Chapter 422 The Might of Liu Hai

On the stands, Xu Jingming and his five teammates were watching the two teams on the commentary stage. After some interviews and chats, the two teams finally headed to the combat space.

"It's about to begin," Xu Jingming said. "Watch this match carefully. The Immortal Fairies team is facing a situation very similar to ours. We can learn some experience from it."

"Senior Liu Hai hasn't truly displayed his strength in a long time. Hopefully, we can see some of his true capabilities in this match," Wang Yi said.

Everyone present watched carefully, with Li Miaomiao mixed among them, looking very serious.

The first semi-final match was on a mountain forest map.

The mountain forest was somewhat muddy after the rain.

Liu Hai and his five teammates, and Zhang Qing and her five teammates, descended in different areas—some on the mountainside, some on the ground, and some in the trees.

"The four of you, join forces to deal with those four seniors first." Zhang Qing wore close-fitting light armor and carried two swords on her back. She was a very beautiful woman, but her eyes were as sharp as swords. "Coach Liu Hai won't interfere in your fight."

"Yes, Captain."

"Yes, Master." The four female team members responded.

In the mountain forest, Sun Yuting, Wang Nuan, Dai Xiaoqing, and Yuan Yujiao of the Immortal Fairies team began to fight with Xu Hong, Dai Tongda, Tian Yiqu, and Zhou Fan of Liu Hai's team.

In a one-on-one confrontation, with the cooperation of the archers, arrows whistled, and a battle commenced.

Liu Hai watched this scene with great interest, admiring the juniors' fight. "Zhou Fan and the others have become more experienced and their coordination has improved under my guidance and through large matches. Those young ladies… They are quite pretty, but they are too young and not stable enough."

After a round of fighting.

All four members of the Immortal Fairies team were eliminated. The archer 'Zhou Fan' of Liu Hai's old-age team was the last one standing!

"Whoosh."

When she was the only one left on her team, Zhang Qing moved. She was extremely fast as she headed straight for Zhou Fan.

Zhou Fan didn't escape and remained in place, watching silently. When Zhang Qing was thirty meters away, he suddenly began rapid-firing arrows, one after another! Zhang Qing didn't dodge at all, but charged straight ahead, slightly flashing her twin swords to block the arrows.

"Swoosh." A sword flashed across Zhou Fan's body, and Zhou Fan's body turned illusory and disappeared.

Zhang Qing turned her head and looked at Liu Hai in the distance, who had already walked over.

"Coach Liu Hai, aren't you going to take up a weapon?" Zhang Qing asked.

"I will take one if I want to," Liu Hai said. He was burly and tall with disheveled hair and burning eyes, looking forward to the fight. "Make your move."

Whoosh.

Zhang Qing held her twin swords, her figure flashing with unparalleled agility as she pounced on Liu Hai.

Zhang Qing's swordsmanship was different from others. It had an extreme aesthetic, as if it were art. Therefore, Zhang Qing had many fans, because watching her use her swordsmanship was an ultimate enjoyment of beauty.

Similarly, her swordsmanship was very cruel under its beautiful exterior, and she was recognized as the number one swordsman in Xia country.

"Clang." The moment Zhang Qing approached, Liu Hai, who was standing there empty-handed, instantly drew the saber at his waist and blocked the attack.

Zhang Qing didn't stop at all. Her figure moved, and at the same time, she struck with sword after sword—either stabbing, chopping, slicing, or cutting. It felt like a burst of dazzling sword light, and it was impossible to count how many swords she had struck. All that could be heard was the sound of swords and sabers colliding.

In an instant, Zhang Qing seemed to transform into several figures, with countless sword lights surrounding Liu Hai from all directions.

Liu Hai stood in place without moving, using only a single saber to block Zhang Qing's swords perfectly every time.

"Zhang Qing has brought her footwork and the agility of her sword to the extreme," Xu Jingming said as he watched the live broadcast. "The most terrifying thing is Master. The distance Master's saber moves is very short. He achieves the best effect with the shortest movement, unwilling to waste a single bit of strength."

"Master's control over power and space has reached an incredible level," Xu Jingming said, somewhat shaken. "Zhang Qing's footwork changes very quickly, and her twin swords strike extremely fast. But all changes in swordsmanship trajectory are completely under Master's control."

"Master said to control the enemy's speed. But now, Master has completely controlled space," Xu Jingming could sense Master's ease.

…

"I've received more than a hundred of your swords. Now, you take one move from me." Liu Hai, who hadn't moved a step, suddenly moved.

Boom.

With a step forward, his figure blurred. Zhang Qing's expression changed as she felt that she couldn't determine the area where Liu Hai would ultimately attack. She vigilantly watched the saber in Liu Hai's hand.

"Bang!"

Liu Hai's left fist was as fast as lightning, piercing through the void and directly striking Zhang Qing in the abdomen.

