My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

He looked up at the crystal tablet, saw Wei Qing nod, and then sat back down in his usual resting spot.

The old man shared the same thought as Cao Ying; initially, he also didn't believe that Wei Qing could really pass through the sixty floors.

But seeing that Wei Qing had already climbed over fifty floors and was slowly making his way to the sixtieth, the old man felt a growing sense of anticipation, believing that Wei Qing could do it.

On the contrary, there are nine other people, on the sixtieth floor?

Perhaps after more than a decade of training in the border regions, there might be a sliver of a chance.

As for now?

The worst thing a person can do is deceive themselves.

From the moment you join the Command Department of the Imperial Academy, you should clearly understand one thing: some things are useless no matter how hard you try.

In order to attract new students, those useless people like Lü Kuang lowered the bar again and again. This bar was not only the admission bar, but also the learning bar.

So much so that many students have forgotten that martial arts command is actually a game for geniuses.

Throughout history, the old man has seen too many mediocre people and hopes to bridge the gap between himself and geniuses through tireless efforts.

But those mediocre people forget that while they are working hard, geniuses are also constantly learning and pushing themselves to improve.

It's not that hard work is useless, it's just that one should be clear about one's own position.

In fact, these nine people are already very good. With a little more training, they are qualified to serve as captains.

However, human greed is insatiable...

Just as the old man was sighing, the doors of the Hundred Battles Pavilion suddenly swung open, and a name disappeared from the crystal tablet at the same time.

Some people are starting to get eliminated...

I apologize for the "meme" in yesterday's update and offer a written apology.

I apologize to everyone; I used a rather inappropriate meme in yesterday's update.

This morning around nine o'clock, a friend hurriedly told me that my novel had offended someone, and I only then woke up groggily and changed those two sentences.

Beforehand, I felt there was nothing wrong with this. After all, the story had progressed to this point, and yesterday's meme was spreading like wildfire, almost to the point of being brainwashing, so I just wrote it down as I felt.

But after waking up today and thinking about it, I do feel like I'm just talking without understanding the situation.

As readers who have read my previous works know, I've been very busy lately, practicing driving, writing, and going on blind dates...

I've started going on blind dates, since they often involve dowry money.

However, the bride price here is not so excessive, usually only tens of thousands of yuan, and the bride's family will let her take the bride price with her after the wedding.

To put it bluntly, in remote areas, women are still at a disadvantage when it comes to marriage (except in some places where there are more men than women). In addition, the two parties in arranged marriages do not know each other well enough, so this dowry is just a deposit.

If the man lives a down-to-earth life, even if the bride price is taken back by the woman, he will still use it to supplement the family income.

Secondly, even earlier, the bride price had another layer of meaning.

In the 1950s and 60s, and even the 1970s and 80s, men and women rarely met or even visited each other's husbands' families before getting married.

Before a woman marries a man, she may not even know what his family's financial situation is. Therefore, she asks for a dowry to prove the man's financial strength so that she won't have to live a life of poverty after marriage.

At that time, there was also a saying about the "three sounds and one turn" four major items, which were radios, bicycles, sewing machines, and watches.

However, now it has changed to upgrading cars, houses, and money.

So when I first saw the origin of this meme and learned the whole story, my first thought was that the man was the problem, he was so stupid, and then I thought that this kind of dowry was unreasonable.

She felt the man was an idiot; he made his parents sell their house just to get married, and he was utterly unworthy of being a son.

Therefore, I neither feel any sympathy nor do I think there is anything seriously wrong with this meme.

Some even think that it's good that this meme has spread, and that it would be best if it would attract the attention of relevant departments, as some bad habits need to be addressed.

In addition, since the story of the novel has reached this point, I just added a sentence casually, and it was not the kind of forced or contrived connection.

Actually, changing that line to "Brother, we're rich" wouldn't affect the story at all.

But after waking up, I actually felt quite sad and realized that I was just talking without understanding the situation.

For many people, their daily life is likely limited to their county or city, and they rarely travel to other provinces.

From birth to schooling, and then to graduation and work, one may only occasionally travel out of the province a few times, but life is still within the same small area.

The same applies to finding a wife or a partner.

The practice of giving betrothal gifts is clearly not unique to the bride's family; it's more of a local custom.

Those who know a little about this should know that I am not making sweeping generalizations.

