On the Avenue.

Chapter 295 Martial Arts Performance
Chen Shi was extremely shocked and stood up immediately.

"Didn't you see it?"

He loudly questioned Bi'an and Fuxi, "We are cheating! He is writing the interpretation for me!"

Bi'an and Fuxi walked back and forth in the hall majestically.

An examiner shouted, "No noise allowed! Sit down!"

Before Chen Shi could speak, Zhang You smiled and said, "Chen Jieyuan, please sit down. This hall is for cheating. Even if you write a blank paper or some rebellious words, what you submit is still a well-balanced and gorgeous essay, and you will still be on the list."

Chen Shi's eyes widened in disbelief, "Is this hall used for cheating?"

Zhang You smiled and said, "The children of our thirteen families all take exams in this hall. It has always been like this. This written test is just a show for outsiders to see. There should be thirteen people here, but this year there are two more, a total of fifteen people, but I didn't expect the other twelve brothers to disappear, no one can see them alive or dead, resulting in only three of us left."

He glanced at the young master. The twelve missing people were originally his allies.

The reason why he did not die was because he was not an ally of the young master, and he was not there when Chen Shi arrived at Qixia Temple.

The young master sat there, looking at the clerk who wrote for him, and said, "Do you feel that it is unfair to you, Chen Jieyuan? Don't forget that you have also suffered injustice. You are also one of us."

Chen Shi sat down and was silent for a moment. He felt a little sad and said, "My father just told me outside how fair and serious this exam is. He said that these two divine beasts would see everything and any cheating methods, even using ghosts and gods to cheat, would not escape their eyes and ears. But he didn't expect that even the Bi'an and Fuxi, who are very observant, would help you cheat after entering this hall. He always thought that the literary test of the imperial examination was fair."

"No whispering allowed." The examiner said expressionlessly.

Zhang You ignored the examiner and smiled, "This is why your father's articles were so famous in Xijing and made paper expensive. His articles were written from his heart and had substance, unlike our articles, which are just eight-part essays written by petty officials."

Chen Shi sighed and whispered, "How can a scholar from a poor family compete with aristocratic families? For example, my father was deceived his whole life."

He recalled how Chen Tang did not allow him to bring any weapons with him. He was so serious and cautious, and he couldn't help but feel sad for the other candidates in the examination room.

They thought the civil examination was a fair test. They might not be as good as the children of aristocratic families in the martial arts examination, but they were confident that they were not inferior to others in the civil examination.

They studied hard, thinking that by learning the knowledge of the sages, they could put it into practice effectively to cultivate themselves, manage their families, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.

What a bookish spirit!

The young master turned around and said, "So we need the true king to take charge of the court again in order to restore order. Brother Chen Jieyuan, Brother Zhang You, you should help me!"

Chen Shi said indifferently: "Did you wash your neck clean?"

The young master sighed, somewhat resentfully: "You still have such a deep prejudice against me."

Chen Shi looked at his test paper. The clerk turned a deaf ear to what they said and continued to write furiously. His words were well-written and gorgeous, but they were empty and meaningless.

"And his understanding of the meaning of the classics is also wrong. Thunder is in the sky, it is very strong. A gentleman will not do anything that is not proper. He thought this sentence means that thunder is in the sky, and a gentleman will not do anything that is not proper. This is a big mistake."

Chen Shi sneered and thought, "This sentence clearly means that when you meet someone who doesn't know etiquette, you should first spread thunder in the sky to prevent him from producing his soul and soul, and then mobilize his blood and qi to strengthen his body, so that he can be defeated with courage and trample the rude person under your feet! This is clearly the saint teaching us how to fight and how to defeat the opponent."

He sighed and whispered, "They just don't want me to be the top scorer in high school and deprive me of the opportunity to show my talent."

He was losing interest. Thirteen noble families controlled the government and misinterpreted the knowledge of the saints. Even if he wrote well, what would it matter? The top three in the literary examination were decided in this hall, but he was definitely not the first.

The three clerks quickly finished their test papers, placed them in front of the three people, and weighed them down with a paperweight.

After an hour, the examiner collected the papers and allowed them to leave the examination room.

Chen Shi walked out of the Ministry of Rites and felt the sunlight outside was dazzling.

Chen Tang came forward, a little anxious, but still calm and composed, not impatient, and said slowly: "How do you feel?"

Chen Shi looked calm and said, "Not bad, it's the topic that Zhu Xiucai talked about."

Chen Tang was obviously relaxed and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhu said so, so there must be no problem. He is extremely talented. When he taught me, I thought he was just an ordinary scholar. I didn't expect that I would pass all the tests from the county examination to the provincial examination to the imperial examination. There were few rivals."

As the father and son walked and talked, Chen Shi said, "Mr. Zhu was so knowledgeable. He taught you, Uncle Wu, and me. Maybe Grandpa also learned from him. Why did he hang himself outside Huangpo Village?"

Chen Tang was slightly stunned. He had thought about this question, but had no answer.

