Examination Begins

The twenty-eighth year of Shizong, the ninth day of the seventh month.

Before the City God of Gaolin County, the square was bristling with flagpoles like a forest.

Today was the official opening day of the Martial Arts Examination.

Those who passed the Martial Arts Examination and earned the title of Martial Scholar would not only receive tax exemptions, but also enjoy privileges far beyond the reach of ordinary commoners.

Thus, the opening of the Martial Arts Examination had become a grand event in Gaolin County, though the glory and clamor of that spectacle had little to do with the countless ordinary faces outside the grounds.

On the Commander's Platform to the north of the training field sat the chief examiner and the proctors, with several clerks standing attentively at their sides.

Their official robes came in different colors—vermilion, blue-green, black, and white—arranged in solemn order, silently displaying the rigid hierarchy of official rank.

Below them stood this year's martial candidates. They had long since formed ranks according to their place of origin and assigned numbers, a dense black mass numbering several hundred.

Every one of them was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, their muscles knotted like coiling dragons. They wore all manner of tight-fitting outfits and short martial garb, broad belts cinched around their waists and thin-soled boots on their feet.

Some were young and sharp as unsheathed blades; others were calm and seasoned, like ancient pines rooted in bedrock.

Every gaze was fixed tightly upon the Commander's Platform—filled with longing, tension, eagerness to try, and the resolve to smash the cauldrons and sink the boats.

Beneath the covered corridors on either side of the training field sat Gaolin County's wealthy merchants and great clans.

Ordinary commoners did not even have the right to step through the gates of the training field.

If a wealthy household supported a scholar, they had to pay tuition and provide brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Yet if the whole family gritted their teeth, tightened their belts, and gave up fine tea and good meals, they could still sustain it for several years.

Training in martial arts, however, was entirely different. Its consumption was like a great whale drinking the sea—unceasing and without end.

Meat and refined grain were indispensable every day. Otherwise, where would one find the strength and vitality to strike a wooden post hundreds upon thousands of times?

And that was merely the daily food expense.

What cost even more was medicinal supplementation. A single pill could equal several months of expenses for an ordinary family. Even common wealthy households found it difficult to maintain such spending.

Within the training field, ninety percent of the martial candidates either came from influential families or possessed family-inherited martial arts and modest wealth. Of the scattered remaining ten percent, even those with decent talent had exhausted the savings and painstaking efforts of several generations just for the chance to stand here.

Among that ten percent, those who could distinguish themselves today were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Most had merely come to join the excitement and gain some experience.

Chen Qing understood this very well. In the world of books and letters, scholarly families monopolized written works, classical texts, masters, and lineages.

Then in a world where Martial Dao Flourishes, the influential families and great clans entrenched in every region controlled martial wealth, meat, and secret martial arts that were never passed on.

"Chen Qing!?"

Xu Fang's gaze suddenly nailed itself to a figure in the crowd, her eyes brimming with disbelief.

"Xiao Fang, what is it?"

The well-kept woman beside her, dressed in a fine pale-blue silk blouse, asked.

She was Xu Fang's paternal aunt, Xu Xiuhua.

Xu Fang came back to herself, her expression complicated. "I saw an acquaintance here. It caught me by surprise."

Since arriving at the Huang Family, she had often seen the carefully groomed, strong-boned youths of the household sweating profusely under martial instructors' guidance.

There was also the costly meat, medicinal meals, and weapon training.

She knew all too well what an immense foundation lay behind all that.

How could some wild loach that had crawled out of Yazi Bay possibly be qualified to stand here?

Following the direction of her finger, Xu Xiuhua cast a casual glance over, her delicate brows knitting almost imperceptibly. "Oh? He came from a place like Yazi Bay?"

Biting her lower lip, Xu Fang nodded hard. Her complicated gaze followed Chen Qing as he moved through the crowd. "He... I wonder how much confidence he has when he takes the field later..."

"Confidence?"

Xu Xiuhua let out a scornful laugh. "Xiao Fang, you must understand. In this Martial Arts Examination, true gold is tempered by blazing fire, while dregs are washed away by flowing water. Ninety-nine percent of them are nothing but grains of sand swept up by surging waves. Once a wave crashes down, sand remains sand—there is not the slightest room for falsehood."

"That he managed to squeeze into an occasion like this already means green smoke is rising from his ancestral graves."

The sons of wealthy households and great clans had martial instructors teaching them from childhood. They ate meat every meal, and medicinal supplements were indispensable.

A fisherman from Yazi Bay wanted to compete with them? He should stop dreaming.

Clearly, Xu Xiuhua did not think highly of him.

Xu Fang nodded and said no more.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Without warning, three earth-shaking drumbeats rang out.

Immediately afterward, heavy, slow drumbeats rolled like muffled thunder, one after another, growing denser and more urgent. They pounded upon everyone's hearts, instantly driving the already taut atmosphere to its peak.

Before long, the drums gradually faded, their lingering echoes still reverberating across the open grounds.

The chief examiner slowly rose to his feet and walked steadily to the front of the platform.

His gaze was like lightning as it slowly swept across the crowd. "This year's Martial Arts Examination selects worthy talents. On the examination grounds, only true ability speaks! Blades and spears have no eyes; life and death are your own responsibility! Any cheating or fraud will be punished under military law, with absolutely no leniency."

He suddenly raised his voice, his sharp shout exploding like a thunderclap.

"The hour has arrived—!"

"Begin the examination!!!"

The Martial Arts Examination officially began. As the clerks called out the names, groups of martial candidates entered the training field and selected bows of varying stone weights from the racks.

The first round tested strength and vitality.

The assessment was judged by the number of times one could draw a bow. It took one hundred and twenty jin of force to fully draw a one-stone bow, and drawing the string past halfway counted as valid.

The bows laid out across the square ranged from one stone to twelve stones.

The grades were clearly divided. Those who could draw Three Stone Bows or Four Stone Bows received a Ding grade; those who could draw four- to six-stone bows received a Bing grade; those who could draw seven- to nine-stone bows received a Yi grade. Only those who could draw a Ten Stone Bow or greater had a chance at an Jia grade.

There are only two rounds. The second round is an actual battle, with far too many variables. I have to secure a good result in the first round.

As Chen Qing watched the martial candidates perform on the platform, he silently calculated.

After training day and night and nourishing himself with Treasure Fish, his Internal Force had now been tempered into his organs. Though he was still some distance from completing Hidden Strength, his Tongbei Fist had already reached mastery. That was his advantage.

More and more martial candidates stepped onto the platform. Luo Qian and Sun Shun were among them.

"Ding Six, Sun Shun—middle Yi grade."

"Ding Fifteen, Luo Qian—lower Yi grade."

Both had drawn seven-stone bows. Sun Shun did so five times, while Luo Qian managed three.

"Ah."

Sun Shun shook his head with a sigh, feeling somewhat dejected.

He knew that his hopes of passing this year were slim.

Middle Yi grade was a hurdle. If one failed to reach at least middle Yi grade in the first round, then unless one's strength in the second round was exceptional enough to seize a Jia grade, the hope of passing was vanishingly small.

Luo Qian's expression remained unchanged. She had long known where she stood regarding whether she could pass the Martial Arts Examination.

Her eyes had already settled on those martial candidates with hopes of passing, quietly considering whether she could find an opportunity to befriend one or two of them.

Even Zhou Academy's elite disciples fared no better. Its ordinary disciples had it even harder. Most could barely draw three- or four-stone bows before they were left gasping for breath, eliminated in the first round with almost no suspense.