Chapter 557

The Spirit Refinement Art can enhance spiritual power attributes and increase combat skill damage.

Therefore, Xu Jingming first allocated points to the SSS-rank "Sea of Thunder Meditation Method."

Energy points -130,000!

【Spirit Refinement】Sea of Thunder Meditation Method Level 2 → Level 3!

【Spiritual Power】He → He!

Boom!

Xu Jingming's spiritual power surged violently!

But this wasn't over!

Energy points -200,000!

【Spirit Refinement】Sea of Thunder Meditation Method Level 3 → Level 4!

【Spiritual Power】He → He!

In his consciousness sea, spiritual power churned like thunder.

It resembled a restless storm zone!

"No more points to allocate."

Xu Jingming opened his eyes, a flash of lightning-like brilliance streaking through them!

Raising the Sea of Thunder Meditation Method to Level 4 granted him a total of 5,000 additional spiritual power points.

He could feel his spiritual power was now more than several times stronger than before!

Even his passive Mind Net perception had become significantly clearer!

"Spirit Refinement allocation complete. Next, it's time for basic combat skills."

With 80,000 energy points remaining on his system panel, Xu Jingming invested them all into mastering A-rank combat skills.

First, Thunder Prison—this control-type skill.

It would prove crucial when fighting Catherine, who possessed the SSS-rank Sacred Angel ability.

He spent 30,000 energy points in one go, raising it to Perfect Mastery.

Like Thunder Barrier, once perfected, Thunder Prison could be cast nearly instantly!

And its binding effect was now far more potent!

As for the remaining 50,000 energy points, Xu Jingming split them between the S-rank skills Thunder Art and Lei Guan Demon-Slaying Spear.

He raised both to Master Mastery.

Thus, all the energy points earned from the frontline battlefield were fully spent.

"410,000 energy points—gone."

"But the Genius Tournament should be no problem now."

Feeling the immense power surging within him, Xu Jingming smiled confidently.

Now, he just waited for the Genius Tournament to resume...

Daxia time, November 21, 8:54 PM.

Virtual World, Genius Tournament Arena.

Though the tournament had not yet begun, the entire arena was already packed with spectators.

Each face glowed with excitement as they chatted among themselves.

Xu Jingming, Song Song Qiuyun, Jiang Chu, and his aunt's family sat together in the stands.

"Welcome back, everyone, to the pinnacle battles of the Global Exchange Tournament!"

"After nearly a month of fierce competition, the Genius Tournament has selected its final 32 contenders!"

At exactly 9:00 PM, a host stepped onto the stage and announced with a loud, energetic voice:

"Now, I'll introduce each of our 32 finalists!"

"First up, from the United States—Catherine! She wields the SSS-rank Enhancement-type Divine Spirit ability, 'Sacred Angel,' at Rank 6 Mid!"

Swish—

On the central holographic projection appeared a tall young woman.

Dressed in pale golden battle armor, she held a sacred longsword, her white wings glowing with a faint holy radiance!

As soon as the projection appeared, the entire audience erupted in a wave of cheers!

"Catherine! Catherine!"

"Saint! Saint!"

"..."

Catherine was a saint of the United States' Holy Church, which worshipped the Goddess of Light.

Outside of Daxia, many nations across the Blue Planet had established churches.

The Holy Church's followers were virtually everywhere on Earth!

Thus, when the cheers rose, the entire arena seemed to tremble in unison.

"This is the power of religion—truly terrifying," Xu Jingming murmured from the stands.

Due to the existence of ferocious beasts and abilities, religions like the Holy Church flourished wildly.

Of the over a hundred nations on Earth, only Daxia had relatively fewer believers.

"Second is from Daxia—Su Yu! He possesses..."

The host continued introducing the competitors in order.

Xu Jingming's name was mentioned fourth.

"Fourth is from Daxia—Xu Jingming!

He wields the SSS-rank Lightning ability, 'Doushen Thunder,' at Rank 5 Upper!"

As soon as the host finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in wild shouts!

"Xu Jingming! Xu Jingming!"

"Lei Di! Lei Di!"

"..."

The cheers came not only from Daxia spectators, but also from many foreign fans!

These nations' competitors had already been eliminated; now they cheered only for their favorite remaining fighters.

Xu Jingming's popularity even surpassed that of Su Yu, who was ranked higher!

Of course, this was perfectly normal.

After all, Xu Jingming was only twenty, while Su Yu was already twenty-six.

In terms of talent, they were not even on the same level.

"They don't even know you've already reached Rank 6," said Song Song Qiuyun from the stands, blinking her clear eyes.

"It's fine. When the match starts, I'll give them a surprise," Xu Jingming smiled.

The Genius Tournament system recorded competitors' information based on their past battlefield performances.

This was his first time entering the virtual world since reaching Rank 6,

so the tournament system's data had not yet been updated.

Among the 32 finalists, five were from Daxia:

Su Yu, Xu Jingming, Wang Dong, Lu Liang, and Liu Ran.

The latter three were all S-rank ability awakeners at Rank 6 Lower.

"Now, the 32-to-16 round matches will begin. All competitors, please teleport to the preparation zone!"

After all 32 finalists were introduced, Xu Jingming's vision displayed a confirmation prompt for teleportation.

"Auntie, Song Qiuyun, Jiang Chu Chu Xuan, I'm off."

"Go on! Beat them all and win the championship!"

Song Song Qiuyun, Jiang Chu, and the others cheered him on; Xu Jingming smiled slightly.

He then clicked confirm—and vanished from the stands.

He immediately clicked to confirm, and his figure vanished abruptly from the audience seats.

Darkness flashed before his eyes; when he reappeared, he stood in the preparation zone.

Other competitors who had confirmed teleportation were already there.

Among them was Wang Dong, the prodigy from Thunder Martial Arts Academy's training camp.

"Xu Jingming..."

Wang Dong noticed Xu Jingming; his eyes flickered with a burning battle intent.

Xu Jingming's recent popularity had been astonishingly fierce!

Even within the prodigy training camp, many believed Xu Jingming was stronger than him.

He admitted Xu Jingming's talent was extraordinary, but he was not convinced of his superiority in strength.

"My goal is to reach the top eight. Xu Jingming, though talented, is still only Rank 5 Upper—his limit is probably the round of 16.

Then, everyone will see clearly who is truly stronger."

Wang Dong had been holding back a deep, simmering rage, determined to prove he was better than Xu Jingming!

Now, the moment of truth had arrived.

Wang Dong had been holding his breath, determined to prove he was stronger than Xu Jingming!

Now, it was time to witness this moment.