Top Scholar

Chapter 512 The Greatest Martial Arts Champion

After the third round of competition, all forty-eight martial arts candidates won the title of Martial Arts Scholar, but the competition was far from over... They still had to compete for the coveted title of Martial Arts Champion!
Wen has no first, Wu has no second.

For martial artists, the allure of being at the top of the rankings is irresistible. Moreover, a martial arts champion can be directly promoted two ranks. Those below the rank of centurion can rise even higher, being granted the title of chiliarch!
This substantial wealth was enough to motivate the martial arts candidates to fight with all their might...

Forty-eight people were divided into twenty-four groups to fight each other. After three rounds of fierce battles, four outstanding individuals finally broke through the encirclement and advanced to the top four!

They are Jiang Bin of Xuanfu Left Guard, Su Tai of Taiping Garrison Command, Zhou Shangwen of Xi'an Rear Guard, and An Guo of Suide Guard!

After drawing lots, the four were paired up: Su Tai against An Guo, and Zhou Shangwen against Jiang Bin, to compete against each other!
By this time, all the other competitions in the training ground had concluded, and thirty martial arts champions had been selected from the losers' bracket. Everyone gathered around the large circle below the high platform to watch this ultimate showdown—

In the first match, Sutai will face Anguo.

Na Anguo was fair-skinned and handsome, and although he wore black cloth armor, his refined demeanor was undeniable, displaying the air of a scholar-general.

He was indeed a scholar by birth, having passed the imperial examination at the county level in his early years and gained considerable literary fame in the area. However, due to the lack of able-bodied men in his family to serve in the army, he had no choice but to drop out of school and inherit the position of centurion. From then on, he abandoned his pen for the sword and has been honing his skills amidst the clash of swords ever since.

This is the version of himself that Ma Qianli imagined...

Don't be fooled by his scholarly appearance; Anguo's marksmanship has already reached a state of perfection. What's even more remarkable is that he possesses both the meticulous mind of a scholar and the strategic thinking of a military strategist. His wisdom in anticipating the enemy's moves and planning carefully before acting is far beyond what ordinary martial artists can match.

At the sound of the command, two figures shot into the circle like arrows. The crisp sound of their guns clashing was like the ringing of metal, making everyone's eardrums tingle.

An Guo's movements were as graceful as a dragon's stroke, and his spear was as sharp as a wolf's hair dipped in ink. With a move called "Eyebrow Spear", he thrust straight at Su Tai's brow! With a flick of his wrist, the spear's momentum suddenly increased, sweeping down to the lower three directions. It seemed to be a wide and sweeping attack, but it had already precisely blocked all of Su Tai's dodge routes.

Su Tai neither dodged nor evaded, his gaze piercing through the shadow of the spear. He lowered his waist and braced himself, his spear held high like a mountain, striking head-on with a series of powerful blows. At the same time, he used the momentum to deflect the force, his body swaying slightly, but his lower body remained as stable as a rock.

The spears flashed like lightning, and after dozens of exchanges, neither could gain the upper hand! The two were truly evenly matched, like two equally matched generals. Under normal circumstances, they would surely have fought for two hundred rounds before a winner could be determined.

However, the martial arts competition only has a time limit of one incense stick's time. If the time limit is exceeded, both will be eliminated. The two had no choice but to abandon their steady and cautious approach and use more and more open and powerful moves!

With the incense stick's embers teetering on the brink of burning out, the time limit was approaching its final moment.

No one wanted to fail at the last moment. The two stood still, spear tips pointing diagonally, their breaths concentrated to the extreme, casting aside all distractions, leaving only a resolute determination to go all in—this move was all offense, no defense, a single move to decide the outcome!

The wind swept across the training ground, causing the armor to rustle softly.

Almost simultaneously, two figures suddenly erupted!

An Guo abandoned all his refined manners, unleashing his ancestral secret technique, the "Heart-Piercing Spear," with a murderous aura that seemed to reach the heavens and the earth. The afterimage of the spear tip completely disappeared, leaving only a single point of cold light, as fast as a shooting star, piercing straight into Su Tai's heart!

Su Tai did not dodge. He twisted his waist violently, and his spear shaft was like an angry dragon emerging from the abyss. He gathered all his strength and power in the "Overlord Spear" move and went straight for An Guo's vital point in the middle!

