Might Makes Right

When Wei Zhe's shout of "Accepted" rang through the night sky, the entire new recruit camp fell into an eerie silence.

Crazy!

This new recruit was definitely crazy!

This was the identical thought in the minds of everyone present.

Shi Meng looked at the undisguised fighting spirit in Wei Zhe's eyes and was also slightly stunned, followed by even more intense fury. He felt that he had been underestimated by a rookie.

"You've got guts!" Shi Meng roared fiercely, twisting his neck and making a crisp crack, crack sound. "All of you, get the hell out here and watch from the drill ground! Today, I'm going to let you rookies see for yourselves what true Elite Northern Warriors are!"

Once the command was given, the pretending-to-sleep and peeking new recruits in various tents, along with those veteran soldiers, all poured out, tightly surrounding the small open space and automatically forming a circle.

Everyone's face carried an expression of excitement, tension, and disbelief.

A new recruit challenging the chief instructor!

This kind of once-in-a-century scenario was enough to become their most worthy bragging rights in the military for the next few years.

Hu Lei also climbed up from the ground. Disregarding the pain in the back of his knees, he squeezed into the crowd, staring fixedly at the two people in the arena with complicated eyes. He both hoped that Wei Zhe would be taught a harsh lesson to make him realize the immensity of heaven and earth, yet deep down in his heart, there was also a faint sliver of anticipation, hoping that this youth who had just subdued him could create a miracle once more.

In the arena, Wei Zhe and Shi Meng stood facing each other.

The cold wind swept past, whipping up the sand and dust on the ground.

"Kid, I'll let you strike first, lest you say I'm bullying you." Shi Meng crossed his arms, his tower-like body brimming with oppressive might.

"Instructor, offense taken!"

Wei Zhe did not stand on ceremony. He knew that facing an opponent like this, any modesty was foolish.

He took a deep breath, lowering his body slightly to assume a seemingly ordinary yet both offensive and defensive stance. This was no profound martial art, but rather the naturally formed defensive posture from the Thousand Refinement Force, born of dealing with splashing sparks and iron chips during forging.

The next instant, he moved!

With no flashy movements, his feet kicked off violently, and his entire body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, instantly crossing a distance of several zhang and rushing to Shi Meng's face.

A straight punch, unadorned yet carrying an unstoppable, fierce momentum!

"Well brought!"

A sharp glint flashed in Shi Meng's eyes. Without dodging or evading, he threw a punch to meet it head-on.

His fist was a whole circle larger than Wei Zhe's, covered in calluses and scars, and brimming with explosive power.

He was going to use the purest power to completely crush this impudent kid!

"Bang!"

Their fists intersected, producing a dull, drum-like loud noise.

A powerful rebound force came washing over. Wei Zhe only felt his arm go numb, and his entire body uncontrollably retreated three steps in a row before barely managing to steady his stance.

As for Shi Meng, his body only swayed slightly, his feet rooted immovably to the ground!

Superiority was judged at a glance!

"Hiss—"

A chorus of sharp gasps of air sounded from the surrounding crowd.

"Did you see that? That's the gap!" a veteran soldier said proudly. "The boss's strength ranks near the top in our entire Northern Frontier Camp! No matter how formidable that kid is, he's still just a greenhorn!"

The new recruits' hearts all sank. The sliver of hope that had just arisen was instantly smashed to pieces by this single punch.

Shi Meng shook his somewhat numb fist, the look he cast at Wei Zhe carrying a sliver of added astonishment. He had originally thought this punch would be enough to knock Wei Zhe down and keep him from getting up, but he hadn't expected the opponent to merely retreat three steps, and judging by his appearance, he was completely unharmed.

This kid's bones were much harder than he had imagined!

"Kid, not bad strength. Come again!"

Shi Meng let out a loud roar, no longer maintaining passive defense and taking the initiative to launch an attack.

His offensive was bold and uninhibited, resembling a violent storm. Every punch and every kick carried thousand-jun force and an intense aura of slaughter. These were killing techniques honed in piles of corpses—simple, direct, and fatal!

For a time, Wei Zhe fell completely onto the back foot, able only to rely on his far-surpassing agility and reaction speed to wretchedly dodge amidst Shi Meng's stormy attacks, brushing shoulders with danger at every turn.

