Free Web NovelChapter 488: Chapter 213: Provincial Martial Arts Examination, The Final Round
Each person could only take three arrows.
Scores were based on the number of targets hit and the time taken to seize a bow and arrows.
"Examinees Sun Wu, Liu Hanming, Yang Qixiao, Chu Lingguang..."
BANG!
With the power of his Qi Sea Perfection realm, Chu Lingguang charged forward as if through an empty battlefield. The Government Soldier he targeted, who was carrying the bow and arrows, practically wanted to take them off and hand them over, terrified of running into someone like Hu Yuanwu.
CLATTER!
On the training grounds, the ropes were pulled, causing the targets suspended from them to spin uncontrollably.
Chu Lingguang extended his Perception Power, searching for the perfect opportunity to act.
When he saw multiple targets align in a straight line for just a few brief moments, he sprang into action, rapidly drawing his bow, nocking an arrow, and loosing three shafts in quick succession.
His Four-Star Linked Pearls Archery technique allowed each of his arrows to pierce through five targets that had aligned for only a split second, leaving behind Chu Lingguang’s mark.
With Archery, the difficulty of advancing to the next star level increases exponentially.
Chu Lingguang’s ability to achieve Four-Star Linked Pearls at such a young age was mainly due to his exceptional Sea of Consciousness Power. In contrast, Guo Wei’s Six-Star Linked Pearls was a realm he had only comprehended through years of accumulation and the use of his Bloodline Divine Abilities.
In any case, his Four-Star Linked Pearls Archery technique boosted Chu Lingguang’s ranking by several spots in this round, placing him just behind Ma Weidong in sixth place.
As for Hu Yuanwu, he had lost to both Yan Zhen and Chu Lingguang in this stage, but his strong overall capabilities kept him in first place. Yan Zhen was ranked second; like Chu Lingguang, his Archery was at the Four-Star Linked Pearls level.
Chu Lingguang wasn’t surprised by this.
After all, Yan Chengdu had managed to perform Three-Star Linked Pearls and dominate the South City Daoist Examination. As his older brother, Yan Zhen had clearly been tutored by a Master of Archery from a young age. Chu Lingguang wasn’t just unsurprised that he had reached the Four-Star Linked Pearls level—he was actually a little disappointed. In his mind, he had expected Yan Zhen’s Archery to be at the level of Five-Star Linked Pearls.
It seemed that advancing through the star levels of Archery truly wasn’t so easy. Even someone like Yan Zhen couldn’t break through so readily.
With the end of this fifth round, the Provincial Martial Arts Examination was drawing to a close.
On the sixth day, the Provincial Martial Arts Examination reached its climax.
Today, not only would the Jie Yuan be decided, but also the top three and top ten finishers.
Only fifteen people had made it to the final round—the top fifteen in the overall rankings. Not only had every one of them achieved a Grade A+ Upper Grade score in every subject, but they were all top contenders who had placed first in their group in every single round and stage.
Only they were qualified to compete for the top ten and top three spots.
Examiner Feng Junyi announced the rules once again. "The top five in the overall rankings will automatically be placed in the top ten. The remaining ten, ranked sixth through fifteenth, will draw lots to determine their opponents for one-on-one free combat. The winners will also secure a spot in the top ten."
"The numbers to be drawn are six through ten. Those drawing lots are the examinees ranked eleventh through fifteenth. Whichever number you draw, you will fight the person with that corresponding rank."
ROAR!
The scene erupted in clamor.
"I’m ranked fifteenth. If I draw the sixth-ranked person, isn’t that a bit unfair to me?"
the fifteenth-ranked examinee muttered.
"There’s no such thing as fairness to begin with. Some people train in martial arts for over a decade and still aren’t as good as someone who’s only trained for two or three years. If you want fairness, speak with your strength."
Feng Junyi said bluntly.
The examinee knew this was the reality, so he didn’t argue back.
A moment later, a man came up holding a wooden box. Feng Junyi said, "Inside this box are five wooden tokens, numbered six to ten. Whichever number you draw will be your opponent’s rank."
Hearing this, Chu Lingguang and the others all looked at the wooden box.
He was ranked sixth. To compete for the top three, he first had to make it into the top ten. He noticed a special fluctuation emanating from the wooden box, one that seemed capable of blocking people from probing it with their Spiritual Sense.
He had previously seen similar special fluctuations being released from a stone monument, a stone platform, and even a Dragon Claw Tree at the Northern Territory Trial Ground.
’I can’t believe even a wooden box can release these special fluctuations. I wonder what kind of wood it’s made from?’
"I’ll go first!"
The fifteenth-ranked examinee went first, reaching into the wooden box to pull out a wooden token. He quickly covered it and walked to a corner to look at it.
His number was nine, meaning his opponent was the person ranked ninth. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The remaining four didn’t hesitate.
One after another, they took a wooden token from the box.
Nong Yiyi was the last to take the final wooden token from the box.
When she turned over the wooden token and saw the number on it, she was clearly a little surprised.
It was a six.
’It’s her.’
Chu Lingguang was surprised.
Once the wooden tokens left the box, they could no longer block his Spiritual Sense. He quickly discovered that his opponent was Nong Yiyi.
By now, he was already clear on Nong Yiyi’s background. She wasn’t a regional champion, and this was her second time taking the Provincial Examination. Last time, she had dropped out midway through after a strange physical problem caused her to fail.
After lying low for three years, she had returned with a vengeance. Her strength had grown day by day, and she had placed first in her group since the very first round. Her highest rank had been tenth place, and she had fallen behind Chu Lingguang a few times.
Now, she was ranked eleventh, and he was sixth.
"Please, guide me in this fight!"
Nong Yiyi took the initiative and turned her wooden token over to show Chu Lingguang.
