Baiyue County City!

After entering the county city, Lu Feng and Wang Chen found a place called Yunlai Inn and settled in.

The two grabbed a simple dinner, then returned to their rooms to rest. The five days of travel had left Lu Feng feeling a little worn out.

As soon as he returned to his room, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

The night passed without incident. It was only when the next morning's sunlight spilled into the room that Lu Feng slowly opened his eyes.

"Mm! Is it morning already?"

As he spoke, he got up and went to the window to look outside. The streets were already bustling, even so early in the morning.

After washing up, Lu Feng went to Wang Chen's door and knocked.

"Brother Wang, are you awake?"

The door opened at once, and Wang Chen slowly stepped out.

"I've been up for ages. Let's go grab something to eat, then head to the prefectural office and register for the Martial Examination."

Lu Feng nodded, and the two of them went out to the street.

By then, all the shops in the county city had opened. From breakfast stalls to grand restaurants, they were all serving customers.

Lu Feng was puzzled. "Brother Wang, why do the shops in Baiyue County City open so early?"

Back in Qinglu County City, only the breakfast shops were open in the morning. The grand restaurants usually didn't open until nearly noon.

Wang Chen explained, "Lu Feng, Baiyue County City is quite different from Qinglu County City. It has more than ten times the population, and many shops stay open all day to serve wealthy merchants and major lineages."

"I see!" Lu Feng's face brightened with understanding. "So we can eat restaurant food in the morning, too?"

"Of course."

Lu Feng raised his brows and asked, "Are there any places in the county city that sell Exotic Beast Meat?"

He'd eaten Exotic Beast Meat every day for a while. It was not only highly nutritious, but tasted great, too.

Compared with ordinary pork and beef, it was in a league of its own.

On top of that, he hadn't eaten any Exotic Beast Meat during the five days of travel.

That was why he'd asked.

Wang Chen understood at once and replied, "Several of the big restaurants in the county city sell Exotic Beast Meat, though it isn't cheap."

Lu Feng was delighted. "Brother Wang, price isn't an issue. As long as we can eat Exotic Beast Meat, I'll cover it."

He had five thousand taels of silver. A few meals of Exotic Beast Meat would be no problem.

Besides, his Martial Realm advanced much faster than an ordinary Martial Artist's, so his body needed more nourishment.

Before, County Magistrate Wang Lichuan had supplied him with two meals of Exotic Beast Meat every day, and he hadn't felt his body craving nourishment.

But during those five days on the road, he hadn't eaten a bite of it. His body was beginning to run short on nutrients, and that familiar hunger was slowly returning.

Wang Chen nodded. "All right. If you want Exotic Beast Meat, follow me."

With that, they hurried to a restaurant.

Lu Feng looked up and saw that it was called Yunwei Pavilion. The building had seven floors.

They stepped inside, and a waiter approached with a smile. "What can I get for you, gentlemen?"

Wang Chen said, "A private room, and some of your finest dishes."

At the words "finest dishes," the waiter's eyes lit up. "Right away! Please follow me."

Once they reached the private room, the waiter brought out a special menu.

Wang Chen pushed it across to Lu Feng. "You order first."

Lu Feng accepted the menu without hesitation and began to look through it.

He hadn't expected the variety and prices he found inside.

The first page listed twenty dishes. The cheapest cost five taels of silver, and the most expensive cost twenty!

Yet it was obvious that all twenty dishes were made with Exotic Beast Meat. One of them was braised Crimson Fire Deer Meat.

The first page was also marked "Fine Delicacies."

Lu Feng turned to the second page. It was marked "Supreme Delicacies."

Those dishes started at twenty taels, and the most expensive cost over a thousand!

At those terrifying prices, Lu Feng suddenly felt that the five thousand taels of silver in his pocket might not go very far.

Though he was shocked by the prices, he kept it off his face. "Ahem. Waiter, bring me four plates of this Crimson Fire Deer Meat, and two plates of this Heavenly Concubine Wild Chicken."

Lu Feng didn't dare order anything from the second page, so he picked just a few of the fine delicacies from the first.

After ordering, he handed the menu to Wang Chen. "Brother Wang, see if there's anything you want."

Wang Chen didn't take the menu. Instead, he said, "You've ordered enough for us. Bring me a pot of Baiyue Brew, too."

