Supreme Martial Venerable: Starting with the White Ape Cloak Hammer skill point allocation

Clang.

Yuan Qingfeng's hammer slammed onto the blue brick ground and rolled twice.

A thin red line appeared on his neck, then suddenly split open, and blood gushed out.

All of this happened so fast that the scribes next to them and the audience below the stage were left completely blank.

Yuan Qingfeng, who had just been in a dominant position and even knocked the weapon out of Zhou Yuan's hand, suddenly collapsed to the ground, his blood staining the arena.

The moment the two brushed past each other, Zhou Yuan slashed Yuan Qingfeng's neck with a single stroke.

With injuries so severe that there was no need for any emergency treatment, the doctor, carrying his medical kit, shook his head, turned around, and walked back to tell the others at the scene that they could collect the body.

Zhou Yuan sheathed his sword expressionlessly and picked up the hammer that had been knocked off his wrist.

Swords have no eyes; one must bear the consequences of one's own life and death.

In the county examination hall, whether he kills someone or is killed by someone, he will not bear any responsibility.

Of course, whether or not there will be retaliation afterward is another matter.

He glanced at Yuan Qingfeng's corpse, his heart as calm as still water.

If Yuan Qingfeng hadn't pressed him relentlessly, each move aimed at killing him, he wouldn't have resorted to such ruthless methods.

He had no right to be merciful to an opponent who wanted him dead and whose strength was no less than his own.

"That's interesting. Everyone underestimated you."

Gao Da, carrying a knife, appeared beside Zhou Yuan at some point and said in a relaxed tone, "Everyone thought you were just a strong and lucky blacksmith, but I didn't expect you to have such a skill. What excellent knife skills."

Even I, if I encountered this move without prior knowledge, would probably suffer a loss. Yuan Qingfeng's death was not unjust.

He looked regretful, as if he was lamenting that he had missed his chance to make money.

Yuan Qingfeng died under Zhou Yuan's blade, so the good-for-nothing Qin Wu was even less of a match for him.

As expected, Qin Wu saw Zhou Yuan's gaze fall upon him in the crowd. He didn't dare to meet Zhou Yuan's eyes at all, and with a look of fear on his face, he shrank his neck and hid in the crowd.

Zhou Yuan's gaze met that of Wang Chao and the others, who all nodded at him in a friendly manner.

Zhou Yuan suddenly realized that things might not be as bad as he thought.

Sometimes, people need to have some edge; otherwise, others will just think you're easy to bully.

The premise is that you have enough ability.

Having defeated Yuan Qingfeng, Zhou Yuan has now won five matches in the third round of the martial arts competition.

Some observant people calculated his results from the first two rounds, and so far, Zhou Yuan has earned twenty-two red circles.

Even if he forfeits all five remaining matches, based on his past performance, it's practically a certainty that he'll pass the imperial examination at the martial arts level.

Given Zhou Yuan's demonstrated strength, how could he possibly lose all five of his subsequent matches?

In the remaining five matches, he would advance one place in the rankings for each additional circle he completed.

People are now even speculating about how Zhou Yuan's ranking will compare to that of popular seeded players like Wang Chao and Gao Da.

The atmosphere in the examination room subtly changed, and some people began to approach Zhou Yuan to chat, curry favor, and recruit him.

Most people are unaware of the situation involving Pang Yunlong and Li Lin; all they know is that Zhou Yuan is about to become a martial arts scholar, thus completely shedding his lowly status.

Now may be the best time to befriend such a future "big shot".

Zhou Yuan accepted all comers and dealt with these unexpected social interactions in a lukewarm manner. Those who came to participate in the county-level martial arts examination were basically the backbone of various powerful families, and they might be needed in the future.

Zhou Yuan became famous overnight and instantly became the focus of the entire audience, so naturally no one dared to tamper with the draw.

He was lucky and didn't draw a seeded player again.

In five matches, two opponents chose to forfeit, while the remaining three approached him with a desire to learn and engaged in friendly matches.

After exchanging more than ten moves, the opponent voluntarily conceded defeat.

In the final round of weapon battles, Zhou Yuan achieved a perfect record of ten wins.

When the gong sounded to signal the end of the county examination, the candidates packed up their belongings and left the venue.

Zhou Yuan also left the training ground with the crowd.

As soon as he stepped out of the training ground, he saw Li Lin and his wife, as well as Zhuo Changyu.

Seeing Zhou Yuan emerge unharmed, Li Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

"As long as you're safe, we'll talk about it when we get back."

Li Lin grabbed Zhou Yuan's arm and said in a deep voice.

…………

At Li Lin's home.

After listening to Zhou Yuan's account of the county examination process, Li Lin fell silent.

"Master Li, Yuan Qingfeng is too strong, I can't hold back."

Zhou Yuan said.

Yuan Qingfeng was once groomed by Li Lin to be his successor, like a son.

"Swords have no eyes; one is responsible for one's own life and death."

Li Lin shook his head. "Yuan Qingfeng is dead, so be it. He didn't have any background, and no one will stand up for him."

"It's true that I'm soft-hearted; otherwise, I should have crippled his martial arts when he left. Without martial arts, he might have survived."

Li Lin sighed, "It's all fate."

"Master Li, is it because Yuan-ge'er's grades aren't good?"

Seeing Li Lin's expression, Zhuo Changyu couldn't help but ask, "Yuan-ge'er has only been practicing martial arts for a year, so it's normal that he didn't do well on the exam."

"Silly girl."

Han patted Zhuo Changyu's hand, saying, "This is what they call 'fools have good luck,' you've struck gold."

Zhuo Changyu blinked his big eyes, completely bewildered.

"Lifting a thousand-pound tripod, winning nine out of ten rounds of hand-to-hand combat, and ten out of ten rounds of weaponry—this isn't just a question of whether I can pass the imperial martial arts exam; it's a question of whether I can become the top scholar in the county!"

Li Lin said in a deep voice, with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice.

The title of "county scholar" refers to the person who ranks first in the county-level military examination, also known as the "top scholar" in the county-level examination.

In the dead of night, he also fantasized about this possibility.

But every time he thought about Zhou Yuan's aptitude and potential, he felt that he was just indulging in wishful thinking.

Now that this possibility has reappeared in his sights, he still feels like he's dreaming.

The county-level martial arts examination sometimes depends not only on strength but also on luck, since the outcome can vary drastically depending on the opponent you draw in the second or third round.

In the past, there were also candidates who weren't particularly strong, but who were drawn by even weaker candidates and managed to pass the exam and become martial arts scholars.

Li Lin never expected that Zhou Yuan's luck would be this good.

"County magistrate?"

Zhuo Changyu was also startled, and looked at Zhou Yuan with a look of surprise.

"Yuan-ge'er, are you really going to become the county magistrate?"

"The results haven't been posted yet, so it's hard to say."

Zhou Yuan shook his head and said calmly, "But Wu Xiucai should be guaranteed a place. He won't have to perform corvée labor anymore, and our family's taxes will be reduced by more than half."

Li Lin looked at Zhou Yuan and sighed inwardly. This disciple's composure was so calm that he was not like a young man. If he had achieved such results when he was young, he would have been so arrogant.

As it turned out, Zhou Yuan simply discussed the issues of corvée labor and taxes in a calm manner.

With such a mindset, even if one's talent and physical constitution are somewhat lacking, one may still achieve great things in the future.

"Junior sister, bring me the jade knife."

Li Lin suddenly spoke to Han Shi.

…………