Imperial Court Martial Arts Examination (Please Follow, Please Bookmark)

Yuanlong 6, the Third Day of February.

After finishing his daily Foundation Establishment cultivation, Wang Ping guided his two disciples through Qi Refining as usual. When they were done, the Young Disciple managing the garden came to report that Wang Kang wished to see him.

By now, the Mountain Top Garden had taken shape. Disciples from the Mountain Foot had to report in advance before entering the garden. A gatehouse had specifically been built for this purpose, with four Young Disciples assigned to take shifts. Two rows of small towers had also been built along the slope outside the gatehouse for the duty disciples to practice and live in.

Wang Kang was still the same as before, lacking the tranquility and detachment of a Daoist cultivator. Put plainly, he had little affinity with the Dao, though his mindset had always been good.

"Senior Brother!"

Wang Kang casually cupped his fists at the entrance to the courtyard, then strode inside. Before he had even sat down, he began, "Senior Brother Su took the county Martial Arts Examination half a month ago and came in third... becoming a martial scholar. Today, he sent someone with an invitation, saying that in a few days he would come up the mountain to continue practicing martial arts. Once he was ready, he would take next year's martial candidate assessment."

"When did the Imperial Court start holding Martial Arts Examinations?" Wang Ping asked, somewhat surprised.

"It was announced just after the new year. The Prefectural Judge personally went to every county in the prefectural city to issue notices. So long as one becomes a martial candidate, one will be granted an official post. I heard it is at least an eighth-rank martial officer!" Wang Kang was particularly excited when speaking of this. Perhaps because of his childhood experiences, he felt that nothing in the world was better than an official position.

Wang Ping nodded thoughtfully but said nothing.

"After becoming a martial candidate, if one is willing, one can also go to the Capital City to participate in the Imperial Court Competition. Those selected can remain in the Capital Garrison or the Imperial Guards as a Captain."

Wang Kang accepted the teacup Yang Ziping handed him, took a sip, and continued, "Qi practitioners can enter the capital directly and be exempted from the martial candidate assessment."

The senior and junior brothers chatted until noon. Wang Kang stayed in the small courtyard for lunch before leaving.

"Master, Martial Uncle obviously wants to go down the mountain... Didn't you hear it?" Liu Shuang asked Wang Ping after Wang Kang left the small courtyard.

"Don't you spend every day thinking about going down the mountain too?"

"I'm different. I'm not obsessed with officialdom. I want to go down the mountain to uphold justice and aid the weak, and after a while, I'll return to continue cultivating. Martial Uncle clearly wants to break away from the Daoist temple." Liu Shuang blinked.

"Everyone has their own aspirations. I'm not forcibly stopping him, but the time isn't right yet..."

After saying that, Wang Ping sent Liu Shuang off to copy scriptures.

Third Day.

Su Dun indeed came up the mountain to cultivate bitterly, and he intended to stay there until year's end. Cultivating at the Mountain Foot was simply impossible for him. In his own words: "I can sleep until noon in one go!"

Unexpectedly, over the following half month, nearly every outstanding young adult in Shang'an Prefecture who intended to take the martial candidate examination came running to Thousand Wood Temple for bitter cultivation, allowing the Daoist temple to earn thirty thousand taels of cash in one stroke.

Zhao Qing was overjoyed, while Su Dun was miserable. Every three days, he would run to Wang Ping's small courtyard to complain, putting on a pitiful appearance. Then Wang Ping would use spiritual energy to clear his meridians.

One day...

After Wang Ping finished clearing Su Dun's meridians, Su Dun asked with a grin, "Senior Brother, do you have any miraculous elixirs that can let me break through in one go?"

Wang Ping thought for a moment and nodded. "There should be some, though I don't know the specifics... You can ask Junior Brother Zhao Qing to send someone to the Daoist Scripture Hall and post a commission. I estimate it will be very expensive to buy such things now. What you can think of, others may not necessarily fail to think of."

Su Dun said indifferently, "Money isn't a problem this time. Even if I have to smash the pots and sell the iron, I'll become a martial candidate..."

This Martial Arts Examination...

Thinking of the Martial Arts Examination, Wang Ping thought of other matters. It was obvious that the Imperial Court had suffered defeats in the Northwest War, causing a sharp reduction in the number of low-ranking Military Officers. In some places, even the garrison commander posts were not fully staffed, resulting in local rebellions springing up one after another. The Imperial Court wanted to use the Martial Arts Examination to fill the vacancies among local low-ranking Military Officers, or perhaps send them to the front lines as well.

