Chapter 223

Today, a huge empty space was cleared at the top of the East Terrace, and a high platform covered with carpets and curtains was set up.

The officials sat around with swords, tables and chairs were fully prepared on the high platform, silk curtains hung high in the back, and there was an atmosphere of solemnity.

Starting today, the truly big figures of Bowang Prefecture would sit and watch the competition openly. Since the top sixteen would be the ones granted the talismans, the martial arts competition had entered a critical stage. First, it was worth watching, and second, it could prevent dark hands and ensure fairness.

The lords actually arrived quite early. Zhao Zhang and that Official Fan were already sitting at the table, and then the judges arrived one after another, each sitting down and chatting. At this point, a row of tables and chairs was still empty in front, waiting for the officials from each county.

The results of the martial arts competition largely determined the quota allocation for the next session and the allocation of martial arts resources in the future. It was a serious political affair for a county. In the off-season, most of the county magistrates would come to watch the competition.

And this was also a leisurely time for annual meetings and reminiscing—all the gunpowder came from below the arena, and the results were not something the county magistrates could decide, so there was no need for everyone to argue until their faces were red.

Of course, there was no need, but reality was reality. When fighting broke out on the arena in previous years, it was often not a peaceful and harmonious scene above.

In order to take care of the schedules of the local officials, although the loser's arena had been roaring with wind since early morning, today's main competition was moved to the afternoon. It was now past noon, the brightest time of the day. Fortunately, the autumn air was cooler after the rain last night, so it didn't feel hot under the high sun.

The first to arrive was the Can County magistrate. He was black-faced and short, a capable-looking man in his forties. He spoke very little and sat down after bowing to the lords on the platform. Following closely was Zheng Shou, who looked much more plump, with a fair face and neat beard, wearing a bright green thumb ring on his hand, and his clothes looked newer than everyone else's. When he came up, he brought a bulging bag, which contained some small wooden toys, which he distributed one by one, and he could chat with everyone for a few words.

Finally, he sat down next to the Can County magistrate, chatted with a smile, raised his eyebrows, secretly took out a large and beautiful carving from his sleeve, and stuffed it over. The Can County magistrate looked down, put it back into his sleeve, and a faint smile appeared on his stern black face.

"Good! You two are engaging in private bribery again!" A tall official walked over and smiled at the platform, "Official Zhao, someone is bribing here!"

Zhao Zhang looked back and pointed with a smile: "Official Shen said he would send me a good pearl last time, but after ten days, there was no movement. I lowered my face and asked someone, and it turned out it was taken by Official Meng."

Someone from the judges laughed: "People are Zheng who never leaves Can, and Can who never leaves Zheng. Official Gao, your Shanbei County is all alone, I think you are jealous."

Official Shen smiled and took out a small wooden toy from his small cloth bag and handed it to this Official Gao.

Afterward, the magistrates of Shannan, Xu Gu, and Gu He counties all arrived. Just as the judge said, except for the close relationship between Zheng Shou and Can County, the others were barely familiar, and after some greetings, they all sat down.

At this time, the thirty-two contestants had already stood under the arena. The prefecture officials had often come to watch in the past two days, so they just sat and watched. It was the few county magistrates who were truly on the stage for the first time, and it was a novelty. They didn't recognize the contestants, didn't know the situation, and kept discussing and asking various questions.

"Two rounds will be fought today. The first round is to enter the top sixteen, and the second round will decide the top eight. Tomorrow, only the finals will be fought," Bai Sibing explained with a smile, "These thirty-two people now have been eliminated for two rounds, all of them are talents."

"Eh, I see the contestant from our county."

"Hmm, this one is tall, easy to distinguish."

Several county magistrates looked at the faces of the martial artists below one by one, looking for the contestants from their own county, laughing and asking and identifying each other.

Only one county magistrate remained silent, as if he had no interest in this.

He was soon noticed: "Eh, Official Xu, which one is the talent from your county?"

Official Xu said calmly: "Already gone."

"..." The questioner held back for a moment, but still laughed unkindly. Bai Sibing comforted him with a smile on the side: "There is still a chance for the losers."

On the other side, several county magistrates finished counting, and at least two people were still standing in the arena. Gu He County was even lucky enough to have three left. Among the two strong counties, Xu Gu also only had two left, but Zheng Shou had a full four left. For a while, everyone congratulated this Official Shen, who was already popular.

