123: Chapter 123 Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

Su Bai's figure was like a light, falling leaf, descending silently from the several-meter-high stands into the center of the sand-filled Drill Grounds.

His movements did not stir up even a single speck of dust.

"Zhao Ding, stand down!"

His voice was very soft, yet it reached everyone's ears on the field with perfect clarity.

Looking at Su Bai standing in front of him, Zhao Ding's previously furious heart instantly calmed down.

The General is here.

Then everything will be fine.

He didn't ask any questions and simply nodded heavily.

He picked up the broken half-blade from the ground and retreated to the side.

Pang Hai's heart skipped a beat at this moment.

Why did he come down?

Su Bai personally entering the field made him feel a flicker of unease.

But immediately after, that unease was replaced by a wave of arrogance.

So what if he came down?

This was an assessment under the watchful eyes of the public.

On the stands, Lord Military Governor, the Prefect, and General General Qin Bei—the three highest-ranking officials in Yunzhou City—were all watching!

No matter how much you, Su Bai, protect your own...

Could you really openly favor your subordinate in front of so many people?

Besides, my saber was personally sent by Deputy General Chang's people; the deed was done flawlessly.

Thinking of this, Pang Hai's courage swelled again.

He intentionally put on an innocent look, cupped his hands to Su Bai, and shouted loudly:

"General Su, what is the meaning of this? On the assessment field, it's common for weapons to be damaged. One can only say Zhao Ding had bad luck and picked a defective one.

For you to personally intervene now, this... this isn't according to the rules, is it? This is too unfair to me!"

He shouted these words with an air of righteous confidence.

It was intentionally said for the benefit of the great figures on the stands.

Su Bai, however, didn't even bother to spare him a glance.

His gaze fell upon the jagged break of the half-blade on the ground.

Seeing the break in the wooden saber, Su Bai's eyes instantly turned cold.

Quite the clever tactic, Chang Feng.

Do you think you can shake my army's morale and slap my face with such petty, underhanded tricks?

You underestimate me, Su Bai, far too much.

Su Bai slowly crouched down, picked up the broken half-blade, weighed it in his hand, and then walked to the weapon rack to casually pick up an intact wooden saber.

He lightly tapped the two sabers together in his hands.

*Clang!*

A dull thud sounded.

But that broken saber emitted a muffled 'thwack'.

The difference was obvious to the ear.

Su Bai looked up, staring at Pang Hai with icy eyes, and split his lips into a grin, saying:

"Unfair?"

"Fine, then I will give you fairness."

He threw the intact wooden saber to Pang Hai and said:

"You, take this saber."

Then, he gripped the hilt of the broken saber in his own hand.

"I will use this one."

"We'll have another match."

"This time, I'll let you strike first."

"How about it?"

Su Bai's voice wasn't loud, but it made Pang Hai's eyes bulge as he stared at Su Bai.

Pang Hai was completely stunned.

Fight... fight me with that broken saber?

He looked at Su Bai in disbelief, doubting if he had misheard.

The surrounding recruits were also dumbfounded.

"What is the General doing? Using a broken saber?"

"Yeah, that hilt is less than a foot long. What's the difference between that and a fire poker? Pang Hai has a complete wooden saber in his hand!"

"It's over, it's over. The General is so angry he's lost his mind. This is too impulsive!"

Even Zhou Zheng on the stands had his brows tightly furrowed.

"Nonsense!"

He barked a low shout and was about to stand up to stop it.

Regardless of anything else, today was the day of the recruit assessment. How could he let Su Bai act so recklessly?

At that moment, a hand lightly pressed down on Zhou Zheng's shoulder.

It was General Qin Bei.

General Qin Bei's face remained expressionless, but a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.

"Lord Zhou, calm yourself."

"Just watch."

"This son-in-law of yours is no fool."

"He's going for a psychological kill."

On the field.

After his initial shock, a surge of wild joy welled up in Pang Hai's heart.

You're the one seeking death; you can't blame me for this.

One must know that the use of Spiritual Qi is forbidden during the recruit assessment. Otherwise, if you're at the Qi Refining First Layer while everyone else is just an ordinary person, how could anyone win?

Fearing Su Bai would change his mind, he snatched the wooden saber and said to Su Bai with a twisted expression:

"General Su, you said it yourself!"

"Blades and swords have no eyes. If I accidentally hurt you later, you must not blame me for being heavy-handed!"

"You talk too much."

Su Bai impatiently shook the half-hilt in his hand.

"Strike."

"I'll give you three moves."

"Within three moves, if you can even touch a corner of my clothes, you win."

Arrogant!

Too arrogant!

Pang Hai glared at Su Bai's face, then let out a roar and lunged at him.

"Die!"

He roared, unable to restrain himself any longer, gripping the saber with both hands and pushing off hard with his feet.

He charged at Su Bai like a wild bull.

The wooden saber whistled through the air as it swung down toward his head.

With this strike, he used all his strength, determined to force Su Bai to use the Spiritual Qi in his body.

As long as Su Bai used Spiritual Qi, he would win this duel.

However...

Facing this heavy, powerful strike, Su Bai's expression remained calm.

At the very moment the wooden saber was about to land...

His body shifted like a ghost, moving half a step to the left.

Just half a step.

Pang Hai's certain-hit strike brushed past the edge of Su Bai's clothes and hit empty air.

The immense force caused Pang Hai to stumble.

How is this possible?!

He had clearly locked onto the opponent's Qi before striking; how could he have missed?

Pang Hai was horrified, but there was no time to think. He twisted his waist violently to force his body around, swinging the wooden saber in a horizontal sweep toward Su Bai's waist.

This move was both fast and vicious!

Yet, it still hit nothing but air.

Su Bai lightly tapped his toes and floated backward by a foot.

That one-foot distance was neither too far nor too close—just enough for the tip of Pang Hai's saber to sweep past the front of his abdomen.

Cold sweat broke out on Pang Hai's forehead.

If the first move was a coincidence...

Then this second move definitely was not.

The other man was completely toying with him.

"Aaaaah!"

Pang Hai went completely mad.

The wooden saber in his hand turned into a flurry of shadows, enveloping all of Su Bai's vital points.

He didn't believe Su Bai could still dodge this.

However...

This time, Su Bai did not dodge.

At the instant the flurry of shadows was about to reach him...

He moved.

His right hand gripped that half-hilt.

Striking second but arriving first.

It was incredibly fast.

*Clang!*

A crisp sound rang out.

Everyone saw it.

The broken wooden saber in Su Bai's hand had struck the spine of the wooden saber in Pang Hai's hand at an extremely tricky angle.

That position happened to be the weakest point of the entire wooden saber's strength.