Chapter 1: Establishing Authority (Part 1)

Hu Chen was shocked. The fierce soul pressure made him feel as if he had fallen into a turbulent sea, sinking deep into the abyss—a truly terrifying sensation. He shouted, “You! You…” Suddenly, he felt a tightness in his chest, unable to breathe, and his soul trembled uncontrollably.
No one could escape, not even Qian Rongyao. He never expected Guo Shier’s soul to be so powerful. All the squadron and platoon leaders were terrified. Since the soul senses things most sensitively and directly, they realized now that Guo Shier was far stronger than them.
Qian Rongyao was secretly astonished and quickly said, “Enough!” He also exerted his own soul pressure but soon realized it was not as strong as Guo Shier’s. His expression changed instantly.
The heavy pressure vanished suddenly. Guo Shier only acted violently briefly; he didn’t want to offend everyone. He said coldly, “Maybe the previous Team 10 was trash, but now that I’m here, this team is not trash! If anyone dares to say that again, I won’t mind teaching them a lesson to make them understand… who the real trash is!”
Hu Chen’s face turned pale. He said, “Good! Very good! See you on the playground tomorrow! I’m eager to see… who the real trash is!” Then he stood up and left.
Guo Shier remained calm and said, “I accept the challenge!” He stood up, gave Qian Rongyao a slight bow, and said, “Lord Qian, I apologize for the rudeness. Please act as a judge tomorrow.” After saying that, he and Ying Mo left the tent. Everyone was stunned. They had seen arrogant people before, but never one like this.
Qian Rongyao waved his hand helplessly and said, “You… be careful. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
At that moment, Guo Shier had already decided to train his squadron to show them what a real army was like.
Such conflicts were popular in the camp, and the camp commanders liked them because this prevented professionals from uniting against the Gu Xi Long family. Dividing and weakening these professionals was also one of their tasks.
The next morning, Guo Shier and Ying Mo stepped out of the talisman house. Kuang Niu and Ning Xin were already waiting outside with all the team members. Guo Shier stepped forward and said, “Yesterday, you were called trash by Hu Chen, the leader of Team 5. For that… I’m going to fight Hu Chen today. I just want to ask one thing: Are you really trash?”
Professionals are proud by nature. Hearing Guo Shier’s words, they all showed angry expressions. Someone said, “We’re not trash!”

Guo Shier said angrily, “Damn it… I just heard one person say he’s not trash—does that mean everyone else is trash? Are they all fucking bastards?”
Eagle Demon was stunned. He rarely saw Guo Shier swear, and he didn’t expect him to keep cursing right from his first meeting with his teammates.
The group of professionals was so angered by Guo Shier’s words that they almost jumped up, shouting together, “We’re not fucking trash!” Their voices were thunderous. Many professionals came out of the surrounding tents, curious about what Team Ten was doing.
Guo Shier nodded. “Good. I’m looking forward to seeing how you perform. Now… all of you, follow me! Let’s see how I teach that Hu Chen a lesson!” In his past life, he had been an officer in the army and knew that one must not speak gently or softly in a military setting—only by being domineering and forceful could one intimidate subordinates. Especially since these teammates were all professionals, strict control was necessary.
The group followed Guo Shier to the training ground reserved for the main unit.
Soon, astonishing news spread throughout the camp: the new team leader of Team Ten wanted to fight against Hu Chen from Team Five. This not only shocked the professionals in the camp but also the leaders of other units and the camp commander Bushi Long. Yao Lixi Long also rushed over.
Guo Shier acted so boldly to establish his authority. This wasn’t a sect—without enough deterrence, it would be hard to survive here.
Hu Chen was unlucky too. He thought newcomers would be cautious and not dare challenge the veterans, so he casually made fun of Team Ten. He never expected the new team leader to be so arrogant and refuse to give him any face. As a Sage of Magic and Combat, he had a fiery temper, so he resolved to embarrass Guo Shier. He believed that just having a strong soul wasn’t enough; with his rich combat experience, he doubted he could lose to a Sage of Spells.
He brought three deputy team leaders and the professionals from their team to the training ground.
Guo Shier stood quietly, but everyone could clearly sense the fighting spirit radiating from him.
Eagle Demon whispered, “Shier, how should we fight?”
Guo Shier curled his lips slightly and said, “Head-on! Isn’t he a Sage of Magic and Combat?”
Eagle Demon secretly felt sorry for Hu Chen—whom could he have picked but Guo Shier?
Qian Rongyao accompanied the two commanders, Bushi Long and Yao Lixi Long, along with four other unit leaders who came to watch. They walked to the training ground, chatting among themselves.
Bushi Long said, “Call the two fighters over!”
Qian Rongyao shouted, “Captain Hu, Captain Guo, please come here!”

