Two middle aged men stepped forward .

One was a heavily bearded man wearing heavy armor . He held a black axe in his hand . The second one was a dark skinned bald man . He had two wolf fang like weapons on his back .

They looked at each other, unspeaking, when they heard the princess's orders .

With the silver horned wolf squad and 20,000 soldiers surrounding the area, he would not be able to escape even if he had wings . Furthermore, there were two generals escorting him .

This was quite the flawless plan .

Even though everyone felt that there was still an inherent risk in this plan, they knew that it would be impossible to change her mind .

All they could do was increase the security . How powerful can a 'scout' be?

Fang Zhengzhi wanted to fly . He even wanted to drag this princess into the sky with him . He wanted to get out of this G.o.d forsaken place .

"Then . . . can I ask another question?" Fang Zhengzhi said weakly .

"Speak!" The lady was visibly exasperated .

"If, and just if, I win, what happens?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the princess excitedly .

All of the generals were stunned when they heard this . Then, they all burst out laughing .

"This guys wants to win? Hahaha . . . does he not know that the "Mountain Rain" princess is the best female warrior in the land?"

"He must be day dreaming . "

"He doesn't even know where he stands . He really is very thick skinned . "

All of the generals could not help but laugh at Fang Zhengzhi's shamelessness .

Princess Shan Yu also began laughing . A tear rolled down her cheek . No one had ever dared say something like that in front of her .

"Okay, if you win, I will spare your life!" Princess Shan Yu could not even sit upright . She chuckled as she laid out the conditions .

"Will you release me?" Fang Zhengzhi asked .

"Release you? Hahaha . . . what do you think?" Princess Shan Yu looked at Fang Zhengzhi with condescension .

"I guess not . " Fang Zhengzhi nodded lightly .

"From the moment you stepped into this camp, you were never meant to walk out .

Do you understand? Don't bother daydreaming anymore . Just be a good clown . " Princess Shan Yu comforted .

"Rest a.s.sured, I will make you very happy . " Fang Zhengzhi a.s.sured .

"Hahaha . . . good, very good! Because of what you said, even if you lose, I will not kill you! I will just chop off your fingers and toes and hang you by a string . You will tell me a joke whenever I feel like it . " Princess Shan Yu laughed .

"Thank you your highness!" Fang Zhengzhi replied 'gratefully' .

"Mm, that's a good boy!" Princess Shan Yu chuckled and left the tent .

All of the generals surrounded Fang Zhengzhi, staring at him coldly . They prepared to lunge at Fang Zhengzhi should he try anything funny,

Fang Zhengzhi moved .

He leisurely placed his hands behind his back and began to saunter out of the tent, humming a tune as he did so .

He stopped briefly when he reached the entrance of the tent . He turned to look at the two generals following closely behind .

The two generals were taken aback when they saw this . They had no idea why someone who was about to die was so relaxed .

"Open the flaps? Are you two blind?" Fang Zhengzhi chided as he looked at the two generals .

"You, you rascal, you must be tired of living! I am a general! Why would I open the flaps for someone like you?" The bearded General Tai raged when he heard Fang Zhengzhi . His domineering aura was released instantly .

"Just open it! Enough with your nagging . Do you not see the princess waiting for me outside? Are you going to take responsibility for delaying the compet.i.tion?" Fang Zhengzhi continued .

"I will kill you!"

"Brother Tai, don't be rash, he is just agitating us . The people of the Great Xia Dynasty are cunning . We need to keep our calm and ensure the princess is safe . " General My advised .

"Then do you really want me to open the flap for him?" General Tai was not happy about this .

"You, open the flap!" General Mu glanced at one of the other deputies .

"Yes, sir!" The deputy did not want to do it, but the two generals outranked him by many times .

He had no other choice but to follow orders .

"Why take so long to open the flap? You speak too much rubbish . " Fang Zhengzhi glanced at the two generals in scorn . Then, he walked out confidently .

The two generals tightened their grip on their weapons as they watched Fang Zhengzhi walk out . If not for the fact that he was to compete against the princess . . .

They would slice him in half where he stood .

The sun shone brightly .

The valley of the Southern Mountain Range was blooming . A huge army surrounded it . There was an exquisite tent in the middle .

Pots of fresh flowers lined the insides of the tent .

Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted as he laid down on the chair . He sniffed the aroma of the various flowers, intoxicated by them .

"Your highness . " At this moment an official in a black robe walked in . He looked at the Crown Prince and bowed respectfully .

"Mm, Official Su is here? Tell me how the combat examinations are going . " The Crown Prince slowly opened his eyes and looked at the youth in front of him .

"Your highness, Wu Feng is currently in the lead . He has controlled 20 settlements and is using the Yan Ya Settlement as his base . He has almost 10,000 men under him . " Su Qing reported .

"Almost 10,000 men? He has already eliminated four people?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was slightly taken aback .

"That is correct . " Su Qing nodded .

"What about Nangong Hao?"

"He has not moved much . He still has the original 2000 men and he is using the Icy Monkey Settlement as his base . "

"Mm, the Icy Monkey Settlement is the one closest to the Sagely Mountain City . It is good that Nangong Hao has based himself there . Oh yes . . . how is Yan Xiu?"

