"After you!"
Wu Ming clasped his hands. Only then did the people around them erupt into an uproar.
They had seen only a blur of movement before the previously fearsome guard soldier was defeated in the blink of an eye.
Those who understood a little of what had happened wore expressions of wariness and admiration as they sized Wu Ming up.
"Good! Good! You've got some real skill!"
The officer beside them burst into laughter. Fighting an armed opponent barehanded was practically the pinnacle of martial arts. And his opponent had been a guard soldier, not some flashy martial arts world fighter. He knew all too well how difficult that was, and admired Wu Ming all the more for it.
"Come, have a couple of rounds with me!"
The officer stepped down onto the training ground. One of his personal guards promptly handed him a long saber with a golden tiger-head pommel. "I am Liu Jie, Commander-in-Chief of Xinshan. If you join the army, I'll be your commanding officer. Understand?"
"I wouldn't dare!"
Wu Ming waved both hands and retreated several steps.
"If I tell you to fight, then you fight! That's a military order!" Liu Jie frowned.
"Then... please forgive my offense!"
Seeing that Liu Jie was in earnest, Wu Ming bowed again, then picked up a longsword from a nearby wooden rack.
"Ha ha! Good!"
Seeing Wu Ming take up a weapon, Liu Jie finally nodded in satisfaction. "Be careful. I'm coming at you!"
Whoosh!
In an instant, Liu Jie darted forward, crossing the two-zhang distance between them to appear before Wu Ming.
Shing, shing!
With a casual slash, wisps of astral energy appeared out of nowhere, forming a blade aura.
"His inner and outer strength are one, and his astral energy is refined. His martial arts are