The scene was deathly silent.
Only Ma Jun's frenzied laughter echoed through the heavens and earth.
Everyone stared at Ma Jun with disbelief. Who could have imagined that he would gravely injure Ge Chun'an with a hidden weapon?
Han Zongyuan's voice slowly sounded, "In this battle, Ma Jun wins."
"Sir, I do not recognize this outcome!" Wu Jiu shouted loudly. "The Yin messenger is tied to the lives of Tongcheng's citizens."
"It is our Tongcheng's image, our facade."
"Our brothers can be weak."
"They can be killed by monsters or vengeful spirits."
"But our brothers must be people who care for the common folk and are upright and honorable!"
"Ma Jun's methods are insidious and cunning, he is not worthy of being our brother!"
The other constables also chimed in.
Even the common folk agreed with Wu Jiu. It was because of the county constables and Yin messengers that the common folk could live and work in peace. But if Ma Jun, a despicable and insidious villain, were to become a Yin messenger, it would be an absolute disaster for the citizens of Tongcheng. This was something no one wanted to see.
At this moment, Ge Chun'an stood up. He released a surge of Yin energy from his body, expelling the flying needles within him. "This competition did not state that weapons or hidden weapons were forbidden."
A ripple of astonishment swept through the crowd. His words were tantamount to admitting Ma Jun's strength and that his unscrupulous methods had not violated the rules. He acknowledged that as long as one could win, the means were unimportant. This sent a chill down everyone's spines.
An elder sighed to the heavens, "They say officials protect each other, today I truly understand this saying." "Where is justice?" "Where is heavenly reason?"
Another elder, tears streaming down his face, said, "I truly wish that Empress Houtu could know what has happened here and grant Constable Chen justice." "Grant us, the citizens of Tongcheng, justice!"
A middle-aged man said with great disappointment, "Indeed, if Ma Jun, such a despicable and insidious scoundrel, becomes a Yin messenger, I would rather return to the countryside to live." "Here, I feel no sense of security."
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A tall and sturdy middle-aged man clenched his fists, his eyes filled with unwillingness and anger. "I truly never imagined that Tongcheng, which we defended with our lives, would become so dirty and unbearable." "If I had known this earlier, why would we have risked our lives to excavate the river channels?"
Han Zongyuan listened to the voices from the crowd and gritted his teeth as he spoke to Duan Kun, "Lord Duan, do you see? Do you see?" "You alone have caused the citizens of the city to feel disappointed with this city."
Duan Kun said indifferently, "You are the magistrate of Tongcheng. If they feel disappointed with this city, it is also due to your incompetence. What does it have to do with me?" "You..." Han Zongyuan was speechless. He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his anger in his heart, and said, "Since this round of the competition is over, we will now invite the four judges to score the three contestants."
There was no suspense. In this round, Ma Jun once again received a perfect score of forty points. Chen Nan received thirty-one points. Apart from Duan Kun, who gave Chen Nan one point, the other three gave perfect scores. Guo Yu's score was higher than Chen Nan's. He received thirty-eight points in this round, placing him second in the cumulative score, ten points behind Ma Jun.
Of course, rankings seemed to have lost their meaning now. Even if he scored zero, as long as he didn't give up, he could still advance to the third round of assessment. After all, there were only three of them left on the field now.
"The third round of assessment is about to begin!" Han Zongyuan said. "The third round of assessment is very simple. You three will each shoot at the straw figures around you with a bow and arrow. Each hit will earn one point." "Each person has fifty arrows." "The one with the highest score will become the Yin messenger!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. If that were the case, Chen Nan still had a great chance. After all, this round of assessment depended on individual strength. Even if Duan Kun, that pest, wanted to cause trouble, he couldn't. Yes, with Chen Nan's strength, there was still hope of a comeback and winning first place. However, the gap between him and Ma Jun was enormous, as much as forty points. For him to win, he had to hit all fifty moving straw figures. And Ma Jun must miss. Only then could Chen Nan's cumulative score surpass Ma Jun's and claim first place. But, could Ma Jun really miss the moving straw figures? Even if his strength was not as good as Chen Nan's, he still had the cultivation of the fifth level of the Yin Gathering realm! With this cultivation, it would not be an exaggeration to say he could hit a target at a hundred paces with unerring accuracy, right?
Of course, even if Chen Nan couldn't win, Guo Yu could become first! As long as Ma Jun didn't win, it would mean there was still justice in this world. If Ma Jun truly won, they would truly feel disappointed. They would despair.
"The three of you, please choose a bow!" A county constable brought over a bow rack, upon which ten bows were placed. There were also three quivers, each containing fifty arrows. Ma Jun chose a bow and slung a quiver over his shoulder. This was the privilege of the first place, to choose a bow first. When it was Guo Yu's turn, he looked at Chen Nan, "Brother Chen, you choose first!" Actually, he knew that in terms of true strength, he wouldn't even be ranked second. So this gesture was out of respect for Chen Nan. Chen Nan smiled, surprised that this fellow was still a man of character, and felt a little relieved. He then said, "No need, the quality of these bows is about the same. You choose first!" Guo Yu grunted and stepped forward to select a bow, murmuring softly, "Brother Chen, I started learning archery at the age of three, and at ten, I became the strongest hunter in our village." "By the age of twelve, my archery skills were the strongest in our town, bar none." "Let alone hitting moving straw figures hundreds of meters away." "Even a flying insect would find it difficult to escape my arrows." Chen Nan was greatly surprised. He hadn't expected this fellow's archery skills to be so astonishing. Guo Yu carefully examined the bow, feeling its simplicity and the tension of the string. "I'm saying this not to brag about anything." "Because I know my archery skills can only threaten ordinary people." "When facing cultivators, it's nothing at all." "What I want to say is..." "I really can't stand these corrupt officials." "They use their power to trample on others' dignity and change others' destinies." "These kinds of people truly deserve to go to hell!" "I really want to become a Yin messenger." "But I know that if even you cannot become a Yin messenger," "how could I possibly be worthy of becoming a Yin messenger?" "This last round, let me guard you!" He grabbed a bow and grinned at Chen Nan, revealing a bright and wild smile. "As long as you don't miss a single one of your fifty arrows, I will be able to shoot down Ma Jun's arrows in mid-air and allow you to achieve ultimate victory!"