Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint-Chapter 1400 - 242: Number One, Jiang Ning! (Part 2)
Afterward, he infused his power into it, and the arrow suddenly flashed with Thunder Light, while the air around it began to swirl.
After one breath.
"It’s almost ready!" he whispered to himself.
He then released the fingers tightly clutching the bowstring.
Bang——
As the arrow left the string, the bowstring exploded like thunder.
But the arrow that flew off did not break the sound barrier.
Witnessing this, everyone was momentarily stunned.
Soon, their gaze was drawn to the arrow.
As the arrow ripped through the sky, the wind surged, and Thunder Light began to explode.
Boom!!
The arrow defied normal rules, accelerating in just an instant to easily break the sound barrier.
The air split like white mist by the arrow, with its speed increasing ever faster.
As the arrow advanced, the whirlwind swirled around it like a tornado, and the electric arcs exploded like frenzied thunder snakes.
"Such masterful archery!" General Shen, with a full beard, could not help but praise from the stands.
As his words rang out, everyone saw the lightning effortlessly shattering the hanging nine copper mirrors.
The arrow continued unabated, clearing a further roughly five hundred meters of the field, with its speed not diminished but accelerating further.
Boom!!!
The arrow struck the wall made of fine iron like a missile.
In that instant, Thunder Light exploded, thunder snakes danced wildly, and the swirling wind lifted the dust all about.
"Such a powerful arrow!!" From the stands, General Shen, with a full beard, could not help but flash a bright look in his eyes, displaying admiration.
As the commander of three armies, he understood well the threat this kind of masterful archery posed on the battlefield.
The farther the distance, the more powerful the arrow becomes instead of weakening.
On the battlefield, it is simply a devastating weapon.
Afterward, as the dust settled, everyone saw the mark the arrow left on the wall made of fine iron.
"The arrow is one foot deep, Shiqi was indeed not mistaken!" The Third Prince said.
Ji Mingyue, witnessing this scene, also smiled, her face seemingly conveying proud words.
...
On the other side.
On the Martial Arts stand.
Wan Jianyi’s gaze slightly tightened.
One foot deep, and the power of that shot was nearly on par with the one he had just fired.
In his view, it seemed to be even slightly deeper than the mark made by his own shot.
"I wasn’t wrong before; this person is indeed a formidable opponent!!"
"Not yet at full maturity yet capable of contending with me directly; truly a prodigy!!"
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, his gaze fixed intently on the imposing figure on the training field, his eyes turning even more serious.
"Mr. Jiang is truly a great talent! If given a few more years to grow, we’d all admire his back from afar!" Mingxin slowly said.
"Who can say what the future holds? Moving fast doesn’t necessarily mean traveling far!" Wan Jianyi said blandly.
"Mr. Wan’s competitive nature might be a bit excessive!" Mingxin said.
"Martial Arts thrives on contention; without a desire for victory, how could one advance boldly on the path of Martial Arts??" Wan Jianyi retorted.
"Mr. Wan is mistaken! I have a Daoist saying for you." Mingxin said.
"What saying?" Wan Jianyi asked.
"Only by not contending can one truly be uncontended in the world!" Mingxin said lightly.
"Nonsense and heresy!" Wan Jianyi rebuked.
Just as the two conversed, Jiang Ning slowly ascended the Martial Arts stand.
"I quite agree with Master Mingxin’s words!" Jiang Ning said.
"Mr. Jiang indeed shares an affinity with our Buddha!" Mingxin said, smiling lightly at Jiang Ning.
"Hold on!" Jiang Ning raised his hand, quickly stopping Mingxin from speaking further, watching the puzzled look Mingxin cast his way.
Jiang Ning continued: "I have no affinity with Buddha! I don’t suppress human desires; the seven emotions and six desires are inherent human nature! I won’t do anything that extinguishes human nature!"
"Mr. Jiang is mistaken!" Mingxin replied: "Buddha resides in the heart; if one’s heart houses Buddha, what does it matter what one does?"
"Master Mingxin’s words remind me of an old acquaintance." Jiang Ning said.
"I wonder which old acquaintance?" Mingxin asked.
"Master Mingxin should know!" Jiang Ning said with a faint smile, his gaze fixed on Mingxin’s face: "That person is called Jin Chan."
"Jin Chan?!!" Upon hearing that name, Mingxin’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
The two indeed knew each other!
Seeing the change on Mingxin’s face, Jiang Ning whispered in his heart.
Just then.
Wan Jianyi suddenly spoke: "Lord Jiang, you just agreed with Master Mingxin; I wonder what insight you have?"
