Chapter 134: I Have More Faith in Zhao Xing

Zhao Xing pulled the Hundred Flowers bamboo hat from a martial artist's abdomen, then quickly fastened it to his arm and surveyed his surroundings.

The Hundred Flowers bamboo hat, standard issue for agricultural officers, not only amplified the Astrological Order's spells but was also inherently very hard. Its sharp edges allowed it to be used as a weapon, thrown to cut enemies. It could also serve as a shield; its smooth convex surface easily dispersed the force of slashes.

"Half the people on the training ground are gone, and the qi is utterly chaotic," Zhao Xing noted. After felling those around him, he took a moment to assess the battle's progress.

The extreme chaos of qi had a significant consequence: most people's martial arts techniques either couldn't be unleashed or would be distorted if they were. This was because the techniques of ranked martial artists were primarily externalized qi abilities, not just pure close-quarters combat.

"With qi in chaos, only masters can maintain a high knockdown efficiency," he mused. "Most martial artists have to fight at close range to take down the agricultural officers."

Zhao Xing watched a brawny martial artist in the distance use his boxing techniques to repel two agricultural officers. However, due to the chaotic qi, he only pushed them back instead of knocking them down. With no other option, the martial artist had to continue closing in.

*Thud, thud, thud!* Punch after punch, he landed ten blows in total before the two agricultural officers finally fell to the ground, completely incapacitated.

"The martial artists' reduced knockdown efficiency is, ironically, a torment for the agricultural officers," Zhao Xing noted, wincing slightly.

It was important to remember that the agricultural officers' physical resilience wasn't weak. Moreover, they wore straw capes and bamboo hats. To be repeatedly punched into unconsciousness until they lost the will to resist was practically torture!

"This is clearly training the agricultural officers' ability to withstand blows," he thought. "Under such high-intensity training, their physical coordination, reaction speed, and martial arts techniques will all significantly improve. After getting beaten up enough, they'll naturally learn how to protect themselves on the battlefield."

Zhao Xing's lips trembled slightly as his sound needle pierced through the martial artist's knee, felling the one who had just taken down two agricultural officers.

"That's the twenty-fifth," he muttered. "Too bad agricultural officers' knockdowns don't count; it's all about who lasts the longest." Zhao Xing was never a passive fighter. He always took the initiative, and in team battles in his previous life, he was known for his unconventional approach.

To him, any direction was a valid breakthrough. The belief that "when rivals meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins" had always been Zhao Xing's guiding principle.

"Hmm?" Out of the corner of his eye, Zhao Xing suddenly caught sight of three martial artists approaching.

"Their qi and blood flow like mercury; they have skin of copper and bones of iron. These three are very strong," he thought. "They are at least genius martial artists from the Four Martial Divisions."

Although he couldn't use spells, Zhao Xing's perception was still very keen. The flow of the wind allowed him to sense the approximate strength of the three.

Zhao Xing had been fighting vigorously, taking down dozens of martial artists in return, and had finally been targeted by the Martial Divisions' geniuses. Some geniuses simply wanted to challenge their strength. Even though there were weaker agricultural officers nearby, these three specifically wanted to eliminate Zhao Xing first.

"Take this Armor-Piercing Punch!" Chen Fang's qi and blood surged. He shot out like a cheetah, his fist wind sharp, forming a three-edged awl in front of his fist.

Despite the chaotic qi fluctuations, his ability to externalize his qi and stably deploy his martial arts techniques proved Chen Fang was undoubtedly a master.

But just as his punch was about to land on Zhao Xing, a roar erupted.

Zhao Xing slightly squatted, then let out a fierce roar. Chen Fang felt his entire body tremble; the copper sheen on his skin instantly faded. His qi and blood boiled within him, and even his iron bones emitted a jarring sound.

With his body affected to such an extent, his martial arts techniques naturally disintegrated.

Zhao Xing grabbed Chen Fang's hand and, with a backward step, caused Chen Fang to float horizontally in mid-air. *Thud!* A knee strike then sent Chen Fang flying.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* Three sound needles instantly pierced his lower abdomen, and the powerful impact sent Chen Fang sprawling.

"Roar!" Zhao Xing precisely manipulated the sound waves, this time aiming them at the heads of the other two martial artists.

Hu Bing and Shan Fei had originally intended to secure the kill, only a step behind Chen Fang. Their reaction was extremely swift. Upon seeing Chen Fang sent flying, they immediately pulled back their strength, shifting from offense to defense as a layer of bright brass quickly spread across their bodies.

This was a martial artist's body protection technique. When cultivated to the seventh turn or higher, the brass light enveloped the entire body like a golden bell, rendering them impervious to blades and spears—a technique only possible after achieving skin of copper and bones of iron.

But as the color spread to their necks, it seemed to encounter a barrier. The Kui Niu Thunder Roar, timed perfectly, precisely interrupted their Golden Bell Body Protection.

Hu Bing's and Shan Fei's eyeballs trembled wildly, and blood instantly seeped out as their vision went black. The Kui Niu Thunder Roar truly eclipsed their world.

Both truly lost their sight, and even their hearing failed them!

*Thud, thud!* Hu Bing and Shan Fei were also kicked away by Zhao Xing, then pinned to the ground with sound needles.

Their injuries were too severe; they were immediately pulled out of the training ground by the supervising strong practitioners, and physicians quickly began treatment.

"Chen Fang?!" "Hu Bing, Shan Fei?!" Zhang Jie, having dodged, watched the three fall, completely stunned. "Is this an agricultural officer? Who is this person? How can he be so ferocious?!"

Zhang Jie looked up and met Zhao Xing's gaze. As that gaze swept over him, Zhang Jie's scalp tightened, as if his heart had been seized.

"Danger, extreme danger!" Every inch of Zhang Jie's skin and flesh resisted. His instinct screamed at him to flee from this person's sight.

Fortunately, the other party didn't charge at him, only leaving after confirming that Chen Fang, Hu Bing, and Shan Fei were no longer capable of resistance.

*Thump, thump... Gasp, gasp.* After Zhao Xing turned away, Zhang Jie let out a sigh of relief, his heart pounding furiously.

"Terrifying, too terrifying," he gasped. "I felt like I was being watched by an ancient beast. So brutal, to be able to take down three Martial Division geniuses instantly."

Zhang Jie had just felt that this training was very easy. After easily knocking down thirty-nine agricultural officers, he even thought this compulsory training would have no effect whatsoever. But now, he didn't think that way at all!

"How is this an agricultural officer? I'd believe you if you said he was a genius from the Azure Dragon Martial Division..." Zhang Jie quickly walked away, discarding his disdain. He was about to leave.

But just then, a blurry spherical shape suddenly appeared in the air behind him.

*Boom!* A huge force sent Zhang Jie directly flying, propelling him out of the training ground in an undignified sprawl.

"Damn it, another master..." Zhang Jie's back was a bloody mess, and he instantly lost consciousness.

"Good lad, hahaha, well done!" Lu Bang burst into laughter upon seeing this scene. "He actually cultivated the Kui Niu Thunder Roar! He's even taken down a few people from the Four Martial Divisions."

"His three sound wave martial arts techniques are all formidable," Zuo Zizhi said, nodding. "Before, fighting ordinary martial artists didn't even force him to use his Kui Niu Thunder Roar; just the 'Refracted Sound' and 'Curved Form' techniques were enough. Marquis Tian, you said he learned them within a month? He hadn't practiced them before?"

"He was a civil servant who just became official; he was transferred here as soon as he did," Tian Yan explained. "How would he have time to learn martial arts techniques? In the 15th year of Jingxin, he hadn't even been ranked yet."

"He truly is blessed by heaven," Zuo Zizhi sighed. "To cultivate sound wave martial arts to such a level..."

"The Military Agricultural Department needs this kind of versatile talent," Lu Bang praised without reservation. "He can have impressive combat power even without using spells; he won't be a burden to others."

"Marquis Tian, you've struck gold this time," Zuo Zizhi chuckled. "The Astrological Institute missed such a good prospect, and you managed to snag him."

"It can't really be said that the Astrological Institute overlooked him," Tian Yan said, smiling as he glanced at Ge Jinsong nearby. "Don't praise Zhao Xing too much."

Ge Jinsong's mouth twitched.

"Too careless," Zhang Jie's training instructor, Chen Min, said, shaking his head from his vantage point on the flying ship. "He thought having the Black Tortoise Shield for body protection would solve everything. He focused on the front and ignored his back, not even realizing someone was ambushing him from behind."

Chen Min, a martial arts master from the Black Tortoise Division, had been keeping an eye on the several students he was in charge of, and Zhang Jie was one of them.

Zhao Xing shifted his gaze because he saw Zhuang Ziqing using the Nine Explosions of the Yin Xun, which was why he didn't attack again. He only glanced at Zhang Jie, instantly capturing all of Zhang Jie's attention. Because he had just unleashed the Kui Niu Thunder Roar, he carried a unique aura.

"Brother Chen, don't be so harsh," another martial arts master beside him said. "That kid isn't a normal agricultural officer. It's perfectly normal to fall to someone like him."

"Brother Wu is right," another chimed in. "Those two from the Agricultural Officer Bureau are clearly not ordinary individuals. From the very beginning, they were actively eliminating martial artists."

"The fewer martial artists there are, the more advantageous the situation is for geniuses like them, reducing the chance of being ganged up on and knocked down in the final stage."

"That may be so," Chen Min said helplessly, "but for a genius from my Black Tortoise Division to be knocked down by an agricultural officer is still a bit humiliating."

"What's there to fear?" another retorted. "It's not just people from your Black Tortoise Division who were sent flying; a few from the Azure Dragon Division also fell."

The top-tier geniuses from the Agricultural Officer Bureau demonstrated astonishing combat power. For example, Zhuang Ziqing, Cao Shuang, Jiang Tianming, and others had all cultivated sound wave martial arts to a high level, and some even had strong hand-to-hand combat skills to begin with.

The highest-ranking leaders of the two divisions, Fan Zhaoli and Fang Wu, were also discussing the geniuses from both sides.

Fan Zhaoli said, "Xia Jing and Fu Ying from the Azure Dragon Martial Division are considered the two most outstanding talents of this cohort. Whether it's their movement techniques, defense, offensive martial arts, or their grasp of timing, they are a cut above the rest."

Fang Wu smiled. "Xia Jing and Fu Ying each have a martial art technique that has surpassed the ninth turn. They are indeed the most dazzling talents in this Martial Division selection."

"Shi Yong, Zhao Xing, and Zhuang Ziqing from the Agricultural Officer Bureau are also very good," he continued. "It's truly rare for military agricultural officers to perform this well in martial arts training."

Fan Zhaoli smiled faintly. "Shi Yong has cultivated five martial arts techniques. Besides one sound wave martial art, he also cultivated one movement technique, two boxing techniques, and one defensive technique. In previous assessments, he has consistently ranked first. Shi Yong is indeed the most outstanding in this cohort, and quite versatile. The Tiger-Jiao Army truly picked a good prospect."

"However, no matter how outstanding," Fang Wu added, "in this kind of training, they still have to take a beating."

"His individual ability is indeed outstanding," Fang Wu mused. "But in terms of versatility, I still think Zhao Xing is more comprehensive."

"Oh?" Fan Zhaoli was a bit surprised. "General Fang, why do you favor him more?"

"He has cultivated three sound wave martial arts techniques," Fang Wu explained. "Besides the two 'Refracted Sound' and 'Curved Form' techniques, he also cultivated the Kui Niu Thunder Roar. Judging by the level of his Kui Niu Thunder Roar, with the three combined, only Xia Jing and Fu Ying could quickly take him down. Of course, in terms of martial arts techniques, he's still not as good as Shi Yong. What I'm talking about is his grasp of timing and his organizational ability."

Fan Zhaoli watched, waiting for Fang Wu's explanation.

"Look," Fang Wu continued, "although Shi Yong also launched a counterattack immediately and knocked down the most martial artists, the actual counterattack effect he created was not as good as Zhao Xing's."

Fang Wu stared down at the training ground. "From a commander's perspective," he explained, "every time Zhao Xing made a move, he linked up with another group of agricultural officers. While felling enemies, he maximized relief for his allies. In contrast, Shi Yong's martial arts techniques are powerful, but his help to allies is less.

"I feel that Shi Yong treated this as personal training, overlooking this aspect," Fang Wu continued. "But Zhao Xing is different. He actively organized people, and every move he made was perfectly timed. I don't think he even did it consciously, because I didn't see him communicate with anyone; it was entirely a subconscious strategic move. Yet, as he fought, many people gathered around him and acted with him. Others with the ability don't have the foresight, and those with the foresight don't have the ability."

"If I were to choose someone to go to war with me," Fang Wu concluded, "I would definitely choose Zhao Xing, not Shi Yong. This is why I favor Zhao Xing more."

"It's getting harder and harder to fight," Zhao Xing thought, feeling the pressure on the training ground.

"Fewer and fewer agricultural officers remain, while the number of martial artists grows," he observed. "Although people are being eliminated from both sides, the ratio of eliminations between the two is too vast."

After the initial chaos, the total number of people on the training ground had fallen to less than five thousand. But among these nearly five thousand, Zhao Xing estimated there were at least two thousand martial artists left!

What did that mean? Nearly nine thousand agricultural officers had been eliminated, while fewer than a thousand martial artists had been eliminated.

