It wasn’t entirely flattery. By concentrating the pills on his personal guard of thirty elites, Lee Zhi essentially bestowed upon them the ability to fight on the battlefield continuously. Ideally, they could take out one hundred, even two hundred opponents. Of course, this was a cruel act against the candidates whose pills were taken away, and it was almost certainly going to garner him some hatred. He didn’t care though. Those candidates were just stepping stones for him to climb to the top. Who would even remember their names once the martial test was over?

He smiled at the girl’s compliment and said, “I may understand some military strategy, but do not forget that they are still children and far from elites. They look passable when they’re stationary, but all sorts of problems will manifest themselves the moment they start advancing. I won’t be surprised if they fall apart before they even make it to the north.

“That is why I’m waiting for Bao Yun to attack us. All we need to do is to nurture our strength and bide our time, and victory will naturally fall into our hands!”

The few boys and girls standing around Lee Zhi were excited to say the least. They knew they couldn’t have come up with this strategy if they were in his position. If they could win this battle, then everyone’s score would increase substantially. Although their spots had been reserved long ago, achieving a high score in the unified exam was still a boastworthy achievement, especially since their enemy was Miss Bao. Beating her would be an achievement they could boast about for years to come.

Lee Zhi added, “That said, we can’t just wait and do nothing in the meantime. Wang Fang, lead the vanguard and advance into the central zone. If you see the enemy’s main force, then withdraw immediately. If you only see their vanguard, then you can test out their mettle. But remember, you must not push too deep into the enemy’s territory. You are only allowed to operate within the central zone. Understand?”

Wang Fang was naturally big and brawny. He answered solemnly, “No worries, Senior Brother!”

After bidding Lee Zhi goodbye, he turned around and ran toward the central zone with thirty candidates behind him.

Lee Zhi grabbed a tree branch and drew a map of the entire illusory realm on a square-shaped rock. He then stared at the map and fell into deep thought.

In the north zone of the illusory realm, the girl had slipped into a goose yellow-colored dress at some point and looked even prettier than before. The dress didn’t belong in the equipment chest, nor did it conform to the faction color. It stood out strikingly amidst a sea of blue shirts and green mountains.

There was a patch of sand in front of the young girl. It had been molded into the shape of the illusory realm. It looked far more intricate than Lee Zhi’s map.

The girl pointed her sword at the center area of the map and said, “Lee Zhi looks like a level-headed person, but in reality he’s the opposite. He will definitely send someone to probe our defenses. Tian Rong!”

A boy stepped forward in response, and the girl ordered, “Take a dozen men with you and head to the central zone. If you encounter their vanguard, then lure them to the designated area. Jiang Qun and Hsu Yu will back you up later. Have you memorized Teacher Su’s Three Hundred Famous Countryside Insults?”

“Like the back of my hand!” The boy answered, but scratched his head immediately after. “I have two questions, Miss Bao. One, some of the insults in the book are seriously shameful. I’m not sure I have it in me to say some of them. And two, I’m not sure how to combine the insults!”

The girl replied, “There’s no need to combine the insults. Just yell whatever that comes to your mind. I guarantee that they will chase you to the ends of the earth in three insults.”

The boy called Tian Rong cracked a bitter smile. “The examiners are watching though. If I do this, then my reputation will be ruined.”

The girl smiled back. “Not at all. It is those who fall for your insults whose reputation will be ruined.”

This assured Tian Rong. He immediately rounded up a dozen candidates and rushed toward the central zone.

After the boy was gone, the girl called out again, “Jiang Qun, Hsu Yu!”

Another two youngsters stepped out of the formation.

She pointed at the rolling hills on both sides of the makeshift sand table and ordered, “Each of you will take thirty men and lie in ambush at these positions. Once Tian Rong had drawn the enemy vanguard to this location, you’ll join forces with Tian Rong to surround them and wipe them out in one go.”

The two boys immediately gave an affirmative response.

