When it comes to long-distance running, Fang Jie is no stranger. Although most of the time when danger struck, Mu Xiaoyao would carry him by the belt, Fang Jie, who knew from a young age that relying on others was less reliable than relying on himself, was best at running away. Moreover, with a modern mind, his understanding of long-distance running differed from others and other examinees.
At least, not everyone understood the principle that starting a long-distance race with full force guarantees defeat.
When they left Chang'an City, the group was already scattered like sheep being herded, with a gap of about two miles between them. Fang Jie followed the leading group at a leisurely pace, neither falling behind nor rushing to overtake the examinees in front. While running, Fang Jie observed, and then realized that he wasn't the only one who knew how to counterattack later.
Four people were not far in front of and behind him, also not in a hurry to rush forward.
Fang Jie recognized all four of them.
Closest to him, occasionally cracking jokes, was Zhang Kuang, the garrison commander of Anyuan City. Running shoulder-to-shoulder ahead of Zhang Kuang were Pei Chuxing, the young master of the Pei family, and Cui Pingzhou of the Cui family of Boling. Not far behind Fang Jie was Xie Fuyao of the Xie family of Jiangnan. Between Xie Fuyao and Fang Jie was Lu Fan of Chenzhou.
Clearly, these renowned young masters of fine clothes weren't pampered at home. Fang Jie could tell from their running style that their excellent physical condition was likely due to years of martial arts training. Fang Jie even felt their physique was stronger than his own, though he didn't yet understand his own constitution.
They all understood the importance of proper breathing during long-distance running, their mouths slightly open, their breaths long and even.
In terms of academic background, Fang Jie had to admit the superiority of these young masters of fine clothes. After all, the advantages of a family's upbringing compared to self-taught youths from humble backgrounds were self-evident. Children like them, perhaps as young as four or five, were already reading classic texts, taught by highly respected teachers. By their teens, they were proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, with top-tier masters guiding their cultivation.
While they were reciting thick classics, most children from poor families were still being pampered in their mothers' arms. While they were practicing martial arts, most children from poor families were already helping their parents in the fields. In the end, as children, who could be much smarter than whom? But the difference in their starting points put the children from poor families far ahead of them.
Therefore, Fang Jie felt a certain respect for people like Pei Chuxing, Xie Fuyao, and Cui Pingzhou. They came from privileged backgrounds and worked harder than others. From a young age, most of their time was consumed by various studies, not only learning knowledge, demeanor, martial arts, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but also how to distinguish genuine antiques from fakes, how to identify the origin of rouge with a mere sniff, and how to tell at a glance which jewelry store produced a girl's piece.
In Fang Jie's words, this knowledge was merely capital for the scions of wealthy families to show off.
But without a doubt, becoming a pretentious and successful playboy wasn't an easy feat. Admittedly, most scions of wealthy families lacked the perseverance; few could dedicate their entire lives to continuous learning. Because of their noble birth, they had access to more temptations that led to their debauchery. Fine wine, gourmet food, and beautiful women—things unattainable for those from humble backgrounds—were commonplace for them.
While they squandered money, those from poor families toiled away.
In his previous life, Fang Jie often heard people say, "Comparison is the thief of joy." This was a fact, a fact difficult to refute. The so-called world peace was such a captivating and distant dream, praised and pursued by countless people to the point of madness. In the end, what we saw was still a rigidly hierarchical social class.
A person with a net worth of 100,000 could meet people with a net worth of millions, but could never truly integrate into their circle. Those with a net worth of millions can associate with those with a net worth of hundreds of millions, yet they still can't squeeze into that social class. The wealthy always say money is the most vulgar thing, but what they rely on is the noblest air packaged with the most vulgar things.
Fang Jie thought of himself, then looked at the military candidates gritting their teeth and persevering.
The Martial Arts Academy was a door; pushing it open and walking in didn't guarantee a bright future. But without a doubt, only by entering could one see the greatest hope. And for those border soldiers, entering the Martial Arts Academy had another advantage. They could truly live peacefully for three years, without having to face the unknown threat of battle. Having three years without worrying about suddenly dying was already a great blessing.
Fang Jie regulated his breathing while mentally calculating the distance. He had been to the Martial Arts Training Ground before, and due to his years of habitual escapes, the first thing he did upon arriving at any place was to observe the terrain. Although he had returned somewhat disheveled from the Martial Arts Training Ground last time, that didn't prevent him from remembering some of the more distinctive terrain features along the way. For example, there was the dense grass where he had hidden; there was a small but dense grove of trees by the roadside; and there was a high slope about half a mile to the left of the official road.
Running is a very simple sport, and no one expected that this year's martial arts examination would include such a test. The vomiting began to increase after leaving the gates of Chang'an, and after half an hour, those who had fallen behind had no chance of catching up.
With the training ground just ahead, the leading few began to exert themselves to avoid being overtaken. Suddenly, a professor from the martial arts academy rode up from behind, shouting as he rode.
"The second test begins! Do your best to prevent others from reaching the finish line! Do not kill anyone, do not use weapons, do not use poison..."
...
...
After these words rang out, everyone who heard them froze for a moment.
But in that moment of hesitation, Fang Jie suddenly felt a powerful impact from behind. Almost instinctively, he stomped his foot on the ground, his legs unleashing a burst of power that propelled him forward like a cannonball. He didn't turn around, yet he knew who had attacked him: Lu Fan, the young master of the Lu family from Chenzhou, was closest to him.
