第22章 百夫长选拔战开始

Lu Yun intended to verify the changes in his defense and speed after his breakthrough.

He clenched his fist, channeled his full strength, and slammed it into his own chest.

Clang...

A crisp sound echoed through the courtyard. He did not feel even a hint of pain, let alone sustain an injury.

"Such powerful defense; it has improved by at least double."

Lu Yun's eyes brightened.

He had not held back with that punch; it was equivalent to the full-force strike of an average Bone-Forging martial artist.

Yet, an attack of that caliber had not even broken the skin.

One could imagine how terrifying his defense had become.

He estimated that his physical defense alone was now equivalent to a top-tier superior mortal weapon. Even if he stood still, it would be difficult for a Bone-Forging martial artist to injure him. This was the terrifying nature of a well-rounded warrior.

If his body had only been equivalent to a mid-tier mortal weapon before the breakthrough, it was now a qualitative transformation.

"This time, I want to see what Xiao Longcheng has to break my Diamond Body."

Lu Yun's face was filled with confidence.

He was not worried at all about tomorrow's decisive battle. So what if his opponent had long since broken through to the Bone-Forging realm and practiced several superior martial arts?

He guessed that Xiao Longcheng had at most cultivated his skills to the minor accomplishment stage, which already made him a once-in-a-century genius.

As for reaching the great accomplishment stage, that was impossible for a new recruit.

Next, Lu Yun began to test his speed.

Whoosh...

With a light movement of his right foot, he vanished from his spot. A series of afterimages appeared around the clearing; he was so fast that his figure was no longer visible.

After a few breaths, he came to a halt.

"After this breakthrough in footwork, my speed has increased by at least fifty percent."

He thought to himself.

Compared to before the breakthrough, his limit speed had been about sixteen meters per second; now, it had reached a terrifying twenty-four meters per second.

As long as his blood and qi were sufficient, he could maintain this speed indefinitely.

Even a peak Bone-Forging martial artist would find it difficult to catch him based on speed alone.

Everything was ready; he was just waiting for tomorrow's challenge match.

He was determined to claim the title of Centurion! Not even the heavens themselves could stop him.

The next day, early morning.

The morning sun rose, casting golden light across the earth.

At the crack of dawn, the entire Clear Distance City became incredibly lively as countless martial artists surged toward the plaza in the center of the military camp.

The three great families, the Black Tiger Gang, the Canal Gang, and the City Lord's Mansion all sent large numbers of martial artists to watch.

The annual Red Flame Army Centurion selection match was the grandest event in Clear Distance City, and no one wanted to miss it.

Meanwhile, the two major banks in the city had already opened their betting pools, with the peak duel between Xiao Longcheng and Lu Yun being the most eye-catching.

However, most people still favored Xiao Longcheng.

The odds for the two had reached two to one. Of course, many people were betting on Lu Yun, the dark horse, hoping to make a fortune if he caused an upset.

In this match, the maximum bet was one thousand origin stones, which was a significant gamble.

Central Plaza.

"Make way, my big brother Lu Yun is here."

At this moment, the sharp-eyed Ye Quan had already spotted Lu Yun, who was just emerging from a side path.

Ye Quan's face was full of pride, afraid that others wouldn't know of their relationship.

The crowd looked up.

They saw a young man in white holding a long spear, walking slowly from a distance. The man's figure was like a javelin, and he carried a powerful aura about him.

"That's him, the peerless genius who rivals Xiao Longcheng."

Many new recruits quickly cleared a path, their faces filled with awe.

To them, Lu Yun and Xiao Longcheng were like the scorching sun in the sky, existing far beyond their reach.

The position of Centurion was within easy grasp for the two of them, but for ordinary recruits like themselves, it was the ceiling of their entire lives.

Xiao Longcheng also noticed Lu Yun's arrival. He turned his head, looked him up and down, and his expression tightened.

"Such a strong aura; his reputation is truly well-deserved."

As the saying went, the layman watches the show while the expert watches the technique. With just this simple glance, he understood that Lu Yun was definitely not simple.

The vibrant, overflowing state of his spirit and energy made even him feel a sense of alarm; he was not comparable to those puffed-up, fake geniuses.

At this moment, he elevated the level of importance he placed on Lu Yun to the maximum.

Lu Yun also sensed Xiao Longcheng's gaze and turned his head.

