Chapter 136: Beating Dogs Stick (First Update)
Translator: 549690339
On the second day of the Military Exam.
After yesterday’s elimination, only a little over a hundred people were left.
Today was still divided into two rounds. Su Liang’s order was quite early, and she already knew who her opponent would be.
As a result, Su Liang and Ning Jing didn’t bring all eighteen types of weapons in the carriage with them. She just chose the long knife she wanted to use and went.
However, Su Liang’s third opponent was not as strong as the previous two, so the result was without suspense.
This situation was not unusual. During the elimination stage, whether or not one could advance depended greatly on the grouping.
After the competition, Su Liang went straight home and did not meet Nian Ruxue.
Today, after Nian Ruxue dressed as a man and wore a mask again, everyone was used to it and didn’t find it strange.
In the afternoon, the fourth and final elimination round selected thirty people to enter the following ranking competition.
This time, Su Liang met a tough opponent.
It was Luo Rong, a young swordsman who had become famous in the jianghu over the past two years.
In the first three rounds, Luo Rong had defeated his opponents with just one move, earning him the nickname “One Slash Luo Rong”. He was one of the most eye-catching martial artists besides the two women in the Military Exam.
Today, the size of each battlefield had increased a lot compared to yesterday, and it was not as chaotic. There were even more spectators.
Wan Hui gave Zhengzheng some water so that his throat wouldn’t be dry when he cheered for Su Liang later.
After quietly switching positions with Qin Yujin without being noticed by Lin Xueqing, Xing Yusheng looked down at the delicate hand holding his arm and smiled faintly, “Su Liang will definitely be able to do it.”
When Lin Xueqing heard Xing Yusheng’s voice, she turned her head and saw that she had grabbed the wrong person, her face flushed, and she quickly let him go.
Xing Yusheng thought to himself, he wished his second uncle would hurry back so that he could marry his young wife.
Just as the Order Officer was about to announce the start of the martial arts competition, a guard in full armor and a waist sword walked up, “His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that from now on, all martial arts competitions involving Miss Nian and Miss Su must be held on the Combat Stage!”
There was only one Combat Stage in the center of the square, which was originally for tomorrow’s ranking competition.
Qin Yujin guessed, perhaps the emperor and the crown prince had learned of the two highly skilled women in this year’s Military Exam and wanted to promote them.
After all, the female general who had once mocked Qian Country’s women as knowing only embroidery came from Yin Country, which was now pressing its army at the southern border.
For many years, conflicts have continued between the two countries on the border. Nanping Prince colluded with Yin Country, and the smuggled iron ore also went to Yin Country. The current situation remains unclear as the stalemate continues.
All along, Qian Country has encouraged women to participate in the Military Exam to take back the pride that was once lost.
As a result, in this selection of the Military Exam, both Su Liang and Nian Ruxue received some preferential treatment, and the officials in charge were very polite towards them.
Following the Crown Prince’s command, Su Liang’s martial arts competition was moved to the high Combat Stage.
Someone struck four drums around the Combat Stage, and soon, most of the spectators on the square gathered around.
Lin Xueqing sighed, “So many people. I would be trembling with fear just standing up there.”
Seeing Su Liang empty-handed, the Order Officer asked loudly, “The competition is about to begin, will Miss Su not use any weapons for this round?”
“Yes.” At Su Liang’s words, she bent down and pulled out two sharp knives from the outside of her calves, took a few steps, and adopted a fighting posture.
Qin Yujin’s eyes sparkled, “Sister Liang is so beautiful and cool!”
By that time, some opportunists had already opened a betting pool on who would win this round, and many placed their bets.
Betting had been going on since the start of the Military Exam, and no one cared.
There were people betting on Su Liang’s victory, but even more were betting on Luo Rong’s victory.
In the previous three rounds, Su Liang’s strength did not seem particularly strong, and she gained the most attention only because she was a woman.
Meanwhile, Luo Rong’s performance in the first three rounds was very impressive.
Xing Yusheng instructed Qi Yan to place a bet of 1,000 taels for Su Liang to win.
Seeing Lin Xueqing seemed interested, Xing Yusheng smiled, “500 taels are yours. I’ll lend it to you, and you can return it to me when you win.”
Lin Xueqing quickly shook her head, “No need.”
“It’s settled then.” Xing Yusheng knew that Lin Xueqing didn’t really want to win money; she just found it fun. Of course, watching others bet was different from betting one’s own money.
The competition began.
With fierce moves and great speed, Luo Rong launched an sword attack on Su Liang!
Su Liang stood still, as if motionless.
“Sister Su!” Lin Xueqing saw Luo Rong’s sword approaching Su Liang.
With a spin, Su Liang precisely dodged Luo Rong’s attack and, with a counterattack, stabbed through Luo Rong’s sleeve from a tricky angle!
“Wow!” Lin Xueqing exclaimed, “Strike when the enemy least expects it. Sister Su taught me that! If she attacked early, Luo Rong would’ve seen through it. She had to choose the perfect timing!”
