Top Grade

At that moment, Zhao Feng, still on horseback, understood. Mounted archery was different from the moving targets in the Foot Archery recognized by his panel. He had to adjust to the warhorse's jolting gait and find the perfect moment to loose his arrow. That was precisely what made mounted archery difficult. Every impact of the horse's hooves affected his aim. He had to find his balance in a fleeting instant and shoot decisively. All of it depended on feel.

For his second arrow, he did not rush to shoot. He kept his bow drawn and arrow nocked as he urged the horse onward. Just then, the second target suddenly rose ahead on his right. Rather than releasing immediately, he waited a little, seized the brief moment of steadiness as the horse's forehooves struck the ground, and abruptly loosed his arrow. Whoosh! Thunk! The arrow struck the bull's-eye precisely and knocked the wooden target down.

"Excellent!" The watching candidates cheered.

The horse circled back and continued galloping, and the third wooden target appeared. By now, Zhao Feng felt confident. Drawing, nocking, aiming, and shooting flowed together in one seamless motion. His arrow hit the bull's-eye and knocked the target down.

"One more hit and he passes!" Huo Shan and Wei Yuan both stood up, their nerves taut.

Next, Zhao Feng began following the rhythm of the horse's jolting gait, precisely catching each fleeting moment of steadiness. Three arrows in succession struck targets rising in different directions, successfully knocking them all down.

Unlike the other examination areas, this section suddenly fell silent. Every watching candidate looked incredulous.

"Zhao Feng, five hits out of six in mounted archery. Excellent!"

The Examiner announced loudly.

On the command platform, Xu Commandant, who had been watching the proceedings with an expressionless face, finally showed a reaction.

"Five out of six in mounted archery. This is a master archer." He had paid little attention to the earlier Foot Archery, but this mounted archery performance truly surprised him. After all, Zhao Feng was not one of those master archers who trained day and night in the military. Achieving such a result made him see Zhao Feng in a new light.

He motioned for a subordinate to fetch Zhao Feng's records.

Beside him, County Magistrate Cheng's gaze lingered on Zhao Feng for a moment before moving away.

Zhao Feng returned to the Martial Arts School's group. "Well done!" Huo Shan patted his shoulder.

Clearly, his mounted archery had astonished Huo Shan as well. "Unless something unexpected happens, your overall result for the first event should be Top Grade. As long as you don't perform too poorly in the second round and get eliminated early, you have a good chance of making the list!"

Huo Shan felt rather excited. Apart from his eldest disciple, Shi Mao, who had previously entered as an Independent Martial Artist, this was their Martial Arts School's first collective attempt at the Martial Examination. He had pinned all his hopes on Chu Fan, never expecting Zhao Feng to have a chance as well.

He knew Zhao Feng to be hardworking and diligent, with solid fundamentals. Still, Zhao Feng had only just attained hidden force and apparently had little experience in actual combat. Against veteran hidden force experts who had tasted blood, he would likely be at a serious disadvantage. Huo Shan could only hope he would have some luck with the group assignments for the second event.

"Well, you really kept your cards close to your chest!" Wei Yuan laughed heartily, looking even happier than Zhao Feng himself. The better Zhao Feng performed, the better it reflected on his eye for talent.

"Congratulations." Huo Yao approached with a smile. The sight of Zhao Feng drawing his bow on horseback and landing one shot after another had filled her with admiration.

"Have some water." She handed Zhao Feng a waterskin.

Nearby, Chu Fan lowered his head. No one saw how ugly his expression had become, his face flushed purplish-red. Beside Zhao Feng's dazzling mounted archery, his own earlier performance-nearly falling out of the saddle and missing his chance to shoot-made him look like a child.

What irritated him even more was Huo Yao. It had been a long time since she had looked at him with the admiration she had just shown Zhao Feng.

He hated that feeling.

He took a deep breath, slowly calmed himself, and raised his head. Resolve returned to his eyes.

Zhao Feng did not look at him, but he sensed the changes in Chu Fan's expression and mood, and could not help becoming wary. Just then, he felt another gaze on him. Turning to look, he saw a woman in white not far away avert her eyes.

She seemed familiar. Only after a moment did he remember: wasn't she the woman at the Four Seas Trading House who had told him how to use the medicine?

