Chapter 483
Chapter 483
The Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng, was completely mesmerized as he watched them.
‘Could there truly be so many geniuses in this world? The speed of their progress is… terrifying.’
Archery was something that typically required ten years of daily practice, improving only after a long accumulation of time. But with them, one could see their progress with the naked eye. Normally, improvement was like a leaf growing on a tree—slow, silent, and unnoticeable until days later when you could finally see the new leaf. Or like raising a pig, where you had to feed a piglet for at least a month or two before you could clearly see it had grown. But watching these geniuses was like watching a time-lapse video, sped up dozens of times, where a leaf sprouted and grew in an instant, a bud bloomed in a flash. To ordinary people, it seemed they weren't just running; they were flying.
Ning Zheng had thought it was a tale from the *Arabian Nights*, an absurd fantasy, for them to start from scratch and pass the military service examination in just one month. The capital was teeming with talents vying for the military exam, countless among them outstanding individuals. But in the presence of the geniuses before him, even those so-called outstanding talents seemed fleeting. He had believed that mastering the four disciplines of the military exam in just one month was an impossible task, harder than ascending to the heavens, as one could not even properly learn a single discipline in that time. But now, it seemed they would have time to spare. This world was simply too insane. Ning Zheng sighed inwardly.
‘What virtue or ability do I, Ning Zheng, possess to have earned the loyalty of these eleven geniuses? They wandered the world for over a decade, yet no one discovered their talents. But Shen Lang unearthed them all at once. Now I see that Shen Lang is the truly remarkable one. It is as they say: fine steeds are many, but a Bo Le who can recognize them is rare. Furthermore, Shen Lang has activated the power of their bloodline, a truly incredible ability. What virtue or ability do I, Ning Zheng, possess to have received Shen Lang’s help?’
Ning Zheng thought of it as receiving help, not counsel.
* * *
“This world is so unfair, so unfair! How are ordinary people supposed to live!”
Thirteen lamented, because the archery skills of the ten Clan Lan geniuses had now surpassed his. And not just his—they had surpassed everyone under Mu Yeol’s command.
At that moment, Mu Yeol said to him, “Why are you so fixated on those geniuses? You could compare yourself to someone else.”
Thirteen asked her, “Who should I compare myself to?”
“Compared to your family’s young master, aren’t you, Thirteen, a supreme genius?”
‘Ugh!’
Thirteen wildly agreed in his heart but didn’t dare to nod. His master was a weakling who could vie for the title of world's worst, with martial arts aptitude that was the absolute dregs of the world. You could randomly pick anyone from a crowd and not find someone with worse martial talent than his master. There was no pride in beating a piece of trash like his master.
Mu Yeol said, “Young Master Shen’s natural talents must be lopsided. It seems they’re all concentrated in his wisdom and good looks.”
Ham No, standing beside them, nodded.
“That’s right. When it comes to martial arts, our young master is the worst trash in the world, but isn’t his appearance the most handsome in the world? General Mu Yeol, you’ve met many people. Have you ever met anyone as handsome as the young master?”
Mu Yeol didn’t answer. Thirteen spoke up.
“Isn’t the Grandmaster of Dreamcloud Lake as handsome as the master?”
Ham No shook her head.
“No. The Grandmaster of Dreamcloud Lake looks too vile.”
‘But the master is also quite vile,’ Thirteen thought.
He kept the words to himself, not daring to utter them. He didn't even let a hint of it show in his expression or eyes. Otherwise, he would truly be beaten to a pulp.
Mu Yeol spoke.
“Zhu Hongxue.”
“I haven’t met Zhu Hongxue. Is he as handsome as the young master?”
At Ham No’s question, Mu Yeol nodded. Zhu Hongxue was indeed a man of supreme beauty. Besides, a man’s supreme beauty wasn’t just about looks; it was heavily influenced by his disposition. Thirteen suddenly changed the subject.
“Ham No, you seem to have lost some weight.”
Ham No’s face instantly turned crimson, and she shook her head frantically.
“No, no. Don’t talk nonsense.”
Then she darted away, leaving Thirteen stunned.
‘Why doesn’t she want to admit she’s lost weight? She clearly has. She must have lost about twenty pounds.’
* * *
Time flew by like an arrow. The days of being unable to show off passed quickly once more. Before he knew it, more than twenty days had passed. There were only two days left until the civil service Grace Examination, and only six days until the military service examination. So, how were the eleven Clan Lan brothers progressing with their exam preparations?
Thirteen days before the exam, the Madman of Clan Lan had already memorized all the policy essays and current affairs analyses Shen Lang had prepared for him, to the point where he could recite them backward. Not only that, but he was also writing ten policy essays and twenty current affairs analyses every day, a terrifying feat. This level of output was comparable to the old man with ten perfections.
Some old men with ten perfections wrote poetry with shamelessness, but the Madman of Clan Lan wrote shamelessly and effortlessly. He had memorized only the timeless masterpieces and immortal works from two thousand years of Chinese history for his policy essays, and he used them as he pleased, without adding any superfluous words. He quoted every classical allusion and famous saying at will, weaving them into his writing. It could be said that, barring any cheating (like Shen Lang copying from his computer), the Madman of Clan Lan’s skill in writing policy essays had already far surpassed Shen Lang’s. Shen Lang no longer had the ability to critique or correct his essays.
