Chapter 21: The Performance Evaluation Begins!

Shang Lu sensed the animosity radiating from Sun Ying. He turned his head and offered Sun Ying a smile.

No need to rush—once the evaluation is over, our accounts will be settled.

Both Shang Lu and Sun Ying had already resolved to deal with each other after the performance assessment. It was difficult to say this wasn’t a kind of unspoken understanding between them.

But Sun Ying misunderstood Shang Lu. “Why is he smiling at me? Is he trying to curry favor? Too late for that!”

Shang Lu hadn’t expected Sun Ying to be quite so self-absorbed.

He turned his gaze back to the center of the training ground, focusing on the two shaman officials, his mind full of questions.

Why would shaman officials come to Luoshui County?

Could it be that the two constables, Niu and Ma, had reported the strange occurrences on Yunhua Mountain?

No, that couldn’t be. If they were here to investigate the supernatural events, the shamans would have gone straight to Yunhua Mountain, not come to the county seat to supervise the evaluation.

Besides, judging by the reactions of Constables Niu and Ma, as well as the clerks and magistrate, their faces bore the same mix of shock and confusion.

They clearly hadn’t expected the arrival of shaman officials.

Especially Constable Ma—his face was so ashen, he looked as if his family had all perished.

But if not for the Yunhua Mountain affair, why would the shaman officials have come to Luoshui County?

And two of them at that—could they really have come just to oversee the evaluation?

Since when did the officials of Luoshui County receive such exceptional treatment?

Shang Lu wasn’t the only one curious; everyone on the training ground was busy speculating about the purpose of the shaman officials’ visit.

Du Feng tilted his head, listening to the conversations around him, visibly excited.

He grabbed Shang Lu by the arm. “Lu Tou, do you think the two shaman officials are really here to recruit new members for the Shaman Academy? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! You have to give it your all—try to catch their eye…”

Suddenly, Du Feng remembered Shang Lu’s internal injuries and lost cultivation.

Let alone attracting the attention of a shaman official, he might not even pass the evaluation.

His excited expression froze; he scratched his head awkwardly. “Sorry, Lu Tou, I forgot about your health…”

If it had been anyone else, Shang Lu might have suspected some hidden malice.

But with Du Feng, Shang Lu was certain—he meant nothing of the sort.

This guy was as straightforward as they came. He could hack people down without hesitation, but ask him to be sly or sarcastic, and it would be the death of him.

“All right, all right, you don’t need to apologize. I know you.”

Shang Lu waved his hand with a laugh. “You’re always thinking about me—don’t you want to stand out yourself?”

Du Feng shook his head with a sigh. “Today is the evaluation for full officials—us temporary aides don’t get a chance to show off. Besides, being chosen by the Shaman Academy is rarer than winning the grand lottery. I’m not that lucky.”

Shang Lu nodded in agreement.

To enter the Shaman Academy, there were strict requirements for age, cultivation, and talent. It really was like thousands fighting to cross a single-log bridge.

For example, the cultivation requirement alone—Rebirth Level—was something no one in the county office could meet.

At this moment, the magistrate and chief clerk had already gone to greet the shaman officials.

They stood at the entrance of the training ground, exchanged bows, and spoke a few words. The crowd was buzzing with speculation, and Shang Lu and Du Feng couldn’t make out what was being said.

But the magistrate and chief clerk’s expressions were ones of surprise, as if they wanted to ask more, but the circumstances didn’t allow it.

Soon after, the magistrate and chief clerk led the shaman officials to the shaded pavilion on the grounds.

The head clerk from the registry office was already waiting, and as soon as the two officials were seated, he presented a thick ledger to the chief clerk.

“Honored sirs, this is the record of merits and demerits for all our officials in Luoshui County. Please review it.”

The chief clerk held the ledger and handed it to the elder shaman official.

The magistrate’s and chief clerk’s own records were not in this book; their merits and demerits were recorded at the prefecture, and the shaman officials had reviewed them before arriving.

The elder shaman official flipped through the ledger, then passed it to his companion.

In previous years, just reviewing this ledger would take the examiners a great deal of time—several days at least, even with a full staff of assistants.

But this year, only two shaman officials had arrived, and no assistants.

