With a weapon in hand, Wei Yuan selected the heaviest armor with the highest defense among all the suits available. The helmet came with a full faceplate, and the limb protection reached all the way to the backs of his hands and tops of his feet, encasing him virtually from head to toe. The longswords favored by most examinees were completely useless against a suit like this. The weapons in the chest actually included flanged maces, heavy iron truncheons, and triangular stilettos designed specifically to pierce heavy armor, but perhaps because they lacked elegance and domineering flair, Wei Yuan had not seen a single person choose them.
Once he selected his weapon and armor, the chest vanished on its own. The heavy armor materialized directly over Wei Yuan, strapping itself seamlessly into place. However, it was heavy armor in every sense of the word; once it was on, he could manage little more than a jog.
Right then, two more figures climbed the hill. Both wore the azure uniforms. The one in front was lean and slight—the very scout Wei Yuan had spotted at the start. Beside him walked a rather burly azure disciple, only slightly shorter than Wei Yuan.
The scrawny examinee was just saying to his companion, "I'm telling you, there's a lone big idiot up here who doesn't even know how to use a weapon. In a moment, the two of us will team up, bag an easy kill, and get our first score..."
Halfway through his sentence, the scrawny examinee caught sight of Wei Yuan standing at the crest of the hill, clad in full plate armor with a heavy spear leveled horizontally. The rest of his words died in his throat.
Wei Yuan wasted no breath on them. Striding forward, he thrust his spear with draconic speed and precision, skewering them one after the other. The leather light armor they wore was beautifully designed and unhindered in movement, yet before the heavy spear, it might as well have been made of paper.
***
In the southern part of the illusionary realm, Li Zhi stood at the head of the ranks in full armor with a sword at his waist. He had already gathered one hundred and twenty examinees, now divided into four neatly formed units: front, center, left, and right.
Observing the orderly battle formation, Li Zhi was thoroughly pleased. Before the examination, he and several confidants had painstakingly drilled military tactics, and he had just spent considerable time organizing the ranks. Now, these hundred-odd youths actually showed the bearing of an elite force.
Outside the formation stood a dozen or so scattered examinees, also clad in dark yellow. These were people Li Zhi had not recruited in advance, who had simply found their way over according to their team colors. A tall examinee holding a saber stood before them, pointing toward a small earthen mound not far off. "In a moment, you lot will guard that position. Without my order, you are not to take a single step back! Wait—before you head over, hand over all your medicinal pills so they can be distributed uniformly!"
That earthen mound lay directly ahead of the main formation, intended to absorb the enemy's vanguard. Deployed in such a vulnerable spot and stripped of their life-saving pills, they would likely be wiped out in a single enemy charge.
These independent examinees were not fools. Right away, one of them refused, stepping forward to shout, "We came in good faith to join you, and you treat us like idiots? Stationed there, we'll die the moment we clash! How many points could we possibly get? In the end, we won't even secure a spot in the Red Tide Sect! With nothing in it for us, why should we listen to you?"
Li Zhi turned around slowly, looking at the youth with an expressionless face. "Disobeying orders before the ranks, disrupting military morale! Behead him!"
The examinee stared in shock, not yet comprehending what was happening, when the burly youth beside him swung his saber and severed his head!
The headless corpse crashed to the ground and dissolved into light.
The remaining independent examinees shuddered in terror. None dared resist any longer, obediently handing over their pills. Although the regulations explicitly stated that killing teammates would lower one's evaluation, they never specified by how much. For Li Zhi to brazenly execute someone to establish his authority showed he did not care in the slightest about such a rule. Besides, it had not been Li Zhi who swung the blade.
Turning back to the entire battle formation, Li Zhi projected his voice clearly: "You have all seen it—there is no joking in the ranks! This is a martial test, but it is truly a real battlefield! We are fewer in number than the enemy, which makes unity all the more vital. The other side is merely an unruly mob. As long as every one of you follows orders, I, Li Zhi, will lead you to trample the enemy camp and enter the immortal sects together!"
Hearing the words "enter the immortal sects together," even though the examinees knew the chances were slim, their blood still surged with fervor.
***
Inside the hall suspended in the sky, the six evaluators were already seated. Looking down, they took in everything occurring in the illusionary realm.
