Wang Fang managed to remain calm, saying, "Who did I think it was? It's you, Tian Rong! We could be considered..."
Wang Fang's words were only half out when he was interrupted: "Damn your thunderous ancestors."
His face flushed with anger, he forced himself to endure and exclaimed, "Although we have our grievances, there's no need to make things so undignified..."
Tian Rong looked at him with contempt, spat, and said, "Damn your thunderous ancestors!"
Wang Fang's face turned beet red in an instant, and he roared, "Stand right there, I'll send you to the Red Tide Sect right now!"
Seeing Wang Fang coming at him with red eyes, Tian Rong didn't hesitate at all and turned tail to run!
Wang Fang immediately chased after him relentlessly, bellowing, "If you have the guts, don't run! I'll fight you to the death!"
As Tian Rong ran swiftly, looking back he yelled, "Scared of you? As if! If you have the guts, stop chasing me!"
Thus, both teams pursued and fled respectively, heading north. Then suddenly, two teams of Green-clothed vanguard sprang out from both flanks, encircled from three sides and wiped out the Yellow Clothes Vanguard in one fell swoop.
Within the Judgement Hall above, there was complete silence, and the faces of the judges were full of intense interest.
The middle-aged Confucian Scholar couldn't hold back and said, "This... this Miss Bao, how can she be so... it's simply disgraceful!"
Because of the Bao Family's strong influence, the middle-aged Confucian Scholar dared not use more extreme language, but he felt so stifled holding it in that he finally could only grit his teeth and utter the phrase 'disgraceful.'
The young cultivator laughed out loud and said, "All is fair in war, it has always been so! Besides, the three hundred verses came from someone else's hand, what do they have to do with the young lady? If you dare to smear Miss Bao's reputation again, even the academy won't be able to protect you. You'd better worry about the Yellow Team instead! I want to see, if the Yellow Team is defeated, whether you'll still have the audacity to rate Li Zhi as number one."
As soon as he said this, several judges thought to themselves of course they would!
The old scholar's face darkened, and he glared fiercely at the young cultivator, starting to calculate in his mind how to suppress Bao Yun. Li Zhi's intended status was to be the number one overall scholar, not the number one in martial prowess, so now that Wei Yuan no longer posed a threat, it didn't matter if the top prize in the martial test went to Wei Yuan, as long as it wasn't Bao Yun.
Inside the Illusion Realm, Wei Yuan stood atop a hill, looking down at Tian Rong's mockery and Wang Fang's rage, then watched as Wang Fang's team fell into the ambush. The entire team got killed out of the Illusion Realm, while the Green Team only lost two people, who, after popping a pill, were jumping around alive and well again.
After the Yellow Clothes Vanguard was wiped out, many of the Green Team's candidates smeared blood all over their faces and bodies, then split into two groups, advancing south from the east and west sides, clearly aiming to pincer Li Zhi's flanks.
At this point, even with Wei Yuan's understanding of military tactics, it was evident that the Green Team had a significant advantage. Originally, the Green Team had over one hundred and fifty people, and Li Zhi's Yellow Team only had one hundred and twenty. With the thirty members of the Yellow Clothes Vanguard being annihilated, the difference in forces became even more stark, changing to one hundred and fifty against ninety. Without the introduction of some unexpected factor, Li Zhi's defeat was assured.
What kind of unexpected factor could be introduced? Wei Yuan gave it some thought, then couldn't come up with anything.
Wei Yuan knew his own limitations in military tactics, so if he couldn't come up with anything, he didn't bother. However, just because Wei Yuan couldn't devise a strategy didn't prevent him from looking down on the Yellow Clothes Vanguard in his mind: they lacked any steadfastness, losing their reason after a couple of insults, how could such people lead troops?
If it were him, Wei Yuan, no matter how furiously the opponent barked, he would only treat it as the sound of wind and rain.
Unflinching as a mountain, that is the very foundation of a distinguished general.
Wei Yuan was deep in thought when suddenly a voice rang out from a distance, "Look quickly, over there is a foolish brute..."
Wei Yuan slowly turned his head.
Not far from the foot of the hill stood a group of about a dozen Green Team examinees, who were pointing and gesturing at him. These were the Green-clothed Vanguard, who had just now lured the enemy deep into their ranks and deceived the Yellow Clothes Vanguard into an ambush where they were annihilated.
