Chapter 135: Bestowing the Divine Armor

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From that point onward, everything proceeded harmoniously, apart from the Four Great Flower Queens being constantly pushed aside by Wu Lanxiang. Wu Qingluan had not the slightest trace of airs about her. She drank freely with the martial candidates and with Fang Xian, and before long she was addressing everyone as brothers.

They drank until midnight, yet Wu Qingluan showed no intention of leaving. Fang Xian knew there was no chance of spending the night at the Court Entertainment Bureau, so he had the flower queens carry the drunken martial candidates to their rooms. Then, ignoring the aggrieved looks in the eyes of the Four Great Flower Queens, he took Wu Qingluan and left.

Wu Qingluan was unable to return to the Grand Princess’s Residence, however. Fang Xian instead brought her to the medical hall, to the small courtyard where she had once lived. The sounds of their exertions continued until dawn, leaving Wu Lanxiang, who stood guard outside, blushing for half the night.

The following day, imperial notices appeared throughout Martial Capital and were quickly distributed to every commandery, prefecture, and county, proclaiming the results of the military examinations to the realm. Only half a month had passed since the results of the civil examinations had been announced.

“Fang Xian is the Military Laureate? That can’t be right. Wasn’t the Civil Laureate announced half a month ago also named Fang Xian? Could there have been a mistake?” Many people’s first reaction upon seeing the notice was disbelief, for they clearly remembered that the Civil Laureate announced half a month earlier had been Fang Xian.

“Could there be two Fang Xians—one the Divine Physician and Civil Laureate, and the other the Military Laureate?” someone speculated.

“Could they both be the Divine Physician? If he can become Civil Laureate, why couldn’t he become Military Laureate as well?” one of Fang Xian’s devoted supporters said.

“Although quite a few civil officials practice martial arts, it would be impossible for them to achieve good results in the military examinations. The subjects are far broader and more specialized,” someone countered.

“Then look at Xia Zhenghong, who placed twelfth in the military examinations. The second-place scholar in the civil examinations was also Xia Zhenghong. Are you saying there are two Xia Zhenghongs as well?” someone sharp-eyed pointed out, indicating the name in twelfth place.

“I know this Xia Zhenghong. He is the son of Xia Rongxin, Governor of Guangyuan Commandery. He excels in both civil and martial pursuits, so it is unquestionably the same person,” someone familiar with him said.

“If Xia Zhenghong can excel in both civil and martial pursuits, why can’t the Divine Physician do the same? In my view, the Civil and Military Laureates are the same person—the Divine Physician himself.”

Before long, officials came forward to confirm that this year’s Civil and Military Laureate, Fang Xian, was indeed one and the same person. He was the only dual laureate in all of history, and also the renowned Divine Physician. The Emperor would bestow rewards upon him at the grand court assembly two days later.

Word also spread that the Emperor would allow Fang Xian to choose for himself whether to serve as a civil official or a military general, and whether to remain at court or take up a post in the provinces. The entire Martial Capital was thrown into an uproar, and the news gradually spread throughout every commandery, prefecture, and county of the Martial Kingdom.

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It was nearly noon when Fang Xian and Wu Qingluan finally awoke. They had been wildly active from the middle of the night until dawn, and even bodies forged of iron would have been exhausted. After sleeping heavily for two hours, they had only just recovered.

Fang Xian did not open his eyes upon waking. Instead, he summoned the system interface. He had heard the notification the previous night but had had no time to check it. Only now was he free.

“Congratulations, Host, on obtaining both the Civil and Military Laureates. The system rewards you with five hundred Divine Armor Puppets, which may be summoned at any time.”

Fang Xian was stunned. He had not expected the system to reward him with puppets this time. Although it was inconvenient to summon them at present, and he did not know how powerful they were, anything produced by the system was certainly no ordinary item.

Fang Xian also discovered that his renown points had surpassed one hundred thousand. The system shop had been updated as well. One Life-Extending Pill and one Myriad-Poison Pill were now available, along with three Barrier-Breaking Pills, five Blood Pact Pills, and two sets of Transforming Divine Armor.

At the same time, Foundation-Strengthening Pills and Body-Forging Pills could now be exchanged in large quantities. Standard-issue equipment had also been added, including various types of armor, weapons, and bows and arrows. There was even a large ballista, a weapon belonging to the category of war materiel.

Furthermore, the system’s storage space had expanded. It had doubled from the previous ten slots and could now hold twenty different kinds of items, greatly increasing Fang Xian’s convenience.

“The system must have changed after my renown points exceeded one hundred thousand. I’m gaining a large number of renown points every day now. I might as well exchange for all these items.”

As he pondered, Fang Xian exchanged for the items. He obtained the Life-Extending Pills, Myriad-Poison Pills, Barrier-Breaking Pills, and Blood Pact Pills, as well as the two sets of Transforming Divine Armor. He also exchanged for large quantities of various pills, including Foundation-Strengthening Pills and Body-Forging Pills.

Fang Xian then discovered that the Life-Extending Pills and Myriad-Poison Pills refreshed once a month. The Barrier-Breaking Pills and Blood Pact Pills also refreshed monthly, but three of each appeared every time. The Transforming Divine Armor refreshed once every three months, with two sets appearing each time.

As for the Foundation-Strengthening Pills and Body-Forging Pills, they could be exchanged at any time. As long as he had enough renown points, there was no limit, saving Fang Xian the trouble of concocting pills in the future.

By the time Fang Xian had only a few thousand renown points left, his twenty storage slots were nearly full. Otherwise, he might have spent all his renown points in one go.

“How are you planning to propose? Will you submit a memorial?” Wu Qingluan asked Fang Xian over lunch.

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“Why go to so much trouble? At the grand court assembly two days from now, I’ll simply ask His Majesty to grant us a marriage,” Fang Xian said indifferently.

“Would that really be all right?” Wu Qingluan asked, startled.

“His Majesty will agree. However, after that, I may go to Sword Gate Pass in Guangyuan Commandery to take charge of its defense.” Fang Xian considered the matter, then continued.

“Why go to such a remote place? Is that what you want, or will Imperial Brother send you there?” Wu Qingluan asked.

“When I was answering the military strategy questions, I foresaw that the Xia Kingdom might join forces with the Savage Kingdom to attack the Martial Kingdom. Sword Gate Pass, where the borders of the three kingdoms meet, is the crucial position. His Majesty will certainly send me there to prepare for war. My mission will be to hold Sword Gate Pass for three months.” Fang Xian nodded.

“If you don’t want to go, I can speak to Imperial Brother and ask him to assign you to the Flying Phoenix Army instead. The new emperor of the Zhou Kingdom has only recently ascended the throne, and Zhou has always maintained good relations with the Martial Kingdom. War is unlikely to break out there so soon,” Wu Qingluan said after thinking it over.

“There’s no need. You know that I still have people I care about in the Great Ba Mountains. Sword Gate Pass is relatively close to that region, and after completing my mission, I may withdraw into the Great Ba Mountains. As for you—will you remain in Martial Capital, or come with me to Sword Gate Pass? The fighting over those three months will likely be fierce, and no one can say who will live or die.” Fang Xian asked her.

“I’ll go with you to Sword Gate Pass,” Wu Qingluan said without hesitation. To her, being with the person she loved was what mattered most. Life and death were not considerations.

“This is Transforming Divine Armor. Drip your blood onto it, and it will merge into your body. It should be able to withstand attacks from a peak master of the Transformation Realm.” Fang Xian did not try to dissuade her. Instead, he took out a suit of Transforming Divine Armor and gave it to her.

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