Chapter 395: I don't want to be his enemy, so I can only be his friend.
In the blink of an eye, another half month has passed.
Although there was intentional provocation of the war, to cover Xu Lingjun and others, the scale of this war must not be small, and all the Mysterious Clan members within the Outer Ring must be drawn into the battlefield.
For this reason, there are countless preparations to be made.
A half month is far from enough...
And during this time, everyone has been busy with their own matters.
At the moment, inside the base.
In a spacious training ground.
Hundreds of soldiers were gathered like seasoned veterans, loudly cheering and shouting encouragement.
And at the center of their encirclement...
Two people were fiercely battling.
One of them was covered in knotted muscles, akin to the complex roots of an old tree, his whole person like cast iron.
With one punch, the force was overwhelming, and even with his feet stamping, the steel ground was only left with shallow depressions.
Evidently, his strength was formidable, almost comparable to a humanoid beast.
And his opponent...
Blood Qi surged around him, resembling a Demon God bathed in blood, wasn't it none other than Han Yun City?
Faced with such a rare formidable opponent, not only did he not feel weighed down, but his face bore an expression of wild exuberance, laughing maniacally as they exchanged punches, the sound of impact incessant.
Han Yun City was clearly at a disadvantage.
But even falling into a disadvantage, he appeared even more exhilarated, laughing, "This is the feeling, this is the thrill of risking it all, exhilarating hahaha..."
Amid the laughter.
He was knocked back by a punch, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, but instead of retreating, he charged forward again.
The next moment... the blood-red whirlwind clashed again with the steel warrior.
Exchanging wound for wound, matching injury for injury.
Amid the soldiers' frenzied shouts of encouragement.
Their fight grew more intense.
A long while later...
"Stop... stop... stop..."
The steel warrior Zhou Meng abruptly stepped back a few paces, shouting out.
Clearly suffering much lighter injuries than Han Yun City, yet his expression bore more gravity... not out of respect for Han Yun City's strength, but in awe of his death-defying struggle.
The Polar Star Battlefield revered martial prowess.
The soldiers who practiced the Martial Tao often sparred with one another, plus the advances in medical techniques, the most advanced healing methods were available on the Polar Star Battlefield; as long as one didn't die, they could always be saved, so even sparring felt like risking death.
But Zhou Meng had never seen anyone risk their life quite like Han Yun City.
This was really taking no concern for life...
This guy must have had countless bones broken, yet instead fought more and more valiantly, from initially being at a disadvantage to now being evenly matched.
Moreover, his fighting grew crazier and crazier, akin to a starving tiger finally released from its cage... if he didn't admit defeat, it felt like he would be in trouble eventually.
"Not fighting?"
Han Yun City, panting heavily, spat out a mouthful of blood foam, coldly said, "I've only just started exerting, and you're admitting defeat?"
The crowd also erupted in noise.
"Alright, your strength is already above mine, continuing to fight means I'm more likely to lose."
Zhou Meng retreated two more steps, saying, "Otherwise, what if you're driven to lose all reason and cause a massacre here?"
Upon hearing this, Han Yun City slowly restrained his surrounding Blood Qi.
Indeed, if the fight continued, his reason would be increasingly suppressed, the power of the Emperor Blood Heaven Slayer technique ranked among the top three even among Supreme Level Techniques, but the aftereffects were equally terrifying.
What evaporated wasn't Blood Qi, it was intelligence.
He praised, "Vice Commander Zhou is truly formidable, if not for the borrowed power of the Cultivation Technique, I fear I couldn't have lasted a hundred moves."
"Initially, I was indeed confident that I could defeat you within a hundred moves. But unexpectedly, your skills are getting stronger, and even though I'm at the Seventh Realm of Profound Mystery, I still can't beat you. Remarkable. No wonder His Majesty appointed you as Deputy Commander; in terms of military merits or strength, you are completely suitable for the role of Deputy Commander."
"I'm just relying on the power of my Cultivation Technique."
Han Yun City said modestly, "Moreover, I don't have any military achievements left. All my military merits have been exchanged. According to the rules of the Polar Star Battlefield, once exchanged, they can no longer be counted as military merits. Now, I'm just a common man. Fortunately, this time His Majesty assigned me a rather risky task. If I succeed, it would count as a major achievement."
"Speaking of exchanging military merits for academic credits..."
A warrior observing the situation earlier had a strange expression on his face and said, "I remember, Commander, that the Dragon Gate Champion Scholar who was your contemporary is also in our Kaiyang Military District now."
