Before long, the soldiers who were tallying the results of the hunt returned to the royal training grounds.
A broad-shouldered general clad in silver scale armor handed a record scroll to the Yunwu Commandery Prince.
The Yunwu Commandery Prince took a glance at the scroll, and his eyes were drawn to the name at the top of the list. With a smile, he said, "Ge Qian, announce the results of this year's Wangshan Hunt. The one ranked first will be awarded the 'Chongxuan Bow.'"
Hearing the words "Chongxuan Bow," all the young warriors below became excited.
It was said that the Chongxuan Bow was a fourth-grade True Martial treasure, worth tens of thousands of silver coins.
Moreover, the bow had deeper significance. When the Yunwu Commandery Prince was young, he had won the first place in the Wangshan Hunt and received the Chongxuan Bow as a prize.
But who would take the first place this time?
The general in silver scale armor held the scroll, surveying the young warriors below before announcing, "In this Wangshan Hunt, a total of forty-three participated. Two died, and nine failed to hunt any beasts. Thirty-two young warriors successfully hunted beasts."
"Ranked thirty-second, from the Situ family, Situ Hai. He hunted one lower-tier first-rank beast, a Ghost Phantom Rabbit."
"Ranked thirty-first…"
...
"Ranked fourteenth, Sixth Prince, Zhang Mi. He hunted four lower-tier first-rank beasts: three Savage Bulls and one Ghost Phantom Rabbit."
Hearing his result, the Sixth Prince frowned slightly. He had thought that with four lower-tier beasts, he could easily make it into the top ten.
"I didn't expect the competition to be so fierce this year!" The Sixth Prince glanced over at Zhang Ruochen with a hint of disappointment that quickly turned into a grin.
In his mind, Zhang Ruochen was likely one of the nine who had failed to hunt any beasts. This thought comforted him, as he felt relieved not to be the lowest.
The silver-armored general continued reading, "Ranked tenth, from the Lin family, Lin Tianwu. He hunted five lower-tier first-rank beasts: four Savage Bulls and one Ghost Phantom Rabbit."
Even among lower-tier beasts, the score for hunting a Savage Bull differed from that of a Ghost Phantom Rabbit.
"Ranked ninth, from the Gu family, Gu Li. He hunted five Savage Bulls."
"Ranked eighth, from the Bai family, Bai Wanli. He hunted six Savage Bulls. Of these, five were shot with Thunder Arrows, while the sixth was killed using the Bai family's human-grade mid-tier martial technique, 'Killing Power Fist.'"
"Ranked seventh, from the Lin family, Lin Ningshan. She hunted one mid-tier first-rank beast and four lower-tier first-rank beasts."
Hearing her ranking, Lin Ningshan felt satisfied. After all, she was only fifteen and participating in the Wangshan Hunt for the first time. Achieving such a result was already outstanding.
She straightened her back, casting a glance at Zhang Ruochen. Both were participating in the hunt for the first time, yet he had not managed to hunt a single beast. This was the difference between them!
"Miss Lin is truly remarkable. At just fifteen, she managed to hunt a mid-tier first-rank beast. Her future is limitless."
"In another two years, I doubt anyone will be able to compete with her in the year-end assessment."
Exclamations of admiration filled the training grounds.
However, some young warriors, such as the Situ family's top genius Situ Linjiang, the Fifth Prince, and Xue Kai, looked unimpressed.
These three, all at the great extremity level of the Yellow Realm, possessed the strongest cultivation and were favorites for first place.
"Ranked sixth, from the National Master's Mansion, Xue Hongqin. She hunted two mid-tier first-rank beasts."
"Ranked fifth, from the Southern Marshal's Mansion, Luo Cheng. He hunted two mid-tier first-rank beasts and one lower-tier first-rank beast."
"Ranked fourth, from the National Master's Mansion, Xue Kai. He hunted three mid-tier first-rank beasts and two lower-tier first-rank beasts."
Hearing his result, Xue Kai's expression darkened. He hadn't expected to miss out on the top three.
He had thought his score would place him either first or second.
"Unbelievable!" Xue Kai clenched his fists, his eyes cold.
The Fifth Prince and Situ Linjiang exchanged sneering looks but soon found their smiles frozen.
"Ranked third, Fifth Prince, Zhang Min. He hunted four mid-tier first-rank beasts and one lower-tier first-rank beast."
"Ranked second, from the Situ family, Situ Linjiang. He hunted five mid-tier first-rank beasts."
