Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 80 : The Military Recruitment (2)

Chapter 80: Chapter 80 : The Military Recruitment (2)

Other than his outstanding familial background, solid upbringing, strong cultivation base, and excellent martial arts skills, Zhang Fengxi had one more advantage compared to his fellow competition participants -- he knew exactly how the military recruitment competition worked.

Participants were required to fight in competitions for each discipline, and they would be rated by a panel of judges. These judges consisted of the Palace Masters, the Grand Tutor, the reigning Supreme General, and the Deputy Supreme General.

For the first six disciplines, there was no shortcut to take. One simply must display their prowess before the judges. The judges then gave points out of ten to rate each participant. The average of all scores would be taken as the final score for each discipline.

The seventh discipline, on the other hand, was a written examination to be graded by the Grand Tutor only. The eighth discipline was an oral examination that took place between each participant and various high-ranking members of the military in front of the panel of judges.

Because Zhang Fengxi had the chance to serve as the Supreme General in his past life, he was confident that he would pass the oral examination with flying colors. He also trusted that he could make an exceptional appearance during the first six disciplines, particularly in spearsmanship. The problem was the seventh discipline -- General Knowledge.

It had been so long since he last read all those historical and geographical records that iterated the borders of three realms, the wars that happened since the conception of the world until now, and also the important figures that played important roles in each historical event.

Therefore, Zhang Fengxi decided to cheat.

The Grand Tutor was the one who came up with the exam questions for every recruitment period. Now, the old man had a very interesting habit. Once in a while, he became obsessed with a certain topic.

He would thus surround himself with relevant scrolls or books or records in the vicinity for easy grab.

Even his exams should revolve around that one topic.

That meant, one only needed to visit the Grand Tutor with a simple excuse of paying homage to a teacher. And then, one just needed to take a look at the teaching materials that were scattered all over the Grand Tutor’s study.

A certain manual.

A certain historical record from a specific epoch.

A poem collection.

A map.

Anything.

Anything to give a clue about the content of the exam.

Zhang Fengxi thought that his idea was brilliant.

As it turned out, brilliant ideas were shared by equally brilliant people.

Outside of the Grand Tutor’s Tower Of Wisdom, the military recruitment candidates from all nine palaces howled pathetically like a group of abandoned children. Apparently, they all wanted to visit the Grand Tutor that very same day and were rejected without exception.

"Grand Tutor, you can’t do this to us," they lamented.

"Please help, my father is going to break my legs if I can’t get the commandant position..."

"Grand Tutor, can you bear to see us die as soldiers in our first war? Sob..."

"I only need to drink tea with you, waaaaahhhh...!!!"

All attempts to soften the Grand Tutor’s heart failed miserably.

"You should have learned when you had the time!" the Grand Tutor’s angry voice was heard coming from behind the closed gate when the noises outside became too loud. "Do not come seek me before the examination takes place! I will NEVER leak the questions, let alone the answers!"

Zhang Fengxi pursed his lips. That damn old geezer, he cursed in his heart. He was smart.

There was no other option but to go back and study.

Zhang Fengxi did not want to waste any more of his precious time. He flicked his sleeves angrily and turned around to go back home.

Just as he was about to mount his spiritual tiger, someone familiar arrived at the Golden Dragon Palace gate with his heavenly steed. It was the Crown Prince, Fuxi Palace Master Xie Jianyu.

Xie Jianyu was equally surprised to see Zhang Fengxi there.

"Hey," he greeted Zhang Fengxi awkwardly.

"Hey you back," Zhang Fengxi said in return, forgetting to greet the Crown Prince with honorifics.

"Are you leaving, Prince Zhang Fengxi?"

"Uh, yes."

"..."

The two princes stared at each other. Having not seen each other for some time, they felt like distant acquaintances. Then again, they were never friends in the first place.

Xie Jianyu was the first to break their eye contact.

"Well, then. Safe trip."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. By the way, Your Majesty..."

Zhang Fengxi was suddenly reminded of a very useful fact. Xie Jianyu had always been favored by the Grand Tutor. Xie Jianyu himself was very filial toward the Grand Tutor. He always made sure to visit the Grand Tutor whenever he came by the Golden Dragon Palace.

Xie Jianyu was the only person who knew what the Grand Tutor was currently obsessing about.

"What is it?" Xie Jianyu asked with a frown.

Zhang Fengxi licked his lips in anticipation.

"Are you not going to visit the Grand Tutor today?"

Xie Jianyu narrowed his eyes at Zhang Fengxi in suspicion. "Yes, why?"

"Do you know what topic keeps the Grand Tutor busy these days?"

Xie Jianyu’s frown deepened.

"Why are you asking?"

Zhang Fengxi shrugged.

"No special reason."

"The Record Of The Worst Transgressions In The Human Realm For The Past 1000 Years."

Zhang Fengxi’s mouth dropped open when he heard the answer.

"Wow, thanks."

Zhang Fengxi could not believe his luck. Xie Jianyu was such a tremendous help! He was going to boil that book into a soup and drink it whole if need be!

Xie Jianyu nodded briefly. After Zhang Fengxi left, Xie Jianyu went straight into the Golden Dragon Palace. After he finished greeting the Emperor, the Empress, and tended to his crown prince duty, he went to visit his teacher.

Today, the Grand Tutor was particularly annoyed.

"Those lazy students!" he complained when the Crown Prince arrived at the library. "If I show leniency today, more of them are going to arrive today! How infuriating!"

"The Grand Tutor is right," Xie Jianyu said in response. His eyes wandered to the tall shelves that adorned the library. An entire section of books had been pulled out from the shelves. The many records now lay scattered on the floor.

Xie Jianyu silently picked the books and scrolls one by one and returned them to their original position.

For a few days now, the Grand Tutor had been occupied with the materials about the wars that took place between the Heavenly Realm and the Demonic Realm.

To be exact, he focused on the wars in which the heavenly troops almost lost to the demonic forces.

A mischievous smile appeared on Xie Jianyu’s face as he wandered to a different section and let his hand brush over a particular book -- The Record Of The Worst Transgressions In The Human Realm For The Past 1000 Years. A thin layer of dust on its cover bore testament that it had not been touched for the past few months.

"Crown Prince, do you want to borrow that book?" the Grand Tutor suddenly asked. "You have been looking at that book a few days in a row now."

"Oh, no," Xie Jianyu said with a touch of amusement. "I just recall that someone is very interested in this book."