In front of the gate outside the martial arts hall, a large carriage covered with black cloth slowly stopped.
"Master Xiu, we're here."
The groom sitting next to the shaft flicked his wrist, and his whip made an explosive sound.
The two fierce horses from Longhe Ranch snorted and stopped obediently.
Later, a skinny arm lifted the curtain, revealing an extremely mediocre and yellowed face.
He was in his early twenties, wearing a black gold crown and a blue brocade robe covering his strong frame, making him look a little empty.
The man sitting in the carriage looked like a young, sick man, who was weak and fell down when the wind blew him.
It is hard to imagine that he is Yang Xiu, the righteous son of the Liang Kingdom with a notorious reputation.
"Is this the martial arts hall? Okay, Uncle Lu, you can go back, you don't have to wait for me."
There was obviously a bit of excitement in Yang Xiu's hoarse voice.
During the days when he returned to Tianjing, he was locked up in the house and grounded, and he was already bored.
"Master Xiu, the Duke of the State has ordered you not to cause trouble, and to pass the exams to become a martial arts scholar, and then go to Jiubian to train for a few years, so as not to disappoint his expectations."
The coachman had gray hair on his temples, thick joints, and a long breath. He was obviously a practitioner.
"I see."
Yang Xiu twisted his eyebrows, lowered his head and said.
In those turbid eyes, there was an inexplicable flash of green light, like a hungry wolf.
The aura of the whole person undergoes earth-shaking changes in an instant.
There is something dangerous about being fierce, cruel, and indifferent to life.
The coachman was startled, and cold air came out of his neck, as if he was being targeted by some wild beast, and he said quickly:
"Second Miss also told me before she went out to tell Master Xiu not to get into trouble, otherwise he will ignore you when he comes back."
Upon hearing the words "Second Miss", Yang Xiu's eyes changed, he immediately lost his temper and said in a low voice:
"I will be obedient."
He jumped off the carriage and walked towards the martial arts hall without looking back.
After passing the outer courtyard, enter the inner courtyard.
Yang Xiu saw that several people on the shooting range had already begun their first attempts, and the sound of bows and arrows being drawn was heard endlessly.
These general disciples are somewhat capable, and their results are not bad.
An archery target of fifty paces can ensure that the arrow hits the target without missing.
But when we were two hundred steps away and opened the White Ox Bow, we found that our manpower was insufficient.
As for the 500-step iron-tied bow, no one has tried it yet.
"The final number of rounds in the initial test will be calculated into the score. If you can only shoot the ebony bow and the white ox bow, you must achieve a score of 78 or 70 in ten archery attempts.
But if you can pull an iron bow and shoot a black gold arrow without missing the target for five hundred steps, you have basically passed the test safely."
Coach Wei stood aside and said to Manager Chai.
"In the final analysis, it's still a test of strength and strength, but it just adds a little more ability to control the subtleties."
Chai Qingshan twisted three locks of his long beard and said calmly:
"The type of bow you draw depends on the strength of your muscles and bones, how far you can shoot, how many times you shoot, and the strength of your energy. These are all external skills.
How to hit the bull's-eye is a test of internal practice.
Simply having great strength or long energy is not enough. Only when you can send and receive arrows freely can you hit the target."
Coach Wei nodded. Since ancient times, shooting a bow has been the first method for practicing strength.
Even in the ancient times, Confucian sages included archery among the six arts of the gentleman to strengthen the body and bones.
"Yang Xiu is here. This boy is really a natural-born military strategist. He is destined to kill. No wonder he was favored by Duke Liang and adopted him as his adopted son."
Suddenly, Chai Qingshan's eyes narrowed and he looked intently at the skinny young man who stepped into the inner courtyard.
The latter was originally looking at the shooting range, and seemed to sense something. He turned his neck and looked back like a ferocious wolf.
Those green eyes are bursting with light!
"What a fierce and arrogant momentum!"
Wei Yang also sighed with emotion.
He is a warrior of the Three Realms, a warrior who has experienced hundreds of battles, so naturally he will not be afraid of the Wolf Gu Zhixiang.
But if you were an ordinary person, you would not have been influenced by blood and fire.
I'm just afraid that I will feel weak and be suppressed directly.
"Look at how he behaves."
Chai Qingshan looked calm.
In the shooting range, Zheng Yuluo had just completed his preliminary test.
He holds an ebony bow and a white ox bow, both of which penetrate the bull's-eye.
Only the iron bow, due to its weak muscles and weak strength, could not be stretched into a full moon shape. It could only shoot three or four times out of ten black gold arrows from a distance of five hundred steps.
"Brother Zheng, is that person Yang Xiu?"
Someone pointed and asked.
"Yes, it's him, a mad dog that is hated by gods and ghosts."
