Chapter 157: Registration

Translator: CKtalon

Xu Jingming read the world announcement carefully as well.

“I remember that on October 28th last year, Master, Tejano, and I cleared Cosmos Tower’s fourth floor one after another.” Xu Jingming looked at the announcement and said, “It took about three months from the virtual world’s launch on July 25th to October 28th. Yet, it’s seven months from October 28th to June 1 this year! Seven months is enough to produce many changes. Experts improve at different speeds, and their strength will also differ. The overall structure of the world’s experts has probably undergone a drastic change.”

“Yeah,” Li Miaomiao agreed.

Three months after the virtual world’s launch, many professional gladiators were overtaken, and many ordinary people rose.

What would happen after ten months?

“I wonder how high I can rank in the world with my current strength,” Xu Jingming said with a sigh. “I wonder if I can enter the top three.”

“Jingming, nobody has publicly broken through to Lv. 5 yet! You’ve broken through for quite some time,” Li Miaomiao said. “I believe you will definitely enter the top three or even be first.”

Xu Jingming smiled and said, “My wife thinks I am handsome for she is loving me.”

“I’m telling the truth.” Li Miaomiao felt helpless. She pointed at the world announcement and said, “According to what it says, you can register and participate starting from the day of the announcement. Let’s quickly register.”

“You’re participating too?” Xu Jingming asked.

“Of course! One can register after reaching Lv. 3, so I naturally have to experience it. This is the first World Martial Arts Tournament held in the virtual world; it will be very memorable,” Li Miaomiao said.

The couple opened the registration page and chose to register.

The number of applicants had climbed to 3259!

“There was a simple count a few days ago. There should be about 1,000 people worldwide who have reached Lv. 4,” Li Miaomiao said. “Those who have reached Lv. 3 globally will definitely exceed 10,000.”

“There are so many talents in all walks of life.” Xu Jingming found this number very normal.

…

That day, a small gathering was held on the island in Li Miaomiao’s personal space. All her relatives and friends were gathered.

Friends these days usually gathered in the virtual world, so it was convenient for everyone to meet up.

“Kids, have you registered for the World Martial Arts Tournament?” Grandpa Xu chuckled as he looked at the members of Team Pearwood chatting together.

“Grandpa, we’ve registered,” Yang Qingshuo immediately said obediently.

“Of course, we have to register. This is the first global competition since the virtual world’s launch.” Wang Yi was also very excited.

“This is the World Martial Arts Tournament. I can’t cozy up to big shots in a one-on-one battle.” Liu Chongyuan shook his head. “I’m still stuck at the limit of Lv. 3. I definitely won’t be able to enter the main competition.”

Yang Qingshuo said, “There are probably about 1,000 people in the world who have reached Lv. 4, and only 32 people will emerge from the preliminary heats! Forget about the limit of Lv. 3, even an ordinary Lv. 4 will probably be eliminated in the preliminaries. Sigh, although I’ve reached Lv. 4, my chances of entering the main competition are almost zero!”

“Kid, you haven’t fought yet. Don’t be discouraged,” Grandpa Xu said with a smile. “Participation is what counts.”

“Shuo, you’ve reached Lv. 4 after all. Bear and I are stuck at the limit of Lv. 3.” Heng Fang was a little disappointed. Being stuck at the limit of Lv. 3 with no room for improvement, seeing ordinary people who had never practiced martial arts in the past break through to Lv. 4 as geniuses over time made Heng Fang rather uncomfortable. In particular, many of his friends had broken through.

He worked hard every day, but he just couldn’t break through.

“Haha, you have to work hard.” Xu Hong walked over and patted Heng Fang on the shoulder. “I’ve already broken through to Lv. 4, but a professional gladiator like you haven’t broken through?”

“Uncle, stop harping on it.” Heng Fang and Liu Chongyuan were helpless.

“Dad, you’ve flaunted it several times today.” Xu Jingming was helpless as well.

Xu Hong was very pleased with himself. His eyes lit up when he saw Dai Tongda in the distance, and he walked over. “Old Dai, I just broke through to Lv. 4 yesterday. What about you? From your bitter expression, I know you must be at Lv. 3.”

“Get lost!” Dai Tongda glared.

“Your daughter has reached Lv. 4, and so have I.” Xu Hong shook his head. “Old Dai, you have to work hard.”

“Shut your mouth,” Dai Tongda said.

“Son, don’t be too smug.” Grandpa Xu glared at him. “You just broke through to Lv. 4. You’ll probably still be eliminated during the preliminaries.”

1

Xu Hong immediately looked helplessly at his father.

“Since all of you are going to be eliminated at the preliminaries, there’s no reason to be so smug,” Grandpa Xu said. “Participation is what counts.”

“Right, participation is what counts. Everyone will be eliminated at the preliminaries.” Dai Tongda felt much better as he shot a glance at Xu Hong.

“When the time comes, I’ll participate with you guys and be eliminated together,” Grandpa Xu said with a smile.

“Participate with us?” Xu Hong, Dai Tongda, Dai Xiaoqing, and even the nearby Xu Jingming, Li Miaomiao, Wang Yi, Heng Fang, and Liu Chongyuan looked over.

“Grandpa, you’ve reached Lv. 3?” Li Miaomiao asked.

“Dad, you’ve never practiced martial arts in the past.” Xu Hong found it unbelievable.

