Top Scholar

Chapter 376 My second brother is invincible in the world

Amid cheers from his classmates, Ma Qianli rode back, dismounted gracefully, and landed steadily.

"Zhai Zhang is amazing! He's mastered this in just over a year?" Li Qiyu and the others were astonished.

"Impossible, he's a child who's been practicing since childhood," a fellow examinee asserted.

“That’s right. My grandfather taught me to ride horses when I was six and to shoot arrows when I was eight.” Ma Qianli nodded and said, “I went to Shaolin Temple for special training, not to learn from scratch.”

"I see. How come I've never seen you show off your skills after all these years of being classmates?" Cheng Wanfan asked.

Ma Qianli smiled and said, "The academy is all about writing, what use would it be for me to show off my skills?"

But secretly, I sighed, "Actually, I also wanted to take the imperial examination to become a scholar..."

However, he was mature and rational and would not act recklessly according to his own whims. He knew that even if he passed the county-level examination, he would not be able to pass the provincial-level examination, so it was more practical for him to take the military examination and inherit the family business.

"I was worried about you, but now I can rest assured," Su Lu said happily. "We can go to the capital together now."

“Yes, there are forty-five quotas, and the head of the monastery should be able to take one.” Lin Zhihong nodded in agreement.

"It's hard to say." Ma Qianli was still not optimistic. "I can handle the second match, but I'm really not good at the third match tomorrow."

The martial arts examination was very exciting. Unlike the civil service examination, which combined the results of three rounds, it used an elimination system. If you failed the first round, you could not participate in the second round, and if you failed the second round, you could not participate in the third round.

Conversely, as long as the first two games are passed, it's fine; even if the results are good, it won't help the backcourt.

The scale of the military examination and the civil examination was similar, with about two thousand military students taking the exam. In the first civil examination, a full half of them were eliminated, and today, in the first round of horseback archery, more than one hundred people were eliminated.

In the second round of shooting at Earth, only a handful of people failed. After all, mounted archery requires physical strength, and very few who pass the first round fail the second.

However, Ma Qianli used two arrows in this round, while a considerable number of candidates only needed one arrow to shoot the ball off the stage.

This made Su Lu and the others sweat for him. They were all sons of military families and knew that Ma Qianli's strength was not considered top-notch among the candidates.

This is normal, because Ma Zhaizhang spent the least amount of time practicing martial arts, and he is not as gifted as Xia Ge'er, so it is normal for him to be weaker than others.

Those martial arts students may not excel in academic subjects, but that doesn't mean they don't work hard at martial arts. They train diligently through the sweltering summer and freezing winter, honing their skills and strengthening their bodies. They dare not slack off for a single day, because that's their lifeline on the battlefield!

In the third round of archery that afternoon, just like in the annual examination, the target was a human-shaped cloth target a hundred paces away. Three out of nine hits were considered passing.

One hundred paces seems close, but on the shooting range, that's a long distance. You also have to consider wind speed and direction, making it extremely difficult to hit the target.

But which of the candidates who made it to this round hadn't practiced archery since childhood? None of them were mediocre. They all basically passed, and some even hit the target nine times out of nine; Su Tai was one of them.

Ma Zhaizhang also hit seven arrows, a very good result.

But he was not very satisfied with himself. In fact, the last two arrows should have hit the target, but his arm strength was exhausted and his muscles were difficult to control, so they both missed the target...

As a result, in the second round, a total of 860 people advanced to the final round, while only 140 people were eliminated.

"What if we can meet the standard in the third round? Who will get the 45 spots?" Zhu Zihe always worries.

"Yes, Master Zhu, there is a way," Li Qiyu said, feigning confidence. "We're not afraid of any number of people; we can use a big spear."

~~
The schedule for the martial arts provincial examination largely depended on the weather. The next day, the weather cooperated, and the final "skills and bravery test" was held as scheduled.

The first item in the morning is drawing a hard bow. Drawing a 12-force bow to its full strength three times is considered passing.

The twelve-strength bow was already the strongest among the standard military bows. Of course, in the army, the strong were respected, and generals took pride in drawing a bow with a strength of fifteen or even eighteen.

However, this is an exam, and showing off too much will only affect your performance later on, so all the candidates should focus on passing the exam.

On the training ground, the candidates stood in a row, with the invigilator standing to their side and behind them, giving the order: "Open!"

The candidates would draw an arrow, nock it on the bowstring, and slowly draw it, pushing off the ground with their backs. There was no requirement for accuracy with this arrow; the purpose was simply to release all the force of the bow.

If you fire it without a target, all the force will be applied to the bow itself, rendering it unusable.

As the bow was drawn, veins bulged on the forearms. When the bow was fully drawn and the string was close to the chin, the official once again gave the order: "Release!"

With a sharp whistling sound of the bowstring piercing the air, the arrow shot out like a meteor!

"Pull!" Without giving them a chance to catch their breath, the examiner gave the order again.

The candidates had no choice but to grit their teeth and draw their bows again. This time, after releasing the arrows, many of them began to experience arm spasms.

"Pull!" the examiner commanded for the third time.

This time, some candidates tried their best but still couldn't draw their bows, and ultimately fifty-three were eliminated...

Although Ma Zhaizhang had completed the assessment, his arms were still trembling slightly. During breaks, his classmates quickly helped him relax and massage them.

The other candidates stared in disbelief, muttering amongst themselves.

"Who is this guy? Two scholars are giving him a massage..."

"I don't know. That big guy over there is even more formidable; two scholars are serving him..."

