The long knife and the twin halberds clashed. The next moment, before Ma Lie Feng could change his move, a force that filled the sky surged along the blade.

Boom!

The powerful qi hissed and roared like a dragon or a tiger.

Just as Ma Lie Feng realized something was wrong, he was sent flying.

"Damn!"

As Ma Lie Feng was in mid-air, he experienced a moment of distraction but soon recovered. Just as he was about to fly out of the arena, he suddenly dropped down, his feet filled with innate qi aura landing on the edge of the arena to forcibly stabilize himself.

"This strength?!"

Ma Lie Feng looked at Song Changming again, completely devoid of the earlier disdain.

"This person has clearly only opened two Earth Martial Veins, but what is with this body strength..."

Wang Tianshuang, seated high above, saw this and understood, "So this person is adept in Body Refining Cultivation, no wonder Xing Tiexin made an exception to recruit him as a deputy, indeed impressive."

Yang Zhen smiled. He believed that after today, Wang Tianshuang would definitely remember Song Changming deeply.

"I was careless!" Ma Lie Feng said seriously, as the four Earth Martial Veins he had opened in his body began to continuously produce a large amount of innate qi aura.

Indeed, not three, but four.

Now, he had opened four Earth Martial Veins in his body!

With this profound innate cultivation at his side, he was confident, which allowed Hu Xiangnan to ask Xing Tiexin for a wager without fearing being humiliated.

If Xing Tiexin had chosen Fu Yuan as the opponent, he might not have been as confident in Ma Lie Feng’s victory.

Because he understood Fu Yuan’s strength.

But with Song Changming, he didn’t know as much.

Ma Lie Feng moved again, this time his entire body was bathed in innate qi aura, causing a storm on the entire arena.

In an instant, he was once again near Song Changming, with twin halberds wielded with boundless wind power.

Song Changming merely raised his knife, with amethyst-colored sword qi adhering to the blade, condensed but not released.

He then activated the Power of Three Dragons, pouring it all into this strike.

The might of the blade roared like thunder, breaking apart the descending storm.

With a barely audible groan, the wind dissipated, and one of Ma Lie Feng’s halberds flew out of the arena, embedding straight into a distant brick wall.

Stumbling, Ma Lie Feng had Song Changming’s long knife against his shoulder, just a few inches from his neck.

Clearly, victory and defeat were decided in that instant!

"So strong!"

The soldiers below were in an uproar, amazed by Song Changming’s performance.

From start to finish, Song Changming only made two strikes, yet defeated Ma Lie Feng, even knocking his weapon away.

This result was unexpected by the vast majority.

Even Fu Yuan was wide-eyed, "In just a few months, Changming has grown so much stronger!"

In the arena, Song Changming withdrew his knife, the faint glow in his palm, different from the innate qi aura, quickly extinguished.

After all, his opponent was an innate powerhouse with four Earth Martial Veins opened. That he could break the opponent’s attack with one strike and defeat him in one blow was thanks to the Small Witch Power Seal forged on the bone of his palm.

It unleashed nearly the Power of Five Dragons in an instant. If he hadn’t protected the blade with innate qi aura, he worried that the long knife might not withstand such a powerful strike!

Caught off guard, Ma Lie Feng couldn’t withstand it and was instantly defeated, which was normal.

Who could have thought Song Changming, who was already extremely strong physically, could suddenly amplify this much and explode with such force.

"Thank you for letting me win." Song Changming sheathed his knife and said.

Ma Lie Feng’s hair, tied up, was messily disheveled by the blade’s wind, his expression dazed. Hearing Song Changming’s voice, he came back to his senses and gritted his teeth.

"You were playing the pig to eat the tiger from the start!"

Upon hearing this, Song Changming raised his eyebrows, puzzled, "I never said I was weak, did I? Who gave you the wrong impression that I was pretending to be weak?"

"..." Ma Lie Feng was speechless.

Indeed, it was only their wishful thinking that Song Changming, having just joined the military for slightly more than a year, was still a rookie. They assumed that even though Song Changming had remarkable talent, his current strength wouldn’t be too high.

Especially after Song Changming revealed his shallow innate cultivation, Ma Lie Feng was more convinced of his victory.

Who would have thought Song Changming was this strong, and the initial reveal of his innate cultivation was just the tip of the iceberg, the least conspicuous part of his entire strength.

Ma Lie Feng said no more, lowering his head as he returned to Hu Xiangnan’s side.

"I let you down, General."

Hu Xiangnan waved his hand, "It’s not your fault. The blame lies with Grand General Xing for hiding so well. Even I misjudged."

He could tell this battle wasn’t due to Ma Lie Feng’s poor performance but that Song Changming’s strength exceeded their expectations.

"Such terrifying power, even most demons renowned for their strength cannot compare. This kid must have had some great fortune; otherwise, simply with innate divine power, it’s hard to possess such strength!"

"Why do you care so much? Just say if he’s powerful or not, and submit to it." Xing Tiexin chimed in with a laugh.

"A bet is a bet." Hu Xiangnan shook his head, not one to back down, reached into his Qiankun Bag, and tossed it casually.

Fifty shining middle-grade Spirit Crystals landed in Xing Tiexin’s hands.

"Very good." Xing Tiexin was delighted and suddenly continued, "How about it, do you want to continue challenging my new deputy general, or challenge Fu Yuan, I have no objections, still fifty middle-grade Spirit Crystals as the wager."

Sitting next to him, Fu Yuan looked troubled, "General, you’re putting a lot of pressure on me this way."