"How's it feel knowing you're about to get beaten up right in front of all these people?" Wen Jifei asked with malicious glee just before Han Qingyu headed down to the ring.
Han Qingyu gave a faint smile. "There's no shame in losing."
Under today's circumstances, losing was a certainty. Han Qingyu figured that if his current strength were already enough to beat a Grade B captain and veteran member of the Golden Eraser, Azure would truly be in dire straits.
Moreover, this match was a friendly exchange meant for making connections, primarily centered around learning; he had no intention of throwing caution to the wind to fight desperately for a win.
"Opportunities like this are rare. Let's see how much of Captain Qin's strength I can draw out, so I can learn some real tricks."
With that, Han Qingyu hopped over the spectator railing and leapt down onto the field.
At the sidelines, Qin Guowen, wearing his apparatus, took the initiative to come over and greet him. He sat down beside him and began to grumble softly:
"Disaster, disaster, disaster... With a setup this huge, even if I get grazed by a random hit later, people will probably laugh at me, won't they? And then when I get back to my squad—ouch—won't they nag and complain me to death?"
This guy gave Han Qingyu a wonderful impression of the Golden Eraser, though he didn't quite know how to respond to that.
"I heard that last time you slashed a Grade C instructor so hard he coughed up blood?" Qin Guowen asked next.
"That, well, it doesn't really count as me slashing him." To avoid actually becoming Second Calabash Brother, Han Qingyu had long since resolved to stop publicizing Lao Jian's antics.
"Why?"
"It's complicated."
"Oh, not convenient to talk about, right?" Qin Guowen said. "Never mind, then. Are you all geared up?"
"All set." Han Qingyu gestured to his equipment and sword.
The two chatted as they got ready to step onto the stage for their spar.
However, a figure stepped ahead of them and walked onto the ring first.
White Eraser, Liang Ge.
"Since this is the customary recruit assessment conducted by the color Erasers, how could the White Eraser be left out?" Liang Ge stood on the ring, smiling with an outwardly amiable demeanor. "Mind if I go first?"
Below the ring, Han Qingyu froze for a second.
"Do we have such a custom?"
"A few years back... there indeed was." Qin Guowen turned the thought over in his mind and said, "Uh-oh, he's here to settle a score. You're probably in trouble in a moment."
Qin Guowen had also heard the talk on his way here about how Han Qingyu had refused to hold back and firmly rejected the White Eraser. To be frank, he was thrilled—not only because they had basically secured Han Qingyu, the strongest recruit the Erasers had seen in a decade, but also because this turn of events placed the Golden Eraser firmly above the White.
So Liang Ge's seemingly rash behavior wasn't just to make trouble for Han Qingyu; he was also here to vindicate the White Eraser. Otherwise, once this batch of recruits spread the news outside, the White Erasers would definitely lose face.
"He's definitely going to beat you hard in a minute... If he doesn't hold back, you might end up seriously injured right here," Qin Guowen added.
"..." Now Han Qingyu understood completely: he was in for a beating.
At the same time, Liang Ge continued on the stage: "By the way, regarding the rumors from this morning, I'd like to clarify something. Nobody has the qualifications to reject the White Eraser... There are only those who want to join but whom we deem unworthy. But since someone tried to step on our White Eraser to boost their own reputation using such filthy rumors, then I believe... it is my duty to teach them a lesson."
As expected...
Things were going to get ugly.
"Wait, isn't it true that only ordinary iron swords are allowed on the ring? Even if he wants to beat me up, it shouldn't be too..." Han Qingyu had participated in combat simulations and knew the arena rules: use the three-dimensional apparatus, but not dead iron straight swords.
So for a moment he was somewhat puzzled and asked Qin Guowen on the spot.
"The swords don't wound; fists and kicks do."
In eight words, Qin Guowen laid bare the loophole in the combat simulation rules.
Although the arena used ordinary iron swords incapable of conducting or withstanding source energy, what about punches and kicks? Those were solid source energy strikes. Thus, in a one-sided blowout, one could still maim or kill an opponent just the same.
"Can I just not take part in the assessment?"
"Sure, you can walk up and say you forfeit... but given the situation, if you do that, you probably won't be able to hold your head up around here."
"Oh." Han Qingyu thought it over carefully and realized that forfeiting might truly disrupt many aspects of his future plans... He turned his head and asked, "Then how about you go up first, Captain Qin?"
"Me, go first?" Qin Guowen was stunned. Thinking to himself that this was a recruit assessment and he wasn't a recruit, he turned his head and asked, "How am I supposed to go first?"
"Fight for the ring, fight for the order, fight over whether Golden or White goes first," Han Qingyu suggested earnestly.
Qin Guowen said, "Huh? You've actually got ideas."
"Yeah. You go up first, pick a fight, and knock him down. Then I'll be safe."
"A brilliant plan." Qin Guowen praised him, then paused and added, "There's just one tiny problem."
"What tiny problem?"
