“Where did you go tonight?” Jing Wuwei spoke, his emotionless gaze falling on her injured shoulder. “How did you get hurt?”

Changling couldn’t tell whether there was genuine concern or interrogation in his words.

With such a commotion tonight, it would be impossible to hide it from this old fox.

“I went to the Marquis’s estate.”

“What for?”

She could hardly say she went to thwart their assassination of Marquis He.

She lowered her head without a sound, trying to rack her brain for some excuse, when suddenly she heard Jing Wuwei sigh.

“Never mind, Marquis He has already sent someone to inform me.”

Changling was slightly stunned, then heard him say with a stern face: “If someone from the Marquis’s estate provoked you, you could have told Father directly. Our General’s Manor would naturally seek justice for you. But you broke in recklessly and nearly disrupted Marquis He’s important matters, which instead puts you in the wrong.”

“…”

“His Lordship is magnanimous and unwilling to quibble with a young girl like you. He even specially sent someone to deliver medicinal salve… In the future, you must not cause such trouble again.” He stepped forward, as if wanting to examine the wound on her shoulder. Changling instinctively took a small step back. Jing Wuwei showed no surprise and placed his hands behind his back. “Tomorrow, have your Aunt Xue take a look. Even if it’s just a surface wound, you can’t be careless.”

Changling vaguely nodded, stepped aside, and assumed a posture that said “you can leave now.” Just as Jing Wuwei was about to step away, he suddenly asked: “Did your mother teach you martial arts?”

She froze for a moment.

“I heard that tonight, many of the Marquis’s estate guards were no match for you… Where did you learn your martial arts?”

“…I don’t remember.” Changling hesitated. “The people at the Marquis’s estate heard I was surnamed Jing, so they were already going easy on me.”

“It’s good that you know some martial arts.” Jing Wuwei stared at her for a moment. “Do you want to enter Qingcheng Academy?”

Changling was taken aback.

“You’ve been staying at home all this time with nothing to do, which is why you go out causing trouble.” Jing Wuwei said: “Among the nobility and gentry in this Jinling City, they either attend the Imperial Academy or Qingcheng Academy. You were born in the wilderness with little education, so naturally you can’t enter the Imperial Academy. Director Mo of Qingcheng Academy is an old friend of mine. I’ll inform him, and in a couple of days you can take the entrance exam as a formality. Becoming a Scholar Tier student will be more than easy enough.”

Changling had intended to refuse, but when she heard the words “Director Mo,” her eyebrows jumped sensitively. “Who is Director Mo?”

Jing Wuwei glanced at her, seeming to find the question rather ignorant. “Director Mo was once the foremost of the Four Sword Saints of the Central Plains. In the martial world, they used to say ‘Mo Dao conquers the southeast, who says the northwest has no one?’ This refers to Director Mo.”

Mo Daoyun?

Mo Daoyun, who protected her elder brother eleven years ago and didn’t die in that cave, had actually become a director of Qingcheng Academy?

“Director Mo’s West Wind Sword is unparalleled in the world, with few who can match it. If you could become his disciple, you would certainly benefit greatly.” Seeing Changling’s expression seemed off, Jing Wuwei asked, “What, you don’t want to go?”

Today, Changling had been struck by shocking revelations of various magnitudes. She didn’t expect that even returning to the Jing Manor would bring one final blow.

“I’ll go.” Why wouldn’t she?

She wanted to see one by one what those demons and monsters from back then had become today.

The once-every-three-years martial student entrance examination was currently the most exciting major event in Jinling City.

Before dawn had even broken, examinees waiting outside the Qingcheng Academy testing grounds to queue up and draw their examination numbers were already rubbing their fists and eager to try. At first glance, there were all sorts and varieties—some dressed like they’d come to fish, butcher pigs, or sell vegetables. Some were covered in patches holding wooden staffs, possibly from a beggar sect. Even more extreme were those wearing square caps and Confucian robes, nearly mistaken for students from the neighboring Imperial Academy come to watch the excitement and almost driven out.

The academy entrance examination wasn’t like the military imperial examinations. To put it nicely, they were broadly recruiting martial arts talents from across the realm. To put it bluntly, they hadn’t been filtered yet. These hundred or so “heroes and stalwarts” who prided themselves on “not being bound by trivial conventions” gathered together, and their southern and northern accents alone made the old scholar checking the registry at the gate flustered. Despite hoarsely shouting “Silence!” several times, the chattering crowd only grew louder and more energetic, like sparrows and pigeons gathering noisily.

Fu Yanyang stood on his tiptoes and looked ahead a few times, then turned back: “The east gate is all for Jianghu Tier students. I need to go around from there—the south gate is the examination ground for Scholar Tier students.”

Changling said “Oh” and walked straight toward the south side. Fu Yanyang followed excitedly: “Thank goodness! Can you imagine if I had to take the exam with these wild academy students? How could I possibly pass?”

“Heh, whether you can pass the Scholar Tier exam is still questionable.”

