After leaving the county magistrate's study, Lu Feng wore a thoughtful expression. I didn't expect the Martial Examination to be moved up. I wonder if I'm strong enough to place in the top ten at the Prefecture City's Martial Examination?
Forget it. Whether I can make the top ten or not, I'm going to take part in this Martial Examination.
Having made up his mind, he returned to his room and continued cultivating Peiyuan Gong.
In his view, even though he was now a Constable at the County Yamen, plenty of people still wanted him dead.
His status as a Constable couldn't protect him. County Assistant Zhou Yongsi alone had plenty of ways to kill him.
So he could only use the Martial Examination to raise his standing.
If he became an official of the Great Yan Dynasty, it wouldn't be so easy for Zhou Yongsi to lay a hand on him.
As Peiyuan Gong circulated, notifications of increasing proficiency continued to appear on the panel.
[You circulate Peiyuan Gong once. Proficiency +1] [You circulate Peiyuan Gong once. Proficiency +1] ...
Before long, Peiyuan Gong's proficiency finally reached one thousand.
[Your Peiyuan Gong proficiency has reached 1000. Its proficiency level has advanced from Perfection to Mastery Realm] [Your Martial Realm has successfully advanced to Fifth-Rank Martial Master]
As his Cultivation Method and Martial Realm broke through, Lu Feng felt another portion of the meridians in his body being tempered.
Though the process was excruciatingly painful, it saved him a great deal of cultivation time.
Ordinary Martial Masters needed years, or even decades, to temper their meridians with Internal Force.
Besides the changes to his meridians, a wealth of new methods for circulating Peiyuan Gong also surged into his mind.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he had fully mastered these methods. He then began cultivating according to the new circulation method.
After fifteen breaths, a new notification suddenly appeared on the Proficiency Panel.
[You circulate Peiyuan Gong once. Proficiency +1]
When the circulation ended, Lu Feng abruptly opened his eyes, delight spreading across his face.
"Ha! So this new circulation method actually saves me five breaths!"
It had originally taken twenty breaths to complete one Greater Celestial Circuit of Peiyuan Gong. Now it took only fifteen. Those five breaths might not seem like much, but over a long period of cultivation, they added up to a great deal of time saved.
Besides that, Lu Feng could feel that the total amount of Internal Force in his body had increased by roughly thirty percent.
If an ordinary Fifth-Rank Martial Master had an Internal Force value of one hundred, then his own was now over three hundred, far beyond others of the same rank.
The main reason for this was that he had cultivated Peiyuan Gong to the Mastery Realm.
After taking stock of the changes in his body, Lu Feng summoned the Proficiency Panel with a thought.
[Name: Lu Feng] [Age: 19/70] [Realm: Fifth-Rank Martial Master] [Cultivation Method: Peiyuan Gong (Mid-Grade, Upper-Tier, Mastery Realm 0/5000)] [Martial Skill: Cloud-Dispelling Palm (High-Grade, Lower-Tier, Mastery Realm 0/5000)]
"Now that I'm a Fifth-Rank Martial Master, I doubt anyone in Qinglu County can beat me. Even if that enemy scout from last time showed up again, I could kill him in three moves!"
Looking at his stats, Lu Feng spoke with confidence.
With his current strength, placing in the top ten at the Prefecture City's Martial Examination shouldn't be difficult. But he probably wasn't strong enough to break into the top ten at the Prefecture City—or even in the Capital City.
At that thought, he stroked his chin and mused, "There's only a week left before I leave Qinglu County. I need to use this time to keep improving my strength."
The fastest way to grow stronger was to advance his Martial Realm, so cultivating Peiyuan Gong was the most direct approach.
"In that case, I'll keep cultivating Peiyuan Gong!"
Having made up his mind, Lu Feng didn't hesitate. He immediately closed his eyes and began circulating Peiyuan Gong.
And so, thanks to his diligent cultivation, five days passed in the blink of an eye.
No enemy scouts appeared in Qinglu County during that time, and nothing unusual happened on East Street or at the East Gate, which were under Lu Feng's watch.
This eased the tension that had gripped County Magistrate Wang Lichuan and the other officials.
Over those five days, Lu Feng advanced two minor stages in his Martial Realm, reaching Seventh-Rank Martial Master.
By now, more than eighty percent of his meridians had been tempered. According to Lu Yan, once all his meridians were tempered, he would be able to step into the next major Martial Realm—the Grandmaster Realm!
Unfortunately, Lu Feng didn't know much about the Grandmaster Realm, so he would have to ask Chief Clerk Lu Yan about it before leaving Qinglu County.
Just as he was about to visit Lu Yan, Yamen Runner Xiao Wang suddenly came to find him.
"Captain Lu, the County Magistrate wishes to see you."
After spending all these days together, Lu Feng and Xiao Wang had grown familiar with each other, so their conversations had become more casual.
Hearing this, Lu Feng nodded. "All right, I understand."
The County Magistrate had likely called him in to test his strength. He had mentioned this before.
Before long, Lu Feng arrived at the County Magistrate's study and knocked. "County Magistrate, your subordinate Lu Feng is here to see you."
"Come in."
Lu Feng pushed open the door. County Magistrate Wang Lichuan was seated inside, and Chief Clerk Lu Yan and Strategist Wang Jun were there as well.
After greeting the three with a cupped fist, Lu Feng asked, "County Magistrate, may I ask what you need me for?"
Wang Lichuan looked him over for a moment, then said, "Captain Lu, I called you here today to assess you. If you've reached Ninth-Rank Martial Artist, then we can proceed with the Martial Examination. If you haven't, we'll drop the matter."
After speaking, Wang Lichuan turned to Lu Yan with a smile and continued, "Lord Lu, I asked you here as a witness. Do you think Captain Lu can pass the assessment?"
"Heh. The County Magistrate has such high hopes for Captain Lu. Naturally, he won't disappoint him." Lu Yan then turned to Lu Feng with a smile. "Isn't that right, Captain Lu?"
Seeing this, Lu Feng put on a confident expression. "Your subordinate is certain he can pass the assessment. Please begin, County Magistrate."
At his answer, the tension in Wang Lichuan and Lu Yan's hearts eased at once.
If Lu Feng couldn't advance to Ninth-Rank Martial Artist, Qinglu County would once again end up at the bottom.
"Good! Since you're so confident, Captain Lu, come with me," Wang Lichuan said solemnly.
With that, the four of them headed to the County Yamen's Martial Arts Arena.
To keep the assessment confidential, the strategist had already cleared the arena, barring the other Yamen Runners and Constables from entering.
Wang Lichuan slowly walked onto the arena, then turned to Lu Feng.
"Captain Lu, I'll assess you personally. If you can last ten rounds against me, you'll pass!"
Lu Feng simply nodded. "Yes. Then forgive me, County Magistrate!"
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