Chapter 9 Ranking and Father's Team

Xu Jingming and his group of five appeared in the stands.

"Facing a large-scale charge, facing heavily armored warriors in close combat, archers are indeed at a disadvantage." Wang Yi was still recalling that battle. "No wonder Zhou Yi hasn't been able to pass the third level of the Star Tower yet."

"The siege of the Star Tower's tiger packs is far more terrifying than the orc legions," Xu Jingming said.

"Although we were a bit reckless at the end, the ranking is still pretty good," Yang Qingshuo said with a smile.

Xu Jingming, Heng Fang, Liu Chongyuan, Yang Qingshuo, and Wang Yi all looked at the ranking displayed in the livestream.

First: Zhou Yi Team (Captain Zhou Yi), 1000 kills
Second: Xianzi Team (Captain Zhang Qing), 1000 kills
Third: Yunshan Team (Captain Huo Qingshan), 1000 kills
Fourth: Jinpeng Team (Captain Tie Lianyun), 1000 kills
Fifth: Wuling Team (Captain Fang Yu), 1000 kills
Sixth: Dunfu Team (Captain Xiong Tianshan), 1000 kills
Seventh: Tianyin Team (Captain Zhuang Ziyu), 1000 kills
Eighth: Sanshu Team (Captain Feng Baiyu), 1000 kills
Ninth: Limu Team (Captain Xu Jingming), 1000 kills
Eleventh: Jianchun Team (Captain Qin Ge), 1000 kills
Twelfth: Shuangyu Team (Captain Gu Chong), 1000 kills

Twenty-fifth: Bailong Team (Captain Zheng Bailong), 998 kills

Eight hundred and twenty-first: Kaixin Team (Captain Pang Yun), 22 kills

"Ranking ninth is pretty good," Liu Chongyuan said. "We had less cooperation during the final wave, focusing more on honing our own skills."

Xu Jingming and his group of five also reunited with their relatives and friends.

"As a substitute member, I'm very happy to be able to enter the main competition." Li Miaomiao greeted them proactively, smiling brightly and filled with joy. "Five official members, you've worked hard. We've already achieved the goal of the preliminaries, and now we need to prepare for the main competition."

Heng Fang nodded and said, "In the first round of the main competition, Master Liu Hai's and Senior Lei Yunfang's teams are Team 1 and Team 2, respectively. The top 30 teams from the preliminaries are Teams 3 to 32. The format is head-to-tail matchups: Team 1 vs. Team 32, Team 2 vs. Team 31, Team 3 vs. Team 30… and so on, with Team 16 vs. Team 17."

"Head-to-tail matchups are to ensure that the strongest teams can enter the next round," Xu Jingming nodded. "Otherwise, if Master Liu Hai and Senior Lei Yunfang were to face each other at the very beginning, the appeal of the entire competition in the later stages would decline!"

"At the very least, more teams need to have the chance to compete against Master Liu Hai and Senior Lei Yunfang's teams," Wang Yi said.

"Mom." Xu Jingming walked to where his mother was standing not far away. "Where's Dad?"

"Your dad's being all mysterious; I don't know where he is." Xu's mother shook her head, then smiled. "Son, you played so beautifully in the match just now! Mom watched carefully from beginning to end. You use that shield so well; the orc legion couldn't even hurt you. Even your Master Liu Hai and Senior Lei Yunfang praised your shield talent on the guest panel."

Xu Jingming was surprised. "Praised my shield talent?"

His spear technique talent was even higher, having reached the third tier.

He needed to practice his shield more.

"Grandson." Old Master Xu came running over, giving a thumbs up. "Well done."

After getting closer, Old Master Xu lowered his voice and asked quietly, "Grandson, if I'm not mistaken, have you made some breakthroughs?"

Xu Jingming looked at his grandfather in surprise.

"Your shield defense was really beautiful. No matter how the orc legion charged, it didn't pose a threat to you. I watched several of the top-ranked teams, and your shield felt like it deserved first place," Old Master Xu said. "Trust Grandpa's judgment; I can see even the slightest difference."

Old Master Xu was extremely confident.

