Harassment

Two weeks have passed in the blink of an eye.

This day was the day the results of the martial arts examination were announced.

The morning light tore through the thick blue mist of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

It then swept from the foot of the mountain to the top at an extremely fast speed, spreading throughout the valleys.

Huangshe County, a county town nestled in the Shiwan Mountains, was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums at its border.

The county town. A vast training ground at the border of the inner and outer counties was packed with people.

Martial arts schools, powerful factions, ordinary people, martial artists, vendors, and scions of prominent families crowded the place.

As November approaches, the Ten Thousand Mountains still feel like early winter. Even though the sun is shining brightly today, a breath still feels chilly.

But all of this was suppressed by the waves of noise from the training ground.

In the center of the announcement area, a three-zhang-high announcement shed was erected to hold the golden plaque, and red lanterns were hung around the shed.

On either side of the notice board stood burly yamen runners armed with knives, to prevent anyone from rushing forward to cause trouble or making random alterations during the notice posting.

"Nearly 10,000 people took the exam, but the number of martial arts scholars actually decreased, shrinking to a mere one hundred."

"Who can argue with that? There are ten in Category A, twenty in Category B, thirty in Category C, and forty in the last tier, Category D. But the chances of being selected are just too slim!"

"Xu'er, they say there are only one hundred spots for the martial arts scholar this year. Are you sure you can be among the top?"

  

Duan Jiantao, his second son Duan Tao, his daughter-in-law Liu, and his most beloved youngest daughter Duan Xin.

Come and witness our grandson Duan Xu take the exam.

More than ten days have passed since the last beating, and Duan Jian and Liu Shi still feel lingering fear when they see their son, who is stronger than an ox.

Duan Jiantao spoke very carefully, as if afraid that his bear-like grandson might accidentally smash his old bones.

Duan Xu completely ignored Duan Jiantao's question. Duan Tao nodded meekly and dared not say anything.

Liu pinched her husband's waist hard.

"Ouch, be gentle, it hurts so much!"

"Go ask him yourself. That kid beats me up every few days. Do you know how hard it is for me?"

Duan Xu hummed in agreement, and Duan Tao immediately fell silent.

Duan Xin, on tiptoe, searched everywhere for Duan Xuan's figure.

Duan Xu blocked Duan Xin's path and sneered, "Why are you still looking for that guy?"

Although he managed to break through to the Dark Force realm by sheer luck, he didn't even have the courage to take the martial arts exam, and he's not worthy of being compared to me at all.

Once I pass the imperial examinations and achieve official rank, I will marry you, my dear sister-in-law, and then you'll live a life of luxury every day. That's the right path!

Duan Jiantao nearly coughed up blood and fainted upon hearing this.

Unfortunately, Duan Xu had completely taken control of the household. He had hoped countless times that Duan Xuan would come back to save his old bones and his beloved third daughter.

But ever since Duan Xuan crippled Duan Tao's leg that day, he seemed to have vanished without a trace, never stepping into Duan Tao's house again.

If even Duan Xuan doesn't care about them, Duan Jiantao and his son and daughter-in-law really can't think of anyone else to ask for help.

If Duan Xu had passed the imperial examination today, the outcome might have been better. Because of his status as a martial arts scholar, he wouldn't have bullied him, and he would have had more support and resources.

If he didn't win, Duan Jiantao realized that his family would be in big trouble.

At this moment, the crowd began to stir.

bang bang!

Four military officers dressed in gray robes struck a gong, silencing the entire crowd.

They carried a scroll of vermilion list out from the side door and slowly entered the results display shed.

Then the military officer climbed the high ladder, took the huge paper scroll handed to him by someone, and spread it out on the long high board with the help of another person.

Finally, they simply nailed the list to the four corners with copper nails, then shouted "Announce the list!" and the entire training ground erupted in chaos.

From a distance, everyone could see a list written in bold ink on a vermilion background, and the name of the person who achieved the highest score was not only written in bold ink but also had a faint gold border.

Countless ordinary people, peddlers and vendors who came to watch the spectacle, and disciples from various martial arts schools who came to investigate the rankings all rushed forward.

Duan Xu glared fiercely at Duan Tao, who lowered his head and slunk into the crowd to show Duan Xu the list.