"Ranked first, Ninth Prince, Zhang Ruochen. He hunted one upper-tier first-rank beast and two mid-tier first-rank beasts."
When the top three were announced, everyone in the royal training grounds was stunned. All eyes turned to Zhang Ruochen.
The entire training ground erupted.
"My goodness! The Ninth Prince hunted an upper-tier first-rank beast!"
"Each upper-tier first-rank beast is comparable to a great perfection warrior of the Yellow Realm. He's only at the small extremity level. How did he do it?"
"This is impossible! He's only trained for three months, and he hunted an upper-tier first-rank beast. It's unbelievable!"
…
The crowd buzzed in disbelief.
In the last decade's year-end assessments, only the Seventh Prince had managed to hunt an upper-tier beast. Now, the Ninth Prince had done the same.
The Yunwu Commandery Prince was visibly pleased. "Ge Qian, bring me the Chongxuan Bow. I want to personally present it to the Ninth Prince."
"Wait!"
Zhang Ruochen stepped out from the group of young warriors. "The hunt for the upper-tier beast was a joint effort between me and the Ninth Princess. The credit should not solely be mine."
The Ninth Princess also came forward, smiling. "Father, without the Ninth Brother's help, I might have died at the hands of a beast! And when we hunted that upper-tier beast, I didn't contribute much."
"Haha! Ninth Son, who do you think should receive the Chongxuan Bow?" Seeing Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess humbly deferring to one another, the Yunwu Commandery Prince grew even more delighted.
Zhang Ruochen replied, "I excel with a sword, not a bow. Your Majesty, please award the Chongxuan Bow to the Ninth Princess."
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward, taking the bow and handing it to the Ninth Princess.
"Ninth Brother, you…" The Ninth Princess was both surprised and touched.
Though she desired the Chongxuan Bow, she knew it was not rightfully hers.
Zhang Ruochen said calmly, "You deserve it. Without your help, I wouldn't have been able to kill the Bluefire Stag. Besides, there's still the next round in the training grounds. If I win, the reward will be even more generous."
"In that case, I won't refuse. In the training ground battle, be sure to give it your all. With your strength, even if not first place, you have a great chance to be in the top five." The Ninth Princess accepted the bow, her delicate hands gently caressing the black jade bow, her joy evident.
Zhang Ruochen gave the Chongxuan Bow to the Ninth Princess partly because she had indeed helped in hunting the Bluefire Stag.
Secondly, he wanted to build an alliance with the Ninth Princess, gaining an ally. After all, in the royal court, he and Consort Lin were isolated. Even though he had shown some strength, he was still far from matching the true martial experts.
Having one more ally would greatly improve his and Consort Lin's situation.
The third round of the assessment: Training Ground Duel.
Only young warriors who successfully hunted beasts in Wangshan could participate in the third round.
The top five of the Training Ground Duel would receive generous rewards, including the opportunity to train in the "Savage God Pool."
First place would earn an even greater prize.
Thus, everyone prepared intensely for the Training Ground Duel, eager to showcase their full strength and secure a spot in the top five.
The Fifth Prince snorted, "Ninth Brother, you've really been hiding your strength. How about a duel in the training grounds?"
Zhang Ruochen replied, "If we meet in the training grounds, then a fight it will be."
Zhang Ruochen sensed someone watching him. He looked over and saw Lin Ningshan standing in the distance.
Lin Ningshan was indeed beautiful, with delicate features, glossy lips, a slender figure, and long legs. Standing in the crowd, she stood out effortlessly.
She was shocked that Zhang Ruochen had grown so powerful, capable of hunting an upper-tier Bluefire Stag. It was unbelievable!
However, she had achieved the state of "Sword Following the Heart" and mastered a low-tier spiritual-grade sword technique. If they met in the training grounds, she was confident she could defeat him.
The top ten of the Wangshan Hunt would proceed directly to the finals, while the remaining twenty-two contestants would battle to determine six additional finalists, making a total of sixteen.
After two hours, the preliminary matches ended, and six warriors advanced.
Both the Sixth Prince and the Ninth Princess were among them, joining the top ten from the Wangshan Hunt in the finals.
"First match: Ninth Princess Zhang Yuxi versus Lin Ningshan of the Lin family." The silver-armored general announced.
No one expected the first match to be a showdown between the "Twin Beauties of the Royal City." A battle between beauties was sure to be a spectacle, and everyone eagerly awaited the match.