This punch was so fast that there was no warning before it was launched… Zhang Qing didn't even have time to react. This was similar to Xu Jingming's Shadowless Thrust—a punch that exceeded the speed of neural reactions.

Zhang Qing was instantly sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the big tree behind her. The big tree exploded.

Zhang Qing knelt on the ground, clutching her abdomen in pain. There was a huge fist-shaped dent in her light armor. The terrifying impact was destroying her internal organs, and blood was coming from her mouth and nose. She looked up at Liu Hai in disbelief. "One punch?"

Zhang Qing turned illusory and disappeared from the battlefield.

Liu Hai stood in place and sighed softly. "Can't even withstand a single punch?"

Having cleared the Star Tower in 38 minutes after it opened, and having trained hard for more than a month with the country's key cultivation, Liu Hai felt lonely. Even someone as outstanding as Zhang Qing… couldn't defend against his punch and was killed with one blow.

The mountain forest map collapsed, and Liu Hai's team still won.

******

The entire Xia country live broadcast room was somewhat suffocated. The live broadcast was still slowly replaying the previous exchange.

Everything became clearer in slow motion.

Zhang Qing's footwork was as fast as illusions, and her twin swords worked together even faster. However, Liu Hai only used a single saber and didn't even move a step. His single saber's simple movements completely defended against all attacks. This single saber… was like an absolute space defense. Any attack within three feet of him would be blocked.

"Senior Liu Hai didn't even use a shield. He cleared the third level of the Star Tower with a shield and saber combination." The male commentator, Jin Fan, said with a trembling voice, "The virtual world has only been open for more than a month. What level has Senior Liu Hai reached?"

"Is the gap between other experts and the experts on the Star Ranking this exaggerated?" The female commentator, Ju Wenqing, was originally a huge fan of Zhang Qing, but the gap in this battle was too great.

"Perhaps Senior Liu Hai is the number one in the world, so the gap between others and him is very large," the host, Liu Xin, said.

Jin Fan, the male commentator beside her, retorted, "Senior Lei Yunfang is the world's number one in footwork. His footwork speed is even more terrifying than Senior Liu Hai's."

"I think I understand why the officials fixed Senior Liu Hai's and Senior Lei Yunfang's teams as teams number 1 and 2 for this Firestarter Cup," Ju Wenqing, the female commentator, said, shaking her head. "They are too strong."

Countless viewers also felt dazed.

"After watching so many matches, I always thought the Immortal Fairies team was very strong."

"They won all the way, and Zhang Qing was always relaxed and never went all out. But in front of Liu Hai… How could she not even withstand a single punch?"

"Isn't light armor supposed to be able to defend against saber and sword slashes, and arrows? How could Liu Hai's fist kill his opponent when it hit the armor?"

"Is Liu Hai's fist even a fist? It's more terrifying than a sledgehammer! Didn't you see that before, Liu Hai split heavy armor in two with one saber strike?"

"Liu Hai's realm is too high. I guess his physical fitness is ridiculously high, and his combat skills are ridiculously high, so he can crush others like that."

"Is this the strength of the world's number one?"

"Everyone says that young people have potential, but why do I feel that the gap between the young people and this old man is getting bigger and bigger?"

Countless comments surged.

People in Xia country had complex feelings about Liu Hai. One was pride that the world's number one was from Xia country, and the other was that Liu Hai was too strong, far stronger than others.

…

"Master is really strong," Xu Jingming said in amazement. "It was only when we encountered Zhang Qing in the Firestarter Cup that Master truly revealed part of his strength. But it's also despairing strength."

His other teammates felt even more in awe.

If Xu Jingming could see a lot of the details and felt that he could still exchange ten or eight moves, his other teammates only felt that he was strong, far beyond their reach.

…

"Liu Hai is really strong. His realm is probably still number one in the world now," Pang Ze said on the stands.

Director Zhou nodded gently. "Although the other top experts in the world are also improving quickly, Liu Hai has also been improving. His current combat strength data is still the absolute world number one."

"It's fortunate for Xia country that such an expert is one of us," Pang Ze said.

Director Zhou said, "We value him very much now and are willing to do our best to cultivate him. However, Liu Hai has not requested any new resources after choosing Fifth-Order Shield and Saber Technique."

"I'm very optimistic about him," Pang Ze nodded. "His future is limitless."

Director Zhou's heart stirred. He was very clear about Pang Ze's discerning eye.

"Besides him, who else among the experts in Xia country are you optimistic about?" Director Zhou asked.

"Don't you already know?" Pang Ze smiled. "Three years ago, I had my son learn spearmanship from Xu Jingming. Who do you think I'm most optimistic about?"

Director Zhou nodded slightly.

So, you're so optimistic about Xu Jingming?

——

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