He had intended to offer Su Dun a few reminders, but he had underestimated the wisdom of others. Su Dun spoke first, "The Imperial Court has opened the Martial Arts Examination at a time when the northwest is at war and the Northern Border is unstable. My father says this is an excellent opportunity for small Lineages like ours. I think so too."

"Go discuss it with Junior Brother Zhao Qing."

"Alright!"

After Su Dun left this time, he never again came to the Mountain Top Courtyard.

Wang Ping's cultivation continued at an unhurried pace. On the eve of Spring Festival at year's end, Zhao Qing arrived at the small courtyard Dusty and Travel-worn, handing Wang Ping an account book recording the sales of Power Pills over the year.

Zhao Qing said with a face full of smiles, "Thanks to Senior Brother's Power Pills, we saved five hundred Gold Ingots and three hundred twenty thousand taels of silver this year."

Silver-mining techniques on the Central Continent were mature, and silver reserves were fairly abundant. Gold reserves, however, were extremely low, so one tael of gold could be exchanged for one hundred taels of silver. The standard weight of a Gold Ingot was ten taels, meaning that five hundred Gold Ingots were equivalent to five hundred thousand taels of silver.

Everyday expenses relied on Copper Coin. One string of Copper Coin contained one thousand coins and could be exchanged for one standard silver ingot, or ten taels.

Zhao Qing continued, "Of the five hundred Gold Ingots, Senior Brother, you take eighty percent. The rest can serve as reserve funds for the temple. Does that sound alright?"

"Leave it all in the temple as reserves. Use it to purchase Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures of Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang." Wang Ping brought up the old matter again.

"I'll come retrieve it when it's needed!" Zhao Qing did not refuse this time.

The next day.

Zhao Qing personally delivered two Storage Bags filled with Gold Ingots to Wang Ping.

After teaching his disciples their daily Qi Refining, Wang Ping took out a Gold Ingot and examined it for half a day, finding not the slightest Spiritual Energy Fluctuation.

Yet it was the root that connected all civilization in this world. By mastering it, one could mobilize the resources of the civilized world and command hundreds of thousands of Qi practitioners and hundreds of millions of commoners!

This was... wealth.

It formed the underlying rules of this society. As for the rules above... Wang Ping had yet to encounter them and did not know what they looked like.

The fourth year of Foundation Establishment.

Wang Ping's Qi Gathering progress reached (20/100). At the beginning of the year, the greatest topic of discussion was that the Northwest Rebels had accepted the Imperial Court's amnesty. The Rebel leader Yu Fei had been granted the title of King Ning.

Reactions across the land varied toward this action by the Imperial Court, while arguments in the imperial court raged without end. This was because the Imperial Court had allowed King Ning to retain his original army and did not require him to go to Upper Capital to pay respects to the emperor.

This was equivalent to claiming territory and becoming a king!

Wang Ping merely treated it as an ordinary piece of news and let it pass.

At the beginning of June, Shang'an Prefecture's Martial Arts Examination continued.

A month later, news returned to the temple. Su Dun had passed in tenth place, successfully becoming a martial candidate. He chose to remain in Shang'an Prefecture and was granted the position of Principal Seventh Rank City Gate Commander of Shang'an Prefecture by the Imperial Court.

Half a month later, all the descendants of prominent families who had cultivated bitterly in the temple and become martial candidates brought generous gifts to the door.

Zhao Qing was so delighted that he could not close his mouth...

The fifth year of Foundation Establishment.

The purchase request Zhao Qing had posted at the Daoist Scripture Hall finally received a response. A Pure Cultivation Sect Cultivator from the Taiyin Sect planned to sell an Extreme Yin item in his possession called Bone Stone.

Its exterior looked like an ordinary river pebble. It was icy cold in the hand, and the spiritual energy around it seemed to have frozen solid.

Few people wished to purchase this item, so Zhao Qing bought it for only five hundred thirty thousand taels.

After Wang Ping received it and examined it for half a day, he handed it to Daoist Yucheng for temporary safekeeping.

The eighth year of Foundation Establishment.

A First Realm Secret Method Cultivator from the True Sun Sect, seeking Foundation Establishment Material for his pair of dragon-and-phoenix children, released word that he intended to sell a Fire Crystal obtained from volcanic Earth Veins.

Once the news spread, many people rushed to purchase it, causing the Fire Crystal's price to soar. Zhao Qing had to throw out nearly all the wealth Thousand Wood Temple had accumulated over the years before buying it.

When Wang Ping received the Fire Crystal and calculated the accounts, he felt some pain in the flesh as well. Converted into Gold Ingots, it cost a full twelve hundred of them. Still, it was worth it. If he had searched for it himself, he might not have found one even in twenty years.