A tenth of a second before the collision, Bai Ji felt he could already see the image of Han Qingyu crashing to the ground. That was what they had always told him, and what he firmly believed.
Then, the blades made contact.
In that very first instant, through fracturing bone and searing agony, Bai Ji's arms told him: Something was wrong... He was finished.
Suspended midair at that moment, Bai Ji's eyes widened to saucers. How—how could this be?! Wasn't it agreed that I'd win in a direct clash, that my source energy surges were far deeper and thicker?!
He tried to muster a final source energy surge to fight back.
Yet the source energy surge coming through the dead iron straight sword opposite him was like a monstrous, towering tidal wave... crashing down right over his head.
For the first time against another human, Han Qingyu had allowed the liquid source energy within his body and his three-dimensional apparatus to surge simultaneously. He had no idea what level or degree such a surge reached; he only knew it certainly wasn't something scum like Bai Ji could withstand.
Back then, using this very power, he had cleaved straight through a Great Spike's faceplate with twin blades.
…………
From the spectators' perspective, what had just happened looked roughly like this:
Han Qingyu launched forward with lightning speed, throwing the sword in his left hand.
Bai Ji swept the flying sword aside with a two-handed slash.
Midway through his explosive forward charge, Han Qingyu suddenly leaped, gliding rapidly forward as his combat blade hacked down.
Bai Ji moved in almost identical fashion, swinging his massive cleaver to meet him in a direct, head-on clash.
The two blades collided in midair.
Instantly, Bai Ji's arms were forced back. His whole body tilted backward as the massive cleaver in his hands was crushed back with virtually no resistance until it slammed into his own chest... Pfft! Blood sprayed through the air.
In truth, the entire sequence had unfolded in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
Precisely because it happened so fast, many people only caught the final image.
The outcome.
Victory and defeat decided by a single direct strike.
Bai Ji's massive frame tilted entirely backward in midair. Under the downward slash of Han Qingyu's sword, he plummeted vertically toward the ground like a kite with a severed string.
Thud!
Dust billowed.
Most people on the scene had to blink before they finally saw clearly.
And it was by Bai Ji's shoulders that they finally grasped what had happened.
Because right now, at least a third of his shoulders was buried beneath the gravelly ground.
In other words, that single strike just now—a direct, head-on collision—had seen Han Qingyu hack the man entirely into the dirt.
Had he not been wearing a source energy apparatus, had he not possessed formidable strength himself, Bai Ji would likely be dead already. Of course, he wasn't doing much better right now.
His hulking frame was wedged deep into the earth, unable to move. Bai Ji's chest only heaved occasionally as he coughed up mouthfuls of bloody spit.
The so-called clash of super rookies.
The result was right before their eyes.
He Tangtang was stunned. On one hand, Qingzi had truly avenged him, and so quickly; on the other hand, he suddenly remembered what Qingzi had said earlier: "Actually, none of you have ever known just how strong I really am."
So we really didn't know!
Qin Guowen was dumbfounded too. He turned his head and gave his captain, Shao Xuan, a blank stare. "Captain Shao, it looks like... he held back against you too."
"Yeah. Hid how deep his source energy was... That's just outrageous." Shao Xuan didn't mind the teasing, but as he spoke, his heart ached terribly.
Before, he had simply thought it was a pity—such a pity, a tremendous pity—that the kid ultimately chose not to join the Golden Eraser.
Only at this moment did Captain Shao realize just what a heartbreaking, soul-crushing, shatter-into-a-million-pieces kind of pity it truly was.
The only way to soothe this heartache was to turn around and get a few good looks at the deadpan, stunned faces over at the White Eraser group.
"Hahahahaha... At least I didn't embarrass myself." Captain Shao had gone mad.
In just that brief span, Han Qingyu, calm and collected under everyone's watchful gazes, had crouched down. Gently and meticulously, he fished two source energy blocks off Bai Ji and slipped them into his pocket...
He did it all very naturally, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world... Since they were the prizes of the combat trial, as the victor, he naturally had no qualms about taking them.
Besides, he had already stated beforehand that he would take the prizes himself. Right now, he was merely following through on his word.
"How... how could this..." Finally, Bai Ji came to. Buried in the ground, he turned his head slightly to look at Han Qingyu, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Han Qingyu had already stood up. He looked down at him with a faint, placid smile.
"You said you wanted to see it for yourself. Seen enough now? Is it scary?"
Amid a ring of chuckles from the surrounding crowd, Bai Ji tried to struggle, groaning in pain.
"Sorry about that. Accidents always happen during live combat sparring... But lying down injured is a form of growth too, right? Make sure you grow well."
Han Qingyu threw back every single word Bai Ji had used to excuse deliberately injuring He Tangtang in the arena, along with all his previous taunts.
Bai Ji: "..."
"Whether we're in the same class or not doesn't really matter. In the army commander's words, every single one of us here is the future of Azure... So let's all work hard on our own paths. Don't be so petty; that's just sissified."