In everyone's eyes, he was like a lone leaf in churning waves, liable to be completely swallowed at any moment.

"It's over, it's over. Brother Wei is going to lose."

"They're simply not in the same league!"

Several new recruits could no longer bear to watch.

Yet Wei Zhe, located right at the eye of the storm, was far calmer than outsiders saw.

Wretched though he appeared, every single one of Shi Meng's attacks was either dodged or parried by him at the minimum cost. His brain was operating at high speed, analyzing every single movement of his opponent and searching for the flaws within them.

Fierce though Shi Meng's attacks were, such open-and-shut movements inevitably consumed massive amounts of stamina, and the transitions between his techniques could hardly be flawless.

What Wei Zhe was waiting for was precisely an opportunity!

The fleeting optimal striking point on iron stock just like during forging!

Another dozen moves passed. Shi Meng's offensive remained fierce, but his breathing was already slightly hurried. The more he fought, the more alarmed he grew. This kid was like a slippery loach or an exceptionally resilient piece of sticky toffee; no matter how much force he exerted, he continuously failed to land a fatal strike.

"Roar!"

Failing to secure victory after prolonged attacks, Shi Meng grew somewhat impatient. With an explosive shout, he swept out a heavy, powerful low kick, attempting to completely shatter Wei Zhe's lower stance.

Right now!

A brilliant light flashed in Wei Zhe's eyes, and the momentum that had been suppressed all this time suddenly erupted!

Instead of retreating, he stepped forward, his body twisting at an incredible angle to dodge Shi Meng's low sweep by the narrowest of margins.

At the same time, he clenched his right fist tight, the muscles in his arm instantly tensing via the method of the Thousand Refinement Force and unleashing their power, transforming his entire arm as if into an indestructible iron hammer!

With this punch, he did not aim for Shi Meng's head or chest, but rather targeted his flank, which was exposed due to overextending his force after the low kick!

That was one of the most vulnerable spots on the human body!

"Oh no!"

Alarm bells rang wildly in Shi Meng's heart. He wanted to retract his leg and fall back into defense, but it was already too late.

"Bang!"

Wei Zhe's fist landed solidly against his flank.

"Ugh!"

Shi Meng let out a painful muffled grunt. As if struck by a heavy hammer, his body shuddered violently, and the leg he had swept out could no longer maintain its balance as his massive frame came crashing down to the ground.

The entire place fell into a dead silence.

Everyone hung their jaws open, their eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.

Shi Meng... that chief instructor formidable as a demon god, had actually... fallen?

Having succeeded with a single strike, Wei Zhe did not press the pursuit. Pulling back his fist, he quietly stood there with his chest heaving slightly, watching Shi Meng collapsed on the ground.

Shi Meng struggled to climb back up, but the sharp pain and numbness radiating from his waist left him devoid of strength. He knew he had lost.

He had lost cleanly and decisively.

Lying on the cold ground and looking up at the sparse stars in the night sky, his mind went blank. Immediately afterward, a massive sense of humiliation surged into his heart.

Yet closely following that, as he gazed at the youth standing quietly still, the sense of humiliation within his heart slowly became replaced by an indescribable shock.

This kid's vision, grasp of timing, and precision in attacking were all far beyond what any new recruit could possibly possess.

This... was a born warrior!

"I... lost."

After a long while, Shi Meng squeezed three words out from between his teeth. His voice was hoarse yet clearly transmitted across the entire grounds.

Struggling, he propped himself up with a single hand and slowly sat up. In the gaze he cast toward Wei Zhe, not a shred of contempt remained, leaving only complexity and gravity.

"I, Shi Meng, honor my word."

Taking a deep breath, he roared with all his might toward all the surrounding soldiers, "From now on, Wei Zhe is the Squad Leader of First Team, First Squad in the new recruit camp!"

"Ding, task one of 'Military Renown' completed."

"Successfully promoted to Squad Leader. Reward: 100 Tempering Points."

The cold system prompt sounded punctually in Wei Zhe's mind.

He had won.

He had won the wager, won respect, and won his very first footing in this military camp.