County Examination Champion

Understood.

"Listen to me."

Wei Tu felt helpless.

Others bribed their way in, but he didn't. It was only natural for his ranking to fall.

In short.

That's how the world worked.

"However, next time you make a decision like this, I hope my uncle-in-law will let me know in advance, otherwise..." Wei Tu said solemnly.

He didn't believe Master Huang had helped him this time purely for his sake.

Master Huang had used cheating in the Imperial Examinations to make him the Martial Arts Examination Top Scholar for this year's County Examination, which benefited the Huang family in two ways.

First, it made him indebted to them.

Second, after becoming the County Examination Top Scholar, the cheating incident would naturally become a stain on his record, a handle they could use against him.

"Of course," Master Huang replied, his heart tightening slightly, followed by a smile.

At this moment.

He realized he might have underestimated Wei Tu. After learning that he had secured the top spot, Wei Tu hadn't rejoiced but had instead warned him.

—From beginning to end, Wei Tu's expression had remained calm, without the slightest hint of anger.

As he finished speaking.

They had also arrived at the entrance of the Li Residence.

Wei Tu lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down from the driver's seat. He casually took the reins of the Green Dappled Horse from a Huang family servant, then walked to the side gate of the Li Residence and knocked a few times.

"Let's go, back to the residence..."

Master Huang, inside the carriage, watched Wei Tu's retreating back for a moment before lowering the curtain and speaking to the coachman.

However, after the carriage had traveled for a short while, Master Huang soon sneezed several times. He mistook it for the cold night air and spread the soft blanket in the carriage over his lap to ward off the chill.

The next day.

The Martial Arts Examination's Military Strategy test.

This time, the examination was not held in the square of the City God Temple but was moved to the examination sheds used for the civil examination.

The questions were simple.

Three fill-in-the-blank questions based on "Ji Xiao."

And one essay question about the "Battle of Yanran" between the Zheng State and the Jing State a hundred years ago.

Thanks to Master Huang's bribery, Wei Tu had already obtained the questions before entering the examination hall. Therefore, he smoothly answered the three fill-in-the-blank questions.

For the final essay question, Wei Tu organized his thoughts and answered according to the strategy taught by Martial Graduate Dan.

Soon.

He finished answering the paper.

However, when it came to submitting his paper, Wei Tu deliberately waited until the end, submitting it as the fourth to last.

Two days later.

The results of the County Martial Examination were posted.

"Brother Wei, you're the top scholar of the County Martial Examination..."

In front of the County Yamen, crowds surged. Xinghua, who had taken leave, had secured a good spot with Wei Tu at the entrance of the yamen early that morning to see the results.

Thus, as soon as the yamen clerks posted the list, she spotted Wei Tu's name.

It was indeed the first place in the Martial Arts Examination—the Martial Arts Examination Top Scholar!

"After the Dao Examination is over, and once I pass the Imperial Examinations, become an official, and have some money... I'll come back to the Li Residence to redeem you..."

After Xinghua's joy subsided, Wei Tu left the yamen with her. On the way back to the Li Residence, he made a promise to Xinghua.

Although he had secured the top spot in this Martial Arts Examination, he wasn't happy in his heart, far from the ecstatic joy Xinghua felt.

After all... his Martial Arts Examination Top Scholar title had been obtained through the Huang family's underhanded methods.

"Prefectural Examination..."

"Dao Examination..."

"The Huang family won't have any room to interfere. The results I achieve then will be earned honorably..."

Wei Tu clenched his fists.

"Mhm," Xinghua replied with a slight blush, lowering her head and nodding. She didn't notice Wei Tu's unusual demeanor.

After the results were posted, Wei Tu did not linger in Qingshan County for long. After thanking the Li Residence for allowing him to stay, he mounted his Green Dappled Horse and headed for the prefectural city of Qing Feng Prefecture.

Waiting for the Prefectural Examination in April.

"Brother Yangong."

As soon as he arrived in the prefectural city, Wei Tu went straight to Dan Yangong's residence there, following the address provided by Dan Yangong.

"Brother Wei, it's been a while," Dan Yangong said with a sigh, his face filled with emotion.

Two months ago, when he left Sanyuan Township, Wei Tu was just a disciple of his father, not yet renowned.

But two months later, Wei Tu was already the Martial Arts Examination Top Scholar of Qingshan County.

