Chapter 71

"Alright."

It had only been a few hours, but Yang Ji had already put down his brush and completed his exam paper.

"Pity, the level of the military examination for the child candidates isn't too difficult, so it doesn't show my true abilities. If I want to compete in this examination, I'll have to wait for the martial arts part in the evening."

Yang Ji thought to himself. He looked up and, sure enough, many people in the hall had also finished their papers.

This kind of not-too-difficult written test couldn't measure everyone's abilities, so it came down to who could write faster. Even Yang Ji couldn't gain any advantage.

However, Yang Ji wasn't discouraged. For the military examination, this was just a "prelude" before the main event. The real feast would come in the evening.

After tidying up his brush and ink, Yang Ji quickly walked out of the martial hall with the other candidates who had finished their exams.

"Brother, brother... Brother!"

As soon as Yang Ji walked out of the martial hall, he suddenly heard a surprised call. Yang Ji didn't pay much attention, still thinking about the evening, and continued walking.

"Brother, don't you remember me? I'm Han Bin!..."

The person patted Yang Ji on the shoulder from behind.

"Han Bin..."

Hearing this familiar name, Yang Ji finally stopped, turned around, and indeed saw a familiar face.

"Ha ha, it really is you. I knew you would definitely participate in the military examination."

Han Bin seemed very excited. When he first saw Yang Ji coming out of the exam hall, he thought it was an illusion, but he hadn't been mistaken.

"Is there something you need?"

Yang Ji frowned. It had been over a month since they parted at Shuangjiling. Yang Ji had almost forgotten about it, but Han Bin still remembered him and seemed particularly concerned.

"Hehe."

Han Bin laughed awkwardly. Being glared at by Yang Ji, he realized he had been a bit too enthusiastic.

"Don't misunderstand, I don't have any other intentions. Last time at Shuangjiling, if it weren't for your help, I might have fallen into the ambush of the Red Eyebrow bandits and died on that side road."

Han Bin was always self-aware, knowing his strength was not high. If he had entered that side road, he would have had a very high chance of not coming out.

"I'm a straightforward person and admire those with abilities. Since you saved my life, I've always wanted to treat you to a meal to show my gratitude."

Han Bin said.

"No need."

Yang Ji shook his head and walked away. Shuangjiling was just a small episode for him, and he had no interest in such social obligations.

Han Bin became anxious and quickly ran in front of Yang Ji.

"At least you should tell me your name, right?"

Han Bin said hurriedly.

After arriving in Pingchuan City, he had been trying to find Yang Ji, but unfortunately, he was too mysterious. Han Bin didn't even know the name of this mysterious "companion" from back then. Now that he had finally met him, he wouldn't let him go easily.

Yang Ji looked at Han Bin and saw that he was determined not to give up. After hesitating for a moment, he thought that a name was just a name, and it wouldn't matter if Han Bin knew it, so he didn't insist.

"Yang Ji."

Yang Ji had just met Yang Wen and Yang Wu, and at this point, he didn't think about hiding his real name. After saying this, he walked away. This time, Han Bin didn't stop him and watched as Yang Ji disappeared into the crowd.

"Yang Ji..."

Han Bin mused, "So his name is Yang Ji."

A moment later, Han Bin smiled and took out a notebook from his pocket, writing down Yang Ji's name.

"Yang Ji, hmm, I wonder if he has any connection to the Yang clan. This person is insightful and very capable. I wonder if he will make it into the final seven in this military examination!"

Han Bin smiled and flipped through the first few pages of the notebook. Besides Yang Ji, it was densely filled with the names of other people, all of whom Han Bin had learned about in Pingchuan City during this time, who were qualified to compete for the "military child candidate" status.

Han Bin's strength was not strong, and he knew he had no hope of competing for the "military child candidate" status. However, he enjoyed recording information about these "martial geniuses."

Although Yang Ji hadn't shown his skills in front of him, his ability to "see the big picture from small details" and "predict the season from a falling leaf" was even more terrifying than powerful martial arts!

In Han Bin's mind, he subconsciously placed Yang Ji among those who would compete for the final spots!

Putting away the notebook, Han Bin smiled and quickly mixed into the crowd, disappearing.

...

The incident with "Han Bin" was just a small episode. Yang Ji quickly found an inn and checked in.

After the written test, many students returned home, so many inns in Pingchuan City were now empty, no longer as crowded as before.

"I'll stay here tonight and move to another place tomorrow."

Yang Ji didn't plan to stay long, at most one night, and then he would change locations to avoid being found by Yang Wen and Yang Wu.