Everyone's hearts were in their throats; this time, it seemed like both sides would suffer heavy losses...

Crack! The sharp sound of gun barrels clashing shattered the silence. The immense force of the collision caused both men to sway slightly, yet neither of them stopped their attack!
In a flash, Su Tai's sharp eyes caught the moment when An Guo's spear stance faltered slightly due to the collision! He twisted his waist violently, his arms bulging with veins, and used the recoil from the collision to unleash the 'Overlord Twist,' adding incredible twisting force to the spear shaft, forcefully twisting away An Guo's spear stance. The spear tip suddenly changed direction, whistling through the wind, and swiftly slashed upwards!

With the addition of the Overlord Twist, the gun speed reached its extreme!

An Guo only felt a blur before his eyes, and Su Tai's spear tip was already firmly pressed against his heart. The next instant, An Guo's spear was also at Su Tai's abdomen, but he was ultimately a beat too slow...

The last spark of the incense went out, and the battle was over!

The two men stood frozen, guns in hand, their breathing heavy and rumbling, but they both held back in their attacks and failed to injure each other.

The training ground was silent for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cheers!

An Guo slowly sheathed his gun, caught his breath, and said with a wry smile, "I lost! Brother Su's 'Overlord Twist' is so domineering. Not only is he naturally strong, but his marksmanship is also divine. I admit defeat!"

“This move is too strenuous. My whole body aches after each twist, and I can’t use it more than a few times.” Su Tai also put away his gun and scratched his head: “Besides, if this were really on the battlefield, we would both die.”

"A competition is a competition. If you win according to the rules, you win!" An Guo said with a carefree laugh. "Fight hard in the last match and win the martial arts championship!"

"We've come this far, we'll definitely do our best," Su Tai said with a simple smile.

~~
The second semi-final match was equally exciting, no less so than the first.

Jiang Bin was born with superhuman strength and unparalleled bravery, and was also highly skilled in martial arts and experienced. Zhou Shangwen was probably the most skilled among all the martial arts graduates, and his spear technique was slightly better. However, as a scion of a noble family, he was ultimately slightly less ruthless in his determination and his battlefield experience was not as profound as Jiang Bin's.

In the heat of the battle, Jiang Bin, seeing that he was being suppressed and unable to turn the tables, resorted to an unexpected desperate tactic—stabbing Zhou Shangwen in the face with his spear. Taking advantage of the moment when the opponent raised his spear to block, he actually abandoned his spear, completely disregarding his own vulnerability, and pounced on Zhou Shangwen, holding him tightly.

Zhou Shangwen never expected that while everyone was happily wielding their spears, he would suddenly switch to sumo wrestling. Caught off guard, he was tackled to the ground, and the two of them tumbled out of the white circle.

However, according to the rules, Zhou Shangwen's back touched the ground first, so unsurprisingly he was judged to have lost.

The audience clearly didn't buy it and booed Jiang Bin, believing that his victory was dishonorable.

Zhou Shangwen was so angry he stomped his feet. "We're supposed to be using spears! Why are you switching to hand-to-hand combat?"

"Is there a rule against using your hands?" Jiang Bin snorted, ignoring his and the others' doubts, and went about drinking water and adjusting his breathing to prepare for the upcoming final.

On the high platform, Liu Yu could no longer stand it and angrily said, "Your Majesty, this boy is opportunistic and cunning; this trend must not be allowed to continue!"

Zhu Houzhao, however, did not take it seriously and said indifferently, "This is a military test, not a civil test. No one on the battlefield will talk to you about benevolence and righteousness. Only the most cunning and ruthless soldiers can survive to the end."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right." Liu Yu immediately changed his mind: "I was truly just a scholar with limited knowledge of the subject's views."

~~
After a short rest, we arrived at the highly anticipated martial arts finals!

After the two contestants bowed to the emperor from below the stage, Zhu Houzhao suddenly beckoned, and a young eunuch brought out a gilded plaque with the three large characters 'Martial Arts Champion' written on it!
Then everyone heard Emperor Zhengde say loudly: "According to ancestral rules, there has always been only a civil palace examination, but no military palace examination; there is a civil champion, but no military champion—I think this rule is unfair!"

