prynovel Chapter 72 The Provincial Examination Begins
Chapter 72 The Provincial Examination Begins
Liu Sheng was dressed in a clean, starched robe, typical of a disciple of the Bajiquan school.
The black background with gold trim and the subtle nine-colored deer pattern, faintly visible in the morning light, further accentuated his radiant complexion.
He stood near the entrance, accompanied by Lu You and Yang Hongliu.
Master Gao Huang also arrived, but did not approach. He stood far away on the opposite side, under the shade of an inconspicuous old locust tree, with his hands behind his back, looking towards the training ground.
Perhaps he was afraid of being too conspicuous in the crowd, or perhaps he just wanted to disguise himself as a leisurely scholar who happened to be passing by.
It has a sense of being detached from the world.
"Junior brother, look over there."
Yang Hongliu had both hands full, holding bags and loose raisins, leaving her no free hands.
She nudged Liu Sheng beside her with her elbow and explained in a low voice:
"That guy in the gray robe, as thin as a bamboo pole, is the Eagle Claw Sect Master. The short, fat man next to him, with particularly thick fingers, is the Iron Finger Hall Master. The others following behind are their prized disciples; I heard most of them have broken through to the eighth rank."
Liu Sheng looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw Li Ying and Wang Zheng, who were still at the ninth rank and looked respectful, among the disciples.
It seems that although they are not of high rank, they are still highly regarded within their respective sects.
When Liu Sheng's gaze met theirs, the two reacted as if burned. Li Ying quickly looked away, while Wang Zheng lowered his head as if he didn't recognize him.
This made Liu Sheng laugh.
Knowing that his junior brother had a good relationship with the two of them, Lu You also chimed in to explain:
"There are some old grudges between our martial arts schools. With their leaders and senior brothers and sisters around, they naturally wouldn't dare to act familiar with you."
Liu Sheng said he fully understood.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Eagle Sect Master and the Iron Sect Master indeed led their disciples toward Lu You.
Seeing that the terrifying white figure did not appear beside Lu You, the two sect leaders had smiles on their faces, but the smiles did not reach their eyes.
There seemed to be a hint of sarcasm in his expression.
"Master Lu, it's been a long time."
The Eagle Sect Master was the first to cup his hands in greeting, his voice high-pitched: "This year, the Eight Extremes Hall has truly produced a wealth of talent, sending... this esteemed disciple to the competition, is that it?"
His gaze swept over Liu Sheng and he noticed that Liu Sheng's skin was extremely pale in color, with only a slightly moist texture, indicating that his cultivation level of the ninth rank was not high.
On the other side, the Iron Gate Master chuckled and chimed in:
"Master Lu, are you going for an elite force this year? My Iron Finger Hall's disciples are useless; this year we only sent two eighth-rank disciples to make up the numbers and broaden their horizons. Your disciple... seems to be hiding his true abilities!"
Clearly, even the Iron Gate Master couldn't see the special features of Liu Sheng's skin.
Lu You's expression remained unchanged; he merely nodded slightly.
"We pursue the path of martial arts, and we will devote ourselves to practicing. Our true level will be determined in the arena. Please!"
His tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable air of confidence. In particular, as soon as he finished speaking, he looked towards Gao Huang under the locust tree in the distance.
The two sect leaders followed his gaze and also saw the terrifying white figure in the distance.
It seems she recalled some unpleasant memories.
They shuddered and let out two dry laughs.
He immediately led his disciples away, leaving clean and tidy.
Liu Sheng suspected that his master, Gao Huang, had come under the guise of watching his provincial examination, but in reality, he was just protecting his own and afraid that they would be bullied.
Or maybe it's just about putting on a show in front of people.
Otherwise, what's so interesting about this first round, which is just routine practice and weightlifting with stone locks?
Originally, Liu Sheng no longer cared about winning or losing the martial arts examination. He only wanted to make it to the final round and obtain the title of martial arts scholar, which would be considered a victory.
