Chapter 15 Taking Advantage of the Situation

Xia Country, Life Evolution Bureau, four o'clock in the morning.

The waves crashed rhythmically.

Secretary Guo gently knocked on the door.

"Come in." A voice came from inside, and the door opened automatically.

"Director," Secretary Guo said, seeing Director Zhou sitting at his desk, watching a replay of the competition.

Secretary Guo said, "The second round of the Fire Seed Cup competition is over, and the top eight teams have been decided. Will the media promotion continue as usual?"

"Promoting the competition and these experts is the usual practice," Director Zhou said with a smile. "But we still need to be flexible. For example, in tomorrow's four matches, the first three are not very controversial, but the fourth is different! Both teams are strong enough… It's a great topic for discussion. Increase the promotion of the fourth match, especially Fang Yu and Xu Jingming. Raise their promotion level to Level One."

"Level One?" Secretary Guo was surprised. "Currently, Lei Yunfang is the only one at Level One. Isn't this too much hype? Xu Jingming is fine, but Fang Yu is only twenty years old. If we push him too hard, I'm worried…"

"Liu Hai's promotional heat is Special Grade; everyone knows him," Director Zhou said with a smile. "I haven't seen him ruined. For a true expert, mental fortitude is also important. If he's so easily swayed, he has no future. If he's ruined, so be it."

"Yes," Secretary Guo replied respectfully.

"The time left for our Blue Star is running out," Director Zhou said softly. "We must seize the time and find every possible way to cultivate batches of experts. Our Xia Country's strategy is already considered mild; the Sakura Country is ten times more frantic."

"I understand."

Secretary Guo nodded. "I will arrange the task according to the Level One promotion level immediately."

Director Zhou nodded.

…

In the morning, the Xu Jingming family was having breakfast together. Nowadays, family gatherings are usually at breakfast.

Because after a night of virtual world gaming, there's more to talk about at breakfast.

"Grandson, the rewards for your match today are really high," Grandpa Xu was particularly sensitive to rewards, and sighed. "Over ten million for one match."

"I only get a little over a quarter of that," Xu Jingming said.

"Still complaining? You little…" Grandpa Xu glared.

Li Miaomiao said from the side, "Because people have seen too many god-level battles and are used to all kinds of amazing performances. It's getting harder and harder to get them to give rewards! Even for the Fire Seed Cup competition, it's very difficult to get a million in rewards, even with an excellent performance. Jingming's match yesterday got over ten million, which should be the highest since the Fire Seed Cup began. Fang Yu's defeat of Zhou Yi only got about three million."

"He's foolish."

Grandpa Xu immediately said, "Rewards are also about arousing the audience's excitement. For example, grandson did a good job. First, he dealt with the three members of the Golden Roc team, making people excited with each kill. Killing three in a row constantly increased the audience's excitement. Then, he fought Tie Lanyun… The audience was excited enough, so naturally they gave rewards."

"Fang Yu is different; he didn't show his strength at the beginning."

"He only exploded when he faced Zhou Yi in a one-on-one fight! Once he exploded, he was incredibly fierce and violent. The audience was still dumbfounded when he had already killed Zhou Yi. After the kill, the battle was over. There was no way to give more rewards! Many viewers hadn't even reacted; the match was over before they came to their senses," Grandpa Xu shook his head. "He simply doesn't understand the way of rewards. Rewards are about arousing the audience's emotions and giving them time to vent those emotions. He didn't give the audience enough time to vent their emotions."

Xu Jingming gave a thumbs up.

Li Miaomiao also exclaimed, "Grandpa, I've also done livestreams, but I never thought so much about it."

"How many times have you livestreamed? Not even a fraction of mine," Grandpa Xu shook his head. "Back then, I did at least five hours a day, non-stop all year round. After livestreaming for so many years, these are all basic skills. It's a pity I don't have grandson's gun and shield skills. If I were as good as him… If I were to livestream, I'd be humble and say I'd easily be one of the top three streamers on the entire platform."

"Sometimes, it's not about showing all your strength to attract attention," Grandpa Xu said. "You can even act deliberately to create the battle situation you want and completely ignite the audience's emotions. That's when the audience gets excited."

"Act?" Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao asked, puzzled.

"Most viewers know you're acting, but your match makes them feel happy, joyful, and satisfied. That's why they like your livestream," Grandpa Xu said. "Simply put… in a livestream, you're a performer. You have to perform a wonderful show. Whether it's anger or roaring, it's all acting. If you perform well, the audience will reward you."

Li Miaomiao nodded. "I understand."

"I can't learn it," Xu Jingming shook his head. "Martial arts weapon combat is my lifelong pursuit."

Grandpa Xu glanced at Xu Jingming. "Perhaps that's why you're so strong, but the so-called 'lifelong pursuit' isn't exclusive. You can pursue martial arts while also increasing the entertainment value of your matches."

"Too troublesome," Xu Jingming frowned.

"Sometimes, you don't even need to act. You just need to change some fighting styles to increase the entertainment value," Grandpa Xu said.

"I don't lack money," Xu Jingming said. "I really don't want to bother. I haven't even started livestreaming yet."