Official Shen sighed with worry: "Don't congratulate me, why is Xiao Qiu missing?"

A prefecture official said: "He was beaten into the loser's group by that Zhang Zongyuan who uses a staff in the first round—Official Shen, you can't have all the good things."

"Zhang Zongyuan, whose family is this person from?"

"Is there anyone in the three sects who uses a staff?"

"From the firm, they say he is a Fifth Life."

"Hmm!" Official Shen sighed, "Then I am convinced."

He tilted his head and smiled: "But our Xiao Qiu will definitely be able to kill his way back to the top sixteen from the losers."

It was said that the martial arts competition results determined the allocation of each county, but in fact, the results of the first two rounds accounted for a very small proportion. The prefecture government didn't consider how many quotas you occupied out of sixty-four people at all. The quota proportion in the thirty-two people was only for reference. The truly decisive results started from the top sixteen—representing the ability of each county to cultivate martial artists who were granted talismans.

Naturally, the top four and the champion had more gold content, but the champion was generally monopolized by the sect and had nothing to do with the county. The top four generally only had Zheng Shou and Xu Gu who could rush, so what everyone was personally concerned about was the number of people in the top sixteen from their own county.

"Let me count, how many will the three sects occupy?"

"Less, I think even if there aren't ten, there must be eight or nine."

"The firms and individuals will occupy another two or three, leaving only five or six quotas for us."

Official Shen turned his head and asked with a smile: "Lords in the city, can you leave us six quotas for the countryside this year?"

"This has to be asked of Official Sigong, he is the one in charge."

"Official Xu?"

Official Xu, who was squinting and resting, opened his eyes: "According to me, ten."

"How is it dividing, it's clearly snatching."

"Hahahaha."

"By the way, lords, which side will take the championship this year?"

"Seven Serpents, true disciple Qijiao Shang Huaitong. Official Wei's news is really not well-informed."

"Then the top four?"

"Top four... Official Xu, what about the top four?"

"Hmm, this is really hard to say." Official Xu shook his head.

So the county magistrates returned to the previous topic: "If there are six quotas, each of our six counties will have one, haha."

"Not bad, not bad."

"Eh, wait, are we six counties?"

"..."

"..."

"We are seven counties!"

"Yes, yes, yes, excuse me, excuse me."

It was also at this time that a light and slow footstep came onto the platform again.

Everyone looked and saw an old man with a straight posture and a clear, old face stepping onto the high platform.

He was also wearing the official uniform of a county magistrate. Although it was clean and tidy, it was hard to hide the faded color that had been washed white. His temples were half-white, his brows were low and his eyes were tired, looking like he had traveled a long way, and he still carried some embarrassment that hadn't been washed away.

Everyone was truly stunned for a moment, until they saw Bai Sibing greet him, and their memories were activated.

"... Official Chang!"

"Hmm!"

The most remote and poor weak county in Bowang, buried in the deep mountains, was often forgotten. And this county magistrate who had been in office for twelve years rarely came out to socialize. Even for things like the martial arts competition, looking back five years, he had never been seen participating.

One or two who had been in office for a short time were even meeting him for the first time.

"Official Chang, it's been a long time."

"This journey was exhausting."

Chang Zhiyuan greeted everyone one by one with a smile and earnestness, and then moved his steps and sat down upright in a corner—this position was the same as Fenghuai, with no presence.

"Official Chang, why did you spare the time to come this time?"

"Ah, come to cheer for the child," the old man smiled.

"Eh, how many contestants does your county have this year?"

"Only one."

"Ah, is he still in the arena?"

Chang Zhiyuan squinted at the faces below: "That hasn't been asked yet, he should be... I'm old and can't see clearly."

Bai Sibing said on the side: "He is still there."

"Oh, oh, that's good," the old man laughed happily.

Everyone congratulated him, and the greetings were over. If Shanbei County was a lone family and distant from other counties, then Fenghuai was simply living in seclusion. The presence of this county magistrate was also very weak. Sitting here at this time, he didn't even look like a peer.

Everyone continued to chat on their own, avoiding the previous topic—obviously, if it was really six quotas for one county, then which county had no quota was already self-evident.

About half a quarter of an hour later, when it was past noon, two more people stepped onto the platform.

