Longzang

Chapter 15 The Barbarian's Weapon
The giant snakes on the four pillars opened their mouths at the same time, spewing out wisps of mist so thin they were almost transparent. All the examinees were momentarily confused. When they regained consciousness, they found themselves in a lush valley, surrounded by rolling hills and scattered dense forests.

Wei Yuan stood near the foot of the mountain, with a fairly open area in front of him, though noticeably undulating. Behind him was a small hill about twenty zhang high, considered high in this small area, and the highest point in the vicinity. Military texts say this is a strategically vital location.

Without hesitation, Wei Yuan immediately ran up the hill to get a better view of his surroundings. As he ran, a flash of light appeared on his body, and his clothes transformed into a dark yellow outfit. Upon reaching the top of the hill, Wei Yuan could see dozens of examinees within his field of vision, each several dozen feet apart. It seemed that after entering the illusion, all the examinees had been scattered, and no one knew where they were.

All candidates wore two colors of clothing, either sky blue or dark yellow, to divide the teams.

At this moment, several candidates suddenly appeared wearing armor of different styles.

A phantom treasure chest appeared before Wei Yuan, containing several suits of armor of different styles on one side and various weapons on the other. The armor and weapons appeared to be only the size of a palm, but they would materialize and automatically donned by Wei Yuan simply by reaching out and picking them up. The chest lid also had a compartment containing a pill. This pill could replenish stamina and heal minor injuries; when to use it was entirely up to the examinee.

Before Wei Yuan could even choose his equipment, he saw two beams of light shoot into the sky, one to the north and one to the south. Beneath each beam was a small hill; these were the key locations each team needed to defend. If the opposing team captured and held these locations, they would be declared the loser.

The teams were divided, key locations were identified, and the examinees immediately sprang into action, with those in different colored robes gathering at their respective locations. Those gathered under the red pillar of light to the north were all disciples in blue robes, while those under the golden pillar of light to the south were all examinees in yellow robes. When the two groups met along the way, they mostly exchanged a cold glance before passing each other, without engaging in combat.

After observing for a while, Wei Yuan understood that this was the method of gathering the masses that Li Zhi had mentioned. Li Zhi had selected people and organized teams before the martial arts test. Once inside the illusion, they would immediately assemble and regroup at a key location in the south, and then determine the outcome of the battle based on military formations.

But Li Zhi wasn't the only capable person. The opponent in the north was no less formidable than Li Zhi, and had gathered even more candidates. It was just unknown how many of the opposing team's members were hidden within each side's ranks.

In the blink of an eye, both main forces had assembled, but a few dozen scattered candidates remained in the center of the examination hall, each looking bewildered. These people, like Wei Yuan, were clearly abandoned by both sides. Some of the more astute ones finally realized what was happening and quickly moved towards the group whose uniform they wore, but most of them remained standing dumbfounded in the middle, unsure of what to do.

Wei Yuan did not immediately choose weapons and armor, intending to first see what both sides wanted to do before making a decision.

This small hill is considered high for the area, offering excellent visibility and a view of most of the battlefield, except for the main camps to the north and south. In this realm, human vision is limited; one must cross the central area to see the enemy's main camp deployment. It seems this was intentionally designed by the illusion.

The hill where Wei Yuan stood was located on the western edge of the illusion, with a dense forest behind it. Within the forest, a rising light curtain could be seen, marking the boundary of the illusion. To the north and south, there were undulating mountains, but in the central flat terrain, there was a small hill, several feet higher than the surrounding area, which was also a highly contested area.

At this moment, a dozen or so examinees rushed out from the north and south sides respectively. They were dressed in light armor, agile, and spread out in a fan shape, walking towards each other.

Wei Yuan looked at them from afar and verified his understanding of military strategy: "These are scouts. Yes, both sides must first understand the terrain and the enemy's deployment before deciding on a strategy."

The two scouts occasionally met, but they always cautiously brushed past each other without directly attacking. The rules of the martial arts test were vague, but one thing was certain: the longer you survived, the higher your score. If you died right at the start, anyone with a brain knew your score would be low.

As Wei Yuan watched the movements of both sides, a figure in blue robes suddenly appeared as swift as a galloping horse, rushing up the hilltop. This disciple, dressed in blue, was short and thin, wearing leather armor and carrying a long sword. He glared fiercely at Wei Yuan. Clearly, he had decided to kill Wei Yuan upon seeing that he was unarmed and unarmed.

Wei Yuan raised an eyebrow and quietly watched the man. He was still observing at the moment, but if someone came to their death ahead of time, Wei Yuan wouldn't mind sending them on their way.

The man glanced at Wei Yuan, who was a head taller than him, and his heart trembled. He didn't dare to make a move, but instead glared at Wei Yuan fiercely before running down the hill and heading south.

Just as the candidate in blue robes left, another candidate in yellow robes ascended the hill. This man, also carrying a long sword, glanced at Wei Yuan's attire and said politely, "Senior Brother, if you don't yet have a group, why not go and see Senior Brother Li Zhi? With your bearing, you should be able to secure a place in the group."

Without waiting for Wei Yuan's reply, the man said, "Take care, senior brother," and continued scouting northward.

In a short while, four scouts from each side passed by Wei Yuan.

There was no way around it; this little hill was simply too conspicuous, and scouts passing by all had to come up and take a look. The scouts from the Green Team naturally all harbored murderous intent towards Wei Yuan, and the Yellow Team wasn't much better off. However, after seeing Wei Yuan's size and build, both sides tacitly chose to ignore him.

Even if the Crimson Tide Sect is included, the number of openings in this unified examination is only half of the total number of candidates. People like Wei Yuan, who clearly don't even have a team, belong to the group that has already been eliminated. Scouts, on the other hand, are at least a position, one rank higher than ordinary soldiers in the army, so the scouts still feel that they have a chance of getting a spot, and no one wants to get entangled with a nobody like Wei Yuan at this time.

At this point, Wei Yuan felt he had observed enough, so he summoned the equipment chest again. Since the start of the martial arts test, Wei Yuan had seen more than thirty examinees, and eight or nine out of ten of them were carrying a longsword. Zhang Sheng had once taught him basic weapon knowledge, in which he described the sword as: "The sword is the weapon of the emperor, possessing both beauty and majesty, but its symbolic meaning outweighs its actual power. Anyone who uses a sword in battle is an idiot."

However, it is clear that the vast majority of candidates prefer the imperial vessel.

So Wei Yuan reached out and grabbed the spear.

Once removed from the treasure chest, the spear immediately shrunk to twelve feet in length, with a spearhead a foot and a half long. Two small branches, each half a foot long, extended from the shaft, forming a cross shape. The spearhead and shaft were seamlessly integrated, their entire surface engraved with ancient patterns, the material of which remained unknown.

As soon as the spear was in his hand, Wei Yuan felt a sudden heaviness in his arm. The spear was quite heavy, weighing several dozen kilograms, and even with Wei Yuan's physique, it would take him six or seven tenths of his strength to wield it freely.

(End of this chapter)