The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 67 Assessment (Part 2)

Upon hearing Yang Wu's shout, the murmurs in the square ceased abruptly.

"Everyone, line up in two rows in front of me!"

A bearded soldier following behind Qi Yan shouted.

Han Qing and the others obediently followed orders and quickly stood in two rows in front of the man.

"First step, bone palpation! One by one!"

The burly man started by examining the bones of the first person on the left. This step served two purposes: firstly, to screen the quality of the bone structure, eliminating those of inferior quality, and secondly, to check the age of the person.

Some people lie about their age in order to participate in the assessment, but after feeling their bones, their age is obviously clear.

This burly man with a thick beard is an experienced bone reader. Just now, a young man who participated in the first-class bodyguard assessment did not meet the requirements. He quickly ran his palm over the young man's body and directly pointed out that the young man's real age was twenty years old.

The boy was unconvinced, so another person stepped forward to examine his bones and came to the same conclusion. No matter how much the boy protested, he could not change the result and was eliminated.

About half an hour later, the big man finally arrived in front of Han Qing. To his left was Li Tai, and to his right was Mu Dachun.

He first examined Li Tai's bones, then said in a deep voice, "33 years old, eligible to participate in the Class B assessment! Stand on the left!"

"Yes!!"

Li Tai responded and stood on the left side of the crowd. This group of people were all over eighteen years old and could only participate in the Class B assessment.

"Seventeen years old! Stand on the right!"

When it was Han Qing's turn, the big man checked him over and found no problems.

Han Qing turned and stood on the right. There were only a few people here, all of them young men, geniuses that were rare in the past century in major counties.

Two hours later, the big man finished examining the last person's bones and ordered him to stand on the left.

Thus, after the bone-reading was completed, about twenty people were eliminated, leaving more than seventy people. Of these, sixty-three were able to participate in the Grade B assessment, and the remaining eleven participated in the Grade A assessment.

Geniuses are ultimately few and far between. Each year, only one person or even none can participate in the top-level bodyguard assessment in a county. This year is considered to be a relatively large number.

"Next step, assess your cultivation level! Anyone below the third level of the Body Dao realm, get out of here and save me some time!" the burly man declared loudly.

More than seventy people stood still without moving. No one would make such a basic mistake. It is extremely rare for someone who does not meet the requirements to participate and try to get away with it.

"Now, everyone, listen to my command and unleash your power!" the burly man shouted again.

In an instant, a hazy veil of light enveloped the bodies of more than seventy people in the square, including Han Qing.

The force envelops the entire body; this is a sign of the third realm of the Body Dao, which cannot be faked, so this level is easy to judge.

The burly man glanced around and laughed, "Not bad, everyone meets the requirements. It's rare this year that no scoundrels tried to get away with it!"

"The third step: real combat!"

"Since you are serving as General Qi's personal guard, you will inevitably encounter unexpected situations in the future. If your combat ability is not good, it doesn't matter if you die if an assassin comes. But if you harm General Qi, it is an unforgivable crime!"

Now, I will arrange opponents for you in turn. They are all brave veterans from the army, with rich combat experience. If you can beat them, it means that your combat ability is quite outstanding! The big man shouted a lot more.

Half an hour later.

The first to begin was the Level B assessment. The venue was right in the center of the square. Li Tai and more than sixty others stood on the left side of the open space, facing an equal number of veteran soldiers, each exuding a fierce and ruthless aura.

"Let's begin, first one, Liu Buqun!" The rules of the assessment are that only fists and feet can be used. If one side falls to the ground and cannot get up, or voluntarily admits defeat, the other side is considered the winner.

All eyes immediately turned to the two men. Liu Buqun was a fair-skinned, gentle, and scholarly young man. Compared to the dark-skinned, fierce-eyed old soldier opposite him, he was instantly much less imposing.

The outcome of the fight surprised everyone. They thought the two were evenly matched and that Liu Buqun could at least hold his own for ten or so moves. However, when the two met, Liu Buqun panicked as soon as their eyes met, causing his fists and feet to become scattered and full of openings.

The old soldier showed no mercy, stepping forward and delivering a punch that struck Liu Buqun squarely in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Liu Buqun is out!"

The big man announced the assessment results directly. Liu Buqun lay on the ground, his eyes filled with panic and confusion.

"Falling to the ground means you're out! You're supposed to be a third-realm martial artist, how can your mental fortitude be so poor? You don't even dare to throw a punch, let alone defend against other people's attacks. Are you here to die?" The big man cursed, sounding quite disappointed in the boy. There was nothing he could do; the boy's performance was simply too poor. His combat ability was too terrible; he couldn't even unleash one-tenth of his strength.

The young man stood up, his face full of shame. Just now, when he saw the old soldier's eyes, it was as if he were being stared at by a vicious wolf. He couldn't suppress the fear in his heart and only thought about running away. He forgot all his martial arts moves.

In the attic.

Qi Yan was standing on a high platform, watching the battle from above. Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but curse, "Useless! Whose young master is this? So delicate and frail, coming here to embarrass himself?"

Qi Yan is just like that. She has a straightforward personality and a bad temper. If she is unhappy, she will curse on the spot without giving anyone any face.

An elderly man with a goatee behind him looked ashamed.

"Lord Qi, I am Liu Zhizhang from Qingfeng County. This is my youngest son. He is a talented child, but he is timid. He usually performs well in combat training, but alas, I didn't expect him to perform so poorly here. It's normal that he failed the assessment."

The Liu family of Qingfeng County is also one of the most prominent families in the county.

"Hmph! You're right, your son's temperament is more suited to playing with embroidery needles at home!" Qi Yan sneered.

Liu Zhizhang's face was extremely ugly, and everyone around him was also on tenterhooks, but fortunately they were mentally prepared.

Before Qi Yan arrived, they had heard that this female general had a bad temper, acted recklessly, and was difficult to get along with.

The assessment is still ongoing.

Within half an hour, ten people went up, but only one passed. That person was Li Tai.

Li Tai appears to have a gentle personality, but when he actually fights, he has a crazy and ruthless streak. He is not afraid of the veteran opposite him at all. The two are locked in a fierce battle, and Li Tai's physical strength is superior. In the end, he knocks the veteran to the ground with a single punch.

"Li Taisheng!" the burly man announced the result loudly.

"Not bad, finally someone who performed well and caught my eye. Before, they were all rotten fish."

In the attic, Qi Yan finally said something nice, after he had thoroughly berated the previous nine losers.

Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief, but a sudden wave of grief washed over him.

"Yingzi, do you see? I've become General Qi's personal guard!!"

The veteran opposite him got up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at him with respect. Li Tai's performance just now was crazy, as if he was not his opponent, but his mortal enemy.

Little did he know that Li Tai had just thought of Yingzi and had directly regarded him as his wife's killer in his heart. He was completely in a fight with the attitude of either killing or being killed, which was naturally extremely crazy.

This mindset is exactly what Qi Yan likes. She likes ruthless people. She recruited you to protect General Qi and face brutal enemies. She doesn't need you to be a gentle and kind person.

(End of this chapter)