Time rushed away. In the blink of an eye, a year had pa.s.sed.
Qin Wushuang’s strength had stopped progressing as rapidly as in the first two years. In the past year, he had improved steadily. However, most of the time, he emphasized on consolidating and summarizing his skills.
Consolidate his current strength, summarize his combat abilities and make preparations for the future battles at the “Family Cla.s.s Evaluation.” He combined his not-insignificant combat experience from his last life with the modern martial arts system to realize his strength.
He also practiced repeatedly in the . Although he had practiced this set of palm techniques for more than tens of thousands of times, he still believed the saying of "Practice makes perfection," and thus, he never stopped his training.
He had already mastered the eighth palm technique "The Scarce Burning of the Eight Suns." If he was to use it, he could release about eighty percent of its power. This technique would substantially improve Qin Wushuang’s combat strength.
He was not in a hurry to practice the ninth palm, the "Nine-Suns Destroys the World" because he had not yet improved his inner strength to it peak. If he forced himself to practice while his inner strength was weak, it would only harm him.
On the contrary, he knew that the practice of martial arts required time and effort. When the condition was right, success would naturally follow. Thus, he could not rush himself. It would take some time to reach the peak state he had achieved in his last life. However, it would not take too long, and he was still young.
Qin Lianshan mostly felt gratified. After he had started training in the technique, it had significantly transformed him. Originally, Qin Lianshan had not been in a stable state at Stage One of the Genuine Force; now he had achieved Stage Three. He also showed visible signs of being close to ascending to the Stage Four!
……
The “National Commentary” held every twenty years had finally and vigorously begun all around the Bai Yue country. It was called the "National Commentary" because all sorts of different commentary events took place.
It included the "Family Cla.s.s Evaluation" held every twenty years, the "Genuine Force Commentary" every four years, the "Power Force Commentary" every two years and each year"s Martial Arts Student Exam.
It would be quite a festival when all these lively Commentaries met.
With each county serving as the preliminaries, the entire Bai Yue country immersed itself in the thick atmosphere of the Commentary.
On this day, Qin Lianshan prepared four strong horses and set the carriage himself because he planned to take Qin Wushuang to partic.i.p.ate in the earliest Martial Arts Student Exam.
Qin Xiu also rushed from the farmers’ lands. She did not want to miss her brother’s first major event.
After he had taken care of everything at home, Qin Lianshan departed from Eastwood Town with his son and daughter and rushed to River County. On this journey, Qin Lianshan’s mood was completely different than his usual one because he was feeling quite proud of his recent success in improving his strength. Thus, he maintained his reserve and was waiting to deliver a fatal blow to those powerhouses that had joked the Qin family.
After four hours on the road, they had finally arrived at the gate of River County. They were only let go after an ident.i.ty check. Qin Lianshan was not unfamiliar with River County and settled at a familiar inn.
Today, the sky was getting dark, so Qin Lianshan could only settle down at the inn. He planned to hand in the registration forms early next morning to the county officials.
This time, it was not only Qin Wushuang that had come to partic.i.p.ate in the Martial Arts Student Exam, but the Qin family also felt obligated to attend the "Family Cla.s.s Evaluation" event. This would be the most important battle to determine if they could protect their Humble Cla.s.s seat.
That night, Qin Lianshan’s family of three hung out on the street of River County. Although it was an old place to visit, Qin Wushuang was still astonished at the architecture in River County.
River County was at least ten times more prosperous than Eastwood Town. Just by looking at the design of the buildings, it was a miracle that buildings like these had been built in a world that had no machinery.
He did not want to miss any opportunity to get to know this world. Whenever he saw something interesting, he sought after the details and only became satisfied after he’d received an answer.
“In the city, an unauthorized personal duel is against the law. Wushuang, you are now back in River County, and you must remember this point," Qin Lianshan carefully told him.
Qin Wushuang smiled lightly and nodded his head to promise.
“What if the other party provoked me? And I had to defend myself?” Qin Wushuang asked with curiosity.
"The one that provoked the other will receive severe punishment, and the one that defended themselves will not be punished! Only on the condition that you have a witness," Qin Lianshan explained patiently.