Hearing Lin Xueqing’s analysis, Xing Yusheng was somewhat surprised,
“Xueqing, you know a lot.”
Unable to listen any longer, Qin Yujin said, “Focus on the competition.” In a blink of an eye, Su Liang and Luo Rong had fought several rounds.
Those who had confidently bet on Luo Rong to win began to have doubts.
It seemed that Su Liang’s moves were restrained and not as intimidating as Luo Rong’s, but no matter what moves Luo Rong used, Su Liang could always narrowly dodge them. However, Luo Rong couldn’t avoid Su Liang’s blade every time.
“We’re going to lose.” A martial artist who bet on Luo Rong to win let out a long sigh.
“I really misjudged her. I didn’t expect this young girl to be so powerful.” said the elder with regret.
He was Luo Rong’s master and accompanied him to the Military Exam to seek a good future. He originally thought that there would be no problem in entering the ranking competition, even considering breaking into the top three. But he didn’t expect to meet such a strong opponent in the elimination match.
Such bad luck.
By the time Su Liang’s blade was pressed against Luo Rong’s neck, and he was forced to the edge of the Combat Stage, the fight was over.
Luo Rong’s face was unsightly as he shouted, “I admit defeat!”
Su Liang withdrew her blade, and the Order Officer announced the result of the contest.
Cheers erupted, but some were depressed due to losing money.
Luo Rong stepped down from the Combat Stage and left with his master.
Su Liang watched his retreating figure, deep in thought.
Duanmu Chen stayed home today, but his subordinates continuously reported the latest developments in the Military Exam, particularly focusing on Su Liang and Nian Ruxue.
When Chang’an came to report again, he said that he had met Su Liang and brought back her message, “Miss Su has a suggestion for Master.”
Duanmu Chen raised his eyebrow, “Oh?”
“Miss Su suggests adding a Challenge Contest after the ranking competition. At that time, if any eliminated martial artists have objections, they can have one chance to challenge anyone they choose. If they succeed, they can take their place. It would be more fair this way.” Chang’an said seriously.
Duanmu Chen’s eyes slightly narrowed.
Chang’an continued, “I also think so. Miss Su’s opponents in these four rounds have been quite strong, at least two of them could have originally entered the top thirty. Especially today’s Luo Rong; his swordsmanship is very impressive, but unfortunately, he had bad luck and met Miss Su so early on.”
Duanmu Chen was deep in thought, “Father may or may not be aware of the problems that exist in the rules that have been passed down for so many years. Those eliminated commoners due to bad luck are not what the emperor cares about. What really matters and would be remembered are the top three.”
Chang’an furrowed his brow, “But as long as they enter the top thirty, they would all have official titles. This opportunity is very important for them.” Duanmu Chen chuckled, “Indeed. In that case, I’ll go to the palace to see Father and discuss this matter.”
As he said, the higher-ups do not necessarily know about this issue; they just don’t care about it.
You first need to have a high enough status to have the opportunity to express opinions and make suggestions.
As this was a right thing to do, Duanmu Chen didn’t need to worry about being blamed; on the contrary, he could seize this opportunity to express himself.
Su Liang didn’t leave after her match, as she heard the Order Officer say that Nian Ruxue’s contest would start soon and she wanted to watch it.
Qi Yan said that Nian Ruxue’s opponent was quite strong this time.
Right before the contest started, Nian Ruxue appeared, still dressed as a man and wearing a mask, with a maid following her.
“We’ll know if she really has some skills after this match,” Xing Yusheng whispered.
“I always feel that if her Martial Arts were really formidable, she wouldn’t have hidden it so deeply before,” Qin Yujin, who had known Nian Ruxue for many years, felt something was amiss.
The competition began, and Xing Yusheng and Lin Xueqing didn’t hear Qin Yujin’s words, as they were focused on the Combat Stage.
From Su Liang’s position, she could only see Nian Ruxue’s back.
Both used long swords. Su Liang found this match quite exciting, disregarding her opinion of Nian Ruxue and judging it solely by the contest itself.
There were two types of swordsmanship: one that was domineering and powerful, and the other that was elegant and sharp.
The latter described Nian Ruxue.
Su Liang was surprised; she had underestimated Nian Ruxue.
As the cheers resounded, the contest ended with a stunning victory for Nian Ruxue.
Amidst the continuous praise, Nian Ruxue left the Combat Stage with her maid and went away.
Lin Xueqing frowned, “She is indeed quite formidable.”
Su Liang and the others also walked toward the outside of the square.
She asked Ning Jing, “What do you think of Nian Ruxue’s martial arts?” Ning Jing’s expression was indifferent, “Not so much.”
“Her swordsmanship is very pleasing to the eye,” Su Liang commented. Ning Jing shook his head, “Too many flashy moves, don’t learn them.”
“If we encounter each other later, what weapon do you think would be most suitable for me to use?” Su Liang asked.
Ning Jing replied with three words, “Dog Beating Stick..”
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