Chapter 357: 330 Striking the Gong (Extra Chapter for Alliance Leader Madame Richelieu)

"Clang—clang—"

Just as the examinees were answering questions in the horse shed in various postures, a harsh, heart-shaking sound of a bronze gong rang out.

"Neigh—"

Countless fine horses were startled into neighing; some charged straight out of the shed, while others lifted their hooves on the spot, causing many students who had placed their test papers on the horses' backs to scramble to save them in a panic. Those who were a bit slower lost control of their brushes, immediately leaving a streak of ink on their answer sheets.

Those original military horses were well-trained and most could be calmed down, but some that were not were miserable, inevitably neighing and bolting, and the students were unable to restrain them for a moment.

"Damn it, you bastard!"

"Which grandson did this? Don't let me catch you!"

"Screw your grandmother!"

For a time, curses rose all over the horse shed. Regardless of gender, whether they were students who had suffered losses or those who had had a narrow escape, they all cursed angrily, venting the fire in their hearts all at once. How could they care whether this was an examination hall?

Instructor An's face turned black from the cursing, but it was inconvenient to argue. He struck the bronze gong and said loudly, "Anyone whose horse charged out of the shed just now is disqualified. Those whose test papers were contaminated should ask the proctoring military officers for new answer sheets; damaged papers will not be graded. Everyone else, shut up. If you don't shut up again, it will be treated as causing a disturbance in the examination hall."

Once he said this, sure enough, except for some who were disqualified and sighing or muttering, everyone else shut their mouths.

But it was imaginable that they must be cursing him crazily in their hearts.

Instructor An suppressed his anger and prepared to walk back, but seeing Li Yijian gesturing from afar, he had to go back and shout, "I'll also tell you this: in this exam, someone will strike the gong every little while, and the sound will only be louder than this time, not lower. Manage your own horses well. If you don't want to be struck by the gong, finish the questions and come out early; don't dawdle."

If every curse counted as a brick, Instructor An would almost be able to build the Great Wall.

Li Yijian watched Instructor An from the side, supervising him to complete the task. Lan Xiuzhu also ignored his own students—most of those whose horses were startled and disqualified were students from the Jing'an Division—and instead watched Tang Zhao with great interest.

At this time, Tang Zhao was being pursued by Feng Nanming, who was asking questions incessantly and laying out one Art Tool after another from the White Jade Flourishing Shop to show him, praising and discussing them non-stop.

From this observation, Lan Xiuzhu gradually reached a conclusion.

First, Tang Zhao's status in the world of Talisman Sword Masters was very high, and it was not just an empty name, but based on real substance. Although Feng Nanming was discussing with Tang Zhao, it was easy to see that he asked more and Tang Zhao answered more, and the answers made Feng Nanming nod frequently, looking as if he had learned a great deal. This naturally showed who had the higher level.

Second... Tang Zhao's temper was truly good. Having been questioned for so long, not a hint of impatience could be seen. This was definitely not because he couldn't afford to offend people and was forced to cope, but because he was always amiable and pleasant, making people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze, which showed his cultivation.

She did not know that Tang Zhao truly could not afford to offend him—this was a "gold-daddy." Having bought so many Art Tools, shouldn't he be patient? Except for the Hou Mansion and Wang Fei, he had never seen such a big customer.

Making money, it's not shameful.

While answering Feng Nanming's questions, he took the opportunity to continue introducing his own Art Tools. Feng Nanming was very interested and said, "Does your shop lack a resident Talisman Sword Master? Although I only ranked sixty-sixth in the last Talisman Assembly, I am still decent in Yunzhou, and my salary is low... No, as long as there are new products for me to play with first, I don't even need money."

Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment and reminded him, "That... you just enlisted, and resigning now counts as desertion."

Feng Nanming froze for a moment and looked back at Li Yijian.

It was unknown whether Li Yijian heard Tang Zhao's words, but it looked as if his face said: "Is the Central Army a place you can come and go as you please?"

Feng Nanming was dejected for a moment and had to give up the idea.

At this time, Lan Xiuzhu came over and said, "White Jade Flourishing has any cheap and easy-to-use Art Tools? Introduce some to me too, won't you?"

As soon as he said this, Li Yijian also moved over. Only Instructor An, who was holding the gong, refused to join in the fun and just watched from afar, though his neck was inevitably tilted a bit.

Tang Zhao's spirit lifted—promoting his own shop was also one of his purposes for bringing the examinees. It was time to let White Jade Flourishing walk out of Jichun City and toward Yunzhou.

He naturally wouldn't be polite about such a business opportunity; these few were all big spenders, so he had to introduce them well.

"Art Tools are for people to use; first, you have to see what they are used for. Only then can you choose the right Art Tool according to your needs."

"Ah? Isn't it mainly for fighting? Or for doing some special auxiliary work?"

"Of course not. Our slogan is, 'Art Tools into every household.' Could it be that every household needs to fight? It is mainly for life and production. We are currently promoting several series of products."

"Lingzhi Series—medical series. There are hand lamps for treating external injuries, crystal cabinets for extending life, life-extending paper for examinations, spirit medicines for nourishment... Ah, occasionally we also sell things other than Art Tools; one relies on the mountain to eat from the mountain."

"Gugu Series—home series. This one is more self-explanatory: washing devices, dishwashers, juicers, cooking devices, Gugu Lamps—Art Tools that serve both for warding off evil and lighting..."

