Chapter 23: I Am the Procedure

As the illusionary realm dissipated, Wei Yuan's mind returned, and he saw the martial test hall in a mess, with people crying, laughing, and some trembling on the ground, the wetness under them gradually spreading.

Amidst the noise, a girl's voice suddenly rose from not far away. The voice was crisp and soft, indescribably pleasant: "You pig-riding bastard, I will fight you..."

Wei Yuan looked over secretly and saw a girl in a tender yellow dress not far away, like a doll made of water jade, beautiful without a trace of flaws. She seemed to have just woken up and bounced up from her seat. But after she found that the eyes of the surrounding examinees were all on her, she instantly became quiet, and her small face even showed panic and lingering fear, making people feel particularly heartbroken at first glance.

Wei Yuan naturally had an impression of this girl; she was the commander of the northern blue team who had blocked his spear. It was just that later Wei Yuan found she wasn't dead, so he went over and added another shot.

Looking at the girl's tearful expression at this moment, Wei Yuan couldn't help but feel a little guilty. However, guilt was guilt, but the shot that should be added still had to be added.

The Daoist was also very troubled by the noisy group of children, so he hurriedly drove all the examinees out of the hall.

Wei Yuan got up slowly, waited for the girl in the tender yellow dress to leave, and then mixed into the crowd and walked toward the outside of the hall. It was just that although he wasn't recognized by the girl, he was still seen through by others.

Just as he was about to walk out of the hall, Li Zhi suddenly turned out from the shadow beside him and blocked Wei Yuan's path.

Wei Yuan felt a chill in his heart and waited for Li Zhi to speak. However, Li Zhi didn't speak, but he didn't give way either. The two stood opposite each other like this, and the other examinees passed by them one after another, leaving the hall. In the blink of an eye, only Li Zhi and Wei Yuan were left in the hall.

The Daoist didn't urge them, just stood outside the door, with his back to the two people confronting each other.

Li Zhi stared at Wei Yuan, his eye sockets slowly turning red. He gritted his teeth and said, "A great shame, I, Li Zhi, will never forget! If you have the guts, tell me your name!"

At this point, Wei Yuan naturally couldn't retreat. Besides, the two had already fought in the illusionary realm, and with 'Heaven-Earth Madman' on his body, Wei Yuan felt that dealing with Li Zhi would only take one or two moves, so he said, "Wei Yuan."

Li Zhi shouted, "Good, Wei Yuan, I have remembered you! You won this time, and I accept the bet, I can afford to lose! But you are just a few years older, nothing great. I, Li Zhi, am only eight years old this year! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! You wait for me, sooner or later, I will win back how I lost!"

After saying that, Li Zhi turned around and rushed out of the hall. When he reached a place where no one was, he secretly wiped his eyes.

The martial test had ended, and the smoke of gunpowder had just risen in the evaluation hall.

The evaluators' brains were all a mess at this moment. No one had expected such a situation. If it weren't for the fact that several evaluators ended the martial test early, Wei Yuan would probably have turned out all the fish that slipped through the net hidden in the dense forest and grass and killed them all before he was willing to stop.

Almost all the examinees who had reserved quotas for immortal sects and cave heavens were wiped out by Wei Yuan without making any contribution. Those who had some achievements in hand were ordinary examinees, not vanguards or scouts, and those scattered achievements were only worth one or two points.

The situation at hand was that if the evaluation was strictly according to the procedure, then except for Wei Yuan, everyone else had zero points.

The elderly cultivator spoke first: "How to evaluate, we have to discuss it carefully."

The old Confucian scholar opened his mouth and said, "I think the first should be Li Zhi! He is the commander of the yellow team, not only leading the team to wipe out the blue team, but also preserving the central army elites to the end. At a young age, he showed the talent of a commander; if he is not the first, who is?"

The young cultivator sneered: "Was the blue team wiped out by him? Do you have any dark diseases in your eyes, old man?"

