Eternal Life: I Have the Favor System

Chapter 486: Chapter 213: Provincial Martial Arts Examination, The Final Round

"Brace yourself," Guo Wei warned.

CRACK!

"AHH!"

Guo Wei snapped the bone back into place, and the man cried out in agony again.

"Yuan?"

Chu Lingguang went over to look and was surprised to find it was Lin Yuanfu. His shoulder had just been dislocated, and Guo Wei had helped him reset it. He was lying on the ground, a stick splinting both of his legs. The bones in both legs were severely damaged; he would have to rest in bed for at least a few months.

And the Martial Arts Examination had only just entered its second round.

Didn’t that mean Lin Yuanfu was...?

"How did Yuan end up like this?"

Chu Lingguang looked at the others.

Everyone looked at him in confusion. Hadn’t Chu Lingguang seen what just happened?

"Lin Guang was in a special state of cultivation just now. He has no idea what happened in the examination area," Guo Wei explained to the crowd.

Chu Lingguang had been standing right next to him. Others might not have noticed anything unusual about Chu Lingguang, but it was impossible for Guo Wei to miss it.

He had only come over to treat Lin Yuanfu after Chu Lingguang had woken up from that special state.

"Yuan ran into Hu Yuanwu in the second round. That guy is a complete beast—ruthless and unreasonable. He broke the arms and legs of Yuan and several other examinees in their group. When Lord Feng asked him why he did it, he claimed he’d spent years training in the Hundred Thousand Mountains and didn’t know how to hold back, so he ’accidentally’ injured everyone. Without solid evidence, Lord Feng couldn’t do anything to him," Teng Qingshan explained.

Ever since he and Lin Yuanfu had stood up for Chu Lingguang, the two had grown very close and called each other brothers. He knew how much effort Lin Yuanfu had put into this year’s Martial Arts Examination.

Now, so severely injured, it was impossible for him to continue competing. Even if his injuries healed, his legs would be left with lasting problems, and he might never be able to pass the exam.

You have to understand, the Court was constantly changing the Martial Arts Examination system, making it harder each year. It wasn’t easy to pass. Lin Yuanfu had already failed once, which made this his second time. The more times you failed, the slimmer your chances of passing became. The examiners made a comprehensive assessment and tended to give more opportunities to those with greater potential. This was an unspoken rule tacitly approved by the Court.

So, for examinees like Lin Yuanfu and Wang Chao, their scores had to be well above the passing line if they wanted to succeed. If they were just on the borderline, there was a high chance they would be failed.

"I never even offended him. In fact, he approached me first and asked if I knew you," Lin Yuanfu said, his face streaked with tears.

Chu Lingguang’s expression froze. He asked, confused, "What else did he say?"

"He saw us joking around in the preparation area and asked if I knew you well. I figured that since you’re both so talented, you might have spoken before. I also hoped to use my connection to you to convince him to go easy on me, so I told him you were my brother. I never imagined that out of the nine people he fought, I’d be the one he injured the most," Lin Yuanfu said indignantly.

"I’m sorry. This is my fault."

Chu Lingguang felt terrible. Lin Yuanfu had helped him before, and Chu Lingguang completely understood trying to use a friend’s reputation to make things easier when you’re away from home. He just never thought it would cause his friend to be injured even more severely.

’It’s obvious Hu Yuanwu did this to target me. Why else would he have asked if Lin Yuanfu knew me?’

"No, don’t say that. I shouldn’t have tried to use your name to get him to show me mercy. The Martial Arts Examination is a fight for fame and fortune. I was too naive," Lin Yuanfu said, ashamed.

’The Martial Arts Examination is a fight for fame and fortune.’ Hearing those words again, Chu Lingguang was deeply struck. At that moment, a piercing gaze fell on him from the left.

Chu Lingguang turned his head and saw that the owner of that gaze was none other than Hu Yuanwu.

Hu Yuanwu’s face was stern, his eyes filled with a look that could devour Chu Lingguang. Although he had placed first, everyone was talking about Chu Lingguang instead.

"Tell me," Hu Yuanwu asked, "if your two senior brothers run into me during the Martial Arts Examination, what should I do?"

"You think we’re afraid of you?" Hei Hu retorted.

"Young man, don’t be so impulsive," Wang Chao advised.

Chu Lingguang glanced again at Lin Yuanfu’s injuries, then said calmly, "Perhaps you’ll be running into me instead."

"Then let’s hope that day comes soon!"

With that, Hu Yuanwu turned and walked away.

"He’s trying to provoke you," Guo Wei said.

"He won’t succeed."

Chu Lingguang was confident. His Mental Realm had evolved, and he wouldn’t be easily swayed by negative emotions. Of course, this didn’t mean he had no temper or feelings. When his friends and family were threatened, he would act when necessary—just as he had with Guer Khan. He would kill if he had to and would not simply endure it.

The evolution of his Mental Realm would only allow him to handle all matters more rationally, avoiding missed opportunities or dire consequences due to impulsiveness.

At this moment, Chu Lingguang was like a wolf lying in ambush, waiting silently for its prey, ready to strike a fatal blow the instant the perfect opportunity arose.

The next day, the third round of the Provincial Martial Arts Examination—the Saber Technique competition—arrived as scheduled.

The rules were quite different from previous years, but the format was the same as the Fist Technique competition. The only difference was that during the match, five horses were provided for the ten examinees to fight over.

The examinees who captured a horse would then charge at ten Government Soldiers on the ground. The faster they broke through the line, the higher their score. Meanwhile, the examinees who failed to get a horse could also attempt to charge through on foot until they succeeded, were subdued by the Government Soldiers, or gave up.

’Compared to the Daoist Examination, the Provincial Martial Arts Examination seems to place more emphasis on practical combat ability.’