Advancing Too Hastily? (Requesting Recommendation Votes!)

Among all those present, Jiang Feng was probably the lowest in rank.

The main gate was now sealed, twenty knights standing guard, allowing no one to enter or leave. In a moment, the massacre would officially begin, and he, too, would be swept up in its tide.

The disparity in strength between the two sides was immense. Even if they fought to the death, the chances of defeat were over eighty percent. He had to think of a plan first!

Jiang Feng’s mind raced. He gave a sharp whistle; upon hearing this familiar sound, Ping Luanshan looked over at once. Jiang Feng gestured to him, and Ping Luanshan slipped down from the eaves to his side.

The knights were busy sealing off the examination grounds, and the others had not yet begun their assault. Seeing that Jiang Feng was only an uninitiated youth, they merely sneered without stopping him.

Ping Luanshan said regretfully, “It was my recklessness! I brought this disaster upon these people!”

Jiang Feng refrained from comment, instead asking in a low voice, “What do you plan to do?”

Ping Luanshan shook his head. “It’s not about what I plan now, but what they intend!”

Jiang Feng said, “There are forty of them in total. Counting me, we have only thirty-nine. They have mounts, equipment, and their levels are higher than ours—we’re no match for them.”

With every word, Ping Luanshan’s breathing grew more ragged. He gritted his teeth. “Of course I know that! So are we to—”

Before he could finish, someone in the crowd suddenly broke away, screaming, “Spare me! I’m not with them! I’m willing to serve under the Torrent Lord!”

He scrambled to one of the Torrent’s disciples, clinging to his leg and sobbing, “I have nothing to do with this!”

The disciple bent down and asked, “Did anyone approach you before you entered the preliminary exam?”

The man shook his head vigorously. “No! If I’d been approached, I’d have pledged myself to the Lord at once!”

With a dull thud, the Torrent disciple kicked him away with great force. The man tumbled far, only stopping at the base of a flagpole. Blood streamed from his shattered head, and through ringing ears he still heard the cold voice: “Those without potential, we would never seek out—nor accept!”

A knight happened to be nearby. With an expressionless face, he rode his horse forward, trampling the man beneath his steed.

The man's vision swam; before he could recover, a terrible pain burst in his chest, and he screamed in agony. The knight urged his mount on again and again; the man’s screams faded from shrill to silence, his life crushed out beneath the hooves.

All the candidates stood stunned, and those who’d harbored thoughts of surrender instantly turned pale. Ping Luanshan swallowed the half-formed words “Should we surrender?” back down his throat.

The knight swept a cold gaze across the crowd, the black water pattern on his lapel stark and clear. His words rang out, each one distinct: “Useless? Die. Refuse to join us? Die!”

He swung his arm forward. “Torrent Cavalry—charge!”

Ten sturdy horses thundered forward, hooves pounding, their force terrifying. They galloped over the flagstones, straight into the mass of people!

Five independent candidates erupted with bright power, meeting the cavalry head-on. With an explosive clash, all five were flung aside. The knights leapt from their steeds, seized them by the hair, and dragged them forward behind the horses.

In an instant, spiritual energy mingled with the thick stench of blood; the scene devolved into utter chaos and slaughter.

Ping Luanshan’s face turned ashen. He was about to leap into the fray when Jiang Feng caught his arm.

Jiang Feng thrust a cloth pouch into his hand, speaking urgently, “You’re fast—go, distribute these to everyone! And tell them: don’t scatter, don’t engage head-on. Do whatever they can to hide over there!”

He pointed, and Ping Luanshan followed his direction—straight toward the county office.

The examination grounds and county office were connected. The knights had sealed off the outer walls, trapping them inside, but a rush inward was still possible. The county office was crowded with structures, far less open than here, naturally hindering the cavalry’s effectiveness.

Ping Luanshan nodded in sudden understanding. “You’re right. I’ll go at once—”

Jiang Feng cut him off. “Tell them to hide as best they can and delay—drag this out as long as possible!”

Ping Luanshan stared in alarm. “What are you going to do?”

Jiang Feng shook his head, dropping his voice. “Can you do it?”

Chaos raged all around, yet Jiang Feng’s steady gaze and clear instructions were a balm to Ping Luanshan’s nerves, unwittingly calming him. For a moment, he forgot the youth before him was even younger than himself, not yet initiated, and not even qualified for the main exam.

He drew a deep breath and nodded firmly. “I can!”

Jiang Feng patted his shoulder, pressing the leather pouch into his hand. “Go!”

Ping Luanshan nodded again and darted away.

Jiang Feng watched him vanish into the distance. He did not move immediately but shrank back, slipping once more into the shadows.