Originally, Wei Yuan had some reservations. He hadn't seen Li Zhi's abilities yet, and the tactician from the North was truly formidable. Wei Yuan feared that once he left the hill, he might suddenly be surrounded by dozens of people. In the history books, many had fallen by venturing deep into enemy territory alone, only to be encircled by an ambush. Not to mention dying in battle, their names would be forever inscribed in history, the subject of scorn for generations. Being remembered in history was not always a good thing.
However, having been insulted, Wei Yuan's breath suddenly grew deep and long, as if drawing in an endless supply of air. Heaven and Earth Madman began to circulate slowly, and a wild, indescribable fierceness surfaced from the depths of his heart.
Wei Yuan didn't bother with more words and rushed towards the group of Green-clothed vanguard.
Tian Rong was greatly startled, seeing Wei Yuan's momentum so fierce, he instinctively turned his head to run. Having already experienced a chase, no, a lure into the depths, Tian Rong's men also reacted very quickly and ran a hundred yards away in the blink of an eye. After they had run far, they saw that Wei Yuan had taken only a few steps before stopping again.
The group of Green Team examinees immediately felt ashamed of their cowardice, but also thought that Wei Yuan was just putting on a show of strength while being weak inside. After all, he was but one man, and they numbered more than a dozen. Ashamed and indignant, some began to swear loudly, vowing to eliminate Wei Yuan first. Although Tian Rong felt it was inappropriate—after all, his mission was to harass Li Zhi's Central Army—the examinees were ultimately not elite soldiers, and in the heat of emotion, even he, their leader, had some trouble controlling them.
Wei Yuan returned to the top of the hill because he realized after rushing out a few steps that his speed wasn't fast enough. He could catch up with his opponents, but if they scattered and fled, that would be very troublesome. However, Heaven and Earth Madman had many supernatural abilities and its own methods of dealing with such situations.
Wei Yuan's body again began to seep with wisps of black qi as Heaven and Earth Madman accelerated its circulation. His spiritual perception rapidly expanded, extending into the dense forest behind the hill. In a flash, a wild boar emerged from the forest, charging straight for Wei Yuan. A barely visible streak of black qi flew from the center of Wei Yuan's forehead and entered the body of the boar.
The boar immediately let out a pained howl, falling to the ground in agony, experiencing the soul-rending torment of a Primordial Spirit, the burning of internal flames, and the confusion of a muddled heart, among other sufferings. While crying out in pain, the boar rapidly grew from the size of a lamb to a magnificent creature with a height of ten feet at the shoulder!
The agony passed in an instant, and the boar struggled to its feet, its small eyes turning blood red, its tusks growing three feet long, with tips gleaming sharply.
Wei Yuan felt his spirit connected to the boar, and with a leap, he seated himself steadily on the boar's back. With one thought, the boar snorted out two clouds of mist from its nostrils, its hooves pounding the ground, charging towards the Green-clothed vanguard like thunder!
Tian Rong's mouth slowly fell open, and before he could cry out in alarm, the boar had already charged to his front. Then he saw a flash from a spear in his sight, followed by nothing but a burst of white light.
The boar ran at an extreme speed, rolling over the Green-clothed vanguard as effortlessly as a mountain, and with just one charge, the Green-clothed vanguard was reduced by half. Many didn't even realize whether they were stabbed by the spear or trampled to death. Wei Yuan steered the boar back around and with another charge, only two of the Green-clothed vanguard remained.
These two were rather clever, knowing to split up and flee. If it had been at the start, Wei Yuan might have had some difficulty, but now that he had a mount, how could their two legs outrun a boar? In moments, Wei Yuan had caught up with them, and with a stab, he killed one with each thrust.
After exterminating the Green-clothed vanguard, Wei Yuan found it unexpectedly easy, like cutting through melons and vegetables. It seemed that even if surrounded like the Yellow Clothes Vanguard had been, he could still break through and counter-kill.
Wei Yuan made the boar circle in place, ensuring there were no survivors, then he headed to the North.
In the North, a girl had moved the sand table to a small elevation near the Central Zone, and her main forces were arrayed on the slope in front of it, forming a three-layered densely-packaged formation, ready for battle.
Within the Judgement Hall, a commotion arose once again.