24 Selection and Assessment

"Thanks a lot."

After the person in front of the notice board stepped aside, the young man named Tao Qingyuan nodded and thanked him in a polite and humble manner.

He walked to the notice board and glanced at it carefully. He then stopped for a moment before leaving under the people's gazes.

Afterwards, the discussions surfaced again.

"Wherever he goes, he is the focus, no wonder he is the top talent of the Tao Village."

Guo Ye looked at Tao Qingyuan walking away as he spoke in a jealous tone.

Xu Ning heard him, but did not answer.

From the memory of his previous life, Tao Qingyuan was the same age as himself; he was also 17 years old. He was indeed the top younger generation talent of the Tao Village.

Even Tao Jin, who was taught by the Clan Head Tao Jingxing himself, was no match to Tao Qingyuan.

Almost everyone in the Tao Village knew that Tao Qingyuan would be the top martial arts master of the Tao Village in the future. They all believed that Tao Qingyuan would be the next Clan Head of the Tao Village.

"Tao Qingyuan's entry into the Black Armored Guards is guaranteed."

"Even amongst the Black Armored Guards, Tao Qingyuan's talent is still top notch."

"…"

There was a lot of discussion about Tao Qingyuan.

"Let's go, Guo Ye."

After hearing about the selection for the Black Armored Guards, Xu Ning did not stay around.

There was still a month's time before the selection. Judging by his current strength, he shouldn't have to worry too much about being selected.

"You have to train hard, Xu Ning!"

Guo Ye snapped back to reality and said earnestly.

He knew well that he would definitely have no chance to enter the Black Armored Guards, but if Xu Ning could, he would have a Black Armored Guard as a friend.

"Understood."

Xu Ning waved his hand as he replied.

…

Time flew by quickly.

A month had gone by, and the weather in winter had gone colder and colder.

A few days ago, the first heavy snowfall of this winter happened in Kangyun County. The ground was covered in white snow.

Unlike others who were preparing for the selection of the Black Armored Guards, he had nothing to specially prepare for.

During this month, Xu Ning still insisted on going into the mountains to collect medicine, and occasionally he hunted.

On one lucky day during this period, Xu Ning discovered a spirit medicine that was worth 2 units of energy, which he immediately absorbed.

In addition, his income during this period of time was also quite good. Xu Ning bought another Swallowtail Flower with the taels he had, and after absorbing 3 energy units, his remaining energy had now reached 7 units.

The feeling of having aces up his sleeves made Xu Ning feel calm.

Even before the sun rose, the entire Tao Village was noisy.

It was because today was the day when the Black Armored Guards would come into the Tao Village to select talents.

Those families who had candidates of the right age were quite nervous; everyone was eager to be selected by the Black Armored Guards.

Xu Ning's family was no exception.

As soon as the rooster crowed, the household was already getting busy.

"Xu Ning, have you finished washing your face, come and eat!"

Xu Lian had already prepared breakfast.

There was a large plate of meat on the table, as well as thin noodles, buns, pancakes, and a bowl of egg soup.

Xu Lian was afraid that Xu Ning would get hungry during the selection process, which would lead to a suboptimal performance.

"Coming."

Xu Ning wiped his face and walked to the table.

Xu Ning looked at the breakfast on the table. He smiled and said, "Sis, this is too much."

"Shut up, hurry up and eat."

Xu Lian said, "Your brother-in-law has already gone to the school field in the village. He said he is going to observe the situation first, so that you don't have to rush in blindly."

"…"

Xu Ning was quite speechless.

"Mom, Uncle."

Tao Tao walked into the room with sleepy eyes.

Her braids were tied up messily, the buttons on her cotton-padded jacket were also undone as she walked over with a stagger.

Normally, Tao Tao would sleep until the sun rose before getting up, but today the family was busy moving around in the morning, not to mention the noise outside, which woke Tao Tao up.

"Meat!"

Tao Tao stepped forward to take a look at the table.

After seeing the meat, her narrow eyes widened.

"It's not for you."

Tao Tao leaned forward, and just as she was about to grab the meat, Xu Lian slapped her hand away.

"Your uncle has an important event today, so he has to be well fed."