Suddenly, Qin Wushuang’s eyes stopped in front of him. Qin Lianshan raised his head and noticed their enemies. On the opposite side of the street, Patriarch Zhang Maorui, who hated Qin Wushuang for killing his son, along with a few of his lackeys, stared at them with a pair of cold eyes.
“Don’t bother. Let’s go.” Qin Lianshan knew that the Prominent Zhang family had a great foundation in River County. He would not be able to go against him.
But even if they did not provoke him, he came to provoke them.
With a dark face, Old Master Zhang said with a mocking tone: "No wonder my eyelids were jumping frantically, and I thought that something good would happen. It was all because a fat meat (Fat meat referred to the Qin family) has delivered itself to the door.
Qin Lianshan ignored him and walked away with his son and daughter.
Qin Wushuang also did not want to quarrel with these idiots. He turned his head and glanced at Zhang Maorui and a trace of murderous intent flashed across his eyes.
It seemed that this Prominent Zhang family was still thinking about the Qin family!
It"s better to squash the enmity rather than keep it alive. Once they had formed this hateful relations.h.i.+p, it would not rest until one side’s death.
That night, Qin Wushuang sat cross-legged. He did not stop his training.
Suddenly, his ears twitched. In the dark, he vividly heard footsteps heading into the room next to him. Although the person had suppressed the sound of their footsteps, to Qin Wushuang’s ear, the noise from these footsteps was no different than the regular footsteps.
He concealed himself by the window. In the dark, he saw a dark shadow approaching like a silent leopard.
With great courage, this dark shadow extended his hands softly and opened the window. Just he was about to scuttle inside, his shoulder suddenly sank and his mouth was covered by a fiery-hot palm. Then, he was grabbed by the arm and dragged to a quiet corner.
“Who sent you?” A cold voice spoke next to his ear.
“Hump, you will never get anything out of me…Ah!”His screams were immediately suppressed.
"I am not here to admire your backbone. I am going to count to ten. Whenever I count to ten, I am going to break one of your fingers. After I’ve finished counting to ten, you will never hug a woman again with your hands."
“One!” He counted with a cold tone.
“I will talk, it was Old Master Zhang Maorui! He ordered me to bring him the daughter of the Qin family so he could have some fun with her. He also said that he would rape the daughter of the Qin family in front of the son and the father…Ah!” After he spoke these words, the sound of his voice abruptly stopped. Qin Wushuang had effortlessly taken the life of a Stage One Genuine Force Warrior.
“Of course it was Zhang Maorui, that vicious old wolf!” Qin Wushuang stood up straight in the dark; his eyes were cold as a knife. He whispered mercilessly through his teeth, "Since Mr. Zhang likes to play around, then I will play with you. I promise we will play until you cannot take it anymore!"
It was a peaceful night in River County. However, it was not peaceful in the home of Zhang Maorui. A servant’s hysterical scream shattered the peace and quiet of the early morning before the sun had risen.
A cold body hung on the vermillion gate of the Zhang house. A paper note also hung on there; it wrote: "Next, Zhang Yao!
Zhang Yao was the eldest son of Zhang Maorui!
This paper note was an apparent death threat aimed at Zhang Yao and was obviously a challenge to Zhang Maorui. Zhang Maorui observed the corpse carefully. Without a doubt, it was he who had sent this goon.
Someone had shattered the throat of this Genuine Force Warrior! He had also hung the corpse at the gate of the Zhang house without alerting anyone. The Qin family would never have this kind of strength!
However, he had sent this warrior to deal the Qin family. So who had stepped in? Or had another master protected the Qin family?
That would also be impossible. Zhang Maorui had thoroughly investigated the Qin family. If he knew he had no chance, then how could he act without fear?
But, unexpected things had happened!
“Bury him properly and compensate his family,” Old Master Zhang calmly gave out the order, not losing his cool.
He looked at his eldest son, Zhang Yao, and suddenly spoke: "If you don"t have anything to do, then don"t go out and stay at home during these next few days!"
Zhang Maorui only had two sons. Qin Wushuang had already killed his youngest son, Zhang Xian. If something else were to happen to his eldest son, what hope would Zhang Maorui have left?
