Chapter 45: Extreme Bottleneck

“So here’s the situation…” Li Miaomiao recounted the situation. “Therefore, your senior brother and the others are now short of a teammate.”

“Is Sun Li that much of an asshole?” Dai Xiaoqing fumed upon hearing that. “Senior Brother and the others have trained with him for 20 days for the tournament. This is 20 days in the virtual world! Why did he suddenly quit the team? Can’t he wait until after the Firestarter Cup before signing on with another team?”

“That’s precisely what he did. What can they do?” Li Miaomiao shook her head. “Your senior brother and the others want to find a sharpshooter as a teammate. If it doesn’t work out, they can only find another warrior. When that happens, the five warriors will join the competition and brawl.”

“A sharpshooter is necessary. With an enemy sharpshooter watching in the shadows, one can only use 70% of their close-combat strength. They won’t even dare to make a mistake.” Dai Xiaoqing asked after some thought, “Sister-in-law, were you planning to ask about Sister Wang Yi?”

“I heard that she hasn’t decided on a team,” Li Miaomiao said. “Do you know what’s on her mind? Why hasn’t she decided on a team?”

“Sister Wang Yi…” Dai Xiaoqing thought and said, “You know very well that she was an archery champion at three Olympics. She’s also one of the top three popular streamers on the spectator platform! Just the tips earn her a lot; she doesn’t need money at all.”

Li Miaomiao listened. She had to understand Wang Yi before deciding on the method of invitation.

“Sister Wang Yi still has some dreams,” Dai Xiaoqing said. “She has always aimed to have the strongest archery techniques! I often spar with her too; I’m an assassin after all! I train my assassin abilities while she trains her archery skills at close range. She’s still very obsessed with archery.”

“Same for your senior brother…” Li Miaomiao looked at her friends list. “Look, your senior brother is training hard in the Cosmos Tower now. He doesn’t even want to do a livestream.”

“Sister Wang Yi is quite willing to do a livestream.” Dai Xiaoqing smiled and said, “Sister Wang Yi said that being the center of attention during a livestream gives her more focus and passion, allowing her to perform better.”

“She doesn’t care about money and aims to have the strongest archery techniques?” Li Miaomiao thought for a moment. “Then, why didn’t she choose a team?”

“Perhaps she hasn’t found suitable teammates,” Dai Xiaoqing said. “I’m not too sure about her exact thoughts. Let’s do this—give me some time to figure out her intentions. Once I figure it out, I’ll tell you immediately.”

“Xiaoqing, sorry to trouble you,” Li Miaomiao said.

“Yours and Senior Brother’s problem is my problem. Leave this to me,” Dai Xiaoqing said with a smile. “I’ll have a sparring session with Sister Wang Yi now.”

…

On the Cosmos Tower’s third floor, in a rainforest.

Xu Jingming fought the tigers as usual.

Roar! The six large tigers surrounded and attacked Xu Jingming.

Xu Jingming’s movement was closer to perfection and more agile now, and his spearmanship was getting faster and faster. His defense and force deflection were also much more perfect, but he still found himself in a sorry state under the six tigers’ attacks.

The moment his movement technique changed, his spear stabbed out like a bolt of lightning, piercing into the neck of a tiger. He then instantly retracted his spear and dodged, avoiding the pounce of another tiger.

The tiger with a bloody hole in its neck turned ethereal and disappeared.

After the death of one tiger, three more tigers—ones that were even larger—slowly approached from a distance to replace their brethren.

Xu Jingming fought with his full strength.

After a long battle.

Pu. A tiger claw swiped across Xu Jingming’s back after he made a single mistake.

I killed a total of six tigers, but it didn’t warrant the tiger king to make a move. Xu Jingming’s body turned ethereal and disappeared from the Cosmos Tower’s third floor.

Under Cosmos Tower.

Xu Jingming appeared and looked up to see the huge list in the night sky—there were only six names on the huge list!

