A dull sound could be heard as w.a.n.g Yue felt a huge force hit him, and his knife was bounced away as he slashed at the s.h.i.+eld. Furthermore, the s.h.i.+eld crashed heavily into him, sending him hurtling through the air.

Dai Luoli charged the fastest, so his clash with w.a.n.g Yue was naturally the first to take place. w.a.n.g Yue was the one sent flying through the air, and this unexpected outcome caused the bodyguards to be a little dazed, but lifted the spirits of the recruits.

A sudden change in morale was enough to affect the entire situation in a close-quarters battle! Furthermore, the recruits were the ones charging forward, and they received a great morale boost, while the bodyguards were demoralized as they clashed violently.

Bam, bam, bam… 

The sounds of combat rang out. The recruits" formation had two layers, while the bodyguards only had one.

Initially, w.a.n.g Yue thought the bodyguards would have no problem dealing with the recruits, given their quality, even if they were one layer against two. However, under Huo Yuhao"s ingenious command, the recruits" dual-layered formation"s advantage was immediately unleashed.

The recruits" strength was quite a far cry from the bodyguards. However, the recruits weren"t at a disadvantage when they clashed, because of their forward momentum. Both forces were presented as comparable to one another, and the spearmen in the second row lashed out at this moment. They jabbed the blunt end of their spears like poisonous snakes sticking out their forked tongues. The bodyguards had formidable fighting strength, but they were still sent into disarray.

The bodyguards who didn"t clash directly with the recruits because of their single-layered formation wrapped around from the side. However, there was someone anchoring down the recruits" flanks… Small Team One"s team leader, Huo Yuhao!

Huo Yuhao swung the blunt end of his spear as he smacked a bodyguard and sent him flying through the air. Huo Yuhao looked like he was very focused on trying to control the spear in his hands, and there didn"t seem to be anything especially powerful about him, but the bodyguards on the flanks just couldn"t cross his line. Furthermore, the recruits weren"t surrounded thanks to Huo Yuhao"s agile movement and footwork.

Dai Luoli"s fighting strength had been unleashed at this point. He held his s.h.i.+eld and charged through the bodyguards" ranks like a tiger running through a flock of sheep. He sent bodyguards flying through the air with his s.h.i.+eld, one after another. His teamwork with Huo Yuhao was stellar; Huo Yuhao barricaded the flanks, while he helped the other recruits deal with the bodyguards. They already had twice as many people, and in addition to the fact that he was a soul master who was hiding his abilities, the gap between the two forces was pulled even closer. More than half of the bodyguards had collapsed to the ground by the time w.a.n.g Yue got to his feet somewhere nearby, and the recruits" confidence was greatly boosted as they began to reinforce Huo Yuhao.

Zhuang Tian"s eyes were open wide, and his jaw hung slack as he watched the battle"s transformations. Not in his wildest dreams did he think that these recruits could reach such a standard under Huo Yuhao"s command. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao and Dai Luoli"s individual fighting strength was presented as finely as they could be.

s.h.i.+ Shuo was a medium team leader, and directly in charge of Small Team One. He felt a little dazed as he muttered, "They… they won? What"s happening?"

The contest was over when the last bodyguard was surrounded and knocked to the ground.

Xu Yun stared coldly at Huo Yuhao, and then at Dai Luoli beside him. She suddenly exclaimed, "Small Team One"s leader and vice-leader, step out and come in front of me."

Dai Luoli was momentarily stunned, and only then did he realize that he had gone a little overboard. He had knocked down the largest number of people, and he didn"t hold back his strength at all. Huo Yuhao had barricaded the bodyguards and stopped them from flanking the recruits, but his performance was clearly a lot more normal compared to Dai Luoli"s performance. Dai Luoli couldn"t help but feel great regret in his heart.

But how could he have held himself back? What Huo Yuhao said to him was far too provoking. Huo Yuhao"s sentence was simple… he secretly told Dai Luoli that the bodyguards" team leader was his rival in love.

Rivals in love would be especially filled with anger when they met each other, so…

Dai Luoli glanced at Huo Yuhao, but Huo Yuhao was already casually walking towards Xu Yun.

Dai Luoli had no choice but to follow behind him, and walked towards Xu Yun as well.

They came up before Xu Yun and stood at attention. Dai Luoli lowered his head, but Huo Yuhao saluted Xu Yun very normally.

Xu Yun stared at them coldly and said, "The two of you are in cahoots, am I right?"

Dai Luoli raised his head. He responded with an astonished look on his face, "What cahoots?"

Xu Yun laughed coldly and said, "You still want to act? The two you of are clearly in cahoots, and your father has sent him here to protect you, except I am being kept in the dark. He"s here to work together with you so that you can gain my sympathy, right?"

"No, no, it"s not like that," Dai Luoli blurted with a stunned look on his face, "We weren"t acquainted before this."

Xu Yun"s eyes sparkled furiously. "You aren"t acquainted with him? If you didn"t know him before this, how can the two of you work together with such chemistry even after he gave you such a painful beating yesterday?"

"I…" Dai Luoli suddenly realized that there was no way he could explain himself, because even he suspected that the White Tiger Duke had sent Huo Yuhao, let alone Xu Yun.

Huo Yuhao felt a little speechless as he stood to one side. "Shouldn"t the two of you find somewhere else to talk about this? We"re on a military drill ground. Are you two trying to publicize your ident.i.ties?"

