Chapter 26: Martial Arts Imperial Examination (Please bookmark and follow for updates)

A few days later.

The martial arts examination for Qingshan County in the twenty-fourth year of Qing'an finally arrived.

Unlike the civil service examinations, where testing pavilions were set up in markets near the county yamen for candidates, the martial arts examination was held directly in an open-air outdoor setting.

The location was set in the plaza in front of the main temple of the City God in West Street of the county town.

On the high platform in front of the main temple, a middle-aged official in a green robe sat in the center. On either side, according to their rank, sat the various assistant officials of the Qingshan County yamen, such as the County Commandant, the County Vice-Magistrate, and the Bailiff.

The fabric of the officials' robes differed according to their rank, making them very easy to distinguish.

On both sides of the plaza below the platform sat the gentry and wealthy merchants of Qingshan County, dressed in elegant and fine clothing.

Their gazes were fixed upon the two to three hundred martial artists standing in the center of the field, their eyes filled with anticipation.

"The poor study literature, while the rich practice martial arts"—this had been the rule since ancient times.

It was easy for an ordinary wealthy household to save money to support one or two full-time scholars, but it was difficult to support a martial artist who had practiced from childhood.

Therefore, of the nearly three hundred martial artists standing in the plaza at this moment, more than sixty percent came from the families of these gentry and wealthy merchants.

The remaining twenty percent also had intricate connections to them, mostly serving as their private guards or estate protectors.

Only the final twenty percent of the martial artists came from humble, impoverished households.

"What's this?"

"He came too?"

In a corner of the plaza, a desk had been set up specifically to verify the origins and character certificates of the martial artists.

Sitting behind the desk was the clerk in black robes whom Wei Tu had seen previously in the household department of the yamen.

After checking the pile of certificates on the desk one by one, the clerk suddenly spotted Wei Tu's name among them.

With a look of surprise, he flipped to the last page of the household register from the yamen, compared Wei Tu's ancestral home and age, and could not help but exclaim in astonishment.

It had only been about half a year since Wei Tu had been removed from the household register last year. Because Wei Tu was the first servant he had seen redeem himself from bondage since his son took over the family business as a clerk, his impression of Wei Tu was quite deep.

"To want to change one's fate through the martial arts exam is no simple matter. I hope he doesn't die on the examination grounds..."

The clerk in black thought silently.

Every three years, the county yamen had to clear out "hidden households." For someone like Wei Tu, who had newly entered the civil registers, he was part of the clerk's performance metrics.

Naturally, he did not wish for Wei Tu to die here.

In the plaza.

The person who recognized Wei Tu was not just the clerk in black, but also a beautiful woman sitting in the gentry's section.

This beautiful woman was none other than Wei Hong. She sat behind Master Huang, her willow brows slightly furrowed as she glanced several times at Wei Tu standing in the plaza.

Even though many years had passed and she had not seen this nephew of her own clan for a long time, she still recognized Wei Tu at a glance from among the crowd of martial artists due to their blood relation.

"What is he doing here? Does he want to take the martial arts exam? His physique is indeed much stronger than it was three years ago..."

"But among this crowd of martial artists, he is quite ordinary. Perhaps he isn't even as capable as Yuanshan..."

Wei Hong's emotions were complicated.

On one hand, she hoped Wei Tu would stand out among the martial artists so that he could assist her as a member of her maternal family in the future; on the other hand, she instinctively felt that Wei Tu was not up to the task—that her nephew was not capable.

In the three-plus years, Wei Tu had only learned some superficial health-preserving techniques. No matter how much he improved, he could not compare to martial artists from wealthy families.

Those martial artists from great households had practiced since childhood, had meat at every meal, were taught by famous masters, and were frequently supplemented with medicinal diets to nourish their bodies...

How could a peasant compare to them?

There was simply no comparison!

...

Soon.

Gongs and drums sounded in unison.

The martial arts examination began.

Wei Tu received a numbered tag marked "Bing-13" and waited among the crowd.

