Above the Great Dao
Chapter 159 - 91: Unrivaled Martial Trial_2

Chapter 159: Chapter 91: Unrivaled Martial Trial_2

It didn’t take long for Hu Feifei’s turn to arrive. As the enchantress, her strength was formidable; her Stabbing, Slashing, Swiping, Sword Picking, Cloud, and Splitting Sword Styles were executed to perfection. Her sword technique, hand gestures, and body movements were beyond reproach, and she performed them with an elegance that captivated all.

As she released her Sword Qi, the tearing sound through the air was incredibly loud. The moment her voice rang out, a straw mat ten zhang away was pierced through!

There were other mats arranged behind the first row of mats, each hung at intervals of one zhang, but the Sword Qi of most students failed to penetrate more than a few, leaving few cuts on these mats.

Hu Feifei’s Sword Qi successively shattered seventeen straw mats before its force was finally spent.

Tian Huaiyi and the other examiners were astonishingly surprised, their eyes turning towards her in unison.

Such power in Sword Qi was something not even practitioners of the Divine Embryo Realm might necessarily be able to produce, closely approaching the power limit of the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword!

"Wencai Academy is truly a breeding ground for talent."

An examiner, twirling his beard, smiled and said, "Congratulations, Magistrate Tian."

Tian Huaiyi replied with a smile, "The credit goes to the excellent instruction of our master. What does it have to do with me?"

As he looked towards the center of the stage, he saw Chen Shi approaching the straw mats, eager to try.

From a distance, Tian Huaiyi could quickly tell that Chen Shi’s fundamentals were shaky — these were all critical points for scoring, clearly indicating that Chen Shi had not had specialized training.

"The starting move of the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword is wrong, the posture is slightly off, the sword technique is dubious, the body movement lacks fluidity."

He shook his head and thought, "For this martial examination, the standout is none other than Hu Feifei. Shen Yusheng is not participating since he’s already obtained the Divine Embryo and does not need to take the exam; he’s preparing for the village examination this fall. That the Wencai Academy could produce two students of such exceptional talent is already quite remarkable..."

Fu Leisheng also immediately noticed Chen Shi’s various flaws and couldn’t help but wonder, "Could it be that someone else was behind the murder of the County Magistrate and his wife that night?"

Suddenly, a thunderous roar resonated through the venue, startling many students who were in the midst of gathering their Qi. Many of their hard-gathered Sword Qi scattered in fear, some were so frightened that their hands shook, sending their Sword Qi flying haphazardly, nearly slicing a few fellow students to death.

Tian Huaiyi quickly looked over, only to see a streak of Sword Qi tearing through the sky. The straw mats in its path were bursting apart, the Sword Qi emitting a sound like thunder, and in a blink, it had crossed thirty-six zhang, piercing through all twenty-seven straw mats!

Tian Huaiyi felt his heart beating violently, his pupils constricting.

Ten years ago, the number one record in all fifty provinces set by Chen Shi saw his Sword Qi reach thirty-six zhang, creating an unbeatable record. This is why the martial examination only prepared twenty-seven straw mats, with the twenty-seventh placed at a distance of thirty-six zhang.

That record had never been broken.

Until today!

He abruptly stood up, his gaze intensely fixed on the area thirty-six zhang away, his face filled with urgency, shouting at the government officials serving as proctors, "Run! Get moving! See just how far that Sword Qi went!"

The astonished government officials had already been dumbfounded, and at hearing those words, they hurriedly ran towards the twenty-seventh straw mat.

Outside the martial examination field, Fu Leisheng also became anxious, shouting to the officials, "Use the Armored Horse Talisman!"

The officials frantically activated the Armored Horse Talismans, but they were still unable to catch up with the Sword Qi.

Tian Huaiyi suddenly bolted, sprinting after the Sword Qi.

This was a record-breaking sword strike, and it was imperative to accurately measure the ultimate distance of its formidable power!

However, as he began to move, a gust of wind swept through; far away at a distance of sixty or seventy zhang, half of a large tree’s crown was suddenly gone, a shower of branches and leaves cascading down.

Tian Huaiyi stopped in his tracks, furious, veins popping on his forehead, he bellowed, "The Wind Stabilizing Talisman! Where’s the Wind Stabilizing Talisman? Who pocketed it?"

The Wind Stabilizing Talisman was an essential talisman used during martial examinations, typically inscribed on a wooden tablet. Before the examination began, a Talisman Master would trace over it with Black Dog Blood and cinnabar to activate its power.

These wooden tablets needed to be placed around the examination area, to stabilize the wind, otherwise, a strong gust could divert students’ Sword Qi, which could easily cause injury to others, and complicate the evaluation of their performance.

The trajectory of Chen Shi’s Sword Qi had been blown off course by the sudden wind, causing it to ascend into the sky, making it impossible to determine the distance at which its power was exhausted.