Fu Yanyang bounced along behind Changling, seeming particularly excited. “I wasn’t confident before, but I never expected Sister Nan would personally come to watch for my sake. Don’t you think that if I still can’t pass with this kind of support, wouldn’t that waste all your effort?”

“Wrong.”

“Ah? What’s wrong?”

This time they found the right entrance. Ahead was a group in fine clothes standing in orderly lines—these should be the Scholar Tier examinees.

Changling pulled out her name card from her chest and waved it. “Watching is just incidental… This time, I’m here to take the exam.”

Fu Yanyang’s eyes bulged like copper bells. “Ah?!”

The atmosphere on the Scholar Tier entrance exam side wasn’t as tense as the other side. To put it bluntly, it was just a group of wealthy young masters who had “pulled strings.” Most who could come had already made arrangements at home. Aside from a few rookies like Fu Yanyang, most had a relaxed and leisurely air. Their ornately decorated precious swords competed to be more flashy than practical. Walking closer, one could even hear people discussing which weapons shop they came from and which generation of improved design, and so on.

Changling rubbed her brow, feeling that by comparison, Fu Yanyang wasn’t so disagreeable after all.

“So when did Sister Nan register? How come you never mentioned it before?”

“Yesterday.” Changling joined the end of the queue. “Also, don’t call me Sister Nan anymore.”

“Ah? Are you, are you cutting ties with me?”

Changling rolled her eyes and didn’t respond.

This morning when Jing Wuwei gave her the name card, he solemnly instructed: “Although people in Jinling don’t know your identity, your old name naturally can’t be used anymore… Do you have any thoughts?”

That was fine. She’d been disgusted by the two characters “Nanxu” for more than just a day or two anyway.

The person checking the registry at the south gate was a genial young man. When it was Changling’s turn, he let out a soft exclamation of surprise. “It’s you.”

Changling gave him a “do we know each other?” look.

“I saw you before at Kaiyun Tower. I heard you’re General Jing’s daughter.” The young man took Changling’s name card and was slightly stunned when he saw the name on it. “Changting?”

Fu Yanyang, who had been following closely behind, poked his head out. “Changting?”

“Yes. Call me Sister Ting from now on.” The last sentence was directed at Fu Yanyang.

The name Changting was ancient enough that very few people knew it. Even Wei and Jing hadn’t heard of it. Using it now was returning to the very beginning.

“This name is quite distinctive.” The young man picked up his fine brush and neatly wrote the three characters “Jing Changting” on a wooden plaque, then handed it up. “Do well on the exam. Next.”

“Good morning, Senior Brother.”

The young man checked the name card and smiled warmly. “Call me Senior Brother after you pass the exam. Next.”

After receiving their plaques, the examinees were led by that young man to the testing ground. Calling it a testing ground, it was just a martial arts platform similar to the one at Kaiyun Tower. Below the platform were a few sparsely placed stools. Besides a thin old man of some age who looked like he might or might not be asleep, the others were all academy students wearing Qingcheng Academy uniforms.

Changling swept her gaze across and saw Wang Xun sitting in the middle. Two female academy students beside him would lean over from time to time to whisper to him. He responded sporadically, his expression distant but his manner proper.

Sure enough, every sect’s “eldest senior brother” was this type—talented and handsome, the kind girls liked.

The first batch who arrived earlier had already checked their clothing. Fu Yanyang spotted the dazzlingly beautiful Fang Zhuyi in the crowd and waved his arms to greet her enthusiastically.

Unfortunately, the great beauty didn’t even spare him a glance, instead fixing her gaze on Changling. She walked forward and said coldly: “I didn’t expect you to come too. Good. I want to see just what level your Lingering Absolute Fist has reached, and whether it can get you through today’s test.”

The surrounding examinees all turned their heads when they heard “Lingering Absolute Fist.” Changling glanced at her lightly. “But I don’t plan to use Lingering Absolute Fist today, so I’m afraid Miss Wang will be disappointed.”

In front of everyone, Fang Zhuyi suppressed her temper. “My surname is Fang.”

“Oh, Miss Fang.” Changling pointed ahead. “You should return to formation.”

Fang Zhuyi: “…”

At this moment, two academy students carried a weapons rack to the edge of the platform. The young man who had just registered names gestured to the bamboo basket at his feet, coughed, and said: “Fellow examinees, I am Mo Chuan, the second disciple under the Vice Director. If you are fortunate enough to pass today, you may call me Second Senior Brother in the future. But for now, please place any weapons, hidden weapons, fans, and accessories you brought in here, to avoid accidents during the examination that might damage your valuable items…”

Everyone stirred at this. Mo Chuan then pointed to the weapons rack and said politely: “Then, you may select your preferred weapon from here…”

The rack did have a complete variety of swords, spears, and staffs, but at a glance they looked no different from the kind sold at night markets for two taels of silver, buy-one-get-one-free. These young lords immediately became unhappy. “That won’t do. My precious sword was passed down from my great-grandfather. I’m not used to anything else…”

“Exactly! These broken scraps of metal would hurt my hands even chopping firewood…”

“Senior Brother, could you be flexible? For today’s exam, I’ve been sharpening this blade for a whole year…”

Now even the Scholar Tier examinees couldn’t maintain their refined demeanor. The examination ground instantly became as noisy as a marketplace.

