Chapter 39

Translator: CKtalon

It’s actually him? Xu Jingming looked at the name. World number two actually comes from the boxing world?

“Li Miaomiao extends you an invitation to her personal space.” Xu Jingming received a notification, and he accepted the invitation with a tap.

By the beach.

Li Miaomiao sat on a beach chair, drinking a beverage while looking up Tiger Fussen.

“Miaomiao.” Xu Jingming walked over and listened to the sound of the waves and breathed in the smell of the beach. He also lay down on a beach chair and picked up a watermelon to eat.

“Jingming, this information on Tiger Fussen is quite messy.” Li Miaomiao looked at the information. “He’s a boxing champion in all kinds of competitions.”

“It’s normal not to understand. There’s a huge difference between the boxing world and the martial arts world,” Xu Jingming said with a smile. “The World Martial Arts Tournament doesn’t discriminate between age, sex, or weight, and weaponry combat is done with armor. Therefore, getting first and second in the world speaks volumes. The prize money and appearance fees are also very high.”

“Boxing is divided into more than ten classes according to weight—heavyweight, cruiserweight, light heavyweight, etc. Moreover, it’s divided into four professional boxing organizations. Therefore, there are many boxing champions. Many boxing champions aren’t famous enough, and their appearance fees are very low. They also have to do other jobs to support themselves.”

“Their income is that low?” Li Miaomiao was puzzled.

“Of course, there are also those with high income,” Xu Jingming said. “For example, a gold belt that dominates the four major organizations is invincible at a certain weight class! They keep going up the weight classes and becoming invincible at that class, eventually becoming more and more famous until they become the most dazzling boxing champion of an era. It’s normal to be paid more than a hundred million when that happens.”

“As for where Tiger Fussen stands among the many historical boxing champions? It might be controversial, but there’s no doubt that he’s the greatest heavyweight boxing champion,” Xu Jingming said.

Li Miaomiao looked at the information and said, “He began professional boxing at 18, became a heavyweight world boxing champion at 20 until he retired at 28. He surprisingly only lost one match and won all the other matches?”

“At the age of 28, he felt that he had no match in the boxing industry, so he retired to spend time with his children. Later on, he set up a boxing school. His disciples were lackluster, and none of them succeeded,” Xu Jingming said. “Therefore, in his rage, he made a comeback at the age of 43 and went on for another decade. He won every match in that decade without a single loss. Can you think of a 53-year-old elder dominating the heavyweight boxing industry? In his career, he won 91 out of 92 battles, of which 86 were won via KO. Just hearing of such a KO ratio is terrifying. He’s known as the best puncher in the history of heavyweights. When he retired at the age of 53, even the younger generation didn’t dare fight him head-on!”

“I heard that there’s a boxing champion who won every match throughout his entire career,” Li Miaomiao said.

“There is,” Xu Jingming said, “but it depends on the opponents. Although some boxing champions have won every match, they only fought opponents who weren’t famous. The value of their achievements is much lower. For example, although my senior brother, Tie Lianyun, has been world champion three times, he can’t compare to the three kings of the martial arts world. Why? It’s because the opponents he defeated weren’t strong enough! It’s the same for boxing champions. They can only prove themselves by defeating powerful opponents.”

“This old boxing champion retired in his youth due to his invincibility. Even at an old age, he won every match for ten years and remained invincible! Moreover, he’s in the cruelest heavyweight class,” Xu Jingming said. “Therefore, he enjoys a high status in the boxing industry.”

“It’s just that I never expected this old boxing champion to clear the third floor of Cosmos Tower and rank second globally just eight days after picking up a weapon.” Xu Jingming was impressed. “I’m afraid many martial arts schools in the world didn’t expect this old boxing champion to come in second.”

“What about the three kings of the martial arts world? Aren’t they very strong?” Li Miaomiao asked.

“I can only say that there are stronger people worldwide,” Xu Jingming said.

Time passed.

After the mission space started, just 38 minutes after Cosmos Tower opened up, Liu Hai from China cleared the third level.

About five hours after Cosmos Tower’s opening, Tiger Fussen from the USA cleared the third level.

However, three days passed… and there were still only two names on the Cosmos Ranking!

******

In the virtual world, in Liu Hai’s personal space.

Five higher-ups from China came to visit Liu Hai—four men and one woman.

“Coach Liu Hai,” said a refined middle-aged man with a smile. “It’s been years since we last met, right?”

“Sir, have a seat.” Liu Hai was also very polite.

“Haha, I’m a few years older than Liu Hai. But look at us, both of us have become young,” the elegant middle-aged man said with a smile.

His four companions beside him also smiled and nodded. People now enjoyed a greatly increased lifespan spanning from 160 to 200 years. They were considered in their prime at the age of 80 or 90.

