That the Martial Dao flourished through the sword was already accepted common knowledge.
It was hard to trace when this had begun. Seemingly from the very start, it had left all other weapons in the dust and reigned over the Martial Dao.
Nor was it clear whether a few geniuses had first advanced the Sword Dao to unprecedented heights, attracting people to study the sword, or whether countless people of uneven ability had studied it, piling up achievements far beyond those of fists, palms, sabers, and spears.
Or perhaps the two had always complemented each other.
In any case, among the world's cultivators today, if one had to choose the strongest, that person would certainly practice Sword Use; if one had to choose the weakest, that person would most likely practice Sword Use too. When children chose a weapon at the beginning of their martial education, probably nine out of ten would choose the sword, while the remaining one would be forced by their parents to switch to it—obviously, the resources and prospects were right there.
Returning to the matter at hand, the Prefectural Office had actually predicted the "winners" first, then tailored these last two prizes to those few people.
Of the three sects, two used longswords and one used short blades, while of the two counties, Zheng Shou also practiced Sword Use. Xu Gu favored sabers, and at last year's Winter Competition, the Prefectural Office had specifically offered the champion a choice between saber and sword prizes. But this year, Zhang Junxue's information had long since been laid on their desks, and she was almost certain not to reach the top two.
There was nothing wrong with that assessment. Chang Yue and Zhang Junxue were fairly solid top-eight contenders, with a twenty-to-forty-percent chance of reaching the top four,