It’s been a month since the virtual world’s launch, but only six people are on the rankings, Xu Jingming thought to himself. It’s too difficult to clear the third level of Cosmos Tower. It’s no wonder the Earth Alliance doesn’t have a time limit, and the top 100 are all rewarded.

Xu Jingming was filled with longing as he looked at the six names.

World Number One: Liu Hai (China)

World Number Two: Tiger Fussen (USA)

World Number Three: Alan Emelianenko (Russia)

World Number 4: Tejano Xire (Botswana)

World Number 5: Lei Yunfang (China)

World Number 6: Kai Saint Mills (United States of America)

Of these six, my master—Liu Hai—is the oldest; he’s 74 years old, Xu Jingming thought to himself. Other than Tejano of the remaining five… They are all in their forties, and they have long become famous.

Only Tejano Xire is 20 years old this year? Xu Jingming had read a lot of news about him.

Ever since he entered the Cosmos Ranking, Tejano Xire became a celebrity. All kinds of interviews and news about him proliferated in China.

Tejano Xire was born in Botswana, a small country in Southern Africa. At the age of 18, his boxing talent was unearthed, and he was brought to the United States of America. After a year of training, he was recognized to have better talent at mixed martial arts, and he switched to mixed martial arts… After a year of training, the virtual world opened up before he officially made his debut. This combat genius is shining in the virtual world, and his growth speed is simply that of a monster’s.

He cleared Cosmos Tower’s third level at the age of 20 and is ranked fourth in the world. Xu Jingming sighed. The other five can be explained because of their age, but this monster-like genius is only 20 years old, and he doesn’t have any professional combat experience. As for me? I’m already 29, and I’ve participated in so many competitions. However, he’s already ranked fourth in the world!

This made Xu Jingming feel that there was always someone better! There were indeed many hidden talents in the world!

Master and the others have publicly said that one needs to have their genetic evolutionary method reach Advanced, as well as having their combat techniques reach Lv. 3. Only after some training and forming one’s own combat system can one clear the third level. Xu Jingming gently tapped open his personal combat strength interface.

Genetic Evolutionary Method: Heavenly Python Evolution (Intermediate 99%) (703 days of practice. No room for improvement)

Physique: 135

Technique: Spearmanship (Lv. 2 99%), Footwork (Lv. 2 93%), Shield Technique (Lv. 2 99%)

Basic Combat Strength: 2025

Combat Bonus: 26%

Combat Strength: 2551

My evolutionary method is stuck at Intermediate 99%, and my spearmanship and shield techniques are stuck at Lv. 2 99%, Xu Jingming thought to himself. I’ve been stuck here for more than a week.

From what I know, only my master—Liu Hai—Lei Yunfang, and Zhou Yi in the country have reached Lv. 3. Everyone else is stuck at Lv. 2.

In the rankings tabulated by Fairy Wang—be it the second and third tiers, their combat techniques had reached the limit of Lv. 2. Even if they hadn’t reached Lv. 2 99%, they had reached Lv. 2 90%.

The second-tier experts were strong because they had ultimate techniques that formed a complete combat system, suppressing the experts behind them.

There are many people in the country who are stuck at a bottleneck. There are even more people in the world who are stuck at the limit of Lv. 2, Xu Jingming thought to himself. Based on the entire world’s situation, going from the limit of Lv. 2 to Lv. 3 is a very difficult step.

I’ve asked Master too! According to him, I have to reach Lv. 3 before my genetic evolutionary method has a chance of breaking through to Advanced. Xu Jingming also had a headache. He was stuck at a bottleneck and couldn’t improve as he watched weaker people catch up to him.

“Be like water; have the mind be one with every part of the body. With a thought, the move is executed,” Xu Jingming said softly, “but why can’t I do it?”

This bottleneck trapped Xu Jingming and many of the world’s top experts.

Only by breaking through this bottleneck would one have a bright future! Only then would one be qualified to enter the ranks of the world’s top experts!