I Can See Your Combat Power

“Everyone listen to me.” Tang Luo scanned the crowd, speaking calmly and with determination: “Those who are dissatisfied with my arrangement and desire to prove their worth, you can try your luck fighting against a member of the Righteous Gang distributing grains. You have already seen the consequences of defeat. Fists are ruthless, swords are blind to mercy. If you wish to strive for a bright future, you should be prepared to bear the risks.”

Tang Luo actually admired those who dared to query him. Despite having been betrayed before, he believed that competent martial artists must exhibit sufficient ambition.

After all, whether it be the virtuous Saint King or the wicked Devil Lord, any successful martial artist is inevitably ambitious. Or, to put it more euphemistically – they all have a strong drive to progress.

A person’s desire for progression usually has no relation to their moral character. Even individuals with completely twisted and shattered moral frameworks can possess an unyielding will to advance. On the other hand, someone can be upright and kind-hearted, but content with simplicity and unwilling to strive for more.

It’s possible in other fields to become a master with a certain level of talent and without much effort, slowly honing their craft over time. However, on the path to becoming a martial artist, talent and hard work merely meet the most basic requirements. In the end, it often comes down to imagination.

A person who adheres strictly to rules and regulations usually lacks imagination. Tang Luo thus preferred talent who showed promise of being more unorthodox than those who were obedient but lacked potential – which is why he tolerated Wan Tianliang.

But to his surprise, Wan Tianliang turned out to be a disappointment. If martial artists of his level thought of themselves as battle geniuses, they were better off not stepping forward to court death.

The swift but brutal fight caused a chilling silence to fall over the western peak, originally, these civilian martial artists looked down on the menial Righteous Gang, disregarding their commands. However, a random youth, emerged, appeared to be a match for the majority of the martial artists present. This was something the prideful martial artists just couldn’t swallow.

But if they really wanted to step forward like Wan Tianliang, they were unsure of their chances of victory. Tang Luo’s standard for selection was too vague, causing their hearts to be filled with anxiety. They could only silently pray to the heavens, hoping for a bright future.

As time slowly passed, Tang Luo orderly and quickly arranged for the martial artists to be stationed at their respective posts. The more people stepped forward, the simpler his language and instructions became. This greatly sped up the pace of the formation, but to outsiders, it seemed the standards for Tang Luo’s selection were becoming increasingly lax.

If the Pride of Xiling had not built up such awe-inspiring authority, making it difficult to question him, some would have wanted to ask him why. Recalling Wan Tianliang’s fate, they could only give a weak affirmative before leaving as Tang Luo instructed. Yet, they couldn’t help but feel annoyed as they left, feeling that Tang Luo hadn’t paid enough attention to them, questioning how they could have not been selected to be part of the Marshal Star Pavilion.

Elsewhere, in the western camp, the martial artists had already begun having their second meal. A man as tall and strong as a bear sat with a dozen high cages next to him. The brawny man, who could fit two bread buns in a single bite, seemed insatiable. Behind his towering figure, a small-eyed man was intensely focused on listening to the sounds coming from the east.

“Bro, stop listening.” Fang Xiong placed a hot cage in front of the small-eyed man: “We’ve decided to go, what more is there to listen for?”

The small-eyed man, brought back from his intense focus by the brawny man, took a bun from the cage in front of him and gently blew on it before putting it in his mouth. He took several bites before swallowing it, seeming famished. As someone born with acute senses, his keen hearing was quite remarkable. However, maintaining such focus was quite draining, especially after such a long time. He was starving.

After downing five or six buns, the small-eyed man finally caught his breath. Annoyed, he told Fang Xiong: “Since we’re leaving, we need to know what Tang Tianjiao is up to.”

“What does that mean?” Fang Xiong asked with confusion, having an attitude of relying on others to provide for him, as if he didn’t need to think at all as long as his elder brother was by his side.

“Please use your brain!” The small-eyed man looked at his younger brother’s expression and said angrily: “If we were not about to leave, we would continue serving Tang Luo, who would command us on what to do. If we’re leaving, we need to know where the best place to head to is after we’ve left. If we get separated, we should at least know where and when to regroup!”

“Oh—” Fang Xiong immediately seemed to understand: “Big brother, you’re really smart, why didn’t I think of that?”

The small-eyed man couldn’t help but laugh at Fang Xiong’s behaviour: “If you were half as smart as you are when you’re fighting, I wouldn’t have such a hard time arranging your marriage!”

After their parents passed away, their greatest expectation was to see their younger brother grow up and settle down successfully. As the older brother, Fang Yuan did well in fulfilling the first half of this wish. However, his little brother’s marriage has yet to progress. With Fang Xiong’s massive physique, ordinary families were afraid that he would torment their daughters to death and were unwilling to give their daughter’s hand to him. This caused Fang Yuan, who eagerly wanted his younger brother to get married first, to worry constantly.

Fang Xiong was quite optimistic, chuckling at his brother, saying: “I don’t like the idea of marrying a petite woman! I want a tall, strong woman with a lot of strength!”

“Hah!” Fang Yuan was too lazy to comment on his brother’s views on marriage. Most people liked women who were busty, yet he liked women with great strength. There would be no reasoning with him!

At first, he was shocked when he heard this, but after several years, he had gotten used to Fang Xiong’s peculiar preferences. Despairingly, it seemed that finding a tall, strong woman with great muscle strength was more difficult than finding a beautiful, busty woman, which was frustrating.

“Let’s get back to the matter at hand.” Fang Yuan steered the topic back on track saying seriously: “I’ve almost figured out Tang Tianjiao’s selection criteria.”

While most people may feel that Tang Luo’s selection process lacked any criteria, Fang Yuan did not think so. After careful listening for such a long period, he managed to sift out some useful information.

“The codes are divided into three types: three-digit ones, those with words encapsulated in boxes with three or four varying digits, and then there are four-digit ones.” Fang Yuan’s eyes sparkled with wisdom as he explained his findings to his younger brother: “And there are only three types of assignments and treatments. One is at Master Ou’s place on the eastern hump, one is under Gong Zheng’s command in Righteous Gang and the last, also the highest treatment, is a place known as the Marshal Star Pavilion, where the personnel are directly under the governance of Hero Du.”

“Although I am still not clear about the entry criteria to Marshal Star Pavilion, I have already figured out the pattern for the first two!”

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