"I'm certain that there's someone on the second floor of the inn on the left!" Liu Jianfeng's voice sounded in the team chat. "But you have to be careful. I still haven't found Bizarro Twin Sabers Dong Xu. He might carry out a sneak attack at any time."
"That inn it is!" Hercules Gao Chong ran with large strides, and every step he took caused the stone pavement to tremble. If what he was previously doing was called running, then he was charging now!
Bloody Ax Wang Qiao and Goddess of War Sun Yuting also charged with their shields, heading straight for the inn.
"Gao Chong, let me see how capable you are." A stocky man wearing heavy armor, Wu Sai, appeared on the street with two shields in hand.
At this moment, Xu Jingming appeared on Wu Sai's left. He also held a shield in each hand, but his two shields were clearly smaller than those of the latter. They were only 60 centimeters in diameter, and he was wearing light armor. As for the spear, it was split in half and carried on his back.
Once Gao Chong started fighting, he became fierce and violent! Back in the World Martial Arts Tournament, he fought his first match to the last match with such rampancy until he became world champion.
That was only in reality. Now, in the virtual world's fight, he let himself go even more.
"Nothing but fodder!" Gao Chong charged forward and swung his spear at Wu Sai! This strike was like a galaxy crashing down from the sky; it possessed extreme momentum.
Wu Sai raised his dual shields. He was used to keeping his hands tight to his chest in defense from his years of boxing. At this moment, he believed that with dual shields in hand, he could withstand any attack of his opponent.
Boom!
This strike was pandemonic—even earth-shattering. It struck the shield with great might.
Wu Sai felt the impact through the shield, sending him flying uncontrollably. He found it unbelievable. "What the hell?"
In martial arts and weapon combat, his actual combat bonus is 0%, right? Xu Jingming was dumbfounded when he saw this.
This legendary boxing champion definitely had very high control over his body. His boxing and shield techniques shared similarities, and his basic combat strength was at least 1200 on paper. However, his actual combat experience when it came to weapons was terrible.
"How can you withstand the might of a spear thrust while wearing armor that weighs hundreds of kilograms?" Panda Zhang Qian—who was hiding in a residence and preparing to launch a sneak attack—could only immediately charge out. With a flashy move, his tri-point, double-edged halberd immediately blocked Gao Chong, who wanted to finish his opponent off with another strike.
Clang!
The spear collided with the halberd, and the latter bent. Panda Zhang Qian managed to hold back the strike at the cost of taking two steps back.
"Panda, thanks." Wu Sai took the opportunity to stand up and felt a little ashamed. "I don't have much experience. Please forgive me."
"Help me." Panda Zhang Qian felt the pressure after exchanging a few blows.
Meanwhile—
"Surround and kill Xu Jingming first." Bloody Ax Wang Qiao and Goddess of War Sun Yuting took advantage of the opportunity to fight him two-on-one.
Xu Jingming held his dual shields, and the moment the two approached, he took a slight step back. With a tricky slanting and swaying of his dual shields, he resolved Bloody Ax Wang Qiao and Sun Yuting's charge.
"His shield technique was taught by Liu Hai. His shield technique is like Taiji—like chewing gum." Although Sun Yuting's shield bash missed, she still delivered a strike with her sword like a venomous snake. Bloody Ax Wang Qiao also struck out with his ax.
Bang! Clang!
Xu Jingming defended flawlessly against the two of them.
It wouldn't be easy to defend with just one huge spear, but a shield had a huge advantage in defense. Although Liu Hai's shield techniques also had powerful offensive attacks, they mainly relied on borrowing the opponent's force to deflect the attack.
Meanwhile, in the residence opposite the inn, Sharpshooter Wang Yi was watching the battle on the street.
Gao Chong charged forward with brute force, crushing Panda Zhang Qian and Boxer King Wu Sai in a one-on-two battle.
Xu Jingming defended against Sun Yuting and Wang Qiao, and he did so flawlessly.
"Gao Chong." Wang Yi drew the bow, the arrow already nocked.
Gao Chong's attacks were violent, but his protection of the head was weaker than Goddess of War Sun Yuting and Bloody Ax Wang Qiao.
Wang Yi's eyes turned cold.
Swish!
She released her grip.
An arrow instantly shot out of the window, tearing through the air and heading straight for Gao Chong at a terrifying speed.
How could Gao Chong—someone who became world champion—really be a rash person? The person he was most wary of was the sharpshooter lurking in the shadows.
How swift! Even though he was constantly vigilant, the blurry arrow still shocked Gao Chong. He merely raised the spear shaft and tilted his head.
Pu!
The moment the arrow brushed past his face, a piece of flesh went missing from his face, and his right ear disappeared.
"Over there!" Gao Chong was delighted instead of being alarmed. He looked at the residence in front of him and stormed over.
"Sharpshooter is over there." Goddess of War Sun Yuting and Bloody Ax Wang Qiao also stared at the residence. They stopped fighting Xu Jingming and rushed over.
"Block them." Wu Sai held his two shields and tried to hold them back.
Panda Zhang Qian also charged forward and joined forces to block Gao Chong, but with a delicate upward thrust from the latter, Wu Sai was sent flying with his dual shields. Panda Zhang Qian was also forced back a few steps by the spear.
Zhang Qian bared his teeth. "In this world of Life Evolution, one only feels 1% of the pain! Otherwise, just the pain from that hit would've given Gao Chong openings."
The pain was reduced to 1% because many injuries became very serious in a life-and-death battle. Without a pain reduction, many people would collapse from the pain.
