moves were quite extraordinary.

After fighting for more than a minute, the square where they were located was a mess. During the fight… Liu Hai quickly gained the upper hand, but after more than a minute of continued fighting, he finally broke through the defense of Tiger Fursson's two large axes, and a saber instantly pierced Tiger's throat.

"You won." Tiger Fursson accepted his defeat. Both sides were at the same level in terms of strength and speed, but his double-axe skills were still a bit immature compared to Liu Hai.

Although Liu Hai won, he also admired his opponent. Apart from the two monsters, Tiano and Xu Jingming, Tiger Fursson was the closest to him.

…

"Let us congratulate Liu Hai and Tiger Fursson for winning third and fourth place in this World Martial Arts Competition," the female host immediately announced. "After this competition, the next thing that all viewers are looking forward to is… the final!"

"The final is between Xu Jingming and Tiano Xire," Secretary-General Angus praised. "There is no doubt about their talent, and their strength is also obvious to all. Tiano easily defeated Liu Hai before, and Xu Jingming also easily defeated Tiger Fursson. They are far ahead of the rest of the world."

While the female host and Secretary-General Angus were praising and touting the two, the number of viewers in the livestream was still increasing.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry."

"The final is about to begin."

"Son, this is the final! You have to watch it even if you don't understand it."

The audience was extremely enthusiastic. Some people were too lazy to watch the third and fourth-place matches, and they could just watch the replay later. But the meaning of the 'final' was different, and the number of viewers truly set a record.

Some children who weren't interested in the competition were dragged over by their parents and even held on their laps to watch the competition so they wouldn't run around.

"Dad, is the person who's about to be decided the strongest human on the entire planet?" the little boy asked his father.

"Yes, the strongest human on this planet," the father nodded.

The boy's eyes were full of anticipation as he watched the livestream scene.

…

"I'm going on stage." Xu Jingming got up after receiving the prompt.

Li Miaomiao got up and hugged Xu Jingming. "Good luck."

"Mm."

Releasing his wife, Xu Jingming also saw his many relatives and friends.

"Brother Xu, get the world championship," Yang Qingshuo said excitedly. "This is the most valuable world championship in the history of the World Martial Arts Competition."

"Get the world championship." Heng Fang, Liu Chongyuan, Dai Xiaoqing, and the others all looked at Xu Jingming.

Anyone who takes the path of professional martial arts has dreamed of winning the world championship. But in reality, physical fitness has a great impact. Age, injuries, and other reasons can all lead to a decline from one's peak. Xu Jingming and his group of friends had all struggled on this professional path, and none of them had ultimately reached the peak.

And today!

The most watched competition in human history, the most valuable martial arts competition, and also the first global competition after the opening of the virtual world.

Billions of people are competing to decide the world's number one!

"Mm, get the world championship." Xu Jingming smiled, then gently tapped and entered the battle preparation space.

…

Tiano was alone in the stands. He didn't have any relatives or friends on Blue Star.

"This is the match I'm most looking forward to on Blue Star." Tiano's eyes were burning. In the virtual world, apart from his body being reduced to the perfected state of a planetary lifeform, he could fully display his other combat skills.

Tiano gently tapped and also entered the battle preparation space.

…

"They've entered the battle preparation area," the female host said excitedly.

Countless viewers cheered when they saw Xu Jingming and Tiano, the two most dazzling people in the world today.

Which of them is stronger?

Who is the world's number one?

Countless people were looking forward to it.

Director Zhou was alone in the stands, also watching the competition scene from afar, and he was also looking forward to it. "On one side is our Blue Star's number one genius, Xu Jingming, and on the other side is Envoy Tiano from the Cosmos Human Alliance. The resources and cultivation that Envoy Tiano has received are beyond the reach of our Blue Star civilization. In this battle, who will win?"

Not only Director Zhou, but also the other high-level officials on Blue Star, all who knew Tiano's true identity, were extremely nervous and looking forward to this competition.

Deep down, they also hoped that Xu Jingming, their Blue Star's number one genius… could win this competition! However, they didn't know the details of Envoy Tiano's information and didn't have the right to investigate.

—

Tomato only has one chapter today, to prepare well for tomorrow's battle.