Chapter 74: The Exam Begins
Of the nine commanderies west of the ridge, besides Yunwu Commandery and Sifang Commandery, there were seven other commanderies.
Before nightfall, the young martial artists from the other seven commanderies were also led into the Western Courtyard Martial Ground one after another, each forming their own camp without clustering together.
Like Yunwu Commandery, the other seven commanderies were all lower-class commanderies. Some commanderies had only a few dozen young martial artists, while others had one or two hundred.
The number of young martial artists participating in the academy exam naturally reflected the national strength of each commandery.
"Among the nine commanderies west of the ridge, only Sifang Commandery is a middle-class commandery, with the strongest national power. Of the young martial artists who came for the academy exam, Sifang Commandery accounts for nearly half," Liu Chengfeng said.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the number of young martial artists in the Western Courtyard Martial Ground and made a rough estimate. There were about fifteen hundred people in total, all martial arts experts at the Mysterious Extreme Realm.
Every person present was a young genius in their own commandery, and none of them were weak.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Why are there only martial artists from the nine commanderies west of the ridge? Where are the martial artists from the nine commanderies south of the ridge, east of the ridge, and north of the ridge?"
Liu Chengfeng smiled and said, "The outer palace of the Martial Market Bank is divided into four courtyards: the Southern Courtyard, the Northern Courtyard, the Eastern Courtyard, and the Western Courtyard. Each courtyard recruits students independently. We young martial artists from the nine commanderies west of the ridge can only enter the Western Courtyard and become outer palace disciples of the Western Courtyard."
"Only when your cultivation breaks through to the Earth Extreme Realm and you become an inner palace disciple can you compete on the same stage with the inner palace students from the other three courtyards."
Zhang Ruochen nodded and stopped asking questions. He sat cross-legged on the ground and began to meditate.
His gaze fixed on the four large sword-carved characters "Western Courtyard Martial Ground" on the distant cliff wall, sensing the sword intent emanating from the characters, thereby comprehending the realm of Sword Heart Illumination.
Tonight, the young martial artists from the nine commanderies could only spend the night on the Western Courtyard Martial Ground.
The vast majority of martial artists sat cross-legged, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, striving to adjust their state to the best in order to cope with tomorrow's academy exam.
The next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, three resounding bell tolls rang out from the Martial Market Academy.
Those martial artists who were either cultivating or resting were all awakened by the bell sounds.
On a seven-zhang-high stone platform in the center of the martial ground stood ten martial artists with powerful cultivation. Among them, one elder wore a golden robe, while the other nine all wore silver robes.
The nine martial artists in silver robes were the guides who had gone to the nine commanderies, all of them silver-robed elders of the Martial Market Academy.
Liu Chengfeng said in a low voice, "The internal hierarchy of the Martial Market Bank is strict, and people of different ranks wear different clothes. Only those who become elders of the Martial Market Bank can wear silver robes. As for the golden-robed elder... the entire Western Courtyard has only one person who can wear a golden robe, and that is the Western Courtyard Master."
The Western Courtyard Master was a golden-robed elder of the Martial Market Bank.
As for Elder Xie, Elder Situ, and even Liu Chengfeng's father, they were all only silver-robed elders of the Martial Market Bank.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "If we pass the exam and enter the Martial Market Academy, what color robe do we wear?"
"Plain white robes," Liu Chengfeng said with a smile.
At this moment, the Western Courtyard Master stood on the seven-zhang-high platform. The golden robe on his body emitted a dazzling golden light, making him look like a blazing sun, causing many martial artists to be unable to open their eyes.
It was clear that the golden robe on the Western Courtyard Master was far more than just a piece of clothing.
The Western Courtyard Master swept his gaze across the entire venue, releasing a powerful aura, and said, "This year, a total of one thousand five hundred and thirty-seven young martial artists from the nine commanderies west of the ridge are participating in the academy exam. The exam is divided into two rounds: the first round, 'Hunting Savage Beasts,' and the second round, 'Tower Challenge.' Finally, the top one hundred and twenty in the rankings will become outer palace disciples of the Western Courtyard of the Martial Market Academy. Next, Elder Situ will read out the specific exam rules."
After saying this, the Western Courtyard Master stepped back.
Liu Chengfeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Fortunately, the exam rules are the same as in previous years."
Liu Chengfeng had prepared in advance and was full of confidence in this academy exam.
Even though Liu Chengfeng was the son of a silver-robed elder of the Martial Market Bank, he still had to pass the exam to enter the Martial Market Academy for cultivation.
Of course, with his status, he could certainly know many inside details of the exam in advance and make corresponding preparations, giving him a greater chance than other martial artists.
"One thousand five hundred and thirty-seven people, only one hundred and twenty will be accepted. That's less than one-tenth. With my cultivation, I definitely won't pass," a young martial artist at the initial stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm sighed, already losing confidence in this academy exam.
On the stone platform, Elder Situ bowed to the Western Courtyard Master. Then, he took a step forward, faced the young martial artists below, and said, "The exams of the Martial Market Academy have always been fair and just. We are recruiting geniuses with extraordinary talent. Therefore, even if your cultivation is a bit lower, as long as your talent is strong enough, you still have a good chance of passing the exam."
Those martial artists who had previously lost confidence immediately rekindled their fighting spirit upon hearing these words and looked toward Elder Situ.
