Chapter Thirty: A Single Blade

Most members of the Special Operations Group were normal people, but there were a few eccentric exceptions.

Take Xuanyuan Tu, for instance.

This man was about one meter sixty-five tall, and wore a pitch-black eyepatch over one eye, which was clearly blind. He was a pathological gambler whose real name remained unknown; people only knew his surname was Xuanyuan. His greatest interest in life was gambling.

He would bet with others on how many bowls of rice he could eat during a meal.
He would bet with others on how many bottles of liquor he could consume.

Of course, his gambling ethics were exceptionally high. When he lost, he acknowledged it without ever reneging on his debts. Even if he had to defer payment temporarily, he would find a way to scrape together the money to settle his account. Once, he even bet against someone and ended up losing his own eye—even though his opponent's strength was vastly inferior to his own—and he calmly gouged out his own eye as promised.

Naturally, if someone else lost a bet to him, they wouldn't dare default either, as he had plenty of ways to collect.

With the Eighth Squad's captain selection tournament underway—such an intense and thrilling event—how could he possibly resist placing bets?

Take the previous match, for example: Hu Qi versus Tang陌. Since everyone knew Hu Qi's capabilities and even more about Tang陌's prowess, no one would foolishly bet on Hu Qi to win. Instead, Xuanyuan Tu took a unique approach, wagering on the exact number of moves it would take for Tang陌 to claim victory.

One move!
Two moves!
Three moves!
Up to ten moves!

Many people chose within three moves because, given Tang陌's strength, defeating Hu Qi in three moves was entirely expected. However, as the fight progressed, Tang陌 remembered the favor Captain Hu had shown him in the past and deliberately held back for the first three moves. It took him two more moves—five in total—to secure the win, causing many who had bet on a three-move victory to lose their wagers.

Xuanyuan Tu, on the other hand, won his bet, laughing heartily as he reveled in the transient thrill of victory.

Next came the match between Shen Ye and Deng Xiaozi.

Xuanyuan Tu shouted out loudly, "Shen Ye versus Deng Xiaozi! Who will emerge victorious in this match? Will it be the unfathomable newcomer, or Deng Xiaozi? Place your bets now, place your bets!"

The odds had already been set.
Betting on Deng Xiaozi to win offered odds of 1 to 1.8.
Betting on Shen Ye to win offered odds of 1 to 1.5.
Betting on a draw offered odds of 1 to 3.

Further granular options were also available: wagering on Deng Xiaozi to win in three moves, five moves, ten moves, or twenty moves. Similarly, one could bet on Shen Ye to win in three, five, ten, or twenty moves.

However, most people stuck to the simpler options of wagering on the overall winner. Betting on the exact number of moves carried far too much risk.

The avid gamblers among them began placing their stakes—fifty thousand here, thirty thousand there, with the heavy rollers laying down one hundred or two hundred thousand. Although their monthly salaries hovered around fifty thousand, which martial artist lacked extra streams of income? Their earnings were substantial, and they could afford to play.

Having collected a tidy sum of stakes, Xuanyuan Tu looked over at Deng Xiaozi. "Little Zi, sister, aren't you going to place a bet?"

Deng Xiaozi gritted her teeth. "I'll bet on myself to win. Fifty thousand."

"Deal." Xuanyuan Tu immediately jotted it down in his ledger: Deng Xiaozi bet fifty thousand on herself.

Deng Xiaozi leaped onto the ring, while Xuanyuan Tu strolled over to Shen Ye. "Well, well, if it isn't the mysterious newcomer Shen Ye! Care to place a wager? Little Zi just bet on herself to win."

"A bet?" Shen Ye was slightly taken aback. He glanced at the board; betting on himself to win yielded odds of 1 to 1.5. But below that were more specific options—wagering on a three-move victory offered odds of 1 to 10.

"Betting on a three-move victory for me is 1 to 10? What if I win in a single move? What are the odds then?" Shen Ye asked with rising interest.

Xuanyuan Tu was momentarily stunned. Being an inveterate gambler himself, upon hearing Shen Ye's inquiry, he slapped his own cheek and chuckled, "Ah, how could I have forgotten that option! Fine, if you want to bet on yourself to win in one move, the odds are 1 to 20."