"Zhanchi Series—travel series..."

"Fuyun Series—entertainment series..."

"Xuezhou Series—student series..."

"I have a question," Lan Xiuzhu said. "How are your series named? They don't relate to each other at all. Why not be more unified? For example, why not call them all something like the Jade series?"

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Each series is named by one of my senior brothers or sisters, and they also use their representative symbols."

Lingzhi, Gugu, Zhanchi, Fuyun, and Xuezhou are the symbols of the Third Senior Sister, Fourth Senior Sister, Eighth Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Sister, and Sixth Senior Brother, respectively. In the future, the Seventh Senior Brother will also open a series, tentatively named the "High-end Taste" series, facing the customers of his family's side, not cheating the poor.

If the Second Senior Brother is willing, a "Cultivator" series can also be opened for him.

"Oh, then what about your series?"

Feng Nanming said from the side, "I just said it, the Liuyun Series. It contains all kinds of whimsical ideas that are hard to categorize. For example, that Balance, for example, the Kaleidoscope, and the very majestic Six Dragon Carriage; just looking at the catalog is enough to make one dumbfounded."

Lan Xiuzhu exclaimed, "As expected of Instructor Tang. If my needs are special, can I have them customized?"

Tang Zhao said, "Of course we accept precise customization." As he spoke, he gave the two of them shop business cards and said, "Within the scope of Art Tools, we accept all services: customization, large orders, modifications, and full-package design, ensuring you feel at home. By the way, if you are our old customers, you have a chance to purchase Dharma Artifacts."

Lan Xiuzhu and Feng Nanming's expressions changed slightly at the same time, and even Instructor An moved a few steps toward this side.

Dharma Artifacts are not objects of the same level as Art Tools. For a Sword Guest, Art Tools are only auxiliary, but Dharma Artifacts can be used as trump cards. Just like how ordinary Martial Artists use Art Tools as a killer move, they are reluctant to use them for combat at ordinary times and only use them at critical moments. Moreover, they are mostly obtained by chance or applied for from above, and it is difficult to have a stable channel to obtain them.

Tang Zhao didn't say they could definitely be bought, using the phrase "have a chance," but it was already worth paying attention to.

Lan Xiuzhu put away the business card and said with a grin, "Today is an unexpected gain. I heard that White Jade Flourishing wants to expand outward? Not to mention Yunzhou, the Land Inspection Division has its own channels; outside of Yunzhou, we in the Jing'an Division have some channels and can help."

The Jing'an Division has been engaged in intelligence work outside for years, and there are industries all over Shenzhou, so of course they have channels.

But Tang Zhao didn't want to rashly deal with such a department, nor did he want to put a sensitive brand on his industry, so he smiled and said, "That's too far; I'd better walk out of Jichun City first. I haven't even opened a shop in Zhongtian Prefecture yet."

Lan Xiuzhu smiled and said, "That's just a matter of the blink of an eye. Actually, with the style of your shop, you should go to Jingcheng. There are many rich people there with nothing to do."

Tang Zhao said, "That's true, I'll consider it."

He actually did have plans to open a shop in Jingcheng, but he had other channels and didn't want to directly hook up with the Jing'an Division.

Li Yijian said, "Actually, you can consider opening it in Qianjin City."

Tang Zhao said "Ah?" and Lan Xiuzhu laughed, "I said Jingcheng was far, where did you branch off to?"

Tang Zhao shook his head with a smile; Qianjin City was the human fortress on the front line, which was much further than Jingcheng.

Instructor An finally couldn't help but say, "I say, aren't you going to talk about the subsequent exams?"

Tang Zhao said, "That's right, let's get down to business first. We'll talk about Art Tools later; we are currently promoting owl delivery. Later I will send two to the second... three of you."

Feng Nanming said, "I don't need one; I've bought so many times that your shopkeeper gave me one for free long ago. It's just that I still often go to the shop to look; I'm only happy when I see the new stock with my own eyes."

The group ended the topic, and because they were chatting about daily life, their relationship became much more Friendly. Li Yijian said, "It's time to go up for the second stage. Everyone, be prepared. Although casualties are permitted, if there are casualties during the transfer, it is our responsibility. Instructor Tang is going up for the first time, so Instructor Lan, please take care of him."

Tang Zhao laughed and said, "Then I will have to trouble you to look after me, senior."

Lan Xiuzhu laughed and said, "Easy, what kind of sister wouldn't look after her brother?"

The group went off to prepare separately, but Instructor An had to take on the task of beating gongs and drums to startle the horses every few hours. Adopting the attitude that if you can't resist, you might as well enjoy it, he beat the gongs in all sorts of ways. He refused to follow the rules of beating them at set intervals, instead acting as he pleased, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, beating them whenever he felt like it.

Sometimes he would walk toward the stables carrying his gong, making everyone nervous, only for him to not beat it at all, wandering around and coming back, giving everyone a false alarm. Other times, when no one saw him, he would suddenly pop out from the side to beat the gong. With his so-called feinting to the east while attacking in the west, and playing hard to get, he had truly mastered the Art of War.

In the end, after being tormented day and night, most of the Disciples who were still able to complete the exam didn't even use the full time before coming out, one by one, looking bedraggled. Not only were they exhausted and famished, but they also reeked, seemed to have lost a significant amount of weight, and sat on the ground, not wanting to move at all.

Li Yijian said, "Everyone get up; the second exam begins immediately."