"Wow!" The examinees couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

Su Tai felt embarrassed by the stares and said to Su Man and Su Lu, "You two are masters now, don't do it yourselves."

"Ignore them." Su Man said in a low voice while vigorously massaging Su Tai's muscles with her elbow, "You've done so much for us, it's time for us to serve you." "Yes, Second Brother, just enjoy it!" Su Lu also put all his strength into massaging Su Tai's shoulders, feeling like he was massaging two pieces of elm wood...

She Yunluo couldn't get involved and could only feed him water from the side.

In fact, Su Tai didn't need their services at all. For him, drawing a bow with twelve strengths was as simple as opening a door; he didn't need to exert any force at all.

But he still enjoyed it. He would never have dared to dream of having a scholar massage his shoulders.

"Yes, I also need to pass the martial arts exam to be worthy of you all!" Su Tai said in a low voice.

"Of course, my second brother is invincible!" Chun Ge'er couldn't lift a brick for him, so she could only offer encouragement.

At this moment, the second round of preparatory bells rang.

"Alright, go ahead!" The two scholars patted Su Tai on the shoulder in unison.

Su Tai then marched proudly and confidently onto the training ground!

~~
The second round involves lifting a large stone. Candidates must lift or carry a 300-pound stone weight one foot off the ground to pass.

The weight of three hundred pounds is already beyond the reach of ordinary people. Moreover, the stone lock has a smooth surface and the handle can only accommodate four fingers, making it even more difficult to lift with one hand!
Therefore, most candidates adopt a hugging posture, which is not very dignified, but it allows them to stabilize the stone lock by using the strength of their torso.

Ma Qianli was no exception. He tightened his wide leather belt and then fastened his wrist guards before standing intently in front of the stone, regulating his breathing. This was one of the subjects of his special training at Shaolin Temple, and the method of generating power had been etched into his muscles.

"Ready!" the examiner shouted.

He then squatted down, focused his energy in his lower abdomen, straightened his back, and wrapped his arms around the stone lock from both sides, pressing the leather on his wristbands tightly against the smooth stone surface, his knuckles gripping the edge of the stone lock like iron hooks.

"Rise!" The examiner gave the order, and a chorus of shouts erupted in the examination room!
"Hey!" Ma Qianli also let out a low shout.

His temples bulged with veins, his arm muscles bulged, and his chest and abdomen pressed tightly against the stone lock, transferring all his weight to his legs and back.

As his face grew increasingly ferocious, the heavy stone lock was slowly lifted off the ground!

The examiner lay on the ground, observing the height of the stone lock off the ground, and shouted, "Continue! Continue!"

"Ah!" Ma Qianli's eyes widened in horror, his muscles trembled, and he desperately tried to raise his body little by little!

"Zhaizhang, rise up! Zhaizhang, rise up!" The support group also cheered him on with all their might.

This moment felt incredibly long. Ma Qianli's mind went completely blank, sustained only by the thought of not wanting to lose, which fueled him to burn with all his might!
Stone Lock gradually rose higher and higher, finally crossing the one-foot mark.

"Release!" Finally, the examiner's command was heard.

He instantly released his grip, and with a loud thud, the stone lock crashed to the ground, sending dust flying!
"That's great, well done, Master Zhai!" The support team cheered and rushed over to catch the exhausted Ma Qianli, quickly helping him down to relax.

When it was Su Tai's turn, he didn't adopt a hugging posture, but instead gripped the stone lock handle tightly with the four fingers of his right hand. He focused his energy in his dantian, unified his waist and stance, pushed off the ground with his legs, and roared:
"rise!"

Then he lifted the stone lock high into the air...

The examiner was stunned, but Su Tai still managed to ask a question.

"Are you done yet?!"

"Alright, alright, put it down quickly." The examiner quickly stepped aside, fearing that he would throw it around carelessly.

Su Tai carefully placed the stone lock down without stirring up a speck of dust.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he clasped his hands in a fist salute to the examiner and turned to leave the white line.

The other test takers were equally dumbfounded. Was this even human? Or was it a bear?

Some young and impetuous individuals, unwilling to accept defeat, also tried to lift the stone lock with one hand, but ended up either dislocating their joints or injuring their backs.

In the end, including Su Tai, there were only five candidates who lifted a 300-pound stone lock with one hand.

All the other candidates who passed were carried.

This round eliminated 120 people. 720 candidates then entered the final spear-wielding stage…

After lunch break, the 720 people were divided into 360 pairs and played a game of tag on the training ground. The losers were eliminated, and the winners played tag against each other again.

Su Lu and the others were not worried about Su Tai, as he was the champion of spear fighting in Luzhou martial arts.

Their concern was whether Ma Zhaizhang, who had been exhausted from lifting the large stone, would be able to carry the gun properly.

"Don't worry, I've rested enough for this long time." Ma Zhaizhang stretched his arms, gave his classmates a confident smile, then put on black cloth armor, a helmet covered with black cloth, and carried a long spear dipped in white ash onto the field.

"Sigh..." The classmates sighed in unison.

The headmaster should have been competing in the literary arena, but now he has to fight against warriors because of his family's mission. It's so pitiful...

"Can't the head of the Zhai family not participate in the martial arts examination?" Cheng Wanzhou couldn't bear it.

“Then he’ll have to start from the rank of centurion…” Lin Zhihong sighed. “He’s such a proud and arrogant person, he can’t stand it.”

"Go, Master!" The classmates cheered for Ma Qianli.

(End of this chapter)