Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Defeat

“I asked you to read it to me. Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Yan Zhen asked.

“Third Brother lost at Qiao Pass to a lower-class youth named Chu Lingguang. In the second stage, the saber competition, he tied for first with Chu Lingguang again,” Yan Yusheng said.

“Let me see.”

Yan Zhen was shocked. He hurriedly took the note and read it carefully.

’Guo Wei’s disciple… Could he be another Yang Shaorong?’

Yan Zhen learned Chu Lingguang’s identity from the note.

Yang Shaorong was Guo Wei’s most outstanding disciple. He had advanced smoothly through every stage of the examinations. Although he never placed first, he demonstrated extraordinary strength during the Imperial Examination, earning a personal appointment from the Court to become the Captain of the South City. Within just a few short years, he was promoted to Captain in the Governor’s Mansion.

He was considered quite a figure in the Governor’s Mansion.

Even the Commander of the Imperial Guard in the Imperial City, Yan Zhen’s own master, had once tried to recruit Yang Shaorong. He often remarked on Yang Shaorong’s exceptional talent and always encouraged Yan Zhen to learn from him.

“That brute again. Last time in Baiyang County, if he had been willing to help, you wouldn’t have had to make that long trip, Brother.”

Yan Yusheng held a grudge against Guo Wei.

“If Guo Wei hadn’t gone up the mountain to plead with Big Saber Hong that day, you would have had to wait for me to reach Cyan Cloud Mountain to get out of trouble. You would have suffered for at least a few more days.

Guo Wei and Big Saber Hong were examinees in the same year, and Guo Wei once spoke up for Big Saber Hong out of a sense of justice. He refused to yield to our Yan Family’s power, which is exactly why he’s worthy of being the man who taught Yang Shaorong,” Yan Zhen said sincerely.

The relationships in the Governor’s Mansion were complex.

After Yang Shaorong was transferred over, he never openly clashed with the Yan Family, but there was no shortage of covert struggles. If Guo Wei had acted against Big Saber Hong for the Yan Family’s sake, it would have put Yang Shaorong in an awkward position at the Governor’s Mansion. It would have led people to mistakenly believe that Yang Shaorong was one of the Yan Family’s men.

Perhaps Guo Wei had considered this, which was why he had refused Yan Yusheng.

“You have a point, Brother. But if Third Brother can’t take first place in the South City trials, who will you recommend to Commander Tie?” Yan Yusheng asked.

“Today is the Spear Technique competition. Guo Wei’s skill with the spear is godlike. Third Brother failed to gain an advantage with the Saber Technique, and I’m afraid he won’t fare any better with the Spear Technique today. To take first place, he’ll have to win all three of the remaining stages: Fist Technique, Archery, and the arena duels,” Yan Zhen analyzed.

“Old Gao, prepare a horse. I’m going to the South City.”

Yan Zhen planned to go in person.

“Yes!”

Gao Qingxiong, who had been standing in the corner, found it incredible that this fellow named Chu Lingguang could actually get the better of Yan Chengdu.

“I’ll go with you, Brother,” Yan Yusheng said.

“Second Brother, you’re too delicate to travel day and night with me. You stay home and wait for my good news,” Yan Zhen said, patting Yan Yusheng’s shoulder.

“You’re making fun of me again, Brother,” Yan Yusheng said angrily.

“Debauchery saps one’s ambition, Second Brother. Don’t let yourself get lost in it.”

Yan Zhen didn’t say any more.

After changing his clothes and shouldering a simple travel pack, he looked like a servant heading out on a long journey. He mounted a swift steed and rode toward the South City.

’To die among the flowers makes for a romantic ghost. How could my brother possibly understand the true pleasures of life?’ Yan Yusheng grumbled to himself.

It wasn’t that he was naturally incapable of martial arts; he just couldn’t stand the hardship. With the Yan Family’s backing, he never had to worry about being bullied. He figured, why bury his head in bitter training and sweat buckets every day when he could live a life of drunken dreams in the arms of beautiful women?

By the time the carrier pigeon delivered the note to the Governor’s Mansion, the third stage of the competition had already begun back in the South City.

Chu Lingguang had already practiced the Basic Thirteen Spear Techniques to the point of Perfection. When he performed the set, it was both beautiful to watch and perfectly fluid, his integrated offense and defense absolutely flawless.

Even a layman watching would feel that Chu Lingguang’s Spear Technique was sublime.

Especially when he activated its tangible form—the rumbling thunderous sound it produced made everyone in the crowd cry out in amazement. In the first round of the Spear Technique demonstration, he once again took first place without any dispute.

Yan Chengdu performed the Whirlwind Spear Technique, a technique used by the Imperial Guard of the Imperial City. Although his execution of the full set was shockingly powerful with its grand, sweeping movements, it lacked a certain finesse.