"I know, I know, it's Xu Lingjun."
A female soldier's eyes sparkled with brightness and said, "Lately, we've been secretly watching him... he's so handsome..."
"What's the use of being handsome? Apart from deceiving women, what other benefits could there be? He must be a playboy."
Many male soldiers immediately cried out in anger.
"Nonsense! Someone that good-looking can't be a bad person..."
The male and female soldiers began arguing with anger and resentment among each other. Although new and without any foundation, surprisingly, those female soldiers all stood by Xu Lingjun.
It's not surprising.
During this time, although Xu Lingjun has hardly stepped out, he sits by the window daily, intensely studying Martial Arts Techniques. A focused man is the most appealing, and a focused Xu Lingjun is even more attractive.
These female soldiers passed by his window ten times a day... they just wished Xu Lingjun would carelessly drop something and accidentally hit them, then everyone could get acquainted.
"Honestly, I'm quite curious too."
Zhou Meng is one of the three Deputy Commanders of the Kaiyang Military District and a person who genuinely rose through the ranks based on military merits. Even Han Yun City is just a junior compared to him.
He said, "You had previously used up all your military merits to exchange for so many academic credits. This is almost as if you cheated, yet you still didn't win... and now you're assigned to assist him in his task. Is this person really that exceptional?"
Speaking of which.
Everyone had an indignant expression on their faces.
Han Yun City previously exchanged hundreds of points, and although it seemed like cheating, it was cheating gained through life and death struggles, so no one was unconvinced.
Now that Han Yun City has lost, as soldiers of the same Kaiyang Military District, they naturally stood by Han Yun City.
Someone said, "This guy, ever since he came to the Polar Star Battlefield, has been hiding out. It's been half a month already, and he hasn't even stepped out of his door. Could it be that he's scared?"
"Nonsense."
Han Yun City scoffed, saying, "Previously, I had a few duels with him. Although we had no clear winner at that time, I knew if it were a life and death battle... I would definitely lose. His strength is indeed above mine, coupled with his outstanding literary prowess, unlike me, just a big dumb warrior. He deserved his first place."
"Stronger than you?"
Zhou Meng exclaimed in surprise and, recalling something, asked, "When did you spar with him?"
"That was some time ago."
Han Yun City sighed regretfully, "After breaking through to the Profound Realm, I quite wanted to fight him once more, but due to many interruptions, it unexpectedly never happened."
"I knew it..."
Zhou Meng suddenly realized and laughed, "Perhaps you are overestimating him. The Supreme Level Martial Skill you are cultivating grows more powerful the deeper you develop it. Earlier in the Huichuan Realm, you might not have been his match, but now that you've reached the Profound Realm and delved deeper into your Cultivation Technique, can this guy still cultivate a Technique more profound than your Supreme Level Technique?"
"Not necessarily..."
Han Yun City stopped mid-sentence and looked at Zhou Meng with a strange expression, asking, "Vice Commander Zhou, do you intend to..."
"Hearing you praise this guy as if he's unparalleled in the heavens and unmatched on earth, it makes me itch to spar too, hahaha... I heard he's also a top student from the Bei Xuanwu Martial Mansion. Coincidently, our Kaiyang Military District also has quite a few top students from the Bei Xuanwu Martial Mansion. Let's invite Xu Lingjun out for a gathering."
"Honestly, I think you should just invite him directly. Coincidentally, I'm quite curious about how strong this guy is now."
Han Yun City's face showed a strange expression as he thought, although I haven't fought Xu Lingjun, knowing he can take down Zhou Qianmo, this guy's real skills are definitely formidable.
However...
It's kind of like owing him a favor.
He laughed and said, "As far as I know, Xu Lingjun has a stronger desire to fight than I do. If you were to approach him for a spar, he'd only be worried that the opponent isn't strong enough or fierce enough... but he definitely won't refuse."
"Really?"
"I'm the most combative, but after facing Xu Lingjun once, frankly, I never want to face him again in my life. Why do I want to be friends with him? Because I really don't want him as an enemy, and if I can't have him as an enemy, I must become friends with him."
Han Yun City shook his head and sighed, "Having him as an enemy is truly terrifying. Fighting other enemies still gains me some benefits, but uniquely engaging in battle with him yields nothing. What can I do? I'm quite desperate too."
Seeing that Han Yun City didn't seem to be faking, Zhou Meng's expression became more serious... So, this Xu Lingjun isn't some flash-in-the-pan talent but a true celebrity with both the appearance and substance?
The excitement flashed in his eyes, and that's what makes things interesting.