Chapter 9

Deer Yang Academy.

On the back mountain, there is an elegant pavilion halfway up the hill.

Inside the pavilion, an ancient green stone table stands, with a stone chair beside it, where an elderly man is seated.

Surrounding him, ten refined middle-aged men are engaged in a heated debate.

If any martial students familiar with the ten primary martial academies of Deer Yang and the Deer Yang Academy passed by, they would be startled to discover that these men were the old principal Mu Fengshan of Deer Yang Academy and the principals of the ten primary martial academies.

Deer Yang Academy is the only high-level martial academy in the Deer Yang territory.

Old Principal Mu Fengshan, not only the principal of Deer Yang Academy, is also the head of the Mu family, one of the three major families in Deer Yang. In the Deer Yang territory, he is considered the most respected and virtuous person.

The principals of the ten primary martial academies, almost half of them, are Mu Fengshan's direct disciples, controlling half of the primary martial academies in Deer Yang.

Every year, on the day of the joint examination of the ten academies, the primary principals gather here to drink fragrant tea with the old principal and debate the strengths and weaknesses of the martial students from each academy.

Although they are from the same school, their debates often turn into heated arguments.

They are arguing about the possible results of the martial arts department examination for the ten academies this year.

"The South Chen Martial Academy hasn't won the top spot in the martial arts department for many years. This year, we have a talented martial arts genius, Zhao Feiyang from the Zhao family. Finally, we can hold our heads high! The top spot in the martial arts department this year will definitely belong to our South Chen Martial Academy!" the principal of South Chen Martial Academy said with a self-satisfied smile.

The principal of Shanglong Martial Academy was unconvinced: "That's not necessarily true. Wang Lie from our Shanglong Martial Academy is equally outstanding and has a great chance of performing exceptionally and winning the top spot!"

"What, are you still不服气 (unconvinced)! Why don't we make a bet? If Zhao Feiyang gets the top spot, you give me the premium Donglai Fog Island Spirit Tea."

"You're too harsh. I bought that spirit tea for a thousand gold pieces from a merchant. Fine, let's bet! If you lose, you have to give me your precious Purple Mountain Coral, which is of equal value."

"Deal!"

"Please, Old Principal, be a witness to this, so you can't cheat later!"

The two men engaged in a heated debate and asked Old Principal Mu to be a witness.

"What do you two mean? Are you saying that the top spot in the martial arts department this year will be taken by your two academies?"

"You two are too disrespectful! We haven't even had a chance to speak yet!"

"This year, our North Lu Martial Academy's martial arts department isn't strong, but our rune department will crush you like dogs! Let you two have your moment of glory now, but wait for the next rune examination to see!"

The other principals expressed their dissatisfaction.

Old Principal Mu smiled, watching the principals argue heatedly, but did not respond. He was deep in thought.

Despite the arguments, the fact that the major primary martial academies in Deer Yang are all vying for the top spot in the martial arts department brings him great comfort.

The path of martial arts can only grow through competition.

Whether it's the Canglan Kingdom, the Zixuan Imperial Dynasty, or even the entire Divine Martial Continent, the competition for the supreme position in martial arts is extremely fierce, and the rivalry between the four major races is incredibly brutal.

The Holy Treaty of a Thousand Years of War has only a few years left. Once the Zixuan Imperial Dynasty and the Beast Alliance go to war, all human beings on the continent will be conscripted into this cruel and ongoing thousand-year battle.

Even though Deer Yang is just a small city in the Donglai Prefecture of the Canglan Kingdom, it still needs to cultivate a strong sense of competition.

...

After the martial arts department examination ended, two anxious figures hurried to the pavilion on the back mountain to pay respects to Old Principal Mu.

One of them is the chief examiner of the martial arts department. He is not too anxious, but he is shocked and wants the old principal to know what happened in the examination as soon as possible.

The other is the chief steward of the Zhao family.

This chief steward is truly anxious. If Young Master Feiyang loses the top spot, it will surely infuriate the head of the Zhao family. When the head of the family is angry, he, as the chief steward, will be held responsible.