Wang Yu and Zhou Xue watched coldly from the sidelines, feeling a little regretful. If they had sponsored Zhao Feng instead of that ungrateful wolf Chu Fan, might they have been as pleased with themselves as Wei Yuan was now?

But they quickly dismissed the thought. Zhao Feng had limited potential; hidden force was surely his ceiling. He would most likely be eliminated early in the second event's arena matches, so there was little to regret.

In the distance, Xue Xiangling watched it all. Earlier, she had tried to focus on the young experts she was interested in, and, unsurprisingly, none had performed well in mounted archery. She had told herself not to pay attention to Zhao Feng, yet when he took the field, she could not help looking over. She had even breathed a sigh of relief when his first arrow missed, only for all five subsequent arrows to hit.

Without question, his archery ranked among the best even among Martial Masters. That trace of regret began sprouting in her heart again.

"Xiangling, what's wrong with you?" Beside her, Xue Jun noticed his younger sister looking toward Zhao Feng with an unhappy expression. At last, he sensed that something was amiss.

"Do you know this Zhao Feng?"

"Not really. Our cousin Wei Yuan introduced him to me as a prospective match last time, but I didn't go to meet him. Later, he came looking for me." Xue Xiangling gave a brief account.

"So that's it. Wei Yuan really has no eye for people, and he doesn't understand worldly affairs either. No wonder his branch gets treated worse and worse in the Wei Family." Xue Jun shook his head repeatedly, finding fault after fault with this distant older cousin.

"Zhao Feng's root bone is too poor. Even if he broke through to hidden force by luck, he's certainly reached the end of his potential. You and I often visit Prefecture City and the Provincial Capital. We've seen truly outstanding young men with exceptional root bone and family backgrounds. Zhao Feng simply can't compare with them. My younger sister is cultured and courteous, graceful outside and wise within. You're more than worthy of those outstanding young men. Naturally, you can't marry beneath yourself to a mud-legged peasant like him." Xue Jun understood his younger sister's thinking and approved of her choice.

"Even if those matches don't work out, there are several hidden force experts right here in our county whom he can't begin to compare with. My sister is more than worthy of them. Wei Yuan was simply throwing random people together. Besides, Zhao Feng was only at bright strength back then. That was an insult to the Xue Family." Xue Jun spoke with some anger. For his own part, he also wanted his brother-in-law to be a hidden force expert with a powerful family background. Such a man would be a great help to him and even to his lineage. What help could a mud-legged peasant like Zhao Feng offer?

"Let it go. Cousin Wei Yuan is a kindhearted fellow. He means well, so he certainly wasn't trying to insult me." Xue Xiangling sighed. Although her Elder Brother's words spoke exactly to her wishes, Zhao Feng's gallant bearing as he shot from horseback had still stirred a tiny trace of regret in her heart.

"Never mind Wei Yuan. This Zhao Feng actually overestimated himself enough to come pestering you?" Xue Jun frowned.

"He's only just attained hidden force, yet he's indulging in wild fantasies. If I run into him in the second event's arena matches, I'll definitely teach him a lesson."

Xue Xiangling nodded at that. It would be good for her Elder Brother to teach him a lesson, so he would stop pestering her and extinguish that little spark of regret in her heart as well.

After the mounted archery ended, the Examiners busied themselves tallying the overall ratings for the first event.

Most candidates had failed both rounds and received third-class ratings. Although these were divided into upper, middle, and lower third class, there was little real difference.

A small number received second-class ratings, likewise divided into upper, middle, and lower. An upper second-class rating would be very useful.

Only three candidates in the entire field received first-class ratings.

Among the Huo Family Martial Arts School's candidates, Eldest Senior Brother Shi Mao had passed both tests and received middle second class. The others-Wang Yu, Wei Yuan, Zhou Xue, Chu Fan, and several bright strength disciples-all received third-class ratings.

Zhao Feng was one of the field's three first-class candidates, and the only one awarded Top Grade. When the official announced his result, everyone looked over.

Zhao Feng felt rather helpless. He disliked being in the limelight like this, but at such a crucial moment, he dared not hold too much back. It was not his fault that using eighty or ninety percent of his archery ability had earned him Top Grade.