"Although the Agricultural Officer Bureau has geniuses, and their combat power in martial arts isn't weak, the Martial Divisions have more geniuses," he mused. In military selection, the base number of martial artists was much larger than that of agricultural officers.

The agricultural officer reserves numbered just over ten thousand, while the martial artist reserves exceeded 100,000. A larger base naturally produced more geniuses.

"There's no chance of winning at all," Zhao Xing thought, shaking his head. "No wonder the rule set for agricultural officers from the start was just to 'endure'."

He had initially thought about whether there was a chance to organize a counterattack but quickly gave up. The opposing side also had masters, not just in strength, but also with excellent command and organizational abilities. The Four Martial Divisions were all training their members to the standard of generals.

Just like the Four Institutes of the Agricultural Officer Bureau, after two hundred people met the training standards, they could serve as seventh-rank officials in the nine armies!

"Time to get ready to take a beating," Zhao Xing thought, watching the changing situation around him with a sense of helplessness. He couldn't actively jump out of the training ground.

Because the agricultural officers' ranking was calculated by the time they endured, the last one to fall would be first place. He was an A-grade participant; he had to be within the top twenty-one. If he fell below this rank three times consecutively, he would be demoted to B-grade and replaced by others who performed well.

"If I have to take a beating, so be it," Zhao Xing mused. "Resilience training is also a form of training." He prepared himself for the final stage.

An hour later, only 1,500 agricultural officers remained on the training ground, and the number of martial artists also dropped below 2,000.

After all, the further the training progressed, the stronger the close-quarters combat abilities of the remaining agricultural officers became. With the expanding training ground space, it actually became harder for martial artists to knock down agricultural officers.

Half an hour later, a certain balance was broken. The rate of decrease for martial artists slowed, while the agricultural officers rapidly dwindled from 1,500 to just over 400. This was because once the martial artists gained the upper hand in numbers, they began to hunt in groups. At the same time, the geniuses from the Four Martial Divisions—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise—also began to frequently encounter the geniuses from the Agricultural Officer Bureau.

When the very top echelon of the Agricultural Officer Bureau couldn't hold on, they naturally collapsed faster.

Thirty minutes later, fewer than a hundred agricultural officers remained. Almost with every breath, someone fell, unable to get back up, having lost combat effectiveness.

At this point, Zhao Xing was also covered in wounds. Because the number of people had decreased, the qi on the training ground gradually stabilized, and he had to face martial arts attacks from all directions.

Even with his straw cape and Hundred Flowers bamboo hat for defense, the attacking martial artists were becoming increasingly powerful. With two fists no match for four hands, Zhao Xing could only evade and fight. In reality, it could barely be called fighting. The Kui Niu Thunder Roar could only be used for passive defense, slowing down the rate at which he was hit.

Thus, Zhao Xing struggled to endure on the training ground.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and fewer than thirty people remained on the training ground.

*Boom!* Zhao Xing was sent flying, landing on his back. The Hundred Flowers bamboo hat across his chest was severely deformed, even somewhat shattered.

Zhao Xing glanced around, realizing he couldn't tell how many people were left.

"Roar!" Zhao Xing mustered his strength to unleash one last Kui Niu Thunder Roar. Even though he was exhausted and covered in wounds, he fought like a cornered beast.

In the pulsating waves emitted by the Kui Niu Thunder Roar, most martial artists showed signs of pain and retreated.

At this moment, a tall young man ignored the Kui Niu Thunder Roar, quickly leaped forward, and landed three meters in front of Zhao Xing.

"My name is Xia Jing," the young man calmly stated, extending a finger and pointing it at Zhao Xing's chest. "Allow me to see you off."

*Whoosh!* A golden light flashed, directly piercing the Hundred Flowers bamboo hat and creating a half-finger deep indentation on the straw cape.

*Boom!* Zhao Xing felt several of his ribs snap, and he was sent flying backward.

As he was sent flying, he glanced back at the training ground, but he couldn't see the situation of Shi Yong, Zhuang Ziqing, and the other geniuses.

"I wonder which number I was to fall..."

Slowly waking from unconsciousness, Zhao Xing found himself in Fuchun Garden.

"Teacher," Zhao Xing said.

"Hmm, you're awake," Tian Yan replied from beside the bed. "You don't have any major issues; at worst, you just broke a few ribs. You can use your internal Five Elements observation to check yourself again."

"Teacher, what rank am I?" Zhao Xing asked, not eager to check himself but more concerned about his ranking.