Two examinees who could both lift the Thousand-Catty Tripod had been matched against each other early in the fourth round. It was no surprise that they drew plenty of eyes.
Although Zhao An had undoubtedly performed better yesterday, his opponent, Xu Hong, was no pushover either.
Xu Hong also looked older, in his prime, and presumably had far more real combat experience than Zhao An.
It was hard to say who would come out on top once they truly fought.
On the Martial Arts Arena, gusts of wind swept down, kicking up sand and dust until the whole place grew hazy.
At that moment, Xu Hong made the first move.
He, too, regarded Zhao An as the greatest threat in this county examination and didn't dare let his guard down for even an instant.
His opening strike was as fierce as thunder!
Internal Breath coiled through the muscles and bones of his legs, propelling him more than ten feet in a single leap. He seemed to ride the wind, reaching Zhao An in the blink of an eye.
The Diancang Blade technique he practiced focused on close-quarters combat, combining fierce force with swift strikes.
At a glance, Zhao An could tell that his opponent had reached a high level in blade technique. They traded several blows, and Xu Hong didn't fall behind in the slightest.
That alone was quite impressive.
The blade winds around the bones, yet there's real finesse to it... Zhao An still had enough energy to observe and appreciate the subtleties of Xu Hong's strikes.
Xu Hong, by contrast, was already struggling after ten exchanges, his nerves taut.
Facing Zhao An's perfected blade technique, he couldn't afford a single stray thought.
If Xu Hong's blade technique was balanced between offense and defense, Zhao An's let him advance or retreat at will, with effortless ease.
Xu Hong tried to find an opening, but even after a prolonged clash, he couldn't find a chance.
Zhao An settled into the fight, becoming one with his blade. He was like a fierce tiger galloping with thunder, pouncing down the mountain for its prey!
Blade light surged like a tiger's shadow darting about, its edge cleaving the wind!
The beastly tiger's true intent within the long blade was flawless, bringing Zhao An's swordsmanship to its fullest power!
He pushed this ninth-grade blade technique to its utmost limit.
He was the king of all beasts!
Every strike carried a savage, feral brutality that left onlookers trembling with fear!
After another flurry of exchanges, Xu Hong quickly began to falter.
The tiger's-mouth grip of his hand ached, his arms grew weak, and even his lower back was tiring.
After a Wind-Stepping Blade Sweep, he realized he couldn't beat Zhao An with blade technique. Gritting his teeth, Xu Hong abandoned his blade, stepped in close, and struck with his palm, staking everything on one desperate gamble.
Seeing this, Zhao An also tossed aside his long blade, its edge plunging straight into the ground, and answered with a Silver Snake Emerges from Cave palm strike!
Their palms collided, and Internal Breath burst from both of them. Xu Hong was about to be knocked backward on the spot.
But Zhao An moved faster. He stepped forward, his figure darting like a swimming dragon, and caught Xu Hong's wrist with his right hand, yanking him back.
His palm became a fist, and in an instant, the Silver Snake Hand shifted into Mountain Crushing Fist!
He had now trained Mountain Crushing Fist to its second level: Ridge-Splitting Peak-Crushing!
Force surged through both arms. He unleashed several punches, each one heavy as a mountain, until Xu Hong's face reddened and he nearly vomited blood. Unable to hold on any longer, he dropped to his knees.
"I surrender!"
Hearing this, Zhao An pressed his lips together and could only lower his fists. He seemed a little unsatisfied.
He had mastered plenty of martial arts lately, but unfortunately, he still hadn't found a suitable opponent who could let him bring all his skills to bear!
Even Xu Hong, the strongest among the examinees, couldn't hold out.
His lost finger technique, Gale Palm, and Hard Bone Skill had yet to make an appearance...
"Thank you for the match." Zhao An clasped his hands.
"To have such profound martial arts skill at such a young age, Brother Zhao, I'm impressed," Xu Hong said with a helpless shake of his head.
He had trained hard for half his life, and had thought a mere county examination would be an easy sweep. He'd never expected Zhao An to leave him in such a sorry state.
