The Test

The two of them arrived at the palace and headed straight for the royal guard barracks. The fifty new soldiers were neatly lined up on the training ground. The Commander of the Royal Guard saluted them, "Young Chief, Captain. You are here."

"Commander, thank you for lending us your training ground."

"It was nothing Young Chief, I'm glad I can help you."

Ji Huli almost puked, the way the Commander's eyes sparked confirmed his suspicion. This man wanted to impressed Yifei. Although not beautiful Yifei had her own charm. The only dumb person that immuned to her charm was his brother.

"Commander Li, can we get in now?"

"Of course, Captain Ji."

Huli tried to get rid of Commander Li's blushing face when talking to Yifei and contacted the girl through their mind link.

"(How sure are you on your people?)"

"(They are your brother's people, Huli. They must be pretty good.)"

"(Wu Yifei, I don't like this. You never move unless you are sure you'll win. What trick did you play?)"

Instead of answering Huli, Yifei walked in front of the recruits. "Attention, Soldiers!"

"Yes, Young Chief." The new soldiers replied in uniform.

"We are invited to the Buckwheat Kingdom to attend the King's birthday banquet. In accordance with our Black Temple rule, as a diplomatic envoy, I have the right to select my own team of escorts. But as all of you know, I am also the successor of the sword, the Young Chief. I already have Qilin as my personal escort. So in today's test, there are only 10 vacant seats for the escort team. The Royal Guard Commander will explain the rules of the test for you." her lips curled upward, "I wish you all the best of luck, Soldiers. May the best warriors win."

The soldiers echoed, "May the best warriors win!"

"(What the fuck Yifei? They were 50 of them and you will only take 10 of them? Aren't you asking for a trouble?)"

"Ji Huli, the beauty of a trick is its mysteriousness. Don't ask too much and just add more gifts for the birthday present."

Ji Huli grabbed the scroll on Yifei's hand, gritted his teeth. "At times like this, I really hate being your head of security."

Yifei just shrugged, refocusing her eyes on the training ground.

Today's test consisted of a fighting test, weapons test, and magick test. The participants would fight each other and determine their ranking. Only the top 10 people on the list will be appointed as part of Yifei's escort. No matter how clever Yifei was at sneaking her spies into other regiments, the other regiment leaders did the same. Classifying the forces of new soldiers was the easiest way to find out who their sponsor was. In knowing this, Yifei could ensure a proper balance and check.

Even if it turns out that Yifei's guys dominated the top list, she couldn't freely put them on her escort. That was too suspicious and will arouse frictions between factions. Her goal today was to identify the sponsor and laid out another plan in case those people were selected.

The fighting and weapons test went by in a blur, Yifei already had The girl already has a record of all the soldiers, now is the most decisive test - the magick test. Although the fighting style and choice of weapons could help Yifei analyze which factions the sponsors of the soldiers were, the magick test would determine their threat level when really beside Yifei. Being the orthodox heir in the past two years has made Yifei realize that the tricks and filth of the business world could not be compared to the thirst for power or greed of political glory. Her enemy would do anything and everything to put her into a dangerous situation.

"Commander Li, how about a break before we proceed to the next test? The recruits also need to refuel their energy. I have prepared a special lunch for everyone."

Huli couldn't believe his ears, someone as calculative as YIfei said she would treat them for food? It was more believable to say the carnivore didn't eat meat rather than YIfei doing this without a hidden agenda.

"(Can you now tell me your plan? I'm scared to eat this food.)"

"(If you don't have anything to hide then you can eat as much as you want.)"

Her answer just confirmed his suspicion, there was something behind this treat. Huli could guess some of Yifei's motives, especially regarding the test. But this move? He couldn't. Yifei wasn't an amateur, she wouldn't poison them just to get rid of them. Even the beginner magika or officer would investigate her first.

The soldiers and officers sat together in the dining room of the Royal Guard's barracks. There are honey cakes, various types of jams, and bread of various shapes. There were cooked chicken, duck, beef and goat. There are five kinds of rice served and various sweet and fresh desserts. All and any kind of food filled the long table.

"Wu Yifei, aren't you being too much?"

"They are going to be my guards, I can't mistreat them."

Commander Li made a salute, "Thank you Young Chief for the generous treat."

The soldiers and officers followed suit, "Thank you, Young Chief!"

"Enjoy your food, everyone."

The commotion was no longer contained, the men immediately ate their meal. Filling their hungry stomachs while enjoying sumptuous dishes that they may not encounter often. Having the rich as their young leader was fun.

"(Is this the legendary fattening goats before being slaughtered?)"

"(Slaughter is a cruel word, Huli. This is called being smart.)"

The sudden banquet ended two hours later, the soldiers and examiners immediately returned to the training ground.

Commander Li held the scroll in his hand high, " This is a list of the ranking of your test results so far. In this magick test, you will be divided into 5 groups of 10 people, you will fight each other using only your magick. You don't have to worry about your safety, we have installed barrier protection. When your magick is in a critical period or when you want to give up, then you will automatically be thrown out of the barrier arena. The last ten people standing in the protective talisman will be Young Chief's guard on this diplomatic mission. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Commander!"

"Then you can gather in your group. May the best warriors win!"

"May the best warriors win!"

Yifei was on the balcony of the second floor of the barracks, her eyes scanning the name list in her hand as she occasionally glanced at the soldiers who were fighting each other. She had already classified the names of spies, common soldiers, or successors of noble families among them.

Yifei wasn't in the mood to get rid of them yet, but the more information she had the easier it will be to do this later. Her eyes caught some familiar figures, the ducklings from the Red Batalyon also enlisted. Their previous performance was also very impressive, Song Lin and Fu Bai's swordplay was no joke. Song Lin's swordplay had a very exquisite technique with a lethal attack.

In contrast, Fu Bai's style was very flexible and full of trickery. His tongue was as deadly as his scimitars, he provoked his opponents to shift their focus and force them into a hasty, reckless attack. When the opponent was off guard he immediately launched successive attacks with the strength of his two scimitars.

Bao Ren used his physique to generate pure power and hit each opponent with his bare hands. His opponent was thrown from the arena after exchanging about tenth fists. Fu Xin the beauty? She was the literal meaning of a smiling tiger. Captivating, lively, and deadly. Each move issued has the appropriate amount of strength and hits the opponent's vital points without a miss. Smart, precise, and clean.

They ranked ninth, fifteenth, twenty-one, and twenty-three respectively in overall ranks.

The magick fight had been held for a quarter of an hour, Yifei folded the scroll while mind linking Huli. "(Do it, now.)"

Ji Huli was regretting yet another life decision he made but obediently lit a spiritual fire to the talisman Yifei planted in secret. With naked eyes, nothing happened but if you look deeper into it, there was a faint amber scent that immediately enveloped the training ground and seeped into the battle arena.