Heavenly Jewel Change

“Great strength! Let me try.” At this point, a loud voice suddenly rang out.

Without warning, a soldier sprang out of nowhere, striding in large steps to the beginner’s competition zone.

“Who asked you to go up!” Both Company Leaders exclaimed angrily in unison. However, their voices were soon stilled, surprise in their eyes.

Zhou Weiqing looked towards his new opponent, to see that it was another soldier dressed in infantry garb. However, the difference from all the other soldiers he had seen previously was that he was not wearing any leather armour, and even his army uniform was old and ragged, a head of short green stubble for his hair. He was ferocious looking, pugnacious, even a little ugly, with a huge stature like a mountain, almost two metres tall. His army uniform had been strained open, revealing his bulging chest muscles, and a wolf heads tattoo. Besides that ferocious aura, he seemed to have an air of banditry.

Rubbing his short green hair, his eyes flashed dangerously as he stared at the two Company Leaders. It was this very glare that caused the two Company Leaders to stop talking.

Zhou Weiqing’s senses were all extremely fine, and he could hear whispers at amongst the audience saying: “It’s the Ruffian Battalion.”

Ruffian Battalion? There was such a formation in the ZhongTian Empire Army?

Zhou Weiqing did not have more time to dwell on his thoughts, and that stout man had already crooked a finger at him. “Little brat, looks like you are very confident in your strength right? Come on then, this big bro will compete with you in that.” As he said that, he strode forth towards Zhou Weiqing.

“Stop!” The two Company Leaders immediately rushed into the combat zone, standing in front of Zhou Weiqing.

The one on the left said solemnly to the stout man: “Green Wolf, are you trying to cause trouble in our Sixteenth Regiment?”

Green Wolf curled his lip in scorn, saying: “What? Is your Sixteenth Regiment scared of losing that one silver? You all can’t even handle a little newbie recruit; it just happens that Your Father, I, am feeling the itch to fight, I’ll just be kind enough to help you out. Don’t come and act in front of me, in terms of ranking, Your Father, I, am the same as you. If you don’t dare to fight, all you Sixteenth Regiment folks here can shout out loud now: Big Bro Green Wolf, I’m terrified. If you do so, I’ll leave right now.”

The two Company Leaders were enraged, and they were just about to retort when Zhou Weiqing’s voice travelled from behind them. “Company Leaders, please let me try.”

The two Company Leaders turned to look at him, their brows furrowed, and the one on the right said: “The members of the Ruffian Battalion all do not hold back. Be careful.” At this point, for the honour of the Sixteenth Regiment, they would not be able to stop this fight. There was nothing to be afraid about losing a fight, but if they did not fight, it would be endless mocking and loss of face.

Seeing the two Company Leaders step away, Green Wolf pursed his lips mockingly, saying: “Hmph, always acting so much, what sort of thing are you, didn’t you lose to Your Father, I, anyway. Alright, come on then, little brat.”

As he said that, he crooked his finger towards Zhou Weiqing once more.

Zhou Weiqing was not angered at all, his customary honest smile on his face, looking like a normal person as he walked slowly towards Green Wolf. “Be careful, I am coming.”

The two of them were not too far apart, and just a few steps brought him right in front of Green Wolf. Without any flourishes or gaudy, useless actions, he just punched directly towards Green Wolf’s face directly.

Green Wolf gave a cold smile. Although he had said that he wanted to compete in strength with Zhou Weiqing, when he actually took action, he did not shown any sign in doing so. Instead, his body moved slightly to the side, sidestepping Zhou Weiqing’s fist, while his left hand lashed out like a whip towards the joints of Zhou Weiqing’s right arm. At the same time, his right leg stepped inward between Zhou Weiqing’s legs, as his right elbow slammed hard towards Zhou Weiqing’s face.

With Green Wolf’s actions, a violent ferocious air rose up. From his actions, it was clear that he was extremely skilled and experienced in close combat.

Facing Green Wolf’s chain of actions, Zhou Weiqing’s reaction was just too simple. It could be said that Shangguan Fei’er was his teacher in close combat, and she had taught him that every short instant in a close combat fight was critical, and every second could mean the difference. As such, often times, the simplest moves were the best, directly striking out towards the enemy’s weak points to achieve victory in a single strike.

Of course, compared to Shangguan Fei’er, there was still a massive gap between Zhou Weiqing’s skill and hers. However, these few days, he had not been beaten up so many times for nothing, and he had definitely learned a lot from her.

The punch he had thrown out was withdrawn at lightning speed, and thrown out once more; Zhou Weiqing’s reaction was undoubtedly swift, but simple, without any other actions.

His right hand slammed hard into the incoming left hand of Green Wolf’s, and the audience could only hear a loud *PENG* as their arms clashed. All of Green Wolf’s other extra actions were rendered useless, because as soon as their arms clashed, he was knocked back, staggering three to four yards before he finally regained his balance. All his well planned series of attacks had been destroyed in the single attack.

Green Wolf’s was notorious for being violent and ferocious, well known throughout the camp, and before the fight had started, no one had thought that it would end well for Zhou Weiqing. No one had expected that as soon as the fight started, the one who would have the upper hand would be this honest looking fresh recruit.

