Martial Examination Qualification Test!

Seeing this, Lu Feng said no more. Bribery and corruption had existed in every era.

Put simply, you paid someone to get things done for you. It was nothing unusual to Lu Feng.

"All right, then I'll get in line too. Wang, please bear with me and wait here for a bit," Lu Feng said.

"Mm, go ahead!"

After they finished speaking, Lu Feng joined the line of applicants.

A quarter of an hour passed quickly, and at last it was Lu Feng's turn.

He handed over his credentials along with the County Magistrate Wang Lichuan's recommendation.

The official responsible for registering applicants saw the County Magistrate's recommendation and slowly smiled. He asked, "Lu Feng, are you from Qinglu County?"

Lu Feng cupped his hands in greeting. "Replying to you, sir, I'm the constable of Qinglu County."

"So you're a constable. Then you're one of us."

With that, the official stamped a red seal onto Lu Feng's credentials.

The red seal meant his application had been accepted. Seeing it, Lu Feng cupped his hands again and said, "Many thanks for looking after me, sir!"

The official smiled faintly. "Hehe, my hometown is Qinglu County too. Since we're fellow villagers, this little favor is nothing. I hope you'll bring glory to Qinglu County."

Hearing this, Lu Feng immediately recalled the County Magistrate Wang Lichuan saying that no one from Qinglu County had registered for the Martial Examination in several years.

It was understandable that the official had replied this way.

"All right. I, Lu, will certainly bring glory to Qinglu County!"

The official nodded slightly. "Mm. Come back to the Prefectural Yamen in three days to take the Martial Examination qualification test."

"Yes, thank you, sir!"

Once he had registered, Lu Feng left the Prefectural Yamen with Wang Chen.

He was brimming with confidence about the qualification test. Even in the formal Martial Examination that followed, he was confident he could place in the top ten.

So, for the next three days, aside from eating and drinking, he stayed at the inn and focused on cultivating his Martial Realm.

When the morning of the fourth day arrived, Lu Feng was already prepared. With a thought, he brought up the Proficiency Panel.

[Name: Lu Feng]

[Age: 19/70]

[Realm: Eighth-Grade Martial Master]

[Cultivation Method: Peiyuan Gong (Mid-Grade, Upper-Tier, Mastery Realm 1527/5000)]

[Martial Skill: Cloud-Dispelling Palm (High-Grade, Lower-Tier, Mastery Realm 12/5000)]

At this point, his Martial Realm had broken through to Eighth-Grade Martial Master. He only needed to advance one more minor realm to reach the peak of the Martial Master Realm.

After several days of cultivation and observation, he had discovered that every time Peiyuan Gong gained five hundred proficiency points, he advanced by one minor realm.

His strength had now reached nine thousand jin, while an ordinary Ninth-Grade Martial Master could manage only around six thousand.

With his current strength, he could easily deal with even a Ninth-Grade Martial Master.

And with his Cloud-Dispelling Palm at the Mastery Realm, he would dare take on even a Great Power in the Grandmaster Realm, let alone a Ninth-Grade Martial Master.

After checking the changes on the panel, he headed to the Prefectural Yamen with Wang Chen to take the Martial Examination qualification test.

When the two arrived at the Prefectural Yamen again, they found it packed with people.

Lu Feng looked around and exclaimed in surprise, "Whoa, there are so many people!"

Wang Chen took a look too, then said, "There aren't that many people taking the Martial Examination in Baiyue County City. You'll see what a crowd looks like when you get to Shanghe Commandery."

"Shanghe Commandery?! Could it be that you're from there, Wang?" Lu Feng asked curiously.

"Mm, that's right! Not just me—the County Magistrate is from the Wang Family of Shanghe Commandery too!"

"I see!"

With that, the two entered the Prefectural Yamen. After they presented their credentials, a Yamen Runner led Lu Feng into a room.

An old man sat inside. Without even looking up, he said, "Sit down and hold out both hands."

Lu Feng did as he was told.

The old man grasped both his arms and examined them, moving his hands to several different places and squeezing firmly.

The old man's actions brought one word to Lu Feng's mind: bone age test!

Although the credentials of the applicants all listed their birth dates, those could be falsified.

But a person's bone age could not be faked!

A moment later, the old man finished checking his bone age, then picked up a seal and stamped a red mark onto Lu Feng's credentials as well. "All right, you passed! Go take the next Martial Realm test."

