Chapter 66: The Duel Begins

  "Women shouldn't ask so many questions, it's annoying." Guo Fei stopped and said seriously.

  "You! Good, good, in just a few days, your tail will be raised. I'm doing this for your own good. Once others find out you have the ability to tame exotic beasts and possess such a mount, not to mention others, but even the Beast Tamer's Guild won't let you off. Either they'll ask you to become a beast tamer or force you to reveal your secrets. The Beast Tamer's Guild isn't just a simple business guild, it's deep waters, you'd best be careful yourself. Kindness is being treated like a donkey's liver and lungs." Zhao Xue's face tightened, then turned cold as she spoke.

  "Hehe, thank you, but women should be gentle, that's how men like them. Don't be too strong-willed, or you'll end up not being able to get married."

  "Hmm!" Zhao Xue let out a cold hum, seemingly deep in thought. Her voice softened slightly as she continued, "Today, I specifically came to tell you that aside from Zhao Ba, there are three other opponents you need to be careful about in this Selection of Soldiers competition. One is a military recommendation, named Leng Dao, who lives up to his name - extremely cold and aloof. He wields a ghost-headed knife and has nearly reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. He's the captain of the Imperial Guard Cavalry Regiment and has been in battle since he was 13 years old, with rich combat experience."

  The last two are from the Lin family in Heishi County, the Lin family is a big gate, and they have been settled in Heishi County for 50 years. The family is very wealthy, and their master's cultivation is comparable to my father's. This time, they recommended two people, one named Lin Zhen and the other named Lin Shan, both of whom are Qi repairers who have reached the Great Perfection. In addition, there are also some hidden masters that need to be careful about.

  "Lin Shan, could it be a woman? Can women also participate in the Imperial Examination?" Guo Fei exclaimed in surprise.

  "Of course, there is no rule that women are not allowed to participate in the selection of scholars. As far as I know, Miao Yu Zun, the national teacher of the Tang Empire, was a famous Taoist master from Beiyuan, and his Taoist skills were not inferior to those of men." Zhao Xue's face showed a hint of envy, and he said in a low voice.

  "Is there a master participating in the competition?" Guo Fei hesitated and asked.

  "Of course not, the masters don't need to be chosen, anyone who cultivates the Taoist methods are the country's talents, as long as they're willing to become officials, they can be granted a certain position." Zhao Xue said proudly.

  "Why?" Guo Fei was surprised.

  "The technique is difficult to practice, and a first-level technique requires a long time of exploration. However, after mastering it, as long as you learn the simple method of engraving, you can create talismans. The method of engraving is relatively simple, and ordinary people can learn it. Because there are fewer people who practice techniques, they often do not participate in direct combat, but instead specialize in making talismans to reserve war resources for the country. However, once a technique practitioner reaches the level of Zun or above, it's different. Their frontal attack power is even stronger than that of a Wu Zun, and can be called terrifying. Because even low-level technique practitioners can cast fourth-level techniques, which are earth-level techniques!" Zhao Xue explained.

  What Zhao Xue said, Guo Fei seemed to understand but not really. He hadn't systematically studied the knowledge of cultivation before and didn't know how it was divided, but he knew the power of talismans. For now, he was still seriously preparing for the tournament, as long as he could enter the top ten, he would have the opportunity to systematically learn this knowledge.

  Guo Fei is a cautious person, to be honest, Guo Fei has no experience in fighting the monks of this world head-on. The previous assassinations were all done by the enemy in secret, and Guo Fei did not rely solely on his own strength to fight. Now facing a face-to-face battle, both Shi Bing and Wu Niang have brought themselves to Hei Yan Gao Di, he must rely on his true skills to cope, and cannot help but be careful.

  In the next three days, Guo Fei took Jin Mao into the space of the military symbol, walked out of Weicheng and came to a nearby mountain to practice riding and fighting skills.

  Although the Gale Gun wasn't very familiar, it was already usable. With Jin Mao's roar, after two days of practice, Guo Fei felt that his mounted combat strength was at least above mid-level Qi Refining, or even higher.

  Jin Mao roared, and according to his actual strength, he should be in the high-level stage of Yao Bing. With Guo Fei's infusion of space energy from the soldier symbol, a pseudo-Yao Dan was produced, and his cultivation entered the level of Yao Wei. Originally an alien beast, its body was strong and fierce, whether it was its whip-like tail or its swollen sharp claws, as well as its sharp teeth, all were deadly weapons.

  Zhao Xue had a special beast suit made for him, with a thin layer of fine steel armor covering his head, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed. Two sharp metal spikes protruded from the top of the helmet; on his upper body he wore leather armor, equipped with a saddle, giving off an exceptionally fierce aura.