First, because the Madman of Clan Lan wrote too well. Second, because he shamelessly quoted from timeless classics he had memorized in every sentence. To be frank, the policy essays written by the Madman of Clan Lan lacked a true soul; they were merely shells of perfect and beautiful rhetoric. But how many policy essays in this world truly contained a soul? They were just compositions written according to a prompt. In the short time allotted for the examination, who could produce a soul-stirring work?
In the American drama *Westworld*, the androids look exactly like humans and are exceedingly beautiful. If such a beauty were placed before you, and you weren't told she was a manufactured clone, what would you think? The Madman of Clan Lan’s policy essays were like the beautiful androids from that show—exceedingly beautiful to behold. For such a peerless beauty, being pretty is enough, getting the job done is enough. Why question whether she has a soul? Returning to the civil service examination, isn’t it, at its core, a business of selling positions?
Ning Zheng had studied for over a decade and was quite learned. After reading the Madman of Clan Lan’s policy essays, he commented, “Reading ten in a row feels a bit numbing. But taken one at a time, each is an exceptionally fine piece of writing!”
Shen Lang asked him, “Is this enough to place in the top three?”
Ning Zheng thought for a moment before replying, “I have read all the top-three policy essays from the capital examinations, and their quality is far inferior to Lan Ling’s. The phrases he quotes are exquisitely beautiful, and the classical allusions he uses are impeccably accurate.”
How could they not be accurate? Every phrase the Madman of Clan Lan wrote was taken from an immortal masterpiece that had been passed down for a thousand years, which he had learned and applied appropriately. Of course, since policy essays and current affairs analyses are graded subjectively, only a truly classic, immortal work would have a fatal impact. But the Madman of Clan Lan’s skill in quoting immortal works had reached the pinnacle. Thus, securing a top-three spot in the Grace Examination was not a ninety percent certainty, but at least seventy percent.
Besides, hadn’t the King said that he didn’t need to force his way into the top three, that simply passing would be enough? Reading the Madman of Clan Lan’s essays and analyses, passing was an absolute certainty. It would be strange if he didn’t pass with such beautiful and excellent phrases and appropriate citations from ancient texts. With the Madman of Clan Lan’s success in the civil service exam all but guaranteed, what about the ten other Clan Lan geniuses and their military service examination?
* * *
Gao Douhuan was still training the ten geniuses like a madman.
“Young Master, you take the Madman of Clan Lan to the capital first for his examination. The military exam is four days later, so we will depart in three days and return to the capital.”
Shen Lang asked him, “Is their level still not good enough?”
“What level are you referring to, Young Master?”
“Passing the military service examination.”
“How could they not? What I want is not just for them to pass, but for them to dominate everyone and leave them all in shock. With such a gifted bloodline, if they can’t even become military officials, they might as well kill themselves.”
‘You people are truly something else. Geniuses like you either speak like madmen or with such arrogance. I’ll just stay out of it. Fine.’
Without wasting a single moment, Gao Douhuan resumed the frantic training. The ten Clan Lan geniuses were on horseback. A hundred meters away, ten mice scurried away. Gao Douhuan roared.
“Shoot, shoot! If you don’t hit those mice and even one gets away, I’ll beat you to a pulp!”
* * *
“Are you useless? After a month of training, you can’t even hit a mouse from a hundred and fifty paces? If I were you, I’d slit my own throat immediately. What face do you have to live in this world and eat the food provided by your lord?”
Three of the ten had missed, and the mice had escaped. Gao Douhuan charged at them, his whip descending like a tempest.
“Shameful, shameful! Useless trash! Were you daydreaming for the past month? The lake is right there. All of you, go jump in and kill yourselves!”
After speaking, Gao Douhuan actually grabbed the three men and threw them into the lake. He then held them underwater for several minutes, making them feel the sensation of suffocating.
“Cool your heads! You useless things!”
Shen Lang, along with everyone else, felt a chill run down their spines watching the scene. Ham No said with a trembling voice, “Sister Mu Yeol, is General Gao always this terrifying when he trains soldiers? With this kind of training method, all his subordinates will die.”
Mu Yeol said, “He teaches according to the person. They are geniuses, so General Gao Douhuan is demanding the standards of geniuses from them, squeezing them to their absolute limits. In the military service examination in a few days, we will truly shake the entire nation.”
* * *
The next day.
Shen Lang took the Madman of Clan Lan and returned to the capital to take the Grace Examination. The King, Bian Xiao, the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and everyone else in the capital were present.
‘Just you wait. I, Shen Lang, am about to perform an even more astounding miracle. Your eyeballs are going to pop out in shock. And you cripples of the capital, remember your bets. If I succeed and all eleven pass the Grace Examination, you will have to eat ten pounds of shit. I’ve already bought the cesspit. When the bet is settled, if you don’t eat, I’ll mercilessly throw you into it myself.’