"If I'm not mistaken, Ma Jun must have taken some kind of medicine beforehand that prevented him from being affected by this incense," Song Yunfei whispered his assessment.
Zhang Lu grumbled indignantly, "What a damn injustice! Others here are fighting their inner demons at the risk of their lives, and this horse cheats with such underhanded means."
The others were also furious. Although this was just the first stage of the martial trial, this incident alone showed how much effort the Ma family had invested. It was obvious that all the judges would be biased towards Ma Jun. After all, the Ma family was from Fengdu City, and these four judges were also from Fengdu City. It would be a true ghost to think they wouldn't favor Ma Jun.
On the judges' stand, an old man with a goatee stroked his beard and looked at Ma Jun with satisfaction. "We've long heard of the young prodigy from the Ma family, and seeing him today, the rumors are true. He wouldn't just stand out in this small place like Tongcheng, but even in Guangling Prefecture."
Han Zongyuan felt a surge of anger. "A small, insignificant place?" he thought. "Old fool, did you consider my feelings when you said that?"
Another elder chimed in, "Indeed, this Ma family boy looks calm and composed, clearly fearless. This young man has boundless potential!" The other two judges nodded in agreement, fully endorsing Ma Jun's performance.
Han Zongyuan's face was grim. He suspected the Ma family had cheated, but without evidence, even as the Tongcheng County Magistrate, he couldn't accuse them of such baseless claims.
"Is that pained fellow the second-ranked in the civil examination, Chen Nan?" the goatee-bearded elder asked, his gaze fixing on Chen Nan. A hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes. "I read his essay; it was very well-written, second only to this Ma family youngster. But look, his face is contorted in pain. While I don't know what he's seeing, it's evident his disposition is far inferior to that of the Ma family boy. If such a person becomes a Yin Messenger, who knows if it will be a blessing or a curse." He was already passing judgment on Chen Nan, despite this being only the first stage of the martial trial.
Just then, Han Zongyuan's voice rang out, "Please forgive me, but I cannot agree with Lord Duan's assessment. It is far too early to judge Chen Nan's performance in this round. We cannot declare him unsuitable to be a Yin Messenger based on his current state; that would be unfair to him." He said expressionlessly, "And furthermore, Chen Nan is the 'Divine Constable' in the hearts of the people of Tongcheng. He not only solved the Floating Corpse case but also, at the risk of his life, dove underwater to open the floodgates when Tongcheng was submerged by floods. He even bravely fought the water monster of Taiyuan Lake and, at the cost of his life, used heavenly lightning to kill it. For this, he was unconscious for over ten days. Heaven has seen his deeds, and the people of Tongcheng remember them. You cannot dismiss him because his current performance is unsatisfactory."
Han Zongyuan's voice grew more indignant. "What if he is reliving the experience of diving underwater to open the floodgates and is powerless to stop Tongcheng from being flooded? Or what if he sees the Taiyuan Lake monster preying on innocent citizens within the city? In that case, would his current performance be good or bad?"
Duan Kun frowned, surprised that Han Zongyuan dared to address him in such a tone, given his lower status. The other three elders looked surprised, seemingly unaware of Chen Nan's numerous contributions.
Han Zongyuan continued, "Also, the proposal to excavate the river and straighten its bends was Chen Nan's. Without him, would there even be a Yin Messenger selection today, Lord Duan?"
Duan Kun snorted coldly, "I don't deny this fellow's abilities, but remember this: Chen Nan killed the Wenbo Hou family. His actions have put our faction in a very passive position in court."
Han Zongyuan replied, "Yes, I don't deny that. However, the main reason for Wenbo Hou's death was their loss of the imperial pardon token bestowed by the Emperor and their blatant disregard for the court's laws. Even if Chen Nan executed the Wenbo Hou family, in my opinion, Wenbo Hou did not die at Chen Nan's hands but rather due to the arrogance and pride of their own Liu family. We cannot harbor resentment against Chen Nan for upholding justice and executing a Marquis from our side, and then strip away and negate everything he has done."
Duan Kun's eyes flashed with displeasure, and he gritted his teeth, "Don't forget, he is one of Yuan Zun's men."
Han Zongyuan countered, "He could also become one of us."
"Let's see how he performs!" Duan Kun grumbled impatiently. There was one thing he didn't say: with him around, Chen Nan would never achieve a high score.
A murderous intent rose in Han Zongyuan's heart. "Old fool," he thought. "If Chen Nan cannot become a Yin Messenger, don't blame this Third Master for destroying your entire clan. Even if your influence in court is greater than mine, and your official position is higher than mine, how difficult would it be to destroy you?" Han Zongyuan could easily annihilate Duan Kun by igniting a hidden Heavenly Rebel cult disciple within the Duan family, which would be enough to bring utter devastation to their clan. However, one thing puzzled him: what exactly had Fifth Brother seen? With his temperament, even if he had witnessed something terrifying, he wouldn't have appeared so panicked and uneasy.
Time slowly passed. After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, some participants were successively eliminated, or rather, they voluntarily chose to give up. Once fifty people remained, the four judges scored them based on the order of elimination. When a full stick of incense had burned out, only three people remained on the field. Besides Chen Nan and Ma Jun, there was a young man named Guo Yu. However, his face was ashen, and his entire body was drenched in sweat, making him look exceptionally disheveled, as if he had just been fished out of water. Consequently, the four judges awarded him high scores: three eights and one nine. Of course, the nine points came from Duan Kun.
Although Chen Nan performed poorly at the beginning, he later regained his composure. Normally, Chen Nan's score should have been higher than Guo Yu's. However, upon seeing the scores given by the four judges, Chen Nan felt a surge of intense anger. He could accept three nines, but the goatee-bearded elder had awarded him a mere one point. One point! The fiftieth person to advance had received one point, and he, who had made it to the top three, also received only one point? This was clearly intentional targeting and suppression, an attempt to prevent him from becoming a Yin Messenger. Moreover, the suppression was blatant.
Wu Jiu protested loudly, "This is unfair! Why does Chen Nan, who persisted to the very end, only get one point? Are you people bullying others like this?"