Chapter 498
Chapter 498
At the command of the Vice Minister of Military Affairs, ten scribes began verifying identities. Although Prince Ying was present in person, the Vice Minister showed no intention of stepping forward to greet him. There was no need to associate with a useless prince. Besides, the chief examiner was expected to maintain an air of absolute pride and impartiality.
The ten scribes first compared the candidates' faces to their portraits. However, the Nan brothers' appearances had changed so drastically after their bloodlines were activated that they were difficult to recognize. Moreover, the portraits in this world were generally drawn to capture a likeness, not for photorealistic accuracy. Still, that wasn't a problem, as they could check their fingerprints. All candidates had to press the prints of three fingers onto their documents, and since everyone's fingerprints were unique, they couldn't be forged.
The ten geniuses of the Nan clan pressed their fingers onto the paper, and the ten scribes examined them closely. The results were a perfect match. It was truly baffling. Not long ago, these ten men had certainly not looked like this; each had a crooked nose or mouth, and their bodies were twisted and asymmetrical. Faced with this result, the scribes couldn't bring themselves to declare them a match and went to report to the chief examiner.
"Are you certain the fingerprints match?"
"We are certain!"
"And their appearances are definitely different?"
"The outlines of their old faces are still there, so their features are somewhat similar. It's just that their faces seem to have been… stretched out."
The chief examiner, the Vice Minister of Military Affairs, glanced at the person beside him, his eyes asking what he should do. That person was a young female eunuch. Eunuch Yeo said:
"Pay me no mind, Chief Examiner. We are merely here to observe."
*Who would believe that?*
The saying, "Senior Yeo and Junior Yeo never stray a single step," had already spread throughout the capital. It didn't mean the two were physically immobile, but rather that the king trusted them so implicitly they rarely left the palace or his side.
The chief examiner, the Vice Minister of Military Affairs, nodded.
"Those ten have passed the identity verification."
Nan One, Nan Two, all the way to Nan Ten—as soon as the crowd heard their names, they burst into raucous laughter.
*Damn it all, who gave them such god-awful names? They sound like they were just slapped on, like you'd name a dog or a cat. I guess, like that lunatic Nan, they don't deserve the dignity of a proper name. But the king's favor truly is something else. These ten were beggars without household registers or travel permits, not even qualified to stay at an inn for a few days, and now they're suddenly students of the Martial Academy. And look how they've been whipped into shape—they all look quite presentable.*
*But so what? A beggar is still a beggar. They've trained in martial arts for a month at most; they probably haven't even mastered the horse stance. Can they even ride a horse properly? And they dare to participate in the martial examination? Everyone saw you lot being brought back to the capital yesterday, tied to your horses. A few days ago, that lunatic Nan slept through the civil examination. Now it's your turn to be humiliated. After this exam, all eleven of you will have your heads on the ground.*
***
After the identity verification, the three thousand candidates entered the examination grounds. Because this world placed far more importance on the martial examination than ancient China, the rules were much stricter. While answer sheets in the civil examination had their names sealed, in the martial examination, the candidates were completely shuffled after entering the grounds. Each received a set of examination clothes with a serial number and a mask that had to be worn from the moment they entered. With their faces and names concealed, their only identity within the examination grounds was the number on their clothes. No one knew who was who, and the examiners couldn't recognize the candidates either. This was another measure to prevent cheating in the martial examination. After each subject, the examiners would record scores against the candidates' numbers. Once the entire examination was over, the scores would be tallied, the numbers matched with the candidates' names, and the final ranking of successful applicants would be determined.
***
The entire martial examination would take a full four days. The first day's subject was weightlifting, with thirteen examiners seated in a row on a high platform to score the candidates. The three thousand candidates were divided into one hundred groups of thirty. The weightlifting test had two stages. The first stage required everyone to lift a five-hundred-and-thirty-jin (265kg) stone lock and hold it for about five seconds. Of course, the concept of a 'second' did not exist in this world. The second stage involved carrying three hundred jin (150kg) and completing a one-hundred-meter course within a specified time. Converted to Earth time, this would be about forty-five seconds.
What a perverse and terrifying examination this was. On modern Earth, the number of people who could accomplish these two feats could be counted on one hand. Even a world champion weightlifter might not necessarily succeed. This was the martial arts of the battlefield. Strength was paramount, archery second, and horsemanship third. Techniques and sword forms used in personal duels were all secondary.
Clang!
A gong sounded, and the first group of thirty candidates, wearing their masks, took their positions.
Clang!
At the sound of the second gong, the thirty candidates bent down and gripped the stone locks.
Clang!
At the third gong, the thirty candidates lifted the five-hundred-and-thirty-jin stone locks.
"Hup!"
With short grunts, they all hoisted the stone locks above their heads. They then had to hold them for roughly five seconds until the fourth gong sounded, at which point they could set them down. Truly, each second felt like a year.
