Scripture of Days Past

After finishing his answer, Chu Qiguang looked around and discovered that all of the other trainees were still busy with their test papers, so he began checking his own answers for any mistakes.

A bell tolled outside the venue, indicating that time was up, and the lecturers began collecting the test papers.

"Brushes down! I said brushes down! Put down your brushes right now, or you'll be kicked off the mountain!"

Li Chu emerged from the test venue with a sullen expression, while Zhang Haizhu looked much more confident.

"How did you do?" Li Chu asked.

"I managed to answer all the questions," Zhang Haizhu replied. "The test was much easier than I expected."

He then spotted Chu Qiguang nearby and asked, "How did you do, Brother Chu?"

"I didn't do so well," Chu Qiguang sighed. "I may have screwed up badly."

"It's fine. You can just make up for it in the sparring matches tomorrow," Zhang Haizhu consoled him.

Jiang Longyu, Chi Shude, Li He, and the others had also overheard Chu Qiguang's answer, and they were all overjoyed.

Given Chu Qiguang's eidetic memory, all of them had thought that he would be a shoo-in for the top spot in the written examination. However, if he had failed to perform up to standard, then that gave everyone else a chance to take the top spot from him.

***

The next day, Fist Technique Instructor Yang Ling, Demon and Fiend Lecturer Yu Wenbin, Ghost Lecturer Song Ming, Cult Lecturer Yi Shuang, Pill Lecturer Li Jian, and Daoist Priest Zhao Lingxiao were all gathered on the training ground.

On top of that, Head Instructor Zhong Shan'e was also present. They had all gathered to watch the sparring matches between the trainees.

Zhong Shan'e looked at the thirty-two trainees standing on the other side of the training ground and gave them a slight nod before beginning his address. "I'm sure all of you have made significant progress over the past month..."

As Zhong Shan'e spoke, the trainees were already raring to go.

Unlike the sparring matches in the imperial martial examination, weapons and even pills were permitted here. Each trainee had been given three Bloodbath Pills and three Ginseng Ganoderma Pills.

Bloodbath Pills could temporarily enhance one's physical prowess, while Ginseng Ganoderma Pills had a nourishing effect on the body that helped reduce the negative side-effects from taking Bloodbath Pills.

In the Demon Vanquishing Department, pill tolerance was an important skill to develop, and taking pills in battle was encouraged.

With Zhong Shan'e overseeing proceedings, there was no need to worry about the welfare and safety of the trainees, so they could go all-out in these sparring matches.

A massive circle had been drawn on the training ground to serve as the sparring platform, and a leaderboard had also been set up with the names of all thirty-two trainees written on it.

All of the trainees would have to fight everyone else, and the final rankings would be decided based on their number of wins.

"First match, Huang Xiangyu versus Sun Yaoyang."

Zhong Shan'e gave a slight nod of approval as he watched the first match, then praised, "You've done well this month, Yang Ling."

"It's all thanks to your guidance, Head Instructor," Yang Ling replied with a modest smile.

"Who do you think the top three finishers will be?" Zhong Shan'e asked.

Yang Ling considered the question for a moment, then replied, "Li He is the only fourth-state martial artist among the trainees right now, so he should have the top spot locked down. Jiang Longyu is an exceptional prodigy, and since weapons and pills are permitted in this format, he should come in second with a fairly large gap over everyone else. As for third place, I think it will be Chi Shude."

"You're not putting Chu Qiguang in your top three?" Yi Shuang asked, sounding slightly surprised.

"Chu Qiguang possesses a very special physical constitution that grants him pill poison resistance at least on par with Jiang Longyu's," Li Jian said. "On top of that, he's a brilliant prodigy in his own right, so I think he should at least be able to put up a good fight against Jiang Longyu."

Yang Ling shook his head and explained, "Chu Qiguang's physical constitution is indeed one of his greatest strengths, but he's not adept at using weapons, and that's his biggest weakness. In contrast, Jiang Longyu's saber techniques are the finest I've ever seen in any third-state martial artist, so there really isn't much of a contest between them."

"Jiang Longyu learned his saber techniques from Dao Comprehension-state martial god Ma Yi of the Seven Kill Faction," Song Ming chimed in. "I've seen his saber techniques as well, and they're far beyond anything the other trainees can hope to match."

"On top of that, Chu Qiguang has some very clear weaknesses," Yang Ling continued. "He's invested all of his time and effort into honing his physical constitution, but he's lacking in speed and mobility, so he's definitely going to struggle against Chi Shude."

"If Chu Qiguang's weaknesses are so clear, then why haven't you advised him to address them?" Zhong Shan'e asked with slightly furrowed brows.

"I've tried to dissuade him from becoming too engrossed with physical cultivation, but he's as stubborn as a mule!" Yang Ling sighed. "Despite my advice, he still spends all day cultivating the Primordial High Zenith Qigong. I can only hope that he'll change his ways after suffering a setback here."

"I suppose this would be a good lesson for him to learn," Zhong Shan'e agreed with a thoughtful nod.

Meanwhile, Huang Xiangyu had already secured a narrow victory over his opponent.

Jiang Longyu was up next, and even though his saber was strapped to his waist, he showed no intention of drawing it throughout the entire battle. Instead, he easily overpowered his opponent in hand-to-hand combat and forced them off the platform.

Shortly thereafter, Chu Qiguang took the stage, and sure enough, he fought in a very direct and barbaric style that was severely lacking in skill and finesse.

In contrast, Chi Shude was incredibly fast and agile. His Star Plucking Finger granted him tremendous firepower to complement his speed, allowing him to defeat his opponents with ease.

"You're right, Instructor Yang," Zhao Lingxiao remarked with a nod. "Chu Qiguang's flaws are very apparent, whereas Chi Shude is much more well-rounded."

After defeating his opponent, Chi Shude turned his gaze toward Chu Qiguang.

Over the past month, I've been cultivating arduously every single day under Instructor Yang's guidance to master the Star Plucking Finger, all so I can defeat you!

Chu Qiguang didn't even notice Chi Shude's provocative gaze. Instead, his mind was elsewhere entirely, and there was a very concerned look on his face.

It's already been three days since my condition last flared up...