"I can't beat him either."
Han Qingyu: "..."
Qin Guowen said, "So if I go up and let him beat me up first, it'll just be one more person losing face. Afterward, he can still beat you up anyway."
"...Are you that weak?"
"It's not that I'm weak! The thing is, I'm only Grade B, and I've only been with Golden for six years... That Liang Ge is an eleven-year veteran of White with a Grade B+ fusion degree. His combat prowess over there could probably rank near the top ten by now."
So he was definitely doomed. If he survived this, it would be a miracle. Unconvinced, Han Qingyu asked, "No way. If what you're saying is true, how come you're a captain and he's only a lieutenant?"
"Because Liang Ge of the White is a notorious lunatic who constantly commits disciplinary infractions." Qin Guowen smiled as he turned his head, then muttered a few words under his breath.
...
"Don't worry, whether for discipline or team standing, I won't beat you to death... At most, fists and feet have no eyes, leaving minor superficial wounds... followed by ruptured internal organs... You'll just have to lie in bed for six months to learn your lesson."
On the ring, Liang Ge took advantage of the greeting to lean close and whisper into Han Qingyu's ear.
This madman had piled all the frustration from yesterday and fury from this morning together.
Having spoken, he stepped back, and both men gripped their swords and took their stances.
At this moment, anyone below the ring who understood the situation and worried for Han Qingyu clenched their sweaty palms tight.
Milla looked somewhat helpless.
Regimental Commander Li gritted his teeth. "If he dares cause any serious harm to the Han kid, even if I have to throw caution to the wind and raise hell with the higher-ups, I will never let this go."
Three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds...
A bewildering silence, a standoff.
"Why aren't you activating your apparatus?" Liang Ge asked.
"I'm nervous," Han Qingyu said honestly.
"..." With a low laugh, Liang Ge thought about it and understood: the kid wanted to dodge. Under current circumstances, if Han Qingyu never activated his apparatus, Liang Ge, as a White Eraser veteran, had no justification or face to activate his apparatus first and initiate the attack. He couldn't afford to embarrass himself like that.
And if neither activated their apparatus, the combat field's simulation modes did indeed have such an option: unequipped hand-to-hand combat. This was an option to train basic movements and muscle reactions while testing the combatants' physical conditioning... It was actually chosen often... because it was green and economical.
However, in that case, getting knocked down could count as a loss... and the severity of injuries would certainly be far milder.
Firmly determined not to let Han Qingyu off easy today...
"Don't think of hiding. If you won't turn it on, I'll help you," Liang Ge whispered as he stepped forward, reaching out to grab the metal straps on Han Qingyu's chest.
His physique was burly and his movements somewhat broad, looking... just like an unequipped strike.
Whoosh.
Han Qingyu decisively "retaliated," thrusting a kick straight toward his chest.
*Shit, you don't know what's good for you.*
Liang Ge cursed inwardly. Stepping back, he scooped with his right hand, convinced he had seen through Han Qingyu's intention. Fully confident in hand-to-hand combat as well, he planned to pin the boy down and pummel him without letting him fall to the ground easily.
*Even in unequipped hand-to-hand, you still—eh?*
*Why is he so fast?!*
While Liang Ge was startled and alarmed in his heart, in the eyes of the spectators below, the assessment had already begun—they had chosen unequipped combat.
Crack! In an instant, blows clashed with explosive force.
*Sure enough, between experts, even hand-to-hand combat without apparatus is this explosive,* the spectators thought.
Yet on the ring, Liang Ge suffered in silence. In his current state, even though he had shielded his chest with his arm in time, he could still feel an unfathomably ferocious force coming from his opponent.
How could he have known...
After absorbing two metal blocks, Han Qingyu's physical enhancement combined with the presence of liquid source energy inside his body meant that if he went all out, he could boldly claim right here: unequipped and in hand-to-hand combat, he was invincible across the entire army.
*Something's wrong, this kid might have martial arts training.* As a battlefield veteran, Liang Ge was crazy, but certainly not stupid. He immediately prepared to call for a pause and propose continuing the match with three-dimensional apparatus activated.
However, he was too late.
The instant Han Qingyu's left foot touched the ground, he sprang up and whipped his right leg out—crack! A breathtakingly swift high roundhouse kick struck violently against the side of Liang Ge's neck.
The crisp smack against flesh rang loud and clear across the entire venue.
"Whoa?!"
Amidst gasps of astonishment, Liang Ge—nearly 1.9 meters tall and built wide like a wall—swayed. He hastily shifted his right foot half a step outward in an attempt to keep his balance.
Yet, he could not.
His entire body began tilting uncontrollably, until finally, stumbling sideways, he crashed headfirst to the floor.
Thud... roll.
"..."
An exchange lasting a mere second and a half, fast as lightning, left the entire arena dumbstruck.
Two moves?
Two moves.
The recruit?
Still standing.
The White Eraser?
Down.
Chapter 96