A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd Chapter 35: The Exam Begins

The Martial Xiucai exam in Anchan County had begun. It was an annual grand event that attracted many spectators from the surrounding areas.

At the sa ti, it also attracted so people with ulterior motives, hoping to find a son-in-law among the examinees.

After all, all the outstanding young n of the entire county had gathered here.

In previous years, there were even incidents where several families fought over the sa young man.

The exam venue was set in the training grounds opposite the county yan. It spanned over a hundred zhang in width, surrounded by fences, and guarded by yan officers.

At this mont, Ergouzi stepped into the exam grounds with a nervous heart.

Thanks to Sima Yi’s arrangent, he was able to follow behind a young man from the Sima family and enter smoothly.

Otherwise, with the way those yan officers acted, he would’ve had to shed a layer of skin just to get in.

“Thank you, Brother Sima!”

“No need. I’m just following my elder brother’s orders.”

That young man from the Sima family clearly didn’t want to interact with Ergouzi. After tossing out a sentence, he turned and walked into a group of young noblen from the county, chatting and laughing.

“Sima Dong, who was that guy? Why’d you bring a farmhand into the exam ground?”

“I don’t know him. My fourteenth brother insisted I bring him in.”

“Since when did the threshold for the Martial Xiucai exam get so low? Even farrs are showing up now.”

At this mont, Ergouzi was wearing a coarse cloth outfit so washed out it had turned white. Compared to the other examinees dressed in fine silk and satin, he looked completely out of place.

As a result, a large space was cleared around him—no one wanted to get close.

Everyone was curious: how did a rural farr sneak in?

The examinees all cast curious glances at Ergouzi, with a sense of superiority, like watching a fool.

Ordinary families could grit their teeth, save up so money for lamp oil and writing tools, and maybe scrape by for the literary scholar exams.

But the path of the Martial Xiucai required a huge investnt in martial training—sothing beyond the reach of ordinary folks.

So, there wasn’t a single poor person in the entire exam ground.

Now, a clueless farr had barged in. Everyone was eagerly anticipating the mont he’d make a fool of himself—so comic relief to spice up the test.

Ergouzi, now sharp-eared and keen-eyed, heard every snicker from those rich young lords.

That kind of elite circle was never one he could break into anyway.

After all, soone like Sima Yi was a rare exception.

Ergouzi stood alone in the crowd, strikingly out of place like a crane among chickens. Looking around, he saw that the spectators had already gathered thick around the periter.

So had even brought tables and stools, seizing the opportunity to sell tea, fruits, and snacks.

Vendors carried large bags of roasted sunflower seeds, selling them for one wen per bamboo tube.

A few three-handed pickpockets slipped through the crowd, taking advantage of the chaos to make a fortune.

In short, apart from the nervous examinees, everyone else was having a blast.

At the center of the exam field stood a tall platform with over a dozen chairs arranged—seats prepared for the examiners.

At the mont, the chairs were still empty; the officials hadn’t arrived yet.

“Dong! Dong-dong-dong…”

A loud gong rang out, and everyone imdiately went silent, craning their necks to look toward the platform.

A crowd of people escorted the County Magistrate in with grand steps. He took the central seat atop the platform.

Below him sat five head examiners, responsible for scoring.

The remaining chairs were filled by prominent figures from the county.

Ergouzi actually spotted Sima Yi on the platform, standing behind a middle-aged man with a full beard.

Besides Sima Yi, he also saw his cousin Zhang Youliang among the crowd of spectators.

“The Martial Xiucai exam of Anchan County in the Great Zhou Dynasty officially begins!”

With that loud proclamation, the exam comnced.

First, the rules were announced—the test would be held in three rounds.

The first round was a weight-lifting elimination test. Anyone who could raise a 500-jin stone bar overhead and carry it around the field would pass and move on to the next two rounds.

Those who failed the lift would be deed lacking in strength and disqualified from further testing.

The subsequent weapons and combat tests would be judged by the examiners.

The strength test began, and over a hundred examinees were divided into ten groups to take the stage in turns.

Only now did those sons of noble families in their fine clothes reveal their true strength.

Each of them flexed their muscular builds, shouted loudly, hoisted the 500-jin stone over their heads, and circled the field, earning waves of awe from the onlookers.

Of course, every success needed a few failures to shine even brighter.

So examinees used all their strength just to lift the stone overhead, trembling with shaky limbs, and fell after only a few steps.

The clumsy flops of the failures sent waves of laughter through the crowd.

Watching soone succeed didn’t bring much joy—but seeing soone fail miserably? That got everyone genuinely laughing.

So when Ergouzi’s turn ca, cheers erupted from both inside and outside the field.

People had their sunflower seeds and grins ready, just waiting for Ergouzi to “perform.”

Of the twelve examinees in this group, nearly all eyes were on Ergouzi.

Not because he was handso, but because his farr’s look stood out so much that everyone was certain he’d fail.

But reality doesn’t bend to people’s wishes.

The twelve examinees walked to the row of stone bars.

Eleven of them planted their stances, stuck their butts out, and fumbled around the stone to find the best grip.

Only Ergouzi didn’t even bother with a stance. He just squatted, picked up the stone, and casually tucked it under his arm.

That scene gave the spectators a powerful sense of unreality.

It looked like Ergouzi had tucked a hollow wooden block under his arm, not a 500-jin stone.

At the sa ti, the other examinees let out loud roars and finally hoisted their stones overhead, beginning to trudge forward with heavy steps.

Ergouzi noticed that his thod seed too informal and worried the examiners might fault him for improper technique.

These idle officials loved nitpicking for no reason.

Thinking that, he quickly tossed the stone from under his arm back to the ground.

Then, mimicking the others step by step, he planted his stance, stuck his butt out, shouted, and lifted the stone overhead properly.

While others were slowly shuffling forward, Ergouzi followed behind at the sa pace, trying his best to blend in and avoid scrutiny.

In the eyes of others, this mimicry looked like blatant mockery—it felt insulting.

But to Ergouzi, lifting 500 jin with both hands was really nothing. The sword on his back alone weighed 150 jin.

And so, Ergouzi completed a full lap around the field with the 500-jin stone held overhead, his expression calm, breathing steady, and barely a drop of sweat shed.

This left those waiting to laugh at him sorely disappointed.