Nearby, Shen Mengyun watched the scene, her mouth curling into a slight smile.
She noticed that Wan Jianyi, originally incredibly proud, had a slightly shifted demeanor by now.
Her thoughts mixed together; she gazed at Jiang Ning, a look of admiration in her eyes.
That admiration was not between men and women but a recognition kind of admiration.
In her mind, the image of a gentle Prince floated up.
"Given Lord Jiang’s talent and potential, if recruited under His Highness, he would surely become His Highness’s right hand in the future!"
At this time.
Jiang Ning heard Wan Jianyi’s words and shook his head lightly.
"Rather than competing with others, compete with yourself."
"Constantly surpass yourself, constantly outdo the person you were the day before."
"You will have endless goals and pursuits."
"There will be no confusion, no slack."
"One day, when you look back, you’ll find no one in your path, no one behind you."
Hearing Jiang Ning’s words, Wan Jianyi shook his head.
"You and I follow different paths."
At this, Jiang Ning smiled without saying more.
At the same time,
another martial artist stepped onto the training ground.
With one hand holding a bow, the other an arrow, he drew the bowstring and released the arrow, which tore through the air.
Ultimately, he shot and shattered three mirrors with one arrow.
As time passed, more martial artists took the field one by one, each shooting their strongest single arrow.
After a long while,
when the last martial artist took the stage and finally shattered one mirror with an arrow, the second round of foot shooting was complete.
At this moment, the entire training ground gradually became noisy, with countless spectators whispering among themselves.
In their eyes, the real highlight was yet to come.
The Martial Arts Examination; the most talked-about part wasn’t the weightlifting or foot shooting, but the contest for Martial Champion, runner-up, and third place.
The crowd was mainly concerned with the Martial Champion.
Every Martial Champion becomes famous across the Thirty-Six Provinces of the Nine States, becoming a figure known to all.
"Everyone, be quiet!!"
As the noise grew, a middle-aged man with a square face rose from the northern grandstand.
When he spoke, his voice rolled across the training ground like thunder.
In an instant, the entire ground fell silent.
"I am Wang Hong, the chief examiner of this examination."
As these words were spoken, a buzz of discussion erupted over the training ground.
"Is this Wang Hong, the esteemed official?"
"Is he the Martial Champion of sixty years ago, hailed as the strongest in three hundred years?"
"..."
As the discussion intensified, Wang Hong’s voice sounded again.
"Next, I will announce the evaluations of this Martial Examination, and everyone present can bear witness."
As his voice trailed off,
Wang Hong grabbed the yellow silk on the table and tossed it forward.
In an instant, the yellow silk flew high into the air, crossing over the training ground.
At this moment, countless pairs of eyes were drawn to the swirling yellow silk.
Below the yellow silk, the futures of these martial artists hung in balance.
Today was also the most pivotal moment in the lives of most martial artists.
Mastering both literacy and martial arts to serve the emperor’s family.
Henceforth, with one’s success, the chicken and dog ascend to the heavens, and the entire family will leap and transcend social classes.
And these martial artists will become figures of respect among the populace.
Fluttering, the yellow silk flew to the south wall of the training ground.
The next moment, one corner of the yellow silk caught on a barb on the wall, then the rolled silk began to unfurl.
Countless eyes fixated intently on the unraveling yellow silk.
As the silk slowly unfurled, the first thing to reveal itself was two large black characters on a yellow background.
Class A.
Then, individual names began to appear before the world.
Jiang Ning, Mingxin, Wan Jianyi, Zhang Ming, Wang Jiadi, Xu Sansheng, Xie Fei.
Seeing the names on the yellow silk, a look of surprise appeared on Jiang Ning’s face.
Because his name was at the top of the list.
Then he understood.
Among the martial artists present, he was the youngest, the one with the least age.
In the examiners’ evaluation, not only were the completed projects assessed, but age was also taken into account for an overall evaluation.
Although in the weightlifting and foot shooting events, his combined performance was slightly inferior to Wan Jianyi and Mingxin.
But he was much younger than those two.
With just a turn of thought, he fully understood.
Then he felt the eyes focused on him and remained calm and composed.
Meanwhile,
Wan Jianyi, seeing his name placed third, couldn’t help but clench his fist.
The first rank on the Heavenly List, yet in the initial ranking of the Martial Arts Examination, he was placed third.
Ranking below Jiang Ning and Mingxin.
But he also knew he couldn’t argue.
Because in the weightlifting event, he did not perform as well as Mingxin.
And although Jiang Ning had not outperformed him, Jiang Ning was much younger.