Compared to the prefectural and provincial examinations, the county-level martial arts exam was the simplest, consisting of only five stages.

These were: Strength (Stone Lifting), Foot Archery, Horse Archery, Combat Sparring, and finally, Military Strategy.

The Strength stage was further subdivided into lifting stones, drawing heavy bows, and wielding great sabers.

"Team Bing, form up!"

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and the martial officer in charge of the examination shouted loudly.

Hearing this, Wei Tu composed himself and followed the front row of martial artists into the arena, standing before several stone locks of varying sizes.

Two hundred jin.

Three hundred jin.

Four hundred jin.

Five hundred jin.

There were four stone locks in total.

In the county martial arts exam, the stone-lifting test started at two hundred jin, a level of strength that was fundamentally difficult for an ordinary person to reach.

"The five-hundred-jin stone lock!"

Wei Tu fixed his gaze on the heaviest and largest stone lock. His expression was solemn, his breath sank to his dantian, and he spread his feet wide into a firm horse stance.

Then.

He mobilized the strength of his entire body, placed his right hand on the stone lock, and lifted with all his might.

The heavy stone lock instantly rose from the ground, pausing for half a breath at Wei Tu's knee, then at his elbow, and finally held high above his head.

After hovering above his head for four or five breaths, Wei Tu finally could not hold it any longer and slowly lowered the five-hundred-jin stone lock to the ground with his right arm.

As the five-hundred-jin stone lock hit the ground, a slight tremor could be heard across the entire plaza, as if the earth itself were shifting.

The entire plaza fell into a silent atmosphere. At this moment, everyone's gaze converged upon Wei Tu, all filled with immense shock.

In the entire history of Qingshan County, a person capable of lifting a five-hundred-jin stone lock with one arm occurred only once every few decades.

In a hundred years, it had only happened three times.

Without exception, the three martial artists who had achieved this had all taken the top spot in the county martial arts examination.

And... Wei Tu was the fourth.

This also meant that the person destined to be the champion of this year's martial arts exam had already been decided at this very moment.

As long as...

"It will be difficult!"

After seeing Wei Tu's clothing, the gentry smiled and immediately reached a conclusion.

Wei Tu's attire was shabby; his single layer of clothing was washed until it was white, clearly indicating a humble background.

Such martial artists often failed in the Horse Archery and Military Strategy sections, leading to their disqualification.

Horse Archery required a fine horse to assist. Although the county provided horses, they were often inferior breeds.

Riding an inferior horse for archery meant one could not maintain a continuous flow of strength; no matter how exquisite the archery skill, it was difficult to hit the target.

As for Military Strategy.

This subject also had a high invisible threshold. Without the guidance of a great master, it was no easy feat to write an outstanding essay.

"Bing-13."

"Stone Lifting: Grade A."

At this time, the examiner in charge of the stone-lifting section announced Wei Tu's result.

According to the regulations, to aim for a Grade A in stone lifting, one needed to lift a three-hundred-jin stone lock with one arm above the head and hold it for thirty breaths.

Or, lift a four-hundred-jin stone lock with both arms and hold it above the head for twenty breaths.

But Wei Tu was different now; he had lifted a five-hundred-jin stone lock with one arm and held it above his head for four breaths. This level of strength had already far exceeded the Grade A strength of an ordinary martial artist.

The gap between three hundred jin and five hundred jin with one arm was like a chasm.

This was common knowledge.

Lifting five hundred jin with one arm was enough to hope for the title of *Juren* in the provincial examination.

In other words, at this moment, Wei Tu had already reached the level of a professional martial arts candidate in the stone-lifting category.

"Even if it is hard to take the top prize, a Grade A in stone lifting also grants the qualification to be recommended for the prefectural exam..."

"Wei Tu is not old, is he twenty? Twenty-two?"

"If he hires a famous master, he should be able to make up for these shortcomings in Horse Archery and Military Strategy in the next exam..."

Within the gentry's section, Wei Hong saw Wei Tu's results and a complex expression once again appeared on her face as she thought to herself.