You call this the way of the sword?

The national examination was entirely controlled by the imperial high command, with local authorities only providing venues and assisting with invigilation.

This is the first time I've ever seen someone not even allowed to invigilate an exam.

The prefectural lords looked at each other, then turned their gazes to the chief officials, who were equally puzzled and could only look at the one in the corner.

"Liu Zhuguo, you should be able to see the third performance, right?"

In the corner, Liu Changge flipped through recent years' documents and nodded, saying, "Yes."

"Then... could you..."

"cannot."

Before the official could finish speaking, Liu Changge had already refused.

The expressions of the officers immediately turned sour, not because of Liu Changge's attitude, but because they couldn't bear to see Yang Qingfeng's performance in the third match.

Although they were among the highest-ranking local officials in the five southern provinces, they were not affiliated with the military.

But in the face of these pillars of the empire, official positions and backgrounds are nothing but shackles, only making them feel more like they are walking on thin ice.

Of course, as long as you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about the Pillar of State suddenly visiting.

Seeing that the officials in charge were of no use, the prefectural lords exchanged glances and urged each other on, finally swallowing their pride and stepping forward together, saying with obsequious smiles, "Lord Pillar of State, we just want to see how the child performs, just to see what he actually does..."

"They're going to the battlefield."

Liu Changge suddenly interrupted, his tone now tinged with coldness.

He raised his head, his indifferent gaze like a sharp sword, instantly freezing the smiles on the faces of the several lords, who then felt a chill creep up their spines.

In a mere instant, Liu Changge returned to the documents and said calmly, "Using the battlefield as the examination venue is both unprecedented and a huge gamble. Consider this: what would happen if something unexpected occurred during the assessment, and you happened to know the exact location of the examination venue?"

The lords' expressions changed drastically; not only did their backs feel cold, but their hands and feet instantly turned icy.

"Those participating in this round of assessments are the best from all over the country..."

Before Liu Changge could finish speaking, several prefectural lords exclaimed, "Ahhhhh, look! Those two lads also have a chance! Ohhhh, they're in! They're in!"

…………

After passing through the teleportation array, Yang Qingfeng arrived at a city wall. Before he could do anything else, a foul-smelling wind blew into his nose, making him cough twice.

Then a sneer came from the side: "Heh, cough, I knew he couldn't do it after just a couple of tries."

"We've been waiting for so long, we thought it was some big shot."

"Haha, big shot, just a country bumpkin from the locals."

With doubt in my mind, I was met by a hazy, high wall.

This wall was formed by an array, which not only blocked out the sights and sounds of the city, but also released a smell, making people immediately feel that something was wrong in the city.

Yang Qingfeng stood in the middle of the city wall and quickly scanned the surroundings.

The city wall beneath my feet was severely damaged, and faint tremors were coming from inside the city, possibly caused by demons.

The light was dim, and thick clouds swirled in the sky. The sea of ​​clouds was reddish-brown and looked rather strange, as if it had been polluted by some kind of mottled atmosphere.

Behind them, beyond the city, lay a vast, desolate plain, also reddish-brown in color.

The earth split open to form a thousand-meter-wide ravine, and giant rocks collapsed to form mountains.

A glance around revealed the traces of a great battle etched across the entire wasteland, creating an inexplicable sense of oppression.

This is Pingchuan, the first battlefield after its new acquisition…

Yang Qingfeng suppressed his curiosity and looked away before turning his gaze to the other examinees.

At this time, the examinees on the city wall were divided into two groups, left and right.

The group on the left are all dressed in scholar's robes, clearly from various blessed lands. They are each on their own and do not interfere with each other; some are in groups of three or five, while others are alone.

The group on the right is clearly not a newcomer to this blessed land. They have gathered in large numbers, but they are also clearly divided into factions, with the leaders being surrounded by a group of stars.

They wore various brocade robes, jade garments, and gold and silver ornaments, displaying their noble birth in a flamboyant manner.

Among them was a rather aloof girl. Yang Qingfeng noticed at first glance that she looked somewhat familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he remembered her. She was the one who took the benefits and ran away in the Talent Secret Realm.