"Aargh!"
Suddenly, a wretched scream pierced the air. A candidate, unable to hold on any longer, dropped his stone lock. Like a chain reaction, one candidate after another cried out and failed. One even dropped the stone lock on his own foot, instantly becoming a bloody mess as he let out a harrowing shriek. The pain must have been immense. It was too gruesome to watch. In this martial examination, injuries were commonplace, and deaths were not unheard of. There was even an instance during a past examination where a candidate made a grave error during the mounted archery event and shot three other candidates dead in one go.
***
Nan Three and Nan Five were assigned to the first group. They held the heavy stone locks high, their expressions calm and their bodies perfectly still. The dozen or so examiners saw this, nodded in approval, and drew a circle behind the two men's numbers on their scoring sheets. This signified that these two were particularly outstanding.
Clang!
After five seconds, the gong finally sounded again. The candidates of the first group set down their stone locks in unison. Some threw them to the ground as if waking from a nightmare, gasping for breath. Nan Three and Nan Five, however, gently placed their stone locks on the ground and remained standing tall. The thirteen examiners nodded again in satisfaction and drew another circle behind their numbers.
The test for the first group concluded, and ten of the thirty candidates were immediately eliminated. For them, the martial examination was already over. Weightlifting was a foundational subject; anyone who couldn't lift the stone lock or hold it for the required time was disqualified. Even if a candidate managed to hold the stone lock for five seconds, if their posture was poor, their legs trembled, or their arms wavered, they could still be failed. It all depended on how strictly the examiners scored. If more than half the examiners drew an 'X' behind a candidate's number, that person was out of the martial examination.
Each group's test, from start to finish, took only about a minute. As soon as the first group finished, the second group immediately took their place, proceeding with the test in an orderly fashion without a moment's delay. In just two hours, the first stage of the first subject of the martial examination, weightlifting, was over. One thousand of the three thousand candidates were immediately cut, a full third of the participants leaving the examination grounds in tears and dejection.
Afterward, there was a half-hour break in the examination grounds for both examiners and candidates to eat lunch. In the afternoon, the second stage of the weightlifting event officially began. The candidates were now in groups of twenty, for a total of one hundred groups.
Clang!
At the first gong, the candidates gripped two stone locks totaling three hundred jin. At the second gong, they hoisted the three-hundred-jin stone locks onto their shoulders. Their movements had to be precise. The weight had to be on their shoulders, not carried on their backs.
Clang!
At the third gong, the candidates, carrying three hundred jin on their shoulders, set off along the racecourse. Their destination was a hillside one hundred meters away. The first fifty meters of the course were flat ground, while the last fifty meters were an incline. Of course, this world had no concept of 'meters'; they used 'paces' as a unit of length, and one hundred meters was about one hundred and fifty paces. Time was measured with a small hourglass, which took forty-five seconds for the sand to run out. When the time was up, another gong would sound to signal the end. Candidates who had not reached the destination by then were to set down their stone locks, signifying their failure, and leave the grounds. The martial examination was thus even more brutal than the civil one.
The candidates of the first group began their test. Among them, Nan Three and Nan Five lifted the three-hundred-jin stone locks and shot forward like hounds unleashed. Their blistering speed astonished the thirteen examiners.
*Who are those two candidates? Who on earth possesses such boundless strength? They're carrying three hundred jin, yet they run faster than if they were empty-handed. And their form is impeccable, not the slightest bit unrefined or unsteady. They truly have the bearing of great generals. Which noble family do they belong to? Incredible!*
What was crucial was that not only was their speed on the flat ground incredibly fast, but their pace as they ascended the incline was also astonishing. In a very short time, Nan Three and Nan Five left the other candidates far behind. They ran at full tilt from start to finish without a moment's hesitation, and upon reaching the destination, they gently set down the stone locks. There was still more than half the time remaining. The allotted time was forty-five seconds, but they had used fifteen at most. The thirteen examiners successively drew circles next to the two candidates' numbers and wrote the character for 'fifteen'. They didn't have a concept of seconds, but they counted breaths as a unit of time. It had taken Nan Three and Nan Five fifteen breaths to reach the destination, which was roughly fifteen seconds.
Soon, the forty-five seconds were up.
Clang, clang, clang!
The gong rang out, signaling that time had expired. About half of the candidates had not yet reached the destination. However, they were absolutely forbidden from dropping the stone locks midway. Doing so would land them on a blacklist, and they could be disqualified from taking the martial examination in the future. Gritting their teeth and holding back tears, they carried the stone locks to the finish line before setting them down, finally leaving the examination grounds with tears streaming down their faces. The second stage of the weightlifting test took a relatively long time, lasting a full two and a half hours. The first day of the examination officially concluded. Of the three thousand candidates, two thousand had been eliminated on this day alone, leaving the remaining one thousand to participate in the next day's trials.