A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 36: The Secret to Becoming Stronger

The first round of the strength assessment ended, eliminating nearly half of the examinees.

Ergouzi’s performance was so outrageous that it naturally aroused a lot of suspicion.

It really seemed like he had cheated.

Someone quietly went over to the stone he had thrown down and gave it all they had, their face turning red with effort, only to finally confirm there was no trickery.

The next two exams were scored: weapons and combat, each graded as A, B, or C, and further subdivided into Upper, Middle, and Lower.

In the weapons round, each examinee took turns demonstrating their skills, and the five examiners on the platform gave scores.

Unlike the previous weight-lifting event, this round showcased a variety of techniques—everyone displaying their specialties.

All eighteen types of weapons—swords, spears, sabers, halberds, clubs, meteor hammers, etc.—were used by someone.

Several sword-wielding candidates took the stage and demonstrated, but Ergouzi was baffled; it was completely different from what his master had taught him.

The swords they used looked fancy, gleaming with cold light and seemingly razor-sharp.

But they felt overly flashy and impractical—way too small, maybe five to ten jin at most.

To Ergouzi, those dainty swords were no different from embroidery needles used by young ladies.

Under his master’s guidance, he’d always trained with a Hundred-Jin Heavy Sword and had long gotten used to it.

As for the sword techniques the other candidates used, they looked more fluid and elegant.

But the moves were far too restrained. Each leap was only three chi high, and every thrust only reached a few chi forward.

Ergouzi subconsciously began comparing their performance to the standards his master had set for him.

One candidate barely managed a five-chi jump and still received a top A-grade score, making him a hot contender for Martial Xiucai.

This left Ergouzi confused—what exactly were the judging criteria for swordsmanship?

After waiting a long while, it was finally Ergouzi’s turn.

His appearance once again drew the attention of the entire venue.

Last round, people watched him just to see a farmer make a fool of himself.

This time, they were watching because of his stellar performance in the weight-lifting test.

The County Magistrate sitting on the high platform had been dozing off.

Now seeing a young man in peasant garb walking into the arena with a door-sized sword strapped to his back, he let out a curious "hmm" and looked him over.

“Whose nephew is this young man?”

All the bigwigs on the platform looked at each other, but none could answer.

“Strange. If he isn’t from one of your families, then who has the ability to train such a remarkable youth?”

The County Magistrate muttered in puzzlement.

“So young and already at the third level of Qi Training. Could this person truly be a prodigy?”

Prompted by the Magistrate’s words, several of the higher-level cultivators on the platform used spells to assess Ergouzi.

The ones without sufficient cultivation could only stand by, staring blankly.

“He really is at the third level of Qi Training!”

“Whose kid is this? They’ve kept him well hidden.”

Sima Yi, standing behind the bearded man, was genuinely happy for Ergouzi.

He never expected this seemingly honest friend to be hiding so much strength.

His fourth brother, Sima Hong, was also considered a genius—he had trained since childhood and only recently reached the third level of Qi Training at nearly thirty.

Then he recalled how Ergouzi often bought Peiyuan Gutben Pills in bulk. Reaching the third level didn’t seem so unbelievable after all.

Meanwhile, Ergouzi had drawn his door-sized sword.

Compared to the other candidates’ weapons, his was ridiculously oversized.

Many people whispered to each other, wondering if the sword was carved from wood and not actually that heavy.

“If that sword is solid steel, it has to weigh at least a hundred jin.”

“Is that farmer here to put on a comedy act?”

“The guy lifted 500 jin with ease. What’s weird about using a hundred-jin sword?”

“You don’t get it. To wield a hundred-jin weapon, you’d need at least a thousand-jin force.”

Only Zhang Youliang stayed silent. He knew that sword was the real deal.

In the arena, Ergouzi held the sword, assumed a starting stance, took a deep breath—and “whoosh”—leapt over three zhang high.

While in midair, he whipped out five sword flowers and slashed downward from the sky.

“Whoa!”

“Ah!”

“Wow!”

…

Gasps erupted all around the arena, including from the five examiners on the platform.

Ergouzi’s sword came crashing down.

“Boom!”

With a thunderous bang, the massive sword smashed into a slab of bluestone, sending sparks flying. The five-inch-thick stone split in two.

Next, Ergouzi spun 960 degrees on the spot, leapt back two zhang, and struck with a swift thrust.

This drew another wave of shocked gasps from the crowd.

“Whoa…”

With every move Ergouzi made, the cheers never stopped. The examiners had to shout several times to restore some quiet.

Fueled by the excitement, Ergouzi performed even more energetically.

He used Windwalking to leap an extra zhang farther than usual.

His sword strikes grew fiercer, turning the stone floor beneath him into rubble.

By the time his demonstration ended, the area several zhang around looked like land that had been plowed multiple times.

Ergouzi gave the examiners a salute, sheathed his sword, and stood in place waiting for the score.

With such an enthusiastic reaction from the crowd, he believed he should get a high score.

The five examiners huddled and whispered for a long time before finally revealing a wooden sign.

“B-Middle.”

Hearing that, Ergouzi froze, thinking he’d misheard.

The atmosphere during his demo had been so electric—constant cheers, and he’d shown everything short of unleashing True Qi.

“Why only B-Middle?”

Unable to hold back, he stood amid the shattered stones and questioned the examiners.

He felt he hadn’t done poorly. Maybe not an A-High, but surely an A-Middle or A-Low at least.

And yet, just B-Middle.

Was this another case of shady dealings—because he hadn’t bribed anyone?

To his surprise, the examiners didn’t use their authority to shut him down.

