Chapter 1 No Grade Yet

"I haven't been graded yet," Xu Jingming explained. "I've been training in the training grounds."

"Hard training is important, but life-and-death combat is also important!" Liu Hai asked, "Is your base combat strength sufficient?"

"It's enough." Xu Jingming nodded, looking at his personal combat strength panel.

Player: Xu Jingming

Gene Evolution Method: *Tian Mang* Evolution Method (Mid-level 20%) (Practice time 735 days, cannot be improved)

Body: 115

Skills: Spear Technique (Second Order 75%), Footwork (Second Order 16%), Shield Technique (Second Order 62%)

Base Combat Strength: 1380

After all, he had practiced in the training ground for nearly eight hours. The *Tian Mang* Evolution Method reached the initial level after one practice, and now it has reached the mid-level 20%. After raising his body to the limit, he naturally became stronger.

After the body evolved, strength, speed, and nerve reaction all transformed. Therefore, Xu Jingming also chose sparring partners in the training ground to familiarize himself with his shield and spear techniques, ensuring that he could fully display his strength.

"It's good that your combat strength is enough." Liu Hai nodded. He also knew that the threshold for god-level base combat strength was 1000, and if you want to directly enter the god-level through the 'grading match,' the base combat strength needs to reach 1200, which is still very difficult.

"After you retired, you didn't relax your shield technique, did you?" Liu Hai asked.

"In the national team, there were many teammates to spar with. After retiring, the sparring partners are much worse." Xu Jingming said, "But I still insist on practicing a few times every week."

"Practicing shield technique is very helpful for mastering body strength." Liu Hai said, "This is a lifelong thing, and you can't slack off."

"Disciple understands." Xu Jingming said.

He had practiced spear technique since he was a child. After entering the national team, his master Liu Hai taught him shield technique.

His master's shield technique originated from the Taiji lineage.

"Hurry up and get graded. There are already 31 people who have reached the god-level. There are crouching tigers and hidden dragons in our Xia country." Liu Hai said with emotion, and then hung up the communication.

"Already 31 people?" Xu Jingming didn't hesitate any longer, clicked on his personal panel, and went directly to the battle space.

…

The initial entry into the battle space is a void.

A man in a green shirt appeared in the void and said, "Xu Jingming, welcome to the battle space. Your base combat strength has reached 1380, exceeding the 'god-level' base combat strength threshold by more than 20%. You can directly conduct the 'god-level' grading match. Do you want to conduct the grading match?"

"Yes." Xu Jingming nodded.

"The battle space is divided into five environments: small town, mountain forest, city, snowfield, and ancient battlefield. Please choose one of them as the venue for your grading match."

Xu Jingming thought for a while and said, "Mountain forest!"

"Please choose your equipment." The man in the green shirt said, "You can carry up to two weapons, and there must be no protective equipment on the head."

"The whole body, only the head, must be exposed?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Yes, even if you are wearing heavy armor, your head must be exposed." The man in the green shirt nodded and said, "This is the rule set by the virtual world game, so the head will be the biggest weakness in battle. You must be careful to protect it."

Xu Jingming nodded.

With a light tap, he began to select equipment. He had already tested it many times in the training ground, so he was very skilled.

"A set of lightweight body armor, close-fitting without affecting movement." Xu Jingming selected body equipment. After selecting it, he wore a set of dark red body armor and a pair of light and sturdy boots.

"Double shields, both with a diameter of sixty centimeters, are relatively light shields." Xu Jingming carried the double shields on his back, and with a wave of his hand, he chose a long spear.

"The long spear weighs 36 kilograms, which is quite handy." Xu Jingming held the long spear.

The whole body equipment, a set of close-fitting lightweight body armor including boots, weighs 55 kilograms. The double shields weigh 30 kilograms, and the long spear weighs 36 kilograms. For Xu Jingming, whose body index reached 115, it was indeed relatively light equipment. Those heavy armors weigh hundreds of kilograms, of course, the defensive effect is much stronger. Those who practice the *Xuan Gui* Evolution Method and the *Ju Xiong* Evolution Method are more suitable for choosing that type of heavy armor.

"Grading match, let's begin." Xu Jingming clicked ready, and suddenly five maps appeared in the void in front of him, and then he fell directly to the 'mountain forest' map.

******

The mountain forest after the rain, the mountain road is muddy.

Xu Jingming descended from the void, stepped on the muddy ground, and looked around.

Under a large tree in the distance, there were weeds. A sloppy man was sitting cross-legged on the clean weeds, with a sword on his waist. When Xu Jingming appeared, the sloppy man looked up.

"Another one who is not afraid of death." The sloppy man muttered to himself, smiling softly, and slowly stood up.

"Clothed in coarse linen, with only a sword?" Xu Jingming observed his opponent, "He is wearing coarse linen, but I am wearing body armor. Long spear against a sword also gives me a big advantage. He is at a great disadvantage in terms of external equipment, so his own strength may be very strong."

If his strength is weak and his equipment is also weak. That would be too unchallenging.

"Since you're here to die, I'll send you on your way." The sloppy man moved, blurring his body with his movements. He was extremely fast, pouncing straight at Xu Jingming.

Xu Jingming stood still, waiting calmly.

