County Examination

Around the county office's practice ground, besides the constables maintaining order, stood many well-dressed figures who looked like wealthy townsfolk or members of martial arts schools. Chen Yue's gaze swept across them, then suddenly stopped.

Not far from the raised platform where the examiners sat, several people were standing. Chen Yue recognized two of them: Yu Kan and Ma Jun of Iron Mountain Hall.

The two men wore neat, dark gray martial uniforms today, their expressions solemn. They stood respectfully behind a middle-aged man of about forty, whose bearing was calm and steady.

The middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze serenely sweeping over the candidates. He had an air of distinction about him.

As if sensing someone's gaze, Yu Kan seemed to notice something and looked toward Chen Yue. When his eyes met Chen Yue's, a flicker of astonishment appeared on his face.

That pearl diver? He actually came!

Noticing his senior brother's odd behavior, Ma Jun followed his gaze and spotted Chen Yue at once.

Ma Jun froze, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily. His eyes brimmed with disbelief.

"Number Three, Class A, Wang Tiezhu!"

"Number Seven, Class B, Liu Yong!"

The Official of Records held the roster and stood in the middle of the grounds, calling the names one by one in a booming voice. The candidates whose names were called stepped forward and took their assigned places.

Three pairs of stone locks had been set out there, each pair heavier than the last, corresponding to pass, good, and excellent. The basic requirement was to lift the pass-grade stone lock a foot off the ground and perform a simple offering-seal gesture.

The candidate had to raise the stone lock to chest height, pause briefly to demonstrate control, and only then would he pass.

The candidates took their turns. Some sank their qi to their dantian, exhaled with a shout, and lifted the weight easily, their expressions unchanged. Others strained until their faces turned red and veins bulged. They managed to lift the stone lock, but their arms trembled and their offering-seal gestures grew crooked.

A few even lost their grip after lifting the weight, letting the stone lock crash to the ground. A chorus of jeers and sighs followed. It meant they were eliminated on the spot.

Chen Yue stood among the crowd, calmly observing every candidate's movements and method of exerting force.

He had never specifically practiced lifting stone locks, but the qi and blood of the Skin Refining Realm, along with the Mountain-Climbing Art's precise control over strength, gave him a clear understanding of his own limits.

He already knew what he could do.

"Number Eleven, Class D, Zhou Qi!"

At the call of this name, Chen Yue's gaze tightened almost imperceptibly. The crowd parted, and a young man with a gloomy expression stepped out.

Zhou Qi went straight to the heavier, good-grade stone lock. He sank into a horse stance, hooked his hands into the hollows on either side, and gave a low shout. He drove the force through his waist and back, lifting the stone lock with considerable steadiness. He raised it a foot off the ground and completed the offering-seal gesture.

A faint sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead. He clearly still had strength to spare.

After setting down the stone lock, Zhou Qi's gaze seemed to sweep casually over the candidates, then settled on where Chen Yue stood.

The look was like a serpent's tongue: cold and sinister, openly scrutinizing and hostile. It lingered on Chen Yue's face for an instant before slowly shifting away.

Suspicion and murderous intent surged through Zhou Qi's heart.

His older brother had died inexplicably in Pearl Village, leaving behind an unsolved, headless case. At first, Zhou Qi had frantically tried to find the killer, but days of searching had yielded nothing. On top of that, the Sea Shark Gang clearly had no desire to stir up a major commotion over a dead man.

With nowhere to vent his hatred, he had taken it out by sealing off Pearl Village and making life difficult for the Pearl Households. In truth, he had already begun to lose heart.

Yet today, at the Martial Examination in the county exam grounds, he had actually spotted a young pearl diver from Pearl Village!

A lowly commoner who should have been feeling for pearls in the sea and scraping by in the village had appeared here, competing alongside all these martial artists!

"A pearl diver—where would he get the money and time to learn martial arts? And what gave him the nerve to enter the Martial Examination?"

The thought coiled around Zhou Qi's heart like a poisonous vine. He immediately linked his brother's death to Chen Yue's appearance.

Anything out of the ordinary was suspect!

A pearl diver who had suddenly gained martial strength and started behaving outside the norm was undoubtedly the prime suspect! Even without evidence, Zhou Qi was already convinced his brother's death had to be connected to this kid!

Zhou Qi returned to the crowd, but his eyes remained locked on Chen Yue.

"Number Five, Class E, Chen Yue!"

Chen Yue remained calm as Zhou Qi's gaze prickled at his back. He walked steadily out of the crowd and into the grounds.

He didn't choose the heaviest stone lock. Instead, he went straight to the good-grade pair. As everyone's eyes fixed on him, Chen Yue lowered his hips slightly and gripped the cold, rough stone handles. He didn't shout or force out a breath. His waist and hips simply drove the movement, and the muscles in his arms tensed in an instant.

The stone lock rose at his touch, lifting more than a foot off the ground, steady as a boulder.

Then Chen Yue smoothly raised his arms, easily bringing the stone lock to his chest. He performed a textbook offering-seal gesture and held it for three breaths before slowly lowering it.

His movements were fluid and natural, his breathing steady.

"Passed!" The Official of Records glanced at him and marked the roster.

In the distance, Yu Kan and Ma Jun had been watching closely and saw everything. The two exchanged a quick glance, both of them clearly astonished.

"That kid... has really managed to train himself up a bit?" Ma Jun muttered under his breath.

Yu Kan's eyes flickered. "He's got strength, sure, but the Martial Examination isn't just about strength. The arena matches are where the truth comes out. Let's see how far he gets."

Even so, Yu Kan's contempt for Chen Yue had quietly faded a little, replaced by a trace of curiosity and scrutiny.

Seeing Chen Yue pass with ease, Zhou Qi's face darkened further. His fist clenched quietly at his side.

"He was hiding his strength all along!"

Zhou Qi ground his teeth. How could a pearl diver, who should have been sallow and scrawny from the hard work of pearl diving, have such strength?

Chen Yue returned to his place, seemingly oblivious to Zhou Qi's gaze, which could almost have pierced him through. Soon, all the candidates had finished their tests. More than ten had failed and could only withdraw to the sidelines in dejection, becoming spectators.

The county commandant stepped onto the raised platform and announced the rules in a clear, ringing voice. "The strength test of the first round is complete. Those who passed will move on to the second round: combat trials! The combat trials will take place in the arena, with separate matches for unarmed combat and weapons.

"The rules are as follows: anyone who falls off the arena loses; anyone who voluntarily admits defeat loses; anyone who remains down for ten breaths loses. The matches must stop short of serious injury. Anyone who deliberately takes another's life will be disqualified and handed over to the authorities for investigation! Is that clear?"

"Clear!" came the uneven response from the grounds.

"Good! The first unarmed match begins now! Number One, Class A, against Number Two, Class B. Take the arena!"

The two candidates whose numbers had been called leaped into the arena. After saluting one another, they immediately clashed. Fists and feet flew, shouts rang out without pause. Their techniques seemed rather crude to Chen Yue, but their strikes were forceful, and dust billowed as they fought.

Cheers and gasps rose from the spectators at the edge of the grounds.

Chen Yue watched the two fighters onstage with complete concentration, analyzing their flaws in how they exerted force and their fighting habits, gathering experience for his own match later.

Suddenly, Chen Yue felt someone deliberately step up beside him.