A misunderstanding

"Cousin Wei Yuan." Xue Xiangling paused slightly at the sight of him, then dipped in a curtsy by way of greeting. Her lovely eyes immediately flicked toward Zhao Feng, and her delicate brows drew together.

"What a coincidence, Cousin Xiangling. Let me introduce you..."

A mischievous smile played at the corners of Wei Yuan's mouth. This was the perfect opportunity to tell Cousin Xiangling that Zhao Feng had succeeded in his Gate Breakthrough and see how she reacted.

"Cousin, I have urgent business to attend to. Forgive me for not keeping you company. Goodbye." Xue Xiangling interrupted him, then left with her maid.

"That girl... where are her manners?" Wei Yuan was left tongue-tied and cast an embarrassed glance at Zhao Feng. He had kept praising Xue Xiangling as well-read and well-mannered, only for her to behave so rudely today.

"Junior Brother Zhao, don't take it to heart."

"If that girl knew you'd reached Hidden Force, she'd definitely regret it," Wei Yuan said.

"Don't worry about it, Senior Brother. Come on, let's have a drink."

Zhao Feng had not expected to run into the prospective marriage partner who had refused to meet him here. He had felt rather awkward at first, but her sweeping departure actually put him at ease.

Xue Xiangling and her maid went outside and boarded their carriage.

"Miss, that man beside your cousin just now seemed to be Zhao Feng," the maid said.

"I know." Xue Xiangling's expression remained calm.

"Did your cousin bring him here specifically to see you? It seems he still hasn't given up," the maid said.

Xue Xiangling looked displeased. Although Zhao Feng's looks were passable, his circumstances were still far beneath hers. She had already refused, so why was he still pestering her? She wondered whether this had been her cousin's idea or Zhao Feng's own.

Wei Yuan and Zhao Feng found seats by a window and sat down.

Wei Yuan summoned a waiter and ordered a tableful of dishes.

They included two Treasure Fish, braised tiger meat, and sliced poached bear meat. Those dishes alone cost several dozen taels of silver.

"Try this wine. I keep it stored here at Hongxing Tower." The waiter brought over a pot of wine, and Wei Yuan poured Zhao Feng a cup.

The wine was amber-colored. Its unusual fragrance wafted into his nose, seeming to stir the power of Qi and Blood within him.

"What wine is this?" Zhao Feng asked in surprise.

"It's called Eight Treasures Wine. It's brewed from eight precious medicinal ingredients and helps strengthen your foundations, nourish your vitality, and bolster Qi and Blood. Give it a try."

Zhao Feng took a sip as instructed. The rich wine slid smoothly down his throat, soothing it all the way. Once it reached his stomach, warmth rose within his dantian, and even his Qi and Blood seemed to grow a little stronger.

"Excellent wine!" he exclaimed despite himself.

"This wine isn't often available. There's more of it supplied in the Prefecture City. I have three pots stored here in total. I'll give you one," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

"All right, then it would be rude of me to refuse." Zhao Feng accepted readily, without standing on ceremony.

"They say there's another wine brewed from Exotic Beast blood and rare medicinal ingredients. Now that is truly a precious wine. It works wonders for strengthening your foundations, nourishing your vitality and mental power, and improving Qi and Blood. Only experts from the sects and lineages in the Prefecture City can get their hands on it," Wei Yuan said.

The two chatted as they ate and drank.

"Junior Brother, let's forget what happened just now. My Cousin Xue simply has no eye for talent. In a couple of days, I'll arrange another match for you with a young lady from a distinguished household," Wei Yuan said, a little tipsy.

"Senior Brother Wei, I'm really in no hurry to meet prospective marriage partners. I'd like to leave all that until after the Martial Examination," Zhao Feng said, putting him off.

"The Martial Examination? Right, that really is important. We all need to start focusing on preparing for it." Wei Yuan nodded. Apart from Eldest Senior Brother Shi Mao, all of Huo Shan's disciples would be taking the Martial Examination for the first time. The reputations of their Martial Arts School and their master, Huo Shan, were at stake, so all of his core disciples had to strive to make the list.

