Chapter 1

Xu Jingming looked up at the enormous leaderboard, thousands of meters high, and the single line of text upon it.

At this moment, countless people across the globe were gazing up at this name!

"Global number one!" Xu Jingming looked up. "This isn't the World Martial Arts Competition of the past, nor any other competition of fighting styles, but a competition for all of humanity... Master actually got global number one!"

"Master, I knew you were strong, but you've truly amazed countless people." Xu Jingming smiled. "Global number one, Liu Hai, Xia Country!"

Admiration and yearning filled Xu Jingming's eyes.

...

In the White Eagle Federation, another person was also looking up at the massive Starry Sky Board, gazing at the only name on the list.

"The Starry Sky Tower has only been open for 38 minutes, and Senior Liu Hai has already cleared the third level?" He was tall and burly, standing at one meter ninety-six, possessing a terrifying sense of presence.

He was none other than Mills the Berserker, one of the 'Three Kings' of the world's martial arts scene, possessing a body that was practically monstrous among humans.

"My evolution method has reached the advanced stage, and I can only kill a large tiger with some ease!" Mills the Berserker silently stared at the leaderboard, pondering. "When six large tigers attacked me, I barely managed to kill four before being bitten to death by the others! The third level of the Starry Sky Tower has dozens of tigers, including the most powerful Tiger King."

"I'm still a long way from succeeding. But Liu Hai succeeded. This old senior from Xia Country… is truly amazing." Mills the Berserker was very proud, but Liu Hai had passed the third level only 38 minutes after the Starry Sky Tower opened, which made him genuinely admire him.

The gap was too large, leaving only admiration.

"My evolution method is at 32% of the advanced stage and cannot be improved in the short term. If I want to get through, I must hone my weapon skills." Mills the Berserker pondered, then directly entered the Starry Sky Tower again, using it to sharpen his battle-axe techniques.

...

"Liu Hai from Xia Country cleared the third level of the Starry Sky Tower so quickly?" Alan Emelianenko, a bald man from the Luocha Country, hailed as possessing the most perfect cold weapon skills among humans, was also silently staring at the only name on the Starry Sky Board. "How did he win against the tiger horde? When I killed twelve tigers, the Tiger King joined the attack. I couldn't withstand the Tiger King and the numerous tigers attacking together and was instantly torn apart!"

"I always thought that by compensating for my physical weaknesses, I would completely surpass Mills the Berserker and Lei Yunfang and become the global number one on the Starry Sky Board."

"Who knew that Senior Liu Hai would appear? There are truly too many experts in this era." Battle intent flashed in Alan Emelianenko's eyes. "However, this is the most exciting era. Liu Hai, I will surpass you soon."

...

Liu Hai's name on the Starry Sky Board made the whole world boil over.

The world's top experts looked up at the only name on the Starry Sky Board, all thinking of surpassing him one day.

The general public began their celebrations, especially the people of Xia Country, who felt particularly proud. Official media and social media were flooded with news about Liu Hai.

Xu Jingming immersed himself in arduous training for five hours before returning to his personal space to rest.

He opened the viewing platform and randomly clicked on a live stream.

"Everyone in the world is venturing into the Starry Sky Tower, but only one person has cleared the third level: our very own Liu Hai from Xia Country!" The streamer was speaking with great enthusiasm. "Global number one is a Xia Country person!"

This live stream only had nine viewers, so Xu Jingming clicked on a second live stream.

This was a beautiful female streamer.

"Some viewers may not know who Liu Hai is," the female streamer said with a smile. "Let me give you a quick overview. Liu Hai won the national wrestling championship when he was young and was very talented in wrestling, but his greatest passion was weapon combat. Back then, weapon combat was very niche, so Liu Hai self-funded a team and competed in tournaments around the world."

As the female streamer explained, pictures of Liu Hai wrestling and competing abroad in his youth were displayed.

