Chapter 56: The Battle of the Overachievers, Chen Yiyi's Epiphany

[Well, well, so that's how we're playing. It looks like I'll have to use a forbidden technique too.]
[Amaterasu, replication technique.]
[Since big bro is fine, we should be fine too.]
[Hahaha, as expected, copying homework is the most comfortable thing.]
[No more words, I'm copying it too.]
[By the way, are there any perks at that Ten-Thousand Spring House? For instance, a few free visits every month?]
[A free ride? I want in too.]
[Fragrant, soft—who could possibly resist?]
[A bunch of old perverts.]
[Beep, beep, beep! Myth-busting time. Players opening a brothel is purely promotional slang; players aren't actually opening brothels. First of all, players don't have the authority, and second, system restrictions.]
[Don't talk nonsense with your myth-busting, I don't believe it.]
[Believe it or not, I'm one of the people involved. Do I not know if I opened a brothel?]
[First, I am not the boss. Second, I hold some shares, but not many. Third, I'm just an ordinary player without that kind of capital to open a brothel. Fourth, opening a brothel requires connections. Without connections, you can't even recruit any maidens.]
[A friendly reminder: forcing women and human trafficking are felony crimes.]

Even though the myth-busting post was trending wildly, the vast majority of people paid no attention to the debunking itself, focusing instead on other aspects—such as whether brothel shareholders got discounts on finding maidens, which maiden had the best skills, and so on.

……

The next day.

As dawn broke, the grounds outside the yamen exam venue were already packed with people.
It was a veritable sea of heads.

The civil and martial examinations were held separately.
The civil exam primarily consisted of answering questions regarding various types of cases. Each station had a timer; the more points scored, the higher the ranking. In the event of a tie, the one who used the least amount of time won.
In charge of this section was an expert case investigator from the yamen.

The martial exam was the simplest of all.
It was weightlifting.

The martial examination venue was equipped with stone locks of various grades, ranging from the lightest at a hundred catties to the heaviest at over ten thousand catties.
The passing threshold for the martial exam was five hundred catties.
A candidate only needed to lift a five hundred catty stone lock and hold it for ten breaths without dropping it to pass.
Back then, Lu Yuan had effortlessly lifted a ten-thousand-catty stone lock, securing first place to become a constable.

……

"Candidates numbered one through fifty, enter the arena."
Er Gouzi shouted toward the outside of the door.
Fifty people filed in one after another through the entrance.

"First round: five hundred catties of stone locks."
"Passed."
"Passed."
"You, you, you, you—also passed."
"Advance to the second round."

"Candidates numbered fifty-one through one hundred, enter."
Er Gouzi continuously called out the numbers.
Five hundred people were divided into ten batches for the examination.
Soon, the results came out.
Unsurprisingly, every single candidate passed the first round.
After all, the players who signed up for the martial exam were not low in level, averaging around level fifteen.
A mere five hundred catties was a piece of cake for them.

……

Taking a short break the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they prepared for the second round of examinations.

"This martial exam is so simple, just lifting some stone locks. Only five hundred catties—even my second brother could lift that."
"Second brother? I don't believe it."
"Please, I am the Lao Ai of Lingnan, the king of the White Horse Club."
"The supreme overlord among gigolos, the king of kings. Whenever wealthy older women hear my name, they tremble in their boots."
"A mere five hundred catties? Any dick can do it."
"What the fuck? Someone is bragging—no wait, a gigolo is bragging."
"Five hundred catties? You couldn't even roll a two-hundred-catty tank."
"Candidates, please prepare. Second round of testing: one thousand catties of stone locks."
"Candidates wishing to forfeit may leave immediately."
Er Gouzi shouted toward the gathered candidates.

"One thousand catties? Wait a minute, shouldn't it be six hundred?"
"I asked an NPC who took the constable exam before; the martial exam increases the weight by a hundred catties each round. The custom-weight selection phase only happens in the fifth round if a winner still hasn't been decided."
"What's going on here?"
"Too many people, obviously. The martial exam only has ten slots, and we have five hundred people here. If they don't bump up the difficulty, when on earth are they going to finish?"
"Damn it, I already lifted five hundred, I suppose another thousand won't kill me."
"This is gonna be rough. My strength stat is on the lower side."
"Hahaha, back then I told you to choose martial arts that focus on increasing strength, but you refused, saying 'In all martial arts under heaven, speed is unbreakable.' Regretting it now?"
"Damn it, Fire Cloud Evil God, you've ruined me!"

……

"The second round begins."
"Candidates, get ready."
"You are eliminated."
"You, you, you, and you—pass."
"Eliminated."
"Third round: fifteen hundred catties."
"Eliminated."
"Eliminated."
"Duration not long enough, eliminated."
"You, pass."
"Fourth round: custom weight, top ten candidates admitted."
"Shit."
"How are there still thirty people left?"
"You guys are way too sweaty try-hards."
"Damn it, I really have no strength left."
"Let me munch on some meat first, I'm out of stamina."
"Big bros, I'm begging you, please give up. This kid wants to land a job."
"Piss off, you want to land a job too? Go die, old man."
"I'm risking it all! Examiner, I want to lift two thousand catties! You want to be sweaty try-hards? Fine, I'll make you sweat."

……

"Head Constable, these otherworldly players are all so fierce."
"Good thing I wasn't in their batch."
Er Gouzi looked at the candidates below, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Back when he took the examination, he had only needed to lift a one-thousand-catty stone lock to pass.
And now? These otherworldly players were fiercer than the last.
It was already fifteen hundred catties, and there were still thirty people left.
Too overpowered.

"Normal, their realms are high."
Lu Yuan checked their stats via the data panel.
Among these thirty people, several were already above level twenty.
Even the players who hadn't reached level twenty had stat builds heavily skewed toward strength.

"Are they really that high?"
"All thirty of these people surpass you."
Lu Yuan stated the truth without holding back.
Er Gouzi immediately clutched his chest, a look of agony on his face.
"What the hell? I've practiced martial arts for over a decade, and they surpassed me in half a year?"
"That's not fair."
"Whatever happened to 'hard work is more important than talent'?"
"I've worked so damn hard, yet they still managed to catch up to me? This is unfair."
Er Gouzi was deeply distressed.

"Get over yourself. Have some self-awareness."
"Do you seriously consider your efforts in women's laps to be hard work?"
"You can fool strangers, but don't try to fool your bro."
"I know exactly what you're made of."
Lu Yuan glanced sideways at Er Gouzi, his tone dripping with contempt.

"Break time is over. Candidates, hurry up and take your exams."
Er Gouzi coughed a few times, pretending he hadn't heard Lu Yuan's words.

"Examiner, I request two thousand catties!"
"I'll take twenty-one hundred catties!"
"Give me twenty-five hundred catties!"
"I'll take three thousand catties, goddammit!"

……

Chen Manor.

Chen Yiyi quietly made her way to her secret base.
She carefully opened the cheat manual given by Lu Yuan, looking at the stick figures inside with great relish.
Her grandfather had once said that peerless martial arts required comprehension; only supreme comprehension could unlock their profound mysteries.
She, Chen Yiyi, was a woman blessed with peerless talent. As long as she looked at it a few more times, she would surely understand the peerless martial arts Uncle Yuan had given her.

As Chen Yiyi stared and stared, her eyes grew heavy. She was sleepy.
With a soft plop, she drifted off to sleep.
In her dream, Lu Yuan took her to a mountaintop and taught her peerless martial arts.

Outside the dream.
The manual fluttered open without any wind. Those stick figures seemed to come alive, continuously executing various stances and forms.
"Whoosh—"
A gust of wind swept through the secret base.