Chapter 165: Daqian Martial Examination, 6th on the Golden List

Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Daqian Martial Examination, 6th on the Golden List

"This is Lu Yuan, our Squad’s leader," Su Wan quickly introduced him.

"What did you do to make the Yanyue Sect target you?" Su Yu asked curiously. A Seventh Grade Squad leader shouldn’t be worth the Yanyue Sect traveling over a hundred miles just to set up a death trap.

"Not only is this man from the Yanyue Sect, but he also belongs to the Human Weapon Sect’s Wood Puppet lineage," Lu Yuan explained simply. "I killed their ninth brother first, so... this is Mr. Sixth."

"Oh." Su Yu nodded in sudden realization. It was the classic case of killing the younger one, only for the older one to seek revenge.

"Does that mean there’s still an eighth, seventh, fifth, fourth, third, second, and first? If you find them, kill them all!" His eyes turned cold, revealing bare killing intent.

"Yes, I’ll kill them all if I find them!" Lu Yuan nodded. There was no other way to deal with an Evil Cult. This suited his tastes perfectly.

"Are you coming back with me, or..." Su Yu looked at Su Wan and asked.

"I’ll stay with everyone else," Su Wan shook her head without hesitation.

"Alright," Su Yu waved his hand.

A surge of sword energy shot into the sky, dozens of feet high, its intent piercing through the clouds. It then rapidly shrank. In the blink of an eye, it condensed into something less than an inch long before embedding itself into a jade pendant at Su Wan’s waist. This was how noble families protected their younger generation. The Sword Essence that had been used earlier was also condensed by Su Yu.

"I’m leaving." Su Yu turned into a streak of golden light and departed.

"HISS... PHEW..." Jiang Hongfei took a long, deep breath and exhaled heavily. "Such intense pressure! Miss Su, your older brother is truly powerful. I didn’t even dare to breathe."

"Of course. Young Master Su placed sixth on the Golden List during the last Martial Examination. He’s a peerless genius renowned throughout the world!" Liu Zhi nodded, his face full of admiration, respect, and worship. "Furthermore, he’s already an expert in the Fifth Grade Celestial Human Realm, so his pressure is naturally immense."

"My older brother broke through to the Fifth Grade three years ago." Su Wan couldn’t help but raise her chin slightly with pride. Su Yu was the person in their family most likely to reach the Third Grade Longevity Realm. He was the pride of the entire Su family and the main focus of their cultivation resources. He was quite possibly going to be the next Grand General...

"Sixth on the Golden List..." Chen Qian’s eyes flickered with longing. She thought he was simply too talented, too breathtaking!

The Daqian Dynasty held the Martial Examination every five years, and anyone under thirty could participate. With three hundred states, seven thousand counties, and tens of millions of Martial Artists competing... One could easily imagine the weight of placing sixth, as well as the sheer extent of Su Yu’s talent and strength. The fact that he had advanced to the Fifth Grade just over a year after the competition said it all. He was guaranteed to reach at least the Fourth Grade in the future, with a very high chance of hitting the Third Grade. The Longevity Realm... how many Martial Artists dreamed of that? It was a single step to the heavens, a single step to absolute freedom!

"It seems next spring will be the new Martial Examination," Lu Yuan suddenly said.

"That’s right. Next year is the fifth year, marking the start of the Martial Examination. Anyone under thirty with a Cultivation of Seventh Grade or above can sign up to participate," Jiang Hongfei nodded. It was a grand event held once every five years, drawing the attention of almost everyone. The selections across various states and counties would begin in the spring, and the grand competition would take place in the Jade Capital during the summer to determine the champion, as well as the top thirty. The Golden List would then be posted, announcing the results to the world. Those who made the list would gain both fame and fortune, but most importantly, they would receive the blessing of the Dynasty’s destiny...

"Those in the Seventh Grade are just sparring partners. Only those in the Sixth Grade can stand out in the state exams and come to the Jade Capital for the main competition," Liu Zhi shook his head gently. A single state had anywhere from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of people, yet there were only three spots available. One could well imagine how fierce the competition was. Even many Sixth Grade geniuses would be eliminated.

