Chapter 18

Seeing that the Marquis of Yunwu did not punish Zhang Ruochen but instead punished Consort Xiao, Consort Lin let out a long sigh of relief and immediately pulled Zhang Ruochen to one side.

Consort Lin still found it hard to believe what had just happened and asked, "Ruo'er, have you really become a true martial artist?"

"Yes!" Zhang Ruochen nodded, no longer hiding it.

"You just became a martial artist and are already participating in the year-end assessment. What if you encounter danger?" Consort Lin was somewhat worried.

Zhang Ruochen replied, "Even if I do nothing, will I not encounter danger? Mother, you don't need to worry. I will do my best and act within my limits."

Only young martial artists under the age of twenty could participate in the year-end assessment.

The Marquis of Yunwu had a total of nine sons and thirteen daughters.

The fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth princes were all under twenty years old. Except for the seventh prince, who was not in the capital, the other four princes would all participate in the assessment.

In addition to the direct princes and princesses, the royal relatives' families would each select three of their most outstanding young martial artists to participate in the year-end assessment. For example, the Lin family.

The royal relatives had already gathered, forming various camps around the royal martial arena.

Some important figures in the capital, such as Earth Apex martial artists, sect leaders, and heads of large families, had also received invitations to attend the ceremony at the royal martial arena.

"Madam, in previous years, the royal invitations were also sent to Qingxuan Pavilion, but you never went. Why do you plan to attend this year?" Mo Hanlin asked, following Qin Ya, somewhat puzzled.

Despite the cold winter, Qin Ya wore a long crimson dress, revealing her two snow-white arms and a sensual collarbone, as if she felt no cold at all.

Qin Ya's eyes carried a flirtatious smile, her lips red and glossy. She said, "I've met someone interesting and naturally want to learn more about him."

"Madam, are you talking about the ninth prince?" Mo Hanlin asked.

"Ha ha! Who else could it be?" Qin Ya laughed.

Two months ago, after Zhang Ruochen visited Qingxuan Pavilion, Qin Ya had sent people to investigate him.

What surprised Qin Ya was that the determined young man had not activated his Divine Martial Mark for the past sixteen years and was just an ordinary person. Moreover, he was weak and often bedridden due to illness.

She even found out about Zhang Ruochen's miserable situation in the palace, the grievances between Consort Lin and the Lin family, and so on.

Yet, such a young man had spent 100,000 silver coins to buy a large amount of medicinal pills and two True Martial Treasures from Qingxuan Pavilion.

Where did he get such a large sum of silver?

What secrets did he have?

In Qin Ya's view, the ninth prince, whom everyone looked down upon, was a complete mystery, making her unable to figure him out.

Driven by curiosity, she decided to attend the year-end assessment in person to see how many more secrets Zhang Ruochen was hiding.

"Madam, you actually came to the royal martial arena? That's quite unexpected," Lin Fengxian said, seeing Qin Ya in her crimson dress from a distance and greeting her.

In Lin Fengxian's eyes, Qin Ya was also a very mysterious woman.

He had only seen her once from a distance and was not familiar with her. However, he knew that she wielded enormous financial power, enough to influence the entire capital's economic operations, and was definitely not an ordinary woman.

It was said that in the martial market, five out of ten shopkeepers worked for her.

However, the madam was always elusive, and even the head of a large family found it difficult to meet her.

If he could establish a relationship with her, it would only benefit the Lin family.

Qin Ya glanced at Lin Fengxian, her eyes slightly raised. "Sir?"

Mo Hanlin whispered, "Madam, he is the head of the Lin family, Lin Fengxian."

"Lin family? Oh! That's interesting!" Qin Ya's eyes lit up, and she immediately smiled gracefully. "So, you are the head of the Lin family. My apologies, my apologies!"

Lin Fengxian did not expect Qin Ya to be such an easy-going woman and smiled. "Two years ago, when I went to Qingxuan Pavilion to buy a batch of medicinal pills, I requested to meet the madam. Unfortunately, the madam had urgent matters to attend to, and I only saw her from a distance. Two years have passed, and the madam has become even more beautiful!"

"Two years ago..."

Qin Ya had no memory of it, but she still smiled.

She looked at the Lin family martial artists behind Lin Fengxian, her gaze settling on Lin Nishan. "This must be the second miss of the Lin family. What a beauty, even I feel inferior."

Lin Nishan stood behind Lin Fengxian, wearing a snow-white dress, her black hair swaying, her figure slender, and her face delicate and beautiful, truly a standard beauty.

However, to say that the madam was less beautiful than her was not necessarily true.

Each had their own charm.

"Madam, you know my daughter?" Lin Fengxian asked, somewhat surprised.

Qin Ya did not know Lin Nishan, but she had investigated Zhang Ruochen. One of the people who had the greatest impact on Zhang Ruochen was this Lin beauty.

So, she had conveniently remembered Lin Nishan's name.

Qin Ya smiled, "One of the four great beauties of the Marquisate of Yunwu, I have heard of her. It's said that even the noble ninth prince is pursuing Miss Lin. How enviable!"

A Lin family martial artist, a teenager of sixteen or seventeen, sneered, "The ninth prince is just being delusional. With his talent, even if he cultivates for a hundred years, he will never be worthy of Sister Nishan."