Xu Lian sat on the chair, grabbed Tao Tao by the collar, and dragged her into her arms. "You are already four years old, but you still can't even wear your clothes properly, and your hair is messy too."

Xu Lian refastened Tao Tao's buttons and braided her hair.

"I'll grab you a pot of water and some pork slices to take. If you get hungry, it will replenish your strength."

Xu Lian put Tao Tao down from her arms.

Xu Ning remembered the college entrance examination from his previous life.

These two events had their similarities. For the average person, being selected by the Black Armored Guards was like entering a good university, which would greatly change the trajectory of one's future.

"Tao Tao, come here."

Xu Ning picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and waved it in front of Tao Tao.

Tao Tao immediately understood what Xu Ning meant. She reached out her hand and looked at the door warily. She then noticed that her mom was still busy.

So she grinned and sat on Xu Ning's lap.

"Ah."

Tao Tao opened her mouth wide.

Xu Ning stuffed the meat into Tao Tao's mouth.

"Uncle, can you join the Black Armored Guards?"

Tao Tao looked up at Xu Ning.

From this angle, she could only see Xu Ning's chin.

Over the past two days, Tao Yunchuan and Xu Lian talked about the Black Armored Guards every day, which also made Tao Tao understand what Xu Ning was going to do today.

"There should be no problem…"

Xu Ning wanted to put a piece of bun into Tao Tao's mouth, but Tao Tao refused.

So Xu Ning took another piece of meat, and Tao Tao obediently ate it this time.

"Good luck Uncle."

Tao Tao's mouth was full of meat, but Xu Ning still understood her words.

"Thanks a lot."

…

After having breakfast, Xu Ning took the things Xu Lian had prepared for him and went to the school field.

Xu Lian obviously wanted to follow Xu Ning, but after hesitating for a long time, she still chose not to go.

It's not that Xu Ning refused. It's that Xu Lian felt that if she was on the sidelines, she would be too nervous watching her younger brother perform.

Xu Ning left the house.

The sun had just begun to rise, and there were already many people on the roads, all rushing to the school field.

Although some people were not participating in the selection assessment and had no family members participating, since this was the first time that the Black Armored Guards had recruited people from Kangyun County, they still wanted to watch the event unfold.

"Xu Ning, here!"

As soon as Xu Ning arrived at the school field, he heard his brother-in-law Tao Yunchuan calling him.

"Brother-in-law…"

Xu Ning walked over.

"I'll grab your stuff."

Tao Yunchuan grabbed the water and dried meat from Xu Ning's hands.

He dragged Xu Ning and said, "Come with me, I have already mapped out the venue, come and take a look…"

Tao Yunchuan explained the layout of the school field to Xu Ning.

There were heavy stones for lifting, all kinds of weapons, and shelves…

After Tao Yunchuan's explanation, Xu Ning had a rough idea on what would be assessed.

The people in the village continued to flock to the school field, and soon, the place was packed with people.

…

At the same time.

Outside the Tao Village.

Tao Jingxing, Tao Jinglu, Tao Jingfang, and the other elders stood outside the village.

They were personally waiting for the Black Armored Guards Captain, Xia Yuanxing.

The cold winter wind was ruthless, but the clan elders showed no signs of weakness.

Ta! Ta! Ta!

The sound of horses galloping came from the distance.

"They're coming…"

Tao Jingxing whispered.

A team of men dressed in black came towards them.

Among them, the leader of the team carried a wide sword, and his horse was covered with a layer of iron armor. The tall war horse gave others an oppressive feeling, even from a distance.

"Captain Xia!"

Even before the horse stopped moving, Tao Jingxing waved his hands from a distance as he spoke with a loud voice.

"Clan Head Tao!"

Xia Yuanxing jumped directly off his horse.

His feet that landed on the ground caused the ground to slightly shake.

"Please take a rest in the village. We have already prepared breakfast."

After Tao Jingxing personally greeted him, the elders behind him followed suit.

Xia Yuanxing pulled off his mask. He first looked around at the elders and said, "Clan Head Tao, you're too kind, this is unnecessary. The selection of young talents is the important matter, so take us directly to the selection venue."

"No problem."

Tao Jingxing signaled with this hand. "This way please."