Lu Feng rose and cupped his hands. "All right. Thank you, sir."

His body was only nineteen years old, so there was no problem with his age.

After he left the room, the Yamen Runner led him to a vast Martial Arts Arena, then pointed to one of the platforms. "Take your test on platform three!"

Lu Feng nodded, then walked over to the platform the man had indicated.

On the way, he saw that there were ten platforms in the Martial Arts Arena.

Each platform had an examiner.

A middle-aged man dressed in black martial attire stood on platform three.

Seeing Lu Feng step up, the man beckoned him over. "Come on. If you can last ten rounds against me, you pass."

Lu Feng sized him up and realized the man was definitely a powerful Martial Master.

He cupped his hands. "All right, then I'll have to trouble you!"

With that, Lu Feng didn't wait for the other man to make a move. He darted forward and struck out with his palm.

The examiner on the other side saw his speed, and surprise flashed across his eyes.

But as an expert in the Martial Master Realm, he naturally knew how to respond. He raised his hand and threw a punch.

The next moment, fist met palm with a muffled thud.

The black-clad middle-aged man staggered back seven or eight steps before finally steadying himself.

"Good lad! You've got some real strength!"

That single palm strike had already proved Lu Feng's Martial Realm was more than enough to pass the test.

But the black-clad middle-aged man didn't want to let him pass so easily. He flashed forward and charged at Lu Feng.

They clashed at close quarters again. The black-clad middle-aged man raised his hand and launched a move called Twin Dragons Emerging from the Water.

Lu Feng turned and dodged the attack, then used the momentum to strike toward the man's chest.

The black-clad middle-aged man couldn't pull back his move in time, so he had no choice but to retreat and dodge.

But Lu Feng's palm strike was so fast and precise—how could he let the other man escape?

With a thud, the black-clad middle-aged man was sent flying off the platform.

The Yamen Runners watching were stunned by the scene. Even the people taking tests on the other nine platforms were taken aback.

It was rare for anyone to knock an examiner off the platform.

Only a Martial Realm prodigy from a great Lineage could pull off something like that.

Just then, the black-clad middle-aged man clutched his chest and slowly got to his feet. He glared at Lu Feng angrily and said, "Cough, cough. Kid, that was a solid hit. You pass!"

Hearing this, Lu Feng smiled and cupped his hands. "Then many thanks, sir!"

After that, the black-clad middle-aged man stamped a red seal onto his credentials too.

And with that, the Martial Examination qualification test was complete.

He then carried his credentials over to Wang Chen with a broad smile. But Wang Chen didn't ask whether he had passed. Instead, he said, "Come on, I'll show you around the city."

Lu Feng raised an eyebrow, curious. "Aren't you curious whether I passed the test, Wang?"

Wang Chen walked ahead without looking back. "You can handle a Third-rank Martial Master with ease. Why would this Martial Examination qualification test be a problem?"

Hearing this, Lu Feng smiled. "Hehe, you flatter me, Wang!"

After leaving the Prefectural Yamen, the two began wandering around the commandery city.

Although Lu Feng had been there for three days already, he had spent the whole time cultivating behind closed doors, so he knew little about Baiyue County City.

Only after wandering around did he realize how prosperous the city was.

The streets were teeming with people, and Martial Artists and Martial Masters could be seen everywhere.

"Mm, big cities really are lively! There are people everywhere!" Lu Feng exclaimed.

Wang Chen nodded too. "That's true. But Baiyue County City is just a small, outlying commandery. It's still a bit smaller than the other commandery cities in the Great Yan Dynasty."

Wang Chen's words made him think of the prefectural capital of Beiyuan Prefecture, and then of the Capital City beyond it.

If Baiyue County City was already this prosperous, what would the Capital City be like?

Just as Lu Feng was pondering this, cries of pain and weeping suddenly came from outside the distant city gate.

When he turned to look, he saw a large group of people who looked like refugees being stopped outside the gate by the city guards.

Seeing this, Lu Feng furrowed his brow slightly.

"Wang, what's going on over there? Why won't the guards let those people into the city?"

Wang Chen sighed and replied, "Sigh, these people are probably commoners who lived near Yingmen Pass. The Northern Wei Army has laid siege to the pass, and many people living near the northern border have begun migrating. They're only moving to save their lives, but they've violated the Imperial Court's household registration laws, so the guards won't let them into the city."