Evergreen Immortal..

Chapter 331: Martial Arts Examination
"Brother Li, I heard that Lord Yuan is handsome, so he often shows his silver face when he charges into battle and kills the enemy. Is that true?"

Ma Xuan, the secretary of Dali Temple, asked curiously.

Li Rui: "Lord Yuan has a decent appearance. As for the ghost mask, I heard it was to make it easier for him to kill people without blinking an eye."

Ma Xuan immediately exclaimed that it made sense.

"It's really just rumors from those unscrupulous people."

Next time I go out to drink with others, I’ll have something to brag about.

Let’s talk about Lord Yuan again.

I am an expert in this field.

Anyone in the capital can talk for a long time about the important events of generals and ministers in the court. This is a unique pride of the people in the capital, and the officials in the capital are naturally no exception.

In addition to the imperial master and the prime minister, who are the pillars of the empire who are right in the capital.

Lord Yuan is also a person who is often mentioned after dinner.

Because he has been fighting abroad for many years, he has become a bit mysterious and is talked about even more often.

Li Rui naturally did not hesitate to use these little tricks to get closer to a few people.

After three rounds of drinking.

The atmosphere suddenly became lively, and everyone toasted each other like old friends.

This is of course because Li Rui wanted to get to know him, and the other party had the same idea.

Otherwise, they are all smart people and will not consider themselves your younger brothers even if they drink a few pounds of wine.

Lin Hai was in a good mood.

Today, he not only got to know Li Rui, a very famous person in Yunzhou, but also gained face in front of his colleagues because of Li Rui.

The next time we meet, we will be more confident.

"Brother Li, this time the Third Princess is coming to the capital, His Majesty has specially set up a town exam, maybe His Majesty will personally watch the ceremony."

Ma Xuan answered:

"That's right. Last month, the envoys from the Wu Kingdom brought with them several ferocious monsters. His Majesty was so pleased that he established the imperial examination. I heard that if you can win the first place, you can get the sword bestowed by His Majesty. It's an extraordinary honor."

Lin Hai laughed:

"We will know the result in seven days. I don't know which good family will be able to receive the imperial gift from His Majesty."

That sword is really quite good.

It is a fourth-grade spiritual weapon.

However, although spiritual weapons are precious, what is even more valuable is the word "imperial gift".

This matter will be recorded in the Ministry of Personnel's notebook.

When the year of the imperial examination comes, it will be the capital for promotion.

Li Rui listened with a smile most of the time.

The five of them continued to eat and drink until late at night.

Only then did they end the party in a drunken state.

When Li Rui came out of the White Crane Tower, he was greeted by Tan Hu and Ge Hong who were waiting outside. The others had already left in carriages, but Li Rui did not receive such treatment.

Tan Hu asked curiously: "Brother, is it expensive to eat here? How is the taste?"

"Usually, seven vegetarian dishes and one meat dish."

Hear this.

Tan Hu immediately lost interest.

Ge Hong said with a smile: "Huzi, what do you know? They eat in the same style, and it's worth a lot of money."

Tan Hu rolled his eyes:
"These high-ranking officials are just out of their minds."

"If it were our family, after spending so much money, we would definitely have to eat a piece of dragon meat to make the meal worthwhile."

Li Rui agrees:

"Huzi, there's nothing wrong with what you said."

Seven days passed in a flash.

The day of the big competition.

The civil examination was held in the Imperial Examination Hall, while the military examination was held in the military training ground outside the city.

Li Rui put on his official uniform early and left the Dianke Office with Tan Hu and Ge Hong.

Originally, he did not bring his official robes when he left Yunzhou.

Lin Hai specially asked someone to borrow this official robe from a commander of the Imperial Guards. The commander, like Li Rui, was a fifth-rank military officer, and the robe fit him surprisingly well.

Not long after.

Li Rui came to the parade ground outside the city.

The training ground was already crowded with people at this time.

Anxious candidates were waiting outside the training ground early in the morning.

There are no age or gender regulations for the martial arts examination.

So there are men and women, old and young.

Li Rui even saw an old man with white hair and beard among them, who looked like he was even older than himself.

I just wonder if he is also a late bloomer like me.

Seeing Li Rui in his green official robe with bear-pattern patterns, they all showed awe and obediently made way for him.

Li Rui walked into the training ground smoothly.

Officials from the Ministry of War were already there, and we saw many familiar faces.

Lin Hai, Ma Xuan and others saw Li Rui.

He walked up to her and greeted her familiarly.

"Master Li, when we are done, let's go to my house and have a gathering. I got a Seven-Star Sword, please take a look at it."

Ma Xuan said.

"The Seven-Star Sword. I'd like to take a closer look at it."

Li Rui was not interested in the Seven-Star Sword.

It's just an opportunity to deepen the relationship.

Some small talk.

Li Rui then found an opportunity to come up to Nie Siming.

Nie Siming looked at Li Rui with a half-smile. He had seen Li Rui talking and laughing with those officials from the capital just now.

"I really didn't see the wrong person."

Not bad.

