Martial Examination Begins

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

That morning, at dawn.

The sky stretched clear for miles without a cloud.

Mo Chen had just gotten up when he heard the deep, melodious ringing of a bronze bell drifting from Cloud Mist Mountain in the distance.

He stepped out of his room, leaped onto the roof, and looked toward the source of the bell. Excitement immediately lit up his eyes.

"The martial examination has finally arrived!"

As the tremendous bell pealed throughout the Prefectural City and beyond.

Countless disciples taking the martial examination emerged from their rooms and converged beneath Cloud Mist Mountain from every direction.

From afar, they looked like a black dragon winding its way up the mountain.

"Young Master Mo!"

Shopkeeper Liu and the attendants of Tantai Jewelry also came out of their rooms.

Seeing Mo Chen standing atop the roof, they all looked up with smiles and cupped their hands in congratulation.

"Young Master Mo! May you pass the martial examination and leap over the dragon gate!"

"May Young Master Mo pass the martial examination!"

Mo Chen smiled faintly and cupped his hands. "Thank you all for looking after me these past two weeks. Mo will certainly not disappoint you!"

"Farewell!"

With that, he jumped directly from the roof and headed for Cloud Mist Mountain.

The Martial Suppression Academy held its martial examination once every three years.

Within the Martial Suppression Office, the Martial Suppression Academy was heaven itself, capable of deciding everyone's life and fate.

Over the past three hundred years, who knew how many talented youths had entered the Martial Suppression Academy?

From then on, they achieved fame and success, shining brilliantly wherever they went.

"Hu Shiqi, do you think you have a chance at becoming a true disciple?"

The road to Cloud Mist Mountain was packed with martial artists.

Situ Xin took a deep breath, feeling somewhat nervous.

Hu Shiqi was carefree by nature. He shook his head and said, "A true disciple? I've never even considered it! My only goal is the inner sect. I'll be satisfied as long as I pass into the inner sect!"

Situ Xin cursed under his breath. "You fool, how can the inner sect compare to becoming a true disciple?"

Passing into the inner sect only allowed one to learn mid-grade martial arts. To obtain high-grade martial arts, one had to earn enough merit to exchange for them.

True disciples, however, could select high-grade martial arts the moment they entered.

Moreover, the treatment the two received within the academy was worlds apart.

Anyone with half a brain knew just how vast that gap was.

"I know the gap is huge, but what good does that do?"

Hu Shiqi snorted. "With Ruan Tianjing's heaven-grade bone talent, those elders probably won't even spare us a glance."

Situ Xin said, "Other than the Council of Elders, there's also the Prefectural Lord. The Prefectural Lord has one vacant true disciple slot under him. If one of us catches his eye, we might be directly accepted as a true disciple!"

Hu Shiqi shot him a sidelong glance. "Keep dreaming!"

"You bastard..."

Situ Xin was so angry he nearly went mad, feeling utterly powerless, like a scholar trying to reason with a soldier.

Elsewhere.

Ruan Tianjing was fully prepared, with an excited crowd following behind him.

"Young Master Ruan, we've prepared a feast and will await your triumphant return!"

"In this martial examination, Young Master Ruan will surely become a true disciple!"

Ruan Tianjing laughed heartily and cupped his hands. "Everyone! Await my good news!"

The crowd cried out in unison, "We see Young Master Ruan off!"

Xu Ye and the martial arts school disciples had been having a rather miserable few days.

Because they had failed to rent suitable lodgings, they had spent all their travel money after staying at an inn for only five days. They could only camp in the wilderness outside the city.

Now, upon hearing the bell.

The martial arts school disciples all rose excitedly. Their faces were grimy, but they howled with lofty ambition.

"The martial examination has begun! It's finally begun!"

"Haha, today is the day I, Li Xun, finally hold my head high!"

"Come on, come on! We can't be late!"

"Let's go!"

At that moment, Xu Ye unhurriedly stood up, plucked a blade of grass from his sleeve and tossed it to the ground, then frowned and coughed twice.

Only after the martial arts school disciples turned to look at him did he force himself to speak calmly.

"What are you all panicking for?! It's only a martial examination. You haven't even entered the mountain gate yet, and you're already howling like maniacs. What will the Prefectural Lord and academy elders think if they see you?"

The martial arts school disciples froze briefly, then found his words deeply reasonable.

"Senior Brother Xu Ye is right!"

"Yeah! We were too excited. We weren't being composed!"

"Stay calm. We need to leave a good impression on the Prefectural Lord and the elders!"

Thus, they all wiped the smiles from their faces, put on stern expressions, formed a line, and headed toward Cloud Mist Mountain.

Along the way.

Seeing the dozen or so people wearing grave, solemn expressions and refusing to smile, many disciples thought they had encountered outer sect disciples returning from a mission.

When a young man saw Xu Ye leading the group toward him, he hurriedly bowed and cupped his hands nervously. "Greetings, senior brothers!"

Xu Ye was slightly taken aback. Just as he wondered whether this young man knew him, he suddenly noticed that all the disciples traveling on the road were looking their way.

His heart tightened. Keeping a straight face, he nodded slightly. "Mm."

Then he led the group onward.

The others nearby saw Xu Ye acknowledge the greeting, and their expressions immediately changed.

Holy shit! Could they really be academy outer sect senior brothers returning from a mission?