Elder Situ continued, "Half an hour from now, everyone will enter the Demon Ridge one by one. You will only be entering a pre-designated area on the outskirts of the Demon Ridge. All third-rank and above savage beasts in that area have already been cleared out in advance."
"For the first round of the Martial Market Academy exam, hunting savage beasts: martial artists at the initial stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm must hunt five second-rank lower-class savage beasts to pass the first round."
"Martial artists at the middle stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm must hunt ten second-rank lower-class savage beasts to pass the first round."
"Martial artists at the late stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm must hunt twenty second-rank lower-class savage beasts to pass the first round."
"Martial artists at the small extreme position of the Mysterious Extreme Realm must hunt forty second-rank lower-class savage beasts to pass the first round."
"If there is a martial artist at the middle extreme position of the Mysterious Extreme Realm, they must hunt eighty second-rank lower-class savage beasts to pass the first round."
"One second-rank middle-class savage beast is equivalent to five second-rank lower-class savage beasts. One second-rank upper-class savage beast is equivalent to twenty-five second-rank lower-class savage beasts."
As Elder Situ announced the exam rules from above, the young martial artists below all began to discuss in low voices.
A young woman at the initial stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm showed a hint of a smile and said, "I only need to hunt five second-rank lower-class savage beasts to pass the first round. That's too easy!"
Another martial artist sneered and said, "You're thinking too simply! The savage beasts in the Demon Ridge live in harsh environments all year round. They not only fight against human martial artists but also compete with other savage beasts for food. Their strength is at least twice as strong as those savage beasts outside. Each second-rank lower-class savage beast has strength comparable to a martial artist at the initial stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm. It's already very difficult to hunt one, let alone five?"
Zhang Ruochen also nodded solemnly and said, "Moreover, the Demon Ridge doesn't only have second-rank lower-class savage beasts. There are also second-rank middle-class savage beasts and second-rank upper-class savage beasts. If you encounter a second-rank upper-class savage beast, I'm afraid any examinee present would be dead for sure."
A second-rank upper-class savage beast was comparable to a martial artist at the Great Perfection of the Mysterious Extreme Realm. Even if Zhang Ruochen encountered one, he would probably only have a dead end.
The faces of the crowd immediately turned very pale.
Liu Chengfeng smiled and said, "Everyone, don't worry too much. The area designated by the Martial Market Academy is very vast. Unless you have extremely bad luck, you will definitely not encounter a second-rank upper-class savage beast."
A martial artist at the initial stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm said dejectedly, "Even if I encounter a second-rank middle-class savage beast, I'm dead for sure."
The enrollment of the Martial Market Academy was just this cruel. Not only did you have to avoid powerful savage beasts, but you also had to be wary of other martial artists to avoid being ambushed.
Elder Situ continued to read the rules: "Before entering the Demon Ridge, everyone will receive a Qilin Ball. If you encounter a life-threatening danger, just crush the Qilin Ball, and the rescue personnel of the Martial Market Academy will arrive at the first moment. Of course, once you crush the Qilin Ball, it means you have given up on the academy exam."
"The exam time is three days. If you haven't hunted enough savage beasts after three days, you will be eliminated."
"Now, I declare the academy exam officially begins."
Everyone received a Qilin Ball the size of a fist. It was said that the ball contained Qilin smoke. Once the ball was crushed, the Qilin smoke would rush out from the ball and rise a thousand meters high.
At this moment, Elder Xie led ten outer palace disciples of the Martial Market Academy to the front of the sixty-six young examinees from Yunwu Commandery.
Originally, Yunwu Commandery had sixty-eight examinees. Chen Libing was killed, and Jiang Heng was seriously injured and sent back to the commandery. Now there were only sixty-six people left.
Elder Xie said, "The ten people standing in front of you are outer palace disciples of the Martial Market Academy, and also your senior brothers and senior sisters. They will take you to different entrances to enter the Demon Ridge."
"Now, you can choose to enter the Demon Ridge alone to complete the academy exam, or you can choose to form a team of two and enter the Demon Ridge together to complete the exam."
Whether entering the Demon Ridge alone or forming a team of two had its advantages and disadvantages.
If two people formed a team and entered the Demon Ridge, they could indeed share the burden when encountering danger. However, you also had to be wary of your teammate, in case he stabbed you in the back.
Therefore, if you didn't form a team, that was fine. But once you formed a team, you had to choose the most trustworthy person.
However, everyone came from all over the place, and many didn't know each other before. Who could trust whom?
"I choose to enter the Demon Ridge alone!" a martial artist at the middle stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm said.
Clearly, he didn't trust anyone.
Subsequently, the young martial artists from Yunwu Commandery all made their choices. The vast majority chose to enter the Demon Ridge alone, with only twenty-two people choosing to form a team of two. Among them were Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian.
Under the leadership of the ten outer palace disciples, the sixty-six young martial artists from Yunwu Commandery headed toward the Demon Ridge.
Prince Huo Xing stared at the departing crowd from Yunwu Commandery, let out a cold laugh, and said, "Everyone, listen up. After entering the Demon Ridge, kill any martial artist from Yunwu Commandery you encounter without exception. For every person you kill, this prince will reward you with a second-rank pill. If you can kill that Ninth Prince, this prince will reward you with a True Martial Treasure."
Hearing Prince Huo Xing's words, the martial artists from Sifang Commandery all showed cold smiles on their faces.
If they could kill all the martial artists from Yunwu Commandery, it would probably make the Yunwu Commandery King fly into a rage. Just thinking about it was quite amusing.