Although it was Minister Wang who specially invited him to supervise the exam, it was Li Rui whom he specifically asked to take with him. Now it seems that his move was quite successful.

Nie Siming is not the kind of incompetent superior who would be jealous of his subordinates.

Li Rui is his subordinate, and Li Rui's relationships are his relationships.

The more people you know in Beijing, the easier some things will become.

This was exactly why he let Li Rui stay in Beijing.

Li Rui knew what Nie Siming meant. He clasped his fists and chuckled, "Thank you, General Nie, for your support."

Nie Siming didn't care:

"You are really capable. I will repay you this favor after you have achieved a breakthrough."

Li Rui knew that what Nie Siming meant by repaying a favor was a battle with him.

While talking.

Suddenly, a deafening dragon roar was heard in a corner of the training ground.

Nie Siming looked at that place and said, "What a vicious dragon."

There was a huge cage covered with white cloth, which was the one that held the monster beast for the martial arts exam.

"It is a Nine Yin Flood Dragon, with an extremely overbearing Nine Yin evil spirit. I am afraid that there are not many people in Guanhai Realm who can subdue it."

"I'm afraid no one can surrender this time."

"At least the last martial arts champion couldn't do that."

Li Rui deeply agreed with this.

He knew a lot about the Witch Kingdom, which naturally included knowledge about monsters.

This Nine Yin Dragon is notorious for its ferociousness and famous for its killing power, and is invincible among its peers.

Even Nie Siming said that there are not many people who can subdue it. That means there are very few. I am afraid that no one in this martial arts examination will be able to subdue this evil dragon.

Officials of all kinds perform their duties on the parade ground.

Invigilators like Li Rui were just one of them. There were also supervising officers, patrol officers, military officers and supply officers, etc., numbering no less than hundreds of people. The momentum was huge and the scale was grand.

Such a grand occasion is to demonstrate to the world the Holy Emperor’s love for talents.

Different from the written test.

The martial arts test will directly determine the top three and second place, and then the second place will enter the Fengtian Palace to be examined by the Holy Emperor himself.

"If someone can defeat this dragon, he will probably be the top candidate, and most likely the top scholar."

As for why it is said to be a high probability.

Because the number one scholar is chosen by the Holy Emperor.

Grades are only part of the story.

The key lies in the Holy Emperor's favor.

Just like the last runner-up in literature, he wrote very well, but his martial arts skills were average, and he was also very ugly, so he was finally ranked second and missed the chance to become the top scorer.

soon.

Followed by a dull, deep drum beat.

The martial arts exam begins!
Compared with those nervous candidates, Li Rui was much more relaxed and was just an outsider.

The first two days.

First comes the physical examination, then the town examination.

After completing the two subjects, you will go to the Hanlin Academy to take the military subject.

Like Wen Ju, it lasted a total of three days.

However, the military examination is much better than the civil examination. You don’t have to be locked up in the Imperial Examination Hall. It must be uncomfortable to eat, drink, defecate and urinate in a small cubicle.

As the candidates entered the venue one after another.

The first thing was for Minister Wang of the Ministry of War to say something like “The Emperor’s grace is great” in order to inspire people and demonstrate the Emperor’s benevolence.

Then various officials began to guide the candidates to participate in the competition.

A warrior’s skill is to kill people.

What Li Ke competes with is absolute force, and the way is to draw lots.

However, it is different from ordinary martial arts competitions. The time limit is fifteen minutes. If the winner is still undecided, the examiner will make the decision and the invigilator will review it.

Li Rui knew early on that he was assigned to the Si stage.

The examiner who partnered with him was a Yuwenlang from the Ministry of War.

All the procedural matters were handled by the official and the clerks, and he only had to watch the battle leisurely.

The action on the ring was truly spectacular.

Because of the time limit, if the winner has not been determined when the incense and candles burn out, the examiner will make the decision. Of course, the participants must give their all and use all their killer moves.

It was such a pleasure to watch.

Generally speaking.

There are only about forty people in the second class, and almost all of them are sea-watching warriors.

Candidates need to meet the invigilator before taking the exam.

Even if there is a friendship of support.

When I become an official in the future, I will be closer to you.

Li Rui came here to receive some support, so as long as it wasn't too excessive, his attitude was very good.

I made friends with several outstanding candidates.

Special care is given to candidates from Yunzhou.

This is not favoritism or corruption; it is human nature.

It's really unacceptable that even our fellow villagers don't help.

Not only did he do this, but other invigilators did the same. This phenomenon was very common in the State of Yu.

If everyone acts impartially, who would be willing to do such a thankless job as an invigilator?

at dusk.

Li Rui, Lin Hai and several other officials gathered at Ma's house and toasted each other.

Such scenes were played out in many mansions in the capital.

"There are many good candidates this time. Xu Yan from Haizhou is very good. He is a hot candidate for the top prize in this martial arts exam."

"I think the guy from the Bai family in Beijing is pretty good too."

“There are so many talented people.”

"I just don't know who can get an A in the most important town exam this time. That Nine Yin Dragon is really hard to deal with."

(End of this chapter)