The old Confucian scholar's expression didn't change: "The blue team was wiped out by Wei Yuan, and Wei Yuan belongs to the yellow team. Li Zhi is the commander of the yellow team, so any credit made by anyone in the team is his credit; this has always been the case since ancient times. Naturally, Wei Yuan has made great contributions, but he can be tied for first place."

The young cultivator laughed in anger: "What about the yellow team's mistakes? Should they also be counted on Li Zhi?"

The old Confucian scholar said as a matter of course: "Credit is credit, mistake is mistake, how can they be mixed together?"

The young cultivator was so angry that his hands trembled, but he really couldn't argue with Liu Liu Sigu. The old Confucian scholar had spent half his life arguing with people, and the young cultivator was young and vigorous, and wanted face, so how could he be the old Confucian scholar's opponent in an argument?

Daoist Brother Fufeng interjected: "The procedure only divides the blue and yellow teams, there is no such thing as a commander. Even if the yellow team has a commander, why is it Li Zhi and not someone else, could it be because he is Duke Hui'en's son?"

Unexpectedly, the old Confucian scholar said loudly: "Just because he is Duke Hui'en's son! Just because the Cui, Han, and Wang families support him!"

This sentence was said with great confidence, immediately blocking Daoist Brother Fufeng back.

Everyone knew that the noble families were powerful, with the saying of seven surnames and thirteen families, and even the top few families were not under the immortal sects. In such a unified examination martial test, wanting to lead the army, just relying on background was enough, and one could only rely on background. Behind Bao Yun leading the blue team and Li Zhi leading the yellow team were both like this. Dividing the teams was said to be absolutely fair, but there were actually mysteries; no matter how they were divided, Behind Bao Yun and Li Zhi would not be divided into the same team.

Daoist Brother Fufeng naturally knew these things, but the old Confucian scholar said them so openly and naturally, instantly making Daoist Brother Fufeng's Dao foundation a bit restless, his face black as the bottom of a pot.

The old Confucian scholar continued: "This mess has to be cleaned up. No matter what others think, this old man's brush is Li Zhi thirty."

At this time, the middle-aged Confucian scholar coughed, breaking the silence, and said: "Everyone saw the martial test just now, the blue team was wiped out first, Li Zhi disciplined the army well, was calm in the face of danger, and as the leader of the yellow team, he should be evaluated as thirty points."

The young cultivator sneered: "Li Zhi lost two battles in a row, and that's called disciplining the army well? What does the blue team's destruction have to do with him? If it weren't for Wei Yuan, hmph, Miss Bao would have wiped him out several times already! If Li Zhi can get thirty, shouldn't my young lady get fifty?"

The middle-aged Confucian scholar said: "Wei Yuan belongs to the yellow team."

The young cultivator retorted: "Didn't he also wipe out the yellow team?"

This question was not easy to answer. The middle-aged Confucian scholar and the old Confucian scholar exchanged glances and said: "Accidentally injuring the same team, the evaluation should indeed be lowered appropriately."

This was said slippery, but the young cultivator wouldn't let it go, asking: "Then how much do you plan to lower it?"

The two Confucian scholars cursed in their hearts, but Zhang Sheng was watching from the side, so this question couldn't be answered randomly. The middle-aged Confucian scholar didn't tangle with this question at all, but said: "Miss Bao's blue team was wiped out, and she herself made no contribution, so according to the procedure, it should be zero points!"

"Fart!" The young cultivator was furious.

In the blink of an eye, the evaluators were arguing again, instead leaving Zhang Sheng aside. However, everyone knew that arguing had no meaning, so in a situation where they didn't agree, they could only evaluate separately.

Zhang Sheng didn't move the name list book in front of him, just watched everyone perform quietly.

Just at this moment, a water-colored brilliance descended from the sky, landing directly on the stone tablet in the hall. The water-colored moonlight was as thin as hair, but gave everyone infinite pressure, like facing the abyss and the sea, like facing the sun!