However, shaman officials had their own unique methods.

The younger shaman official, upon receiving the ledger, did not open it immediately. He formed a series of hand seals, recited a rapid incantation, then wiped his hand across his face—and in an instant, his appearance changed.

He had been a handsome young man, perhaps not quite as striking as Shang Lu, but certainly impressive.

But now, in the blink of an eye, his face transformed—azure-skinned, fanged, a third eye appearing on his brow, utterly uncanny.

On closer inspection, it looked almost as if he’d donned a mask.

Good heavens, was this face-changing opera?

It was Shang Lu’s first time witnessing a shaman official perform magic. It felt quite similar to the face-changing acts he’d seen in his previous life.

With the mask of gods and ghosts now on, the young shaman official opened the ledger and began flipping through at a remarkable speed.

Within the mask’s bronze bell eyes, eerie blue flames flickered. The third eye on his forehead shot out a beam of blue light, shining onto the pages.

It seemed that with a single sweep of the light, the shaman official could instantly grasp the contents of each page and judge their authenticity.

The magistrate and chief clerk, evidently having witnessed similar magic before, reacted quite differently. The chief clerk was visibly nervous, sweating profusely, while the magistrate seemed to be waiting to enjoy the show.

As the young shaman official performed his verification, the elder spoke up.

Though he did not raise his voice, his words carried clearly to everyone on the training ground.

“Officials participating in the cultivation assessment, remain on the grounds and space yourselves apart. All others, please exit and wait outside.”

“Lu Tou, I’ll go wait outside. Good luck.”

After saying this, perhaps realizing that luck would do Shang Lu little good, Du Feng switched to encouragement:

“Lu Tou, don’t be upset if you fail the evaluation. Staying alive is what matters most. If you need money to pay your debts, I can lend you some.”

Shang Lu was momentarily stunned, then, growing curious, asked, “Didn’t you give all your money to your mother?”

“I kept a little aside as a dowry,” Du Feng whispered, afraid anyone nearby might hear.

Shang Lu couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t refuse Du Feng’s kindness, nodding in acknowledgment.

“All right. If I fail the evaluation, I’ll borrow from you.”

“No problem!”

Du Feng thumped his chest in promise, then joined the other aides outside the grounds.

But he didn’t wait quietly—instead, he sought out the aides who’d jumped ship early and began scolding them to their faces.

Guilty, those men didn’t argue back, choosing instead to melt into the crowd.

Shang Lu shook his head in amusement, then turned his attention to the shaman officials in the pavilion.

Although he’d never participated in previous years’ evaluations, he’d heard that the process involved several rounds: first, testing strength with stone locks or similar objects, then practicing swordsmanship and martial techniques, and finally group competitions.

But with shaman officials presiding this year, would the methods differ?

As the aides cleared out, the training ground suddenly became much more spacious.

There were about sixty official staff in Luoshui County, but the clerks in charge of paperwork weren’t required to have cultivation and didn’t need to participate in the assessment—only their work was reviewed.

So, after all the aides departed, only around forty people remained on the grounds.

The elder shaman official instructed the heads of the three squads and other department leaders to stand at the front, apart from the regular staff.

Once everything was arranged, he raised his hand and produced a pitch-black cloth bag from his sleeve.

Strange, impressive-looking runes were drawn on the bag, and earth trickled from it as he handled it.

He formed a mystical gesture over the bag, then opened it and drew out two handfuls of beans.

One handful was yellow soybeans. As they flew through the air, they grew rapidly, and by the time they landed in front of the officials, they were as large as millstones.

Thick bean sprouts erupted from the beans, becoming their arms, legs, and weapons.

The other handful was black beans, which shot straight towards Constables Niu and Ma and the other squad leaders.

“Summoning soldiers with a handful of beans!”

The crowd inside and outside the training ground erupted in astonished cries.

Yet their exclamations were quickly overshadowed by the elder shaman official’s voice:

“Defeat the bean soldiers, and you pass the assessment!”

Without acknowledging the shocked crowd, the elder shaman official declared the evaluation begun.

His words had barely faded when the bean soldiers leapt forth like hungry tigers descending the mountain, each charging toward their assigned targets.

They moved with blinding speed—imposing and unstoppable!