"Old Principal, there was an unexpected incident in the martial arts department examination! Also, the chief steward of the Zhao family requests an audience to protest the results of the examination!"

The chief examiner of the martial arts department, accompanied by the chief steward of the Zhao family, reported to Old Principal Mu from a distance of ten feet outside the pavilion.

"Oh, what kind of unexpected incident? Come in and tell me about it."

Old Principal Mu Fengshan was somewhat puzzled.

Also, what is the chief steward of the Zhao family protesting?

The chief examiner took a few steps into the pavilion, bowed, and reported: "In the past, the top ten in the martial arts department examination have mostly been occupied by the children of the eight major families. So, for this examination, the top ten were already roughly determined, and there were no unexpected incidents.

However, just before the examination ended, a young man suddenly emerged, scoring 500 points, surpassing the talented young man Zhao Feiyang of the Zhao family and winning the top spot in the martial arts department.

The chief steward of the Zhao family protested, claiming that there was cheating in the examination and demanding a thorough investigation."

The chief steward of the Zhao family, still standing respectfully outside the pavilion at a distance of ten feet, dared not make any rash moves.

The old principal and the ten primary academy principals sitting inside the pavilion have the power to decide the admission of all martial students in the Deer Yang territory.

Even the head of any major family in Deer Yang would not dare to act arrogantly in front of Old Principal Mu, let alone a mere chief steward.

"Zhao Feiyang of South Chen Martial Academy actually lost the top spot! So, it must be Wang Lie who got the first place?!"

"Most likely!"

The principals were all very surprised and began to discuss.

"Haha, I was right. You owe me that Donglai Fog Island Spirit Tea."

The principal of Shanglong Martial Academy was delighted and said to the principal of South Chen Martial Academy.

The principal of South Chen Martial Academy immediately looked very distressed.

"Someone surpassed Zhao Feiyang and took the top spot. This is indeed unexpected!"

Old Principal Mu frowned and said, "But, was there any cheating in the examination?"

His tone was calm, making it impossible to guess his intentions.

The chief examiner immediately said with certainty: "Absolutely no cheating! If any examiner had shown favoritism, causing a slight fluctuation of two or three points in the scores, that might be possible.

But the young man scored 500 points, which is fifty points higher than Zhao Feiyang. The entire examination ground was open, with thousands of eyes watching. Who would dare to cheat? Who could cheat?"

"Oh, so this young man's score is genuine. Who has such great ability to surpass the martial arts genius of the Zhao family, who has been the standout in recent years? Is it Wang Lie of the Wang family suddenly breaking out, or the disciples of the Feng and Lin families hiding their true strength?"

Old Principal Mu was surprised and became interested in the young man mentioned by the chief examiner.

"None of them! This examinee is not the child of any major family in Deer Yang. He is from a humble background and has been unknown until he suddenly broke out in the martial arts department examination."

The chief examiner said.

"Humble background?"

Old Principal Mu was taken aback.

"How is this possible!"

"In our Deer Yang territory, there has been no humble background student who has entered the top five in the joint examination of the martial arts department for three hundred years."

"Even if a humble background student occasionally enters the top ten, they usually just barely make it to the bottom of the list. How could they win the top spot?!"

The principals were all greatly shocked.

Even if a humble background martial student has extremely high talent and works very hard, they may not necessarily have outstanding strength.

After all, the three major families and five major clans in Deer Yang have spent seven or eight hundred years almost monopolizing all the most profitable industries, shops, mines, and fertile lands in Deer Yang, accumulating unimaginable wealth.

Countless rune martial techniques!

Rare medicinal herbs that cost hundreds or thousands of silver pieces!

Extremely strong faculty!

Valuable personal guidance!

Even an ordinary young man from one of the eight major families, with a little cultivation from the family, can easily surpass those talented martial students from humble backgrounds.

If a genius appears in a major family, they can easily leave the humble background geniuses far behind.

This has led to the top ten list in the martial arts department of the Deer Yang Academy being dominated by the three major families and five major clans for the past three hundred years.