All the evaluators' thoughts were frozen, and then they saw all the names on the stone tablet disappear and reappear, with corresponding scores after each name. Ranking at the top was Wei Yuan, twenty-five; then Behind Bao Yun three points, Li Zhi two points, others a little one or two points, and the vast majority zero points.

A high and desolate voice resounded through the illusionary realm, booming, only knowing it came from high above: "This is justice!"

Then the scores on the stone tablet melted like ice and snow, and new scores appeared, which was adding twenty points to each person. Finally, Wei Yuan was forty-five, Behind Bao Yun twenty-three, Li Zhi twenty-two, and the rest ranked in order.

"This is to leave some face for your families."

The evaluators were silent, not daring to make a sound. When the Fenhai Zhenjun spoke, how could they have any room to speak?

Every Fenhai Zhenjun was a pillar of support, enough to support a medium-sized family out of thin air, even for thousand-year noble families like the Bao family and Cui family, they had to be polite to the Fenhai Zhenjun. Not to mention that the wisp of thin moonlight was very famous even among the True Lords, after all, there was only one person in the Grand Void Palace who could concurrently serve as the hall master of the Heavenly Green and Water Moon halls.

Then the voice turned severe and scolded: "Zhang Sheng, an evaluator of the Grand Void Palace, acted recklessly and humiliated his colleagues. Although there was a reason, he must be severely punished!"

After a pause, the voice said: "... Zhang Sheng is fined three years of salary as a warning to others!"

The evaluators were convinced, unable to see any difference.

High in the air, a figure shrouded in water-colored moonlight said: "You are all old friends, if you have any objections, we can theorize again. If there are no objections, then it is settled."

There were several towering figures around him, each with extraordinary momentum. Two of them nodded slightly, while the other two snorted, making no indication. These two were dressed as Confucian scholars, but the folding fan in their hands was short by half, and the other was dressed as a cultivator, full of precious light, apparently wearing famous Dharma treasures, but the brilliant Dharma robe was missing a sleeve, which looked a bit abrupt.

Three out of five agreed, and two made no indication, so the matter was settled, and the unified examination was settled.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 24 =====

Subsequently, the scores on the stone tablet melted away like ice and snow, and new scores appeared—everyone had been given an additional twenty points. In the end, Wei Yuan was at forty-five, Behind Bao Yun at twenty-three, Li Zhi at twenty-two, and the others were ranked accordingly.

"This is to leave some face for your respective families."

The several evaluators were as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to make a sound. When a Fenhai Zhenjun speaks, where is there any room for them to interject?

Every Fenhai Zhenjun is a pillar supporting the heavens, sufficient to single-handedly prop up a mid-sized family. Even high-ranking clans of a thousand years like the Bao and Cui families must treat a Fenhai Zhenjun with great courtesy. Moreover, that thin streak of moonlight is quite famous even among True Lords; after all, there is only one person in the Grand Tai Tai Chu Gong who can concurrently serve as the Hall Master of both the Azure Heaven and Water Moon halls.

Then, that voice turned stern and rebuked: "Zhang Sheng, an evaluator of the Grand Tai Tai Chu Gong, has acted recklessly and humiliated his colleagues. Although there was cause, he must be severely punished!"

After a pause, the voice then said: "... Zhang Sheng is to be fined three years' salary as a warning to others!"

The gathered evaluators were convinced and submissive, showing not the slightest sign of anything amiss.

High in the air, a figure shrouded in water-colored moonlight said: "You are all old friends. If you have any objections, we can discuss them further. If there are no objections, then it is settled."

Around him were several other towering figures, each with an extraordinary aura. Two of them nodded slightly, while the other two merely hummed, showing no indication. One of these two was dressed like a Confucian scholar, though his folding fan was missing half its length, and the other was dressed as a cultivator, covered in precious light, clearly wearing famous magic treasures, though his resplendent robe was missing a sleeve, appearing somewhat abrupt.

With three of the five agreeing and two remaining non-committal, the matter was settled, and the dust settled on the unified examination.

(End of chapter)