One was in his fifties, with loose hair and a sword, his face sunken, and a pair of eyes hidden behind his hair, as if there were no whites of the eyes; the other was an old man, looking fragile and tired, but his face was very peaceful, with a green sword on his back.

Luo Defeng and Li Weiru.

Neither of them looked at the other, but they seemed to be tied together by an invisible thread—whoever had any action would simultaneously trigger the other's movement.

Zhao Zhang stood up to welcome these two martial arts veterans to sit down, and they each stood and greeted each other for two sentences.

At this point, the seats on the high platform were basically full. The various lords in different clothes sat here, and the martial arts arena was truly filled with a sense of solemnity.

It was also at this time that a tripod sound crossed the arena, and the idle martial artists lined up one after another.

"This is the drawing of lots before the competition to decide the matchup," Official Xu introduced.

"Oh, oh." The county magistrates on the platform stopped chatting for a while and watched with bated breath.

This was indeed an important link. After all, in many cases, the result of the drawing of lots had already determined the victory or defeat of this martial arts competition.

As the last person took away the slip from the box, the large screen hanging opposite the high platform began to have people holding brushes writing the results from top to bottom, accompanied by the clear singing of names that resounded throughout the arena.

"Arena A, First Match, Li Piaoqing, Zeng Mengjing."

The county magistrates breathed a sigh of relief together, and then looked at each other and pointed and laughed. Without it, although they were busy with official duties and lacked a detailed understanding of this martial arts competition, everyone knew the great name of this Young Sect Master. The person who was matched with this Young Sect Master this time was not a contestant from their own county, so it naturally counted as "escaping a disaster."

"Which family is this Zeng Mengjing from?"

"Don't know, from a sect."

"Second Match, Qijiao Shang Huaitong, Ye Shaoliang."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief again, but this time the sound of relief was one less. Everyone looked around, only to see the black face of the Can County magistrate even blacker.

"It's okay, Official Meng, doesn't your county still have one?"

"There is still a chance for the losers, Official Meng."

The singing of names for the subsequent matches was all standard. The martial arts contestants from the county who were called were all matched against sect disciples, and the faces of the county magistrates involved were also half-happy and half-worried.

Until the singing of "Seventh Match, Zhang Junxue, Fu Sanqing" came out, the Shannan county magistrate's eyes suddenly opened, and he straightened up, looking around and inquiring, but met the smiling eyes of the Xu Gu county magistrate: "Zhang Junxue is the facade of the Zhang family in our county."

The Shannan county magistrate then "slapped" and leaned back, with a sigh, and everyone naturally comforted him.

"No harm, no harm," this county magistrate sighed with a smile, "The luck of the draw is inevitably good and bad, this is also something that cannot be helped."

And then he heard the next singing of names: "Eighth Match, Gu Guang, Tong Weiping."

"..." The smile on this county magistrate's face disappeared instantly, and he leaned expressionlessly on the chair, his chest rising and falling.

This time there was no need to ask. In the chat just now, Official Shen had already said that the strongest person in Zheng Shou was this Fifth Life man named Gu Guang.

Everyone held back their laughter, and the singing of names had already reached Arena B.

In this arena, the only shark everyone recognized was Zhang Mozhu, but unlike Arena A, this person's name did not appear for a long time in this round of singing, always hanging in everyone's heart. Especially those county magistrates whose first contestant drew a bad lot, their hearts tightened when they heard the names of their own county contestants, fearing that the next one would be the three words "Zhang Mozhu."

But fortunately, none of them were. There were people followed by "Shen Yao" and "Yang Yan," but the county magistrates hadn't heard of these two names. This uneasy mood lasted until the end, and the remaining names were only the last two matches.

The faces of the other county magistrates relaxed, leaving only the Gu He county magistrate's face increasingly stiff.

Among these four people, there was indeed the last contestant from his county. Although Gu He County occupied three seats among these thirty-two people, the first two were all luck—one Second Life, one Third Life who just passed the mark, barely survived two rounds, and this round was definitely not going to pass.

The only one he pinned his hopes on was this last person, and this person was indeed solid—a solid Fourth Life, and there was always a seven or eight-tenths chance of getting into the top sixteen.

So he had been relatively relaxed the whole time, even if the first two drew bad lots, he just smiled.

But now things were wrong, because there were only four people left, and the names of Zhang Mozhu and Zhang Zongyuan had not yet come out.

Everyone knew this point and had already cast comforting glances at him.

