Chapter 85

The assistant, who knew little about the martial world, turned red with anger and raged at Dao Nanjiang's words, but everyone in the hall was at a loss.

‘...Brother?’

He had clearly said it.

Feng Leishan Jun was not here by chance. His sworn brother was inside this examination hall.

Who could be a person worthy of forming a sworn brotherhood with Feng Leishan Jun...

Everyone's gaze simultaneously turned to Dou Eiqi.

The only force that could have connections with the Tianmu Cai and the Lianzhu was the Huanglu Biaoju.

However, the confusion did not dissipate.

There was no reason for the naturally famous hero Feng Leishan Jun to form a sworn brotherhood with someone like Dou Eiqi.

‘What on earth is going on?’

But Dou Eiqi was equally flustered by Feng Leishan Jun's appearance.

"How is your preparation?"

At that moment, Dao Nanjiang turned his head from the assistant and spoke to someone.

Dao Nanjiang's gaze did not fall on Dou Eiqi.

The one who met his gaze was...

"I was taken aback. How did you know to come here?"

Naturally, it was You Xinyun.

You Xinyun genuinely looked surprised. Dao Nanjiang's appearance was not something he had planned.

Seeing You Xinyun's bewildered reaction, Dao Nanjiang and the people of Tianmu Cai finally showed a satisfied expression.

"Hehe, surprised? Now you know. My eyes are everywhere in the mountains of Zhejiang."

Dao Nanjiang spoke to You Xinyun with a playful expression.

You Xinyun did not ask why Dao Nanjiang had come, as there was only one reason, even without asking.

'He must have come out of concern for me.'

You Xinyun's guess was correct.

Dao Nanjiang had heard about the Guanbiao examination from Zhuge Jun and Tang Hailin, who were leading the women to Tianmu Cai.

He decided to help You Xinyun as soon as he heard the story and had been keeping a close eye on the Guanbiao examination.

And today, he put his plan into action.

Given his high position, he anticipated that the Baiyun Biaoju would struggle to handle the Huanglu Biaoju's power and came here to prevent any unforeseen disasters.

You Xinyun smiled at Dao Nanjiang and said,

"Since you're here, please take a seat and enjoy the show. My brother will soon provide some entertaining spectacles."

"Yahaha! I understand. I'm looking forward to it."

Dao Nanjiang and the bandits of Tianmu Cai found a spot and sat down comfortably.

As their brief conversation ended,

‘What, what is this?’

‘You, You Xinyun is Feng Leishan Jun Dao Nanjiang's sworn brother?’

‘That rascal?’

Everyone in the hall was left with their mouths agape, dumbfounded.

It was hard to believe that the sworn brother was You Xinyun.

To the people of other biaoju, You Xinyun was merely a puppet king under the control of Du Jinwu.

As everyone's gaze on You Xinyun changed,

‘What a dog's life!’

Dou Eiqi was seething with anger.

This relationship was something he had never heard of before.

The only time the two could have formed a bond was during the Tianmu Mountain biaoju.

However, according to reports, the Baiyun Biaoju's Tianmu Mountain biaoju was a complete failure, and they returned in a miserable state.

He could not understand what was happening at all.

Suddenly, Dou Eiqi scanned the surroundings with eyes full of rage. Everyone's gaze was focused on the Baiyun Biaoju and You Xinyun.

‘These stupid fools!’

Dou Eiqi's anger boiled.

The ones who should have been the focus of this Guanbiao competition were not these worthless scoundrels.

It was himself and the Huanglu Biaoju.

He turned his head sharply and glared at the assistant.

"Ugh! Now, we will start the Shouhuozheng! Everyone, make your final preparations!"

The assistant, who caught his hint, flinched and hurriedly tried to start the examination.

As the assistant's voice echoed loudly, people finally turned their gaze from You Xinyun and hurriedly formed their formations.

Each biaoju had different formations, but they could be broadly categorized into two types.

One was an aggressive formation, where a minimal number of people were assigned to defend the tent where the biao was located, and the rest were formed into an attack team.

The other was a defensive formation, where the majority of the forces were assigned to defend the tent, and only a minimal number were assigned to attack.

The aggressive formations aimed to seize the biao and score many points at once.

The defensive formations aimed to hold out until the other biaoju were eliminated and then take advantage of the situation.

Among them, the Huanglu Biaoju was the most eye-catching.

The Huanglu Biaoju had three attack teams.

The first team was composed of the original biaoshi of the Huanglu Biaoju.

The second team was composed of the warriors of the Jiulong Hall.

The third team was composed of the Taoists of the Huangshan Sect.

Moreover, the number of people in the defense team was the largest.

The people stationed in the tent were all highly skilled wandering experts.

For this day, they had hired all the highly paid wandering experts they could afford.