Xu Yun"s eyes focused. Wasn"t that true? All the soldiers around them and even the officers were all looking at them. Even though Xu Yun had deliberately lowered her voice, there was no way she could hide her expression!

"The two of you, follow me," Xu Yun said loudly before she turned around and jumped back onto her horse. She turned the horse and cracked her whip as she galloped into the distance.

Dai Luoli glared at Huo Yuhao and said, "You"ve created so much trouble for me."

Huo Yuhao put on an innocent look and replied, "Then you should create some trouble for me, too. You raised your soul power two or three ranks in one go. I want something as good as that."

Dai Luoli was also rendered speechless. He tugged on Huo Yuhao"s sleeve and said, "Hurry and follow me so we can explain ourselves. Otherwise, I"m finished." He pulled Huo Yuhao after Xu Yun as he spoke.

Huo Yuhao had no choice but to follow. Dai Luoli asked him as they jogged, "Are you really sent by my father?"

Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and replied, "Of course not. I don"t like your father at all." That was definitely the truth.

Dai Luoli looked at him in confusion and asked, "You don"t like my father? He"s a national hero!"

Huo Yuhao"s mouth twitched, but he said nothing.

Dai Luoli was getting worried. "What should we do? Yun"er has misunderstood me. How am I supposed to explain myself?"

Huo Yuhao turned around to look at him. "Will you listen to me if I give you a suggestion?"

Dai Luoli was momentarily stunned. "Uh…"

Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and said, "Let me tell you, there"s no way you can explain yourself at a time like this. She will think that you"re just trying to cover everything up no matter what you say, and she has already made up her mind that you pulled a trick by injuring yourself so you could gain her sympathy and get closer to her. Furthermore, you seemed as energetic as could be today. What resemblance was there to how you were almost beaten to death last night?"

"Isn"t that your fault?" Dai Luoli answered angrily, "So, what should I do, exactly?"

Huo Yuhao said, "Why are you asking me if you are unwilling to listen to me? You can think of a solution yourself."

Dai Luoli pulled a long face and muttered, "Alright, big brother. You should stop being angry with me for nothing. Quick, teach me... I"ll listen to you, alright?"

Huo Yuhao felt his heart quiver subtly when Dai Luoli called him "big brother". Dai Luoli was his biological younger brother, after all! Furthermore, Huo Yuhao had no problems with him, like he did with Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin. Huo Yuhao"s heart softened as he heaved a faint sigh and said, "You are confused because you are too concerned. You should…"

Huo Yuhao whispered something in Dai Luoli"s ear. Dai Luolii"s eyes grew bigger by the second, and his eyes were completely wide and his jaw hung slack when Huo Yuhao was finished.

"Are you sure this will work, boss? Don"t play me! I could die from this." Dai Luoli"s cheeks were starting to spasm.

Huo Yuhao said plainly, "It"s up to you whether you want to believe me. What I told you is what you should do to deal with that arrogant princess." Huo Yuhao wasn"t experienced with courting girls, and neither was he a flirt, but from his experience with Dong"er and Qiu"er as examples, and with the Tang Sect"s various relations.h.i.+ps" twists and turns, along with the fact that he was older than Dai Luoli by quite a bit, he had a deeper understanding about the romantic feelings between guys and girls.

Xu Yun had already stopped in her tracks not far from them. The two of them were coming closer, and Dai Luoli couldn"t think of a good solution by himself. He gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I"ll trust you this once. If I succeed, then you"ll be my older brother."

Huo Yuhao was the one who twitched his mouth this time. He thought to himself, I am your older brother in the first place!

They quickly arrived in front of an indignant Xu Yun. Huo Yuhao patted Dai Luoli on the back, and Dai Luoli immediately understood what he was trying to say. His expression changed swiftly. All his anxiety and worry from before disappeared, and he became very calm.

Xu Yun didn"t get down from her horse. She turned her horse around to face them and said, "Don"t you want to explain? Explain then. I want to hear what you have to say." This sentence was clearly meant for Dai Luoli.

Dai Luoli said nothing. His expression was still plain and calm, and he grabbed his s.h.i.+rt"s collar as he suddenly lifted his hands and took his s.h.i.+rt off.

"Ah!" Xu Yun screamed as she hurriedly covered her eyes.

"Don"t you want an explanation? You can see for yourself," Dai Luoli muttered plainly.

Xu Yun"s astonishment was temporary. She peeked at him through the cracks of her fingers when she heard his words, and she drew a cold breath in the next moment. She lowered her hands subconsciously in the next moment.

There were dozens of intertwining wounds all over Dai Luoli"s body. Some had already formed scabs, while others were still oozing with fresh blood. His appearance seemed unnaturally frightening.

Dai Luoli slowly turned around and turned his back to Xu Yun. His back had the same number of wounds.

"If you think I am injuring myself to gain your sympathy, then so be it. I can stand here today because some of my martial soul"s special abilities have been unleashed, and my martial soul has sublimated. That is all I have to say, and you can believe whatever you want to." He put his s.h.i.+rt back on after he finished his sentence. He then turned and walked back towards where the recruits were training.

Xu Yun called out subconsciously, "Come back here, Dai Luoli!"

Her words weren"t so effective this time. Dai Luoli seemed like he didn"t hear her at all as he continued striding back toward the other recruits.