Free Web NovelChapter 36: Chapter 34: Men from the Government Office
’As for the provincial examination in August, I won’t participate this time around.’
’I’ll wait and take the next one.’
Wei Tu thought to himself.
In the short term, it would be difficult for him to make any significant progress or breakthroughs in his Health Cultivation Technique and Tiger Crane Double Form Fist.
Unlike the Daoist Examination.
The provincial Military Examination was more brutal. It wasn’t just for the Martial Scholars from the current year, but also for Martial Scholars from all previous years...
These older-generation Martial Scholars were full of hidden talents, not necessarily any worse than some Provincial Martial Scholars.
Even if Wei Tu participated in this provincial Military Examination, it would be difficult for him to secure a good ranking.
The ranking determined one’s appointment as a Local Military Officer.
There was only one chance.
But if he waited three years to take the exam again...
By then, he would have been practicing the Health Cultivation Technique for over five years and would surely have entered the Qi Sensing Realm. With the boost from the Inner Cultivation Martial Dao, he could hope to place in the top ten in the provincial Military Examination.
...
「Five days later.」
Qingfeng Prefecture.
Inside the Martial Examination Hall, on a tournament stage in the training grounds.
"Wei Tu of Qingfeng Prefecture."
"Deng Sandao of Tonglin Prefecture."
Wei Tu and the Martial Artist opposite him exchanged fist-and-palm salutes and announced their names.
After the salute, the two walked to the weapon racks beside them to choose suitable weapons.
’What a ferocious Blade Technique.’ Just as Deng Sandao had taken a nine-ring broadsword from the weapon rack, he saw Wei Tu step forward and charge straight at him, like a fierce tiger pouncing through a forest.
As he charged, the three-foot-seven-inch black longblade in his hand swung in a vicious semicircle, slashing horizontally toward Deng Sandao’s shins.
Seeing this, Deng Sandao’s eyelid twitched. He hurriedly took two steps back to create distance and blocked with his own blade.
The two blunted blades instantly CLASHED together.
The impact sent a numbing shock through Deng Sandao’s right hand. However, he used the momentum, ducking low and rolling to Wei Tu’s left. He thrust his nine-ring broadsword upward in a diagonal stab, the tip aimed at a weak point on Wei Tu’s left leg.
However—
Wei Tu seemed to have anticipated this. He neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he executed a sparrowhawk flip, leaping into the air. His Blade Technique shifted to a different style, as graceful as a white crane dancing on the water’s surface.
The Blade Technique derived from the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist possessed not only the ferocity of a tiger but also the agility of a crane.
After several dozen moves...
Deng Sandao had a moment of carelessness. He failed to react to a change in Wei Tu’s Blade Technique, giving Wei Tu an opening to kick him off the stage.
’His Blade Technique has improved even more since the County and Prefecture Examinations.’
Below the stage, Weii Fei, who was from the same county as Wei Tu, watched this scene with a frown. He wondered if his suspicions back at the County Examination had been correct.
He found it hard to believe someone could achieve such mastery in Blade Technique in just two months.
...
「Meanwhile.」
On a high platform on the south side of the Martial Examination Hall’s training grounds, an official in a purple robe sat centered among a group of officials in crimson and green robes. He smiled and nodded as he watched the exciting fight between the Martial Artists below.
"This year’s Daoist Examination participants in the Military Examination are of a much higher caliber than in previous years."
The purple-robed official remarked with emotion.
"This is all thanks to you, Governor Wangg, since you took office in Shannan Dao. If you hadn’t urged every prefecture and county to select and focus on training Martial Artists..."
"...the martial spirit in Shannan Dao would not be as strong as it is today."
A crimson-robed official beside him said sycophantically.
The Zheng Country was divided into the Two Capitals and Thirteen Provinces.
Shannan Dao was one of these provinces.
The "Governor Wangg" he mentioned was the Second-Grade Governor in charge of military and political affairs in Shannan Dao.
Even in the Zheng Country, he was considered a man of great power and influence, a true high-ranking official of the Court.
