Chapter 31

Lu Changyuan thought for a long time before hesitantly asking, "Brother Yue, can you use the 'Jia' character charm five times?"

Yue Heng continued to feign ignorance, "Yes, aren't you all the same?"

Huang Shihong sighed heavily, "Bai Mingchun ranked eighth in Hong County, Brother Lu ranked fifty-seventh, and I ranked beyond the hundredth. All of us can use the character charm at most four times, which shows that this illusion treats everyone equally. But why does Brother Yue get one more use?"

Lu Changyuan's eyes were filled with doubt, Wen Xinyue seemed to be deep in thought, while Yue Heng secretly laughed but pretended to be clueless, asking, "What exactly went wrong? I don't know either!"

"Hmph! Don't give me that! Before the exam, County Magistrate Qi called you for a private meeting. Didn't he give you any special benefits?"

Wen Xinyue stood to the side, mocking, "I'm sure of it. It must be that County Magistrate Qi abused his power to give his illegitimate son, Yue Heng, some advantages. One of them is the extremely rare 'Jia' character charm, and the extra talent points are probably the second. There might be even more!"

"It might really be a compensation for the special admission candidates! Haha~"

Yue Heng laughed inwardly, wishing he could hug this girl and kiss her a few times; she was being so cooperative!

Everyone looked at each other in silence, speechless. How could this be?

"Brother Lu, I have a question. Must scholars fight on the front lines against the demon beasts, like me, holding a shield and a knife, covered in blood, with my life hanging by a thread?" Yue Heng asked Lu Changyuan, his face filled with disgust.

Lu Changyuan scratched his head, hesitating, "Not exactly. According to the records, scholars below the fifth rank generally need to be tempered on the battlefield, for a few years or even decades. After becoming a Scholar, one can nurture sixteen character charms in the divine palace, which will bring a qualitative change in combat style."

"Um, thank you... Let's go, time is pressing, everyone should hurry to training!" Yue Heng stood up, picked up the ring-headed knife and round shield, and prepared to walk alone to the isolated soldiers of King Zhou's army. He needed to learn the basic combat techniques as soon as possible.

He felt very annoyed. He hated the idea of scholars fighting on the front lines with weapons. He had to find a way to change this situation.

He didn't want to rely on fighting and bloodshed on the battlefield to become a fifth-rank Scholar!

In the training ground, many eyes were fixed on Yue Heng. Kuang Qing and Kuang Yun, who were in another training ground, didn't come to watch. When they heard that Yue Heng had defeated Bai Ming, and after learning the details, their faces turned grim.

"Bai Ming often takes dragon blood grass to enhance his strength and has learned some basic martial arts from his uncle. He chose the relatively rare 'Dou' character charm in the illusion. How could he lose?"

"Moreover, Yue Heng's luck is too good. Not only did he choose the extremely rare defensive 'Jia' character charm, but he can also use it five times!"

"Brother, this is troublesome. We need to come up with a more meticulous plan to kick him out of the illusion!"

"I, Kuang Qing, swear I will not rest until Yue Heng is removed!"

"The second act of 'Chang Wu' is about to begin. We need to think of a way!"

...

At this moment, Bai Ming, who had been kicked out of the illusion, looked around in confusion.

He was still in the waiting room of the county school, but there was no one around. All the candidates who had stood with him had disappeared, and his face turned pale.

"Impossible! I was eliminated early!"

Although he couldn't remember anything from the illusion, he wasn't foolish enough to think he had lasted until the end. The only answer was that no one was around.

"Candidate Bai Ming, go to the announcement room and wait!" A cold voice commanded, and Bai Ming obediently followed the order, heading to the distant announcement room.

However, he was not willing to give up. He mustered the courage to ask, "May I, Your Honor, know how I was eliminated?"

"Hmph! You shameless scoundrel, you still have the nerve to ask?"

The examiners all shook their heads, thoroughly disappointed in this candidate named Bai Ming. The highest examiner, Wen Zhangyuan, sternly shouted, "Get out now!"

This shout frightened Bai Ming so much that he almost wet his pants. His legs turned weak, and he crawled to the announcement room, crouching in the corner, silent. He had no idea what went wrong and tried hard to recall any details from the illusion but couldn't.

"Human hearts are dark; this person cannot be used!"

"Lord Zhang is overthinking it. This person will never become a scholar. He used the illusion's power to force a literary duel and has already lost the chance to become a scholar."

"Hmph, just losing the chance to become a scholar is not enough to satisfy my anger! I am responsible for the military preparations in Hong County this year. I will definitely put his name on the blood conscription list! He is a menace to the human race, and his heart is evil!"

"Please calm down, Your Honors. The second act of the illusion is about to begin. Please focus on observing. Let's not mention this person anymore."

In the examiner's observation room, the examiners were furious, but they finally focused on observing the illusion after being persuaded by Wen Zhangyuan and County Magistrate Cai.

...