The waiter smiled and agreed, then turned and left the private room.

As soon as he was gone, Lu Feng turned to Wang Chen. "Brother Wang, aren't this restaurant's dishes a little too expensive? Those supreme delicacies on the second page cost over a thousand taels. Are they made of gold?"

Silver went a long way in the Great Yan Dynasty. A catty of ordinary raw beef cost only twenty copper coins, and one tael of silver could be exchanged for a thousand copper coins. That showed just how outrageous this restaurant's prices were.

Wang Chen didn't look surprised. He explained, "Lu Feng, you don't know the whole story. The fine delicacies on the first page are mostly made with ordinary Exotic Beast Meat. The dishes on the second page are made with Spirit Beast Meat, so of course they cost much more."

"Spirit Beast Meat?!"

Lu Feng was startled. Spirit Beasts were as powerful as Martial Masters.

An ordinary person who ran into a Spirit Beast would almost certainly die.

If this restaurant could sell Spirit Beast Meat, that meant it had a supplier.

Only then did Lu Feng realize just how far Baiyue County City surpassed Qinglu County City.

While they were talking, the waiter brought in their dishes and wine.

Once the food was on the table, they stopped chatting and dug in.

They finished breakfast quickly, and Lu Feng paid a total of forty-two taels of silver.

It wasn't much money to him, but spending over forty taels on one meal was still a bit steep.

Wang Chen could tell what he was thinking, so he said, "Lu Feng, from now on, just order one or two plates of Exotic Beast Meat when we eat. The rest can be ordinary dishes."

Lu Feng could only nod helplessly.

If he ate as much as he had today at every meal, even five thousand taels wouldn't be enough.

Still, life in Baiyue County City had its advantages: he could eat Exotic Beast Meat whenever he wanted.

After eating and drinking his fill, the hunger inside Lu Feng finally disappeared.

Then the two of them headed for the prefectural office.

A short while later, they reached Baiyue County City's Prefectural Yamen. Looking at its tall, imposing gates, Lu Feng felt that Qinglu County Yamen was downright shabby.

"Come on. Let's register for the Martial Examination first, then find out what the Imperial Court has planned for the rest of it," Wang Chen said, looking at the Prefectural Yamen.

Lu Feng nodded, and they headed for the gates.

At the entrance, Wang Chen explained why they had come and showed their credentials to the Yamen Runners.

Seeing that Lu Feng was there to take the Martial Examination, the two gatekeepers let him pass.

When they entered the Prefectural Yamen and reached the registration desk, they found a number of people already lined up to register.

Lu Feng raised his brows, puzzled. "Brother Wang, why are there so many people registering? Are there really that many Ninth-Rank Martial Artists under twenty?"

The Martial Examination he was taking was the Youth Elite Competition. To qualify, one had to be under twenty and have reached the Ninth-Rank Martial Artist level.

People like that could certainly be called martial arts prodigies.

Yet there was a line of applicants. Had he misunderstood what counted as a martial arts prodigy?

Wang Chen shook his head. "It's not what it looks like. More than half the people registering don't meet the requirements!"

"What?! Then why are they registering?"

Wang Chen pointed to one of the people in line. "What do you think of that man?"

Lu Feng turned to look. The man Wang Chen had indicated was clearly over twenty.

He looked at least thirty.

"From what I can tell, he's already over twenty. Does he really think the Imperial Court's examiners are blind?" Lu Feng asked, puzzled.

Wang Chen continued, "He has other considerations."

Lu Feng looked confused. "Oh? What considerations?"

"You know plenty of Imperial Court officials and powerful figures will be there to watch the Martial Examination. If he passes the assessment and makes it into the competition, then performs well, some influential person might take a liking to him. You understand what I mean."

After hearing Wang Chen's explanation, Lu Feng suddenly understood.

These Martial Artists who didn't meet the requirements weren't entering the competition to fight for the top ten. They were using the opportunity to win themselves a bright future.

Lu Feng continued, "So you mean the examiners in Baiyue County City are abusing their power for private gain?"

"Ahem. Don't say things like that carelessly. Just understand it yourself." Wang Chen immediately cleared his throat twice, stopping Lu Feng from saying more.