Hezong County was a prefecture under the Zhu Kingdom. In theory, its affairs were managed by a chain of appointed magistrates, each responsible for the power in his domain. The Radiant Dawn Preliminary Exam was the gateway to the great examination, an event of supreme importance across every nation of the Nine Heavens Continent, drawing universal attention.

This time, the Hezong County preliminary was overseen by the county magistrate, with his men maintaining order.

So why was the entire order of the exam now held by Torrent disciples? Why employ such aggressive, detestable methods?

Cheating in the preliminary, stealing independent candidates’ tokens, even slaughtering to silence witnesses—if word of this spread, the Torrent Lord would be condemned by all and face tremendous pressure.

Jiang Feng narrowed his eyes, recalling his one previous encounter with their people.

Thornwood, a direct subordinate of the Torrent Lord, implicitly represented some of his master’s ways. Thornwood was cold and calculating, willing to sacrifice appearances for the sake of efficiency.

Would such a man allow things to spiral so brazenly out of control?

Jiang Feng next recalled a rumor from the recent Crescent Market—Zhu Tian City had fallen, the Torrent Lord was grievously wounded.

This was the greatest mystery. With the Lord wounded, would his followers really act with such arrogance, courting disaster?

Alternatively, what if none of this was the Torrent Lord’s intention? What if it was all the work of his political enemies, seeking to discredit him?

Would they be satisfied with the deaths of a mere thirty-nine?

Hezong Prefecture, aside from its single bridge, was an isolated island, easily sealed off.

The more Jiang Feng thought, the more dread crept over him. Perhaps their enemies had deliberately chosen Hezong County for its geographical advantage!

He only needed to wait a little longer to see if his suspicions were correct.

But Jiang Feng did not simply sit and wait. He had already surveyed his surroundings and, having chosen his direction, dashed away at full speed.

Just as he had anticipated, his movements—though obvious—drew little attention. Here, almost everyone outranked him; to these people, an uninitiated youth was no threat, not worth a second glance.

Besides, at this moment the other independent candidates had begun to move as well.

Ping Luanshan’s agility was unmatched. In no time, he had slipped through the crowd, distributing the dried meat and relaying Jiang Feng’s instructions.

He was the real focus of the enemy’s attention. Hooves thundered as two knights broke off to chase him.

Suddenly, the crowd scattered with a roar—not fleeing outward, but surging into the county office!

The knights had not foreseen this tactic. They hesitated, then someone shouted, “Stop them! Don’t let them scatter!”

But how could pursuers outpace the fleeing? In no time, more than half the candidates had vaulted the walls and rushed into the county compound.

“After them!”

In an instant, figures leapt into motion, leaving the field half-empty.

Ping Luanshan, following Jiang Feng’s instructions, was heading toward the county office. In the chaos, he glanced back, hoping to spot Jiang Feng.

What he saw shocked him.

Jiang Feng was heading in the exact opposite direction—charging toward the edge of the examination grounds!

What was he thinking? The outside was far more dangerous than inside!

Just as Ping Luanshan feared, when the defenders saw the uninitiated youth trying to escape, they could no longer ignore him.

A knight blocked Jiang Feng’s path. With a sharp shout, he spurred his horse forward.

The horse’s speed was terrifying; in a flash, man and beast were upon him. The knight brandished a bronze halberd, a faint golden glow flickering along its shaft as he cleaved at Jiang Feng with the rushing wind!

Jiang Feng rolled aside, dodging at the perfect instant. The halberd slammed into the ground; the flagstones, which had withstood fierce battles earlier, exploded into hundreds of fragments from the force of the blow.

Jiang Feng’s heart jumped, but his pace didn’t falter. Amid the flying debris, he dove beneath the horse’s belly. With a twist of his right palm, he struck upward—a muffled thud, and in the next instant, his palm landed on the horse’s abdomen.

The steed let out a piercing scream—its belly burst with a sickening sound!

The knight, startled, tried to leap away, but Jiang Feng flipped the horse’s body up and swung it at him.

With a furious roar, the knight slashed down with his halberd, slicing his own mount in two.

Through the spray of blood, he glimpsed the uninitiated youth vaulting onto the wall—about to escape!

Jiang Feng’s movements flowed seamlessly: evading the halberd, slaying the horse, blocking his foe. He leapt atop the wall, ready to vault over, when suddenly a tremendous force smashed into the wall beneath him. The parapet crumbled, and Jiang Feng tumbled down with it.

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Stockpile rapidly dwindling... Damn it, I’ve rewritten this plotline three times and still can’t get it right. So frustrating. Please vote to encourage me!