  The tournament began as scheduled, and the first match was a duel on the arena. On that day, Zhao Xue had someone send over a set of formal clothes for a Duwei military officer. Guo Fei put on the light blue uniform over his rhinoceros leather armor, wore the matching steel helmet, and carried the xuan iron sword to rush to the main city's arena.

  The arena is packed today, with ten arenas set up in the central square, lined up in a row. Each arena is three meters high and ten meters long, five meters wide, all built with rammed earth and stone, with four large flags inserted around it, fluttering in the air.

  Each arena has three judges. The contestants lined up in order, Guo Fei stood at his own position, looking around, this team was all military officers, uniform military uniforms, although not many people, but exceptionally neat and solemn, the person in front of him had a ghost-headed knife on his back, standing there like a flagpole, eyes straight ahead, regardless of the chaotic crowd flowing left and right, as if staring straight at the front like a wooden man.

  "It seems this person is indeed Cold Blade!" Guo Fei sank into thought.

  Suddenly, Guo Fei felt someone was staring at him. He turned his head and saw Zhao Ba in the noble children's group looking at him with a cold smile. Guo Fei nodded slightly towards him and smiled calmly. He had no interest in fighting with such a "pitiful person". If he provoked himself again, Guo Fei would show no mercy.

  Time was not long, a cavalry team suddenly rushed into the arena, guarding around the stage and the luxurious viewing platform opposite the stage, apparently someone important was coming.

  As expected, not long after, a middle-aged man with an imposing demeanor, dressed in the yellowish-brown attire of a duke, walked up to the viewing platform directly across from them. Guo Fei recognized this person, having seen him on the Black Wall battlefield; it was naturally Dingguo Gong, the lord of Heishi County and Zhao Xue's father.

  Behind him, Zhao Xue was still wearing a pale blue mage robe, holding a rarely seen staff in his hand, with a faint smile on his face, following behind his father. Behind the two of them followed a group of people, who took their seats one after another. Judging from their attire, they were nobles with titles from Blackstone County and prominent figures from wealthy families.

  After these people sat down, a man in his thirties announced the rules of the competition. There were 520 participants, and they would draw lots to determine the order of matches. Each person would fight ten rounds, and those who lost five rounds would be disqualified. The competition did not encourage mortal combat, but since knives and swords have no eyes, the organizers would not take responsibility for any deaths that might occur. If a participant felt he was no match for his opponent, he could surrender voluntarily, and pursuers were forbidden from killing those who surrendered.

  Guo Fei didn't know how they drew the sequence numbers, he just heard that he was announced as the first match, and according to the number, he would be fighting on the first arena. It was exactly in the middle, directly opposite the noble's viewing platform.

  "The first round was really unlucky, I didn't want to show my face but had no choice!" Guo Fei's mouth curled up into a faint smile as he walked down to the first round and stepped onto the stage.

  Time was not long, one by one short and stout, dark-skinned, lively and energetic "short, stubby, black-headed" man also came to the foot of the stage, and flew onto the stage. Guo Fei took a look at his place of origin, it was in the sequence of noble children. Obviously he was a noble child.

  "I know you're Guo Fei, but I don't get it. You're not even as handsome as me, how did you manage to snag the princess and live a life of luxury? Why don't you just surrender now and spare yourself some suffering? I'll give the princess some face." The man sneered at Guo Fei, holding up a beautifully crafted warrior sword.

  "Eat soft rice!" Guo Fei was stunned for a moment, didn't understand what it meant, but soon figured it out.

  "The first round, the match begins!" The examiner shouted loudly.

  "Bang!" At the moment when the announcer's voice had just fallen, a person on the first stage suddenly fell to the ground, rolling off the stage and crashing three meters away, hitting his head and bleeding profusely, instantly losing consciousness.

  "I hate it most when others say I'm eating soft rice!" Guo Fei retreated with a light tone.

  Shocked, the whole scene shook, this efficiency is too high, directly without giving the opponent a chance to react. The judges only saw Guo Fei's figure flash by, and with one kick, he kicked his opponent flying out.

  Guo Fei directly infused the ninja into his body and made a swift move like a gust of wind. Moreover, he used his own imitation of military training from his previous life, combining it with the ninja's fist intent to create his own unique move, "Ling Yin Tui".

  "Who is this person? What a great technique! It seems like an advanced martial skill!" The lord leaned to the side, saying in a low voice.

  "This is Guo Fei!" Zhao Xue's face turned red as she said softly.