Chapter 2 The Second Courtyard
The second courtyard was exactly as Song Qiao had complained about, utterly lacking in novelty.
It also featured a spacious training ground.
A wide stone platform, cast from concrete, was laid out on top, for the assessor to ascend and spar with the examiner.
On the platform, a man in black stood, sword held in embrace, currently resting with his eyes closed.
*Buzz buzz!*
The instant Song Qiao stepped into the courtyard.
The unsheathed ancient sword in the man’s embrace suddenly began to vibrate rapidly, emitting an ear-piercing hum!
The man frowned, slightly raising his right index finger, resting it on the plain, ancient scabbard, neither gold nor jade.
The buzzing stopped abruptly, and the man’s eyes snapped open.
He accurately locked onto Song Qiao below, his pupils as sharp as a falcon’s!
This man was Xie Zhong, the examiner for the first three rounds, alongside Jiang Wei and Xue Zhifeng.
The three each had their own methods; it was hard to say who was superior.
However, Xu Rou was incensed by their unprofessional work ethic as examiners.
Looking up at Xie Zhong on the platform, she immediately reprimanded him.
"I have always respected the examiners of the Security Department, but now you are arbitrarily changing the order!"
"You know which round you were originally responsible for, so why are you here in the second round?"
"It's obvious you don't want this fellow to pass!"
Xie Zhong, facing Xu Rou’s accusations, did not seem angered. He merely raised an eyebrow, appearing somewhat displeased.
"I was indeed supposed to be in charge of the first round, but we examiners make temporary adjustments among ourselves."
"I don't think this counts as breaking protocol."
*Swish!*
Xu Rou raised her hand and angrily pointed at Xie Zhong on the platform, continuing to champion Song Qiao.
"You know you were in charge of the first round?"
"Since Song Qiao has already passed the first round, you should step aside!"
Xie Zhong paused slightly, shaking his head with a wry smile, feeling that Mo Ling's subordinate was simply unreasonable.
He decided to stop arguing with Xu Rou. Gripping his sword with his right hand, he placed his left hand on top of his right and cupped his fist.
Xie Zhong bowed to Song Qiao, introducing himself.
"Xie Zhong of the Yi Xing Sword school, I invite you to the stage!"
As he spoke, Xie Zhong opened his left hand, making a gesture of invitation to Song Qiao.
From this, it could be seen that those with sects truly had proper etiquette.
Their manners were indeed considered thoughtful.
However, Song Qiao did not step onto the training ground. Instead, he looked around below the platform.
Finally, his gaze settled on a young face, and he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.
Frowning in thought for a moment, Song Qiao truly remembered.
Pointing at the person, he asked Xie Zhong on the platform, "Your disciple?"
Following Song Qiao's pointed finger, Xie Zhong looked down, nodded slightly, and introduced.
"His name is Lu Ming."
"Master!" Lu Ming bowed his head slightly and replied.
Song Qiao had some impression of Lu Ming because he had seen him once before when he was helping Mo Ling.
He recalled that Lu Ming was a fan of Mo Ling.
Lu Ming, of course, also knew Song Qiao. His look of disgust alone made that clear.
Naturally, he was not pleased with Song Qiao's relationship with Mo Ling.
Without dwelling on the memory, Song Qiao pulled Gao Meng over.
Grinning cheekily at the master and disciple duo, he said.
"He's not as good as my disciple."
Gao Meng also puffed out his chest in perfect cooperation, looking as smug as could be.
This infuriated Xie Zhong and his disciple.
As master and disciple, who was stronger or weaker often wasn't as important.
What mattered was whose disciple had better talent and higher growth potential.
In this regard, Xie Zhong had no grounds to argue with Song Qiao.
Because Gao Meng’s aptitude and conditions were indeed far superior to Lu Ming's.
This instantly turned his face extremely grim.
He also dropped his earlier politeness, his eyes chillingly fixed on Song Qiao as he urged.
"Let's begin quickly!"
With that, his ancient sword was subtly drawn from its sheath!
Xie Zhong casually tossed the scabbard off the platform, and Lu Ming quickly caught it.
As his master, he stood with his sword.
His palms moved swiftly, first performing a beautiful sword flourish on the platform.
Then, with a *clang*!
The sound of metal on stone reverberated on the platform.
Xie Zhong brought his fingers together, quickly sweeping them across the sword blade.
Then he spun to the side, the tip of his sword pointing directly at Song Qiao below!
A challenge!
"Alright!"
"Amazing, Master!"
Below, the onlookers couldn't help but cheer just by seeing Xie Zhong's starting movements.
Lu Ming waved his arms with evident excitement, his face beaming with happiness.
Seeing Xie Zhong's actions, Xu Rou's expression turned grim.
Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her face seemed to be covered in frost.
She looked at Xie Zhong with icy eyes and reprimanded.
"Do you examiners have any sense of order at all?"
"Changing the order of rounds is one thing, but now you're even bringing out weapons."
"This round is with cold weapons, what about the next?"
"Will you be bringing out planes and cannons from the department to aim at this guy!"
Hearing Xu Rou's words, the surrounding onlookers were slightly taken aback.
They couldn't help but think, "She certainly knows how to exaggerate."
Facing Xu Rou's questioning, Xie Zhong remained very calm.
He brushed his sword with his finger and replied unhurriedly.
"I am a swordsman by nature, so naturally I must use a weapon."
"Your words are like asking a boxer not to use his fists; it’s simply sophistry!"
"Furthermore, since the superiors assigned me to conduct the assessment, it means they expect me to be strict."
"As an examiner, I must naturally exert my full strength to deal with it!"
"Otherwise, why would they need me? Couldn't they just send two people from logistics to handle it?"
He probably should have stopped speaking at this point.
Perhaps thinking of Song Qiao's earlier insolence had annoyed him.
He then looked at Song Qiao and added a few more words.
"If you have an issue with it, you are of course welcome to choose any weapon you wish to use for the assessment."
"If that’s still not acceptable, you are free to withdraw!"
"You!" Xu Rou's chest ached with anger, and she immediately moved to step onto the platform to teach Xie Zhong a lesson.
But Song Qiao quickly stopped her. He strode onto the platform and stood opposite Xie Zhong.
Although he had no weapon in hand, and Xie Zhong's ancient sword was exceptionally sharp,
Song Qiao remained unfazed, speaking with a calm expression.
"Since that's the case, let's begin quickly!"
"You're brandishing a weapon and spewing so much nonsense, isn't it just because you're afraid of me?"
"You!"
Xie Zhong was furious at this.
He lunged at Song Qiao with his sword!