Xu Jingming sighed inwardly. His grandfather was truly amazing. His shield skills weren't particularly superior to others. However, after reaching the 'body like fire' state, even if he deliberately restrained his strength and speed, his body's reaction speed was much faster.

The seemingly dangerous and terrifying impacts became slow motion in his eyes! He was also honing his shield techniques, striving to use various skills, which naturally made him appear much more stable than others.

"The competition is over," Xu's mother said.

Xu Jingming looked up. Yes, the competition was over.

A total of fifty-eight teams successfully passed; the last few teams had only one member left. The other teams had all been wiped out by the orc legion.

"The competition is over, so why hasn't your dad come yet?" Xu's mother muttered to herself. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she saw Xu Hong appear on the stands in the distance, walking toward his family and friends with a smile.

"Dad," Xu Jingming said, stepping forward.

"Good performance," Xu Hong nodded in praise.

"Didn't you say you formed a middle-aged and elderly team with Old Dai and the others?" Xu's mother asked. "How come I watched all 821 teams and didn't see your match? I asked you about your team name before, and you were all vague, saying we'd know when the competition started. But I didn't see your match today!"

"Look there."

Xu Hong raised his head, gesturing toward the commentary platform.

On the livestream's commentary platform, host Liu Xin was saying, "The entire preliminary round has concluded. Congratulations to these fifty-eight teams for being able to defeat the orc legion. Although the teams after the thirtieth place won't be able to participate in the main competition, being able to defeat an entire orc legion with five members is already a testament to your strength. Oh… the top thirty have been confirmed, and the first-round matchup table for the Spark Cup Grand Competition has been determined."

"Please take a look at the matchup table. The first round of the Spark Cup Grand Competition will begin tomorrow, September 2nd, at 0:00, and our official livestream will broadcast continuously until 8:00 AM."

"September 2nd, 0:00: First match, Liu Hai's Elderly Team vs. Changnan Team."

"Liu Hai's Elderly Team roster: Liu Hai, Tian Yiqu, Xu Hong, Dai Tongda, Zhou Fan, substitute member Qiu Yong."

"Changnan Team roster: Liu Bo, Lei Chong…"

"September 2nd, 0:30: Second match…"

The detailed matchup table, with a match every half hour, would last for eight hours with sixteen matches.

"Liu Hai's Elderly Team?" Xu Jingming, Li Miaomiao, Xu's mother, Old Master Xu, Wang Yi, Yang Qingshuo, Heng Fang, Liu Chongyuan, and many other relatives and friends around them all looked at the roster in unison.

"The captain said," Xu Hong said with a helpless expression, sighing, "To avoid causing controversy, he told us to keep it a secret and be low-key until the official announcement."

"Dad, how did you end up on a team with Master?" Xu Jingming couldn't help but ask.

"Since I sent you to the national team, I naturally had more contact and interaction with your Master, and that's how we became familiar," Xu Hong said. "Didn't your Master come to Mingyue City before? Old Dai and I also entertained him for several days. This time, he asked Old Dai and me to form a team together, and we both naturally participated."

Above, host Liu Xin looked at the roster and couldn't help but say, "Teacher Liu Hai, why did you name your team the 'Elderly Team'?"

"Haha, our team members are all quite old," Liu Hai said with a smile. "The youngest is Tian Yiqu, who is fifty-five years old this year. Oh, right, let me introduce in more detail. Old Brother Zhou Fan is even older than me; he's Zhou Yi's father! He's eighty-eight this year! Xu Hong is Xu Jingming's father, Dai Tongda is Dai Xiaoqing's father, Tian Yiqu is Tian Xiao's father, and the substitute Qiu Yong is my in-law."

Liu Hai introduced his team members with a bright smile.

Lei Yunfang's eyes twitched slightly. "The team I chose doesn't have as much face as Liu Hai's."

"Zhou Yi's father, Xu Jingming's father, Dai Xiaoqing's father, and Tian Xiao's father?" host Liu Xin exclaimed in surprise. "Zhou Yi, Xu Jingming, Dai Xiaoqing, and Tian Xiao have all entered the main competition this time."

"Like father, like son," Liu Hai said with a smile. "To all the teams that have entered the main competition, let me also say this: if you want to face me, you must first get past these old brothers of mine. These old brothers of mine are not easy to deal with!"