Although the balance was completely disrupted, it was possible because the Huanglu Biaoju had arranged for no limit on the number of biaoshi participating in the examination.

Everyone's faces showed tension as they observed the overwhelming strength of the Huanglu Biaoju's attack teams.

But only one person, You Xinyun, was completely relaxed.

Seeing this, Dou Eiqi sneered.

‘Hmph! I don't know how you managed to bring Feng Leishan Jun with money, but it seems you couldn't get him to help you in the examination. You must have thought you could dampen our spirits, but it's a futile attempt!’

He believed You Xinyun had bribed Dao Nanjiang with money to bring him.

It was absurd to think that someone like him could be a sworn brother to Feng Leishan Jun.

If Dao Nanjiang only remained a spectator, there was no reason for him to worry.

He couldn't openly kill anyone now that there was an audience, but that was all.

‘If I handle it as an accident, what can he do, even if he is the king of the green forest?’

He couldn't imagine the royal soldiers would oppose them for such a worthless person.

‘Finally, the moment of revenge!’

His shoulder, where his arm had been cut off, throbbed.

Swoosh!

Dou Eiqi, emitting intense killing intent, drew his sword.

And at that moment,

"The examination will begin!"

With the assistant's words, the battle commenced.

Paba! Tada!

As soon as the words were spoken, numerous biaoshi rushed towards the biaoshi of other biaoju.

"Knock them all down and seize their biao!"

"Absolutely do not let them through! Defend the biao at all costs!"

Clang! Clang!

Swords clashed in all directions, sparks flew, and screams echoed loudly.

Though it was an examination, it was no different from a battlefield.

Everyone was fighting for their lives.

Currently, the Huanglu Biaoju was the one sweeping through with overwhelming momentum.

The three attack teams of the Huanglu Biaoju did not combine their forces but attacked different targets.

The second team, composed of the warriors of the Jiulong Hall, was facing off against the biaoshi of the Ajiao Biaoju.

"Kraaa!"

"My arm! My arm!"

Their skills were cruel and merciless.

Like wolves starving for days, the warriors of the Jiulong Hall were turning the ground red with blood.

However, the Taoists of the Huangshan Sect, who were facing the Qinghua Biaoju, were no different.

They mocked the Qinghua Biaoju's defense with a look of disdain.

Even before 2 geng (30 minutes) had passed, the two biaoju were on the verge of losing their biao.

But something was a bit off.

The Ajiao Biaoju and the Qinghua Biaoju were both well-established biaoju in Zhejiang. They were not the type to be easily defeated.

‘Tsk! I told them to be as inconspicuous as possible.’

The assistant, observing the situation, showed a displeased expression. His true thoughts had slipped out.

Indeed, the reason for this overwhelming outcome was simple.

Before the examination, the Huanglu Biaoju had made some kind of agreement with the Ajiao Biaoju and the Qinghua Biaoju. They had promised substantial rewards in exchange for their defeat.

Though he had hinted that they should not make it too obvious, this was going too far.

The kings of the Mingjin Biaoju and the Xinguan Biaoju kept looking at him.

Naturally, the assistant pretended not to notice their gazes.

‘Anyway, if the three biaoju lose their biao and score 50 points each, the Huanglu Biaoju winning first place will be a foregone conclusion.’

The assistant finally turned his gaze to the first team of the Huanglu Biaoju led by Dou Eiqi.

‘...Huh?’

But then, the assistant tilted his head in confusion.

Something was off with the situation of the first team led by Dou Eiqi.

The biaoshi of the Huanglu Biaoju were not advancing at all.

"What is the current score of the Baiyun Biaoju?"

The assistant, tilting his head, asked his subordinate who was in charge of scoring. The assistant's eyes widened in shock upon hearing the answer.

On the other hand, Dou Eiqi, leading the attack, could not hide his bewilderment.

‘Why, why can't we break through!’

The defense team of the Baiyun Biaoju, blocking the advancing biaoshi of the Huanglu Biaoju, was as solid as a wall.

Dou Eiqi bit his lip until it bled.

‘This is unbelievable! We haven't even taken one biao yet!’

Indeed, the Baiyun Biaoju had not lost a single biao so far.

He couldn't understand the current situation at all.

‘Our biaoshi are far superior in skill to those of a third-rate biaoju like them! Why?’

As he said, the skill level of the Huanglu Biaoju's biaoshi was far superior.

Therefore, this outcome was due to one reason.

You Xinyun, his strategy was the answer.

The formation of the Baiyun Biaoju was completely different from the others.

There was no attack team. All the biaoshi were involved in defense.

Without focusing on attack, their defense was inevitably much stronger compared to other biaoju.

You Xinyun did not spend the month trying to improve their skill levels. Time was short, and there was a limit to how much they could improve.

Instead, You Xinyun came up with another plan.

-Perfectly master the