Of course, they were doing it even more for themselves. As children of the Five Great Families, they faced equally fierce competition within their respective lineages. Wei Yuan, for instance, belonged to a branch of the Wei Family that received little attention. Wang Yu and Zhou Xue were in much the same position. Otherwise, they would not have chosen to study at the Huo Family Martial Arts School instead of one of the other popular, leading Martial Arts Schools. The Martial Examination was their best opportunity to win some pride and make their lineages see them in a new light. Once they made the list, their lineages would take them seriously and direct more resources toward them.

Even if they failed to pass, they still needed to achieve good results, if only to make themselves noticed.

"By the way, Senior Brother Wei, how much do you know about the Martial Examination?"

"A little, naturally. First comes the County Trial, which you take in your own county. Those who pass become Martial Scholars. Then comes the Prefecture Trial, which you take in the Prefecture City. Those who pass become Martial Provincial Graduates. After that comes the Metropolitan Trial, which requires going to the Capital City. Those who pass become Martial Metropolitan Graduates," Wei Yuan said.

"Our dynasty places great importance on martial prowess. Once you become a Martial Scholar, you have semi-official status. Your entire household is exempt from all land tax and corvée labor, and you don't have to bow when meeting officials. If you become a Martial Provincial Graduate, you have full official status. Not only is your entire household exempt from all land tax and corvée labor, but you also receive a tax exemption quota of three hundred mu of farmland under your name. You can let others register their land under your name and simply collect rent. You also receive a fixed official salary from the Imperial Court. The privileges go on and on."

Listening to Wei Yuan, Zhao Feng considered his reasons for taking the Martial Examination. First, he wanted to ease his family's burdens. Second, it would make traveling the martial world easier, as well as searching for his elder brother.

From the sound of it, becoming a Martial Scholar would actually be enough to meet his needs.

"Senior Brother Wei, what subjects does the Martial Examination test, exactly?" Zhao Feng asked.

"The County Trial tests two subjects. The first is Archery and Horsemanship, meaning mounted archery and archery on foot. The second is arena combat. Your scores in both are combined for an overall assessment," Wei Yuan said.

Mounted archery and archery on foot-Zhao Feng's interest stirred. His archery had already reached major mastery, so he was confident he could score highly in those two events. That would give him a firmer footing in the second event, the Arena Trial.

As they ate and chatted, Zhao Feng suddenly heard a commotion downstairs, mingled with angry shouting.

"Zhao Sheng, you've already been kicked out of the Zheng Clan Martial Hall! How dare you still wear our hall's training uniform to swagger around deceiving people?"

"We told you to hand back the training uniform, and you actually sneaked away?"

Several disciples of the Zheng Clan Martial Hall surrounded Zhao Sheng, shouting menacingly.

"Senior Brother Yu, for the sake of our old friendship, please let me keep this training uniform as a memento." Zhao Sheng looked nothing like the man who had ignored Zhao Feng and his father more than half a year ago. Now, dirty and bedraggled, he pleaded with them.

"Zhao Sheng, you're no longer a member of the hall. Isn't it inappropriate to keep calling me Senior Brother? It's only for the sake of our old friendship that I haven't laid a hand on you. Hand over the training uniform, and spare us any unpleasantness," Senior Brother Yu said impatiently.

"Senior and junior brothers, I treated you to meals more than once. Why must you press me so hard? Just let me take the training uniform with me," Zhao Sheng begged.

"Get lost!" Senior Brother Yu lost patience and kicked him to the ground.

"You were the one falling over yourself to treat us to meals! What does that have to do with us? You're not even a member of the hall anymore, yet you stole a training uniform. Planning to swagger around deceiving people? You deserve a beating!"

Several disciples of the Zheng Clan Martial Hall rained punches and kicks on Zhao Sheng as he lay on the ground, beating him until he howled incessantly.

Zhao Feng watched coldly from the second-floor window for a moment, then looked away.

"What, do you know him?" Wei Yuan was long accustomed to such things and asked casually.

"No."