034 Didn't See Wrong, Did I

"He's out! Look, Zhang He is out!"

"In such a short time, he probably only made it to the third puppet. It's no surprise, really; his cultivation level has always been stuck right before the Skin Tempering Realm."

"Look at him, he doesn't have a single scratch. It seems he realized things were going south and gave up on his own."

"What a coward. As expected, the way he injured Zhao Feng at the Martial Child Academy must have been through some underhanded trickery."

A group of martial children caught sight of Zhang He, and a massive stir rippled through the crowd as they began pointing and whispering at him. Zhang He had spent less than half a cup of tea's time from entering to exiting. With such a short duration, and not even a bruise on his face, how could it not set people's imaginations running wild?

"Hmph, he came out so quickly, he definitely didn't get past many puppets!" Zhao Feng sneered as he watched Zhang He emerge. He took a deep breath; he had been practicing combat against the experts in his own household, so his methods for dealing with enemies were certainly superior to those of ordinary martial children.

When it's my turn to be assessed, I'll definitely give you all a shock!

"Damn, Zhang He is too domineering, right? He cleared the whole thing and came out in such a short time?" Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui were stunned when they saw Zhang He emerge. They had immense confidence in Zhang He's strength. If he could come out, he must have cleared the entire course!

"Cleared the course, and from start to finish, the time was so short! An ordinary martial child would probably only have reached the second or third puppet in that amount of time, right?" Lian Yunbi's beautiful eyes were filled with astonishment. Although she hadn't seen exactly what Zhang He's strength was like now, the fact that he had been able to enter the mountains and return unscathed back then already spoke volumes.

Zhang He walked over.

"How was it?" Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui immediately crowded around him. Lian Yunbi also approached, looking at Zhang He.

"It wasn't difficult. Once you go in, just use the moves I taught you; it'll be a breeze," Zhang He said.

"They say clearing the course isn't easy. Yet you came out unscathed in such a short time. Phew, that puts a lot of pressure on me." Lian Yunbi laughed. Seeing Zhang He's relaxed demeanor, she felt inexplicably at ease. "By the way, what kind of moves do you usually teach them?"

"Just some little tricks," Zhang He said with a shy smile.

At this moment, the examiner began calling for Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui. They had registered together, and their assessment slots were adjacent. As Zhang He finished, the martial children in the other two assessment channels also happened to emerge.

Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui immediately stepped forward.

"Those two losers were kicked out of the Martial Child Academy along with Zhang He. To think they actually have the nerve to come and participate in the Martial Child Assessment now. It seems they're truly incorrigible, hoping to make a fool of themselves. What a pity, they won't even get the chance."

"Haha, let's just watch the show. Consider it a bit of entertainment to relieve the tension of the assessment."

A group of martial children, especially those from wealthy families, couldn't help but giggle when they saw Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui enter.

Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui had long since received Zhang He's instructions, so they treated the mocking words of those people like a passing breeze.

"Dachui, your old man is here too, look," Fatty Tang suddenly said to Wang Dachui. As soon as he finished, his expression shifted slightly. "Seriously, didn't we tell them not to come? Why are they still here? They don't need to run the shop?" Fatty Tang saw his own parents in the crowd, waving at him. Long before the assessment, they had told their families that the Martial Child Assessment would proceed as usual and they didn't need to come to the square—they just needed to stay home and wait for the good news. Even though he had said that, Fatty Tang still felt a warmth in his heart. He waved back at his parents.

Wang Dachui looked at his elderly father; his hair was gray, and his dark, weathered face was etched with deep furrows. When Wang Dachui's father saw his son, he waved his hands vigorously. Wang Dachui felt a lump in his throat, and he waved back fiercely. "Dad, I definitely won't let you down!"

Urgent calls came from behind, and Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui turned resolutely and entered the assessment channels.

Inside the channels, the results of Zhang He's training finally manifested. Their speed in defeating the first three puppets rivaled that of Zhang He. This scene naturally caught the eyes of Prince Qu and the others, who had been observing the situation in the channels from the main hall.

"Two more! Their attack methods are almost identical to that Zhang He from earlier. Could it be that two more talents are about to emerge?" Prince Qu couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart, staring excitedly at the mirror, watching every move these two made in the channel. The Mengyin City Lord felt his heart swell with joy upon hearing Prince Qu's praise. He also watched the two in the mirror, only to be stunned to find that he didn't recognize them either. However, this time he was prepared; seeing that he didn't know them, he immediately checked their files from the side.

"Tang Risong, commoner martial child, father is a tailor, mother is a cook."

"Wang Dachui, commoner martial child, father is a blacksmith, mother died in his childhood."

Seeing their files, the Mengyin City Lord's expression turned somewhat strange. What was going on? Why were all the people bringing honor today commoner martial children?

"Eh?" Prince Qu suddenly let out a startled sound. He looked at the image in the mirror, his expression suddenly turning grave.

