Chapter 687

What to do about *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*? Just let it slide! Bai Lang could be considered to have grasped the mystery of it all—the eunuchs and certain civil officials he wanted to befriend would naturally treat this palace examination as a piece of gossip to be spread around. Originally, Bai Lang was ranked at least two hundred and seventy or eighty, with only the status of a "presented scholar" (tong jinshi). Unexpectedly, the current Emperor remarked that Bai Lang truly had the bearing of an official and a fine appearance, so the various Grand Secretaries fully agreed. The result was that he suddenly entered the top fifty and was granted the status of a "presented scholar" (ci jinshi).

It was truly like that; the various inner-court ministers also had words to say, noting that Bai Lang had a dignified appearance, was martial and upright. The Emperor found him pleasing to the eye, and the various eunuchs also felt he possessed a masculine air, allowing him to be considered the number one person in the outer court. Bai Lang had a tiger-like beard, an heroic appearance, and a height of nearly one meter ninety. This was a stature that even the "Big Man Generals" (Dahan Jiangjun) brought out to pose in the Brocade Guard could barely match. Coupled with a voice like a booming bell, he could truly be considered the face of the imperial court.

Speaking of which, the appearances of the top three scholars (San Dingjia) were actually quite good. In terms of age, Bai Lang was actually the youngest; being in his early twenties, he could fully serve as the "Tan Hua" (third-place scholar) envoy—though that was an ancient custom. However, writing poetry was a certainty, and for the most part, it was this young man who had to start it. "Damn it! This ghost of a poem is so hard to write!" Bai Lang tried hard to draft it in his mind, but unfortunately, he really had no talent for poetry.

Regardless, Bai Lang had quick wit. Looking at the scholars from the Southern Metropolitan Region in the crowd, he grabbed one who looked like he could write poetry and said, "A crisis in the world of martial arts! Fellow classmate, do you have any extra poems to give me?" The other man, in his thirties, was caught between laughter and tears, and it was hard to refuse Bai Lang, who was nearly a head taller than him...

After the banquet came the selection for the Hanlin Academy. Bai Lang's poetry and songs were worthless; even with a good appearance, it wouldn't work. He could only go to be an intern for political observation and rotate through the Six Ministries—the best path for the future would be to become a Minister. Bai Lang didn't care at all; he could finally take a vacation to return to Mount Hua, and then come to Beijing to be an official.

That bastard Altan Khan hadn't launched his attack yet. Bai Lang vaguely remembered it was around this time—as for Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou was already in his thirties, while Qi Jiguang was about the same age as Bai Lang and was still farming in Dengzhou. As for suppressing Shaolin, Yu Dayou hadn't done it yet; it was estimated that he would do it during this period.

During this time in the capital, Bai Lang saw quite a few figures from the officialdom, among them the Brocade Guard—knowing that among the new scholars there was no lack of those with martial arts, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Brocade Guard did indeed invite the new scholars to visit. It was truly so; Bai Lang discovered that among the scholars of the same year, at least fifteen or sixteen knew martial arts, and among them, besides himself, there were three whose martial arts were definitely not below Yue Buqun's.

All three were from military households, one in Liaodong, two in the Southern Metropolitan Region, and they seemed to have family-inherited martial arts or something similar. Later, at the Ministry of Justice, there were experts from the Six Doors whose martial arts were definitely higher than Yue Buqun's. They were merely clerks, and the martial arts they practiced were definitely not among the Five Mountain Sword Sects. Even Zuo Lengchan, whom Bai Lang had seen, was likely not as strong as the experts in the Six Doors; he was still a notch weaker.

How many such experts were there? Bai Lang asked, and that Vice Minister smiled and held up his hand, flipping it a few times. Alright, at least a dozen... As for the Brocade Guard? In the Northern Division, Bai Lang saw five or six experts stronger than Zuo Lengchan, but the Commander's martial arts were not high, while the deputy's martial arts might be the highest he had ever seen.

