Chapter 39: New Rules for Monthly Tests

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: New Rules for Monthly Tests

July 30th.

After finishing practicing his saber technique, Li Fei walked out of the practice building and saw Lu Changwu waiting for him.

Since the last attack, Lu Changwu had become increasingly cordial towards him, knowing from Li Lei that his father had helped during the attack, he also held a good attitude towards Lu Changwu.

However, Li Fei was busy with training every day, so he didn’t have much time to interact with Lu Changwu. Generally, they just greeted each other and had brief chats when they occasionally met.

Today, Lu Changwu was waiting here on purpose, which obviously meant that he had something to discuss.

“Xiao Fei.”

“Brother Lu.”

“Tomorrow is the monthly exam, and I came to discuss strategies with you.”

Lu Changwu spoke.

Li Fei clasped his fists, “Please enlighten me, Brother Lu.”

Lu Changwu waved his hand with a smile, “Xiao Fei, you’re too polite. It’s not about giving guidance, we’re just joining hands to overcome the difficulties together.”

“With you included, there are now 83 Rank A students in the Xing City Martial Arts Hall. During every monthly exam, these students are divided into ten groups, with the top ten winners of the previous exam each entering different groups. Then a round-robin competition within the groups follows, where the top-ranked student advances to become one of the new top ten of the month. Afterward, these top ten students compete against each other to determine their ranks.”

Lu Changwu briefly explained the rules of the monthly exam to Li Fei.

“Most of these 83 Rank A students have been subdued by the Tiger Saber Gang through intimidation and bribes. Therefore, people like us who want to rank in the exams will face obstacles in any group. These ‘saboteurs’ go all out against us to wear us down and easily let the Tiger Saber Gang members win. In this way, it’s very difficult for our people to advance from the group stage, and the monthly top ten are almost always filled with Tiger Saber Gang members.”

Li Fei nodded, “Then, Brother Lu, what do you want me to do?”

Lu Changwu looked at him, “You are Mr. Hao Yi’s student, and everyone knows your abilities. Therefore, in tomorrow’s exam, if you and our Inspection Bureau’s juniors are in the same group, they will go all out to help you advance!”

“Uh?”

Li Fei was startled, not expecting this arrangement, “Everyone helps me advance, but what about themselves?”

Lu Changwu smiled and said, “I’ll be candid. Among us, not many have a chance to enter the top ten of the monthly exam. So, it’s better to concentrate our efforts on helping those few who have the best chances to secure a rank. Of course, after the success, we naturally need to show gratitude to those brothers who helped, one shouldn’t let others’ hard work go unrewarded.”

Li Fei understood now.

Although he hadn’t asked, he knew that the Inspection Bureau juniors Lu Changwu mentioned, who had a chance to enter the top ten, were surely the children of platoon leaders.

From a tactical perspective, there wasn’t much difference between Lu Changwu’s group and the Tiger Saber Gang; the only difference was their respective standings.

Li Fei guessed if it weren’t for his having a top-level instructor and showing extraordinary abilities during the graduation exams and the last attack, his priority within the Inspection Bureau as the son of a platoon leader might have been behind others. Unless he was in the same group as Lu Changwu, the others would go all out to ensure his advancement.

“Alright, thank you for arranging this, Brother Lu.”

Li Fei thanked Lu Changwu.

Although he felt that he could possibly make it into the top ten without help, refusing the goodwill offered by Lu Changwu was unnecessary, especially considering Li Lei.

…

That evening, when Li Fei returned home, Hao Yi entered a large conference room.

Currently sitting in this room were all Xing City Martial Arts Hall’s high-ranking officials:

Two vice hall masters, five top-level instructors, heads of the academic department, the logistics department, the Implant management department…

“Everyone is here, we can start now.”

After Hao Yi sat down, a vice hall master, seated in a central position, spoke.

He passed a document he held to someone next to him, signaling them to pass it around:

“This document was issued today by the Zhi Ge Court to us, please take a look.”

The court of the Da Lan Dynasty was primarily composed of the Cabinet and the Military Affairs Office; the Cabinet being made up of six pavilions: the Internal Affairs Pavilion, the Judicial Pavilion, the Monitoring Pavilion, the Inspection Pavilion, the Zhi Ge Pavilion, and the Righteous Law Pavilion. The Military Affairs Office was responsible for all military affairs and operations.

Distributed in various places, the six pavilions collectively become the Six Institutes in cities, while the Military Affairs Office was only present in border regions; a city like Xing City had its political structure formed by the Six Institutes.

The Xing City Martial Arts Hall was managed by the local Zhi Ge Court, and any orders issued by the Zhi Ge Court had to be followed by the Martial Arts Hall.

“Let’s read and I will explain.”

The centrally-seated vice hall master continued, “The majority of our Martial Arts Hall students eventually join the military, and a Minister believes that the Martial Arts Hall should focus more on cultivating practical combat skills of the students to enhance their experience so they better adapt to the military life later on.

This proposal, having passed the Cabinet’s decision, was officially ordered, and all local Zhi Ge Courts have relayed this order to their respective Martial Arts Halls, requiring a change in the current evaluation methods.”

“Vice Hall Master Wang, what exactly are the changes?”

A top-level instructor asked.

Vice Hall Master Wang looked at him, “Specifically, we should involve our students in the external operations of the Zhi Ge Court and the Inspection Bureau, evaluating our students based on their performance during these operations.”

The Inspection Bureau was responsible for local law enforcement, while the Zhi Ge Court specifically dealt with matters involving martial artists, such as severe cases involving martial artists or disturbances caused by Jianghu people.

Involving Martial Arts Hall students in external operations of the Zhi Ge Court and the Inspection Bureau meant real combat participation.

“But the monthly exam is tomorrow, isn’t it too late to make changes?”

Someone else asked.

Vice Hall Master Wang glanced at the academic director next to him, who nodded and passed another document:

“This is a confidential file sent by the Xing City Zhi Ge Court. The location of a long-hidden den of the Calming Sect in Xing City has been discovered. Tomorrow, the Zhi Ge Court will lead, assisted by the Inspection Bureau, in a joint operation to eradicate the Calming Sect!

To comply with the orders from the Military Affairs Office, the Zhi Ge Court requires that all Rank A students participate in this crackdown operation, substituting for the monthly exam for the Rank A students.”

“This…”

“What if the students are unwilling to participate in such a risky operation?”

“It will definitely be on a voluntary basis; we won’t force anyone to act.”

Vice Hall Master Wang’s eyes were profound as he calmly stated, “Of course, if you choose not to participate in the operation, then naturally, you won’t have a result for this monthly exam.”

Silence fell among those present.

If future monthly exams were to follow this rule, students unwilling to participate in similar operations would also no longer have monthly exam results.

…