Hard Against Hard

Lu Chen threw a punch.

Li Zhengyang raised his spear to block it.

Bang!

Both of them retreated at the same time.

This time, Li Zhengyang took three steps back, while Lu Chen took two.

The gap remained.

Lu Chen was a peak First Rank Martial Sect, even on the verge of touching Second Rank.

Li Zhengyang had only just broken through. His Blood Qi was sufficient, but his control was still crude.

But this was exactly the kind of opponent Li Zhengyang feared least.

A realm bought with money was still a real realm.

His Blood Qi control was not precise enough?

No problem.

He would adapt after a while.

Lu Chen attacked again.

Fists, palms, elbows, knees.

At such close range, their exchanges were so fast that the people in the stands could not follow them at all.

Li Zhengyang was forced back again and again.

The spear was long, making it harder to wield at close quarters.

That was precisely the weakness Lu Chen had seized on.

"Your spearwork is good, but you rely too much on distance."

Lu Chen pressed one palm against the middle of the spear shaft, while his other fist struck toward Li Zhengyang's face.

Li Zhengyang suddenly released his right hand.

His left hand remained steady on the spear, while his right hand clenched into a fist.

He compressed the force-generating method of the Collapse Formula into his fist.

Fist against fist.

Thump!

Their fists collided.

Lu Chen's arm shook, and he staggered back two steps.

Two bones in Li Zhengyang's right hand fractured.

But the broken bones immediately began to heal.

Li Zhengyang shook out his hand.

"I learned something."

Lu Chen frowned.

"You're using me to practice moves?"

"Aren't you using me as a whetstone too?"

Lu Chen had no answer.

Li Zhengyang gripped his spear with his right hand again.

This time, he did not retreat.

When Lu Chen's domain pressed down on him, he used his own domain to push back.

The Blood Qi of two Martial Sects collided head-on atop the arena.

The formation patterns could not withstand it and began turning red, piece by piece.

The referee stood below the stage, shouting into his communicator.

"Formation team! Reinforce it! Hurry and reinforce it! The arena won't hold!"

Lu Chen struck with his palm again.

Li Zhengyang thrust his spear.

Collapse Formula.

The first thrust was deflected by Lu Chen.

The second grazed Lu Chen's shoulder, tearing open his military uniform.

The third forced Lu Chen to raise his arm to block.

The fourth thrust.

Lu Chen retreated to the edge of the arena.

The fifth thrust.

Li Zhengyang suddenly changed moves.

A horizontal sweep.

The Dragon-Gallbladder Golden Spear swept out with a sheet of Astral Qi, driving straight across the arena.

Lu Chen brought his palms together and received it head-on.

Boom!

The formation-pattern barrier flickered violently.

Lu Chen's shoes gouged two deep trenches into the arena floor.

He had blocked it.

But Li Zhengyang was already there.

The spear tip flicked forward.

No tricks.

The Collapse Formula was pushed to its limit.

Lu Chen had not yet withdrawn his palms and could only use his shoulder to take it head-on.

Pfft!

The spear tip pierced half an inch into his shoulder before being caught by his Body-Protecting Astral Energy.

Li Zhengyang pushed forward with both hands.

Lu Chen gave a low shout, his Blood Qi erupting within him as he forcibly shook away the spear tip.

The two separated.

Blood flowed from Lu Chen's shoulder.

Li Zhengyang had taken a palm strike to the chest. A large portion of his clothes had been shredded, and two ribs were cracked.

They each retreated ten meters.

The timer had already reached two and a half minutes, far beyond the limit.

Lu Chen rolled his shoulder.

"If we keep fighting, I might not be able to hold back."

"Then don't."

"Commander Xiao will give me trouble."

"He'll scold you? Worry about yourself first!"

Lu Chen choked on that.

Someone in the stands laughed aloud.

To still trade quips at a time like this—there were probably only a few people in the entire Northern Frontier who could do that.

Lu Chen took a breath.

He spread his feet apart and pressed both palms downward.

All the gravel on the arena surface rose into the air.

The Martial Sect aura fully unfurled.

"One final move."

Li Zhengyang raised his spear.

"Fine."

The air behind Lu Chen warped, and his Blood Qi condensed into a gigantic palm.

It was not a phantom.

It was an externalized form created by Martial Sect Astral Qi compressed to the extreme.

The giant palm crashed down toward Li Zhengyang.

The arena's formation patterns burst apart one after another.

Li Zhengyang did not dodge.

