Scripture of Days Past

Not long after all the examinees had assembled, the examiners also arrived.

The martial examinations at the county, manor, and provincial levels were all extremely important events, and they were taken very seriously by the leading officials.

Generally speaking, the examination was officiated by three examiners: the governor, the minister of education, and a renowned, widely respected martial artist from the local area.

The three examiners on this occasion were Governor Xue Chengdao of Northern Mountain Manor, Education Minister Shang Ziyan, and the retired martial arts senior figure, Wu Liangxu.

Among them, Wu Liangxu was already sixty-five years old. He had served as governor for two separate terms, and he had once led the destruction of a mighty fiendish army in the southeastern Dian Province. After his retirement, he returned home and opened his own martial arts school in Shade Mountain County of Northern Mountain Manor. He often shared his martial arts experience with young martial artists and sponsored less privileged aspiring martial artists so that they could take part in the martial examination.

The three examiners sat down on a raised stage in front of the five platforms, giving them a clear view of the entire venue. Xue Cheng Dao, Shang Ziyan, and Wu Xuliang each delivered an address, after which the rules were announced.

Chu Qiguang was already familiar with the rules. Being knocked out of the ring was a loss; match-fixing would be punished with a lifetime ban; killing someone would also result in an immediate ban; causing injury or disability was allowed, but the examiners had the right to stop the battle before it reached that point.

A huge board was then carried out, and the names of all fifty-two examinees were written on it. This was where everyone's win-loss records would be displayed.

According to the rules, each examinee had to fight every other examinee in a round-robin format, so this was a test of stamina and recovery resources as it was a test of martial arts ability.

After the rules were announced, it was finally time for the battles to begin, and the examinees began making their way onto their assigned platforms. On the examiner's stage, Wu Liangxu was overseeing the proceedings, and despite his old age, he still looked sharp and energetic.

"I can see that this batch of examinees all possess very solid martial arts foundations," he remarked with a pleased nod. "Over the past few years, the number of martial artists in our Northern Mountain Manor has been steadily increasing year after year, and it's all thanks to your tireless efforts, Governor Xue."

"You're far too kind, Senior Xu," Xue Chengdao replied with a modest smile.

"I hear that Jiang Longyu is also here. Where is he right now?" Wu Liangxu asked.

Xue Chengdao pointed Jiang Longyu out in the crowd and explained, "He's not scheduled to fight yet, so he's waiting with the other examinees."

Right at this moment, a loud chorus of boos suddenly rang out across the entire venue.

"Who's causing all that ruckus?" Xue Chengdao snapped. "Find them and evict them from the venue! There's no place for rabble-rousers in the martial examination!"

Minister of Education Shang Ziyan pointed at the platform where Chu Qiguang was standing and replied in a resigned manner, "No one in particular is causing the commotion. This is just everyone's reaction to seeing Chu Qiguang."

"That's Chu Qiguang?" Xue Chengdao asked with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Chu Qiguang had earned quite a reputation for himself, and the three examiners all had their own opinions of him, but none of them said anything.

"The examinees are being a little rude, but their reaction comes from a sense of justice," Shang Ziyan said. "They're still young, so it's inevitable that they'll be somewhat emotional."

Xue Chengdao nodded and didn't pursue the matter any further.

"Who is Chu Qiguang's opponent?" he asked.

"It's Huang Weiming from Shade Mountain County," a nearby scribe immediately replied. "He's twenty-five years old, and he's been a third-state martial artist for two years. He's also a student of the Shade Mountain Martial Arts School."

"Ah, so he's a disciple of yours, Senior Wu," Xue Chengdao remarked with a smile.

The Shade Mountain Martial Arts School had been opened by Wu Liangxu in his hometown, and it had nurtured countless disciples. As for Wu Liangxu himself, he was also a member of the Vast Heavens Faction, and but he was a more senior figure in the faction than Xue Chengdao.

"I've only instructed Huang Weiming briefly, so I wouldn't call him my disciple," Wu Liangxu said. "He comes from a rather underprivileged background, and he only picked up martial arts at seventeen, but he possesses great aptitude and a resilient personality to match. Even if he can't go on to secure the wujinshi title, I'm sure he can still achieve great things as long as he doesn't stray from his positive qualities."

"If you're willing to give him such high praise, then I'm sure he has the wusheng title in the bag," Xue Chengdao said with a smile. "I heard that Chu Qiguang has only just reached the third state; I wonder how long he'll be able to last."

On the platform, Chu Qiguang cupped his fist in a salute toward Huang Weiming, but Huang Weiming didn't even bother to return it. He merely harrumphed coldly and said, "You've only just reached the third state, so I'll let you make the first move. Go on then."

"Look!" Hao Yongtai called out from the nearby restaurant. "Brother Chu is up!"

Hao Xiangtong immediately turned her attention to the platform where Chu Qiguang was standing.

"Who's his opponent? Is he strong?"

Hao Yongtai pulled out a book and quickly flipped through its pages before reporting, "It looks like his opponent is Huang Weiming. He's been at the third state for two years, so Brother Chu is most likely going to struggle against him."

"Where did you get this?" Hao Xiangtong asked as she grabbed the book from her brother.

"I bought it from one of the bookmakers at the gambling stations," Hao Yongtai replied with a smile. "Someone from Northern Mountain Manor must have leaked this information. There are always gambling stations for every edition of the martial examination, so people are willing to pay for information on the examinees."

A grim look appeared on Hao Xiangtong's as she read through Huang Weiming's file. Clearly, she didn't like Chu Qiguang's chances either.

Brother Chu is really smart, so I'm sure he'll surrender once he realizes that he's no match for his opponent, Hao Yongtai thought to himself. If I had known his opponent would be Huang Weiming, I would've placed an even bigger bet!

Qiao Zhi was perched on a nearby rooftop, also watching the battle, but he didn't seem very interested.

Chu Qiguang really likes to hide his strength, so he's probably going to pretend to be evenly matched with his opponent, then just barely scrape through with a victory. How boring! If I were in his shoes, I'd grab Huang Weiming's head and slam it into the ground!

Indeed, this was precisely Chu Qiguang's plan. With his reputation already in the gutter, he didn't want to attract any more attention to himself, so he intended to put on an act and just barely secure an unremarkable victory.

However, a sense of aggression rose up within his chest at Huang Weiming's disdainful attitude. All of a sudden, he found himself losing all sense of rationality, and he became convinced that Huang Weiming was looking down on him in everything that he did.

Shit! My condition has gotten even worse!

By the time he returned to his senses and realized what he had just done, he had already grabbed Huang Weiming's head and slammed it into the platform with a resounding thump.

Huang Weiming felt like a helpless child against Chu Qiguang. He was completely unable to resist Chu Qiguang's overwhelming brute strength, and his head was slammed into the platform with such force that it left a large crater.

It felt as if his head were about to split open. As he watched Chu Qiguang raise his fist, he desperately wanted to call out and surrender, but the pain and dizziness were so intense that he could only let out a string of unintelligible sounds.

From Chu Qiguang's distorted perspective, Huang Weiming was still sneering disdainfully up at him, as if he couldn't even be bothered to retaliate.

"Do you surrender?" he asked.

"Ye... Ye..." Huang Weiming spluttered frantically, still unable to speak coherently.