Chapter 173: Chapter 137: The End (3)

Li Dayao declared, his voice ringing with conviction.

To ensure everyone remembered his words, he rolled the metal balls in his palm, building his presence and imbuing his voice with a powerful, penetrating quality that none would dare forget.

“Understood!”

Everyone shouted in unison.

“To prevent Academy Masters from colluding with local powers and engaging in fraud, the Court frequently reassigns us. As you should know, Mr. Li and I are not from the Qiling Governor’s Mansion region. Your performance this past month will determine our next appointments. We aren’t asking you to erect monuments in our honor when you make names for yourselves one day. We only ask that every single one of you can last fifty rounds against them.”

Liu Wan pointed to the eleven men in black behind him.

“RIIIP!”

The eleven men in black stepped forward and ripped off their outer garments. Everyone saw that they were all wearing military uniforms underneath.

On their chests were two characters, one on each side.

Imperial. Guard.

“The Imperial City’s Imperial Guard!”

Emperor Yue Xuan and Chen Jin exclaimed in unison.

As Noble Family Descendants who were a cut above the rest, they recognized the identity of the men in black at a single glance.

“That’s right. Besides Mr. Li and myself, and all of you candidates, every single person in this academy is a member of the Imperial Guard. These men are battle-hardened. The ones here to test your strength have each claimed a dozen, even dozens, of lives. In a moment, all eleven of them will attack you at once with the goal of taking every last one of you down. I hope you can each hold out for fifty rounds. Only then will Mr. Liu and I be able to consider our duty fulfilled.”

Li Dayao gave a noncommittal nod.

The eleven Imperial Guards cracked their knuckles, their combined auras erupting with extraordinary intensity.

The expressions on Chu Lingguang and the others changed drastically.

Every one of these men had awakened the Dragon Elephant Power.

As they circulated their Breathing Technique, the sound of the Dragon’s Roar and Elephant’s Wail was deafening. It was hard to imagine the Imperial Guard could be this terrifying. After all, the candidates were all outstanding representatives from their respective regions.

They had awakened their Dragon Elephant Power only with great difficulty, and they had thought it would be enough to make a name for themselves in the outside world.

They never expected that every single member of the Imperial Guard possessed such strength.

’I can’t even imagine what realm of power their commanders must have reached.’

Chu Lingguang and the others were so stunned by the guards’ auras that they initially failed to realize a crucial point: these Imperial Guards were at least thirteen or fourteen years their senior, some even in their thirties.

Generally, for anyone with a measure of talent in Martial Arts and proper guidance, awakening the Dragon Elephant Power by that age wasn’t particularly difficult.

Moreover, these men were from the Imperial City, and their daily training was overseen by the city’s top experts. For them, awakening the Dragon Elephant Power by the age of thirty wasn’t considered exceptional among the Imperial City’s elite; it was merely the standard to qualify for the Imperial Guard.

“Mr. Li, why are they using weapons?”

Lin Longde asked, his voice trembling.

These were the same Imperial Guards who had knocked them all into the lake when they first arrived on the island. Back then, they had been unarmed, with each guard taking on several candidates at once. Even Emperor Yue Xuan had ended up in the water.

Now they had to face them again.

But now, facing them again, the eleven guards were actually drawing their weapons.

“Don’t underestimate yourselves,” Li Dayao cautioned. “You’ve all made it this far, which means you’ve awakened the Dragon Elephant Power. Some of you have even mastered the Dragon Elephant Operation Skill. If we let them fight you bare-handed, every one of you could easily last more than fifty rounds.”

Of the eleven candidates who had made it to the final training in the back courtyard, even the few who had not previously awakened their Dragon Elephant Power had managed to do so in the last ten days.

“Pick up your weapons,” Liu Wan said, his tone heavy.

Everyone knew the die was cast; there was no avoiding this fight. The only question was who would be the last one standing. ’Even though my Dragon Elephant Power is the strongest,’ Chu Lingguang thought, ’I can’t assume I’ll be the last one. Emperor Yue Xuan and the others might have stronger Kung Fu in other areas.’

’Victory isn’t decided by the strength of one’s Dragon Elephant Power alone.’

He quickly assembled his Lightning Spear.

One of the men in black handed a silver Long Spear and a Willow Leaf Saber to Lin Longde and Yan Chengdu, respectively. Their weapons had fallen into the lake on the day they first arrived on the island. After being retrieved, they had been held by the Imperial Guard, only returned now that they were needed.

The eyes of that Imperial Guard held a hint of amusement.

For any Martial Artist, being disarmed is a great humiliation. The fact that Lin Longde and Yan Chengdu had made it this far despite failing to even hold onto their weapons had greatly diminished their image in the eyes of the Imperial Guard.

After assembling his Lightning Spear, Chu Lingguang spotted a familiar face.

Pan Tongguang.

He was the one who, bare-handed, had sent Chu Lingguang flying into the lake in under twenty rounds that day.

Chu Lingguang remembered him vividly.

He was also the one who had delivered that pair of metal meditation balls to Li Dayao on Chu Lingguang’s behalf.

Now, as they were about to face each other again, Chu Lingguang saw that Pan Tongguang was holding a saber. Their eyes met, and Pan Tongguang gave him a wink. Seeing that Chu Lingguang was still using a spear, Pan Tongguang paused, then put the saber back and deliberately chose an Iron Spear instead.

Chu Lingguang was taken aback.

’He did that on purpose,’ Chu Lingguang realized. ’He wants to test my Spear Technique against his, maybe even give me some pointers.’ With a flash of understanding, he gave Pan Tongguang a slight nod.

“Eunuch Liu.”

“Lord Fan.”

“Lord Feng is here as well.”

“Captain Yang.”

「At that moment, a fleet of small boats began to approach the island.」

The academy island, usually so heavily guarded that no one could approach, seemed open to the public today. After the boats docked, their passengers were not stopped. Instead, they were escorted to the academy’s Martial Arts Arena and shown to their seats.

Tables and chairs had already been arranged for them there.

Ever since a major cheating scandal was exposed, the Great Yuan Dynasty had implemented exceptionally strict rules and regulations for the Martial Arts Examination and the selection of talent for its academies.

To prevent Academy Masters from cheating by exaggerating the abilities of their candidates, local officials were invited to this final confrontation. They would act as official examiners, verifying the strength of each candidate to ensure such a scandal never happened again.

Prior to this, neither Yang Shaorong nor any other officials from the Governor’s Mansion had ever met Li Dayao or Liu Wan. The Court forbade any such contact. From the moment the two masters were brought to the academy island, they had not been allowed to leave, their every move monitored by the Imperial Guard.

Therefore, how long Chu Lingguang and the other candidates could last would directly determine the instructors’ performance evaluation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep