55: Sackclothed barefoot enters the inner courtyard
The Vice Dean chuckled, “Now, drink tea!”
“Also… Inspector Li, remember to treat us at Xian Yuan Restaurant tonight!”
Inspector Li also smiled.
He gave Chu Qing a deep look and stood up to leave.
Some Martial Instructors were also about to flick their sleeves and depart.
Chu Qing blinked innocently, cupped his fists, and said,
“Martial Instructors, have I passed the assessment?”
The Vice Dean stopped Inspector Li and said,
“Candidate 9527, Chu Qing, defeated the examiner. The process was legal, compliant, and without any errors; he passes.”
“Inspector Li, do you have any objections?”
Inspector Li was silent.
The Vice Dean said indifferently, “Actually, it doesn’t matter if you have objections. After all, the examiner is dead. If we don’t let him pass, the Main Academy won’t agree.”
“By the way, the candidate is extraordinary, he beat the examiner to death; this method is Heaven-Defying; shouldn’t you also sign and stamp?”
Inspector Li remained silent, staring intently at the Vice Dean, Killing Intent flickering in his eyes.
The Vice Dean didn’t care, staring back at him, and said coldly,
“The examiner is dead. If you don’t sign and stamp… the Main Academy…”
Inspector Li turned, picked up the brush, his hand trembling, unwilling to sign for a long time.
Ten seconds… thirty seconds… a minute… A Martial Instructor said coldly, “Inspector, time is tight!”
“Please sign!”
Several other Martial Instructors stood up and said loudly,
“Please sign!”
“Sign!”
Inspector Li felt as if his heart was being twisted, filled with shame and anger.
In this power struggle, he was a step behind; but, it didn’t matter.
With the Big Shots above reforming, how long could these little shrimps below resist?
Finally, amidst the urging, he signed and stamped.
Several Martial Instructors laughed heartily and also signed and stamped.
Finally:
Chu Qing smiled, signed and stamped.
The Vice Dean patted his shoulder and said,
“Young man, come, follow this old man, and see this decaying — Martial Academy.”
Outside, Chu Qing:
The yamen runners, in low spirits, placed the corpse, which was only half Flesh, onto a stretcher.
“Another candidate died.”
A candidate, on the verge of a mental breakdown, cried, “I’m not taking the exam anymore!”
The deceased was too tragic.
After examining the deceased, a student’s face turned pale, and he staggered back a few steps, exclaiming,
“Song Da… is dead?”
“How did he die?”
The yamen runners’ eyes lit up, and they loudly announced, “Candidates, rest assured, the deceased is an examiner, not a candidate.”
“You all… can continue the exam with peace of mind.”
The candidates… cheered.
The cheers spread to the surrounding examination rooms and beyond the Martial Academy.
News spread, and in just one minute, everyone knew:
Song Da, who had consecutively beaten three candidates to death, was dead.
He was beaten to death on the spot by a candidate, half of his Flesh blown apart.
And that candidate — in coarse clothes and barefoot — was from a poor background.
Some Martial Instructors frowned.
Some Martial Instructors smiled.
And many Outer Courtyard students serving as examiners felt a chill run down their spines.
“We can’t injure candidates anymore.”
“If… I also encounter such a ruthless person… I’m afraid I won’t even be able to keep the other half of my Flesh.”
In the subsequent exams, although they efficiently eliminated candidates, they dared not strike heavily or injure candidates casually… Servants quickly delivered messages to their masters.
Jin Residence:
Madam Jin was restless, waiting anxiously.
Jin Pangzi, enjoying a rare day off, tried to reassure her, “Don’t worry, he definitely won’t pass.”
“No need to rush.”
Madam Jin rolled her eyes, so angry she wanted to stomp her foot.
But she lifted her leg, then dared not stomp; afraid of dropping the pearl.
In the afternoon, a servant stumbled in, excited:
“Master, Young Master Qing passed.”
Madam Jin was stunned.
Jin Pangzi was also stunned.
Madam Jin urgently asked, “He passed? How did he pass?”
The servant quickly relayed the news.
When she heard that Chu Qing’s examiner had killed three candidates, Madam Jin’s face turned pale.
Upon learning that Chu Qing had thrown the examiner onto the roof, then kicked him out of the room, beating him to death, Madam Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Excellent!”
“He got in on his own.”
“He didn’t use that contract!”
“Qing’er’s future… is limitless!”
Jin Pangzi’s mouth hung open, his face full of disbelief.
After a long while, he said faintly, “Even if he gets in on his own, in the end, he’ll still be someone’s dog.”
Madam Jin glared at him fiercely.
Jin Pangzi gave an awkward smile… Shi Manor:
Madam Shi also received news of Chu Qing entering the Martial Academy.
She even knew the detailed situation that occurred in the examination hall.
She paused, muttering,
“Over two hundred Iron Tendons, twenty to thirty Iron Bones students… without a Secret Inheritance to lead the tendons and bones, a single oversight, and they’ll still be beaten to death.”
“Iron Cloth, Red Snake Leg, Iron Palm… and even Mantis Fist, he might have practiced them all to Perfection.”
“How can a fellow from a coarse clothes and barefoot background achieve this?”
“What organization is behind him?”
“Inspector Li was even forced to sign and stamp — did he enter the Inner Courtyard? — This is big trouble!”
“Hehe… my Groom… is not simple!”
…The impact of Chu Qing beating the examiner to death and forcefully entering the Martial Academy was immense.
Wubao Disciples, Powerful Disciples, and the thirty-six martial arts schools all received the news.
Some were silent, some scoffed with disdain, some were shocked.
However, none of this affected Chu Qing.
At this moment, he was walking through the Martial Academy with the Vice Dean.
The Martial Academy was vast, but there weren’t many buildings. Here, there were flowing streams, artificial hills made of earth, training grounds, gardens, and so on.
Chu Qing felt strange.
The Vice Dean pointed to various buildings:
“This is the Scripture Pavilion!”
“This is for bathing!”
“This is the dormitory!”
“That is the canteen!”
Finally, he arrived in front of a cluster of dilapidated houses and said;
“This is where Martial Arts Knowledge is taught.”
“Do you see those Stone Towers over there? Those are cultivation chambers.”
Chu Qing gazed out, seeing rows of large Stone Towers in a messy grove of small trees.
However… the surroundings were overgrown with weeds, and there were no roads.
The Vice Dean sighed, “When I was young, I studied here.”
“Back then, the proportion of Powerful Disciples and commoners in the Martial Academy was the same.”
“At that time, everyone vied for the cultivation chambers.”
“Now… it’s desolate.”
Chu Qing was silent, just slowly cleaning the bloodstains from his body.
The Vice Dean then said, “This Martial Academy is about to collapse.”
“Are you interested in helping me strike at the Powerful and Wubao Disciples before the Martial Academy collapses?”
Wang Quan smiled, “What are the benefits?”
The Vice Dean said, “All the benefits are laid out in the Martial Academy’s rules.”
“As long as you want any of those benefits, you will conflict with them.”
Chu Qing smiled and said, “Can I kill people?”
The Vice Dean was silent for a moment and said, “Young man, don’t have such a temper.”
Chu Qing… “When I take action, I’m afraid people will die.”
The Vice Dean laughed heartily, “It’s fine as long as you don’t kill people in the Martial Academy.”
“Remember… as long as you are in the Martial Academy… except for the Stone Tower where injuring people is allowed, no killing or injuring is permitted elsewhere.”
Chu Qing curiously asked, “Stone Tower? Can this rule be enforced?”
The Vice Dean said seriously, “Everyone will enforce it.”
“So… if you feel in danger, don’t leave the Martial Academy.”
Chu Qing nodded, then hesitated and said, “What if I can’t help but kill someone?”
The Vice Dean said sternly, “Hold it in!”
“If you really can’t hold it in, drag them outside and kill them.”
Chu Qing nodded.
Finally, the Vice Dean said, “Come, I’ll take you to the Inner Courtyard.”
Chu Qing paused and said, “I thought there would be another Inner Courtyard assessment after the preliminary exam.”
“I didn’t expect…”
The Vice Dean laughed heartily, “What do you think I forced Inspector Li to sign and stamp for?”
“An Inspector’s signature and stamp are equivalent to gaining Inner Courtyard qualification.”
“You don’t have to compete with others for Inner Courtyard spots.”
Chu Qing was pleased.
“So, how many spots are there in this Inner Courtyard?”
The Vice Dean said with a strange expression, “Last year there were eighty.”
“Almost all Wubao Powerful Disciples could enter the Martial Academy.”
“This year, with the reforms, over two hundred more students are being recruited; but, there are only — ten — Inner Courtyard spots.”
“If you can’t handle it, you can transfer your spot.”
Chu Qing… smiled and shook his head.