In that small town gently caressed by the drizzle, a duel between divine-level masters was quietly unfolding. Jamie Smith, the young warrior, was facing the most severe test of his life. His mother, sitting in the live broadcast arena, was so nervous she could barely breathe. Her heart was filled with worry, fearing whether her son could survive this life-and-death contest.
"Liv Jay Windsor, that old man, is about to strike at Jingming," she said, her voice trembling as if she could feel the impending storm.
Hugh Smith, Jamie's uncle, spoke in a calm and powerful voice, trying to soothe the tense atmosphere around him. "An ambush lies in its unexpectedness," he explained, his eyes gleaming with a deep understanding of combat. "That elder, Liv Jay Windsor, moves like a ghost, silent and swift. Once he strikes... if Jingming reacts even a moment too late, he could be slain in an instant by a single sword thrust. That's the terrifying prowess of an assassin."
May Lee, Jamie's cousin, her eyes filled with questions and concern, asked, "Uncle, can Jingming detect him?" Her voice wavered slightly.
Hugh Smith, staring intently at the screen, replied, "I don't know. Both are divine-level masters; it's hard to say."
The live broadcast audience, their eyes all focused on the impending clash. They knew this would be an unprecedented battle, a contest of speed and reflexes, a duel of life and death.
Jamie Smith, gripping his spear with his right hand, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's, scanned his surroundings vigilantly. His ears, as keen as a wolf's, caught any sound in the quiet alley. He wore light body armor, with a shield on his back, and although he tried to move quietly, his footsteps were still audible in the silence.
Unbeknownst to him, above the alley ahead, a thin, old man named Liv Jay Windsor lurked. This elder, like a cheetah hiding in the shadows, had his gaze fixed on Jamie Smith, his breath so faint it was almost nonexistent, as if he had merged with the environment.
As the distance between them closed to about ten paces, Liv Jay Windsor's eyes narrowed slightly. With a thunderous burst, he plunged down from above like a bolt of lightning. Jamie Smith, looking up, saw a sword flash already upon him.
In that instant, Jamie Smith's spear, gripped in his right hand, instinctively parried the incoming strike. The spear's shadow blurred, its speed terrifyingly fast!
Clang.
The sword, deflected, struck Jamie Smith's spear, and using the rebound, the lithe figure of Liv Jay Windsor leaped onto the alley wall and vanished into the night.
A failed strike, and already he had fled.
Jamie Smith's forehead was beaded with cold sweat. "I didn't hear a thing; when he made his move, I only felt the air ripple. I almost didn't block it in time, and my life would have been gone," he thought, his scalp tingling with the close call.
Before this, whether it was sparring in the martial arts arena or the qualification matches, the opponents were all virtual. This was Jamie Smith's first time in a real combat scenario against a true master.
As for real-world martial arts contests, they were always one-on-one on a stage, in the light of day! Being ambushed by a master, this was also Jamie Smith's first experience.
Brushing with death made Jamie Smith's scalp tingle: "Fortunately, I often practice the 'Shadowless Thrust,' and my instant power is fast enough to escape this calamity."
In the distance, the thin old man, Liv Jay Windsor, also had a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Quite impressive, the young man. Within ten paces, my surprise attack, and he was able to react." He admired the young warrior silently.
The first encounter of this divine-level battle instantly set the official live broadcast of the Xia Kingdom ablaze.
"Beautiful!" Ray Wong exclaimed.
"The assassination was beautiful, and the block was equally beautiful!" Sophia Thompson's eyes also shone with excitement.
Shine Lewis waved his hand and replayed the slow-motion of the previous exchange in the 'high-altitude' area of the live broadcast combat space.
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"Look, when Liv Jay Windsor was hiding, he was like a dead tree, without any movement. Jamie Smith didn't notice anything," Ray Wong pointed at the screen.
In the slow-motion scene, Liv Jay Windsor, with a pounce, seemed to stab out like a sword.
"When he made his move, Jamie Smith only then noticed," Ray Wong pointed at the screen. "The moment he looked up, the sword tip in Liv Jay Windsor's hand was only about three zhang away from him, too close. At the speed of that sword, it would take about 0.06 seconds to pierce Jamie Smith."
"Although after practicing the evolution technique, the human limit reaction time has become shorter," Huang Yong said, "but physical movements also take time. Look closely, Jamie Smith held the spear with one hand, his body exerted force, the spear parried, and the fast spear shadow blurred, this was an instant inch force! Fast as lightning! Even so, it was not enough to block this sword. His spear was directly aimed at Liv Jay Windsor's body."