After the written test, the martial test would soon begin, which was the main event of the "military examination."

In the evening, the "martial hall" was packed with people, all tense and excited.

"The martial test begins. All candidates, follow your wooden tokens and prepare to enter, divided into sections!"

Two "commanders" announced the start of the martial test with their powerful voices.

"Boom!"

A thunderous cheer erupted in front of the martial hall, and the air was filled with a festive atmosphere. For the "martial students" who pursued great strength and enjoyed cultivation and competition, the martial test of the military examination was a genuine celebration!

Everyone could engage in sparring and exchanges with martial experts from other places during this "celebration." They could also watch the matches of other "martial geniuses," broaden their horizons, and compare themselves with others.

"I hope today's competition won't be disappointing."

Yang Ji smiled, standing in the crowd and unconsciously being infected by the atmosphere.

Creak! Creak!

On the first floor of the martial hall, the huge isolation steel door opened, revealing a vast space behind it. As soon as Yang Ji walked in, he was greeted by a bright light.

"These are... huge night pearls!"

Yang Ji was surprised as he looked at the interior of the martial hall. Inside the hall, the lighting was not provided by torches but by night pearls embedded in the ceiling.

There were many of these night pearls, ranging from the size of a child's arm to the size of an adult's fist, each emitting a dazzling light. Combined with other gems embedded in the ceiling, they illuminated the hall as bright as daylight.

This way, there would be no impact even at night!

"The court is really generous!"

Yang Ji was amazed at the night pearls. He was well-versed in the classics and knew that these night pearls were produced in the deep sea, only by giant clams thousands of feet below the surface.

The water pressure in the deep sea was immense, and martial artists of the martial realm would be crushed to death if they fell to the depths. Finding and retrieving these deep-sea night pearls was almost impossible, making them extremely expensive and worth a fortune. Only the court had the resources to retrieve them.

"To embed such precious night pearls here for lighting, the court truly values martial arts!"

Yang Ji thought.

He had never seen such large night pearls in the "literary hall." Although the court claimed to equally value the literary and military examinations, this point alone showed the prosperity of martial arts, far surpassing the literary arts!

Yang Ji took a deep breath and walked in with his wooden token.

The interior of the martial hall was enormous, with the entire space divided into a grid-like pattern, forming various competition units with raised platforms for simultaneous matches.

This was the first stage of the martial test. Only the winners of this stage would qualify for the next stage, until the final champion of the "military examination" was determined.

Unlike the literary examination, the martial examination required "showing true skills," and needed match after match, making the entire process very long, lasting from ten to twenty days.

Yang Ji quickly found his assigned competition unit with his wooden token. It was a large unit, separated by steel plates, with a huge square platform about two zhang (about 6.6 meters) high in the center.

The entire space was nearly an acre in size, densely packed with a buzzing crowd, including martial artists at the eighth, ninth, and even blood qi stages!

On the platform, four elite soldiers from the military guarded the four corners, maintaining order. In the center of the platform, a military officer in charge of the competition stood.

The competition hadn't started yet, but the platform was already lively. There were even small scuffles due to people stepping on each other.

In the competition unit, every true expert was carefully observing their surroundings, looking for potential competitors.

"Over a hundred at the tenth breath stage, and more than thirty at the martial realm... This round won't be easy to win!"

Yang Ji took a look around and roughly estimated the situation in this competition unit.

He didn't care about the opponents at the "breath stage," as he could easily defeat them with his current strength. However, the thirty-plus martial artists at the martial realm made him feel a bit heavier in his heart.

Yang Ji had been diligently practicing and was now at the first level of the martial realm, not much higher than others. Being able to pass the test and reach the martial realm itself indicated exceptional talent.

Among these people, there might be many hidden dragons and tigers, capable of defeating him despite being weaker. And this was just the beginning; there were many more formidable martial artists in other units!

This was the difficulty of achieving the "military child candidate" status in the military examination. Although these martial artists were not visible in daily life and seemed few in number, even in a large clan like the Yang clan, the number of "martial artists" was not high.

But once every three years during the "military examination," all these people would gather. From the countryside to the city, from small clans to military families, and even from the fields and villages, many people from outside Pingchuan County would come. These people usually kept a low profile and practiced quietly, but now they all surged in.

"Training for a thousand days, using it in one moment," these people prepared for three years, all for the sake of winning the "military child candidate" status in this competition.

And except for the final seven, everyone else would be eliminated, which was the cruel aspect of the "military examination."