Don't even mention the Eastern Depot; the martial arts practiced by those eunuchs were truly the *Sunflower Manual* and the *Green Mirror Secret Scroll*, and there were even more martial arts in the palace's internal treasury—it was said that the Imperial Horse Office had many experts. "Sure enough, the world of martial arts seen by the Five Mountain Sword Sects and the Ming Cult is just a corner of the world," Bai Lang sighed. "Truly, following the path of the academy is the right way."

He had also visited the Hanlin Academy; it had quite a lot of books, and if one looked carefully, one could even find secret manuals of the level of the *Hunyuan Skill*, just placed on the shelf like miscellaneous books. "The waters of the martial world are very deep." Bai Lang rode his horse out of the capital; he had a two-month vacation, and as for after he returned, it would be to observe politics.

All the new scholars, as long as they were not from the capital, were leaving one after another. On the way back, Bai Lang saw a big man leading three or four personal attendants heading toward the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song. There were no lack of pilgrims burning incense and worshipping Buddha at Shaolin; after all, it was the ancestral temple of the Chan Sect. So, Bai Lang followed, not appearing conspicuous at all—mainly because Bai Lang felt the power on this big man.

This man entered the Shaolin Temple and casually took a staff from his servant. This staff was one and a half times the height of a person. Bai Lang knew at a glance that this was a great spear used in the military, shorter than the long spears used after forming a formation. "I, Yu Dayou, have come specifically to ask for instruction in Shaolin martial arts!" the big man shouted. Bai Lang had also stepped into the temple gate by this time and smiled upon hearing this.

The big man also saw Bai Lang stepping into the temple gate, and there was quite a bit of appreciation in his eyes. In his view, Bai Lang must also be a brave man, and they could spar later. "On the battlefield, the priority is bows and crossbows, followed by spears and staves. If you thrust a spear, I will return a spear." Bai Lang muttered this in his heart; he really wanted to see this spear and staff skill.

With a current imperial military officer coming to challenge, the Shaolin Temple could not refuse. As for whether they would hold back? Bai Lang felt that based on the martial arts Yu Dayou displayed, he would never allow the Shaolin "thieving baldies" to hold back. If they could really succeed in holding back? Then he, Bai Lang, wouldn't need to practice martial arts. Sure enough, the Shaolin monks' staff martial arts were truly just for show; Bai Lang saw through it at a glance.

Yu Dayou also had internal force, and it was quite powerful, likely not below the Shaolin divine skills. Using the spear and staff technique was just a matter of flipping, pressing, and pulling; there were rarely any large-scale smashing or sweeping movements. "If this were replaced with a great spear head, these monks would already be dead on the ground," Bai Lang thought. The old monks of the "Fang" generation also came out; these old monks practiced divine skills that were almost all fist and foot techniques, with few using cold weapons—presumably because of Buddhist compassion.

"Staff techniques, crescent shovel techniques, ring-blade methods, and finally fist and foot techniques—this is the Shaolin divine skill." Bai Lang watched coldly from the sidelines. A Shaolin monk recognized Bai Lang and quickly went up to pay respects—with Bai Lang's current status, even the Abbot had to treat him well. Yu Dayou defeated the old Shaolin monks one after another; if they couldn't win with spears and staves, they had no chance of winning against Yu Dayou's staff with empty hands.

This man came today to ask for instruction in spears and staves, not to compete with the Shaolin monks in fist and foot techniques. "Fist and foot techniques can be used for strengthening the body and moving the limbs, but they are completely useless on the battlefield." Bai Lang saw it the same way. If it weren't for his *Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist* that could transform fist and foot energy into long spears and great axes, then besides wrestling techniques in a full-armor infantry melee, it would truly be useless martial arts.

At the very least, one should use a great saber and an iron mace; of course, using a short spear or bow and crossbow would also be good. For martial arts in an armored battlefield, Shaolin was definitely not up to it.

The old monks of the "Fang" generation were also defeated in a mess, and Bai Lang sighed, "Come, good man. Let you and me try our hands!"