Zhu Xiucai is highly talented, powerful, and possesses all kinds of unfathomable skills. Logically speaking, such a peerless master would never hang himself.

But he was hanged.

When he was hanged, he was just a scholar, not the top one or second place in the imperial examination.

What made him lose all hope and choose death over everything else?
"I don't know." Chen Tang said.

Chen Shi said: "I didn't know the answer before, but today I took the test and I finally knew it."

Chen Tang looked at his profile and felt that his son had become much more mature.

In the afternoon, there was a martial arts test at the Shenjiying training ground outside the city of Xijing.

The Shenjiying drill ground is a shooting range, a place used for firing guns and cannons.

This time it's a skills test, and the test is about magic.

The targets were set up on the mountain east of Xijing, and were divided into targets of ten miles, twenty miles, forty miles, sixty miles, eighty miles and one hundred miles.

There were twelve targets in each area, each with a number written on it. Soldiers were waiting with flags next to them. If they hit the target, they would raise a yellow flag, and if they missed, they would raise a white flag.

The assessment goal is very simple, which is to stand on the altar in the martial arts field and hit the six targets separately within one stick of incense time. There is no limit to the number of times and any spell can be used.

Chen Shi arrived at the examination room and saw from a distance that the target ten miles away was as small as a needle tip, invisible to the naked eye. Only by using talismans such as the Heaven Eye Talisman and the Divine Eye Talisman could one see it clearly.

To see the target twenty miles away clearly, one must use the Nascent Soul.

If you want to see a target clearly a hundred miles away, I'm afraid only the soul can see it clearly.

The limit of the spells of a cultivator in the Spirit Transformation Realm is exactly a hundred miles away.

However, this magic test not only depends on the distance, but also the accuracy. It is basically difficult to control the accuracy of a spell that can reach a distance of a hundred miles. Therefore, it is a big challenge even for a candidate in the Spirit Transformation Realm.

If you haven't cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, you won't be able to hit a target ten miles away.

The civil service examination was extremely strict, but the military examination was extremely relaxed. There were huge crowds of people outside the examination hall, all of them were people from Xijing who came here to watch the fun.

There were many candidates taking the magic test in front of Chen Shi. Twelve candidates stood on different altars with numbers on them. They held their breath and raised their Yuanying or Jindan to activate their magic.

Their spells are also different, including wind, fire, water, thunder, knives, guns, swords, halberds, and even unconventional spells like controlling ghosts and moving objects.

There are also some talisman masters who draw talismans in the air, showing their extremely high attainments in talisman techniques, and they cast spells with talismans, which is quite amazing.

However, among the twelve candidates, only five hit the first target, and only two hit the second target.

No one could hit the third target, let alone the fourth, fifth, and sixth targets.

After this group of candidates came, another twelve candidates came to the altar. The examiner lit a stick of incense and let the twelve candidates do what they wanted.

Among the twelve candidates, there was one who practiced the flying head technique. Suddenly, his head flew out from his neck, carrying his larynx and heart, and flew into the air, which was very eye-catching. Chen Shi came closer and tiptoed to look into the headless body of the man. He saw that after the man's head and heart flew out, no blood flowed out of his body, but his other organs were still moving.

"Don't fly too far, be careful of other people's spells that might hurt you!" An examiner was kind-hearted and reminded.

The man's head was halfway in the air when his heart and liver suddenly fell off. It was unknown who had hit him with magic.

As the heart and liver fell off, the head also fell off. The headless body stood up in a hurry and ran towards the place where his head and liver fell. After running for dozens of feet, blood suddenly gushed out of his neck like a fountain, and he fell to the ground with a thud, dead.

The people watching outside were horrified and the discussions became much louder. Then the soldiers from the Shenji Camp raised signs requesting silence.

The next group of candidates who took the art examination were much more stable. They were the group brought by Chen Shi.

Soon, all twelve people hit the ten-mile target, attracting the attention of the examiners.

Then, these twelve people hit the second target, causing an uproar. Many examiners hurriedly checked the backgrounds of these twelve people, but found that they were not from noble families.

At the third target, two people missed the target and did not hit it.

Three people missed the fourth target again.

Many examiners were stunned, and people outside the venue were whispering and discussing. Logically speaking, the poor candidates in the examination were just the foils for the children of the aristocratic families, and those with excellent qualifications could only hit the first and second targets. Don't even think about hitting the third target!
But this time, out of the twelve people, most of them hit the third target!

At this moment, there was an uproar in the crowd. Four people hit the fifth target!

"These four people have reached the Nascent Soul stage!"

Many examiners were all astonished and looked at these candidates.

The skills practiced by these twelve candidates are definitely not inferior to those practiced by the children of aristocratic families. They can even be compared with the skills practiced by the core children of aristocratic families!

The remaining four candidates each cast their spells, and the spells flew through the air, leaving behind streaks of light, and rushed towards the target a hundred miles away!

After a while, the soldiers standing next to the target raised the white flag, and none of the four spells hit the target.

