Six days later, in the canyons of the virtual world, a desolate and mysterious land unfolded. Jamie Smith lay there, covered in mud, panting heavily on the winding mountain path, his body stained with blood, a testament to the fierce battle he had just endured. With a gentle touch to his personal panel, he was instantly rejuvenated, standing up with renewed vigor. He picked up his tattered shields, and with another touch, his clothes were spotless, and the shields were as good as new, as if they had never seen combat.

"It's really tough, isn't it? Opponents with a basic combat power of 800, even when surrounded, are so hard to withstand," Jamie Smith muttered, holding his shields with both hands. "Again!" he challenged, his voice echoing through the canyon, filled with determination.

Whoosh! The sound of many footsteps filled the air as a dense crowd of figures appeared in the canyon. A hundred fierce bandits, each wielding spears, axes, or hammers, emerged from every direction. The axes and hammers, with their immense destructive power, and the spears, with their swift and tricky strikes, posed a formidable threat.

"Kill," the bandits roared in unison, charging at Jamie Smith from all sides. Even though these virtual bandits lacked high combat intelligence, they didn't need it. Their sheer numbers and relentless attacks made it incredibly difficult for Jamie Smith to hold his ground.

"Whoosh," Jamie Smith darted into motion, knowing he couldn't just stand there like a sitting duck. He had to rely on his agility to create a favorable situation. But with a hundred enemies closing in, it wasn't long before more than a dozen bandits were upon him.

"Boom," as the bandits' axes and hammers crashed down, Jamie Smith deflected their attacks with his shields, his shield techniques so skillful they seemed to weave a web of defense, turning the bandits' own strength against them and causing them to stumble.

His movements were nimble as he danced among the bandits, always trying to minimize the number of foes attacking him at once. "Hissss!" The sound of spears slicing through the air made the hairs on Jamie Smith's neck stand on end as three spears thrust at him from behind. Instinctively, he dodged, narrowly avoiding the deadly points.

"Kill him!" the bandits shouted, their frenzy unrelenting. Jamie Smith was in a constant state of evasive action, parrying and dodging, trying to use their momentum against them.

"As my master said, integrate your mind and will into every part of your body, sensing every movement, making it all second nature," Jamie Smith recalled, realizing his movements were still too heavy compared to his master's. His shield techniques weren't as swift, and his ability to deflect and redirect the bandits' strength wasn't as perfect as it should be. Clearly, his control over his body was not yet sufficient.

"I need to be faster, more agile," he told himself, visualizing his body as fluid, his mind sensing every part of it, striving to mobilize every ounce of strength.

"Puncture," a spear found its mark, piercing Jamie Smith's shoulder. His right arm went limp, and the shield in his hand could no longer fend off the onslaught of axes and hammers that crashed down on him. He fell to the ground, unresisting, as all the bandits around him dissipated, their programmed task complete once they had made contact with him.

"Another failure," Jamie Smith lay in the mud, reflecting on the battle, contemplating his shield techniques. After a long while, he touched his personal combat panel.

Player: Jamie Smith

Gene Evolution Technique: "Heavenly Python Evolution Technique" (Intermediate Level 75%) (Training Time 721 days, no further improvement possible)

Body: 127

Skills: Spear Technique (Second Level 88%), Footwork (Second Level 62%), Shield Technique (Second Level 83%)

Basic Combat Power: 1651

Actual Combat Bonus: 23%

Combat Power: 2030

"The virtual world has been open for seven days, and my evolution technique still hasn't reached the advanced level. My shield and spear techniques are progressing slowly. It's my footwork that's improving faster," Jamie Smith mused, "Perhaps it's because I was weaker in footwork to begin with."

Having broken his leg at the age of 20, his long-term injury had prevented him from practicing many footwork techniques. Now, with the high-intensity training in the virtual world's martial arts arena, being constantly surrounded and attacked by a hundred bandits, his footwork had greatly improved. Even an ordinary person with no foundation would see a significant enhancement in their agility after being attacked hundreds or thousands of times.

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"It's almost seven, time for dinner," Jamie Smith noticed the time on his personal panel and promptly exited the virtual world game.

*******

After dinner, in the living room, Jamie Smith and May Lee sat on the sofa, enjoying their post-meal fruit while watching a program on the holographic screen.

"You, a divine-level master, can spend up to sixteen hours a day in the virtual world, yet I'm limited to ten," May Lee complained, munching on grapes, "You should spend more time with me, don't always immerse yourself in the virtual world."