"Right," Sophia Thompson said, "If Liv Jay Windsor continued to dive, the spear would pierce through his body first! The old man changed his move extremely quickly, the sword light turned and chopped down. Just this turn of the sword light... It was also as fast as lightning, they all say the sword is fast! But to be this fast is truly remarkable. It struck the spear shaft and instantly used the rebound to touch the wall and escape."
Sophia Thompson praised: "From the move to the escape and disappearance, the whole process took 0.68 seconds, less than a second, it's simply too exciting! The past World Martial Arts Competition has never been so refined in such a confrontation!"
"I must admit, Liv Jay Windsor is truly terrifying! Jamie Smith's spear technique is also terrifying, worthy of the name 'Spear Demon.' One old and one young, they have shown us a real peak visual feast!" Ray Wong praised extremely, the more insiders in the martial arts fighting circle, the more they are intoxicated by such a confrontation. Isn't this a hundred or a thousand times more exciting than any movie?
The live broadcast audience in the stands also boiled. They were crazy for this battle, cheering for this battle. They knew that this would be a battle recorded in the annals of history, a battle that would be forever remembered.
"This is something a person can do?"
"If I were Jamie Smith, I wouldn't have noticed at all. Even if I looked up and saw it, I wouldn't have time to thrust the spear, would I?"
"In an instant, how could the spear be so fast?"
"Let me enlighten you with a common knowledge: Spear Demon Jamie Smith, famous for his 'Shadowless Thrust,' is known for his fast spear thrusts."
"Jamie Smith's spear is fast, and Liv Jay Windsor's move is also fast. The moment he saw Jamie Smith thrust the spear, the sword in his hand changed the move."
"Both sides of the confrontation are really awesome."
"From Liv Jay Windsor's assassination to his escape and disappearance, only 0.68 seconds! Is this a person?"
"This is a god!"
"Is this the divine-level battle?"
"Mom and Dad, I'm scared!"
The live broadcast room's comment area, countless messages kept rolling.
The host, Shine Lewis, was also boiling with blood: "This is the divine-level battle, and this is only the first confrontation of this divine-level battle."
The number of people watching the live broadcast was also rapidly increasing, and now it has reached an unimaginable number of viewers.
"Beautiful."
"The spear technique is beautiful."
Olive Smith, the old man, and Hugh Smith's couple, as well as May Lee, were all nervous and breathless before, and they were excited after the confrontation ended. Listening to the commentary of the two national team coaches, they were even more boiling with blood.
"Jingming's spear technique is really beautiful, my eyes have learned it, but my hands can't learn it." Olive Smith, the old man, sighed. His eyes were filled with love for the battle, admiration for this battle.
"One assassination is beautiful, and the counterattack is also beautiful. The inch force was taught to Jingming by me, but now I am not as good as him." Hugh Smith exclaimed with a smile, "The inch force has been practiced to this level, how many can there be in the world, my son, six six six!"
May Lee also looked at the bright eyes: "It's really awesome." She is a sword practitioner, and she thinks that the swordsmanship of the elder Liv Jay Windsor is even more terrifying than the national team master 'Sean Thorn,' but her own man still forced the elder to retreat.
Chad Lee and his wife also looked at the battle scene of their prospective son-in-law, and they both nodded with satisfaction, and their smiles became more and more brilliant.
******
Drizzling small town.
Archer Emily Johnson is half squatting on
the roof of a tavern, carefully observing. This tavern is not the tallest building, but the view is already very good, and the angle between the front and back roofs of the tavern just allows her to hide.
"I'm here." Jamie Smith said in the team's voice after arriving at the backyard of the tavern.
"I'm watching the front street of the tavern." Samuel Clark is hiding in a house opposite the tavern, and he can monitor a large area of the front street of the tavern. His voice is full of vigilance and concentration.
"Jingming and Samuel Clark, you two protect our archer first, I'll be there soon." Panda Channing Cheung said in the team's voice, "I'm a bit fat, and I walk slowly. Please forgive me, everyone."
"I'm patrolling within a range of 200 meters from the archer."
Master of the Double Blades, Dylan Thomas, is also quietly patrolling one place after another. At this moment, a flexible figure flashed across a nearby roof, and Master Dylan Thomas saw the other party and immediately transmitted the team, "I found the Saber Maiden Frost Shirley!" His voice was filled with surprise and vigilance.