Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"The sun sets behind the mountains!"

Lin Ping's voice and the chaotic sword shadows echoed continuously within the Zhou residence.

After leaving the Ministry of Rites, Lin Ping returned to the Zhou family's old residence, which was also his final resting place.

For three consecutive days, Lin Ping practiced swordsmanship like crazy, barely resting even at night. Now his face is ashen, and his dark circles are comparable to a panda's.

"Lin Ping, you're a complete waste of space! Hey!"

The sword pierced through the trunk of the large tree.

This doesn't mean Lin Ping has mastered swordsmanship, but rather that he simply cannot control his strength.

The internal energy that Jiang Hongling passed on to him was indeed profound, and the sword manual she left behind was also exquisite. Combining the two would definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Unfortunately, Lin Ping couldn't control this energy. It all gathered in his palm, and he would be panting for breath after only a few swings of his sword.

Therefore, in three days, his swordsmanship did not improve at all, and he did not even get to the basics.

Jiang Hongling left him a fragment of the Crimson Sun Sword Technique, which contained the first four moves, representing all the skills Jiang Hongling could currently use.

The first move of the Crimson Sun Sword Technique is called "White Sun Leaning Against the Mountain," the second move is "Sunrise over the River Flowers," the third move is "Blazing Sun and Flowing Fire," and the fourth move is "Flying Star Chasing the Sun."

Jiang Hongling once defeated ten members of the Xuan Sha Sect with her blazing sun sword technique and defeated Feng Wuhua with her flying star chasing the sun sword technique.

This is enough to demonstrate the immense power of these sword techniques.

Even if you only learn the first move, let alone the third move, you will be invincible in the martial arts examination.

Unfortunately, Lin Ping didn't even reach the beginner level.

Now, he is like an infant who possesses a treasure but doesn't know how to spend it; only by finding the right way can he unleash its terrifying power.

"Yinyin, Father, Little Sister, I will definitely save you." Lin Ping leaned against the big tree he had pierced through and made a silent vow.

If he cannot win the martial arts examination, he will remain a wanted man, and not only will he be unable to rescue Zhou Xiyin and the others, but all his previous efforts will be in vain.

Three consecutive days of training left him feeling physically exhausted, and even the energy that Jiang Hongling had left in his dantian was slowly dissipating.

"What's going on?" Lin Ping asked in alarm.

The internal energy in his dantian was left to him by Jiang Hongling; surely it wouldn't dissipate due to fatigue.

"Could this be a one-time energy source?"

Lin Ping shook his head repeatedly, regretting his frantic cultivation over the past few days.

Without this energy, even if one's swordsmanship is perfected, one cannot unleash its full potential.

He should save his energy for the martial arts exam; he might actually win by brute force. It's better than failing to master the sword techniques and wasting his energy for no reason.

After turning on the X-ray, Lin Ping observed the flow of energy within his body.

The powerful energy within the dantian did not disappear without reason; instead, it was evenly distributed throughout the body by another unknown energy.

It was as if an invisible hand was dividing the floodwaters in the vast swamp into streams, soaking into Lin Ping's entire body.

Lin Ping had a misconception that perhaps he could succeed next time he swung his sword.

Thinking of this, he stood up again and gripped the hilt of his sword.

Lin Ping kept his eyes closed, and the moves from the sword manual kept flashing through his mind, much like holographic images.

"The sun sets behind the mountains!"

Suddenly opening his eyes, a sharp sword strike shot out from the air, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight.

His swordplay was so natural that Lin Ping didn't even need to think about his next move; he just relied on his intuition.

It's as if this set of sword moves was originally engraved in my mind.

Previously, Lin Ping, in his anxiety, concentrated all his strength in his palms, causing his lower body to become unstable. When he swung his sword, he wobbled and naturally could not succeed.

Now, the energy in his dantian is evenly distributed throughout his body. Although the force in his palms is a little weaker, it is enough to support the sword moves, and he has easily mastered this sword technique.

If Jiang Hongling knew that he had mastered the White Sun Mountain technique in just three days, she would probably be very surprised.

Even for a genius girl like her, it took her a full year to master the first move.

Click!

The final blow, a horizontal stroke across the tree trunk, cleaved the massive tree, thicker than Lin Ping's waist, in two.

Lin Ping's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets; he was not only surprised, but also terrified.

Just as the tree was about to crush him, he forgot to dodge.

The thick tree trunk grazed past his shoulder, saving Lin Ping from certain death; otherwise, he would have become the first person in the world to be crushed to death by the tree he himself had chopped down.

Over the next few days, Lin Ping focused on honing his sword techniques.

He wasn't arrogant enough to want to learn all the sword moves; mastering the first move in the remaining few days was already beyond the average person.

The day before the martial arts examination, Lin Ping tried to practice the second move, but found it to be much more complicated than the "White Sun Leaning on the Mountain" move, and ultimately had to give up.

On the last day, Lin Ping did not practice swordsmanship frantically, but instead relaxed and cleared his mind.

To achieve the best results, you not only need to have excellent skills, but also need to maintain a good mental state.

You can't go on stage with dark circles under your eyes to spar with your opponent.

On the day of the military examination, Yingtian Prefecture was bustling with activity, and the gate of the Imperial College was packed with people.

