The Unstoppable Gu Chen

"Since no one is challenging Yu Qitian."

A chief referee stepped onto Yu Qitian's platform and shouted to the crowd below,

"Then Yu Qitian will be awarded one of the top ten spots!"

It wouldn't do to let Yu Qitian keep occupying a platform and wasting everyone's time, so chief referee Wang Hongwei had come up with this plan.

As soon as Wang Hongwei finished speaking, several War Soldiers whose strength was on par with Yu Qitian immediately grew restless, unwilling to let the opportunity pass.

Before long, Zhang Wei, a War Soldier from the Fourth Battalion, leaped onto the platform to challenge Yu Qitian.

Wang Hongwei smiled knowingly at the sight.

He had said that precisely to stir up everyone else's competitive spirit.

After all, there were only a limited number of spots in the top ten. If Yu Qitian claimed one, it would make reaching the top ten that much harder for everyone else.

Any War Soldier who aspired to make the top ten would surely refuse to let this opportunity slip by.

Meanwhile, as the fights continued, the bouts between the battalions' War Soldiers had reached a fever pitch.

More and more of the top-ranked War Soldiers joined the fray, which also meant more and more people were eliminated.

Those who remained were without exception the cream of the crop.

Gu Chen also stepped onto a platform. Even though he held back, he still defeated his opponent with ease without so much as drawing his sword from its sheath.

"Damn it, why are there so many tough nuts in the Second Battalion?"

Yu Qitian had already won three matches in a row and stepped down from the platform to rest.

Gu Chen had dispatched his opponent with such effortless ease that it was completely beyond the other battalions' expectations.

The War Soldiers from the Third and Fourth Battalions wore grave expressions.

"The instructors gave us strict orders a few days ago. If we can't beat the Second Battalion today, we're in for a rough time from here on out!"

"Damn it all, weren't the Second Battalion's men supposed to be soft targets? Does this look like a soft target to you?"

"That Gu Chen and that Yu Qitian—we have to knock them both down!"

"If both of them make the top ten, then even if they don't place well in the final platform matches, the general will have a reason to preserve the Second Battalion's ranking."

"Zhao Zhen, Wang Lin, get out there. Keep up the gauntlet. No matter how tough they are, chew those two down!"

Yu Qitian was still resting, so Zhao Zhen immediately set his sights on Gu Chen.

The two sides were enemies to begin with, and Zhao Zhen didn't bother speaking to Gu Chen. He stepped onto the platform, waited for the referee's whistle, then launched himself at Gu Chen.

The vicious look in his eyes made it clear that if he got the chance, he wouldn't let Gu Chen off.

Gu Chen's gaze turned cold. Although Guan Shan hadn't ordered them to defend the Second Battalion's position at all costs, the battles of the past few days had made him realize that the other battalions had come with bad intentions.

If his opponent was going to be so ruthless, then Gu Chen wouldn't hold back either.

Instead of retreating, Gu Chen advanced. His long sword curved upward in a strange, serpentine arc. It knocked Zhao Zhen's weapon aside, then thrust toward his throat.

Zhao Zhen's expression changed dramatically. He stared in horror at the sword closing in on his throat.

But it had happened so suddenly that he didn't even have time to call for surrender before he was about to die by Gu Chen's sword.

"Stop!"

The assistant referee had been watching the fight closely. At the critical moment, he rushed onto the platform and struck Gu Chen's sword aside with a palm.

Even so, the wind from the blade carved a bloody line across Zhao Zhen's throat!

"Th-thank you, referee..."

As if he'd just returned from the brink of death, Zhao Zhen broke out in a cold sweat and repeatedly thanked the referee.

The referee waved him off, signaling that he should hurry down from the platform and check for injuries.

After Zhao Zhen left, the referee looked at Gu Chen with a hint of wariness.

That was right: he was a Martial Master, yet Gu Chen had made him wary!

Gu Chen's sword had been incredibly fast. It was far beyond what a Sixth-tier or even a Seventh-tier Martial Apprentice should have been capable of.

But if Gu Chen had already reached the Eighth or even Ninth tier, then he should have been one of the New Recruit Camp's most closely watched recruits.

Mushan City certainly had recruits like that.

After all, the people who drew lots for military service included children from powerful families.

But those people had no interest in this so-called Tenth Battalion Grand Competition.

To them, taking part in it would be nothing but a waste of time.

Gu Chen clearly wasn't one of them.

That made the strength he had shown all the more astonishing.

Gu Chen, however, shook his head in secret regret.

If the assistant referee had been even a little slower, Zhao Zhen would have died by his sword.

Too bad his own strength was still lacking.

Still, after seeing how the War Soldiers around the platform had reacted, Gu Chen found the fight's outcome acceptable.

At least he'd intimidated them, so not just anyone would dare come up and challenge him, wasting his time.

Wang Lin had originally planned to take turns challenging Gu Chen with Zhao Zhen, wearing down Gu Chen's stamina and giving Zhang Chuang a chance to defeat him.

But when he saw Zhao Zhen, whose strength was about the same as his own, get defeated by Gu Chen in a single move, Wang Lin's head instantly cleared, and he abandoned the idea of challenging Gu Chen.

He had no intention of risking his life just to become someone else's stepping stone!

Wang Lin decisively chose to challenge a War Soldier on another platform, leaving Zhang Chuang to worry about it on his own.

"Gu Chen looks even more ruthless than Yu Qitian,"

Zhang Chuang muttered, his gaze dark.

Yu Qitian had defeated three Sixth-tier Martial Apprentices, but he hadn't displayed the kind of overwhelming force Gu Chen had.

Even without taking turns to wear him down, Zhang Chuang was still sixty percent confident he could defeat Yu Qitian.

But against Gu Chen, he had no confidence at all!

"Forget it. Focus on Yu Qitian. We'll deal with Gu Chen during the platform matches."

Seeing that Zhang Chuang had given no further orders, the others naturally weren't foolish enough to challenge Gu Chen of their own accord.

Gu Chen's platform was left vacant.

Wang Hongwei repeated his earlier tactic, stepping onto the platform and calling on everyone to challenge Gu Chen, but no one listened.

But Gu Chen didn't seem intent on simply claiming a spot in the top ten. He actually stepped down from the platform of his own accord.

At the generals' seats,

the other battalions' head instructors looked at Guan Shan with envy, their jealousy practically spilling from their faces.

"Old Guan, your battalion's War Soldiers are pretty strong this year."

What they meant, plain and simple, was that the War Soldiers had achieved this through their own ability, not thanks to Guan Shan.

Guan Shan naturally understood what they meant. He gave a cold laugh.

"Not bad, not bad. Second in the whole camp."

His words left the expressions on the others' faces frozen in place.

Du Heng and Li Kai, the head instructors of the Third and Fourth Battalions, looked especially grim.

Guan Shan's words were clearly aimed at the two of them, telling them to know their place.

They shouldn't covet the Second Battalion's position.

"You think you've already won?"

A flash of jealousy passed through Du Heng's eyes as he seethed inwardly.

"If you didn't have General Guan backing you, what right would you have to hold on to the Second Battalion's position?"