Chapter 671: As expected, he did not pass

After a good night's sleep, Bai Lang spent the next day strolling around Xi'an City. The money in his hands was still enough for him to eat and drink well for these few days—as long as he didn't drink alcohol, eating was no problem. Linghu Chong had already spent all his accumulated money by this time, and the fellow was only focused on drinking all kinds of fine wine—Bai Lang knew this was like "a cow chewing on a peony," and he simply didn't believe Linghu Chong had the aptitude to become a wine immortal.

Linghu Chong was fooling around, but Yue Buqun didn't bother to manage him. He was too busy building connections with the scholars in the city, waiting for the results to be posted; who had the time to manage their own disciple? On the day the results were posted, there was a sea of people. Bai Lang sat upright in the inn's front hall and didn't even go to look—such enthusiastic matters were for Linghu Chong and the others who arrived later, like Lu Dayou, to handle. Didn't you see that even Yue Buqun couldn't maintain his composure and ran off to check the list himself?

No one came beating gongs and drums to announce good news or collect a reward, and Bai Lang also felt that the eight-legged essay he wrote was probably unlikely to earn him a degree—in this day and age, they had long since decided one's fate based solely on the first essay. He had just scribbled it out, and looking back, he realized it might have been miles off-topic; most likely, the examiners didn't like it and failed him. Bai Lang didn't care; anyway, there were plenty of ways to get ahead in this world. Outside the Jiajing era, things were not peaceful—the Altan Khan, the Japanese pirates; these were all opportunities for a brave man to make a name for himself.

At worst, he would just leave the sect and join the army. If Ma Fang could escape back to the Ming Dynasty after being a horse slave captured by the Altan Khan and then become a Grand Preceptor through his bravery in battle, how could Bai Lang, the Junior Preceptor, not do the same? A mere provincial graduate really didn't count for much—it was just his first time taking the exam, and Yue Buqun still had hopes. After failing a few more times, this sect leader should give up and accept that he was just a martial artist.

Sure enough, when Sect Leader Yue came in, although he looked calm and detached, Bai Lang could tell he was truly disappointed. Fortunately, he still held expectations for the first time and hoped to try again in three years. Seeing his expression, Bai Lang knew he hadn't passed either, which was actually a good thing; otherwise, the hierarchy would be in chaos. If Bai Lang had become a senior to Sect Leader Yue in the imperial examinations, that would have been interesting.

Fortunately, the status of a government student was enough. In the martial arts world, the two of them were already considered rare intellectuals, the kind with status. Among the Five Mountain Sword Sects, only these two were government students. There was nothing to say about the Hengshan crowd or the Hengshan nuns, and the Songshan group didn't have any government students either, only a few child students. The Taoists of the Taishan Sect didn't count as orthodox either—but the current Emperor loved Taoism, so perhaps they could get ahead.

Since they hadn't passed, everyone packed up to return home. Back at Huashan, the disciples who had gone to Xi'an were still talking about how great Xi'an City was, saying Huayin County couldn't compare, which made the other disciples who stayed on the mountain very envious. Yue Buqun was in a foul mood, so not long after returning to Huashan, he went down the mountain to visit friends and perform chivalrous deeds. It was said he was going to pay respects to the other mountains of the Five Mountain Sword Sects besides Songshan, and this time he took Ning Zhongze, Linghu Chong, and Yue Lingshan with him.

On the mountain, Bai Lang was held in high regard, but he didn't manage much, at most urging them to finish their lessons. He himself still had to practice martial arts, and sometimes he had to go down the mountain to wander around, satisfying his "heart of chivalry." In this day and age, there were thieves everywhere, and the lives of commoners were lost as quickly as they were gained. Even within Huayin County, lone bandits would come and go, committing crimes every few days.

Theft, robbery, and even murder occurred; over the course of a year, there were at least twenty or thirty murders. Bai Lang went down the mountain specifically for these kinds of bandits. He now had sharp ears and eyes and agile movements, and his lightness skill was worth a look. With his high martial arts wisdom and extensive experience, he could casually piece together a decent lightness skill. His form was certainly not as graceful as the "Bandit Prince," but in terms of speed and variation, he was even better.

Yue Buqun did indeed often go down the mountain to perform chivalrous deeds, and these lone petty thieves were naturally his primary targets. Of course, the reputation of the "Gentleman Sword" came more from when he was among people as the Huashan Sect Leader. Bai Lang was currently eyeing a flying thief. "Mediocre lightness skill; is this guy a lecherous thief here to pick flowers?" He watched as the thief ran along the rooftops and turned into someone's house.

Bai Lang remembered this family very clearly; although they didn't have a daughter, the wife was quite pretty. "Beast!" Bai Lang cursed. His feet moved instantly, and he descended from the air like a giant eagle. Although he hadn't practiced Eagle Claw in his daily life, Bai Lang's martial arts were such that he grabbed down with ease, as if he had been immersed in Eagle Claw power for decades.

Before the thief could crawl into the house, he was grabbed by the back of the neck in mid-air by a hand. Bai Lang retracted his claw, and with a *crack* of breaking bones, the lecherous thief was finished—if he didn't die, he would definitely be a high-level paraplegic for the rest of his life. Bai Lang threw the man to the ground and then left without a second thought.

"Next time I meet Tian Boguang, I must deal with him properly! People like this are the worst scum; there are so many lives of good families' daughters under his hands." Bai Lang knew that although he also forcibly took women, he was definitely not that kind of flower-picking lecher. But if Tian Boguang appeared now, Bai Lang thought it might be a relatively difficult fight.

It was just that the power he could call upon was insufficient. Relying on his own martial arts wisdom to break Tian Boguang's martial arts, he would have to try to know. The "spirit" in this world was not that strong. If it were in a world like Huang Yi's, Bai Lang could easily kill Tian Boguang by relying on the power of the heart.

It wasn't just Tian Boguang; there were few truly good people in this world. If one were to talk about kindness—the little Hengshan nun might count, and Lin Pingzhi before was also a chivalrous youth. Who else was there? Bai Lang felt that the disciples on Huashan probably counted, because they were relatively stupid. Lao Denuo was definitely not among them; Bai Lang knew this person was a spy, and Yue Buqun probably knew it too.

But Yue Buqun had no choice. If he got rid of this spy, Zuo Lengchan of Songshan would probably be the first to move against him. How could the few kittens and puppies of Huashan resist? So he could only tolerate this spy hanging around Huashan. Bai Lang felt that this spy wasn't actually useful, and the merging of the Five Mountain Sword Sects was further evidence that Zuo Lengchan was a big idiot.

In this day and age, there were no telephones, telegrams, highways, railways, or flights. What was the point of merging the Five Mountain Sword Sects into one? Everyone was thousands of miles apart. Could one sit in the Central Mountain of Songshan and remotely control the other four mountains? Anyone with a normal brain would think it was completely impossible. The only result of forcing it would be the development of local factions within a few years, no different from before the merger.

Perhaps Zuo Lengchan thought his methods were heaven-defying and could suppress all his junior brothers into obediently listening to his orders? If that were the case, Bai Lang could only say his days were numbered. As for the constant rotation of the five parties, Zuo Lengchan must think his money was endless... and in the current social situation, the only result of such rotation would be a straight-line decline in combat effectiveness...