Another Drawing of Lots / Diplomatic School

Although Si Ming had never seen Murong Zhe make a move, even a fool could tell that someone who could raise such a capable daughter as Murong Qing, who had also become the school's dean of students, couldn't possibly be a weakling. Even with his greatly increased strength, Si Ming had no chance against this person; he would be grateful if he didn't get beaten up.

"No, according to what he just said, the first round of assessment does require winning to pass, but he didn't say that the second round also requires winning. Perhaps there are other evaluation criteria. Hmm, thinking about it carefully, this is the normal situation. Otherwise, wouldn't no one be able to pass? Everyone would have protested long ago."

Just as Si Ming was thinking this, someone raised their hand in protest.

"I have a question. The testers have varying abilities. If we don't go easy on them, doesn't that mean everyone faces different levels of difficulty in the assessment? That's unfair!"

This question resonated with many people, as it touched upon their own interests and immediately struck a chord with them.

"Exactly! This assessment method is completely unfair!"

"There's definitely something fishy going on. Maybe they rigged the lottery to ensure that those who were pre-selected got through."

Seeing that the scene was turning into a vegetable market, Murong Zhe channeled his inner energy and shouted, "Quiet!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it inexplicably had a power to shake one's mind. Coupled with the fact that he was in a closed martial arts hall, it created an echo effect, making everyone present feel their Qi and Blood and qi surge. Instantly, everyone who was about to speak fell silent.

"I will answer your question, but before that," Murong Zhe swept his piercing gaze across the room, pointing twice with his finger, "You, and you! You two ignored my previous warnings and violated exam regulations; you are now disqualified!"

All eyes of the candidates present turned to the two people who had been pointed at, and their faces immediately turned bright red.

Those who dared to participate in the martial arts special recruitment were all full of confidence in their skills. As the saying goes, "He who carries a sharp blade will naturally have the will to kill." There were almost no cowards among them. The two were about to start cursing each other when Murong Zhe glared at them. Instantly, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over their heads, freezing them to the bone. They stammered a couple of times and finally didn't dare to say anything, leaving the martial arts hall in a sorry state.

"Let's continue," Murong Zhe said, drawing everyone's attention back. "Regarding the question from that student, I can only say that martial arts competitions can never be absolutely fair. Even when participating in the same equipment test, martial artists skilled in lightness skills and those skilled in external strength training will perform very differently. We can only achieve relative fairness."

He raised his hand, and his assistant handed him a black vest.

"This is a weighted vest. Although it is not very heavy, a lot of iron powder is sewn into the vest. There is a magnetic array under the floor of this martial arts gym. Once activated, it will generate a strong magnetic force, and the weight of the weighted vest will increase exponentially."

Each of our testers wears a weighted vest, and the amount of iron powder is adjusted according to their strength. Under the influence of the magnetic field, the highest weight reached 300 jin (150 kg), and the lowest was 150 jin (75 kg).

For martial artists with internal strength, this weight is nothing; they can still move swiftly. However, it will undoubtedly severely impair their agility, thus narrowing the gap in strength between the two sides.

After hearing this, many of the candidates in the room had a brighter expression.

Si Ming suddenly heard a low laugh from the person next to him, who said, "A bunch of foolish humans. No matter what kind of exam it is, the acceptance rate will ultimately remain the same as in previous years. It won't increase just because the exam difficulty has decreased. In the end, the only thing a martial artist can truly believe in is their own strength."

Turning my head, I saw that the speaker was wearing a unique leather outfit with many decorations and several cuts that were hard to tell whether they were sword or knife marks. He was also wearing an old gray cloak and had a white bandage wrapped around his left hand.

Seemingly sensing Si Ming's gaze, the speaker immediately bowed, clutching his left hand, feigning uncontrollable pain, and muttering inhuman sounds that resembled a spell.

"... Are there people like this in this world?"

Si Ming wiped non-existent cold sweat from his forehead and pondered, "Putting aside his delusions, the analysis just now was quite reliable. No wonder there were two rounds of testing. If too few people pass the first round, the difficulty of the second round might be lowered, and vice versa. People who are overjoyed because the exam difficulty is lowered are nothing more than Monkey in the story of 'changing their minds over a hundred times.'"