Mo Chuan raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop. “Who is unwilling to use the weapons provided by our Qingcheng Academy?”

“Me!”

“I’m not willing!”

“Me neither!”

Fu Yanyang also wanted to raise his hand but was glanced at by Changling and weakly retracted it.

Mo Chuan surveyed the group, his smile slowly fading. “Those unwilling forfeit their examination qualification. Please exit through the door on the right and go back to wherever you came from.”

This “Second Senior Brother” had long, narrow eyes that became mere slits when he smiled, making him look extremely amiable and easy to bully. But the instant his expression darkened, his eyes widened to reveal bottomless black pupils, instantly becoming fierce and menacing—like a completely different person. Several young masters standing close to him were frightened into backing away repeatedly. For a moment, the venue was completely silent.

“Now, who else is unwilling to use our academy’s weapons?”

In a moment, the bamboo basket was stuffed full of divine weapons and treasured blades from all corners of the realm.

After everyone placed their wooden plaques, Mo Chuan stepped onto the platform, shook out his robes and said: “Fifty-three examinees are participating in the Scholar Tier examination. The rules should be clear to everyone—our academy will send out chief examiners to spar one-on-one on the platform. Those who last ten moves will be admitted. Because this year’s examinees exceed previous years by thirty percent, this round’s chief examination duties will be shared between myself and Senior Brother Wang.”

As he reached the end, the examinees already had an ominous premonition. Mo Chuan continued: “Senior Brother Wang will examine the thirteen female examinees. Everyone else will be examined by me. The examination begins in half an incense stick’s time. When your name is called, please come directly to the platform.”

The faces of all male examinees present turned as green as wilted vegetables.

These examinees had come prepared to spar with Young Master Wang. Now that the plan had suddenly changed, wasn’t all their prior preparation wasted?

Fu Yanyang’s heart sank. He quickly grabbed Changling’s sleeve and lowered his voice: “Sister Na—Sister Ting, what should we do? This Senior Brother Mo looks so much fiercer than Senior Brother Wang. Can my Lone Crane Sword handle him?”

“I can’t tell what style this person’s martial arts is from just looking.” Changling said: “Why are you panicking? Watch a few matches first. You won’t be called up right at the start, surely.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the person calling numbers at the front announced: “Number one, Chu Hong, please take the platform. Number two, Fu Yanyang, please prepare.”

Fu Yanyang: “…”

Changling: “…”

The unlucky fellow named Chu Hong selected a long blade. Before even entering the match, he nearly tripped on the stairs. Once standing on the platform, as soon as he saw Mo Chuan step forward, he instinctively retreated, holding his large blade with slight trembling, assuming a defensive stance.

Mo Chuan cupped his bare fists, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Master Chu, please begin.”

Chu Hong swallowed. Perhaps adhering to the philosophy of “a broken jar doesn’t fear falling” or “falling into the latrine pit doesn’t fear filth,” he let out an empty shout and swung his blade, slashing horizontally and stabbing vertically—right from the start using an intimidating display.

Someone below exclaimed “Ah,” “Didn’t expect Master Chu has some—”

Before he could finish the word “skill,” Mo Chuan suddenly stepped forward, lifted his left arm to deflect the blade, and pointed directly at Chu Hong’s wrist with his right finger—in the next moment, Mo Chuan gripped Chu Hong’s wrist and mercilessly threw him off the platform.

Master Chu flew through the air like a salted fish in a half-arc, landing almost simultaneously with his blade. When he landed, there was even a “crack” sound. He rolled several somersaults, crying out while shouting: “Mo Chuan, you dare hit me! I’m telling my great-grandfather—ow—”

Fu Yanyang was so frightened his hair stood on end. “He… with just… one move…”

Changling quietly watched Mo Chuan on the platform. By appearance, he seemed like an easygoing, harmless good person, but once he moved, his entire aura changed dramatically. Compared to the “exercise restraint” Master Wang below, this person had a much stronger air of the martial world about him.

“Fu Yanyang, please take the platform. Number three, Ying Yun, please prepare—”

Fu Yanyang wore a face that said “I’m already wilted” and drooped his shoulders as he walked toward the platform to “heroically meet his fate.”

“Wait a moment.” Changling stepped forward to stop him and whispered a few words in his ear. Fu Yanyang’s eyes brightened. “This… will it work?”

“Fu Yanyang—please take the platform—”

The front urged again. Changling raised an eyebrow, signaling Fu Yanyang to hurry.

Fu Yanyang took a deep breath, drew his sword, and stepped onto the platform.

Mo Chuan politely extended his hand. “Master Fu, please begin.”