That's right.

Grandson hasn't even started livestreaming.

Grandpa Xu helplessly shook his head and left. "My lifetime of livestreaming secrets… no one will inherit them. What a pity, what a pity."

Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao looked at each other and smiled.

Neither of them could learn it.

Xu Jingming was more focused on martial arts and didn't even want to start livestreaming.

Li Miaomiao also only livestreamed once a month before the virtual world. Now, she mostly livestreams playing games. She's still very serious about singing and needs to prepare well before starting.

"Dad, are you trying to teach your livestreaming secrets again?" Xu Hong said, eating a meat bun and looking at his father with a smile. "You wanted to teach me that back then."

"None of you have ever lacked money," Grandpa Xu shook his head. "When you lack money, you'll know this is a good skill."

At that moment, news was playing on the light screen on the wall.

"In the second round of the Fire Seed Cup National Competition, there was a big upset. Tie Lanyun, who has won the World Martial Arts Competition three times, was easily defeated by Xu Jingming in the Fire Seed Cup competition."

The family having breakfast all turned to look.

The news showed footage of the battle. Xu Jingming was like a demon god, smashing the three members of the Golden Roc team into nothingness with his shield, one after another. He also smashed Tie Lanyun, sending him flying into a residential building.

"Four of the five members of the Golden Roc team, including Captain Tie Lanyun, were killed by Xu Jingming alone with his shield."

…

Penghai City.

Cheng Zihao stood smugly in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in his office, overlooking the bustling scenery of Penghai City.

"Tsk tsk tsk, compared to the immortal residence in the virtual world, this new office is still a bit lacking," Cheng Zihao sighed.

The program playing on the light screen on the wall was discussing Xu Jingming and Fang Yu.

"I'm more optimistic about Fang Yu! Fang Yu defeated Zhou Yi head-on in a one-on-one fight. Who is Zhou Yi? For a long time, he was one of the top three experts in Xia Country. Fang Yu is fully qualified to be among the top three in Xia Country for being able to kill him. As for Xu Jingming? He only defeated Tie Lanyun, who is much inferior to Zhou Yi."

"Didn't you watch the match? Xu Jingming crushed them with one shield each. Tie Lanyun couldn't make Xu Jingming fully display his strength! Moreover, he's twenty-nine years old and has international competition experience. He's much more experienced than Fang Yu."

"Yes, he's twenty-nine years old. Fang Yu is only twenty years old. Fang Yu is a true genius."

"Let's stop talking and look at some of Fang Yu's information. This is first-hand information from our program team."

The program began to show some of Fang Yu's growth information.

"Boss."

Zhou Feng asked suspiciously, "What's going on? Why is there news about Xu Jingming and Fang Yu everywhere today? Various programs are also discussing them?"

"The Fire Seed Cup competition is getting everyone's attention, after all," Cheng Zihao said dismissively. "There are four matches in the third round, and only the one between Xu Jingming and Fang Yu is controversial. It's normal for there to be more debate."

"But this Xu Jingming is really lucky," Cheng Zihao curled his lips. "A retired kid with a broken leg actually turned his life around with the arrival of the virtual world era. But Xia Country is full of hidden talents. Countless folk experts are emerging. In just over a month, Fang Yu has appeared. I believe that in a few months… there will be ten or a hundred Fang Yus. Xu Jingming will be nothing then!"

"The boss is right. Past professional players were geniuses who rose from among millions of people worldwide. Now, it's a competition among seven billion people. The geniuses of past professional players… are mostly no longer considered geniuses," Zhou Feng nodded.

"But…"

Zhou Feng looked at the program and frowned. "Boss, I've been collecting information from various programs and livestreams, and I feel that the heat of discussion about Xu Jingming and Fang Yu today is a bit exaggerated."

"After all, one defeated Tie Lanyun, and the other defeated Zhou Yi. See how many people will discuss them if they are eliminated?" Cheng Zihao frowned. "Alright, don't mention Xu Jingming. It's really disappointing."

"Yes." Zhou Feng knew his boss didn't like Xu Jingming.

"Seize the time to work on our company," Cheng Zihao instructed. "Now is the period of rapid growth for our livestreaming company. The Fire Seed Cup competition has obviously stirred up the emotions of the whole nation. Everyone is practicing martial arts, and the popularity of martial arts livestreams… is obviously much higher than in the past."

"Yes," Zhou Feng replied obediently.

…

Inside a bar.

During the day, Sun Li was getting drunk in the bar.

He looked up at the screen in the bar. The screen was divided into two, showing Xu Jingming killing Tie Lanyun at the top and Fang Yu killing Zhou Yi at the bottom.

The host was still excitedly talking.

"Why are Xu Jingming and Fang Yu everywhere?" Sun Li looked at the screen with red eyes.

"The Golden Roc Group is so black-hearted. They kicked me out as soon as the match was over? How can they be so despicable and shameless?" Sun Li was angry and aggrieved. "If it weren't for you, I would still be in Xu Jingming's team. The prize money from the competition alone would be more than what you give in the Golden Roc team!"

"These big groups are all bad news," Sun Li raised his head and drank, angry and aggrieved.