As for why, it was because this was ancient times, and an era of chaos.
There were certainly few scholars. Most people could not afford to study, so they could only revere martial force—and seek a means of protecting themselves.
On the day of the Preliminary Rounds, the arenas were divided into dozens of locations for simultaneous selection. The matches ran from morning until night, and even so, it took nearly three days to finish.
The crowds who came to watch the matches each day were as numerous as cattle and horses, but everyone had to buy a ticket to get in.
Just like at a concert, the farther forward the seats were, the more expensive the tickets.
Over those three days, Jiang Siming earned quite a lot from ticket sales alone. It was just that he did not care about the money.
After three days, the Preliminary Rounds ended, and the Elimination Rounds began.
Once the final eliminations were over, fewer than a thousand people remained.
Still, nearly a thousand martial artists had entered the Finals stage.
Anyone picked at random from among them was at least at the level of a centurion.
Jiang Siming was delighted. Before the lords could even react, he had already sent Guo Jia, Xun You, and the others to recruit people.
They would sign them first and worry about the rest later.
Even if most of these people were not particularly powerful generals, they could still easily serve as squad leaders or the like.
These people must not be underestimated. Once gathered together in sufficient numbers, they would be no less useful than a peerless fierce general.
The Finals selection continued each day, and the thousand-strong group dwindled daily.
In the end, only one hundred remained, advancing to the Finals.
It was only