The distance is getting closer!

Xu Jingming held the spear handle with his left hand and the spear waist with his right hand, ready to strike.

"Whoosh." At the moment when the sloppy man approached, his figure twisted strangely, and his long sword flashed.

Bang.

The long sword slashed on Xu Jingming's long spear, but this long spear was like a sea dragon, trembling slightly. The spear shaft slammed into the long sword with terrifying force, shaking the sloppy man backwards. His foot tapped the tree trunk next to him, and with a somersault, he landed in the distance, his hand holding the sword trembling.

"So fast, such agile footwork." Xu Jingming looked at his opponent, "My footwork is not as good as his."

The sloppy man stared at Xu Jingming, slowly approaching again.

He also wanted to kill with a single sword strike, but with a three-foot sword plus his arm, he had to get close enough to stab Xu Jingming. But Xu Jingming's long spear was two meters and six centimeters long. The sloppy man had not yet closed the distance to his attack range, but he was already within Xu Jingming's attack range! This is the advantage of weapons! Just now, the sloppy man was also forced to attack Xu Jingming's long spear.

He must first split the long spear before he can get close.

Whoosh.

The sloppy man approached again.

"Clang clang clang."

He circled around Xu Jingming, moving at high speed, with lightning-fast stabs, colliding with Xu Jingming's long spear, looking for an opportunity.

"His footwork is above mine, and his swordsmanship is not bad, but his equipment is too poor." Xu Jingming understood this, "The normal way to kill the enemy is to rely on the advantage of equipment to kill him. But… there is no need."

When the sloppy man patiently probed again, looking for an opportunity.

Xu Jingming moved the long spear in his hand.

"Hiss!"

A strange whistling sound.

A blurred spear shadow tore through the air, even forming a wave of air. The spear tip was already in front of the sloppy man. In panic, the sloppy man waved his sword to block, but he blocked empty air. A hole had already appeared in his throat, and the spear tip had even retracted.

The sloppy man covered his throat and fell down.

"This is my ultimate move, 'Shadowless Thrust.' Once you enter my attack range, you won't have time to block it at all." Xu Jingming said silently, "Your footwork speed is faster than mine, but not as fast as my spear."

After killing the sloppy man, the world of the mountain forest after the rain began to dissipate, and Xu Jingming also returned to the void.

In the void, a slow-motion picture of the kill appeared in mid-air: Xu Jingming's long spear was so fast that it tore the air, and the air waves split to both sides. The spear tip pierced the sloppy man's neck. The sloppy man's waving long sword had only swung halfway, obviously much slower.

Combat Score: 98 points.

Level: God-level One Star.

And Xu Jingming's personal combat strength panel also appeared next to it——

Player: Xu Jingming

Gene Evolution Method: *Tian Mang* Evolution Method (Mid-level 20%) (Practice time 735 days, cannot be improved)

Body: 115

Skills: Spear Technique (Second Order 75%), Footwork (Second Order 16%), Shield Technique (Second Order 62%)

Base Combat Strength: 1380

Actual Combat Bonus: 20%

Combat Strength: 1656

"More actual combat bonus? And more combat strength?" Xu Jingming understood, "No wonder it was called base combat strength before. Adding the actual combat bonus is the complete combat strength."

"Also, grasping the timing of fighting and the use of various factors are also very important." Xu Jingming knew very well.

"Congratulations, you passed the grading match with a near-perfect score." The man in the green shirt smiled, "I also want to tell you a message. As of this moment, the virtual world game has been open for 8 hours and 36 minutes. There are a total of 32 god-level players in Xia country."

Xu Jingming nodded, there are quite a few who are faster than him, Xia country is indeed full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

"Do you want to start a battle?" The man in the green shirt asked, "The player battles in the battle space are all five-person teams, fighting with another five people in one of the environments: mountain forest, snowfield, city, small town, and ancient battlefield in a life-and-death battle."

"When battling, you can queue up alone and let the game arrange four teammates for you. You can also invite friends to form a team and then battle."

"Queue up alone?" Xu Jingming asked in confusion, "Queue up?"

"Yes, there are only 32 god-level players now. Some are in the training grounds, some are watching live broadcasts, and some have chosen to queue up and then cancel. It may take some time to gather a team of ten." The man in the green shirt explained, "Now is the first day of the game, and there are too few god-level players. Queuing is very slow. After ten or fifteen days, queuing will be much faster."

"Then let's start queuing." Xu Jingming's eyes were full of anticipation, "Those who can become god-level now are not ordinary experts."

Xu Jingming clicked the battle button.

A prompt appeared—— "Six people are ready..."

"There are now six people in the queue." The man in the green shirt said, "The battle will only begin when ten people are full."

"How long will it take?" Xu Jingming asked.

"It may take some time. The longest of these six people has been queuing for two hours." The man in the green shirt said, "There were also people queuing up early, but they canceled. You can cultivate in the training ground, watch live broadcasts, or even go offline while queuing! Once ten people are full, you will be notified immediately! Just log in within three minutes."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly, "Then let's queue up."

"Once this battle begins, it will be the first god-level battle in Xia country." The man in the green shirt said.

"The first god-level battle in Xia country?" Xu Jingming pondered.