Three Hundred Famous Lines

That wasn't entirely flattery. Li Zhi had concentrated all the pills on the elite troops in the central army. Those thirty elites could charge again and again, and might even rout an opponent one or two hundred strong. But this tactic was cruel to the examinees whose pills had been taken away, and it was bound to breed resentment. Li Zhi didn't care. Those examinees were no more than stepping-stones on his road to heaven. Once the Martial Assessment was over, who would even remember their names?

Hearing the girl's words, Li Zhi smiled. "I may know a little about the Art of War, but don't forget these people are still children, far from being elite troops. They can hold formation and stand still well enough, but once they start marching, that won't work. They'll probably fall into chaos before they even reach the north. So all I want is to wait—to wait for Bao Yun to attack. We'll be rested and ready, while they're tired from the march. We're sure to win!"

The young men and women gathered around Li Zhi were all excited. At the very least, they wouldn't have come up with any of this if they'd been in command. If they won this battle, everyone's score would rise considerably. They'd already secured places in their respective sects, but a high score would still bring them plenty of prestige. And if they beat Miss Bao, they could brag about it for years.

Li Zhi continued, "Still, we can't just sit around waiting. Wang Fang, take the vanguard into the central zone. If you run into the enemy's main force, come straight back. If it's only their vanguard, you can try them out. But remember, don't venture into enemy territory. Stay within the central zone. Understood?"

Wang Fang was tall and powerfully built. He replied in a deep voice, "Rest assured, senior brother!"

He took his leave of Li Zhi, then turned and led thirty men toward the central zone.

Li Zhi picked up a branch and drew a map of the entire illusion on the flat rock in front of him, then studied it in silence.

The northern part of the illusion.

At some point, the girl had changed into a goose-yellow dress, making her peerlessly lovely. The dress wasn't among the clothes in the Treasure Chest, nor had it changed color to match her faction. Against the blue mountains and blue robes, that one splash of tender yellow stood out vividly.

In front of the girl was a patch of sand, where she had molded the terrain of the illusion out of sand and mud. It looked far more detailed than Li Zhi's map.

Pointing with her Long Spear at the central area on the map, the girl said, "That fellow Li Zhi seems steady, but he's actually the least patient of all. He'll definitely send people to test the waters. Tian Rong!"

A young man stepped forward. The girl said, "Take a dozen or so people into the central zone. If you meet the enemy's vanguard, lure them to the spot we picked out. Jiang Qun and Xu Yu will back you up from behind. Have you memorized Mr. Su's copy of Three Hundred Famous Curses from the Countryside?"

"I can recite it backward!" But then the young man scratched his head and said, "Miss Bao, I have two questions. First, the things in there are so embarrassing that some of them are hard to say out loud. Second, I don't know how to put them together!"

"There's no need to put them together. Just curse them with whatever line comes to mind. After three lines, they'll come after you, and they won't stop until one of you is dead."

Tian Rong smiled bitterly. "But the judges are watching. If I curse like that, I'm afraid my reputation will be ruined."

The girl smiled. "Don't worry. Whoever you curse will be the one whose reputation gets ruined."

Tian Rong felt reassured. He took a dozen or so people with him and headed for the middle of the battlefield.

After Tian Rong had gone some distance, the girl called out again, "Jiang Qun! Xu Yu!"

Two young men answered and stepped forward.

Pointing to the hills rising on either side of the sand table, she said, "Take thirty men each and hide at these positions. Once Tian Rong lures the enemy vanguard over, join up with him and surround them. We'll swallow their vanguard in one gulp."

The two young men took their orders.

The girl pointed to the hills on either side to the south. "After you swallow the enemy vanguard, advance along the hills on both wings and attack Li Zhi's flanks. Oh, and after you finish off their vanguard, remember to smear their blood on your faces and bodies. The more, the better."

Jiang Qun looked confused. "When people die, they vanish in a flash of light. Where would the blood come from?"

Before the girl could answer, Xu Yu said, "Idiot! People have blood while they're still alive, don't they? We'll find a few survivors and slash their arms and legs a few times. That'll get us some blood."

"Senior Brother Xu is right." The girl praised him, then gently rolled up her sleeve, revealing an arm as slender and white as a scallion. Turning the Long Spear around, she lightly cut her arm. A wound appeared in her snow-white skin, and blood immediately welled up!

The girl pressed down hard on the wound with her hand, her brows knitting slightly from the pain.

Her little face soon relaxed. "You see? The wound hurts, and the blood really does flow. Li Zhi is just a paper general. He spent all that effort putting together a fine-looking formation and actually thinks his men are all battle-hardened elites? Don't forget, they're only children. A big wound will scare them, and so will losing too much blood. Senior Brother Jiang, Senior Brother Xu, when you meet the enemy's troops on the flanks, just hack and slash like mad. Remember, cutting off hands and feet is better than cutting off heads. Your job is to keep Li Zhi's flanks tied down, wear down his forces, and fight until the very last man!"

Jiang Qun and Xu Yu accepted their orders, then each led thirty men away.

The girl stared at the sand table and pondered for a moment. Suddenly, she said, "After I swallow his vanguard, if Li Zhi really knows how to command troops, he should use a small force to hold my flanks in check when he sees my troops there, then throw everything he has into a charge against my central army. That would still give him a sliver of a chance to win."

She pointed her Long Spear at the sand table. "We'll build a strong formation right here and wait for him to charge! I, Bao Yun, want to see whether he deserves to be number one!"

A girl beside her asked, "Miss Bao, what if Li Zhi doesn't come?"

The girl smiled. "We already have the advantage in numbers, and we've swallowed his vanguard. If he doesn't come, we'll wait until Senior Brothers Jiang and Xu have worn them down for a while, then go over ourselves!"

Another girl asked, "What if Li Zhi's vanguard doesn't fall for it?"

Bao Yun smiled. "Don't worry. Everyone in the Martial Assessment who knows how to lead troops comes from a prominent family. They're all proud and arrogant. No one can withstand those Three Hundred Famous Lines!"

A young man said, "I heard Li Zhi wants to use this exam to build his reputation, so he's doing everything he can to take first place."

Bao Yun's lips curled up. "I don't care if he wants to build his reputation, but using me as a stepping-stone is nothing but a pipe dream! As long as I, Bao Yun, am here, he won't take first place."

Behind Bao Yun, a young man with a sword in his arms and his eyes narrowed as if half-asleep opened them and said coolly, "He won't take second place either."

In the illusion, Wei Yuan stood atop a hill in heavy armor, his Long Spear in hand. He had already knocked over three or four scouts foolish enough to approach him. After that happened a few times, no one dared go near the hill. But Wei Yuan had also noticed a problem: his Long Spear and heavy armor were far too heavy, making it hard to move. Whenever the scouts tried to run, he couldn't catch a single one.

Just as Wei Yuan was pondering what to do, he saw two groups approaching from the north and south, meeting in the central zone. They met right in front of him.

At last, the main forces had arrived. Wei Yuan's brows rose as the Heaven and Earth Madman technique slowly turned. Wisps of black air seeped from between the plates of his armor. He stood proudly with his Long Spear, waiting for the newcomers to come challenge him.

Yet both groups ignored Wei Yuan, standing alone on high ground, and drew up in formation facing each other.

From the blue-clad group, Tian Rong stepped forward, gathered his breath, and opened with, "I'll fuck your mother..."

The yellow-clad group fell into chaos at once.