It was very obvious, Fourth Life against Fifth Life, encountering either one, there was no chance of winning, and if they were injured again, they wouldn't even have a loser's group to fight. In front of the county magistrate's heart that was hanging high, the singing of names finally fell: "Seventh Match, Zhang Mozhu, Zhang Zongyuan!"

The Gu He county magistrate hammered the table with force, and joy suddenly broke through his tense face. Amidst the laughter and congratulations of everyone, it was the last match report for the top thirty-two to sixteen, which was indeed an unfamiliar name: "Eighth Match, Fu Xueshu, Pei Ye!"

This county magistrate still knew his own ignorance and did not forget to ask Official Xu behind him steadily: "Official Xu, where does this Pei Ye come from?"

"Fenghuai county contestant."

"Oh!"

The Gu He county magistrate pursed his lips, turned his head, and bowed. The old man in the corner also returned a humble salute.

——

The tripod sounded again, and it was past noon.

The red silk flew down, and the arena competition from thirty-two to sixteen officially began.

In the first match of Arena A, Li Piaoqing easily picked open the long sword in front of her in the seventh move and placed it on the opponent's neck.

Qijiao Shang Huaitong was still the scabbard that hadn't drawn his sword.

However, although the impressions left by the two were stunning enough, what truly moved the county magistrates' hearts was the more intense and fierce competition behind, although they were still chatting and laughing on the surface, their hands were already tightly gripping the teacups.

However, as the competition in Arena A ended, Zhang Junxue and Gu Guang both won, and the Shannan county magistrate's face was completely stiff. But there were no other county magistrates showing happy smiles.

In the eight matches of Arena A, only Zheng Shou and Xu Gu counties entered the top sixteen winners. Can County clearly occupied two matches in this arena, but it was a total defeat. Official Meng's face was never going to be white again.

And when they came to the Arena B field, the faces of the other county magistrates also became darker one by one.

Obviously, the so-called six quotas were purely wishful thinking.

Thinking that the defeat in Arena A was because the strength there was too strong, the county magistrates who drew Arena B were secretly happy, thinking that Arena B would definitely be weaker.

However, the ruthless reality destroyed this fantasy.

Yang Yan, a boy who didn't know where he popped out from, didn't belong to a sect and wasn't a county contestant, dressed like an opera singer, slashed the smile on the Shanbei county magistrate's face to pieces.

Shen Yao, originally the Fifth Life leader of Cuiyu, pressed the young man from Zheng Shou to death.

It was hard to have a match that could be fought, Third Life against Third Life, but it was lost by a difference of one sword.

Arena B fought to the end, and only one person from Shanbei County entered. Added to the two counties in Arena A, seven county contestants only entered three!

Fortunately, there was still a match in Gu He County.

The Gu He county magistrate was half-happy and half-worried at this time—on one hand, the fewer counties that entered, the more precious this quota was, and the more abundant the allocation in martial arts would naturally be; but on the other hand, his Fourth Life contestant was not a hard hand like Zhang Junxue or Gu Guang. Even if he passed this round, he would mostly be defeated in the next round, and he would still have to go back to fight the losers.

And in his thoughts, the tripod sounded on the stage.

The last match of thirty-two to sixteen, everyone stared intently.

Fu Xueshu was not old, and the contestant named Pei Ye was even younger.

But it was completely unlike the straw sandals and brown clothes they imagined. He was in a quite fitting blue uniform, and his clear and harmonious appearance even surpassed Fu Xueshu.

Seeing the two on the arena performing rituals to each other, and then straightening up, Pei Ye stepped out and dashed out a straight blue shadow with his sword.

The county magistrates' eyes suddenly opened. Even if they didn't understand martial arts, after watching fifteen matches just now, everyone had formed a scale in their hearts—such a posture definitely belonged to a strong player.

It was far from the clumsy martial artists of the Second or Third Life they had imagined.

Then the next moment, their eyes didn't need to be closed at all, but opened even wider.

A round and bright light popped out from under the blue shadow, like the wet light flashing on a green plum in the rain. Fu Xueshu raised his sword, stepped back... lost his sword.

Everything was over.

Cheers erupted in the arena. The blue shadow picked up the sword that fell at his feet and handed it back to Fu Xueshu, then stepped back two steps with his sword and bowed.

The last person to be listed in the top sixteen winners was Pei Ye from Fenghuai.

(End of chapter)