The girl then pointed at the hilly areas on the southern flanks and continued, “After eliminating the enemy’s vanguard, you will advance along these hills and attack Lee Zhi’s flanks. Oh, and remember to smear their blood all over your faces and bodies after you’re done—the more, the better.”

Jiang Qun was confused. “If someone dies, they’ll transform into light and disappear. Where would we get the blood then?”

Hsu Yu interrupted before the girl could answer, “Fool! They won’t dissolve into light if they’re alive, will they? All we need to do is to keep a couple of them alive and cut their limbs. That’ll provide us with the blood we need.”

“Senior Brother Hsu is correct.” The girl paid him a compliment before rolling up her sleeve and revealing an arm as white and thin as a scallion. Then, she reversed her grip and cut herself with her sword, inflicting a wound and causing blood to spill out.

The girl pressed a hand on her wound. Her brow was furrowed slightly in pain. However, her expression relaxed as she said, “See? You can feel pain and bleed in this illusory realm. Lee Zhi is just an armchair strategist. He spent all that effort just to come up with a good-looking military formation. Did he really think that his underlings are battle-hardened elites? Do not forget that your opponents are just children. They’ll get scared if their wound is too big, and they bleed too much.

“Senior Brother Jiang, Senior Brother Hsu, just fight like you’re crazy when you encounter their flank guards. Remember, it’s better to cut off their limbs than it is to behead them outright. Your job is to pin down Lee Zhi’s flank guards at all costs, wearing down his forces until the last man falls!”

The two boys received their orders and left with thirty men each.

The girl spent the next few moments staring at the sand table thoughtfully. Suddenly, she said, “If Lee Zhi really knows his way around warfare, then he will send a small detachment to tie up the forces I sent to attack his flanks, and launch an all-out assault against my central force at the same time. It is a small chance, but it is also his only chance at seizing victory.”

She pointed her sword at the sand table again and declared, “We will set up a dense military formation here and wait for him to attack us! I, Bao Yun, will check if he deserves the spot of top scorer myself!”

A girl standing next to her asked, “What if he doesn’t show up, Miss Bao?”

The girl chuckled. “We are the ones who hold the numerical advantage to begin with, and that advantage is only going to get bigger after we eat his vanguard. If he doesn’t show up, then we will invade them after Jiang Qun and Hsu Yu have worn them down!”

Another girl asked, “What if Lee Zhi’s vanguard doesn’t fall for the taunt?”

Bao Yun smiled confidently. “They will. Everyone leading a detachment in the martial test is of noble birth, and all nobles are prideful creatures. There is no one who can withstand those three famous insults!”

A boy said, “I heard that Lee Zhi is using this exam to build momentum. That is why he is doing everything he can to get the top spot.”

The corners of Bao Yun’s mouth curled upward. “I don’t care that he wants to build momentum, I care that he wants to use me as his stepping stone! He will never become the top scorer so long as I’m still here!”

There was a boy hugging a sword behind Bao Yun, and his eyes were half-lidded as if he was taking a nap. When he heard this, he opened his eyes and added in an indifferent tone, “He will not become the first-runner up either.”

Meanwhile, Wei Yuan had already slain a couple foolish scouts who thought him to be easy prey only to hit the wall that was his heavy armor and leave the martial test with the help of his spear. Just a couple exchanges later, no one dared to approach the hill anymore.

Unfortunately, there was a problem. His spear and armor were too heavy for him to move quickly or freely. He could not catch a single one of those scouts if they just ran away from him.

He was still pondering his next move when he saw two groups emerging from the south zone and the north zone and converging at the center. In fact, their meeting point was directly in front of Wei Yuan.

Seeing that a large force had finally shown up, Wei Yuan furrowed his brow and activated Outlawed by Heaven and Earth, causing black wisps to float out of his armor. He stood tall and proud on his hill and waited for someone to challenge him.

However, neither force paid the lone boy any attention whatsoever. Their eyes were fully set on each other.

Then, Tian Rong stepped out of the blue group, sucked in a deep breath, and yelled, “Fuck your mom!”

The yellow group instantly fell into disarray.