Another older Lin family martial artist laughed, "After the year-end assessment, Sister Nishan will be engaged to the seventh prince. The ninth prince is like a toad lusting after a swan, both foolish and laughable."

These two Lin family martial artists were named Lin Chengwu and Lin Tianwu.

Lin Nishan, Lin Chengwu, and Lin Tianwu were the three most outstanding young geniuses selected by the Lin family to represent them in the year-end assessment.

Qin Ya touched her snow-white chin, as if she had discovered a significant secret. "Miss Lin is to be engaged to the seventh prince, truly a cause for congratulations. If the news spreads, all the women in the capital will surely envy and be jealous!"

Lin Nishan lightly pursed her lips, her eyes showing a hint of joy. After all, marrying the seventh prince was the dream of countless women in the Marquisate of Yunwu.

She was now very close to her dream!

The year-end assessment was divided into a literary and a martial examination.

The literary examination was not taken seriously.

Even if one ranked first in the literary examination, they would only receive a few words of praise. Only by performing well in the martial examination could one receive the generous rewards from the royal family.

The martial examination began!

The first round of the martial examination: testing strength.

In the martial arena, there were various black stone discs of different sizes, divided into ten weight classes.

The smallest stone disc had a diameter of only half a meter and weighed one hundred pounds!

The largest stone disc had a diameter of three meters and weighed one thousand pounds!

The participants would test their strength in order of age, from youngest to oldest.

Little Princess Zhang Yulin was the first to enter the martial arena. This year, she was only six years old, standing one meter tall, with a delicate and adorable appearance.

"Wow!"

Little Princess walked to the black stone disc with a diameter of half a meter, stopped, and began to circulate her True Qi in her meridians. She gripped the edge of the stone disc with both hands, looking somewhat strained, but ultimately managed to lift the one-hundred-pound stone disc.

"Thud!"

She threw the stone disc with all her might, and it landed one meter away.

Little Princess looked somewhat disappointed and then stared at the second stone disc.

The second stone disc weighed two hundred pounds, and despite her best efforts, Little Princess could not lift it and had to give up and step back.

"Little Princess opened her Divine Martial Mark at the age of four and can now lift a one-hundred-pound stone disc. Truly remarkable, she will surely become a great talent in the future."

The Marquis of Yunwu, sitting above, also nodded slightly. The birth of another genius among his children naturally filled him with joy.

Next, the tenth and eleventh princesses tested their strength. They were fourteen and ten years old, respectively.

The tenth princess had reached the middle stage of the Earth Apex realm and lifted a two-hundred-pound stone disc, throwing it seven meters. Unfortunately, she could not lift the three-hundred-pound stone disc and had to give up.

The eleventh princess, also at the middle stage of the Earth Apex realm, lifted the two-hundred-pound stone disc and threw it six meters.

However, considering that the eleventh princess was four years younger than the tenth princess, her performance was considered more outstanding.

The first three princesses were all under fourteen years old and female, so their strength was naturally weaker than that of males, and they could only lift up to a two-hundred-pound stone disc.

Next came the true competition among geniuses.

Lin Nishan, fifteen years old, was the youngest among the martial artists, excluding the three princesses. Therefore, she was the next young genius to enter the martial arena.

She directly skipped the first nine stone discs and walked to the tenth stone disc.

The tenth stone disc had a diameter of three meters and weighed one thousand pounds.

"Up!"

Lin Nishan circulated the surging True Qi in her body, using only one hand to grip the massive stone disc, which was larger than her body, and easily lifted the thousand-pound stone disc over her head.

Ordinary people could not imagine that such a delicate and slender figure could bear such a terrifying weight.

She was only fifteen!

Lin Nishan twisted her fingers, and the thousand-pound stone disc immediately flew from her palm, landing fifteen meters away and creating a large crater in the ground.

"Heaven! Too amazing! The Lin family has given birth to another great genius."

"Just a girl, yet she can lift a thousand-pound stone disc with one hand. Her cultivation must have reached an incredibly powerful level!"

...

The Marquis of Yunwu, sitting above, also showed a look of amazement. "Whose genius is this? Her talent is almost on par with the ninth princess!"

The Empress was very satisfied with Lin Nishan's performance and smiled. "Your Majesty, she is the daughter of the head of the Lin family, named Lin Nishan. I also find her very outstanding and intend to have her engaged to the seventh prince."

"Ah, that little girl. I have some memory of her. With her talent and background, she is indeed a match for the seventh prince."

The Marquis of Yunwu frowned slightly, his gaze turning to Zhang Ruochen standing at the edge of the martial arena. "However, I remember that she and the ninth prince were good playmates when they were young. They are also cousins, like childhood sweethearts. I even discussed with the old man of the Lin family about arranging a marriage for them. Unfortunately, the incident three years ago put an end to the engagement."

The Empress laughed. "Your Majesty is mistaken! With Lin Nishan's current talent, how could she possibly look up to the ninth prince? They are no longer in the same world, and the gap between them will only grow larger in the future."

"Given her talent, even if she were to become a secondary consort to the seventh prince, I believe she would be quite willing. The Lin family would also not miss this opportunity to curry favor with the seventh prince."

The Marquis of Yunwu also nodded slightly, admitting that the ninth prince's talent was indeed far inferior to Lin Nishan. This was inevitable!

In the martial world, it was common for men to be stronger than women.

However, a combination where the woman was much stronger than the man, if the gap was too large, would not be good for either party!