Many people quickly moved aside and respectfully lowered their heads in salute. "Greetings, senior brothers!"

Where there was one person saluting, there would be a second.

Where there were two, they became four.

Where there were four, they spread to eight.

In the blink of an eye, disciples in great swathes had stepped aside from the mountain path and respectfully shouted in unison, "Greetings, senior brothers!"

Xu Ye and the martial arts school disciples were dumbfounded.

They looked at one another, their eyes filled with confusion.

"What's going on?"

"What exactly happened?"

"Why are they all greeting us?"

Xu Ye was the first to react. He suddenly coughed twice and forced himself to shout to those behind him.

"Junior brothers, do you see? This is our spirit! Everyone has been subdued by our bearing. We must keep it up!"

"Yes!!!" the martial arts school disciples answered in unison, their faces growing even more solemn as they followed Xu Ye up the mountain.

And so, all along the way, every disciple bowed in salute and cried out for the senior brothers!

When the group reached a spot not far behind Mo Chen, he turned at the sound and froze on the spot.

"Holy shit?! When did they become so impressive?"

Xu Ye was walking at the front, and Mo Chen recognized him at once.

The other disciples were familiar faces as well. Although they had not gotten along particularly well, they had traveled together for nearly half a month, so Mo Chen still remembered what they looked like.

Just then.

Xu Ye lifted his head with a stern expression, and in an instant, his eyes met Mo Chen's.

"Greetings, senior brothers!"

With a smile, Mo Chen copied the others and cupped his hands toward Xu Ye and his group in a meaningful salute.

The moment Xu Ye and the others saw Mo Chen, they jumped in fright and completely panicked.

"Mo... Mo Chen..."

At this point, no matter how slow they were, they knew they had gotten themselves into trouble.

If Mo Chen exposed their true identities now, they would probably be beaten senseless on the spot.

"Senior Brother Xu, please."

Mo Chen took a step back and cleared the mountain path.

Flustered, Xu Ye hurriedly extended a hand. "Junior Brother Mo, no, no, Senior Brother Mo, please go first! Senior Brother Mo, you go first!"

Mo Chen smiled faintly and patted Xu Ye on the shoulder. "That works too. We can be considered half-fellow townsmen, so let's walk together."

The mountain path was crammed with people and difficult to traverse. With Xu Ye and his group clearing the way, it would be easier.

As he spoke, he moved behind Xu Ye. "Senior Brother Xu, lead the way."

Xu Ye looked miserable as he quietly begged, "Mo Chen, stop making things difficult for me. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place now..."

Mo Chen chuckled and threatened, "If you don't move, I'll immediately expose your true identities! Then..."

"Don't! Absolutely don't!" Xu Ye hurriedly waved his hands. The examination was about to begin, and he did not want to delay it by getting injured.

"Then lead the way properly!" Mo Chen smiled mischievously, making Xu Ye's skin crawl.

Xu Ye gave a bitter smile and could only nod. He put on a stern face again and solemnly led the way.

"Greetings, senior brothers!"

Respectful cries of salute rang out once more.

Before long, led by Xu Ye and the others, Mo Chen arrived before the mountain gate of the Martial Suppression Academy.

"Wow! Are those the Martial Suppression Academy's disciples?"

"They're so imposing!"

The plaza was a sea of people, and the clamor shook the heavens.

Countless disciples here for the examination stared excitedly at the inner and outer sect disciples maintaining order ahead of them, discussing them with excitement.

Mo Chen followed their gazes.

He saw young disciples dressed in gray, sabers hanging from their waists, their expressions stern and their formations neat and uniform as they stood before all the disciples taking the martial examination.

At the edge of the raised platform stood disciples dressed in black, holding sabers as they kept watch, their eyes filled with killing intent.

"At the Martial Suppression Academy, outer sect disciples wear gray, inner sect disciples wear black, and true disciples wear... whatever they want."

Seeing Mo Chen studying the disciplined Martial Suppression Academy disciples, Xu Ye sidled over with an awkward grin and explained.

Mo Chen glanced at him, then nodded with an amused smile.

Xu Ye continued, "See that man in the very center of the platform? That's the Prefectural Lord of our Martial Suppression Office, Qin Cangying, and also the current head of the Martial Suppression Academy."

"To his left is First Elder Liu Hengshan. The bearded man on his right is Second Elder Sun Shihai. Oh, right, the seated woman in front of Senior Sister is called Qian Moran. She's the only female elder, and I heard she's also the second-strongest expert, surpassed only by the Prefectural Lord!"

This time, Mo Chen was surprised. He looked at Xu Ye as though seeing him for the first time.

"How do you know so much about the Martial Suppression Academy?"

This fellow had come to the Prefectural City with him, yet Mo Chen himself had not even figured out the Martial Suppression Academy's basic information.

But Xu Ye could recite the names of so many academy elders as though they were family.

Mo Chen truly found it unbelievable.

"I only have this one hobby: gathering information."

Xu Ye chuckled. "My talent for martial arts is average. I only came to take the martial examination this time to try my luck and broaden my horizons. It would be great if I could enter the Martial Suppression Academy, but it doesn't matter if I fail."

Mo Chen nodded. "I see..."

He had underestimated Xu Ye before. It turned out that aside from putting on airs, the man was quite skilled at gathering information.