Hu Chen stepped forward boldly and said, “Lord Bu, Lord Yao, your subordinate greets you all.”
Guo Shieru walked forward slowly and bowed slightly, saying, “I greet you all.”
Bu Xilong said indifferently, “Since it’s a fight, there must be a prize. Do you know the rules of this fight?”
Hu Chen nodded. “I do. Injuries or deaths don’t matter.”
Guo Shieru’s heart skipped a beat—no regard for injuries or deaths? That was ruthless! His expression remained unchanged, and his tone stayed steady as he asked, “What’s the prize?”
Bu Xilong replied, “Ten thousand points per person. Whoever loses… will give ten thousand points to the winner. If someone dies… everything they have goes to the winner! Any objections? If not, let’s start!”
Hu Chen’s sinister gaze carried a murderous intent as he turned and headed toward the center of the field.
Guo Shieru also stayed silent. He gave a slight nod and walked toward the center as well.
Once the two stood in place, the surrounding noise immediately faded, and the crowd stepped back. Everyone knew that the battles between these two saints had a vast impact, and even mid- to low-level disciples dared not get close. Only grand saints could stand at the edge of the field, while saints could only approach a little further to watch.
Hu Chen unleashed his life talisman blade—a dragon-shaped guillotine three meters long and one meter wide, with blue talismanic light flashing, even larger than a door panel. He had no other weapons; he relied solely on this dragon-shaped guillotine for both attack and defense.
The dragon-shaped guillotine floated beside him, emitting howls, as if containing an ancient talismanic dragon within. A bloody aura spread instantly, causing the mid- to low-level disciples to retreat further. Just one life talisman blade already had such power—one could imagine how many creatures he had killed with it.
Guo Shieru was slightly stunned. He hadn’t expected this guy’s life talisman blade to be so powerful. But he wasn’t afraid either—his own life talisman blade was just as good. After inheriting the Gu Miluo family’s legacy, his Moon Blade, which had been reworked, was of extraordinary quality. Without saying a word, he unleashed his Moon Blade.
A red glow flashed, and the Moon Blade suddenly grew larger.
The blade, originally the size of a finger, expanded to eight meters long. Its crescent-shaped blade was covered in runes as dense as ants, with waves surging within it like turbulent seas. A tremendous pressure spread rapidly. Even Bu Xilong and the others couldn’t help but show surprise—this Moon Blade was truly special, giving off an extremely dangerous aura.

With a gentle touch of his finger, the Moon Blade let out a howling sound as it circled above Guo Shier’s head, creating an even more terrifying sensation. The Moon Blade rotated slightly above his head, emitting a whistling sound as it cut through the air, seemingly pushing aside the hot air.

Hu Chen’s expression changed instantly. He knew Guo Shier was a high-level Spellcraft Saint, and he never expected the other man to dare use his own life-bound spell blade to fight against him. Spellcraft Saints generally used virtual spells for attacks, while he, as a Spell-Warrior, could also use virtual spells after reaching the Saint level, but they were definitely not as powerful as those of Spellcraft specialists.

The Dragon-Shape Sickle could only reach up to three meters in length. Although Hu Chen’s life-bound spell blade was also made from advanced materials, Guo Shier’s Moon Blade was crafted from the unicorn horn of an unknown mutated spell beast. That mutated spell beast had been killed by a master from the ancient Miluo family, and Guo Shier didn’t even know its level. Thus, the quality of the Moon Blade was inherently superior to that of the Dragon-Shape Sickle.

Guo Shier gradually rose higher into the air, with the Moon Blade rising vertically and circling around him.

Hu Chen forced himself to fly as well, with the Dragon-Shape Sickle circling around him at increasing speeds. When the speed reached a certain level, it resembled an ancient spell dragon circling around him, snarling and roaring as it cut through the air.

Bu Xi Long’s expression turned serious as he said, “The newcomer is quite good. It seems to be a direct disciple of a major sect.”

Yao Li Xi Long nodded and said, “His potential is similar to that of some outstanding disciples from our ancient Xi Long family.”

Qian Rong Yao wore a bitter smile. Hu Chen had always been one of his most capable subordinates, and he didn’t want his two subordinates to fight to the death. But now that things had come to this, it was no longer within his control.

Hu Chen took the initiative, tapping the Dragon-Shape Sickle with his hand and uttering a single word: “Slash!”

The Dragon-Shape Sickle roared as it rushed toward Guo Shier, crossing half of the playground in an instant before slashing down fiercely.

Guo Shier shouted the same word: “Slash!”

The Moon Blade transformed into a red glow and rushed straight toward it.

Boom!

With the first collision, the Dragon-Shape Sickle was sent flying. The Moon Blade then turned into countless tiny blades, shooting at Hu Chen like a swarm of bees.

The quality difference between the two life-bound spell blades was enormous. As a result of the collision, the Dragon-Shape Sickle was almost shattered, while the Moon Blade spun rapidly around Hu Chen. With just a slight effort from Guo Shier, Hu Chen would be torn to pieces.

Hu Chen still maintained his original posture, one finger pointing forward and the other hand on his hip. The stance looked quite imposing, but he didn’t dare to move even a bit. One hundred and eight foot-long moon blades emitted eerie howls as they circled rapidly around him. His entire body became rigid; he could hardly believe that his Dragon Guillotine couldn’t even withstand a single collision. After being shattered, the Dragon Guillotine hovered in the air, and all the professionals present clearly saw that a piece of it was missing. Without Hu Chen’s control, the Dragon Guillotine seemed to have lost all its vitality. Hu Chen didn’t dare to continue commanding it to attack. He was smart enough to quickly understand Guo Shier’s intention—that is, not to move, as any movement meant death. As long as he stayed still, the moon blades wouldn’t kill him.