The old Confucian scholar stroked his beard and smiled. "This Li Zhi managed to whip a group of children into the semblance of an army within a single day. He understands both how to establish authority through execution and how to rally their spirits. Duke Huien is truly blessed to have fathered such a fine son."
Still, the old scholar did not claim Li Zhi took after his father; after all, everyone present knew Duke Huien's true character.
The middle-aged Confucian cupped his hands to all sides and said, "You have all seen this child Li Zhi's capabilities over the past two days. This final stage is of immense importance to him. I hope you will all show leniency. When the time comes, our academy will naturally reciprocate."
A young cultivator laughed suddenly. "You wish to secure first place for Li Zhi to build his momentum so he can soar to the heavens. There's nothing wrong with that ambition. It's just that, as it happens, our young mistress refuses to lose, and she wants first place as well. What are we to do about that?"
The middle-aged Confucian's thick brows knitted slightly as he said earnestly, "Miss Bao is merely contesting out of pride; winning first place brings her no practical benefit. What harm is there in yielding a step?"
The young cultivator chuckled derisively. "What harm in yielding? Go tell that to the Bao family, not to me! It won't work on me!"
"If Miss Bao is willing to facilitate this favor, we will naturally offer generous compensation."
The young cultivator scoffed. "Whatever you pedantic paupers could scrape together, our young mistress would hardly deign to look at!"
Seeing the two reach an impasse, an older cultivator lightly stroked his long beard, coughed, and intervened, "Since neither side will yield, let each rely on their own ability."
The middle-aged Confucian nodded. "That would be best."
The young cultivator glared at the older man, then shifted his gaze toward Daoist Fufeng and the monk. Ever since taking Duan Yusheng under his wing, the monk had made no further moves, maintaining strict fairness in his scoring. From another perspective, however, the monk was thoroughly impervious to persuasion; nothing anyone said had any effect. The other evaluators had long given up trying to win him over.
Daoist Fufeng was originally an old fox of profound cunning; with two tests concluded, no one knew whom he truly intended to support. The young cultivator looked his way merely on the off chance, expecting no response.
Among the six evaluators, aside from the two Confucians of Four Sages Academy who shared a single purpose, the rest belonged to different factions, each with their own designs and candidates to protect. Consequently, Four Sages Academy held a commanding advantage during the scoring phase; if they wished to suppress someone's score, they could easily demote them straight down to a grotto-heaven sect. Only the powerful Bao family, having nothing to fear from Four Sages Academy, dared to openly vie for first place in the unified examination.
When scoring arrived, the young cultivator stood entirely alone, putting him at a severe disadvantage. It went without saying that the two Confucians would suppress Miss Bao's score. If he wanted to turn the tables, he needed to find an ally who would also suppress Li Zhi's score.
While the young cultivator displayed an indignant grimace on his face, his mind raced to calculate whom he could recruit and when he might drive a knife into Four Sages Academy. Yet no matter how he weighed his options, it seemed a dead end.
Just as the young cultivator found himself at his wits' end, Daoist Fufeng suddenly spoke: "During the Daoist and literary tests over the past two days, the two gentlemen took exceptional care of the disciples of my Palace of Grand Beginning. Upon returning, I turned the matter over in my mind repeatedly, feeling that such kindness could not go unreturned. Therefore, I will certainly offer an appropriate response today."
The young cultivator was both startled and delighted, while the two Confucians from Four Sages Academy were taken aback, completely baffled as to what nerve had crossed in Daoist Fufeng to make him openly oppose them. Was he not afraid that the two of them would join forces to sabotage the scores of the candidates competing for the Palace of Grand Beginning's quota, ruining his greater plans?
The old Confucian's long eyebrows bristled immediately as he said coldly, "In that case, this old man will abandon all reservations as well. Do not blame my brush for showing no mercy!"
Daoist Fufeng gestured with an open hand, indicating he should do as he pleased.
The old Confucian's face darkened with fury. He sat rigidly, his mind turning over unknown calculations, exchanging glances with the middle-aged scholar from time to time.
Right at that moment, a loud bang echoed through the air—the grand hall doors were kicked violently open!
Chapter 16