Their gazes met in the void, clashing like two sharp swords, and their fighting intent began to rise.

"This Xiao Longcheng is no mere mediocrity."

Lu Yun assessed him inwardly.

It was fortunate that both of his skills had broken through; otherwise, winning this battle would not have been so easy.

Before long, he walked to a desk on the west side of the plaza.

A middle-aged man sat in a chair, and the rice paper on the table recorded a large amount of betting data.

"Are you here to place a bet?"

The middle-aged man said to Lu Yun with a smile.

He naturally recognized Lu Yun, the genius figure.

"I bet one thousand origin stones on myself to win."

Lu Yun said calmly.

The middle-aged man was stunned. After looking Lu Yun up and down, he did not see the man carrying any origin stones.

"What does your Excellency mean by this?"

His tone was quite puzzled.

Seeing this, Lu Yun picked up the brush on the table, flipped to a blank page of rice paper, and solemnly wrote two large characters: "Lu Yun."

"These two words, I bet one thousand origin stones. Is that acceptable?"

His tone was flat, as if he were speaking of a trivial matter.

"Haha... of course."

The middle-aged man laughed and immediately agreed.

If anyone else had dared to do this, he would have punched them away long ago, telling them to get as far as possible.

But Lu Yun was different; a top genius capable of challenging for the position of Centurion naturally carried that much weight.

Lu Yun's move left the many new recruits present completely dumbfounded.

"You can do that? My eyes have truly been opened today."

They wouldn't dare to pull such a stunt. Did they really think those running the banks were running a charity? Without some real skill, they would have been picked clean long ago.

Facing the awe-filled gazes of the many recruits, Lu Yun walked forward and soon reached the front of the line, standing beside Zhuo Feifan and Xiao Longcheng.

Watching Lu Yun approach, Zhuo Feifan felt a bit bitter.

Two monsters had appeared in the same generation, and he had completely become their background scenery.

At this moment, on the viewing platform ahead, an old man in black robes with a long beard from the Zhang Family's formation looked on with a hint of strangeness in his eyes.

The old man quickly scanned the group of new recruits, as if he were inspecting goods.

Lu Yun seemed to sense something and swept his gaze in that direction, but only found that the look came from the direction of the three great families, so he paid it no further mind.

At the very center of the viewing platform sat several high-ranking officers of the Red Flame Army.

Ten Thousand-Man Commanders had come today, with Mu Zijun and Qin Jue among them.

All ten Thousand-Man Commanders turned their eyes toward Lu Yun and Xiao Longcheng, their gazes full of appreciation.

To them, this battle was the main attraction.

Usually, only one Thousand-Man Commander would come out to preside over the challenge match.

"The Centurion selection battle, officially begins."

"All new recruits, one win earns one point; the loser gets no points. The top twenty in points will enter the final round."

An old man in green robes walked to the front of the stage and shouted loudly.

His resonant voice rang throughout the entire venue.

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yun stepped out and walked quickly toward the three arenas in the center, heading for the one on the right.

He then leaped, his entire body landing precisely in the center of the arena like a cannonball.

"Everyone who wants to challenge me, come up together."

Lu Yun carried his spear, his expression as calm as water.

To him, everyone except Xiao Longcheng was just a bunch of small fry, and Zhuo Feifan was merely a slightly larger grasshopper; there was little difference.

What point battle? It was a complete waste of time.

The strong were often those who broke the rules; no one had said that taking on six thousand at once was forbidden.

"Ah... this person is too arrogant... does he really think we new recruits have no one?"

"Everyone, let's go up together! We can bury him just by piling on!"

Countless people were filled with righteous indignation, their eyes seemingly spitting fire.

Yet, not a single person dared to step onto the stage to challenge him. Bury a genius by piling on? That was just talk; they weren't stupid.

A top-tier physical-training Bone-Forging expert could sweep them all away with ease.

They probably couldn't even break his defense; many of them had seen the miserable end of Yang Shengrong with their own eyes.

Just then, Xiao Longcheng also leaped, rushing toward the central arena, and landed steadily in the middle.

"Everyone, come up together."

He turned his head, his gaze sweeping calmly across the entire field.

Seeing Lu Yun stealing the spotlight, he naturally would not be content to fall behind.

He had to take down Lu Yun in this battle to lay the most solid foundation for his own path of invincibility.