Chapter 118: A Trusted Confidant

After watching for about ten seconds, Shi Tiexin felt that was long enough; any longer and he, as a security guard, would become too conspicuous. Looking left and right, he saw that the other guards had basically finished their work. He extended his iron-like arm to wrap around the shoulders of the failed examinee and began to steer him firmly off the platform.

"Buddy, don't be sad. Let's head down first," Shi Tiexin consoled him with feigned kindness. "By the way, I saw you just now. I think your strength is actually quite impressive, and your six-colored aura was very bright. Why did you fail?"

*Cough, cough.* Well, actually, he hadn't seen him at all.

With so many people, such a great distance, and so many colorful battlefields, how could he possibly peer through the wall of bodies to see this guy? In truth, Shi Tiexin had intentionally chosen to grab the person furthest away from him just so he could linger on the stage a little longer. Still, it wasn't as if he hadn't seen him at all—a quick glance usually caught something.

In short, he just wanted to know how this guy had failed.

"Right? Right? You saw it too, didn't you? I do have talent!" The failed examinee seemed to have latched onto a life-saving straw, but then sighed dejectedly. "Oh, I'm such a fool. Really. I only knew that physical prowess was useful in the Mind-Art exam, so I practiced martial arts extensively. How did I not think that the six fundamental Mind-Arts needed to be arranged carefully?"

Oh? Mind-Art arrangement? There's such a thing!

Come on, tell me more, hurry up and tell me more!

"Buddy, don't lose heart. I saw it—you were just unlucky and got hit by a single move."

This line was a universal panacea; it could be said to anyone who fell. As for what kind of move it was, where it landed, or how they were defeated, these failures probably didn't want to hear the details anyway, so it didn't matter if those were ignored.

Sure enough, the failed examinee continued to ramble, "Sigh, I'm such a fool. Really. I knew that my biology scores were the worst, so I placed biology at my lower back, thinking it wouldn't be used. How could I have expected that when I flipped in mid-air, I would be struck right in the lower back by that radiant humanoid's biological piercing attack!"

So, there are interactions of mutual generation and restriction, and differences between strengths and weaknesses?

As Shi Tiexin walked the rambling man down, he opened his eyes wide and observed carefully. Indeed, the examinees and the radiant humanoids were locked in a stalemate all around, but looking closely, there were subtle nuances in their offense and defense.

Shi Tiexin pondered for a moment, and perhaps due to his improved comprehension, he suddenly grasped the crux of the matter.

In this realm of Literary Mind, the key to the exam for candidates cloaked in radiance was that very layer of light on their bodies. Once you arrange the radiance on your body, while you remain yourself, your advantages and weaknesses shift from the norm. If someone who is normally invincible with their iron fists places a weaker subject on their fists, then their fists are no longer invincible but become a major liability.

Therefore, how to arrange the radiance of the six subjects becomes a science, and how to quickly adapt to a distribution of weaknesses that is completely different from the norm becomes the key to victory.

Of course, if all six of your Mind-Arts are top-tier without a single flaw, then there is nothing to discuss; you can crush your opponents however you like. After all, these radiant humanoids don't seem to employ any profound martial arts; they mostly rely on head-on combat, supplemented by positioning and sneak attacks.

*Crackle, pop.* Colors flashed everywhere.

At this level, martial artist duels generally do not last long. Of the so-called two-hour provincial exam, probably an hour and a half is spent on aftermath management. With over fourteen hundred martial artists in the realm fighting freely, by the time Shi Tiexin walked his failed buddy off the stage, the medical teams had already rushed back onto the circular platform.

*Snap, crack.* The realm constantly shattered, and one examinee after another withdrew. This round of fighting was not particularly brutal, and the proportion of people requiring stretchers was much smaller than the previous one.

"Buddy, don't be sad. Look, these people didn't pass the exam either." Having gleaned some information from the guy's mouth, Shi Tiexin began to kindly offer some guidance. "So many people failed, you shouldn't feel ashamed. Just take it again next year."

"What do you know! What could you possibly know!" The guy became agitated. "They may have lost in the second round, but at least they won the first! Even if the 'Copper List' title doesn't sound that impressive—it's only the lowest of the three lists—a Copper List scholar is at least an official student! Unlike me? I, I'll be over the age limit next year!"

First round? Second round? Copper List?

Buddy, I really didn't mean to fish for information, but the amount of data you're providing is quite substantial. Why don't you tell me more?

"My life is miserable! I'm going to be the laughingstock of my family! I can't face anyone!" The guy became more heartbroken as he spoke, covering his face and running away in tears.

Shi Tiexin couldn't help but raise his hand. *Hey, buddy, let's clear things up before you go, hey!*

But in the end, Shi Tiexin lowered his hand and quickly returned to his post. Regardless, being a model this time earned him thirty value points; he couldn't afford any mistakes. Calculating in his heart, Shi Tiexin now roughly understood that even among those who passed the provincial exam, there were different tiers.

He wondered if the "Small Provincial Exam" had similar settings? But he imagined it was probably about the same.

Besides, there were new losers on the field waiting for his comfort! He took a look—wow, there were quite a lot of them, even more than those who failed the first round; there must be over nine hundred.

"Losers, exit the field!"

Scholar Longtu spoke again.

Shi Tiexin's leg muscles tightened instantly, his eyes locked onto the furthest person, ready to bolt over for some psychological counseling.

But this time, the losers on the field were quite decisive; none of them lingered. After all, no matter what, passing the first round counted as a success, and the vast majority of people had already breathed a sigh of relief. Some even had smiles on their faces as they came down, seeming quite satisfied.

Smacking his lips, Shi Tiexin gave up in frustration. Forget it, don't dwell on this. Better to observe carefully how the experts pass the test.

"Third round, begin!"

*Swish, swish.* About five hundred radiant humanoids appeared. This time, the radiance of the humanoids was brighter. Of course, the examinees remaining on the stage were no slouches either, and the brightness of the luster on their bodies was not insignificant.

Shi Tiexin watched carefully, wanting to learn some experience from these winners. Then, he was surprised to find that the short person nearest to him had actually fought all the way to this point, and it looked like even this test wouldn't stump her.

"Kill!"

Don't let the small stature fool you; this girl has... *ahem*, he corrected himself, she has a huge presence. Standing a little over one meter sixty, two heads shorter than the radiant humanoid opposite her, she fought with extreme ferocity. He didn't know what kind of ancient style of martial arts she practiced, but every move was fierce, every punch hit home, and she possessed an intense aura of fighting to the death.

Just looking at her build, Shi Tiexin narrowed his eyes. If he wasn't mistaken... to avoid embarrassment before jumping to conclusions, he took a moment to look at the other female contestants on the field. *Hmm, no mistake, none are as short as her.* If he wasn't wrong, this short person should be that little pathfinder's sister.

And if he wasn't wrong again, she was likely one of his creditors.