Chapter 72

China, Life Evolution Bureau, 4 a.m.

The waves ebbed.

Secretary Guo knocked on the door gently.

“Come on in.” A voice sounded from behind the door, which opened automatically.

“Director.” Secretary Guo saw Director Zhou sitting at the desk and watching the replay of the competition.

Secretary Guo said, “The second round of the Firestarter Cup has ended, and the top eight teams have been decided. Are the media’s publicity promotions still going to follow the usual rules?”

“The promotion of the matches and the experts will follow the usual rules,” Director Zhou said with a smile, “but you have to be flexible. For example, the first three of the four matches tomorrow aren’t controversial, but the fourth match is different! Both teams are strong… It’s a good topic of discussion. Increase the publicity for the fourth match, especially for Fang Yu and Xu Jingming. Increase the level of publicity for the two of them to Level 1.”

“Level 1?” Secretary Guo was surprised. “Lei Yunfang is the only person with a level of publicity these days. Would such intense hype backfire? It’s fine with Xu Jingming, but Fang Yu is only 20 years old. If we overdo it, I’m worried…”

“Liu Hai’s publicity is at a special level. Everyone knows about him,” Director Zhou said with a smile. “I don’t see him being destroyed either. The character of a true expert is also very important. If he’s destroyed so easily from receiving popularity, he wouldn’t have a future. It’s fine if he’s ruined.”

“Yes, sir,” Secretary Guo replied respectfully.

“There’s not much time left for Earth,” Director Zhou said softly. “We have to make the best use of our time and think of ways to groom batch after batch of experts. China’s strategy is already considered gentle compared to how they’re doing it in Japan.”

“I understand.” Secretary Guo nodded. “We will immediately assign missions according to the requirements of a Level 1 publicity.”

Director Zhou nodded.

…

In the morning, Xu Jingming and his family ate breakfast together.

Family gatherings were usually held during breakfast these days. After a night of virtual world gaming, breakfast was the time when there was much to discuss.

“Grandson, your tips for today’s match are really high.” Grandpa Xu was especially sensitive to tips. He sighed and said, “More than ten million in one match.”

“I only get slightly more than a quarter of that eventually,” Xu Jingming said.

“You think it’s too little? Punk…” Grandpa Xu glared at him.

By the side, Li Miaomiao said, “Because people have watched too many Divine matches and are used to all kinds of amazing performances, it’s getting harder and harder to get them to tip us! Even if one performs very well in the Firestarter Cup, it’s already very rare to receive one million in tips. Jingming received more than ten million in that match yesterday, so it should be the highest since the Firestarter Cup began. When Fang Yu defeated Zhou Yi, the tips he received were only about three million.”

“He’s a fool.” Grandpa Xu immediately said, “To get tips, one needs to work up the audience’s excitement. For example, Jingming did very well. He first dealt with the three members of Team Golden Roc, and each kill hyped up the audience. Three consecutive kills raised the audience’s excitement. Then, he fought Tie Lianyun… The audience was excited enough, so they naturally tipped him.”

“Fang Yu was different; he didn’t unleash his full strength in the beginning. He only unleashed his strength in a one-on-one battle against Zhou Yi! Once he unleashed his strength, he was unbelievably fierce and violent. The audience was still reeling in their shock when he had killed Zhou Yi. The battle ended after that, and there was no way to tip him anymore! Many audience members hadn’t even reacted to the situation, and the competition was over.” Grandpa Xu shook his head. “He doesn’t know how to earn tips at all. Earning tips is about stirring the audience’s emotions and giving them time to release it. He just didn’t give the audience enough time to vent their emotions.”

Xu Jingming gave his grandfather a thumbs-up.

Li Miaomiao exclaimed in surprise, “Grandpa, I’ve live-streamed too, but I didn’t think too much about it.”

“How many times have you live-streamed? Yours is just a rounding error when compared to mine.” Grandpa Xu shook his head. “Back then, I spent at least five hours a day and didn’t stop working the entire year. After live-streaming for so many years, these are all basic skills. It’s a pity that I don’t have my eldest grandson’s spear and shield techniques. If I were as good as him… I’d livestream. I’ll be humble, but it’ll be easy for me to be one of the top three streamers on the spectator platform.”

“Sometimes, unleashing all your strength doesn’t attract attention,” Grandpa Xu said. “You can even act on purpose to create the battle situation you want and completely stir up the audience’s emotions. Only then will the audience be excited.”

“Act?” Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao were puzzled.

“Most of the audience knows that you’re acting, but if your competition gives them a plethora of emotions—joy, happiness, delight—then they will love your livestream,” Grandpa Xu said. “To put it simply… You’re a performer in a livestream. You have to put up a brilliant performance. Be it anger or shouting, these are all part of the act. If the performance is good, the audience will tip you.”

Li Miaomiao nodded. “Got it.”

“I won’t be able to master that.” Xu Jingming shook his head. “Martial arts and weaponry combat are my lifelong pursuit.”

Grandpa Xu looked at his grandson. “Perhaps this is why you’re so strong, but the so-called ‘lifelong pursuit’ isn’t something that excludes others. You can also increase the viewing pleasure of your matches while pursuing martial arts.”

It’s too troublesome. Xu Jingming frowned when he heard that.