Grandpa Xu smiled. “I reckon it’s because our Xu family has talent in martial arts. I’ve practiced in the virtual world for more than half a year, and I’ve been training blindly. I’ve also studied quite a number of martial arts classes, and I’ve finally reached Lv. 3! There should be more than 10,000 people in the world who have reached Lv. 3; I’m just one of ten thousand. I’m inconspicuous, nothing at all.”

The group fell silent.

Although it was true that some ordinary people in this era only came into contact with martial arts and started practicing after the virtual world’s launch, Zhao Fan and the others had become world-class experts and had long reached the limit of Lv. 4. However, Lv. 3 was still a threshold. There were only about 10,000 people in the world who had broken past this threshold, but Grandpa Xu had crossed it just like that?

“Did you teach Grandpa?” Li Miaomiao asked with a whisper.

“No, Grandpa never asked me.” Xu Jingming shook his head.

“You experts taught me before I barely broke through to Lv. 3, but Grandpa figured it out himself and reached Lv. 3?” Li Miaomiao felt the gap in talent at that very moment.

Xu Jingming scratched his head and comforted his wife in a low voice. “When my grandfather was young, he was an eSports player and was FMVP. Therefore… he has some talent?”

He was a little uncertain himself.

Or did the Xu family really have talent in martial arts?

“Hubby,” Mrs. Xu whispered to Xu Hong, “I’ve been working hard too. Why am I still at Radiant Sun? I haven’t even reached Lv. 2.”

“Honey, you’re very impressive. Only one in a hundred can reach Lv. 2 now! You’re already considered one of the top 10% of humanity,” Xu Hong comforted his wife.

“Really?” Mrs. Xu was puzzled.

According to the statistics, it was true that only one in a hundred people had reached Divine.

“From tomorrow onward, you have to teach me for an hour a day. Wait, that’s too tiring. Let’s do it for half an hour,” Mrs. Xu said.

“Definitely, definitely,” Xu Hong immediately promised.

…

This was the first global competition since the virtual world’s launch! Moreover, the 1v1 Martial Arts Tournament naturally attracted the attention of the entire world!

People were very curious—who was the strongest in the world now? Liu Hai? Tejano? Xu Jingming? Or was it a new expert?

Many global experts who had reached Lv. 3 signed up.

People also looked forward to the day of the event.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

A livestream battle was held between China’s team and Japan’s team.

The strongest member of China’s team was a valiant girl! The strongest member of Japan’s team was Miyagawa Meishin.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The girl held a shield and saber, her blade thin and long as she attacked head-on.

Miyagawa Meishin’s movement technique was ghostly as he surrounded and attacked the girl.

Offensive against offensive!

“Pfft.”

Suddenly, the girl’s saber flashed, and she became much faster. She swept past Miyagawa Meishin’s chest and left a bloody gash.

Miyagawa Meishin’s expression changed as he landed in the distance. “You…”

The girl revealed a happy expression. “Thank you, Miyagawa Meishin. Your actual combat strength is indeed stronger than mine; you threatened me sufficiently! You finally allowed me to break through to Lv. 5.”

“Lv. 5?” Miyagawa Meishin felt mixed emotions. He was stuck at the limit of Lv. 4 until now, but this young lady had broken through.

Yes, Miyagawa Meishin was very young, but the girl was even younger.

This girl… was China’s strongest expert in the ‘underage’ group—Tu Ling.

Minors under the age of 16 were prohibited from using armor or weapons; they could only fight bare-handed! With China’s population, the number of minors was also very large. They also had matches between each other.

As for Tu Ling, she was the undisputed strongest expert.

“Tu Ling reached Lv. 4 at the end of last year. She turned 16 in February and officially started wearing armor and holding weapons. As the strongest minor in China, she improved equally fast and fiercely after she became an adult. Just now, she personally said that she broke through to Lv. 5.” The female host in China’s official livestream was extremely excited and proud.

“How impressive.” Xu Jingming was also pulled over by Li Miaomiao midway to watch the battle. He saw the slow-motion replay. “Her saber technique has indeed broken through to Lv. 5.”

“She was invincible when she was a minor,” Li Miaomiao praised. “She reached Lv. 4 with her bare hands and only came into contact with armor and weapons when she became an adult.”

“The Martial Arts Tournament is getting more and more interesting.” Xu Jingming looked forward to it.

Not many countries live-streamed the battle between Tu Ling and Miyagawa Meishin. But after the livestream ended, the news quickly spread! This was because this was the first publicly announced Lv. 5. Moreover, this genius girl had broken through in battle.

…

A 16-year-old girl has broken through to Lv. 5? Tiger Fussen—who was chopping trees in the snowstorm—fell silent when he heard the news. I only broke through to Lv. 5 half a month ago. I’m only half a month faster than a young lady… How many Lv. 5s are there in the world?

I was in the top five in the first three months of the virtual world’s launch, but it’s not certain if I can be ranked in the top ten ten months after the launch. Tiger Fussen calmed down and continued chopping trees with his two axes.

…

The breakthrough of China’s peerless female genius, Tu Ling, was indeed an impetus for many experts around the world, especially the experts who were stuck at the limit of Lv. 4. Everyone worked harder and went all out, hoping to showcase their strength in the competition.

In the blink of an eye, amid everyone’s anticipation, it was finally June 1, the day of the competition.