It is extremely rare for a humble background student to enter the top ten in the joint examination of the martial arts department.

Occasionally, students from some smaller families or wealthy households manage to squeeze into the top ten, but it is not common.

However, this year, a humble background young man has suddenly entered the top ten... and even the top spot. This is simply unimaginable.

How could they not be deeply shocked?

The chief examiner, fearing that Old Principal Mu would not believe him, quickly presented the top ten score sheet of the martial arts department examination: "This is the score sheet of the martial arts department examination. Please, Principal and all the other principals, review it! This score was unanimously recognized by all the chief and assistant examiners, with no objections. Only the Zhao family protested."

Old Principal Mu looked at Ye Fan's score.

Ye Fan, a martial student from South Chen Martial Academy, is a very ordinary martial artist at the second level!

His martial techniques, the basic three: fist technique, leg technique, and footwork, all scored full marks!

"Only by cultivating a martial technique to the tenth realm, the realm of turning the mundane into the miraculous, can one achieve the highest score of 100 points! This young man's talent in martial techniques is unimaginably high."

A glimmer of surprise flashed in Old Principal Mu's deep, steady eyes.

"If the score is genuine, this is a rare talent from a humble background that has not been seen in hundreds of years!"

"In that case, it's not surprising that he surpassed Zhao Feiyang!"

The principals were all shocked when they saw the score sheet.

Outside the pavilion, the chief steward of the Zhao family, seeing the principals' shocked expressions, feared they would favor Ye Fan and could not help but interject:

"Old Principal, all the principals, please be fair! This person is just a humble background martial student, and he has never shown any remarkable abilities. I heard from his classmate Zhao Xing that this person is the worst in his class and is often bullied.

How could he suddenly surpass thousands of candidates in the examination and win the top spot in the martial arts department? I strongly suspect he used cheating methods in the examination. I ask Old Principal Mu to take charge and revoke his score!"

The chief examiner glanced at the chief steward and said coldly, "This was witnessed by all the examiners. How could it be fake? Are you questioning the eyesight of the examiners present?!"

"I dare not. But perhaps he used a stimulant that can cause an instant burst of strength, leading to an extraordinary performance?"

"Where is such a drug? I have never heard of it."

"The types of medicinal herbs on the Divine Martial Continent number in the millions. Just the combinations of them are as numerous as the stars. Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

The chief steward of the Zhao family lowered his head and eyes, maintaining a humble demeanor, but his words were sharp and pointed.

"This..."

The chief examiner was momentarily speechless.

"This matter cannot be decided rashly. If this young man's score is genuine, even if he is usually low-key, he has his reasons. If we revoke his score without investigating, wouldn't we be discouraging a young genius?"

The principal of South Chen Martial Academy said with a cold laugh.

Although he was surprised that Zhao Feiyang did not win the top spot, it was fortunate that Ye Fan, a young martial student from South Chen Martial Academy, won the top spot, achieving the same effect.

He was definitely biased towards the students of his own academy.

The chief steward of the Zhao family looked anxious, fearing that Ye Fan would secure the top spot in the martial arts department.

He finally brought up the Zhao family: "Old Principal, please consider the Zhao family and thoroughly investigate this matter, revoking his examination score! We cannot allow evil people to infiltrate the academy!"

The Zhao family is the leading one of the five major clans in Deer Yang, with power spread throughout the entire Deer Yang territory. Even the Deer Yang Academy would give the Zhao family some face and not be so ruthless.

"Let's do this! There is a banquet tonight to celebrate the top ten candidates in the martial arts department of the joint examination. I will personally see if this young man is a genius from a humble background during the banquet. All of you will be present as well. If his score is fake, we can revoke it then. Let's do it this way!"

Old Principal Mu pondered for a moment, glanced at the chief steward of the Zhao family outside the pavilion, and waved his hand, dismissing them.

"Fine! The Zhao family will have an elder attend the banquet tonight. I hope Old Principal will be fair!"

The chief steward of the Zhao family, seeing that Old Principal Mu did not want to discuss the matter further, gritted his teeth and could only endure, retreating with a forced smile.