"Junior Brother Duan Xu, how have you been?" Just as the family was at a loss for what to do.

A rather jarring sound broke the silence. Looking in the direction of the sound...

Then I saw a boy dressed in slightly fancy clothes, clearly the son of a wealthy businessman, and he was accompanied by two other people.

The fabric of their clothes was even better. Most importantly, the two of them wore a jade pendant at their waists, with large yellow characters written on it.

Duan Xu's ferocious expression immediately turned respectful, and he stepped forward, cupping his hands and saying, "Third Senior Brother, you're back."

Are these two young masters from the Huang family?

"No need to be so polite. Didn't Master tell us that?"

In this world, the strong are respected; if you have the ability, you can do whatever you want.

"Etiquette and such are superfluous." Wu Zhengzhong was arrogant and unruly, and his next words sounded like he was describing a trivial matter.

"It's a real pity that we didn't completely cripple Zhang Chen of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts School."

That good-for-nothing and Zhou Ye combined wouldn't be enough for me to beat with one hand.

And to avoid trouble, I missed the martial arts exam, which I really regret.

Once I get the chance, I'll definitely take my anger out on those few Dark Force disciples from the Broken Mountain Martial Arts School.

I'll use their very essence to soothe my heart.

"Senior brother, don't worry. What use is Zhang Chen even if he's not crippled? He's just an ordinary guy."

If we're going to cripple them, let's cripple Lin Hu and Liu Mingze; that would be much more interesting.

When the senior brother is comfortable, the master is happy, and our Scale Python Martial Arts School is the biggest beneficiary.

Of course, if I had the chance to capture Chen Feng's two daughters and have some fun with them, that would certainly be a great pleasure!

"Hahahaha!" The two brothers completely disregarded the presence of Duan Jiantao, Liu Shi, and Duan Xin, and spoke recklessly about filthy things.

"Come here, junior brother, let me introduce you. This is Huang Zhen, Huang Liang!"

These two are the third and fourth young masters of the Huang family, a prominent family within the inner city.

Huang Zhen and Huang Liang were very pleased to hear that their friend Wu Zhengzhong had not mentioned the word "direct descendant," and they both bowed to Duan Xu, saying, "Greetings, Brother Duan."

"Young Masters Huang, you're too kind. How did you do on the martial arts exam?"

Huang Liang glanced at his third brother, and Huang Zhen chuckled and said, "To be honest, I'm ashamed to say this."

My fourth brother and I were unprepared and neither of us participated in the martial arts examination. However, we did get to experience it in the hunting grounds deep in the mountains.

Brother Duan and the other disciples of the Scaled Python Martial Arts School truly demonstrate the prowess of young heroes!

Duan Xu is only fourteen or fifteen years old, but he looks large in stature and his thinking has become extreme.

But he was six or seven years younger than the others.

Praised, Duan Xu was overjoyed and repeatedly returned the compliment, saying, "Oh, as expected of the young master of the Huang family, you didn't even notice us watching you!"

Huang Zhen and Huang Liang both looked bitter.

How could the two of them have the leisure to watch the martial arts examination?

Instead, he went with Zhang Zhuanghe, the steward of the Wang family, to capture Wang Qingyan, the daughter of the fourth wife.

As a result, before they could even make a move, they were scared off by Duan Xu.

Born into a privileged background and being a direct descendant of the family, they received less resource allocation and lacked practical experience.

Upon seeing a martial artist more ferocious than jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, they were so frightened that they abandoned any thought of encircling and annihilating him.

From a distance, Duan Xuan gave the two of them an incredibly fierce look, as if they would suffer a terrible fate if they took even half a step closer.

Although they had forgotten what Duan Xu looked like since they returned, those eyes of his had given them nightmares for days, and they would probably never forget them.

Zhang Zhuanghe did not make a move because he had other things to do.

Upon learning of Huang Zhen and Huang Liang's cowardly behavior, he was so enraged that he nearly pinned the two brothers to death on the hillside.

Seeing that the two brothers didn't look too good, Wu Zhengzhong quickly tried to smooth things over: "Junior Brother Duan, who is this bright-eyed, white-toothed young lady behind you?"