Chapter 122: Change in National Fortune
Several days later, Chu Qiguang set off from the northern gate with Chen Gang for Northern Mountain Manor City, while Qiao Zhi followed them from afar.
Chu Qiguang had wanted Qiao Zhi to stay behind in Azure Sun County to keep an eye on the fiends, but Qiao Zhi had insisted on coming with him.
"White Rice can take care of things in Azure Sun County," Qiao Zhi argued. "I'm not staying behind and missing the show! I've been dying to see you prove everyone wrong and beat up everyone at the manor test!"
Even White Rice, Lulu, and the other cat fiends had expressed a strong desire to go with him.
"What's there to see?" Chu Qiguang asked in exasperation. "It's just a bunch of sparring matches between third-state martial artists."
"It's way more than that!" Qiao Zhi protested. "Who wouldn't want to see you prove everyone wrong after they've all written you off? I'm not going to rest until I see them eat their words!"
In the end, Chu Qiguang only agreed to bring Qiao Zhi, while the other cat fiends were left behind to continue their work in Azure Sun County.
Chu Qiguang had invited Wang Chaoqun and Zhang Yuntian to travel with him to Northern Mountain Manor City, but they seemed to be aware of his negative reputation as well, and both refused.
Thus, Chu Qiguang took Chen Gang and Qiao Zhi to Chitter. It only took the Chitter around fifteen minutes to arrive in the sky less than ten kilometers away from Northern Mountain Manor.
They landed in a secluded area with no one else around. Chu Qiguang patted Chitter on the head, then sent him back to Hidden Fiend Village.
From there, Chu Qiguang and Chen Gang continued on foot toward Northern Mountain Manor City. There was an official venue for the martial examination in the city, and whenever the martial examination came around, rental prices for accommodation on the streets near the examination venue would skyrocket.
By this point, most of the other martial artists taking part in the martial examination had already arrived around half a month ago, so there were no courtyards for Chu Qiguang to rent. In the end, he could only rent a room for ten taels of silver a month, much to Accountant Qiao Zhi's dismay.
Not long after Chu Qiguang and Chen Gang arrived in their room, the martial artist staying across from them came over.
"I am Tao Zhiyue from Past Sun County," the young man introduced as he cupped his fist in a salute.
Chu Qiguang returned the salute and replied, "I am Chu Qiguang from Azure Sun County."
Tao Zhiyue's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.
"You're the Chu Qiguang who led the uprising against the Ding Clan?"
"That's right," Chu Qiguang admitted without any hesitation.
A cold and arrogant look instantly appeared on Tao Zhiyue's face. He turned to return to his room, seemingly feeling that even speaking with Chu Qiguang would dirty his tongue. However, just as he was about to step inside, he couldn't resist throwing a final jab. He harrumphed coldly and said, "There's no place for spineless cowards like you here!"
The door to another nearby room had also been opened, and a servant stuck his head out from inside to see what was happening.
Aside from Chu Qiguang and Tao Zhiyue, there were two other examinees occupying the remaining rooms in the courtyard. Both of them also looked down on Chu Qiguang with cold disdain.
Make sure you teach these bastards a good lesson when it's their turn to fight you! Qiao Zhi spat through gritted teeth from the rooftop. I have some recollection of Tao Zhiyue. If I remember correctly, he goes on to become a wujinshi.
Chu Qiguang knew that there had to be something remarkable about Tao Zhiyue for him to have left an impression on Qiao Zhi, so he asked about Tao Zhiyue's future.
After becoming a wujinshi, he served as an imperial censor for over ten years, Qiao Zhi revealed. Throughout the course of his political career, he impeached many powerful officials, and he was always known as a figure of justice and morality in the officialdom.
Sounds like he's a good guy, Chu Qiguang said.
He was the first person in the city to surrender to the invading wolf fiends, and he even opened the city gates for them, Qiao Zhi scoffed. After that, he orchestrated the downfall of many other officials of the Great Han Empire, and for his contributions, he received an official title in the Great Qian Empire.
Ah, so he's a political opportunist, Chu Qiguang mused with a nod.
It didn't take long for Chu Qiguang to realize just how terrible his reputation had become. All the other martial examinees were either giving him the cold shoulder or openly mocking him, and even Chen Gang was being picked on by association.
Wang Chaoqun and Zhang Yuntian, the other two examinees from Azure Sun County, were pretending not to know him at all.
I've been completely ostracized. It seems like the martial arts world in Northern Mountain Manor is completely ruled by the Vast Heavens Faction. If the same applies to the entire Spirit Province or even the entire northern region, then the martial artists of the Vast Heavens Faction must possess significant influence in the imperial court. In fact, they may even be capable of opposing the emperor's authority.
This is most likely why the emperor insisted on removing Fei Yi and promoting Wu Siqi. He's trying to turn Wu Siqi into the common enemy of the Vast Heavens Faction so they can keep one another in check. If that's the case, then the Yong'an Emperor seems to be quite a capable ruler.
***
That night, a middle-aged man with a goatee came to Chu Qiguang's room. He was a renowned doctor in Azure Sun County, and Hao Xiangtong had paid him to serve as Chu Qiguang's personal doctor for this trip. He had arrived with a plentiful supply of hemostatics, painkillers, and pills that could ensure one's survival even in critical condition.
She's sent me a walking ICU! Chu Qiguang thought to himself in exasperation.
Right at that moment, Qiao Zhi jumped down into the courtyard and grumbled, Those bastards are taking bets on who's going to beat you into a cripple! You better not show them any mercy, Chu Qiguang! Make sure to beat them so badly that they have nightmares about you for the rest of their lives!
***
Three days passed, and registration at the martial examination venue was finally open.
Chu Qiguang went to line up with all of the other examinees, and of course, he was met with scorn and disdain from all directions. Right after he completed his registration, he heard a commotion on the street outside. It seemed that someone important had just arrived.
After returning to the courtyard, Chu Qiguang sent Chen Gang out to investigate, and he soon returned to inform Chu Qiguang that someone named Jiang Longyu had come to register for the martial examination.
"Jiang Longyu?" Qiao Zhi exclaimed. "He underwent the martial examination in Northern Mountain Manor?"
"Who is he?" Chu Qiguang asked.
As it turned out, Jiang Longyu was very much worthy of the grand reception that he had just received. According to Qiao Zhi, there was a Ministry of Divination in the imperial court, which took in individuals proficient in the art of divination from all over the empire.
The emperor himself was also extremely adept in the art of divination, so he naturally used his divination abilities every year to examine the empire's fortune and predict the future.
Over ten years ago, the Yong'an Emperor performed divination alongside the Ministry of Divination, and they discovered that the national fortune of the Great Han Empire was on the decline. The only way to reverse this trend and save the Great Han Empire was to find eight legendary warriors who would lead the empire to resurgence.
"These eight warriors are collectively known as the Eight Han Resurgence Generals, and the Yong'an Emperor has been constantly using his divination abilities to track them down," Qiao Zhi explained. "Jiang Longyu is one of the eight warriors, and as you can imagine, he possesses tremendous aptitude for martial arts.
"He became a wusheng at just thirteen years of age, and it seems that this is the year he passed the martial examination. He's the first of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals to be found, and he's been treated like a deity from birth, so he's become extremely arrogant."
The commotion outside had nothing to do with Chu Qiguang, and after a day of cultivation and meditation, it was finally time for the manor test to commence.