He raised the Dragon-Gallbladder Golden Spear.

Mountain-Splitting Spear Art.

Collapse, Twist, horizontal sweep—the three forms melded into one.

The vortex at the spear tip compressed to the size of an egg.

Then it thrust out.

The spear tip struck the center of the giant palm.

One second.

Two seconds.

The arena beneath Li Zhengyang's feet cracked apart.

His arms began to tremble.

Lu Chen's face had gone pale as well.

"Break!"

Li Zhengyang suddenly stepped forward.

The spear tip bored into the giant palm.

The Twisting Formula erupted.

The giant palm exploded from its center, Astral Qi scattering in every direction and battering the barriers at the edge of the arena until they flickered repeatedly.

Lu Chen was jolted by the backlash, and his chest tightened.

Seizing that brief opening, Li Zhengyang crossed ten meters with Cloud-Shocking Steps.

The butt of his spear swept sideways.

Bang!

Lu Chen raised his arm to block it.

But his balance was broken.

Li Zhengyang reversed his spear, its tip stopping half an inch before Lu Chen's throat.

Lu Chen's palm had also stopped before Li Zhengyang's chest.

Both of them froze.

The stadium fell silent.

The referee looked at Lu Chen, then at Li Zhengyang, stammering for a long while.

"How should this be judged?"

Lu Chen withdrew his hand.

"I lost."

The referee was stunned.

"Deputy Commander Lu, are you sure?"

Lu Chen looked at the spear tip before his throat.

"He could have killed me first."

Li Zhengyang withdrew his spear.

He had not intended to kill him, mainly because he wanted to drag this out a little longer. A million every ten minutes, after all.

"Thank you for letting me win."

Lu Chen rubbed his shoulder.

The referee raised his hand.

"The finals are over!"

"The winner: Li Zhengyang of Fortress No. 13!"

The next second, the stadium erupted.

Everyone in the Fortress No. 13 section rose to their feet.

Hu Dahai shouted himself hoarse.

"First place! First place! Fortress No. 13 is first!"

Xiao Ding rose from the main viewing stand and personally came down.

A group of officers followed behind him.

Lin Zhenshan was among them, though his expression was not very pleasant.

Xiao Ding walked to the edge of the arena and raised a hand to press down. The noise throughout the venue gradually subsided.

"Li Zhengyang."

"Present."

"Champion of the Military District Selection Tournament. A prize of five million, one Marrow-Washing Pool slot, and provisional qualification for the Military District's core combat team."

Li Zhengyang immediately seized on the important part.

"When will the prize money be paid?"

Xiao Ding paused.

"It'll be sent in a moment."

"The full amount?"

"The full amount."

"Before or after tax?"

Xiao Ding looked at him.

Chief of Staff Zhang Yuan, standing nearby, nearly burst out laughing and hurriedly coughed.

Xiao Ding kept a straight face.

"It's a military merit reward. No tax deductions."

Li Zhengyang let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Commander."

Xiao Ding took a letter of appointment from his adjutant.

"Additionally, in view of your performance in the Beast Tide defense at Fortress No. 13, the reconnaissance of Blood-Colored Gorge, and the Military District Selection Tournament, the Northern Frontier Military Region has approved the conferment of the rank of Master Sergeant upon you."

"You are to be assigned to the Northern Frontier Military Region's directly subordinate Edge-Breaking Sequence."

"Does a Master Sergeant get a salary?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

Chief of Staff Zhang Yuan couldn't hold back any longer.

"Kid, you just got five million, and you're still thinking about your salary?"

Li Zhengyang glanced at him.

"Salary is money too."

Xiao Ding slapped the letter of appointment against his chest.

"The base allowance is thirty thousand a month. Missions are calculated separately."

Li Zhengyang accepted the letter of appointment.

"Thirty thousand will do."

Xiao Ding looked at him and suddenly lowered his voice.

"Don't celebrate too soon. The Marrow-Washing Pool will be open for three days. Before you go in, head to the military region resource vault and pick out three items first."

"Three items?"

"Champion's treatment."

"Can I pick money?"

Xiao Ding was utterly speechless. He turned and walked away.

"Zhang Yuan, take him to the resource vault. Don't let him pry up the floorboards."

Zhang Yuan walked over to Li Zhengyang.

"Come with me, Master Sergeant Li."

Just as Li Zhengyang was about to step down from the arena, his phone vibrated.

A payment notification appeared.

[5,000,000 yuan]