Although in these past few years, Zhang Yao had reached Stage Nine of the Power Force, he had not managed to ascend to the Genuine Force. When he saw that someone had easily killed the Genuine Force Warrior they’d sent, he could not help but become somewhat worried and obediently nodded his head.
Qin Wushuang gave a cold sneer as he watched the events unfold from one of the corners in the Zhang house: You think you will be okay if you hide in your home? After a few nights, it will be time for the Old Master Zhang to collect the body of your son!
Qin Wushuang would never be soft to a vicious tyrant like Zhang Maorui. He was going to torture Zhang Maorui’s mind until he slowly went crazy.
Zhang Maorui had dared to go after his older sister and had dared to have such thoughts like a beast. To Qin Wushuang, this was unforgivable. It would not be too much even if kicked Zhang Maorui to death one hundred times.
……
A crowd gathered at the County Hall. It was extremely lively.
Today was the first day of registrations, and a lot of people had come. From this registration process, one could understand the strict feudal system of this world as well as an aristocrat’s privilege.
The Humble Cla.s.s, as the lowest cla.s.s of the aristocrats, had to pay the most expensive registration fee to enter the Martial Arts Student Exam.
Fortunately, they were still in the Humble Cla.s.s. If you were a civilian, you would never be able to afford that Martial Arts Student Exam fee which would cost you one kilo of gold.
Qin Wushuang could not understand. Why did the poorest civilians have the most expensive registration fee? On the contrary, higher aristocrats had a lower registration fee.
He quickly understood. In this world, the aristocrats controlled the prices, made the rules and of course, they had to protect the privilege of the n.o.bility.
The strong will become stronger, and the weak will be made more vulnerable!
When he raised his head, he saw that his father was crammed in the crowd. With great effort, his father procured two registration forms.
One of them was for Qin Wushuang’s Martial Arts Student Exam, and the other was for the “Family Cla.s.s Evaluation.”
“Father, let me fill in the registration forms! Can you and Big Sister go wait outside for me?” Qin Wushuang was suddenly struck with an idea.
Qin Lianshan smiled: "You want to learn a little? That"s good! You must face these things sooner or later; it"s good if you can learn it. Your sister and I will wait for you outside."
Qin Wushuang took the registration forms and the family stamp.
Filling in the exam registration was easy. You only needed to fill in your age, family background, and other essential information.
However, the registration for the "Family Cla.s.s Evaluation" was much more complicated. You not only had to fill in the necessary information, but you also had to write in the cla.s.s you wanted to partic.i.p.ate in.
With the Qin family"s current situation, they could only register for the Humble Cla.s.s evaluation because they would not have any other hopes. However, when Qin Wushuang glanced at the registration form in his hand, he thought: "In my ancestor"s generation, my family was at least a Wealthy Cla.s.s. If I could help the Qin family to get back the seat of the Wealthy Cla.s.s, my father will be overjoyed!"
The Wealthy Cla.s.s was the highest cla.s.s in the Shu Cla.s.s. You needed at least one Stage Four Genuine Force Warrior present!
Qin Wushuang dared to think, and he dared to do. He immediately filled in this section. With his current strength, not to mention Stage Four of the Genuine Force, he could also beat a Stage Six Warrior of the Genuine Force. He could take anyone except people at Stage Eight of the Genuine Force!
He only wrote down Wealthy Cla.s.s and did not write in the higher cla.s.ses because he did not have a full understanding of the higher-up political situation. He did not want to act impulsively and to cause trouble for his family.
He then handed in the completed registration forms. The county official glanced at it and stuffed it in between a pile of papers. Next, he threw out two rating cards to Qin Wushuang and said, without lifting his head: “Go to the evaluation grounds with the rating cards!”
After he had taken care everything, Qin Wushuang walked out happily.
Qin Lianshan asked with a smile: “How about it, did you finish the registrations?”
“Finished. The Martial Arts Student Exam will be in three days and the “Family Cla.s.s Evaluation” will happen in another ten or fifteen days.” He showed them the rating cards and put them into his bag.
How could Qin Lianshan know that his son had secretly changed things on the registration form? When he saw that he had settled everything, he smiled: "Good, for these remaining days, let our whole family have some fun around this River County."