As a result, Yan Chengdu only placed third in the first round.

The person who took second place was Lin Longde, who had placed third at Qiao Pass and second in the saber competition.

As a local South City examinee, Lin Longde also had a notable background. His master was a retired Military General whose best Martial Art was also a Spear Technique, called the Life-taking Linked Spear.

Guo Wei had already studied the major battle records of the Military General backing Lin Longde. The previous night and that morning, he had repeatedly explained the characteristics of the Life-taking Linked Spear to Chu Lingguang.

The second round of the Spear Technique competition was the Lance.

On the riding field stood rows of wooden posts, each marked with irregularly placed red dots.

Testing the skill level with the Lance was not just about the Attack Power of the Spear Technique on horseback, but also about its accuracy. A thrust with the Long Spear had to not only hit a wooden post but also strike the red dot on it.

Furthermore, the posts were not assigned to specific individuals.

Examinees would gallop past on their horses, and their performance would be judged on who could strike the most posts, and who demonstrated greater destructive force and accuracy. This was how their strength with the Lance was measured.

Only those with the highest rankings would qualify for the third round to compete for first place in the Spear Technique competition.

WHOOSH!

Soon, it was Yan Chengdu’s turn.

He rode his warhorse, surging forward to take the lead. He unleashed a flurry of spear thrusts, eliciting a series of thwacks from the wooden posts—

THWACK!

With his final strike, he pierced a wooden post, wrenched it from the ground, and tossed it into the air. He then shattered it with a single blow, forcing several other examinees who had been about to vie for the post to turn back empty-handed.

His results were announced shortly after.

After one lap…

…he had made thirty-six thrusts. All thirty-six hit their posts, twenty-eight hit the red dots, and seventeen posts were shattered. His score was outstanding among the examinees.

“I heard Yan Chengdu was personally instructed by Yan Zhen’s master, Commander Tie. Looking at this, it must be true.”

“The version of the Whirlwind Spear Technique available to the public is really nothing like the one the Imperial Guard practices.”

…

Many people discussed amongst themselves.

Yan Chengdu was relatively satisfied with his Lance score.

About forty-five minutes after he left the sandy field, the examiner called Lin Longde’s name.

Compared to the other examinees, who were either robust or leanly muscled, Lin Longde’s build could only be described as stout. With his dark skin, wide, bell-like eyes, and the silver Long Spear in his hand, he stood out conspicuously from the crowd.

He sat astride a tall, powerful horse, looking majestic and cutting the figure of a Military General.

WHOOSH!

Once the test began, Lin Longde seized the initiative. The red horse beneath him didn’t seem slowed in the slightest by its rider’s stout build, and he was not a step behind the other examinees.

The Life-taking Linked Spear held every advantage on horseback.

Chu Lingguang watched the trajectory of Lin Longde’s Spear Technique intently. He noticed that not only did every one of Lin Longde’s thrusts find its mark, hitting the red dots, but most of them also pierced clean through the wooden posts.

A while later, the examiner tallied the score.

After one lap, Lin Longde had made the exact same number of thrusts as Yan Chengdu: thirty-six. All thirty-six had hit the red dots on their posts, and twenty-three had pierced through the posts entirely.

His score temporarily ranked first in the Lance competition.

Yan Chengdu, who had been relatively satisfied with his Lance score, saw this, and his expression grew even uglier.

He had lost to Chu Lingguang at Qiao Pass.

Now, in the Spear Technique competition, he had unexpectedly lost to Lin Longde.

’One was a lower-class youth, the other the son of some minor dignitary. Neither of them had resources that could even compare to his, yet he couldn’t gain any advantage over them.’

“Examinees Chu Lingguang, Liu Quan…”

An hour later, Chu Lingguang heard his name called. He was actually in the same group as Liu Quan.

(Author’s Note: In a previous Chapter, “Dimension Reduction,” the description of Yan Zhen should have been “disciple of the Commander of the Imperial Guard.” I missed the word “disciple” and didn’t catch it in my review, which caused some misunderstanding. Thankfully, a reader pointed it out, and I’ve corrected it. In fact, as Guo Wei mentioned, ten years ago, a thirteen-year-old Yan Zhen had a Qi Power of four to five hundred jin. Ten years later, he is twenty-three. It would be too shocking and unreasonable for someone that young to be the Commander of the Imperial Guard. My original intention was always to portray him as a talented disciple with a famous master, a genius with high hopes placed upon him.)

(And finally, please leave recommendations and tips to help the book climb the rankings! I’m begging you all. This book already has over 200,000 characters of free content, and there’s still more than a week of free Chapters to come.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep