The military recruitment started a few days later at the heavenly troops’ military base in the human realm.
Almost half of the Heavenly Realm residents rained down upon the Human Realm that day, because the participants came with their supporters to enliven the competitions.
Some of the high-profile participants even had tents erected in their names. Zhang Fengxi’s tent, for example, consisted of his mother, his teacher, his betrothed, and the maids and servants who were tasked to serve them.
"All participants, please gather in front of the judges!" Head Eunuch Gao’s booming sound was heard across the grassy plains.
"Allow this lowly one to introduce the judges to you..."
Zhang Fengxi scanned the faces of the judges one by one.
Fuxi Palace Master, Xie Jianyu.
Longjing Palace Master, Zhang Zhiyuan.
Wuyang Palace Master, Liu Yichen.
Ling’an Palace Mistress*, Yang Jiali.
Qifeng Palace Master, Song Weiyang.
Shuiran Palace Master, Jiang Rufeng
Qingyuan Palace Master, Zhou Guizheng.
Juhua Palace Master, Wu Qingyou.
Xiyu Palace Master, Li Haoran.
The Grand Tutor, Duan Hongwen.
The Supreme General, Liang Yuxuan.
The Deputy Supreme General, Han Zirui.
Zhang Fengxi’s eyes wandered to Xie Jianyu. He was the youngest judge in the row. While the other judges spoke amicably with him, it was clear that the age gap prevented them from socializing with the Crown Prince.
How pitiful.
"... and now, let’s start with the first competition!"
Zhang Fengxi’s head snapped up in attention.
The supporters -- particularly omegas -- cheered loudly.
"Fengxi! Fengxi! You can do ittttttt!!!"
That was his mother, alright.
"BEST OF LUCK TO PRINCE FENGXI!!!"
Oh, Commandant Jiang’s voice was exceptionally loud...
Zhang Fengxi could not hear Liu Wenyuan’s cheer. His delicate voice must be drowning in the sea of cheers for other participants.
"CROWN PRINCE, I LOVE YOUUU!!!"
...
Which idiot was that?
"CROWN PRINCE, YOU ARE THE BESTTTT!!! GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!"
...
Zhang Fengxi’s head started hurting. Were they all stupid, or what? Did Xie Jianyu need good luck in this competition? He was one of the judges, for goodness sake! The participants needed luck, not him!!!
"AAAAAAAHHHH CROWN PRINCE, YOU ARE SO HANDSOME!!!!"
...
The other judges could not help but smile.
Jiang Rufeng leaned forward and teased his brother-in-law, "Crown Prince, half of the supporters come to cheer you on. Do you not want to respond to their goodwill?"
Xie Jianyu raised his head and beckoned Head Eunuch Gao to come closer.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Give each of them a box of snacks to eat, but do tell them to be quiet. They are disrupting the competition."
Head Eunuch Gao bowed his head.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The other judges erupted in laughter.
Yang Jiali wiped the end of her eyes.
"Crown Prince, you are too adorable. If I cheer you on right now, can I also get a box of snacks?"
Xie Jianyu gave her an annoyed look.
"No need. Head Eunuch Gao, please give the judges a box of snacks each if they don’t cheer me on."
Soon, the sword competition began in earnest. Lots were drawn, and the matches were carried out in front of the judges. To ensure that no one won because of external factors such as armor or weapons, all participants were required to wear basic armor and fight with basic swords.
Some matches ended abruptly due to the huge gap between the contenders, while some dragged on until the time limit was reached.
Zhang Fengxi slashed his way from the first round to the tenth round with ease. The difficulty level started to increase exponentially starting from the fifteenth round.
Once he arrived at the semi-final round, he came face-to-face with Wu Shenxia. After Xie Jianyu, Wu Shenxia was rumored to be the strongest sword wielder in the entire heavenly realm. She was an outstanding fighter who up until now performed a lot of meritorious deeds in the name of Juhua Palace.
And yet, she did not bother to join the military service until now. It was because she hoped that Juhua Palace, which until recently did not have any male alpha to succeed the palace master position, might consider following Ling’an Palace’s footsteps and elect her to be the successor.
Alas, her cousin very recently differentiated into an alpha.
Thus Wu Shenxia abandoned the wish to inherit the Juhua Palace Master position and pursued another goal in life instead.
She was Zhang Fengxi’s greatest contender for the Supreme General position in his previous life.
Wu Shenxia and Zhang Fengxi both stepped onto the arena. They greeted each other with a smile.
"Prince Zhang Fengxi, I heard about your accomplishments. Good job on obtaining the Three Realm Spear."
"Princess Wu Shenxia is too humble. Your name is known in all three realms. Your achievements cannot be counted on both hands."
Wu Shenxia flipped the sword in her hand nimbly, as if it were nothing short of an extension of her arm.
"You are a charming young man, but I am not going to go easy on you. Please forgive me beforehand."
Zhang Fengxi snickered at her.
Quick as the lightning that broke through the sky during stormy weather, Wu Shenxia stepped off the ground and launched at him.
Nineteen-year-old Zhang Fengxi was unfortunately no match for Wu Shenxia, who was fully in her element.
Zhang Fengxi lasted long enough to not make his family lose face, but it was still difficult to see Wu Shenxia practically beating him up in the arena.
Wu Shenxia emerged victoriously in the semi-final round. The final round ended even faster because her opponent only lasted for three minutes at most.
The scores for the sword competition were announced.
Wu Shenxia got a perfect ten out of ten.
Her opponent in the final round got seven out of ten.
Zhang Fengxi, who ranked third in the competition despite his wholesome performance, only got six out of ten.
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Author’s note :
Ling’an Palace is ruled by the fox clan. The female foxes have always been superior to their male counterparts. Selecting a male alpha to be the Palace Master does not suit the women, so they submitted a petition for the Heavenly Emperor to make an exception for their Ling’an Palace.
The Heavenly Emperor agreed, but then the Ling’an Palace Mistresses were exempt from inheriting the Dragon Throne. This condition was accepted without much struggles, because the fox clan did not harbor mighty ambitions to inherit the throne. They were more interested in managing their own palace, anyway.