Unprovoked Hostility

In literature, there was no first.

In martial arts, there was no second.

Cheating in the Martial Examination was far more difficult than cheating in the Civil Examination.

The caliber of the candidates taking the assessment required no specialized knowledge to judge. Even an old farmer from the countryside could see it at a glance.

In the blink of an eye,

Two hours had passed, and the first test, Stone Lifting, had ended.

Though no rankings had been announced, Fang Yue silently estimated that his Stone Lifting result placed him thirteenth.

What he had not expected was that the dozens of contestants behind him were clearly at a much lower level. Only three of them had strength exceeding thirteen hundred jin.

Fang Yue stood thirteenth, but among the twelve ahead of him, aside from the person ranked first in Stone Lifting, who possessed sixteen hundred jin of strength,

The other eleven all had roughly fourteen hundred jin of strength.

At this time, the Military Officer overseeing the assessment stepped onto the viewing platform. He first reported to Liu Zheng, the chief official of Xiahe County, then came to the platform's edge and addressed the fifty candidates who had already lined up neatly:

"Everyone, the results are out. Those who have passed, please do not go far. After resting for one incense stick, the next round will begin."

As his words fell, Fang Yue and the others each found a place to rest.

There were naturally groups of two or three who seemed quite familiar with one another, chatting quietly together.

But most people kept a certain distance from the others. The results had not yet been finalized, and some among these fifty would still be eliminated.

They were all competitors. It was better to keep their distance for now.

"Brother Fang, your strength truly is extraordinary. This Martial Scholar assessment must surely be yours for the taking."

Recognizing the familiar voice, Fang Yue turned toward it and saw Chen Chengan, whom he had met a few days ago.

Since they had met twice before, Fang Yue had naturally paid some attention to the man.

However, because they were competitors, neither of them could guarantee they would not meet in the coming matches.

Thus, Fang Yue had not greeted him or tried to build a relationship with him.

After all, if they truly met, being too familiar would make it harder to strike.

Before Fang Yue could reply, Chen Chengan leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Brother Fang, have you offended someone?"

Fang Yue frowned slightly, not understanding what Chen Chengan meant.

Offended someone?

Among the people present, aside from Chen Chengan, whom he had met twice, he had never seen any of the others before. How could he have offended anyone?

He could not make sense of it, but Chen Chengan did not look as though he were lying. And though they had only met twice,

Fang Yue felt that Chen Chengan was not someone who grandstanded for attention. He was likely not trying to frighten him with empty words.

So Fang Yue immediately asked:

"What do you mean, Brother Chen?"

"I saw that gray-clad fellow over there. The way he looked at you was unfriendly, Brother Fang. Since you say you have not offended anyone, perhaps I am overthinking it."

As he spoke, Chen Chengan discreetly pointed Fang Yue toward a Gray-clad Youth gathered near the viewing platform at the edge of the grounds.

Fang Yue gave him a casual glance.

An ordinary, unfamiliar face. Fang Yue had definitely never seen him before today.

Still, he had some impression of the man. He had taken the assessment after Fang Yue and had shown strength of twelve hundred jin.

The reason Fang Yue remembered him was that he could tell the man also practiced White Tiger Fist, so he must have belonged to the White Tiger Martial Arts School.

By their connection, he ought to count as one of Fang Yue's fellow disciples.

However, Fang Yue rarely went to the White Tiger Martial Arts School.

Moreover, because of Fang Hu, Fang Yue, as Fang Hu's disciple, was not valued within the White Tiger Martial Arts School either.

After all, how much talent could a country boy possess?

And even if he did have talent, so what? Without a sufficient supply of Secret Medicine for Skin Tempering, how could his cultivation progress quickly?

If one could not reach Marrow Refining before the age of thirty, then no matter how high one's talent and aptitude—even the greatest talent and aptitude—one would remain forever halted before the Four Stages of Martial Arts.

Thus, after one's aptitude reached a sufficient level, martial cultivation actually placed greater value on wealth and resources.

That was why the Martial Imperial Exam was held in such high regard.

After all, not everyone could be born into a good family capable of supporting a martial artist without limit.

But if one successfully passed the Martial Imperial Exam, the free resources provided by the Imperial Court to an Imperial Martial Candidate, coupled with certain privileges, would be enough to support a person's cultivation through the Four Stages of Martial Arts.

And although Martial Scholars could not enjoy Secret Medicine from the Imperial Court, the amount of tax-exempt land and corvée labor exemptions was enough to make people fight for the position.

Could this man be hostile toward me because we came from the same school and were competitors?

Fang Yue frowned, unable to understand.

"Thank you for telling me, Brother Chen. I will be careful," Fang Yue said, cupping his fist in thanks.

Though that man's displayed strength was inferior to his, and they might not even meet in the matches,

Chen Chengan had specifically come to warn him. It was a gesture of goodwill.

"No need for courtesy, no need for courtesy. If you truly wish to thank me, then if the two of us meet later, Brother Fang, just go a little easier on me."

Chen Chengan laughed heartily and spoke with great ease.

Fang Yue naturally smiled and agreed. After exchanging those few words, the relationship between the two had clearly grown closer.

One incense stick was only about fifteen minutes.

In the time it took to exchange a few words, the second round of Xiahe County's Martial Scholar assessment began amid three strikes of a gong.

"Martial Combat" was the practical combat event of the Martial Scholar assessment.

The remaining fifty candidates would be ranked according to victory and defeat.

The top thirty would be selected, while the remaining twenty would be eliminated.

However, though they were eliminated, when they took the Martial Scholar assessment again next year, they could skip the first Stone Lifting test and directly participate in the second assessment.

Martial Combat, or Martial Matches, were practical assessments. After all, fists and feet had no eyes.

Before the examination, the examiners repeatedly made it clear that fists and feet had no eyes, while blades and spears showed no mercy. If any injuries occurred, the candidates would bear the consequences themselves.

After all, the Martial Imperial Exam involved fighting one another.

If they could not give their all, how could they possibly display their true strength?

And today's Martial Scholar assessment had actually been greatly simplified. In the practical Martial Combat stage, they would only compete with fists and feet.

Compared with the practical stage for Imperial Martial Candidates, which included weapons, this was far less bloody and perilous. In those assessments, quite a few people died or were crippled each time.

Thus, even a contest of fists and feet carried danger.

Naturally, this had to be stated beforehand.

The rules of the assessment were simple.

Based on the Stone Lifting rankings, first place would fight last place, second place would fight second-to-last place, and so on.

They would compete against one another to determine twenty-five winners.

Then, from the remaining twenty-five, another five winners would be determined.

In this way, thirty people would be chosen as the Martial Scholars selected in Xiahe County's Martial Examination this time.

As for the rankings of those thirty, there was no need for further matches.

Their rankings would be determined according to their previous Stone Lifting results.

After all, once they had been selected, there was no need to continue fighting.

If injuries occurred, would that not be wasting a talented person?

In reality, aside from the top five, who would receive additional rewards, the other twenty-five all received the same treatment.