"Deal."
Lian Feng forced the word through clenched teeth.
"But I have conditions. First, this must be a controlled sparring match. No lethal injuries. Second, the entire match must be recorded for training analysis."
"No problem."
Qin Feng readily agreed, his smile so sincere that he looked nothing like the man who had just been haggling.
Seeing this, Lian Feng said no more. She turned to Ge Xiaolun and the others, her tone instantly dropping to freezing point.
"The base paid a steep price for this chance at live combat. If any of you drop the ball out there, your training afterward will be doubled! Is that clear?"
"Yes!"
Ge Xiaolun and the others answered in unison, their voices much louder than before.
Liu Chuang even straightened his back, his eyes fixed firmly on Qin Feng as though to say, Just you wait.
Only then did Lian Feng nod at Qin Feng.
"You may begin."
At her words, Qin Feng curled his lips and raised his right hand, snapping his fingers crisply.
The dense patch of shadow on the ground behind him suddenly churned, and two lean, formidable Shadowkhan guards emerged.
They carried a throne built from dark crystal, setting it down heavily behind Qin Feng with a dull thud.
Qin Feng promptly reclined on it, propping his chin on one hand, his posture as relaxed as if he were sunbathing in his own backyard.
Immediately afterward, the shadow before him rippled again, and a Crab Shadowkhan emerged.
He was burly, covered in a dark, shell-like exoskeleton. His left hand was cone-shaped and his right was a pincer, and he radiated the aura of a cold-blooded hunter.
The Crab Shadowkhan stopped before Qin Feng and bowed slightly, as though awaiting orders.
"Go play with them."
Qin Feng casually tipped his chin toward Ge Xiaolun and the others.
The Crab Shadowkhan nodded silently and walked steadily into the arena.
"Wait, wait!"
Liu Chuang abruptly raised a hand to stop him and strode forward, his rugged face filled with displeasure.
"Wasn't that big red guy supposed to fight us? What's the point of sending out some ordinary soldier?"
He still wanted payback for that punch.
The memory of Tara sending him flying with a single punch in that alley remained vivid. Now that he finally had a chance for a rematch, Qin Feng had sent out an ordinary soldier to brush him off?
It made him feel as though he had been played.
Lian Feng also frowned and looked at Qin Feng, a trace of displeasure in her voice.
"Mr. Qin, this isn't quite what we agreed on. We wanted that third-generation divine warrior, not an ordinary soldier."
Reclining on his throne, Qin Feng did not even lift his eyelids. "Miss Lian Feng, the price you offered only gets you one soldier. To tell you the truth, Tara is at a critical stage of his advancement right now. He can't come out to be their sparring partner."
He paused, finally turning his head to glance at Lian Feng, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.
"Besides, with their current strength, they might not even be able to beat this soldier of mine."
He had already used the Great Clock's computational power to scan Ge Xiaolun and the others before entering the training ground.
Four second generation super soldiers, and two first-generation ones.
Although Ge Xiaolun had tremendous potential, at this stage he was, at best, a damage sponge who could take a few extra hits.
Liu Chuang went without saying. He had not even figured out how to use his god-slaying power and could only swing the God-Slaying Axe wildly.
Cheng Yaowen's heart of the earth was somewhat interesting, but his actual combat experience was practically zero.
As for Qiangwei and the other two...
Although Qiangwei was also a second generation super soldier, her actual destructive power was inferior to Qilin's god-slaying armor-piercing rounds.
Those few throwing knives of hers would undoubtedly be no more than a tickle to the Crab Shadowkhan.
In close combat, the Crab Shadowkhan would teach them their place in minutes.
After all, the current Super Soldier Company had yet to undergo the baptism of war. Their combat awareness was little better than that of a bunch of fresh recruits.
If they really fought, the Crab Shadowkhan could finish the battle in under ten minutes.
"What?!"
Before Lian Feng and the others could object, Rena had already jumped out from the side, shouting.
She rushed up to Qin Feng in a few quick strides and stared at him in disbelief.
"That subordinate of yours is about to advance to a fourth-generation divine body? You're that generous?"
Rena could not understand it, and she was utterly shocked.
The materials needed to advance to a fourth-generation divine body were extremely precious. Even as the chief god of Lieyang Star, she still only had a third generation divine body.
It was not that she did not want to advance. She simply could not gather that many resources.
Yet Qin Feng himself was still only a third generation super soldier, and he was actually willing to give up precious advancement materials to let his subordinate move ahead of him?
This completely defied the logic of a civilization's ruler.
By rights, the leader of a civilization should be its strongest member. Otherwise, how could they keep those beneath them in line?
"Is there a problem?"
Qin Feng lounged on his throne, his tone thoroughly casual.
"Tara has reached the point where he should advance, so naturally he'll advance. Am I supposed to stop him?"
His nonchalant attitude left Rena momentarily speechless. She opened her mouth to say something, only to find that she could not come up with the right words to argue back.
After all, this was his private business. As an outsider, she really had no place interfering.
She smacked her lips in frustration and stepped back to the side, but her eyes remained firmly fixed on Qin Feng's face, as though assessing him anew.
When Lian Feng heard the words "fourth-generation divine body," her expression remained calm, but inwardly, her thoughts were surging.
A fourth-generation divine body?
That was already the pinnacle of existence in the Known Universe.
There wasn't a single one in the entire Super God Academy system.
Yet now, a subordinate of a civilization's ruler she had never even heard of was already attempting to reach that level.
What did that mean?
It meant that the forces behind Qin Feng could not possibly be weaker than established god-tier civilizations such as Lieyang and the angels.
Blue Star truly had become an arena for the games of the gods.
At this thought, Lian Feng clenched the hand hidden inside her sleeve tightly.
She did not know whether Qin Feng's arrival was a blessing or a curse for Blue Star, but with things as they were, she could only take it one step at a time.
"All right, all right."
Qin Feng waved impatiently. "Are you fighting or not? If not, I'm leaving. Rather than playing house with you here, I'd be better off going back to study knowledge and technology."
Provoked by his words, Liu Chuang's temper flared again.
He strode into the arena and roared at the Crab Shadowkhan, "We're fighting! Why wouldn't we? Today, I'll show you what real strength looks like!"
Ge Xiaolun and the others exchanged glances, then followed him in one after another, spreading out in a fan formation on either side of Liu Chuang.
Qilin set up her sniper rifle in the distance, her gaze calmly locking onto the target through her scope.
The Crab Shadowkhan stood motionless, his enormous pincer slightly open, his scarlet, V-shaped vertical pupils utterly calm.
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