The Mengyin City Lord was taken aback by Prince Qu's reaction and hurriedly leaned in. What could have happened to make Prince Qu, the Chief Examiner, react this way? His gaze fell upon the mirror, and the sight of Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui's fighting style immediately made the City Lord's expression turn awkward.

These two brats, why are their moves so sleazy and low-down!

In the mirror, Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui were having a grand time using sleazy moves like "Monkey Steals the Peach" and "Needle at the Bottom of the Sea."

"This..." The Mengyin City Lord secretly glanced at Prince Qu's face, calculating how to explain this scene. Such sleazy attack methods were definitely not part of the Martial Child Academy's curriculum!

"Excellent! Talents! True talents!" Prince Qu suddenly slammed the table and shouted in excitement. The Mengyin City Lord didn't react in time, staring blankly at Prince Qu. What has come over Your Highness the Prince?

"The fighting style of these two, while looking sleazy and low-down, is actually concise and effective. They target the most vulnerable parts of the human body, and their methods are incredibly devious, making excellent use of the weaknesses in human joints. Most importantly, these attack methods have power and speed! They don't care for flashiness, only results; they often neutralize an enemy in one strike! These kinds of moves could be fully utilized in the army! If this method were promoted, it could absolutely increase the individual combat capability of soldiers significantly in a short time!" Prince Qu's eyes shone. As a commander of the military, he immediately saw the immense utility in this fighting style.

Prince Qu believed that if the soldiers in the army mastered these techniques, their overall strength would increase dramatically. The military power of the entire Western Chu Kingdom would also see a significant boost.

Upon hearing this, the City Lord's mind immediately became active. These were two more talents! And they were talents under his own jurisdiction! If they caught Prince Qu's eye, it would be of great benefit to both Mengyin City and himself!

"These two are named Tang Risong and Wang Dachui..." The City Lord immediately showed off the little information he had just learned. "Your Highness, I will have them brought in shortly."

Prince Qu nodded repeatedly, praising them endlessly. "Very good, very good. Once the assessment is over, bring them in. These are talents! They are the pillars of the nation! We must entrust them with important responsibilities!" The City Lord was shocked to hear this. Prince Qu was the Privy Councilor of the Western Chu Kingdom, in charge of the entire nation's military; for him to say such things showed just how much he valued those two!

Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui emerged almost at the same time. They had lasted about a cup of tea's time inside, and when they came out, both only had minor scrapes. However, both were brimming with excitement. Under the gaze and mockery of those who didn't know the truth, they excitedly came to Zhang He's side.

"The ninth puppet! We made it to the ninth puppet!" Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui said in unison. For them, such a result was definitely worth celebrating.

"With Force Martial Realm seventh-layer cultivation, making it to the ninth puppet is a very good result," Zhang He said with a smiling nod. Making it to the ninth puppet meant they had already defeated the eighth. Zhang He knew that the Brute Force Realm puppet was not easy to deal with.

"It's all thanks to those moves; they were really useful when dealing with the puppets!" Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui chuckled, and Fatty Tang even mimicked a few moves with a very suggestive expression.

Lian Yunbi had already left; she also had to prepare for her assessment. Zhang He and his friends chatted idly in the corner. Zhang He had originally planned to leave, but Fatty Tang said the rankings would be announced on-site immediately after the assessment ended. Since Zhang He didn't have anything urgent to do, he had no choice but to patiently wait for the results.

Time passed quickly. Lian Yunbi finished her assessment, taking about half a cup of tea's time—a bit longer than Zhang He. Afterward, Wen Liang went in, and he emerged very quickly, taking less than half a cup of tea's time. This made Zhang He's heart tighten. Damn it, if I had known, I should have pushed to clear the course as fast as possible.

Wen Liang's time was about the same as Zhang He's. This made Zhang He worry. His goal was, after all, the first place!

Each year, the number of participants in the Martial Child Assessment rarely exceeded a hundred. It took less than a morning for everyone to finish their trials. Once the assessment concluded, the examiners instructed the candidates not to leave, as they were required to wait for the final rankings to be posted before they could depart.

The expressions of those gathered in the plaza were varied; some were filled with anticipation—these were the Martial Children with decent cultivation—while others wore faces of misery, representing those who had "underperformed." As the crescent moon shines upon the nine provinces, some find joy while others find sorrow. Zhang He's own state of mind was far from calm, for he was currently worried about his ranking relative to Wen Liang.

Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui noticed Zhang He's unease and stood by his side to comfort him.

Clack, clack.

Crisp footsteps echoed, and the gazes of the Martial Children immediately shifted toward the great hall. Two soldiers clad in standard-issue armor and cowhide military boots stepped out from the hall. With heads held high and chests puffed out, they carried a massive scroll, approaching the clean bluestone wall of the plaza to carefully post it up.

Whoosh. The waiting Martial Children had long been impatient; before the scroll was even fully posted, they swarmed toward it in a single mass.

"How is this possible!"

"Am I seeing things?" Exclamations erupted from the crowd before the scroll, as if they had witnessed something utterly beyond belief.