In the illusion, after an hour of basic martial arts training, Yue Heng had roughly mastered the basic tactics of the shield and knife soldiers, becoming a relatively qualified soldier of King Zhou, ready to enter the battlefield.

The three thousand candidates were all like this. "The Book of Songs - Great Odes - Chang Wu" has six acts. The first act sets the background, and the second act involves mobilizing troops and arranging tactics.

The illusion's voice sounded again, and the second act of "Chang Wu" officially began.

"The king said to Minister Yin, 'Order Cheng Bo Xiufu to lead the troops. Arrange the formations on both sides. Warn my army, lead them along the Huai River, and inspect the land of Xu.' Do not linger, do not settle, the three tasks are completed."

In the palace of Haojing, King Zhou of Zhou gave military orders from his throne. He instructed Minister Yin Jifu, "I order the Grand Marshal Cheng Bo Xiufu to hold the military order, arrange the formations on both sides, put the entire army on high alert, lead them along the Huai River, and quickly inspect the land of Xu to investigate the rebellion of King Xu!"

Minister Yin Jifu passed the order, and Grand Marshal Cheng Bo Xiufu accepted it. The entire army quickly mobilized, and the three thousand candidates returned to their respective camps to wait. The royal army was now fully prepared.

"Miss Wen, do you have any way to find out the complete military order of King Zhou?" Yue Heng leaned against the bunk bed, crossed his legs, and stroked his chin, deep in thought, casually asking Wen Xinyue, who stood beside him.

Wen Xinyue was currently very annoyed. The soldiers in the camp all slept on bunk beds, one next to the other. How could a girl like her sleep?

"Shut up! Don't disturb me!"

Yue Heng came to his senses, looked at her a few more times, and realized what she was troubled about. He deliberately grinned and whispered, "Since Miss Wen doesn't want to go out and gather information, why not take off your clothes and go to bed~"

"You!"

Seeing Yue Heng's strange smile, Wen Xinyue had a strong urge to whip him, but it was not appropriate to do so in the camp. There were so many people watching, including candidates and King Zhou's soldiers. Although it was an illusion, it was a normal army created by the county school's spirit array, and everything was the same as reality except for the gender being ignored.

"Come on, sleep next to me, let's chat~" Yue Heng laughed even more, lying half on the bunk bed and patting the spot next to him. He found it truly amusing to see Wen Xinyue's angry face.

However, before Wen Xinyue could really get angry, Yue Heng said something that instantly extinguished her anger: "If you go and gather the military order, I will tell you a shocking secret!"

"What shocking secret?"

"A secret that can help us both score more points in this illusion, but I need to hear the complete military order first."

"You? You haven't even heard the full text of 'Chang Wu.' How could you know the secret of this illusion? What a joke!"

"Ah ha! It's precisely because I don't know 'Chang Wu' that I discovered something others don't know. If Miss Wen isn't interested, forget it. Come on, go to bed~"

"Why don't you just die!"

Although they were bickering, they kept their voices low. This was the vanguard infantry camp of the royal army, and in their squad, only they two were candidates. The rest were King Zhou's soldiers, who basically ignored them.

"Do you think I am who? I'm not even a squad leader, just a regular soldier. How could I find out the complete military order of King Zhou? Where should I go to gather information?"

"Since Miss Wen doesn't have the confidence to get the military order, let's go to bed~"

"Damn it! Tell me what the secret is first!"

"No, without the complete military order, I can't be sure if the secret is valid. You won't believe me if I tell you."

"You! You're not sure and still ask me to gather the military order? How can a low-ranking soldier gather information from high-ranking officers?"

"Alright, since it's so difficult, Miss Wen, let's go to bed~"

"..."

After arguing for a while, Yue Heng used the "go to bed" tactic to block Wen Xinyue's further arguments.

This illusion was strange. After the second act began, it gave no hints and didn't say when the third act would start. It seemed to intend for everyone to sleep for the night and wait for King Zhou to personally lead the royal army to Xu the next day.

Wen Xinyue really didn't want to sleep next to Yue Heng. She was angry, but seeing Yue Heng's smiling face, she felt a surge of委屈 (grievance). She stomped her foot in frustration and turned to leave.

"Hey! Get the complete order, don't miss any details!" Yue Heng called out to her back, trying not to disturb the other candidates.

Yue Heng lay on the bunk bed, stroking his chin, pondering the full text of the second act.

The full text of the second act of "Chang Wu" had been read to each candidate. King Zhou's order to Minister Yin Jifu was clear, and even the route of the march was determined. How to fight, who would lead the troops, and where to go were all clearly stated in "Chang Wu."

However, the eight characters "Do not linger, do not settle, the three tasks are completed" caught Yue Heng's attention. He was not a graduate student in Chinese literature and had not studied the Book of Songs. He couldn't understand these eight characters, and they didn't match the orders passed down by the centurion. There was definitely a problem here!

"Could it be... 'Do not linger' means 'do not stay with non-virgins'?" This sudden thought almost made him laugh out loud.

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