Zheng Yuluo turned around and looked a little ugly.
Although he said he wanted to vent his anger on his friend, he entered the martial arts hall in Tai'anfang and severely suppressed Yang Xiu. It would be best if he could steal his fame.
But when we actually met, I still felt a little uneasy.
Yang Xiu's martial arts is not the best among his peers.
But he is fierce by nature, will retaliate, and can do anything.
When I was a child, I was beaten by generals from other countries and refused to go back to complain.
Just waiting to pick out the lone ones at night, grab bricks and sticks and beat them to death.
The most miserable one was the young master of the Yue Kingdom.
His neck was almost bitten off and he died on the spot.
It has left a deep shadow to this day, and he avoids Yang Xiu when he sees him.
"I heard Brother Zheng say that this guy is arrogant, so I thought he was some kind of character. But I didn't expect him to be like a tuberculosis ghost. There is no sign of any strong muscles or bones."
The man held his head high, as if he wanted to show off, and immediately walked onto the shooting range, holding an ebony bow.
He pulled the string and played it open to Yang Xiu, who was standing outside, as a provocation.
"This idiot...has done something bad!"
Zheng Yuluo couldn't stop him in time and couldn't help but cover his handsome face. He had already guessed what would happen to Wang Erlang of the Xiaoqiwei family.
"If you want to suppress Yang Xiu, you have to be really capable! If it were Ji Jiulang from Beizhen Fusi last time, he might be able to do it. You Wang Erlang is a green onion and a garlic..."
As expected, Yang Xiu, who was planning to leave after the exam, grinned and said silently:
"Ping'er, they recruited me for this."
I saw him coming to the shooting range, choosing an ebony bow, and waiting quietly.
When Wang Erlang saw this, he thought he wanted to compare who hit more targets.
With a cool smile, he immediately drew his bow and arrow, and drew it into a full moon.
With a "swish" sound, the white-feathered arrow flew out.
Then!
Split into two pieces!
Missed the target!
"Yang Xiu, what are you doing?!"
Wang Erlang asked angrily.
As soon as he loosened the bowstring, Yang Xiu, who was as skinny as a stick and looked like a sick man, also shot an arrow, arriving first and cutting off his own white-feathered arrow.
According to the rules of the preliminary test, the sum of the number of hits and the number of rings is the final score.
If none of the arrows hit the target, it will naturally be zero points and you will lose the election.
"I want to play with you."
Yang Xiu lowered his eyes.
"Planning to lose both sides and get eliminated together? How disrespectful!"
Wang Erlang's chest rose and fell with anger, and he sneered:
"I don't believe you can do it every time!"
The difficulty between hitting a fixed bull's-eye and shooting off someone else's arrow cannot be compared at all.
Wang Erlang didn't say much and used the rapid-fire method taught by his father.
In one breath, both arrows shot out!
Snap!
The two white-feathered arrows were like birds with broken wings, falling to the ground helplessly.
"Yang Xiu, please don't bully me too much. My father is Wang Zhongcheng, the heroic cavalry officer!"
Wang Erlang's face was as dark as water, knowing that he had underestimated this righteous son of Liang Kingdom.
"I'm not going to play tricks with your father, so why are you mentioning your father's name?"
Yang Xiu remained expressionless, waiting quietly.
It's like Wang Erlang doesn't draw his bow if he doesn't fire his arrows.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Arrows are raining down!
Being so humiliated in public, Wang Erlang was so angry that he replaced his ebony bow with a white ox bow.
But even if he used up all the arrows, he still couldn't hit the target once.
"Chief, how should this be calculated?"
Wei Yang asked with a frown.
Although Wang Erlang provoked him first, he brought it upon himself.
But looking at Yang Xiu's expression, he didn't seem to want to give up.
Several subsequent candidates took the stage, but they all used various techniques to break arrows without hitting the target.
"Let him go. We are only responsible for invigilating the exam and will not interfere in the dispute."
Chai Qingshan's face was ashen, but he did not choose to take action.
There are many such archery battles in the first trials of the past dynasties.
The supervisors and teachers turned a blind eye and allowed the candidates to compete.
Wei Yang moved his lips and finally remained silent.
Suddenly, broken arrows rained down in the shooting range.
Many candidates glared at Yang Xiu, but they had no choice but to curse him as a "wolf cub" in their hearts!
"Who else wants to play tricks on me?"
After defeating seven or eight people in a row, Yang Xiu squatted on the ground without any grace, holding a few gravels and asked.
With his great strength, abundant energy, and precise vision, no candidate in the field could be his opponent.
You don't even need to draw a bow, just a few gravels are enough.
After a long silence, a calm voice suddenly sounded:
"Beizhen Fusi Jiyuan, I'm willing to give it a try!"