His words were firm and resounding, and the training ground fell silent instantly.

"Throughout history, military generals have risked their lives to protect their country, while civil officials have strategized and governed. The two complement each other and are indispensable. Why should military men be considered inferior? This is illogical!" Zhu Houzhao declared impassionedly, his gaze sweeping over the solemnly standing military candidates below the stage.

"I will break this precedent and let all martial artists in the world also enjoy this honor!"

These words shocked the entire audience! Since the Yongle Emperor, successive emperors had valued civil officials over military ones, and the status of military personnel had gradually declined. Although the military candidates below the stage were also successful candidates in the imperial examinations, their status was far inferior to that of civil candidates.

One interpretation is that he is a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, and everyone assumes he is a civil scholar. Although they might also call him a military scholar, the underlying mockery is obvious to everyone.

Not to mention the systematic discrimination and suppression of military officers by civil officials after the Tumu Crisis, which were simply too numerous to list...

Today, His Majesty has publicly vindicated the martial arts practitioners. This great favor has moved the martial arts candidates present to tears. They all knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" Their voices shook the heavens!

The nobles clenched their fists, their eyes reddening... Who said His Majesty was unruly and incompetent? Such compassion for military men and respect for martial prowess is the mark of a true wise ruler!

The civil officials present, however, all looked unconvinced and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: They had thought His Majesty's recent diligence meant he was turning over a new leaf. Who knew he was still that scoundrel of an emperor!
Only a scoundrel emperor would value such a crude and uncouth warrior...

If it weren't for the presence of Liu Jin, the "treasure trove of civil officials," they would have directly advised the emperor to retract his words. But with Eunuch Liu looking at them with a sinister gaze, the civil officials could only think about it in their hearts; no one dared to speak up and risk their lives.

Zhu Houzhao, however, completely disregarded the expressions of the civil officials and boldly announced: "Therefore, I have come to the training ground today to fill the vacancy in the Martial Arts Examination! The winner to be determined later will be bestowed with this plaque inscribed by me, 'Martial Arts Champion'!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" The martial arts candidates responded in unison, their shouts reaching the heavens.

Su Tai and Jiang Bin stood in the arena, their blood boiling, their eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit—this 'Martial Arts Champion' position, I am determined to get it today!

"Begin!" Zhu Houzhao personally gave the order, and the final match officially began!

"kill!"

Amidst the thunderous cheers, the two roared simultaneously, thrusting their spears forward. The clash of spears was filled with murderous intent, each move ruthless and without any reservation!
Jiang Bin's spear thrusts were fierce and domineering, each strike aimed at vital points; Su Tai's spear, on the other hand, was deep and precise, each move anticipating the opponent's moves and attacking where the opponent would have to defend. The battle raged back and forth, a fierce and evenly matched contest…

Both men possessed superhuman strength, and in the heat of battle, they managed to break both of their spear shafts in two!
The two men then instinctively used the broken gun as a wooden stick and continued their fierce fight.

The sticks whistled through the air, splinters flew everywhere, and in the end, the sticks broke in two. The two men then wrestled together, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with their bare hands!

Jiang Bin, a seasoned veteran with extensive experience in combat, seized the opportunity during the scuffle to grab a handful of dust and hurl it fiercely at Su Tai's face. Caught off guard, Su Tai's eyes were instantly blinded by the dust.

Seeing that his move had succeeded, Jiang Bin immediately raised his leg and kicked Su Tai in the chest, trying to send him flying out of the arena!
Unexpectedly, Su Tai seemed to have a third eye and caught Jiang Bin's movements. He grabbed Jiang Bin's right leg tightly with his backhand, suddenly exerted force with his waist, and with a low shout, swung Jiang Bin up and spun him around in mid-air before throwing him out in a wide arc!
'Boom! '

Jiang Bin fell heavily into the dust outside the field and couldn't get up for a while.

A moment of silence fell over the drill ground, followed by a thunderous roar of cheers.

The first martial arts champion of the Ming Dynasty has been born!

P.S. The next chapter will be available tomorrow morning. Please vote with your monthly tickets!
Also, regarding that extra chapter for monthly pass readers, I asked the editor, and they said it can't be unbanned yet; it can only be posted in the book review section in a few days...

(End of this chapter)