One in Ten

At the center of the pillar of light sat Jiang Feng. Just as he did during midday cultivation, every pore in his body was fully open, his whole being merged entirely with the pouring luminous energy, inseparable from it. Deep within him, the Celestial Mechanism Cube had fully manifested, absorbing luminous energy while spinning rapidly.

Countless numbers surfaced and faded from its faces, each block whirling around the central axis at breakneck speed. Below the cube, the Heartseed connected to the first Origin Branch; now, every orifice on the branch was open, end to end, forming a circle through which the luminous energy ceaselessly circulated.

If an all-knowing bystander were present, they would discover that the luminous energy within Jiang Feng’s Origin Branch was denser, more viscous, and deeper in color than that of ordinary people!

The Origin Branch was also linked to Jiang Feng’s bloodline; with every completed cycle of energy, the golden thread within his veins enlarged by a fraction, constantly purifying and assimilating the surrounding impure blood.

The bright moon drifted slowly above Jiang Feng’s head, gradually tilting eastward. Dawn was approaching. All light in the world faded, plunging everything into the deepest darkness. In this moment, all creatures lay dormant; not only did the lunar luminous energy vanish, but even the faint traces of luminous energy throughout the space were utterly gone. The world had reached its darkest hour.

Suddenly, a dazzling light burst forth from a tree by the Pear Blossom Stream—Jiang Feng had become the sole source of radiance. Above his head, a glowing fourth-level Cube spun at high speed before exploding with a bang, scattering into countless particles that merged into his body.

In the dark, Jiang Feng opened his eyes and stood. With a sharp shout, he threw a punch!

The flowing stream before him abruptly halted, then parted down the middle, the upper half surging forward in a reversed cascade. Countless droplets splashed into the air. Jiang Feng struck again.

At that very moment, the faintest thread of dawn appeared in the east, breaking the darkness. In the new light, it was clear: every droplet suspended in the air had been split cleanly in two!

...

The next morning, Hua Su left the martial hall early. After midday, he returned and immediately halted the training of Jiang Feng and Ping Luan Shan, calling them over.

At the sight of his expression, Jiang Feng felt a pang of foreboding. Since their first arrival, Hua Su had always worn a perpetual scowl, to which they were almost accustomed. But today, his face was even gloomier than usual—clearly, something bad was about to happen!

He sat in a chair, fingers tapping the armrest in silence for a long while before finally looking up. “This year’s examinations may be troublesome!”

Every year, the number of available slots for passing the examination was limited, but the number of participants remained roughly constant, so the final pass rate always held to a certain ratio. Broadly speaking, the Heaven and Earth tests focused on meeting standards, while the Human test adjusted numbers. This year, however, the number of county examinees had surged by half over last year. With more candidates but no increase in available slots, the format of the county examination had been adjusted.

From this year on, the Heaven, Earth, and Human tests would all be comprehensively scored. The three scores would be totaled for a final result. The county office would then rank all candidates by their total score, selecting only those within the allotted quota.

Linxi County’s quota was thirty. Thus, Jiang Feng and Ping Luan Shan would need to rank in the top thirty to pass and obtain martial cultivation status. Of those thirty, only ten would be eligible for the next level of examination. In other words, only the top ten could proceed to the prefecture exam.

“The top ten...” Jiang Feng mused for a moment, then asked, “How many people in total are sitting the exam in Linxi County?”

Hua Su replied, “The Mind Enlightenment Society has calculated this ratio carefully. Linxi County is remote, so only a hundred and three are participating—hence the comparatively small quota.”

A hundred and three participants meant a one-in-three chance for martial qualification, and a one-in-ten chance of moving on to the prefecture exam!

He looked up. “Judging by scores, isn’t that somewhat unfair?”

Ping Luan Shan had thought of this as well, his expression turning grave. What happened in Hezhong County was ultimately because disciples of the Underflow Sect attempted to cheat. If cheating was possible in the pre-exams, what about the real examination?

Winning or losing the Human test was straightforward, but scoring... that was far less certain.

Hua Su said, “You’re thorough in your thinking. Indeed, others have raised this concern. Thus, this year, for all three examinations, Heaven will be invoked, drawing down celestial force as protection!”

...

Hundreds of miles away, the Jiang family of Luming Town was celebrating a joyous occasion. Jiang Tengqing’s eldest son, Jiang Huaiming, along with several talented family youths, had been taken out for training by a teacher sent from Lord Underflow—Master Li Ming—and now, just before the county exam, they had returned home.

