County Examination

Around the county office training grounds, aside from the yamen runners maintaining order, stood many well-dressed figures who looked like city merchants or martial arts school members. Chen Yue's gaze swept across them and suddenly stopped at one spot.

Not far from the examiner's elevated platform stood several people. Two of them, Chen Yue recognized—Yu Kan and Ma Jun from Iron Mountain Hall.

Today, they wore neat, dark-gray form-fitting clothes, their expressions solemn, standing respectfully behind a middle-aged man of about forty with a composed bearing.

That middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calmly sweeping over the examinees in the field, exuding an extraordinary presence.

As if sensing the stare, Yu Kan seemed to notice something and looked toward Chen Yue's direction. When his eyes met Chen Yue's, Yu Kan's face involuntarily showed a flash of astonishment.

That Pearl Dweller? He actually came!

Ma Jun sensed his senior brother's oddity, followed his gaze, and immediately spotted Chen Yue.

Ma Jun froze for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily, his eyes filled with absurdity.

"Group A, Number Three, Wang Tiezhu!"

"Group B, Number Seven, Liu Yong!"

The Official of Records held a roster, standing in the center of the field, calling names in a loud, clear voice. The examinees whose names were called stepped forward to their designated spots.

There, three pairs of stone locks were arranged, increasing in weight, corresponding to the grades of Pass, Good, and Excellent. The basic requirement was to lift the Pass-level stone lock one foot off the ground and complete a simple "seal-presenting" motion.

That is, lifting the stone lock to chest height, pausing briefly to demonstrate control, before it counted as passing.

Examinees went up one after another. Some gathered their breath, exhaled with a shout, and lifted it easily, their faces unchanged. Others strained until their faces were red, veins bulging, barely lifting it with trembling arms, their seal-presenting motion distorted.

A few even failed to hold it after lifting, the stone lock slipping from their hands and crashing to the ground, drawing a wave of jeers and sighs—this meant they were directly eliminated.

Standing among the crowd, Chen Yue observed each examinee's movements and force application with a calm gaze.

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

Looking at those stone locks, he already had a measure of them in his mind.

"Group D, Number Eleven, Zhou Qi!"

When this name was called, Chen Yue's gaze sharpened almost imperceptibly. The crowd parted, and a young man with a gloomy expression stepped out.

Zhou Qi walked straight toward the heavier Good-level stone lock. He squatted into a horse stance, hooked his hands into the grooves on both sides of the lock, let out a low shout, and drove with his waist and back, lifting the lock quite steadily, completing the one-foot lift and seal-presenting motion.

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

Setting down the stone lock, Zhou Qi's gaze swept over the examinee crowd as if by chance, finally fixing on Chen Yue's position.

That look was like a viper's tongue—cold, sinister, carrying undisguised scrutiny and hostility. It lingered on Chen Yue's face for a moment before slowly shifting away.

Within Zhou Qi's heart, shock and murderous intent were churning.

His elder brother had died inexplicably in Pearl Village, becoming an unsolved case. At first, he had frantically sought the killer, but after days of searching yielded nothing, and with the Sea Shark Gang clearly unwilling to stir up more trouble over a dead man, his hatred had nowhere to go. He could only vent by sealing off Pearl Village and harassing the Pearl Households, though inwardly he had grown somewhat disheartened.

Yet today, at this Martial Examination County Examination venue, he actually saw a Pearl Dweller brat from Pearl Village!

A lowlife who should be diving for pearls in the sea and scraping by in the village had actually shown up here, to compete alongside martial arts practitioners!

"Where did a Pearl Dweller get the money and time to learn martial arts? And where did he get the guts to sign up for the Martial Examination?"

This thought wrapped around Zhou Qi's heart like a poisonous vine. He immediately connected his brother's death to Chen Yue's appearance.

Abnormality means treachery!

A Pearl Dweller who suddenly possessed martial ability and acted out of the ordinary was undoubtedly the prime suspect! Even without evidence, Zhou Qi had already decided in his heart that his brother's death must be tied to this kid!

Zhou Qi walked back into the crowd, but his eyes locked onto Chen Yue like a vise.

"Group E, Number Five, Chen Yue!"

Chen Yue's face was calm. Under Zhou Qi's piercing stare, he steadily walked out of the crowd and into the field.

He did not choose the heaviest stone lock, heading straight for the pair of Good-level ones. Under the focus of everyone's eyes, Chen Yue slightly sank his waist, gripped the cold, rough stone handles, and without a shout, simply let his waist and hips drive naturally, the muscles in his arms tensing instantly.

The stone lock rose with his motion, clearing the ground by over a foot, steady as a rock.

Then, Chen Yue smoothly lifted it with both arms, raising the lock to his chest with ease, performed a standard seal-presenting pose, paused for three breaths, and slowly set it down.

The movements were fluid and natural, his breathing steady.

"Pass!" The Official of Records glanced over and made a mark on the roster.

In the distance, Yu Kan and Ma Jun, who had been keeping an eye on things, took in the entire scene. The two exchanged a quick glance, both seeing clear surprise in each other's eyes.

"This kid... he's actually trained something?" Ma Jun couldn't help muttering under his breath.

Yu Kan's gaze flickered, and he said quietly, "His strength isn't bad, but the Martial Examination tests more than just strength. The arena later is where the real test lies. Let's see how far he can go."

Even so, the contempt Yu Kan had held for Chen Yue had quietly faded a few degrees, replaced by a hint of curiosity and scrutiny.

Watching Chen Yue pass with ease, Zhou Qi's face darkened even further, his fist clenching at his side.

"Hiding it deep!"

Zhou Qi gritted his teeth inwardly. A Pearl Dweller who should have been sallow and exhausted from pearl diving actually had this kind of strength?

Chen Yue returned to his spot, seemingly oblivious to Zhou Qi's gaze that nearly pierced through him. Soon, all the examinees finished their tests. About a dozen or so failed and could only retreat to the sidelines, becoming spectators.

The county constable ascended the high platform and announced the rules in a clear voice: "The first trial, testing strength, is now concluded. Those who passed shall proceed to the second trial, testing skill! This trial takes place on the dueling platform and is divided into two matches: unarmed combat and armed combat."

"The rules are as follows: Falling off the platform results in defeat, voluntarily conceding defeat results in defeat, remaining on the ground for ten breaths without rising results in defeat. Matches are to be conducted with restraint; deliberately causing fatal injury is strictly forbidden. Violators will be disqualified and handed over to the authorities for punishment! Is that understood?"

"Understood!" A scattered chorus of responses rose from the arena.

"Good! Now begins the first match of unarmed combat! Number A-1 versus Number B-2, step forward!"

The two examinees called out leaped onto the platform. After exchanging fist-and-palm salutes, they immediately engaged in battle. Fists flew and feet struck, shouts rang out continuously. Although their techniques appeared quite crude in Chen Yue's eyes, their strikes were full of force, kicking up clouds of dust.

The spectators at the edge of the arena erupted in waves of cheers and gasps.

Chen Yue focused intently on observing the duel between the two on the platform, analyzing their methods of exerting force, their weaknesses, and their habits, accumulating experience for his own upcoming fight.

Suddenly, Chen Yue sensed a figure deliberately standing beside him.