"Brother Zhao, who taught you? How did you learn so many different martial arts?" Curious, Xu Hong couldn't help asking.
"I learned on my own, picking up bits and pieces from every school," Zhao An replied.
Xu Hong nodded at that and asked no more, assuming Zhao An simply didn't want to reveal too much.
Without a renowned master to guide him, how could anyone learn by trial and error and achieve such results at such a young age?
After clearing the fourth round, Zhao An swept through the rest of the matches and made it to the end.
In the final round, he faced an opponent with more than three hundred strands of Internal Breath and won with ease.
As for Shen Pan, he fell in the last two rounds before the finals.
Even so, he drew plenty of attention.
After all, Shen Pan was a handsome young man with a hero's face. It was hard not to want to recruit him.
In many people's eyes, aside from Zhao An, Shen Pan had the brightest future and endless possibilities ahead of him.
When the sun set, the great bell in the Inner City rang three times. Its sonorous peals carried across both the civil and martial examination grounds, announcing the official end of this year's Lianjiang County examination.
The Inner City's gates swung wide, and the examinees came out in groups of three or five.
Some shook their heads and sighed, feeling they'd performed poorly. Others were brimming with excitement, eager to compose poetry on the spot and proclaim their lofty ambitions.
Just as Zhao An walked out of the city gate, he happened to run into Li Tianhuai, the impoverished scholar.
"Brother Zhao, how do you think you did?" Li Tianhuai asked with a smile.
"Those military strategy books of yours helped me a lot," Zhao An replied.
"That's wonderful!" Li Tianhuai grew even happier.
"I hope we both make the list..."
"Let's hope so." Zhao An nodded.
He had a fairly good impression of the young scholar.
Li Tianhuai knew how to repay kindness, was polite and friendly, and treated people with great warmth.
The area outside the Inner City was already packed with people.
"They're out! The examinees are coming out!"
"Son! How did you do?"
"Mother, I'll make the list this year for sure!"
"Good, good! My son has made something of himself!"
"..."
"Big Brother's out!" The moment Li Gou'er spotted Zhao An, his eyes lit up. He and Zhao Chunzi pushed through the crowd at the front.
"Brother Zhao, how did it go?" Zhao Chunzi asked.
"What do you think? Brother Zhao is sure to take first place on the Martial List this year! No one's taking it from him!" Li Gou'er said with a grin.
"With any luck, I should." Perhaps the jubilant atmosphere around him had rubbed off on Zhao An, because a smile tugged at his lips.
When he got home, the two sisters, including the Female Physician, came by to visit. Hearing that Zhao An had done well in the examination, they offered their congratulations.
Over the next few days, carriages and horses crowded the entrance to Zhao An's little courtyard. Countless visitors came to call.
Most had been sent from the Inner City by wealthy and powerful lineages, all hoping to meet Zhao An and offer gifts in celebration.
Those noblemen had watched the entire county examination, so they knew Zhao An's place on the list was all but assured.
Given Zhao An's performance, he was well worth cultivating. Even if they couldn't recruit him into their households, they wanted to support him while he was still obscure and find a way to make sure he remembered their kindness.
Then, when Zhao An rose to prominence in the future, perhaps he would give their families a hand.
At first, Zhao An hadn't wanted to bother with these trivialities. He'd planned to shut the door, turn everyone away, and enjoy some peace and quiet.
But in the end, he met with them all.
He couldn't help it. These wealthy lineages had too much money, and the gifts they sent were too generous.
He was short on money to keep up with his daily need for pills, and these gifts were a welcome supplement.
"Brother Zhao, we're rich! We're rich!"
Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi counted everything up together.
"The Li Family sent a hundred taels of silver and ten Earth Origin Pills!"
"The Shen Family sent two hundred taels of silver, fifteen Earth Origin Pills, and a fine blade!"
"The Fan Family sent a hundred taels of silver and ten Earth Origin Pills!"
"The Zhou Family..."
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