After the Nine Palace Eight Diagram Formation was restored, it gradually fell into the hands of the common folk.
When Chen Sansi had free time, he and Xu Wencai had studied it together and were thoroughly familiar with it; it was only because they did not have enough soldiers that they could not set it up.
In real combat, there was no such thing as a "Life Gate"; the Life Gate would be heavily guarded, turning it into the actual Death Gate, making the entire formation impenetrable, unless one relied on brute force to break down the formation until it collapsed on its own.
But since it was an exercise, and one that required racing against time, there would certainly be a Life Gate, testing the Main General's understanding of military formations and their personal adaptive capabilities.
Once inside the battle formation, one would be attacked by countless axes, halberds, hooks, and forks from all directions, aimed mostly at the warhorses beneath them.
Under these circumstances, losing a warhorse was akin to having one's legs broken, and one would soon be surrounded by heavy troops, unable to escape.
However, the soldiers within the Eight Diagram Formation bore no real malice and preferred to capture alive if possible, or else just to delay time.
A stick of incense, or about half an hour, was needed to break through the formation of forty thousand men; just walking across would take an unknown length of time, not to mention that these Array Soldiers were all elites from the Eight Camps. Even if the generals above the Refining Internal level were eliminated, leaving behind only those at the Bone Training level, it would be impossible to force one's way through. One had to find the Life Gate.
"Northwest Qiang Palace, Five Elements Belonging to Gold, open the gate."
While Chen Sansi continually parried attacks from every direction, he quickly determined his position in the sea of people and soon found the only path to life.
To his left was one of the three deadly gates, the Injury Gate, which appeared to have weak forces but would trap anyone who entered, preventing their escape. To his right was the Surprise Gate, combining reality and illusion, likely hiding a Death Gate behind it.
Only directly ahead was the Rest Gate, the only "Jimen" in sight, yet it was blocked by an eight-foot-tall Mystical Iron Shield, looking impregnable.
Chen Sansi shouted, and the long spear in his hand, unsharpened, smashed down like a Siege Giant Hammer, flipping the shield and the Heavy Armor soldier holding it into the air. He burst through the tight encirclement as if opening a large door, and man and horse alike surged through like fish returning to the ocean, unhindered and charging forward.
Above the city walls.
The officials watched the Nine Palace Eight Diagram Formation on the ground from a godlike perspective, applauding and cheering.
"Mr. Chen is incredible!"
General Zhao praised sincerely, "Up to this point, he is the fastest to have found the direction of the Life Gate, even Jie Sishu, with the Body of Innate Martial Saint, made several mistakes before finding the right path, leading to only a Class B result in the end."
Mr. Hou also admired him greatly, "After General Fang broke through the Nine Palace Eight Diagram Formation, even I studied it for a full three years before I understood it. Mr. Chen has only been enlisted for a short time, and not only does his Martial Arts prowess nearly rival the geniuses of the Capital City, but he also possesses such substantial military strategy strength."
Sun Xiangzong slightly raised the corners of his mouth, returned to his seat, and continued to drink tea while watching.
Meng Guangxin stretched his neck, "Old Fourth, whatever formation you've come up with, in my eyes, it looks like a bunch of circles spinning around. This kid did well, broke it in an instant."
"Otherwise, how do you think he managed to defeat six thousand barbarians with just over a thousand remaining soldiers?"
Fang Qingyun was not surprised at all, "Then, leading those thousand wounded soldiers, he escorted tens of thousands of civilians across the river. It's impossible with brute strength alone, he also needed comprehension and flexible application of military tactics."
"I also know military tactics,"
Meng Guangxin touched his bald head, "It's not as complicated as you say. If we can fight, we fight; if we can't, we run!"
"No need to look any further for the first to reach Class A in the breakthrough exercise,"
Sun Buqi declared the victory outright.
Apart from the chief examiner, the invigilating officers, and the officials, the ladies who came for the show didn't understand the intricacies but could see that this young general was the only one who wasn't trapped after entering the battle formation.
"Sun Li, this is the Chen Sansi you were talking about, right?"
Several daughters of high-ranking officials were engrossed in the scene from behind a curtain.
Sun Li was among them.
Today, she did not wear clothes suitable for fighting, but a white gauze stand-collar jacket that revealed a light pink lining, a Kong Mansion floriated skirt on the lower body, and her hair pinned up, even softening the heroic spirit in her eyebrows and eyes.
Sun Li answered faintly, "That's him."
"He's really impressive, but I heard his qualifications are not enough,"
Her friend said, "This time, the champion will be one of Cao Fan, Yan Changqing, or Lu Shuhua. By the way, Sun Li, hasn't your father ever considered a marriage alliance with the Imperial Family?"
Though they were ladies, being from high-ranking official families, they were exposed to some degree of court politics.
To these people, the best way for the Sun Family to descend from power safely was to become part of the Imperial Family.
Sun Li replied calmly.
There indeed had been no such thing.
Not only had she never entertained the idea, but her father had also never had such intentions and didn't follow other high-ranking families in arranging political marriages generation after generation.
Moreover, the Sun Family's situation was unique; mere marriage alliances could not resolve their issues.
This was not her concern.
All she could do was practice her swordplay and strive to become stronger.
With that thought, Sun Li could no longer sit still and stood up to leave.