As a public school run by the imperial court, the Imperial Academy naturally became the venue for the first imperial examination.

The process of the military examination was largely the same as that of the imperial examination. Those who passed the provincial examination received the title of military officer and were qualified to participate in the metropolitan examination organized by the Ministry of Rites.

Candidates who pass the provincial examination will then undergo the final palace examination, which, as the name suggests, is personally conducted by the monarch. The content of the examination varies from year to year.

The top scorer in the palace examination was the martial arts champion.

After Lin Ping obtained a special quota from the Ministry of Rites, he was granted the title of Martial Arts Scholar, but he still needed to pass two rounds of examinations to become the Martial Arts Champion.

The imperial examination was divided into three subjects: the first subject tested military strategy, the second subject tested horsemanship, and the third subject tested archery.

Those who rank in the top 32 in the three subjects can participate in the final palace examination.

For these warriors, death often comes on the very first exam.

Fighting and killing are not a problem, but to truly discuss military strategy is a bit of a stretch.

Even worse, some people can barely read a few characters, and if they hadn't crammed before the exam, they probably wouldn't even be able to write their own names.

Some candidates, who possess both literary and military talents, often shine in the first subject and can still advance to the final examination even if their scores in the latter two subjects are lower.

Lin Ping smiled faintly at this first exam. Not to mention interpreting military strategy, he could even write a more profound one with ease.

After all, the history of the Wu Kingdom differed somewhat from the history Lin Ping was familiar with, at most producing earlier military books such as "The Art of War" and "Six Secret Teachings".

Lin Ping could easily write a book called "Taibai Yin Jing" or "Thirty-Six Stratagems" to deal with the exam questions.

At that time, the examiners will probably be so shocked that they will directly convey the news to the emperor.

Thinking this, Lin Ping was already being ushered into the examination room.

The partitioned exam desks surprised Lin Ping, and with three proctors patrolling back and forth, there was absolutely no way to cheat.

He suddenly thought of Xue Chenkai, whom he had previously beaten up at Mingyue Tower. No wonder that guy bribed the Minister of Rites in order to get the exam questions in advance.

Unfortunately, Lin Ping disrupted the other party's plan.

Preventing someone from pursuing an official career is tantamount to taking their life. Lin Ping didn't want to make an enemy of him, but he blamed the other party for being blind and having designs on Zhou Xiyin.

With the sound of a gong, the wax-sealed exam papers were unsealed and distributed to the candidates one by one.

When the test takers saw the exam questions, they were all dumbfounded and stunned, and many of them made strange noises.

Clearly, the exam questions were too novel and completely unexpected, rendering all the strategies they had prepared useless.

Lin Ping glanced at the exam paper curiously, and was equally surprised.

It's less of a military strategy question and more of a current affairs question.

It's already quite remarkable that a martial arts graduate is knowledgeable in military strategy; asking them to discuss current affairs is asking too much of them.

In other words, this year's exam was much more difficult than in previous years, and it was even a combination of the imperial examination and the military examination.

This is not hard to understand. The ruler is eager to find talented people and has high expectations for the newly recruited military officers. He may even entrust them with important tasks, so he will naturally increase the difficulty of the examination questions.

The exam question only contained one sentence:

How to reclaim the territories of the feudal lords.

The feudal lords mentioned by the king especially refer to the city lords, since the other feudal lords are weak and insignificant. As long as the king gives an order, they will naturally obediently hand over their territories.

City lords are all powerful officials who control a city and command a private army of up to 10,000 men, making them formidable military forces.

Decades ago, the king wanted to reclaim the territory, but he was met with strong opposition from several city lords, which almost led to internal strife in Yue and forced him to put the matter on hold.

The current ruler, full of passion, has once again begun to consider the issue of reclaiming territory.

He was quite clever; instead of using forceful methods, he relied on new policies to gradually erode the city lord's power.

This forced the major city lords to shrink into their small city, and their territories were greatly reduced.

It seems like an opportunity has come to reclaim the territory, but in reality, it's not that simple.

Otherwise, the ruler would not have included such a question in the examination; he was clearly seeking the talents of the people.

After reading the exam questions, the examination room was filled with disheartened voices. They couldn't very well just recite "The Art of War" from memory and not answer the questions.

Everyone was in extreme pain, and the ink-dipped brush hesitated to fall.

Several proctors glanced at the questions, all of them showing expressions of sympathy.

The questions for the military examination were even more difficult than those for the imperial examination; this was simply outrageous.

Of course, we should also think about the issue dialectically. Although the test was difficult, 32 people will still advance.

In other words, the monarch was grasping at straws in desperation; getting an answer would be best, but even if he didn't get a satisfactory answer, it wouldn't affect the selection of the martial arts champion.

"Reclaim the territory? Are you going to deny the contributions of the six great families to the Wu Kingdom based on just one sentence? No wonder Zhao Kuangyin used the banquet to release the military power back then."

"Under the influence of power, all emotions seem so fragile."

"Or rather, the Xia family had this idea hundreds of years ago, but it just didn't come to fruition in practice."

Lin Ping muttered to himself, wielding his brush and writing several large characters in a flurry, before leaving the examination hall in full view of everyone.