“Coach Liu Hai, Life Evolution is an important process for the entire human civilization. Our country places great importance on it, and it established the Life Evolution Bureau! It’s in charge of all matters related to Life Evolution for the entire country,” the elegant middle-aged man said. “The Life Evolution Bureau is also in charge of the virtual world game.”

When Liu Hai heard that, he immediately understood how powerful this previously unknown mysterious department was.

The virtual world had a huge impact on one’s life. Life Evolution was even more important, and it was managed by the Life Evolution Bureau.

“Let me introduce you. This is Elder Zhou, also our Bureau Director.” The elegant middle-aged man introduced an elder sitting in the middle.

“Hello, Director Zhou.” Liu Hai felt a little uneasy in front of this high-ranking official.

This elder was a high-ranking official when Liu Hai was young.

“Haha…” Director Zhou chuckled. “I retired a long time ago, but I never expected to encounter something like Life Evolution. To live on, you can think of me as an early batch of experimenters. I was lucky to succeed and live to this day. Over the years, I’ve been in charge of many experiments on Life Evolution and the virtual world.”

Liu Hai listened obediently.

“Director Zhou oversees the entire process, and the four of us help share the burden,” the elegant middle-aged man said. “This is Deputy Director Wang Shuqi, this is Deputy Director Liang Qian, and this is Deputy Director Zhang Tongfang.”

The other three deputy directors smiled. The female deputy director smiled and said, “Coach Liu Hai, you have brought great glory to China this time. Everyone in China feels encouraged. Even after you became world champion, only two people in the world have managed to clear the Cosmos Tower’s third level in the past three days. Cosmos Tower is only a personal mission in the virtual world, but it’s a test of your strength. Real combat has proven that you are already at the forefront of the Life Evolution process.”

“Very impressive.”

“The bureau is also proud of you.” A deputy director gave him a thumbs-up.

“It’s only because I had a few more decades than the rest,” Liu Hai said humbly.

Director Zhou smiled and said, “Coach Liu Hai, we came firstly to ask if you have any suggestions for our Life Evolution Bureau. After all, the Life Evolution Bureau has just gotten on track, so it lacks experience. Secondly, we wanted to ask if you needed any help. After all, you’re world number one, so we naturally have to focus on nurturing you. We need to employ limited resources where they are needed most.”

“Feel free to speak your mind,” the elegant middle-aged man said.

“I won’t hold back then.” Liu Hai thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I’m a little ashamed to be world champion.”

Although the five leaders were puzzled, they listened calmly.

“To be the world champion, my personal experience is one aspect. On the other hand, I received the country’s grooming on the first day of the virtual world’s launch,” Liu Hai said. “With the given resources, my growth is naturally faster than those who didn’t! In seven days, my strength is much greater than on the first day of the virtual world’s launch. Therefore, I easily cleared the third level the moment Cosmos Tower was opened up.”

“But I received external help,” Liu Hai said. “Only 20 people in the country were groomed. There are still more than a billion people who can only rely on themselves.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed.” The elegant middle-aged man said, “There are 20 people groomed domestically, and every country around the world will groom their elites. From what I know, about 80 people in the world are being groomed! However, only two people have cleared the Cosmos Tower’s third level since its launch. You are one, and the other is that old USA boxing champion.”

“Being groomed is only an external force; it takes time to manifest. The two of you were so impressive in the early stages because of your strong foundations,” the elegant middle-aged man said.

Liu Hai nodded. “Of the 20 people in the country who are being groomed, I chose ‘Lv. 5 Shield Saber Technique.’ It takes me time to learn it. With time, I will learn more and more, and I will become stronger. It’s the same for those who are being groomed. They will grow very quickly, but what about the others? For example, one of my disciples, Xu Jingming!”

“Xu Jingming was the most dazzling person in the first Divine battle on the first day of the virtual world’s launch. He was clearly stronger than Gao Chong, Wang Qiao, and Dong Xu in that battle, but he wasn’t groomed. He can only slowly figure things out himself. As for Gao Chong, Wang Qiao, and Dong Xu, they are martial arts masters. They obtained resources, so their improvement will be very fast in the future.”

“Xu Jingming was already better than them on the first day of the virtual world, but in a month, they will probably surpass him. When that happens, most of the top 20 in China will be those who were groomed,” Liu Hai said. “Is that fair?”

The five leaders listened in silence.

“It only took a few days for the game to show the rise of many female contestants and even civilian contestants,” Liu Hai said.. “But as the groomed personnel gradually use up resources and rely on their original foundations, they will improve quickly and surpass female contestants and civilian contestants. Is that fair?”