After all, they were both part of Azure. Han Qingyu offered one last comment, the latter half also echoing Bai Ji's exact words.
Then he turned and walked off, sheathing the sword in his right hand across his back as he walked.
He stepped to the side, bent down to pick up his left-hand sword from the ground...
And kept walking.
His pace wasn't fast, the soles of his boots crunching against the sandy dirt.
Only, as he bowed his head to sheath the left-hand sword, which direction was he walking toward?
Having been too engrossed in bickering to hear that Han Qingyu had already turned down the Golden Eraser, Regimental Commander Li found his mind spinning. He gestured with his hand... A straight line.
Han Qingyu was walking in a beeline right toward him—toward them.
"Is the kid coming to say goodbye and thank us?" he muttered.
Beside him, Milla kept silent, a smile hidden in her eyes.
Liu Shiheng's eyes shone brightly, grinning with radiant excitement.
"Probably," Lao Jian said blankly.
"Definitely! Otherwise what—he's going back to your 425?!" At this moment, Regimental Commander Yang Wudong of Regiment 439 actually had a sinking premonition, but he seized the chance to force out one last sneer anyway.
Meanwhile.
Han Qingyu looked up, smiling at the crowd of veterans and recruits gathered all around.
Then, in an enthusiastic voice, he announced, "Regiment 425's newly formed Squad 1777 is recruiting. We hope everyone will consider us."
In Azure, ordinary folks rarely saw Han Qingyu show enthusiasm, except when he was facing source energy blocks. So now, when he suddenly acted so warm and welcoming to so many people, he definitely had an ulterior motive... several cunning veterans thought to themselves.
Regimental Commander Li didn't overthink it. He asked, "What did he just say?"
Lao Jian said woodenly, "He said... I might have misheard."
"He said, 'Regiment 425's newly formed Squad 1777 is recruiting. We hope everyone will consider us,'" Milla finally said with a smile.
"Us"? Us!
Regimental Commander Li wailed and squatted right onto the ground, old tears streaming down his face.
Then he sprang back up, leaned right into Yang Wudong's face, and roared, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... No wonder Xiao Nan dumped you back then!"
How on earth those two things were connected, nobody bothered to question.
Because at this moment, Regiment 425 had gone wild, their cheers echoing across the entire grounds.
At the same time, the regiment's other treasure, He Tangtang, had already limped up to them, snapping to attention and saluting. "Recruit He Tangtang of Regiment 425 requests to join the squad! Captain Lao, please grant approval!"
"Huh?" Lao Jian no longer knew what face to make. Short of coughing up a mouthful of blood on the spot, nothing could properly express his feelings.
"Welcome, welcome," Captain Lao finally managed to say.
He Tangtang nodded, stepped up beside him, and suddenly spat with a "pfft" onto the ground.
What was this about? The Blood Calabash Baby was momentarily dazed—there was really no need to join the squad like that...
At the same time, He Tangtang swayed and collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Holding out until now had truly been no easy feat for him.
Now that his vengeance was taken and he had joined the squad, his tension melted away, and his body gave out.
Lao Jian hurriedly had people support him away for medical treatment.
Then, to his utter bewilderment, he noticed S-19 walking toward him.
A strange premonition welled up in his mind.
Lao Jian knew just how powerful S-19 was. It might even be stronger than Han Qingyu—at least stronger than Han Qingyu had been prior to today, given that it had been sparring with the recruits all this time. But wasn't it the army's only advanced robot?
What was it doing coming here? Could it be...?!
"Designation 771943, requesting to join the squad." For the first time, S-19 spoke, and it was the voice of a young woman.
It can talk?! Lao Jian was flabbergasted. "Is... is this an AI robot? Then—c-can we take it?!"
"Who cares what it is? Take it first, ask questions later!" Regimental Commander Li was as blunt as ever.
"Right, take it! Welcome, welcome!" Lao Jian went to shake hands, hesitated, and pulled his hand back.
"Thank you." Shen Yixiu joined the squad.
In truth, she hadn't originally wanted to appear openly on an occasion like this. Just moments ago, she had been hiding in a nearby building with her grandfather, peeking out.
However, when they heard Han Qingyu smile and tell all those people they were "recruiting"...
Her grandfather had fallen silent for a moment before saying, "Go. You should join that squad formally like this, officially reporting your designation... Your public enlistment will also make his expectations and ambitions much easier to achieve."
Shen Yixiu understood, so she had walked right out.
Still, the word Grandfather used just now was "ambition"?
Yes, ambition. At this moment, Shao Xuan finally understood as well. He understood why Han Qingyu had taken the initiative to decline the simulated combat arena and fight right here before so many people on the training grounds; why he had crushed his opponent with a single strike; and why he had suddenly turned so warm and enthusiastic toward everyone...
He was building momentum, taking advantage of a newly formed squad's recruitment flexibility to cast a wide net for top-tier talents.
And behind all of this, perhaps... lay an ambition that the young man had kept hidden deep within his heart: the ambition to bring a color Eraser back to Regiment 425.
Chapter 110