Being struck aside with a single blow, Green Wolf was stunned. He too had not dreamed that with his own power, he would actually be knocked back so easily by this young fellow.

The wild ferocity in his eyes grew stronger, and around his right wrist, four shimmering Physical Jewels consisting of a mix of Icy Jade and Yellow Jade appeared. He was actually a Four-Jeweled Physical Jewel Master, specialised in Strength and Defense.

A Four-Jeweled Physical Jewel Master was already considered quite a powerhouse in the army, and that was why the two Company Leaders had previously been so afraid of Green Wolf.

Seeing that Green Wolf had actually unleashed his Physical Jewels, both Company Leaders exclaimed angrily. According to the rules here, if the opponent was not a Jewel Master, they were not allowed to use their own Physical or Elemental Jewels.

Green Wolf’s actions was extremely quick, and the instant that he unleashed his Four Physical Jewels, he was already charging towards Zhou Weiqing. With the boost of his Physical Jewels, even if he did not use any Consolidated Equipment, his strength and defense was already much higher than before.

To have been knocked away by a fresh recruit so easily, it was a terrible humiliation, and he wanted to gain his face back in a strike.

Besides Shangguan Fei’er, almost everyone shouted out to Zhou Weiqing to be careful. In their eyes, Green Wolf with his Physical Jewels unleashed was just too terrifying. However, the result that came next was just too unexpected for them all.

*PENG* A loud clash, and everyone watched as that quick and powerful charge of Green Wolf’s was stopped in its tracks, and he was sent flying more than ten yards to land outside the combat zone, smashing heavily onto the ground.

In the middle of the combat zone, Zhou Weiqing simply put down his leg. It was clear that Green Wolf had been sent flying by that single kick.

The two Company Leaders who had been about to charge forward suddenly stopped, staring at each other helplessly, and they could see the sweat start beading on each other’s forehead.

For Zhou Weiqing to be able to defeat Green Wolf with a single kick was not what surprised them. After all, with Green Wolf’s cultivation level, there were many people more powerful than him in the army. More importantly, it was because when Zhou Weiqing had kicked out earlier, they had not sensed any hint of Heavenly Energy at all. That was to say, he had purely used his physical strength to send Green Wolf flying with a kick. That was what was terrifying. What kind of physical strength was needed to defeat a Four-Jeweled Physical Jewel Master, especially one who had the Strength Attribute?

Green Wolf sprawled down on the ground, and he struggled for a while before finally getting up. By now, when he looked towards Zhou Weiqing, his eyes were totally changed. Still, he was an adaptable person able to take setbacks, and without hesitation he left the scene without even saying another word.

At that moment, the entire beginner’s competition zone erupted in joyous cheers, instantly drawing attention from the other nine zones.

To the other soldiers, Zhou Weiqing was after all part of their Sixteenth Regiment, and to be able to defeat Green Wolf, he had definitely gained a lot of face on behalf of the Sixteenth Regiment.

The two Company Leaders walked up to Zhou Weiqing, simultaneously giving him a thumbs up. “Little brother, your strength is indeed impressive! Well done, you have truly helped our Sixteenth Regiment gain face.”

Zhou Weiqing thought to himself inwardly: I joined this Duelling Corner not to gain face for your Regiment! However, he still maintained the honest smile on his face, saying: “Company Leader, let’s continue then. Didn’t you say I can become a Squad Leader once I win ten rounds consecutively?”

The two Company Leaders exchanged looks once more, and they nodded simultaneously. The one of the left said: “Your strength is more than sufficient to become a Squad Leader, and we will process it through here. How about this, if you come directly to my Company, I can give you a Squad Leader position right away, and you do not need to continue fighting here anymore.”

“Oei, this little brother should join my Company. I am currently lacking one Squad Leader.”

Before Zhou Weiqing could even open his mouth, both Company Leaders had already started arguing in hopes to gain such a powerful Squad Leader subordinate.

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily, saying: “Two Company Leaders, please don’t argue first. Since you both have agreed to let me pass through the ten fights of the beginner’s competition, then I would like to try fighting with the Intermediate ringmasters. Is that alright?”

“Eh? You want to challenge one of the Intermediate ringmasters?” The two Company Leaders immediately stopped arguing, looking at Zhou Weiqing strangely.

The Company Leader on the left said: “Little bro, you must consider your options first. All the Intermediate ringmasters are Jewel Masters, some are even Heavenly Jewel Masters. Although your strength is indeed impressive, these Intermediate ringmasters are not to be trifled with. You have seen that Green Wolf’s strength right, but he can only stay in the beginner’s competition as well. At the Intermediate level, strength alone cannot carry you to victory.

Zhou Weiqing scratched his head and said: “I would like to try.”

“Alright, in that case, you wait here for now. I need to report up to our superiors, and the ringmasters also have to draw lots. It has been some time since there has been a challenge to the Intermediate ringmasters, so we will need to see which of them are actually here today, and they can draw lots to decide who fights you. Little bro, your bravery is commendable, but I hope you can pull through this.”

After saying that, the two Company Leaders quickly arranged the next few fights in their beginner’s competition zone and left in a rush.