"Yan Xiu did not try to control any particular settlement . He is roaming between various settlements . However, he has eliminated one person and has 4000 soldiers under him . "

"I understand . How many candidates are left?" Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded .

"About 20 candidates . "

"Noted . Did Fang Zhengzhi appear?"

"No, but . . . "

"But what?"

"I received news that Fang Zhengzhi appeared in the Stable Mountain Gate . He even tried to borrow troops from the garrison there in hopes of joining the combat examination . However, he was rejected . The people report that he may have gone back to the capital to levy troops . "

"Back to capital to levy troops? Haha . . . if you were Fang Zhengzhi, what would you do?"

"If I was Fang Zhengzhi, I would also show my face in the Stable Mountain Gate . Then, I would fool people into thinking that I was returning to the capital to levy troops . I would then use that opportunity to enter the Southern Mountain Range and defeat a candidate and take his ident.i.ty . Then, I will grow slowly from there .

"That makes sense . That would mean that Fang Zhengzhi is hidden amongst the candidates?"

"Yes . "

"Then let's wait patiently for him to show himself . However, don't let him grow too fast . Keep a close watch . If any other candidates are doing too well, report back to me . "

"I understand . "

In the imperial academy back in the capital .

Xing Yuanguo of the Stabilization Constabulary stood respectfully below . He emanated a steely aura .

"Official Xing, how are Qingmu's injuries?" Emperor Lin Mubai's eyes glimmered as he asked .

"Your highness, he has recovered and is awaiting your orders at any time . "

"Mm, there is movement in the Southern Mountain Range . I believe that the demons have already smuggled themselves into our ranks . We will continue to act based on your plan . "

"Yes, your highness . "

"Oh yes, there has been news from the Stable Mountain Gate . Fang Zhengzhi has gone to the Southern Mountain Range . Even though I did not give him any soldiers, I believe that he will be able to make his way into the army . However . . . to be honest, I am quite worried . Fang Zhengzhi is talented, but he is a maverick . Will he impede our plan?"

"Your highness, even though I have had very little dealings with Fang Zhengzhi, he is a man of good heart . Even though he is shameless, he is very clear when it comes to the important things . I feel that he may even help advance your plan!"

"Advance? Haha . . . how can he possibly guess my plan? Forget it, let's not talk about him . I shan't hold you back any longer, go make the preparations . " Emperor Lin Mubai smiled as he shook his head lightly . He did not believe what Xing Yuanguo had said .

"Yes your highness, I will take my leave!" Xing Yuanguo left .

Fang Zhengzhi basked in the warm sun of late autumn . The wind was slightly chilly, but it was not unbearable .

Sunlight shone on the trees and leaves, leaving glimmering spots of light on the ground .

"This horse . . . will not throw me off on purpose right?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly afraid when he looked at the two meter high, black armored stallion . He kept his distance .

"Hmph! We are great with horses . Even though this Black Armored Stallion is ferocious, we have managed to tame it enough to be ridden!" Princess Shan Yu snorted when she heard what Fang Zhengzhi said . Then, she began to feel a tinge of regret . Competing with this man was unbefitting of her position .

Fang Zhengzhi did not say anything more . He neared the stallion carefully, his eyes filled with fear . He would turn to look at Princess Shan Yu periodically .

Princess Shan Yu rode a crimson beast . It's domineering stature and demeanor warranted its description as a beast .

It was fiery red from head to tail . Even its hooves looked like they were lit on fire . It even had two sharp horns on its head .

Dragon?

Or Qilin?

Fang Zhengzhi could not determine what it was, but he was sure that it was very powerful . He had no idea how Princess Shan Yu had managed to tame it .

"Oi, get on the horse quickly! Do you need me to help you up?" General Tai mocked as he snorted, his axe on his shoulder .

"No need . I can do it myself . " Fang Zhengzhi replied innocently .

General Tai's face turned red instantly .

If this was said by anyone else, he would have praised them for their independence . However, Fang Zhengzhi had just asked him to pull open the curtain to the tent .

Fang Zhengzhi was the last person he expected to say something like that .

However, after Fang Zhengzhi finished, he mounted the horse . Even though he struggled a little, he managed to 'crawl' onto its back .

General Tai had no choice but to swallow his words . He snorted to himself, "I will have your head after the compet.i.tion is over!"

Naturally, Fang Zhengzhi did not know what General Tai was thinking .

After he mounted his horse, he looked out into the distance . He saw that he was surrounded by soldiers . In the far distance, growls could be heard intermittently .

This was the silver horned wolf .

"Mm . . . I'll wait for my chance!" Fang Zhengzhi comforted himself . Everything was progressing well . All he had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity to strike .

Then . . .

Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about this, he heard a loud roar right next to him . He turned to look at it .

His eyes widened instantly .

"Cloud . . . cloud pattern?!" The phrase flew through Fang Zhengzhi's brain . This phrase was enough to unsettle him .

Why would there be cloud patterns here?