"In my view, I can only take thirty percent of the credit. The other seventy percent belongs to the Wuyun Tower..." Governor Wangg glanced at the crimson-robed official beside him, a faint smile on his lips. "I heard that several of the Martial Scholars selected in the last Daoist Examination were not appointed to official posts. Instead, they joined the Wuyun Tower and became Inner Chamber Disciples?"
"The Wuyun Tower has been very active in Qingfeng Prefecture. I wonder if Prefect He knows anything about this?"
He asked.
"This... this matter... I truly know nothing of it..." Hearing Governor Wangg’s pointed question, Prefect He broke out in a cold sweat and immediately shook his head in denial.
In truth, as the Prefect of Qingfeng Prefecture, the capital of Shannan Dao, he did know a little about the Wuyun Tower.
But the Wuyun Tower was a Sect that was not under the control of the Government Office, and it had recruited numerous Martial Artists...
Since ancient times, "swordsmen use martial arts to violate the law."
The existence of the Wuyun Tower was a provocation and a threat to the Zheng Country’s Government Office. If he admitted to knowing about it, he would be acknowledging his poor administration of the territory and would be suspected of dereliction of duty.
"Very well. Since Prefect He does not know, I will not press the matter further." Governor Wangg shook his head, his gaze returning to the tournament stages in the training grounds.
"I do have a way to gather some intelligence on the Wuyun Tower..." Hearing Governor Wangg’s words, Prefect He’s heart tightened, and he quickly added this sentence.
"What way is that?"
Governor Wangg narrowed his eyes and looked at Prefect He. He was a burly man with a square jaw and a short beard. Having also practiced martial arts, his focused gaze held a natural, imposing authority that was unnerving.
This was the air of authority he had cultivated over many years as an official!
"Since this Wuyun Tower likes to invite Martial Scholars from previous examinations to join their Sect, we could also use significant rewards to tempt talented Martial Scholars to join the Wuyun Tower... and gather intelligence for us..."
"The Martial Artists are loyal to the throne and devoted to the country; they should know which choice to make..."
Prefect He said after a moment of contemplation.
Loyalty to the throne and devotion to the country was the path of righteousness. Coupled with the temptation of an official position, fame, and fortune, he didn’t believe these Martial Scholars would choose to betray the Government Office and throw their lot in with an organization like the Wuyun Tower.
"That is a viable method." Governor Wangg nodded slightly, stroking his short beard in agreement with Prefect He.
Jianghu sects had always been a thorn in the Court’s side. If he could eradicate the Wuyun Tower, a Great Sect of Martial Arts that had been entrenched in Shannan Dao for many years, it would count as a significant political achievement during his tenure in the province.
...
After finishing the martial competition of the Daoist Examination, Wei Tu returned to the Shan Family’s residence to await the release of the results from the Martial Examination Hall.
He was confident about his performance in the Military Examination. He believed that even if he didn’t place in the top ten to become a First-Class Martial Scholar in this Daoist Examination, he could at least become a Second-Class Martial Scholar.
After all, he had ranked sixth in the Military Examination during the Qingfeng Prefecture Examination.
And Qingfeng Prefecture was the capital of Shannan Dao, a place where the elite gathered. Whether for the Literary Examination or the Military Examination, the quantity and quality of Scholars produced by Qingfeng Prefecture were second to none among all the prefectures.
The Martial Champion of the Daoist Examination had been won by a Martial Artist from Qingfeng Prefecture for three consecutive terms.
"Brother Wei, some Government Officials and clerks from the Prefecture Office are here. They’re waiting in the living room. They want to take you to the Government Office..."
On the evening of the final day before the results were to be posted, Shan Yanggong knocked on Wei Tu’s door, his face etched with anxiety as he spoke.
Since ancient times, the common folk have feared officials. There’s an old saying: "The government gates open to the south, but if you have reason and no money, don’t bother coming in." Even those in the right had reason to be afraid.
What’s more, Wei Tu was "in the wrong"—he wasn’t clean.
This time, Wei Tu being summoned to the Government Office by the clerks... there was a very high probability that it was not for anything good...
Shan Yanggong worried that Wei Tu’s cheating in the County Examination had been exposed, leading the Government Office to send people to the Shan Mansion to take him away for "interrogation."