The four candidates were dejected, but the examiners were extremely surprised. Although their spells did not hit the target, they were not far from the target that was a hundred miles away!
This shows that although these four candidates have reached the Nascent Soul stage, their strength is extremely close to the Spiritual Transformation stage!
The skills they practice must be extraordinary!
The twelve scholars stepped down from the stage, passed by Chen Shi, and greeted him.

"Coach!" "Coach!" "Coach must win the top prize!"

Chen Shi nodded one by one, wondering in his heart: "Why do they call me the instructor? Have they also joined the Heavenly Court? No, they should have joined the Hongshan Hall Talisman Master Association. I am the temporary instructor of the Hongshan Hall Talisman Master Association and receive fifty taels of silver every month."

At this time, another twelve candidates came on stage.

There was another uproar. Ten miles of targets, not a single one missed!

Twenty miles of targets, not a single one missed!

Thirty miles of targets, not a single one missed!

The results of the twelve candidates this time were even better than those of the previous batch, with five of them hitting the fifth target!
However, the sixth target is the magic boundary of the Divine Transformation Realm. Even if they are extremely good, they cannot make their magic penetrate a hundred miles!

The twelve successful candidates walked down the altar and passed by Chen Shi, greeting him one after another.

“Coach!” “Coach!” “Coach has won three prizes in a row!”

Chen Shi watched them leave.

The scholar who came on stage afterwards brought wave of shock. Although he was at the Nascent Soul stage, his strength was so strong that he could catch up with the masters at the Spirit Transformation stage!

Moreover, these people often come from the countryside, have no background, and have a poor family background. Their parents are farmers or do small business in the countryside, and they themselves are engaged in lowly occupations such as talisman masters, alchemists, and carpenters.

They even surpassed many children from small families!

What shocked the examiners even more was that there were so many such candidates!

In the past, the emergence of one or two such country scholars was already a great achievement. In the future, such scholars will be given important positions and reused.

But now there are already dozens of them, and the number is still increasing rapidly!
When these scholars came down from the altar, they would always pass by Chen Shi and respectfully call him "Master".
"They are the scholars that Chen Shi brought to Xijing!" someone exclaimed.

Chen Shi was quite moved. This scene made him happier than when he passed the imperial examination or even got top three places!
These scholars who accompanied him to Xijing did not bury their talents in this exam and did not disappoint the expectations of their elders. This examination will surely leave a glorious page because of the outstanding performance of these poor children!
He smiled and asked, what’s the point of being the top scholar?
It would be interesting to take two or three hundred candidates to pass the imperial examinations and squeeze out many children from aristocratic families!
At this moment, he noticed a pair of eyes falling on his back. Chen Shi turned around and met the young master's gaze.

Those eyes were cold and chilly, and no longer had any intention of winning him over. Instead, they were full of wariness and fear.

Chen Shi smiled slightly and ignored him.

At this moment, there was a commotion all around, and many candidates, examiners, and people outside the venue stood up one after another.

Some people activated spells such as the third eye, some offered up mirrors, and some simply grew a third eye on their foreheads, or grew eyes on their hands, and looked up at the hillside a hundred miles away to take a closer look.

"Someone hit the target a hundred miles away!"

"He is not from an aristocratic family!"

"It's a girl, very beautiful!"

People exclaimed.

Chen Shi looked over and saw Hu Feifei standing on the altar, looking quite heroic with a proud look on her face.

"Sister Feifei sneaked in?"

Chen Shi was stunned and thought, "Uncle Hu really knows an important official in Xijing and got her in?"

Finally, it was the turn of Chen Shi's group of candidates, including Gongzi and Zhang You.

Chen Shi stood on altar No. 2, looking at the target a hundred miles away. He activated the Sky Eye spell, and the target a hundred miles away became clear and distinct.

The young master is at altar number one, and Zhang You is at altar number three.

Suddenly, the young master raised his hand, and flames filled the sky and swept away. Targets No. 1 and No. 2 were all burned along the way, and it swept across like a whirlwind, reaching the sixth target a hundred miles away!
On the hillside, twelve yellow flags were raised.

The young master walked down from the altar and said calmly, "Chen Shi, I'll help you hit the target, so you don't have to worry about anything."

Chen Shi stared at his back, and the young master could feel the murderous intent in his eyes, which was so strong that he became extremely nervous and his back tensed.

Cold sweat broke out on the young man's forehead, and his walking was no longer natural, his steps became strange and twisted.

"It doesn't count if someone else takes the exam for you."

At this time, the voice of the Minister of Rites came, shouting, "Chen Shi, take the exam again."

This shout dispersed Chen Shi's murderous intent. Chen Shi retracted his gaze, looked at the Minister of Rites, and suddenly raised his hand. Countless pieces of gravel in the field flew into the air, whizzing away, and hit the target hundreds of miles away, passing through one target after another, without missing a single one!

Chen Shi turned around and walked off the stage. On the hillside, yellow flags were raised high.

——Please give me your monthly pass at the end of the month!

(End of this chapter)