Wang Chong had already advanced to Grandmaster, his True Qi circulating in an endless, self-renewing flow. Among Dong Qing, Gan Ci, Sun Mingke, Mo Zhenxing, and Qin Gao, three had reached the Innate Realm, while Gan Ci and Qin Gao were also accomplished martial artists. But the ordinary soldiers could not hold out, so he could only rest for now and resume battle tomorrow.
Wang Chong had just passed down the order when a peach-blossom dappled horse emerged from the enemy formation. Great Consort Yueliduo rode out with only a dozen or so followers, who began shouting with abandon. It was a scene Wang Chong had often encountered in novels: the Shangtuo Tribe's Great Consort was issuing a challenge, demanding that he ride out for a duel between champions.
Historical records did contain such accounts: Guan Yu had stabbed Yan Liang amid a host of thousands at White Horse Slope and returned with his head; Xue Andu had killed Lu Shuang, the "match for ten thousand," with a single spear thrust before the battle lines; Xiao Mohe had hurled a short spear to kill a foreign general of Northern Qi renowned for his archery, then cut down dozens of men to break the enemy formation; Qin Shubao had often stabbed enemy champions amid armies of thousands; Shi Wansui had accepted a Turkic challenge to single combat, ridden out, and returned with the opposing champion's head; and Li Cunxiao had captured the Liang general Deng Jiyun alive. But in actual history, duels between champions were exceedingly rare.
Wang Chong stared in astonishment for a while before realizing that martial prowess in this world reached extraordinary heights. Such duels before the battle lines were probably commonplace, utterly unlike his original world, where even military commanders were only ordinary people.
He glanced around