“Sometimes, you don’t even need to act. You just need to change some of the combat methods to increase the viewership highlights,” Grandpa Xu said.

“I don’t need money,” Xu Jingming said. “I really don’t want to waste my time. I haven’t started a livestream yet.”

Yeah. His eldest grandson didn’t even do livestreams.

Grandpa Xu shook his head helplessly and left. “Nobody inherited my live-streaming techniques that I’ve honed my entire life. What a pity.”

Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao looked at each other and smiled.

The two of them couldn’t pick it up.

Xu Jingming was more focused on martial arts and didn’t even want to live-stream.

Li Miaomiao only live-streamed once a month before the virtual world. Nowadays, she mostly live-streamed herself playing games. She was very serious about singing and only started once after ample preparation.

“Dad, you are trying to teach your live-streaming techniques again?” Xu Hong ate his meat buns as he smiled at his father. “You wanted to teach me back then too.”

“None of you lack money.” Grandpa Xu shook his head. “When you lack money, you’ll realize that this is a good skill.”

The news was playing on the wall projection.

“A huge dark horse appeared in the second round of the Firestarter Cup National Tournament. Tie Lianyun—who took first place three times—was easily defeated by Xu Jingming in the Firestarter Cup.”

The family that was having breakfast turned their heads.

A battle scene appeared on the news. Xu Jingming was like a god—he smashed three members of Team Golden Roc into nothingness with a shield and sent Tie Lianyun flying into a residence.

“Of Team Golden Roc’s five members, four—including Captain Tie Lianyun—were killed by Xu Jingming alone with his shield.”

…

In Penghai City.

Cheng Zihao stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in his office, looking down at the bustling scenery of Penghai City.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. This new office is still inferior to my immortal abode in the virtual world.” Cheng Zihao sighed.

The program on the wall projection was discussing Xu Jingming and Fang Yu.

“I think more highly of Fang Yu! Fang Yu fought Zhou Yi one-on-one and killed him head-on. Who’s Zhou Yi? He has been one of China’s top three experts for a long time. If Fang Yu can kill him, he’s completely qualified to be one of China’s top three. As for Xu Jingming? He only defeated Tie Lianyun, who is far more inferior to Zhou Yi.”

“Did you watch the competition? Xu Jingming crushed each person with one shield. Tie Lianyun failed to force Xu Jingming into unleashing his full strength! Moreover, he’s 29 this year and has experience in the International Tournament. He’s also much more experienced than Fang Yu.”

“Yeah, he’s 29. Fang Yu is only 20, and that’s why Fang Yu is a genius.”

“Let’s pause for a moment. Let’s take a look at some information on Fang Yu. This is the first-hand information our program team has.”

Some information about Fang Yu’s growth started playing in the program.

“Boss.” By the side, Zhou Feng was puzzled. “What’s going on? Why is there news about Xu Jingming and Fang Yu everywhere today? All kinds of programs talking about them?”

“Everyone is paying attention to the Firestarter Cup after all.” Cheng Zihao thought nothing of it and said, “There are a total of four matches in the third round. Only Xu Jingming and Fang Yu’s match is controversial, so it’s normal.”

“But this Xu Jingming really lucked out.” Cheng Zihao curled his lips. “A kid who retired with a broken leg actually made a comeback in the virtual world era. However, there are many hidden talents in China, and there are countless civilian experts. It’s only been a month, but Fang Yu has appeared. I believe that in a few months… more than a hundred Fang Yu will appear. When that happens, Xu Jingming will be nothing!”

“Boss, you’re right. In the past, professional gladiators were the geniuses of a million people worldwide. Now, there are seven billion people competing. Most of the past professional gladiators… can’t be considered geniuses.” Zhou Feng nodded.

“It’s just that…” Zhou Feng looked at the program and frowned. “Boss, I’ve been collecting information on all kinds of livestreams. I keep having the feeling that the discussion about Xu Jingming and Fang Yu today is a little exaggerated.”

“After all, one defeated Tie Lianyun and the other defeated Zhou Yi. If they were the ones eliminated, how many people would talk about them?” Cheng Zihao frowned. “Alright, let’s not talk about Xu Jingming. What a wet blanket.”

“Yes.” Zhou Feng understood that his boss didn’t like Xu Jingming.

“Make the best use of your time to keep yourself busy with our company,” Cheng Zihao instructed. “It’s now the time for our live-streaming company to rapidly grow. The Firestarter Cup has clearly stirred up the emotions of everyone. Everyone practices martial arts and pays attention to martial arts livestreams… It’s clearly much more popular than in the past.”

“Yes,” Zhou Feng replied obediently.

…

In a bar.

Sun Li got drunk at the bar despite it being daytime. He looked up at the screen in the bar, which had been split into two. On it was the scene of Xu Jingming killing Tie Lianyun, and below it was the scene of Fang Yu killing Zhou Yi.

The host spoke excitedly.

Why are Xu Jingming and Fang Yu everywhere? Sun Li looked at the screen with red eyes.

That scheming Golden Roc Group kicks me out the moment the competition ends? How can they be so despicable and shameless? Sun Li was furious and aggrieved. If it weren’t for you, I would still be in Xu Jingming’s team. The prize money for the competition alone would be more than what your Golden Roc Team gave me!

None of these large corporations are any good. Sun Li looked up and drank his alcohol, feeling furious and aggrieved.