Wu Sai and Zhang Qian were actually unable to hold back the belligerent Gao Chong.
Meanwhile, Xu Jingming couldn't hold back two people by himself. But as Sun Yuting and Wang Qiao rushed to the residence, he suddenly rushed forward and shouted into the team chat, "Sharpshooter, work with me!"
Boom! Boom!
Xu Jingming only took two steps, and the full force of his legs pushed his speed to a terrifying level.
"What?" Sun Yuting immediately sensed that something was amiss. She felt that the strength Xu Jingming suddenly erupted brought a terrifying, fierce, and bloody smell with it as if an ancient, ferocious beast was charging at her. Xu Jingming—who had been defending all this time—revealed his fangs at this moment, leaving Sun Yuting even more frightened than the impressive Hercules Gao Chong made her.
Bang!
Although her left hand had held up her shield and she was even mentally prepared to deflect the force, Xu Jingming suddenly thrust out his two shields the moment he closed in. The force from his charge and his entire body's strength was almost perfectly transferred to the two shields, and through the collision between them and Sun Yuting's shield, it was completely transferred to Sun Yuting.
Sun Yuting felt her shield warp her arm and slam into her chest. She couldn't help but be sent flying, and the impact made her taste blood as she couldn't help spewing blood.
Swish!
At this moment, she also saw an arrow shoot out from that residence.
However, Sun Yuting—who was sent flying—was unable to dodge. The arrow stabbed through her neck, and her body turned ethereal, disappearing from the town.
Goddess of War Sun Yuting was dead! After she was sent flying while spewing blood from the impact of Xu Jingming's dual shields, death was the only outcome in front of the sharpshooter.
"What?" Bloody Ax Wang Qiao found it unbelievable that his teammate was sent flying and seriously injured from a single collision. "Isn't that a shield technique Liu Hai taught?"
Xu Jingming held two shields.
Shield techniques?
When he first started learning shield techniques, he had to completely follow what his teacher had taught him. However, he had already reached an extremely high level of mastery, so he naturally chose the path that was suitable for him. What he learned from a young age was… Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce!
The Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce was the move his father was most pleased with! His father focused on this move for 40 years. As his best move, he taught the young Xu Jingming in a handheld fashion.
This shield technique is my father's ultimate move! Xu Jingming thought to himself. Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce!
...
In China's official livestream channel.
Xu Hong's eyes couldn't help but turn moist when he saw this scene. He murmured, "Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce!"
He was a martial arts blogger when he was young, and he had learned from many schools of martial arts. He was a jack of all trades but master of none. However, he loved it! Later on, he came into contact with the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce, and he loved it from the bottom of his heart.
He had spent a lot of effort to become a disciple and had obtained the true teachings of the Eight Extremities lineage. He had even built the Eight Extremities Sect in Mingyue City.
He practiced many moves daily, but he spent most of his time on one move—Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce!
"Son, the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce is all about the pounce. Not only does it require the body's full strength, but it also requires the momentum from a full-body charge." Xu Hong demonstrated the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce in front of his young son.
"No matter what move the enemy makes, my Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce will hit the enemy square in the center. It will force the enemy to spread out their arms, giving you a chance to smack them in the chest."
"It's said that a tiger is good at climbing mountains, but the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce is even purer. Once you master this move, you just have to pounce regardless of what enemy it is."
Xu Hong believed in this move.
The young Xu Jingming didn't understand much either; he only knew to trust his father and practice the moves diligently.
In the three years since he retired, Xu Jingming felt that his shield techniques weren't fierce enough and that he could completely integrate the Eight Extremities. Therefore, he slowly merged them together to form his own shield technique—a shield technique that was different from his master's.
Countless viewers in China's official livestream broke into a frenzy.
The battle was originally a stalemate; Hercules Gao Chong even managed to have the advantage in a one-on-two battle with his might. Xu Jingming could only defend against Wang Qiao and Sun Yuting on the surface.
However, the situation changed instantly! The moment Xu Jingming revealed his fangs, he instantly sent Sun Yuting flying with heavy injuries.
"Look, Xu Jingming only took two steps before his body's explosive speed reached 30.8 meters per second." Coach Huang Yong was extremely excited as he looked at the slow-motion replay. He pointed and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if his speed increased to this extent from practicing Shadow Leopard Evolution. However, Xu Jingming's physique and strength are clearly not of the Shadow Leopard Evolution, but he managed to produce such great explosive speed in an instant! It's obvious that his control over his body has reached an astonishing level."
"His speed reached a terrifying level in two steps. His two shields are like two giant claws of a tiger, slamming into Goddess of War Sun Yuting's shield. Despite having a shield to block it, she was still sent flying while spewing blood." Huang Yong shook his head in praise. "Impressive."
"Xu Jingming's shield techniques weren't that amazing at the World Martial Arts Tournament," Qin Yiwen exclaimed in surprise.
"In the past, it contained the methods of Taiji. But now, it seems to have a hint of the Eight Extremities," Huang Yong said. "What a fierce move. Xu Jingming is even stronger than three years ago!"
The comments section of the livestream was filled with countless comments. "Awesome!"
"A Divine expert just like her was slammed to the point of vomiting blood and being sent flying?"
"His shield isn't a shield at all. Coach Huang Yong said it well. That pair of shields… are like two big tiger claws."
"And it's not an ordinary tiger but a tiger demon! It's the claws of a huge tiger demon."
"Xu Jingming would say: Stop calling me Spear Demon. Call me Shield Demon!"
The audience was pumped from watching this. In a stalemate battle, a decisive move was needed to break the balance!