Chapter 187 - 144: Plotting
At this, Liu Chuanzhi could only bow respectfully and withdraw, his mind filled with a host of questions.
~~~~~~~
Just as predicted, because a supplementary subject was added to the Prefecture Examination, the intensity of the following Military Strategy and competition portions dropped significantly.
Fang Yue blended in with the rest. When the scores for the two subjects were released, he was surprised to find he had received an A+ in Military Strategy.
Even Fang Yue himself was dumbfounded when he saw his score. He would have considered it a stroke of incredible luck just to get an A.
After all, he had never received any professional instruction for the Military Strategy portion. He didn’t even understand many aspects of the Great Wei Dynasty. Lacking a broad perspective, even the memories from his past life were difficult to apply.
Therefore, it would have been perfectly normal for him to receive a B.
The one thing Fang Yue never expected was that he would actually get an A+ in this subject!
As for the other test, the competition...
Fang Yue once again chose to hide his strength, not vying for a top rank.
He just achieved a score that placed him around fiftieth.
As a result, when combined with his scores from the previous tests, Fang Yue’s overall rank was now in the thirties, just shy of breaking into the top thirty.
~~~~~~
The Shanyang Prefecture Examination’s final, supplementary test.
The details were not announced immediately after the competition.
Instead, the one hundred Martial Scholars were specially gathered at a military camp outside the city.
"Everyone, for this supplementary test of the Prefecture Examination, your objective is to destroy a Bandit Stronghold. Points will be awarded based on the cultivation level of the Bandits, and your final rankings for the examination will be determined by your results in this suppression."
As the examining official announced the task, the expressions of most of the Martial Scholars present changed. They clearly had never imagined the supplementary test would involve suppressing Bandits.
But on second thought, they wondered: what kind of Bandits could possibly require the dispatch of one hundred Martial Scholars?
After all, these one hundred Martial Scholars were all Martial Artists of the Marrow Transformation Pass, the fourth stage of the Martial Dao.
One hundred Marrow Transformer Martial Artists—this was an immense force, enough to rival an army tens of thousands strong.
Given this, it couldn’t be an ordinary Bandit Stronghold. There must be Qi Sensing Martial Masters present, individuals who surpassed Marrow Transformer Martial Artists.
Otherwise, this test would just be a competition among themselves.
’The Mansion Master had specifically added this test; he surely wouldn’t have made it so simple.’
"Alright, here is some brief information. Once you’ve memorized it, you are to select your own weapons and armor. Remember, the moment you leave this military camp, the test begins."
Having said his piece, the examining official departed.
All that remained was a crowd of Martial Scholars, still reeling from the announcement, looking at one another in dismay.
This group, of course, did not include Fang Yue.
He had no need for armor. He simply took a Fifteen-Stone Strong Bow, one hundred steel arrows, and a heavy Broadsword.
Then, he grabbed a horse from the barracks and galloped away.
"Shit! Everyone, grab one, quick!"
Only then, on the military training grounds, did many of the other Martial Scholars finally snap to their senses.
There were certainly enough weapons and suits of armor for everyone, but the specially provided horses were in short supply—there were only thirty.
This meant that the Martial Scholars who failed to get a horse would certainly be at a significant disadvantage, arriving much later than those who did.
Judging by the nature of the test, the number of Bandits was finite. If one person killed more, it meant others would kill fewer.
Therefore, the earlier one arrived at the location, the greater the advantage.
Once this realization dawned on them, a chaotic brawl naturally erupted.
Aside from the handful of Martial Scholars who felt they were completely without hope and didn’t compete, none of the others were willing to yield.
Who would have thought that before they had even seen a single bandit or the objective of their test, the Martial Scholars would first break into a brawl among themselves—one far more intense than the earlier competition.
It was fortunate this scene unfolded in a military camp outside the city. Had it happened on the training grounds within the city walls, countless onlookers would have been left utterly dumbstruck.