Noticing Yang Qingfeng's gaze, Jiang Yuan frowned slightly and glanced at him indifferently.

"Hey country bumpkin, what are you looking at?"

"Hey bro, where are you from?"

"Hey, hey, hey, why is it taking so long to climb those thousand jade steps?"

Seeing Yang Qingfeng looking at Miss Jiang, the examinees behind him began to speak, their words filled with disdain and sarcasm, which made them feel disgusted.

They even broke away and approached Yang Qingfeng, wanting to take the opportunity to show off.

Yang Qingfeng both resented the rich and looked down on petty people, and the group of candidates on the right embodied both traits, so he didn't want to bother with them.

If the other party insists on causing trouble for themselves, he won't be polite.

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept by, carrying an ancient and desolate aura that captivated everyone's attention.

Two sword spirits tore open the rift and descended into the mortal world, facing the right side and blocking the examinees.

The male sword spirit, standing at a full two meters tall, exudes an aura of oppression. Coupled with the suppression of rank, it is a natural restraint that spirit beings have over living beings.

The examinees were immediately startled and let out a few strange screams, but they reacted quickly, casting their Insight spell as they retreated.

"What the hell...!"

"A seventh-grade sword spirit? A summoned creature?"

"Hiss... Let's check the level!"

"Holy crap, level 27?!"

The moment the Sword Soul appeared, he instantly became the focus of the entire arena.

Even the local test takers on the left were intrigued.

But no one expected that the strongest reaction would come from their beloved "white moonlight".

Since arriving at the examination hall, Jiang Yuan has remained silent, giving off a cold and aloof feeling, as if she were a beautiful, proud, and unapproachable person.

And indeed, this proved to be true. Among the leading aristocratic candidates were several wealthy young masters from the capital, but even they were not given a kind look by Jiang Yuan.

To everyone's surprise, when the sword spirit appeared, Jiang Yuan exclaimed in astonishment, unusually losing her composure.

Before anyone could react, she had already strode towards Sword Soul.

"Be careful, Yuan'er!"

"This puppet is strange, don't get too close!"

Jiang Yuan's every move had far-reaching consequences.

The noble candidates surrounding her immediately rushed up to become her protectors, while the other candidates who were surrounding them also came to "protect" her.

In the blink of an eye, the two sword spirits were surrounded.

Yang Qingfeng was too lazy to bother with him; he just wanted some peace and quiet. He waited in front of the teleportation array, and as soon as the array vortex started to surge, Qiao Lie stuck his head out, and Yang Qingfeng grabbed him.

Unexpectedly, two came out when I pulled them.

"Ha! Ha! You want to beat me? You're still too green, kid!!"

Qiao Lie felt nothing when Yang Qingfeng pinched the back of his neck. He laughed wildly, panting heavily, and patted Song Yuanshan, who was hugging his waist, as he laughed.

Just now, the two of them shook off Sha Yinzhen and launched their final sprint. They fought hard for a while on the 999th jade step, and in the end, Qiao Lie narrowly won and stepped off the jade step first.

However, he hadn't won before even entering the teleportation array. Song Yuanshan followed up with a burst of energy, instantly becoming like a leech clinging to Qiao Lie, but unfortunately, he was still dragged into the teleportation array by Qiao Lie step by step.

Only then did Song Yuanshan release his grip, collapsing to the ground as if utterly exhausted.

He was very unwilling to be overtaken and mocked by Qiao Lie, but he really couldn't muster any anger.

On the jade steps, he endured that terrifying pressure, was disgusted by Qiao Lie and Sha Yinzhen for a long time, and almost had his Dao heart destroyed by Yang Qingfeng.

Now that he had finally arrived at the examination hall, Song Yuanshan felt completely exhausted.

He needs to recover quickly so he can defeat Yang Qingfeng later.

"You all just wait!"

At this moment, the vortex of the formation surged again, and Sha Yinzhen stumbled out. Before he could catch his breath, he saw two sword spirits in the crowd.