With the strength he had displayed, it was a sure thing that he would achieve the status of Martial Scholar in the Dao Examination.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Dan Yangong led Wei Tu into the inner quarters to meet Madam Shan Min and introduced his wife to Wei Tu.

"My wife is frail and has always had a strained relationship with my younger sister. So, to avoid causing trouble, I wrote to my father during the New Year and stayed home to manage household affairs..." Dan Yangong explained.

Hearing this, Wei Tu nodded. Dan Fang's personality was indeed not very likable. Having taken in a son-in-law who lived with her family, she now had the power to contend with Dan Yangong for the family fortune. Over time, it was natural for the relationship between the sisters-in-law not to be harmonious.

After introducing his family, Dan Yangong led Wei Tu to a separate courtyard on his property and assigned a maidservant and a servant to take care of Wei Tu's needs during his stay.

In the evening.

Dan Yangong hosted a banquet to welcome Wei Tu.

After a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, Dan Yangong asked curiously, "I was saying... Brother Wei, after you became the Martial Arts Examination Top Scholar of Qingshan County, why... why don't you seem too happy?"

He looked surprised.

When he said Wei Tu "wasn't too happy," he didn't mean Wei Tu was unhappy, but rather that Wei Tu hadn't shown the joy and pride expected of someone who had achieved the title of Martial Arts Examination Top Scholar.

Dan Yangong thought to himself that even if Wei Tu was mature for his age, this was still unusual.

Hearing this, Wei Tu pondered for a moment before recounting the methods employed by the Huang Residence to Dan Yangong.

Martial Graduate Dan was his Master, and Dan Yangong was Martial Graduate Dan's biological son. Wei Tu and Dan Yangong were practically in the same boat; one's success was the other's success, and one's disgrace was the other's disgrace.

To put it bluntly.

If the Zheng State court investigated this Imperial Examinations cheating case, Martial Graduate Dan and Dan Yangong would inevitably be implicated. At best, they would be stripped of their official careers; at worst, they would face imprisonment, and their entire clan would be reduced to official slaves.

Therefore.

Wei Tu had no concern that Dan Yangong would leak this information.

"Master Huang, as expected of someone from a merchant background, he is too cunning," Dan Yangong sighed after listening.

Open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against.

Wei Tu and Master Huang had acknowledged each other as relatives. The actions of his relatives would naturally implicate Wei Tu personally, not to mention that Master Huang's method was to facilitate cheating for Wei Tu.

"However, Brother Wei, you don't need to worry too much. As long as you perform exceptionally in the martial arts competition of the Dao Examination, even with this cheating scandal, people will only dismiss it as idle talk..." Dan Yangong consoled him.

The "Sparring Match" in the Dao Examination was more than ten times as brutal as the County Examination. At that point, one's ranking would solely depend on their own strength in the Martial Way.

"I understand this matter," Wei Tu said, nodding heavily.

He also wanted to wash away his shame in the Dao Examination's martial arts competition.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye.

It was already June, and the Dao Examination was about to begin.

During these four months, Wei Tu, with his status as Martial Arts Examination Top Scholar, easily passed the Prefectural Examination, achieving an excellent sixth-place finish.

"It's a shame that the Health Cultivation Technique is still not perfected, preventing me from entering the Qi Sensing Realm."

"Otherwise, in the Prefectural Examination's competition, I could have at least taken the title of Prefectural Examination Martial Arts Champion."

In the Dan Residence in the prefectural city, Wei Tu wiped the sweat from his brow after practicing the Health Cultivation Technique more than a dozen times. His consciousness then sank into his mind, and he glanced at his "Late Bloomer" Destiny.

"Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique (91/100): Nine practices a day, completed in five years."

"Tiger Crane Double Form Fist (33/100): Seven practices a day, completed in three years."

"But fortunately, the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist has broken through to minor completion, and my Saber Techniques have also improved, filling my last gap."

Wei Tu mused.

The County Examination was in February, and the Prefectural Examination was in April.

During these two months, he had dedicated himself to improving his Saber Techniques.

Therefore, before the Prefectural Examination began, through his unremitting efforts, the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist finally broke through to the minor completion realm.

With the breakthrough in his stance training, his Saber Techniques also advanced.

Benefiting from this, he achieved Class A results in both the "Saber Dance" and "Sparring Match" sections of the Prefectural Examination.

PS: Some progress has been accelerated. After detailing the County Examination, the Prefectural and Dao Examinations will not be described in detail.