The giant serpents on the four pillars opened their mouths in unison, spewing out clouds of mist so faint they were almost transparent. Every candidate's consciousness blurred. When they came to, they found themselves in a lush mountain valley, surrounded by rolling hills and scattered patches of dense woodland.
Wei Yuan stood near the foot of a hill. The terrain ahead was fairly open, though visibly uneven. The hill behind him stood about twenty zhang tall. It was high by the standards of this little world, and the highest point in the surrounding area. According to the Art of War, this was a strategic position both sides would fight to control.
Without the slightest hesitation, Wei Yuan raced up the hill to get a better look at the terrain. As he ran, light flashed across him, and his clothes changed into a set of dark yellow martial attire. From the hilltop, he could see dozens of candidates within his field of vision, each separated by several dozen zhang. It seemed everyone had been scattered across the illusion, with no way of knowing where they would appear.
The candidates' clothes came in two colors: either sky blue or dark yellow. Their teams were distinguished by the colors they wore.
At that moment, armor suddenly appeared on several candidates, each set of a different design.
A phantom Treasure Chest appeared before Wei Yuan. One side held several sets of armor in different styles, while the other contained all kinds of weapons. The armor and weapons looked no bigger than his palm, but the moment Wei Yuan reached out to take one, it would become a real object and equip itself on him. There was also a compartment in the chest's lid, with a pill nestled inside. The pill could restore stamina and heal minor injuries. It was up to each candidate when to use it.
Before Wei Yuan had chosen his equipment, two pillars of light shot into the sky, one to the north and one to the south. At the foot of each pillar stood a small mountain. These were the two key positions the teams had to defend. If one side captured the other's position and held it, they would be declared the winners.
With the teams divided and the key positions revealed, the candidates sprang into action. Those wearing different colors began gathering at their respective positions. Beneath the red pillar of light to the north, everyone wore blue; beneath the golden pillar of light to the south, every candidate wore yellow. When candidates from opposing teams crossed paths, most merely exchanged cold glances before continuing on, making no attempt to fight along the way.
After watching for a while, Wei Yuan understood that this was the strategy of rallying the masses Li Zhi had mentioned. Li Zhi had chosen his people before the Martial Assessment and organized them into a team. The moment they entered the illusion, they had headed for the southern position to regroup, then planned to decide the outcome through Military Formation tactics.
But Li Zhi wasn't the only capable one. The opponent in the north was every bit his match, and had gathered even more candidates. The only question was how many spies each team had planted among the other.
In the blink of an eye, the main forces of both teams had assembled, but dozens of scattered candidates remained in the center of the examination grounds, all looking bewildered. It was obvious they were like Wei Yuan, abandoned by both sides. A few of the quicker ones finally caught on and hurried toward the team that matched the color of their clothes. Most, however, still stood foolishly in the middle, with no idea what they were supposed to do.
Wei Yuan didn't choose his weapon and armor right away. He planned to see what both sides intended to do before making his decision.
This hill was high by local standards, with a good view of most of the battlefield. Only the main camps to the north and south were out of sight. People in this world had a limited range of vision, and they would have to cross the central area to see the enemy's camp and its deployment. It seemed the illusion had been deliberately designed that way.
The hill where Wei Yuan stood lay along the western edge of the illusion. Behind it was a dense forest, with a barrier of light rising among the trees—the boundary of the illusion. The north and south were full of rolling hills, while a small rise stood in the flat central area, several zhang higher than the surrounding land. It, too, was a strategic position both sides would fight over.
At that moment, a dozen or so candidates charged out from each side. They wore light armor and moved nimbly, spreading out in fan formations as they headed toward one another.
Watching from afar, Wei Yuan compared what he saw to the Art of War he had studied. "These are scouts. Right, both sides have to learn the terrain and the enemy's deployment first, then decide on a strategy."
The scouts occasionally crossed paths, but each carefully slipped past the other without attacking.
The rules of the Martial Assessment were vague, but one thing was certain: the longer you stayed alive, the higher your evaluation. Anyone with half a brain knew that dying right at the start wouldn't earn them many points.
As Wei Yuan watched the two sides, a blue figure came racing up the hilltop like a galloping horse. The blue-clad candidate was small and lean, clad in leather armor and carrying a sword. He stared fiercely at Wei Yuan. Clearly, seeing that Wei Yuan had neither weapon nor armor had stirred murderous intent in him.
Wei Yuan raised an eyebrow and watched the man in silence. He was still observing for now, but if someone came looking to die, he didn't mind sending him on his way.
But when the man looked up at Wei Yuan, who stood a head taller than him, his heart gave a jolt. In the end, he didn't dare attack. He merely glared at Wei Yuan before running down the hill and heading south to scout.
As soon as the blue-clad candidate left, another candidate in yellow reached the hilltop. He, too, carried a sword. After noticing Wei Yuan's colors, he said politely, "Senior Brother, if you haven't joined a team yet, why not go see Senior Brother Li Zhi? With your bearing, you should be able to secure a place on the team."
Without waiting for Wei Yuan to answer, the man wished him well and continued north to scout.
In a matter of moments, four scouts from each side had passed by Wei Yuan.
There was no helping it. This little hill was simply too conspicuous, so any scout passing nearby had to come up and take a look. The Green Team scouts were naturally all intent on killing Wei Yuan, and the Yellow Team scouts weren't much better. But after seeing Wei Yuan's height and build, the scouts on both sides tacitly chose to pretend he wasn't there.
Even counting the Crimson Tide Sect, this joint examination offered places to only about half of all the candidates. Someone like Wei Yuan, who clearly didn't even have a team, belonged to the group already eliminated in advance. And scouts, after all, held a position of sorts, one rank above the rank-and-file soldiers in a Military Formation. They still thought their chances of earning a place were good, so none of them wanted to waste time getting entangled with a nobody like Wei Yuan.
By now, Wei Yuan felt he had seen enough. He summoned the equipment Treasure Chest again. Since the Martial Assessment began, he had seen more than thirty candidates, and nearly nine out of ten had a sword in hand. Zhang Sheng had once taught him the basics of weapons, including what he thought of the sword: The sword was the weapon of emperors, graceful yet imposing, but its symbolism outweighed its practical power. On a battlefield where ordinary men fought, whoever used a sword was an idiot.
Apparently, most candidates preferred the weapon of emperors.
So Wei Yuan reached out and grabbed the Long Spear.
The moment it left the Treasure Chest, the spear grew to twelve chi in length, its blade a chi and a half long. Two short prongs, each half a chi long, jutted out where the blade joined the shaft, forming a cross shape. The spearhead and shaft were one seamless whole, carved all over with ancient patterns. It was impossible to tell what material it was made of.
The moment the Long Spear landed in his hands, Wei Yuan's arm sank under its weight. It was quite heavy, weighing several dozen jin. Even with Wei Yuan's physique, wielding it with ease would take six or seven parts of his strength.
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