Madam Jiang wept tears of joy, clutching Jiang Huaiming’s hands. “You’re so thin, so thin!”

Jiang Tengqing beamed at him. “You may be thinner, but you look full of spirit!”

He turned and bowed deeply to Li Ming. “Thank you, Master Li, for guiding my son!”

Li Ming, a lean, hawk-nosed middle-aged man with a faintly somber look, spoke coolly: “I merely followed the Lord’s orders... But what about my two disciples? What happened to them?!”

He carried their soul tokens, which worked much like a portion of the Blackstone Register—when a disciple died, he was notified. At the time, he was a thousand miles away and could not return in time. Later, he received another message, this time directly from the Lord, instructing him to let the matter rest.

Li Ming’s two disciples had grown up with him, as close as sons. Now, suddenly dead by violence—and he was told not to investigate?

But the Lord’s word was absolute. Gritting his teeth, Li Ming could only wait until his return to question the Jiang family.

Jiang Tengqing shook his head with a sigh. “It was my failure to care for your esteemed disciples... I haven’t fully understood what happened, either.”

He produced a letter and handed it to Li Ming, who scanned it quickly before exclaiming, “The Zhou family?! It was them?!”

Jiang Tengqing nodded silently. “Your two disciples took eight of our Jiang youths with them—all perished. The Zhou family sent their heads directly to the main house, which in turn rebuked us severely...”

“Rebuked?” Li Ming snorted, casting Jiang Tengqing a sidelong glance but saying nothing more. To have one’s people killed and beheaded, their heads sent over, and then to receive only a ‘severe rebuke’—so this is what passes for a great clan!

Jiang Huaiming, having listened for a while, asked in shock, “All eight of our youths—who were they?”

Jiang Tengqing answered gravely, “My son, your brother Huaixiao was among them...”

Jiang Huaiming’s shock gave way to anger. He read the letter and slammed the table. “It was just a mistaken trespass—how could they be so ruthless! The Zhou family is far too arrogant!”

Madam Jiang, eyes brimming with tears, said, “Now you’re all I have left...”

Jiang Huaiming helped his mother up, gritting his teeth, “Don’t worry, Mother. I will pass the exam and bring honor to our family!”

Lord Underflow wished to keep his dealings with the Jiang family secret. Li Ming had been dispatched covertly, and even with two disciples dead, he could only swallow the loss.

Li Ming, knowing little of the inside story, could only obey the Lord’s command. He swept his sleeve and left, while Jiang Tengqing pulled Jiang Huaiming aside, his voice low, “Why have you returned at this moment?”

Jiang Huaiming replied, “Master Li says that although we have advanced Celestial Orders, it’s best to rise through the ranks by passing each exam, to acclimate to the atmosphere.”

Jiang Tengqing looked worried. “That makes sense. But I just heard—this year, the exam will invoke Heaven, drawing down celestial force... In that case, even Lord Underflow will have difficulty interfering.”

Jiang Huaiming puffed up with pride. “Don’t worry, Father. I am no longer who I once was!”

This reminded Jiang Tengqing of another matter. “When the main house sent someone, they also asked about something else... Do you remember Jiang Feng?”

Jiang Huaiming paused. “Jiang Feng from the southern branch? Wasn’t he following Jiang Chen? Jiang Chen left, and Jiang Feng... seems to have disappeared?”

Jiang Tengqing nodded heavily. “Exactly. Back then, the main house placed that boy with us. For more than a decade, they never asked about him—why bring him up out of the blue now?”

Jiang Huaiming pondered. “Father, do you think the main house is looking for an excuse?”

Jiang Tengqing nodded. “I’m a bit worried about that.”

Jiang Huaiming thought a while longer, then suddenly laughed. “There’s nothing to worry about. That boy’s bloodline is too mixed—he hasn’t even fused his Heartseed. What use could they make of him? No matter what connections he has, they can’t make up for his lack of talent. Whether he’s dead or missing, we just insist we know nothing. Hmph! We’ve raised him this long already—more than enough to fulfill the main house’s request!”

Jiang Tengqing tapped the table twice, having made up his mind. “No, we must remain cautious! You focus on the exam—leave the rest to me!”

__________________

Many thanks to fatfox911 and Zhesha for their daily support, and to fatfox911 for the extra reward~ The county exam arc is about to begin!