This would qualify them to join the rebel army.
But just now, those two sect leaders looked at me with such forced smiles.
Seeing this, he really wanted to rush over and give them both a good beating.
Although I know I can't beat them.
But at least it gives the master who came from so far away a reason to take action, right?
No, no, this behavior seems a bit too much like that of a villain's henchman?
I'm such an upright person, I can't let my master lose face in public like this!
Let's see who's the best in the ring.
"We need to show some spirit. Whether we win or not, we can't afford to lose too badly to them."
Liu Sheng's eyes darted around as he recalled his past encounters with Wang Zheng and Li Ying, imagining how he would cope with the even stronger Iron Finger and Eagle Claw techniques.
At the same time, he also memorized the appearances of several senior brothers and sisters around Wang Zheng and Li Ying.
Seeing his junior brother's expression, Lu You secretly wanted to laugh.
He could tell at a glance.
Someone's about to get into trouble.
As the candidates entered the examination hall one after another.
There were more people in the training ground than Liu Sheng had expected; at a glance, there were two or three hundred people.
Moreover, their clothing varied, clearly indicating they came from different places.
The parents, relatives, elders, servants, and guards who accompanied them were packed to the brim.
"Why are there so many people?"
Liu Sheng was somewhat surprised. He felt that although there were many martial arts schools in Crescent Moon County, there were also three powerful families.
But these ninth-rank officials under the age of 25 are not like cabbages; they can't just grow in such large numbers easily.
"Oh, this one."
Yang Hongliu, being well-informed, immediately explained:
"I heard that because the neighboring Qili County and Huangqu County were unable to organize a decent provincial examination this year, Shazhou ordered that the military examinations of several counties be merged into our Yueya County."
Liu Sheng suddenly realized, his gaze sweeping over the examiners' seats. When he saw the faces of the "examiners from Shazhou City" and the familiar mountain armor they wore, his heart stirred.
Although they were all sitting upright and serious at this moment, they did not smile.
But Liu Sheng recognized at a glance the general sitting in the main seat, with a resolute face and an imposing presence, whom he had seen in the Desert Caves.
"It's General Wang!" Liu Sheng thought to himself.
The four deputies next to General Wang all looked familiar; they were probably the same people he had met in the Desert Cave.
The five of them had obviously seen Liu Sheng, but the moment their eyes met, they all looked away very naturally, as if they were looking at a stranger.
Liu Sheng thought to himself, "It's all settled! Even if I don't get special treatment, at least I'll get a fair judgment."
At the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), a sound of horses' hooves and commotion came from outside the arena, and the crowd of onlookers automatically parted to make way.
From a distance, the crowd saw three groups of scions of noble families, dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses, arriving late.
Leading the way were the Kang family members, six in total. The leader was none other than Kang Yizhi, an eighth-rank official, who sat upright on his horse, his arrogant gaze sweeping over everyone in the arena.
In the middle was the Yin family, and only four people came. They were all taciturn, and the one in the lead looked like a sick young master. His eyes were full of hatred as he looked at Kang Yizhi.
Finally, there was the Yan family, led by Yan Zhan, who also brought two people. He spotted Liu Sheng at a glance, and a sincere smile immediately appeared on his face. He clasped his hands in greeting from his horse, and Liu Sheng smiled and returned the greeting.
The arrival of the scions of the three great families caused a stir among the onlookers, and also put invisible pressure on the other examinees, especially the martial artists from Qili and Huangqu counties.
Both counties were ruled by demons, and there were no martial arts schools or human families in the area.
The Kang, Yin, and Yan families, small but established clans with centuries of history, have relied on their profound heritage and the ability to detach themselves from production and focus on martial arts training.
These are things that ordinary martial artists can hardly dream of.
However, in these two counties, there were also some martial artists with strange appearances and behaviors who seemed to take these newly arrived scions of aristocratic families in stride.
This also caught Liu Sheng's attention.