Of course... there are definitely some enlightened families, and in fact, there are quite a few such families.

Even in the most feudal dynasties, there were open-minded people; even in the most advanced world, there were ignorant people.

It's just that customs are all about conformity.

Given the woman's unbridled behavior and the man's submissive demeanor, I can only speculate that this is the general situation around us.

If the internet age hadn't brought us closer together, probably no man would have imagined that there are cases where women don't ask for a dowry when getting married.

Even with the internet age and the convenience of information exchange, people still need to live locally.

The surrounding environment limits a person. He can refuse this unreasonable dowry, but if all the girls in the neighborhood ask for dowries like this when they get married, what can the groom do?

Should we go find one outside?

I'm going on blind dates now. I've even spent a year in Shijiazhuang, three years in Beijing, and two years in Shenzhen. I spend most of my time traveling around.

But the true love is still found in this corner where we live now.

So, after calming down and thinking about it, I realized I had been too presumptuous.

However, while I may have taken it for granted, I do not agree with the man's idea.

I made the down payment on a house this year and moved in two months ago.

It feels very reassuring. Even though the house I bought isn't very nice, has many problems, and isn't even as comfortable as the house I rented when I was working outside, it's still my own, and it's a completely different feeling from renting.

I used to be very casual when I rented a place.

We eat out or order takeout; we hardly ever go into the kitchen, it's covered in dust.

As for everyday items, I only buy them when I need them, and I only buy the cheap ones, thinking I'll throw them all away when I move without feeling bad.

But after moving into the house I bought, my thinking completely changed.

Whether it's useful or not, I'll buy it all, I'll just buy it first and think about it later.

Even though I live alone, I still installed air conditioners in both bedrooms.

Having not watched TV for over a decade, I inexplicably bought one, thinking that it would be more convenient to have a TV when playing console games, rather than always using a monitor.

Renting a house is completely different from living in your own house.

For a son, filial piety is the most important thing.

If you're reduced to having your parents sell their house and your sister rent a place to live in in order to support your marriage, then you've failed as a son.

This marriage is better off not happening!

Ultimately, we are just bystanders in this matter, and no matter how much we say, it won't be objective enough.

Confucius said: Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.

We don't want this kind of thing to happen to us, and when we see others suffering and struggling, we shouldn't kick them when they're down.

However... I still want to say something: after saying so much nonsense, I don't think those guys who criticized the man did anything wrong.

You can take away the commander of an army, but you cannot take away the will of a common man.

There are some things that are far more important than marriage.

Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, and whether the outcome is good or bad for the man, at least from my personal perspective, the man's final decision to pull back from the brink can be considered a tragic beginning with a comedic ending.

Hopefully this is the end.

All this rambling is just self-reflection and self-examination.

"I examine myself three times a day," meaning to reflect on my mistakes, examine my errors, and improve my understanding. This can be seen as a blessing in disguise.

Finally, I apologize to everyone; it was my oversight to blindly use memes.

If there is a mistake, correct it; if not, strive to improve and avoid making the same mistake again.

Of course, I also hope that everyone will not make a big deal out of it and let bygones be bygones.

The novel has been written for a month and a half, and has about 280,000 words. The story has only just begun.

I plan to spend a year writing this book!

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has subscribed this month, and also to the readers who have given me tips.

I originally wanted to compile a list of those who donated to thank everyone for their support, but... there are too many people, so I'd rather spend that time writing more words.

I've thought about it and decided to give up for now. I'll do it again when I have time.

......

This month has been incredibly hectic. Aside from driving lessons, blind dates, and trivial things like renovating the house, there's the fourth anniversary of Onmyoji, the guild war in Princess Connect Re:Dive, and the new version of SZB all happening at the same time. I'm totally overwhelmed.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Fifty-Five Floors, Charge! Charge! Charge! Charge!

The first to be eliminated was a student from the Xiongnu barbarian tribe; he was kicked out after passing the fifty-two levels.

Fifty-two floors is already a very impressive achievement.

Currently, among the tens of thousands of students in the Imperial Academy's Command Department, no more than twenty can reach this level.

The eliminated students were not happy to see their results; instead, they were extremely frustrated. Even though their scores were better than last time, they had not achieved their expected goals.

"Fifty-one? Wei Qing hasn't been eliminated yet!?"

The way the challenger is displayed will change after passing through the 50th floor.