EFB Chapter 10: The Grand Competition Begins, Details of the Qualifications
Chapter 10: The Grand Competition Begins, Details of the Qualifications
The bronze bell of Qingyang City Martial Arts Hall rang precisely at dawn. The deep sound of the bell traveled along the bluestone road and spread throughout the city, startling the morning birds on the eaves and kicking off the annual citywide high school martial arts competition.
The main hall plaza was already packed with people. Twelve towering black iron martial arts banners fluttered in the wind, embroidered with the school emblems and martial arts hall totems, gleaming coldly in the morning sun. This year's competition had 128 participants—a hard-won rule of the Martial Arts Association for twenty years, perfectly matching the 16 group matches x 8 participants format; one more or one less would not be acceptable. All competition slots were allocated according to the "High School Competition Slot Rules" posted on the bulletin board at the main entrance of the Martial Arts Hall. The three rules were clearly written in black and white, deeply ingrained, and memorized by everyone:
1. Core Fixed Quotas: The three municipal key high schools (Qingyang No.1 High School, No.2 High School, and Experimental Martial Arts High School) are the only hope for Qingyang City to become provincial key martial arts high schools. Each school has a permanent fixed quota of 28 places, which will not be changed, for a total of 84 people.
2. Basic guaranteed spots: 4 basic spots are permanently allocated to each of the 7 regular high schools in the city, regardless of how poor the students' grades are, to provide an upward path for martial arts students from the bottom, for a total of 28 people;
3. Annual Progress Award Quota: Of the 16 remaining quotas each year, 11 are designated as special awards, which are not split or evenly distributed and are given only to the school with the greatest improvement in the previous year's general high school class; the remaining 5 are reserved for joint recommendations from private martial arts schools.
The 15-member team from Qingyang No. 3 Middle School huddled in the shadows at the far corner of the square. All of them wore faded gray martial arts uniforms, the cuffs and hems frayed, a stark contrast to the massive teams of twenty or thirty students from top high schools, dressed in custom-made outfits embroidered with gold school badges. Their teacher, Mr. Wang, gripped the already curled edges of the competition list, his knuckles white from the force of his grip. He spoke in a low voice to the 15 students standing beside him, explaining clearly, word by word, the origin of their spots:
"Classmates, I'll say it one last time: these 15 spots are all earned strictly according to the rules, without any questioning."
• Four of these spots are our guaranteed spots, which are available to every regular high school.
The remaining 11 spots were for the previous year's annual progress award. In the previous competition's points ranking, No. 4 High School was the most improved among all ordinary high schools, increasing its points by 132 points compared to the previous year. All 11 spots should have been theirs.
However, during last year's Grand Competition Secret Realm, all 11 contestants from No. 4 Middle School secretly hid prohibited Explosive Qi Pills in their boots. They were caught on the spot by Deacon Wang Hu of the Mercenary Guild. Not only were they all banned from the competition for three years, but the Martial Arts Association also added the most severe punishment: canceling the 11 prize-winning competition slots that No. 4 Middle School had in this year's competition.
According to the rules, after the first-place award was cancelled, it will be directly given to the school that ranked second in the previous year's improvement ranking—that is, our No. 3 Middle School! Our points increased by 72 points compared to the year before last, and we just made it to second place.
With the basic 4 spots plus the 11 bonus spots, that's a total of 15 spots. So, the top 15 students in our placement test will be able to participate in this competition. Do you understand?
A suppressed cheer erupted from the ranks. This was the first time since the school's founding that it had received an extra spot, and also the largest number of participants in its history. Lin Chen stood at the very front of the line. He had ranked first in the preliminary exam, and his faded martial arts uniform, far from looking shabby, accentuated his upright posture and calm gaze. Standing beside him were the 14 students ranked second to fifteenth, each with clenched fists, knuckles white, their expressions a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
"The whole school is watching us," one student whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "If any of our students make it into the top 32 this time, then our school can rightfully claim the award next year, without having to rely on others making mistakes!"
Lin Chen subconsciously touched the Black Iron Mercenary Badge in his pocket; the cold metallic touch made him even more alert. He knew better than anyone how hard-won these 15 spots were—Wang Meng, the senior from No. 3 Middle School who had made it into the top 32 last year, couldn't afford the Qi Gathering Pill needed to break through to the Qi and Blood Realm due to his family's poverty. He had to register as a Black Iron Mercenary in Qingmang Mountain to earn supplies. He had met Wang Meng at the Mercenary Guild last month; Wang Meng was carrying half a black-bristled wild boar carcass in exchange for three bottles of the cheapest healing medicine.
"Hmph, that's easy for you to say, you're just picking up the junk that our Fourth Middle School doesn't want!"
A harsh voice suddenly came from the side, piercing the joy of the Third Middle School team like a needle. The Fourth Middle School's four-person team, participating in the competition, was standing not far away. The speaker was their teacher, who was now standing with his arms crossed, glaring at them with a sinister and vicious look. "If it weren't for our momentary oversight, you bunch of bottom-of-the-barrel trash would never have gotten one of the 15 spots in your lives. Just wait and see, if we meet in the secret realm, our Fourth Middle School students will make sure you all crawl out!"
The four contestants from No. 4 Middle School nodded in agreement, their eyes brimming with resentment. In their view, the 11 competition spots were rightfully theirs, and No. 3 Middle School had taken advantage of their misfortune to steal them. So they vented all their anger on No. 3 Middle School.
Teacher Wang turned pale with anger at these words and was about to step forward to argue when Lin Chen gently tugged at his sleeve and shook his head.
There's no need for this verbal sparring. The strength demonstrated in the competition is the best response.
On the high platform directly in front of the square, the various factions sat in order, their ranks strictly defined, with no one daring to overstep their bounds.
• At the center of the stage, Li Changfeng, the president of the city's martial arts association, sat upright, wearing a black martial arts robe embroidered with cloud patterns. His face was dignified. He was the only Earth Martial Realm expert in Qingyang City and held the power to control all martial arts rules and resource allocation in the city.
On the left side of the VIP seats, the principals of the three key high schools lined up in a row: Liu Jianguo, principal of Qingyang No.1 High School; Chen Xue, principal of Qingyang No.2 High School; and Wang Jianjun, principal of Experimental High School. Each of them had an arrogant expression and their eyes swept over the contestants below the stage like hawks, completely ignoring the ordinary high school team in the corner.
On the right-hand side, in his exclusive seat, Wang Hu, the bronze deacon of the Qingyang Mercenary Guild, leaned back in his chair, the bronze wolf head badge at his waist gleaming coldly in the sunlight. He had overheard the conversation earlier, and a barely perceptible smile played on his lips—in the last competition, he had personally searched out the Qi-exploding pills hidden in the boots of the Fourth Middle School contestants, and unexpectedly, the vacant spot had been filled by a martial arts prodigy like Lin Chen;
In the front row of the civilian seats, the three martial arts school masters sat side by side: on the far left was Lei Meng, the master of the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School, whose black outfit accentuated his bulging muscles, and a tiger descending a mountain was tattooed on his arm; in the middle was Shen Qingzhou, the master of the Flowing Cloud Martial Arts School, who wore a light blue dress and held an ivory folding fan in her hand, with a gentle temperament but sharp eyes; on the far right was Zhou Cang, the master of the Iron Fist Martial Arts School, with a cold face, arms crossed, and large knuckles, clearly someone who had practiced martial arts for many years.
The back row was filled with teachers, students, and parents from various schools, a bustling scene filled with lively discussions.