This man had also been renowned for his talent since childhood. While the Lu family wasn't considered a first-rate family in the Sui Dynasty, they were still a top-tier second-rate clan. For someone of his status to attack Fang Jie from behind without regard for his reputation demonstrated the immense importance Fang Jie held in the eyes of those aristocratic scions.
Lu Fan was taken aback that Fang Jie had managed to dodge his sudden attack. He had been gathering his strength from the start, intending to force Fang Jie out of the competition before even reaching the arena, even without the order from the martial arts academy professor for the second assessment.
In his view, that lowly young border soldier had already stolen the show in yesterday's exam. If Fang Jie were to score highly in today's martial arts exam, he would have no chance of making it into the top three. After all, in his view, he was still slightly inferior to people like Pei Chuxing and Xie Fuyao.
However, he didn't believe he would lose to a mere soldier in martial arts.
His long-prepared attack missed, and he inevitably felt a moment of distraction. But it was in that moment that he went from hunter to prey.
His punch missed, and before he could even retract his arm, Zhang Kuang, the captain of Anyuan City, delivered a side kick that struck him squarely in the chest. This kick carried the power of his cultivation; although he controlled the force very low, this sudden attack still dealt Lu Fan a heavy blow. He felt a tightness in his chest, and unable to catch his breath, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Zhang Kuang didn't stop after his successful strike and immediately chased after Fang Jie.
"Gather!"
Zhang Kuang shouted a single word as he ran.
Many people didn't hear what he shouted, but all the candidates with military backgrounds understood the meaning of that word. After the word was uttered, the soldiers immediately accelerated and converged on Zhang Kuang. Soon, the first echelon of over a dozen soldiers quickly formed a charging formation.
"Wedge!"
Zhang Kuang shouted two more words, and the dozen or so soldiers formed a charging formation in just over ten seconds. The Sui army trained in over twenty basic formations. These formations were already memorized by the soldiers. Although they came from all over the Sui Dynasty, and although they had no prior coordination, the discipline of the Sui soldiers was vividly displayed at Zhang Kuang's command.
"Fang Jie! Come to the center of the formation!"
Zhang Kuang roared, then accelerated to the front of the wedge formation.
Fang Jie glanced back and shouted, "I am the vanguard!"
Before Zhang Kuang could refuse, Fang Jie had already slowed down and merged into the wedge formation. To prevent the formation from being broken by Fang Jie's addition, Zhang Kuang had no choice but to give him the vanguard position.
"The mighty army of Sui, advance without fear!"
Zhang Kuang, retreating to his position, shouted the battle cry for the border troops' attack. A dozen soldiers immediately echoed in unison, "Forward!"
As he ran, Zhang Kuang said to Fang Jie, "Don't push yourself. If any experts come up, just retreat behind me. Fang Jie, don't argue with me. You're the most promising soldier among us this year to make it into the top three. Since we became eligible to take the Martial Arts Academy exam, no one has ever made it into the top three. You've already achieved excellent grades in five subjects in the humanities; you only need to pass one more subject in the martial arts exam to secure a spot in the top three." "No more suspense! We've already discussed this; we'll make sure you pass no matter what!"
Fang Jie felt a surge of warmth in his heart and shouted without turning around, "Thank you! But since we've already formed our formation, let's rush to the finish line together, leaving no one behind!"
"Good!"
Zhang Kuang seemed to be stirred by Fang Jie's words, pointing towards the training ground and shouting, "Let's rush to the finish line together and show them the might of our Great Sui soldiers!"
...
...
Lu Fan, enduring the pain in his chest, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and gritted his teeth as he chased after them. As he ran, he said to Xie Fuyao, who had indifferently run past him earlier, "Brother Minran, how about we join forces? You'll see soon enough; anyone who gets separated will become a target. Only by joining forces will others have something to fear."
Xie Fuyao didn't even glance at him, leaping forward with a light step.
"I don't need to team up with anyone. If you don't want to be knocked out, don't come any closer."
His tone was calm, yet laced with cold arrogance, as if in Xie Fuyao's eyes Lu Fan was simply unworthy to join forces with him. Lu Fan bit his lip, muttered a curse under his breath, and seeing that Cui Pingzhou and Pei Chuxing from Boling were still walking side by side without fighting, he immediately accelerated and rushed forward.
"Brothers, how about the three of us team up?"
"If you hadn't ambushed Fang Jie earlier, I might have considered it."
Cui Pingzhou glanced back at him, his tone equally cold: "That punch you threw just now was, in any case, dishonest."
"You can't say that. A sneak attack is also a tactic!"
Lu Fan explained loudly.
With a thud.
Before Lu Fan could finish speaking, he was blasted away by a tremendous force from his chest. However, this force was very strange; it was clearly powerful, yet it didn't injure him. The internal force was powerful yet gentle, sending him flying a considerable distance before he crashed to the ground, but without damaging his internal organs. If the attacker hadn't deliberately shown mercy, this blow would have sent him to hell.
"You're right," Pei Chuxing of the Pei family said calmly, withdrawing his left hand and glancing at Lu Fan, who had been blasted into a ditch on the side of the road. "A sneak attack is indeed a tactic, but I have no interest in teaming up with someone who can't even manage a sneak attack; they're just a burden."
Cui Pingzhou smiled and pointed to the dozen or so soldiers who had already rushed ahead, asking, "How's it going over there?"
Pei Chuxing replied as he flew, "Put them outside the training ground. Let them speed up. With their cultivation levels, they'll be almost exhausted by the time they reach the training ground. Their so-called 'arrow formation' is utterly vulnerable."
On the official road, fighting had already broken out in various places.
Because of the professor's sudden order, humanity was revealed in an instant.