"You’re a bit too young right now, Lu Yuan. But by the examination after this one, you’ll definitely make it into the top ten," Su Wan said soothingly, glancing at him. She knew Lu Yuan wouldn’t bring this up for no reason; he must be tempted to enter. However, he was still too young. He had only recently risen to prominence and lacked sufficient accumulation. Participating with a Seventh Grade Cultivation would surely result in a crushing defeat, leaving him utterly disgraced and perhaps even shattering his confidence. He needed to form a realistic understanding so he could properly face next year’s Martial Examination. Of course, it would be fine if he just wanted to participate to test the waters.

"Right, in another five years, Lu Yuan will definitely make the top ten!" Jiang Hongfei echoed. He believed in Lu Yuan’s talent, but actually participating in the upcoming Martial Examination was best avoided. In five years, Lu Yuan would likely be at the peak of the Seventh Grade, which still meant he probably wouldn’t pass the regional preliminaries. In ten years, there might be a glimmer of hope. But that was it.

"Yeah, I believe Lu Yuan can definitely make the top ten in five years—or at the very least, the top thirty," Liu Zhi added, being slightly more practical and conservative. He similarly didn’t believe Lu Yuan could make the Golden List anytime soon. There were simply far too many elite geniuses across the entire Daqian Dynasty.

Chen Qian cast a surprised look at Lu Yuan and the other three. She knew Lu Yuan was a genius—perhaps even a peerless one—but did they really need to flatter him like this? The top thirty of the Daqian Dynasty... If Lu Yuan actually believed it and took it seriously, it might not be a good thing.

Lu Yuan swept his gaze over the four of them but remained silent. It was currently September. There were still six months until next March and nine months until June. He didn’t even know how high his Cultivation would rise by then. Would participating in the Martial Examination just be bullying the others?

"Back to the Jade Capital!"

"Back to the Jade Capital!"

"HYAH!"

Back at the Demon Suppression Bureau, Lu Yuan handed over the corpses of Mr. Sixth and Yu Chenzhou to Qin Gang. As for the puppets, Lu Yuan only presented the two smaller ones.

"The Yanyue Sect’s Mr. Sixth... and Yu Chenzhou..." Qin Gang took a deep breath. "I understand."

"That’s it?" Lu Yuan was very dissatisfied with Qin Gang’s dismissive attitude. "I want to know how the people from the Yanyue Sect and Yu Chenzhou found out about my mission in Huaixi Town when I was only there for an hour or two. They arrived so quickly and at the perfect time... Has our Demon Suppression Bureau become a sieve? Does every piece of information just leak out?"

Qin Gang frowned. "I will look into this."

"Investigate it! You must! Start with Cao Cong, Wang Zhong, and their group," Lu Yuan said bluntly.

"Do you have any evidence?" Qin Gang asked.

"You will once you investigate," Lu Yuan replied, dialing back his tone to sound as calm as possible.

"You may go back now," Qin Gang waved his hand.

"Commander Qin," Lu Yuan didn’t leave. "Shouldn’t you take us on a trip to the Yu family?"

"The Yu family..." Qin Gang sighed softly. "Wait for me a moment."

Qin Gang went to the General Affairs Hall to report the situation, hand in the mission, and request a merit reward for Lu Yuan. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan waited at the Squad Division.

The Yu family was not like the Sun family; they had a Fifth Grade expert presiding over them, and no less than three Sixth Grade experts. If Lu Yuan went with his Seventh Grade Cultivation, he would undoubtedly face immense obstruction. They might even try to put him in his place or attack him directly. Lu Yuan wasn’t going to put himself at such a disadvantage. By bringing Qin Gang along and letting him take the lead, the Yu family wouldn’t dare act too presumptuously. After all, Qin Gang was a Sixth Grade officer of the Demon Suppression Bureau...

About half an hour later, Qin Gang returned. He led Lu Yuan and the others, along with an additional Squad, toward the Yu family’s estate to make arrests.

Faced with such an imposing group from the Demon Suppression Bureau, many members of the Yu family had no idea what was going on. It wasn’t until Qin Gang announced that Yu Chenzhou had colluded with the Yanyue Sect to ambush Lu Yuan’s squad, only to be killed in return...

"Impossible! Our Yu family would never collude with an Evil Cult! And it’s even more impossible for Chenzhou to do such a thing!" Yu Donghai, one of the three elders of the Yu family, stepped forward. Gripping a dragon-headed walking cane, he radiated a fierce aura.

"Facts speak louder than words. Let’s not waste any more breath," Qin Gang waved his hand.

"What if this is a false accusation?" Yu Donghai refused to back down.

"Who is Lu Yuan?"