My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 325: Chapter 164: Martial Arts Examination

Qin Fang looked up and saw Hundred Households Wang among them.

However, today it wasn’t Hundred Households Wang leading the group, but an unfamiliar general.

The man was around forty years old with a rugged face. His very presence exuded an aura of iron-willed toughness.

Qin Fang merely glanced at him, and a glint appeared in his eyes...

He had faintly detected a peculiar sensation.

’...This man is in the True Essence Realm!’

”Silence!”

A Black Armor Army general dressed just like Wang Jing, who stood beside the man, stepped forward and spoke slowly.

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried across the entire Martial Arts Training Ground.

Instantly, the last bit of lingering chatter died down.

Seeing the grounds fall silent, the man stepped back.

The rugged-faced man took a step forward, his expression indifferent. ”Today marks the start of the Martial Arts Examination. I will be leading you to the examination grounds shortly. On the way there, any commotion or unauthorized departure from the ranks is strictly forbidden. Violators will be disqualified... Is that clear?”

”Yes!”

A chorus of replies immediately echoed across the Martial Arts Training Ground.

Then, it quickly fell silent.

The middle-aged man nodded slightly. ”Now, form ranks. Has everyone received their assigned tokens?”

Qin Fang felt for the token inside his robe. A servant had delivered it to him yesterday.

His token was marked with his courtyard assignment: A Nineteen.

”When your name is called, come forward and form a line. Once the lines are formed, do not break the order. Understood?”

the man asked.

”Yes!”

”Understood!”

The responses were a bit disorderly, but everyone had heard.

The middle-aged man nodded to the people beside him.

Several Hundred Households dispersed, and one of them shouted, ”Men from A, B, and C Courtyards, over here!”

”Building B, numbers one hundred to three hundred, over here.”

”Building B, numbers three hundred and one to six hundred, over here.”

”Building B...”

Building B had the most people, numbering in the thousands. As they started to form lines, the Martial Arts Training Ground grew somewhat chaotic.

In comparison, however, there were far fewer people from A, B, and C Courtyards.

A Courtyard had only twenty people. B Courtyard had one hundred, and C Courtyard, two hundred.

...These people were almost all at the Huajin level, and they had the best chance of passing the Martial Arts Examination and obtaining the Martial Arts Records.

”A One, Duan Ling.”

A middle-aged man, clearly also a Hundred Households, was responsible for organizing the lines for the three courtyards. He called out in a loud voice.

Immediately, a young man with a cold, stern expression emerged from the crowd.

His expression was indifferent, his gaze imperious. He was one of the contenders expected to secure one of the twelve seats.

His courtyard assignment was A One.

He came to a stop before the Hundred Households.

Holding a roster, the Hundred Households continued the roll call.

”A Two, Xu Nianzhen.”

This time, a woman with the grace of a fairy stepped forward. She was the prized daughter of the Xu Divine Family, looked to be in her early twenties, and was also considered a lock for one of the twelve seats.

”A Three, Tang Xiao...”

”A Four, Qu Yuan...”

”A Five...”

”...”

One by one, the figures considered locks for the twelve seats stepped forward.

Each possessed an extraordinary bearing.

”A Fifteen, Lin Chen.”

Lin Chen silently emerged from the crowd and took his place in the line. Finally, someone Qin Fang knew.

”A Sixteen, Han Wang.”

The middle-aged Han Wang silently stepped forward.

”A Seventeen, Liu Rushi.”

The exceedingly beautiful Liu Rushi gracefully fell into line.

”A Eighteen, Fu Chen.”

Fu Chen fell into line.

”A Nineteen, Qin Fang.”

It was finally Qin Fang’s turn. He walked over with measured steps.

The three people ahead of him subconsciously glanced back. Their eyelids twitched before they averted their gazes.

Qin Fang paid them no mind and continued forward.

Upon hearing the name, the middle-aged general in the distance instinctively looked over at Qin Fang.

The moment he did, he froze, his eyes gradually widening in disbelief.

Qin Fang sensed the gaze and saw it was the middle-aged general. He immediately understood. ’He must have realized I’ve already pushed open the Divine Gate.’

’...It seems True Essence Realm Martial Artists can sense others of the same realm...’

After a moment’s thought, Qin Fang gave the middle-aged general a slight bow of acknowledgment.

A look of shock filled the general’s eyes. Seeing Qin Fang’s gesture, he snapped back to his senses and, to his own surprise, gave a slight nod in return.

His eyes filled with an unconcealable look of amazement.

Seeing Qin Fang fall into line, the Hundred Households noticed nothing unusual and continued the roll call...

The middle-aged general’s eyes flickered, his mind reeling in shock.

”Is that the... Qin Fang who caused quite a stir recently?” he asked the person beside him.

And the person beside him happened to be Hundred Households Wang.

Wang Jing replied respectfully, ”Yes, sir.”

”Extraordinary...” the senior officer murmured in awe. ”So young, and he’s already pushed open the Divine Gate...”

Wang Jing was stunned at first, then his eyes shot wide open.

”S-sir, what... what did you say?”

The senior officer glanced at Wang Jing, then sighed with an admiring smile. ”His Talent is astonishing. Barely in his twenties, yet he has already pushed open the Divine Gate, ignited the Other Shore Divine Fire, and achieved Introducing Essence into the Body... It seems this year’s first-place winner... has already been decided.”

’Pushed open the Divine Gate... ignited the Other Shore Divine Fire?’

Wang Jing was completely dumbfounded. He stared blankly at Qin Fang, speechless for a long moment...

...

It took nearly an hour to form the ranks, but finally, everyone was arranged according to their assigned number.

The general glanced at the sky. ”It’s about time. We depart immediately. May you all achieve excellent results.”

With that, he turned and strode away.

An officer beside him shouted, ”Follow in an orderly fashion! No disarray!”

With that, he also strode to follow.

The people on the Martial Arts Training Ground took a deep breath and began to follow slowly.

Qin Fang was from A Courtyard, ranked nineteenth... but he was actually in the very first rank.

The crowd of several thousand had been arranged into twenty ranks.

And Qin Fang was right in the first one.