"Magistrate, this matter isn’t their fault."

An examiner quickly caught up with Tian Huaiyi, whispering, "The Wind Stabilizing Talismans are in limited supply to begin with, and they were only meant to stabilize up to thirty-six zhang."

Tian Huaiyi instantly realized, nodding slightly, his anger dissipating as he said, "I was being impatient."

Just as he spoke, another thunderous blast echoed, as Chen Shi released his second Sword Qi. Carrying the sound of thunder within its breaking path, it surged forward at a tremendous speed!

Tian Huaiyi had no time to say anything else and immediately sprinted forward, a shock surging in his heart, "It’s Junior Brother Chen releasing the Sword Qi!"

He had not seen who the owner of the first Sword Qi was; only now did he see that it was emitted by Chen Shi.

This Sword Qi was not as fast as the first one. The first Sword Qi was the Stabbing Sword Style, the fastest Sword technique of the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword, while this one was the Sword Slashing Style.

The Sword Slashing Style was different from the Splitting Sword Style. The Splitting Sword Style split an object in half from the center, whereas the Sword Slashing Style cut an object along its cross-sectional plane, such as beheading, which was cutting off the neck, or bisecting the waist, which was cutting through the waist.

The Sword Slashing Style had a cultivated force; compared to the Stabbing Sword Style, it was slightly slower, but its power was immense.

However, even as Tian Huaiyi ran with all his might, it was difficult for him to catch up with this Sword Qi. He was greatly alarmed, "The power of this Sword Qi is somewhat outrageous! Can’t catch up, simply can’t catch up... Use the Armored Horse Talisman!"

He paused his feet, and the Armored Horse Talisman burst forth.

At the same time, a ridiculous feeling arose in his heart, "This is not a battlefield of life and death, but merely a martial examination for scholars, and yet I actually used the Armored Horse Talisman!"

Outside the venue, Fu Leisheng was also desperately running, chasing after this Sword Qi.

Both of them were determined to see the limits of Chen Shi’s Sword, running with all their might. Tian Huaiyi urged on the Armored Horse Talisman, going faster, while the power of the Sword Slashing Style up ahead weakened and its speed slowed down.

Fu Leisheng and Tian Huaiyi were glad in their hearts, finally catching up with that Sword Qi, only to see it still fly out more than ten yards before dissipating.

The two of them, one after another, arrived at where the Sword Qi had vanished, both wearing smiles. They looked back, and their smiles stiffened on their faces.

They had run out of the martial preparation area and come to a place more than ten yards outside the venue, about eighty yards away from where Chen Shi launched the Sword Qi.

"Whoosh—"

Another sound of cleaving air came through, accurately passing between the two of them. It was a Swipe Sword Style, the Sword Qi refined, like a snake’s hiss, with a very narrow range of attack.

But because of its precision, the Sword Qi was more concentrated, thus faster and it flew a longer distance.

From behind them came a ’thud’, the Sword Qi was blown slightly off course by the wind, piercing through the trunk of a large tree.

"Eighty-four yards," Tian Huaiyi exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Another Sword Qi came flying; this one was the Sword Picking Style.

The Sword Qi rose from the ground, exploding the earth wherever it passed, as if it was deflating.

Many examiners and government officials were racing toward this side, narrowly escaping being cut in half by this Sword Qi from beneath, hastily dodging aside.

"Sixty-two yards," Fu Leisheng expressed woodenly.

Then came the Cloud Sword Formation, the Sword Qi rotating like a wheel.

"Seventy-one yards," Tian Huaiyi’s eyes twitched.

Finally, Chen Shi formed a Sword technique with his hands, splitting a sword down, one Sword Qi after another launched forward in a chain, like a relay, each one more powerful!

The ground split open under this Sword Qi, and ultimately, the most grand Sword Qi fell, and the jousting dummies of the martial preparation area fell apart, shattered to pieces.

"Seventy yards," Fu Leisheng’s brows frowned severely.

After the six styles of the Meridian Evil Slayer Sword had passed, Chen Shi clumsily followed the example of other students, offering a disciple’s salute to the examiner’s seat, then stepped down. But there was not a single examiner on the seat; all had run out.

"Master, what should we do?"

Tian Huaiyi’s mouth was also trembling, his expression a mix of laughter and tears, "He surpassed the first person of the fifty provinces from ten years ago by so much. Should the student report his score truthfully, or should I make his score a little worse?"

If I don’t make it a little worse, then even Western Capital might be overwhelmed by this score and come to investigate. Once investigated, they will discover Chen Shi cheated on the Literary Examination, his treatises were not written by himself!

At that time, both master and disciple will have to take a walk through the Ten Thousand Soul Banner!

Fu Leisheng murmured, "Even making it a little worse is still astonishing. How much do you need to change?"

Tian Huaiyi’s head was as big as a bucket.

The record was broken by too much; even if he wanted to commit fraud, it was difficult!