"Aren't I here with you now?" Jamie Smith replied with a smile, "And I believe, with May's talent, she will reach the Sun Grade in no time. Then, her virtual world online time can be up to twelve hours."

"Sun Grade? It's too difficult," May Lee sighed, "I practice my footwork and swordsmanship every day, but ever since I reached Silver Moon Grade 20 stars, for every win, I lose two! It's so hard!"

"Silver Moon Grade only needs 30 stars to be maxed out, it's still quite fast," Jamie Smith said, "And your basic combat power hasn't reached the threshold for Sun Grade, no need to rush. I'll teach you for half an hour every day, I believe within a month, your basic combat power will definitely reach four hundred."

"Within a month?" May Lee made a face.

"If you work harder, it might be possible in half a month," Jamie Smith smiled, "Training in the virtual world to improve combat skills is quite fast in the early stages."

At his level, progress had become much slower.

"By the way, today Ray Cloud finally joined the divine-level battle," May Lee said, "This battle was quite sudden, the officials didn't have time to broadcast it live. But the video came out later, have you seen it?"

"No," Jamie Smith shook his head, smiling, "I was planning to watch it with you after logging off."

"Pfft," May Lee rolled her eyes but still controlled the holographic screen, changing the program to a battle video.

"The three legendary masters of the Xia Kingdom's martial arts circle, Lily Steel was the first to act on the first day the virtual world opened, Ray Willow was the third day, and Ray Cloud actually waited until the seventh day to make his move," May Lee lamented, as the video showed the ten combatants choosing their weapons and equipment, and upon seeing Ray Cloud, the other nine all looked shocked.

"Ray Cloud, our senior, is actually only six years old this year. Much younger than my master. But he participated in the third World Martial Arts Competition, and his seniority in our martial arts circle is very old. Moreover, because he was at the peak of his physical condition when he participated in the competition, the strength he demonstrated was even stronger than my master's," Jamie Smith also said, "He is also recognized as the strongest in the Xia Kingdom by the world martial arts circle."

Master Ray Willow, after all, is getting old.

Ray Cloud was active on the world stage from his twenties to his thirties, showing much stronger strength.

May Lee nodded: "I know, Ray Cloud, our senior, is one of the three kings in the world martial arts circle."

"Yes," Jamie Smith nodded, "In the past thirty years, the three most dazzling contestants of the World Martial Arts Competition, our Xia Kingdom's Ray Cloud, the White Eagle Federation's Kyle Mills, and the Rus' Fedor Emelianenko, are also known as the three kings of the martial arts circle. Whenever they participate in the World Martial Arts Competition, they can easily crush other opponents. There is a saying in the martial arts circle... Only a king can defeat a king!"

"For example, Ray Cloud and Kyle Mills have won and lost against each other!"

"Kyle Mills and Alan have also won and lost against each other!"

"No one else has ever defeated the three kings."

Jamie Smith sighed, "At their peak, the three kings could easily crush other opponents, with a visible gap. This is something other contestants find hard to do."

As he spoke, Jamie Smith also watched the battle on the holographic screen, which took place on the 'Snowfield' map.

In the vast snowy field, Ray Cloud had a stern expression with a scar on his face. He was dressed in plain clothes, carrying two swords on his back, walking through the snow with a ghostly gait.

"Whoosh."

An arrow came flying, but it only hit the afterimage

of Ray Cloud's movement.

"Among the three kings, Ray Cloud has the strongest footwork, the most terrifying in the entire world martial arts circle," Jamie Smith observed carefully as Ray Cloud walked through the snow, suddenly spotting enemies in the distance, and his speed burst forth, turning into a blurry afterimage as he chased after them.

The enemies couldn't escape at all. Three of them immediately gathered together to face Ray Cloud, while a divine archer was secretly releasing an arrow!

"Under normal circumstances, one should first pursue and kill the divine archer," May Lee exclaimed, "But Ray Cloud, our senior, directly charged at the three people who had gathered together, completely ignoring the divine archer hiding in the dark."

"Too confident," Jamie Smith sighed, watching as the blurred figure of Ray Cloud quickly reached the three divine-level masters. After just a few steps, he was walking among the enemies, with flashes of his sword.

The three divine-level masters all fell down. Some were cut in the throat, others had their chest armor swept through, all were killed on the spot.

"Killing divine-level masters is like cutting melons and vegetables," May Lee said, "Jamie, how do you compare with him?"