At this moment, another person raised their hand and asked, "There are only twenty testers, but more than a hundred test takers. How should the number of people be arranged?"

Murong Zhe replied, "After the draw, the test will be conducted in batches of twenty people."

The same person asked again, "In that case, wouldn't people who are later in the batch have an advantage over those who are earlier?"

No matter how strong the testers are, their physical strength will inevitably be greatly depleted once they engage in a series of tests, so his concerns are not unfounded.

Murong Zhe said, "After each batch of tests, we will weaken the magnetic field and reduce the load. Therefore, those who are later in the batch may not necessarily have an advantage over those who are earlier. If the candidates at the beginning are not strong enough and fail to exhaust the testers' stamina, then after five rounds, you will have to face your senior brothers and sisters who are completely unloaded."

After some thought, everyone accepted this testing method without objection. Although there were many variables, the other party had also said that absolute fairness was impossible. Moreover, as martial artists, everyone understood that luck was also very important in battle, and if you didn't draw a good lot, you couldn't blame anyone else.

"Any other questions? If not, let's begin the lottery now."

Everyone headed towards the lottery box on the right, each with their own thoughts. Those who wanted to be tested as soon as possible tended to walk faster than those who wanted to postpone their test, while those who wanted to postpone their test tended to walk slower than those who wanted to postpone their test.

Although from a probabilistic point of view, there is actually no difference between drawing lots early and drawing lots late.

Halfway through the lottery, a commotion suddenly broke out at the door. School of Names led in two candidates who had been disqualified earlier. School of Names was tall and burly, with a full beard and thick, powerful arms that were thicker than a woman's thighs. At first glance, he looked just like Zhang Fei from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Upon seeing this, Si Ming was immediately filled with a curiosity that thrived on watching a spectacle.

"Judging from their appearance, they're up to no good. Are we going to have a full-blown fight? Or will we see the usual plot from a novel? They won't point their fingers at my uncle and yell things like, 'If you don't apologize to my son, I'll go and get you from some leader,' will they? Judging from the odds, the latter is more likely."

In the Su State, teachers are undoubtedly a highly skilled profession, and often the higher their education and cultivation, the more capable they are of controlling their students.

Under the watchful eyes of many, School of Names brought their children to Murong Zhe. The parent who resembled Zhang Fei slapped the child on the head and yelled, "You brat, apologize to your teacher! Have you wasted your schoolwork? You don't even understand discipline?"

Another School of Names pressed their child's head down with their hand, and together they bowed, saying, "Teacher, please give him another chance. I promise he won't do it again."

Murong Zhe silently observed the two pairs of fathers and sons for a long while before nodding and saying, "Go and draw lots quickly."

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and thank the teacher!" The tall, burly parent slapped his child on the head again. "When you get home, you absolutely must shave all the hair around your belly button, so you won't try to show off again next time!"

The other parents didn't say anything more, thanked them, and urged their children to line up for the lottery.

This scene filled Si Ming with disappointment. "How boring! There's no conflict at all. Where's the promised face-slapping scene?"

Actually, this is normal. In urban novels, it's abnormal for parents to immediately rush to seek revenge without asking any questions, their IQ dropping to the point of being mentally challenged, even at the cost of their entire Lineage, once their child is bullied.

"Your turn, classmate. Hurry up and draw a lot."

Urged on, Si Ming went to the lottery box, thinking to himself that the more he didn't want to draw a powerful opponent, the more likely he was to be cursed, so he had to do the opposite.

He rubbed his hands together, muttering, "Nonsense! Today I will challenge the strongest one. A true strongman never fears battle; he Stronger Against the Strong with every encounter. He was born to defy the heavens!"

Chapter Ninety-Five: The Diplomatic School

The fortune teller glanced at the fortune slip Si Ming had drawn, then looked up with a sympathetic expression.

"Contestant Si Ming, your tester is Ke Chajing, and your challenge order is B."