The bearded man in front of Sima Yi cleared his throat and spoke:

“I am Sima Gang, County Captain of Anchan, and the chief examiner for this test.”

Ergouzi quickly bowed. Since the man shared the Sima surname, he was likely a senior in Sima Yi’s family—not someone who’d deliberately sabotage him.

“Your sword demonstration was... hard to describe. Painful to watch, even.”

“To put it bluntly, you don’t understand swordsmanship at all. You were just swinging wildly.”

“Given your decent talent and cultivation, the five of us decided to generously award you a B-Middle.”

“Also, you damaged the bluestone tiles of the exam field. You are hereby fined 100 taels of silver.”

Laughter erupted across the arena.

Only now did Ergouzi realize—the cheers during his demo weren’t praise, but amusement, as if watching a circus act.

Before true martial artists, his display meant nothing.

His face burned with shame.

His master had been right—he was still far from being Martial Xiucai material.

Still, since he was already here, he had to take the next round—the combat test—seriously.

Even if he was weak, he would give it his all.

About an hour later, the second round ended.

Examinee scores ranged from C-High to A-High, with Ergouzi’s score near the bottom.

The final round was combat. Two examiners took turns facing examinees in mock duels. Scores were based on performance.

This round was much harder than the weapons demo. Most examinees before Ergouzi only earned B-level grades.

Lasting ten moves against an examiner could earn you an A-High.

When it was Ergouzi’s turn, he didn’t expect much—he’d just try his best.

“Come at me with all you’ve got. Let’s see how many moves you can last!”

The examiner was a man in his thirties holding a three-chi sword, still sheathed.

Ergouzi saluted, raised his door-sized sword, and swept it toward the examiner.

All those intricate sword techniques his master taught? Completely forgotten.

The examiner didn’t think much of it and casually lifted his sword to block.

But as their weapons neared, he felt a powerful gust of wind—he had let his guard down.

“Boom!”

The examiner’s scabbard shattered, the sword broke into pieces.

The massive sword kept going and was about to strike his waist.

Ergouzi realized something was wrong. If that blow landed, it could be fatal.

He couldn’t pull back in time, so he twisted his wrist and hit with the flat of the blade instead.

“Pff…”

“Boom!”

The examiner flew sideways, slammed into a wall, and slumped to the ground, blood dripping from his mouth.

Ergouzi stood frozen, gripping his sword, unsure what had just happened.

He really hadn’t expected the examiner to be so fragile—he’d only used 60% of his strength.

Everyone fell silent.

These examiners weren’t weaklings—each was a top-level Martial Xiucai, renowned in the region.

Usually, they only used a fraction of their strength so as not to injure the examinees.

But today, one got knocked out in a single move. Unheard of.

Ergouzi dropped his sword and rushed over.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

“I’ll be more careful next time!”

He knew he was at fault and sincerely apologized.

The examiner, seasoned in combat, had blocked with his arms at the last second. Both arms were broken, along with a few ribs, but at least his organs were intact.

Hearing Ergouzi’s apology felt like salt in the wound.

“You didn’t mean to”? “Wasn’t careful”?

Utter humiliation. He spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out.

Ergouzi didn’t know medicine and stood there helpless.

Thankfully, several people rushed over, gave him some medicine, and carried him off.

Ergouzi was left alone, unsure whether to stay or leave.

“Continue the exam!”

Finally, Sima Gang’s loud voice brought everyone’s attention back.

“After discussion among the five chief examiners, Zhang Ergou receives an A-High for this round!”

“What!”

“Full marks!”

“He got full marks!”

…

The exam ground erupted in chatter.

The combat test was the hardest. Scoring even a B-High was rare.

Getting A-Middle or better meant you were a gifted elite.

A-High? That was unimaginable.

Today, Ergouzi had shown everyone a new “strategy”: knock out the examiner in one move, get full marks.

Other examinees were already itching to try, scheming how to take down their examiners.

Even years later, secret “knockout tricks” for defeating examiners would still circulate among candidates.

But no matter the trick, knocking out an examiner was no easy feat.

“Zhang Ergou, your excessive force seriously injured the examiner. You are fined 100 taels of silver. Any objections?”

“I have no objections!”

Ergouzi didn’t dare argue. He now owed 200 taels from this one exam.

Still, it was his fault. Paying was only fair.

After he stepped down, a new examiner took the field, and the next candidate entered.

This examinee saluted, then immediately tried a low-blow sneak attack on the examiner.

The examiner was furious and slapped him away.

Clearly, the candidate had tried to game the system and got punished for it. He ended up with a C-Low score.

Another burst of laughter echoed through the crowd, mocking his foolishness.

After that, any candidate thinking of ambushing the examiner had to consider their own strength first.

Amid the cheerful atmosphere, only Zhang Youliang remained silent, his expression heavy.

He recognized the examiner Ergouzi had knocked out—one of the strongest and most respected Martial Xiucai.

Rumor had it he was close to stepping into Dao cultivation—able to sense the world's spiritual energy.

And yet, Ergouzi knocked him out in one blow.

If Zhang Youliang had to face Ergouzi again, he wouldn’t even have a chance.

Others didn’t know the full story, but he did.

He had grown up with Ergouzi—or rather, beaten him as he grew.

The same Ergouzi who used to get bullied, eat leftovers, and steal pig slop—had changed completely in just two years.

Zhang Youliang was certain: there was a secret here.

A secret that could make someone incredibly strong, fast.

With that thought, he clenched his teeth and silently left the exam grounds.

He requested leave from Zhengwu Hall and headed out of the city toward Sanchazi Town.

He was going to climb Shekou Mountain while Ergouzi was away.

He suspected that the secret to Ergouzi’s strength was hidden on that mountain.