"1 to 20, how generous. Then I'll bet one hundred thousand on a one-move victory for myself," Shen Ye said with a smile. Using the system to raise his attributes meant he didn't strictly need to worry about money, but he was now dual-cultivating inner strength as well. Cultivating internal energy required funds to purchase various medicinal ingredients. Now that money was being delivered right to his doorstep, why shouldn't he take it?

Deng Xiaozi's combat strength was around the Second-Tier level. She was stronger than Li Jianguo, whom he had fought in his first match, but far weaker than the beggar Lu whom he had faced in his second.

Over the past half-year and more, his own strength had grown by an unfathomable margin.

Xuanyuan Tu laughed heartily. "Alright, I've recorded it down. Shen Ye, betting on a one-move victory for himself, one hundred thousand credits. I wish you smooth sailing!"

...

After placing his bet, Shen Ye leaped directly onto the ring, carrying the Hu Chan saber on his shoulder as he gazed at his opponent.

Deng Xiaozi was a young woman in her mid-twenties with a ponytail and a somewhat alluring appearance.

She looked at Shen Ye and said, "I heard what you just said. You placed a bet that you would defeat me in a single move? Newcomer, aren't you being a bit too arrogant?"

"Arrogant? Perhaps a little. Mostly, I'm currently short on cash. When free money delivers itself to my door, why wouldn't I take it?" Shen Ye smiled. "So, I'm sorry, but I need to end this as quickly as possible."

"You're too confident!" Deng Xiaozi felt a flicker of anger; every martial artist possessed a certain degree of pride. Her hand dropped to the hilt of her sword.

*Clang!* The sword cleared its scabbard.

In the next instant, the longsword thrust straight toward Shen Ye. However, it was not aimed at his chest, but rather at his legs.

Her swordsmanship was known as the Ground-Tang Sword Technique—a specialized style designed entirely to target an opponent's lower limbs. Many who had never encountered this sword style inevitably found their footwork disrupted. Once a martial artist's footwork became chaotic, the rhythm of the sword or saber in their hands would easily fall apart as well.

Relying on this Ground-Tang Sword Technique, Deng Xiaozi had defeated quite a few opponents of the same tier. She refused to believe that Shen Ye could defeat her in a single move.

In the blink of an eye, her sword was fast approaching Shen Ye's legs. A trace of triumph flashed in Deng Xiaozi's heart—this mysterious newcomer, Shen Ye, wasn't anything special after all, just a braggart blowing hot air.

Right at that moment, Shen Ye leaped straight up into the air, letting out a sharp shout.

He gripped the hilt of the Hu Chan saber with both hands, his muscles bulging with explosive power.

Reaching the apex of his leap, more than two meters off the ground, he finally poured ferocious strength into his arms.

The Hu Chan saber cleared the Bu Huo scabbard, slashing downward in a fierce arc.

Accompanied by a sound resembling a howling gale, the pitch-black blade-light sliced through the empty air, pointing directly at Deng Xiaozi.

At that exact fraction of a second, Deng Xiaozi felt her opponent's aura shift entirely, turning tenfold, a hundredfold more ferocious and murderous. When that pitch-black blade-light descended, she felt as though a dark, savage tiger was pouncing upon her.

For the first time in her life, she felt utterly fragile.

She wanted to dodge, but she felt completely locked in by the murderous intent of the blade, unable to move. Moreover, the momentum of the saber stroke was simply too fast. A chill crawled up her spine.

All she could do was raise her sword horizontally to block in front of her, yet deep down she knew this sword could never protect her.

*Clang!*

Blade and sword collided!

In the next moment, Deng Xiaozi felt as if she had been hit head-on by a speeding heavy-duty truck. Her sword bent to its absolute limit, emitting a tragic screech of protest—she couldn't even be sure whether the blade had snapped.

Her body was violently flung backward by the immense force, soaring a full five meters through the air until she was knocked entirely out of the ring.

With a heavy thud, she crashed onto the ground.

*Crack!* Deng Xiaozi's sword finally broke in two!

On the ring, two deep gouges remained in the flooring—scars left behind by her boots as she was forced backward by the sheer impact of that single blow.

A single strike!
This was merely a single strike!

beside the ring, every spectator—aside from Captain Shen—stood frozen in shock.

Maluonu's mouth was wide open in an "O" shape.
Tang陌 felt a layer of cold sweat break out across his forehead.
Li Da, the broadsword wielder, abruptly rose to his feet.
As for the other newcomer, Hu Qi, his jaw dropped so wide that his brain momentarily ceased functioning entirely.