942 One Against One

"It's fine. Enough with the niceties. I'm not talking to you as a senior officer now, but man to man," Jiang Yue said with a lowered voice.

Every inch of Tang Wulin knew exactly why Jiang Yue was there. He could not help but smile. "So what business do you have with me?"

Jiang Wuyue went straight to the point. "I've liked Yuxue for many years now. I'd like to challenge you to a one-on-one battle. If you win, I'll leave her alone. If you lose, if you lose…" He scratched his head as he thought about this, but he could not find the words.

Tang Wulin had thought that he would say that he wanted him to leave Long Yuxue alone if he lost.

Jiang Wuyue mumbled to himself, "Yuxue is not an object, so I don't think we can just give her away to each other. Forget it. I just don't like you. Let's just fight it out without talking about anything else. I want to beat you up. It's that simple. Do you have the guts? We'll do it in the battle room."

Tang Wulin almost burst out in laughter. This fellow was honest to a fault. "Senior officer, first let me tell you one thing. I have a girlfriend. Senior officer Long and I are just friends. We don't have the kind of relationship that you think. Next, senior officer, if you really want to beat me up, I won't particularly be against it. I won't even hit you back. A hundred merit points for one punch. How does that sound?"

Jiang Wuyue was stunned. "You have a girlfriend?" Then, his expression instantly turned fierce. "Boy, you can't be thinking about stepping on two boats with one foot?"

Tang Wulin was not sure if he should laugh or cry. It was really taxing talking to such a frank person.

"All right, senior officer. I'll fight you. But since we shouldn't use Senior officer Long as the stakes, we can't just simply fight. We'll bet with merit points. How's that? I'll let you set the amount."

Jiang Wuyue raised his eyebrows and said, "Merit points? Do you have any to begin with?"

Tang Wulin replied, "Just because I don't have any now, that doesn't mean that I won't have any in the future. You see, I've been given the rank of second lieutenant even though I just got here. That proves that I have some potential. If I lose, I'll earn some merit points to pay you back in the future."

Jiang Wuyue thought about it. "Alright, I'll pay for the battle room. Then, I'll wager a thousand merit points with you. Are you game?"

Tang Wulin said, "A thousand sounds a bit too small, don't you think?" If he wanted to be promoted from a second lieutenant to a first lieutenant, he would need ten thousand merit points. How could he earn ten thousand merit points? With abyssal creatures such as Four-clawed Bats, killing a single one would earn him ten merit points. He needed to kill a thousand of them. Whereas abyssal creatures such as Ba An would earn him two thousand merit points. If he did it by fighting in a squad of many, the Blood God Army had its own unique system. The merit points would be distributed based on the contributions of each member during the battle.

"You think a thousand is little? You've just joined us, and you might not even earn it in two or three months. Young boy, are you planning to lose even your underwear?" said Jiang Wuyue pointedly. When they ate together the other day, Tang Wulin had gobbled down more than three thousand of his merit points. His heart still ached when he thought about it.

Tang Wulin said, "Alright then." He did not wish to bully an honest man. He would make do with less.

Jiang Wuyue's soul power was about the rank of six rings. The only six-ringed opponent who truly gave Tang Wulin a hard time was Long Yue, so he was confident of taking on Jiang Wuyue.

"Let's go!"

Jiang Wuyue was definitely a go-getter. He sprinted to the Blood God Army's living quarters, bringing Tang Wulin along with him.

The so-called living quarters was a very large house. The rooms inside were all inter-connected. When they were not carrying out missions, this was where the Blood God Army's soldiers trained, entertained themselves, and relaxed. There were various amenities inside. Of course, there were also battle rooms which simulated actual combat.

Because it was still morning, there were not many people in the living quarters. There were only a few soldiers who were training or relaxing.

The cost of renting the battle room was fifty merit points an hour. Everything here had to be paid for with merit points. The objective was to motivate the soldiers to fight bravely.

Jiang Wuyue swiped his metal bracelet on the battle room's door, and fifty merit points were automatically deducted. Tang Wulin had such a bracelet as well. It was called a Blood God Bracelet and was a very convenient device. It could store the soldier's personal information and record the number of merit points earned directly after killing an abyssal creature, so it was fair. Within the Blood God Army, all transactions were made via this Blood God Bracelet.

The Blood God Bracelet could even be connected to one's body's own conditions. If a soldier was injured or sick, the bracelet would inform the headquarters immediately so that treatment or help would be sent.

The combat room was quite large at a hundred meters in diameter. In the snowy Endless Mountains, it was not easy to build such a combat room.

Fifty merit points for an hour was a reasonable price. Other factors aside, the internal barrier alone consumed a large amount of energy.

Jiang Wuyue removed his outer jacket. He walked up to a panel and activated the barrier.

Tang Wulin removed his jacket as well, and his gaze became more wary. Regardless of what he thought of his opponent, he would never underestimate them. This was a habit he had formed throughout the years. It was also a specialty of Shrek Academy's students.

Jiang Wuyue's aura also changed instantly. He wore his heart on his sleeve, but once he entered his battle mode, his entire person resembled a lion that was ready to pounce at its prey. His bearing was focused, and he stared at Tang Wulin with a fixed gaze.

"Are you ready?" Jiang Wuyue shouted at Tang Wulin.

"I'm ready." Tang Wulin was in a natural stance. His eyes glared at his opponent.

"Ding Ring Ring!" At that moment, there was suddenly a bell-like ringing sound coming from Jiang Wuyue. His face immediately turned bashful. He raised a hand to signal a pause. "I'm sorry, I have to take this."

"Qiyue? What's the matter? Me? I'm in the combat room, sparring with one of my brothers…What? You're coming? It's not anything fun. Don't come. Alright, alright, little ancestor. I can't afford to provoke you. But you must keep this as a secret!"

Jiang Wuyue ended the call with a helpless expression. "Qiyue wants to come and see our fight no matter what. I can't afford to cross this young girl, because I'm afraid that she'll tell on me when she gets back. I'm sorry, but please wait for a while."

Tang Wulin could not help but find this funny. This fellow seemed to be terrified of his younger sister!

It was not long till Jiang Qiyue dashed in. Her eyes bulged when she entered the combat room and saw that Jiang Wuyue's opponent was Tang Wulin. "I say, brother, what are you doing? He's just a new recruit and you're challenging him? Oh, I get it. You're jealous, aren't you? Do you have any humanity in you? What if you did some permanent damage to this handsome young man?"

When Jiang Wuyue said those words, he was frank and outspoken, but when the words came from his sister's mouth, he blushed bright red. "Qiyue, talk softer. Don't worry. I know my own limits. Besides, he agreed to this. You can ask him if you don't believe me."

"You agreed to fight my brother? Although I've heard Yuxue mention that you're quite skilled, my brother, this lieutenant colonel, has earned his status through his own efforts. You can't do it. How old are you? What's your cultivation base? My brother is regarded as the successor to the Blood Division by Uncle Xu." Jiang Qiyue's small mouth was like a machine gun. She fired words rapidly.

Tang Wulin said, "I volunteered for this. I can only improve in actual combat by training."

Jiang Qiyue said pointedly, "I think you're just looking to be beaten up. Oh well, if you're willing, then so be it. I'll be the judge," she said as she walked toward the periphery.

When she sauntered past Tang Wulin, she whispered softly to him, "My brother's martial soul is the Overlord Dragon. You must be careful. It's a very powerful martial soul, the greatest of the strength system. Since you've helped me save some money the other day, take this as my repayment. We don't owe each other anything after this."

After she had finished, she exited the combat room.

The Overlord Dragon martial soul?