Eternal Life: I Have the Favor System

Chapter 520: Chapter 222: The Imperial Martial Arts Examination, Three Desperate Rounds

The Daoist and Provincial Examinations are generally conducted in groups of ten.

The Imperial Examination, however, is a one-on-one affair. The duels are more direct and far more brutal. While this method quickly filters out the elite, it also leads to a certain number of casualties.

Fatal accidents are known to happen every year.

Most of the casualties are members of the Black Armored Army or the Imperial Guard, but they also include some Martial Arts Scholars who have painstakingly reached this stage.

The training ground was massive.

It was located within the Black Armored Army’s military camp.

Aside from the examinees, only high-ranking officials and nobles were allowed inside to spectate. As a Martial Arts Grandmaster recognized by the Court, and with a disciple participating in the Imperial Examination, Guo Wei was treated as a guest of honor upon entering the military camp. He was given an excellent viewing position.

Mo Shan and his three companions were no ordinary people either, and they all sat behind Guo Wei.

The top three examinees from each region totaled about a hundred people. However, not all of them chose to participate in the Imperial Examination right away. Some accepted the Court’s rewards and returned to their local posts, planning to wait for the next Martial Arts Examination. They hoped to achieve the best possible results in both the Imperial Examination and the Palace Examination.

But the Great Yuan was vast, and many Martial Arts Scholars from all over wanted to secure a good position through the Imperial Examination. As a result, the total number of Martial Arts Scholars participating came to over a thousand.

The number seemed high at first glance.

In reality, with over thirty Governor’s Mansions in the Great Yuan, each producing at least sixty to seventy Martial Arts Scholars every session, the accumulated number was significant. Consequently, no fewer than a thousand Martial Arts Scholars participated in every Imperial Examination held by the Dynasty.

Most of them were dissatisfied with their current positions and had no hope of promotion. They hoped to land a better post through the Imperial Examination.

A smaller group had a clear objective. From the very day they first entered the Martial Arts Examination, they had resolved to go all the way to the end. They had spent years cultivating quietly in their home regions, waiting to make a name for themselves at the Imperial Examination.

But regardless of their ambitions, any Martial Arts Scholar who failed the Imperial Examination usually lost the determination to try again. Most would return to their local posts to carry out their duties until their Qi Blood waned and they were replaced by the next generation.

A small minority, however, remained undeterred. They would distinguish themselves over several Martial Arts Examinations and ultimately go on to achieve great things.

It could be said that every Martial Arts Scholar who appeared at the Imperial Examination was already a success—an existence beyond the reach of countless others.

The Martial Arts Examination concerned the very fate of the Great Yuan Kingdom, especially the Imperial Examination and the Palace Examination. The Court placed immense importance on them. The chief examiners were always high-ranking officials of the Great Yuan, with even a Prince and Imperial Grandson supervising from the side.

If an exceptional examinee appeared, the emperor himself might even come to watch in person.

The Palace Examination, of course, was conducted entirely under the emperor’s watchful eye from start to finish.

A sudden appearance by the emperor during the Imperial Examination was a rare event. He would usually dispatch a Prince and Imperial Grandson to oversee the proceedings.

Within the training ground, the Black Armored Army stood ready, poised for action.

The training ground, large enough for ten thousand men and horses to drill simultaneously, had been divided into twenty zones. Twenty soldiers from the Black Armored Army waited in each zone. Each zone contained a Soldier Landing Platform, upon which a dozen or so different weapons were laid out for selection.

During the duels, if a Martial Arts Scholar knew they were outmatched, they could throw down their weapon and shout their surrender. As for the Black Armored Army, no one would ever surrender unless every last one of them was struck down by the Martial Arts Scholar.

They treated every battle like a war, and in their minds, surrendering was an act of utter shame. Anyone who did so would be ostracized, expelled from the army, subjected to military law, or even cut down by a superior officer.

Chu Lingguang had previously encountered the Black Armored Army at the Northern Territory Trial Ground, where he had met a commander named Pan Tonghui. The man was at the Qi Sea Perfection realm. ’I wonder if I’ll run into him during this Martial Arts Examination,’ he thought.

"The Imperial Examination begins! Examinees, prepare!"

Finally, the time had come. The examinees waiting in the preparation area soon heard an official call out names. Those whose names were announced entered their designated testing zones and selected suitable weapons from the Soldier Landing Platform.

"Begin!"

In twenty different zones, a single examinee faced off against twenty well-trained soldiers of the Black Armored Army.

"KILL!"

These Black Armored Army soldiers were all battle-hardened veterans. Individually, their strength might not be remarkable, but a group of twenty was like a pack of savage beasts from primordial times.

They excelled at fighting as a unit and had mastered a military formation that balanced offense and defense perfectly. Once the formation was in place, their collective strength would double or even triple, making them impossible for an ordinary Martial Arts Scholar to overcome.

The Imperial Examination was a true trial by fire, designed to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Those who passed and were appointed to a local post could become a Centurion at minimum, a mid-rank officer. After a few years of experience, they could even become a Senior Officer in a city.

Conversely, those who failed would find promotion much more difficult upon returning to their posts. It might take over a decade to advance from a junior to a mid-rank officer. As for reaching the level of a Senior Officer, even if they eventually gained the seniority, their declining Qi Blood would see them replaced by a younger generation.

This was why the later stages of the Martial Arts Examination were progressively more grueling.

"I surrender!"

Barely a moment after the examination began, three Martial Arts Scholars, unable to withstand the relentless assault of the Black Armored Army, surrendered and retreated with injuries.

Others struggled on, only to be beaten black and blue by the Black Armored Army and carried off the training ground.

In the end, out of the twenty Martial Arts Scholars, only four managed to defeat the Black Armored Army and advance to the next round. Furthermore, all four were injured. It would be difficult for them to perform well in the second round.

"These members of the Black Armored Army, even without Opening the Dantian and Qi Sea, have all awakened several lines of Dragon Elephant Power. They each wear protective armor and can enhance their overall strength through military formations. To defeat them, you either need to have opened a sixth-layer Dharma Aspect and awakened Primitive Power, or you must have a cultivation base at the Qi Sea Perfection realm. You need at least one of those two; otherwise, an ordinary Qi Sea expert is simply no match for them."