"Later, as Liu Hai got older, he settled down to manage his martial arts center. When he was forty-five, the World Martial Arts Competition was officially established. Although Liu Hai's body was no longer as strong as it was in his youth, he was incredibly excited and immediately participated in the competition. He achieved consecutive victories in the preliminary rounds, earning enough points to enter the World Martial Arts Competition. He fought in five consecutive World Martial Arts Competitions, and in all five, he was in the top three in the world! After winning the fifth competition, he retired and later became the head coach of the national team..."

Xu Jingming smiled and clicked on a third live stream. After all, he knew more about his master than this female streamer did.

"Liu Hai is awesome! The number one human! I made a bet before that if a Xia Country person got global number one on the Starry Sky Board, I, Lao Wang, would give out ten thousand red envelopes, each containing ten thousand yuan! I'll keep my word! I've already raised the money. Let me show you my balance: eight zeros, right? I've prepared 100 million yuan in cash and will start giving out red envelopes now! I calculated that I'll give out one hundred red envelopes every five minutes, which will take about eight hours!" A tycoon streamer started the lottery, and his live stream's popularity soared, making it one of the top three most popular on the viewing platform.

"Generous," Xu Jingming praised before moving on to the next live stream.

"Since a Xia Country person got number one, I'll finish writing one hundred sets of高考 (gaokao, China's National College Entrance Examination) practice papers! I'll keep my word! This is the second set I've finished, and I'm now starting the third!" A high school student said, "I'll be live streaming the entire process, with no cheating whatsoever!"

Xu Jingming was speechless.

One hundred sets of papers? He was being so ruthless to himself?

"Alright, you'll definitely do well on the gaokao." Xu Jingming watched one live stream after another.

Ninety percent of them were talking about Liu Hai!

At this moment, Liu Hai had become a national hero in Xia Country. After all, countries all over the world were vying for the title of global number one, and the fact that a Xia Country person had won it naturally made them feel proud and incredibly uplifted!

"Jingming, are you watching live streams?" Li Miaomiao came over and sat down on the sofa. "I saw your game status just now; you were still exploring the Starry Sky Tower."

"I failed time and time again, so I came out to rest for a while," Xu Jingming said.

"Your master is so amazing; the entire internet is going crazy right now," Li Miaomiao said.

"After all, everyone in the world is participating in the virtual world game *Life Evolution*. In the past, which sport could motivate so many people to work hard?" Xu Jingming said. "Master's global number one is naturally even more sensational. I bet the citizens of the White Eagle Federation, the Roman Empire, the Luocha Country, and other countries are holding their breaths and feeling very unhappy."

"Haha, I just logged off and have already seen the discussions of foreign netizens. Although they admire Liu Hai, they are indeed very unhappy," Li Miaomiao said with a smile. "After all, each of their countries has some legendary martial arts athletes."

"Five hours have passed, and no one else in the world has cleared the third level of the Starry Sky Tower," Xu Jingming said with a sigh. "Master is so far ahead of everyone else in the world."

"Jingming, your master is very strong," Li Miaomiao encouraged him. "But I believe that you, Jingming, will be even stronger in the future! After all, your master has been training for nearly fifty years longer than you."

"I will definitely work hard to fulfill what my wife says," Xu Jingming said, clenching his fist.

Li Miaomiao's eyes narrowed happily.

The couple chatted while watching one live stream after another.

Suddenly, Li Miaomiao saw a live stream change its title and said, "Jingming, it looks like the global number two has appeared."

"Has it finally appeared?" Xu Jingming's heart skipped a beat. Who was it?

The two of them immediately went to the mission space and arrived in front of the Starry Sky Tower.

Standing in front of the Starry Sky Tower, they looked up at the massive leaderboard.

The massive leaderboard now had two lines of text.

"Global Number One: Liu Hai (Xia Country)"

"Global Number Two: Tiger Fussen (White Eagle Federation)"