The martial arts competition of the Fighter God Exam began.

The arena for the seventh group was located in a garden at the southeast corner of the Vern Palace. All 240 examinees of this group gathered below the arena, listening to the announcements of the examiners on the stage.

"...The seventh, when you hear your name, immediately go up on the stage. If you are not called three times, it will be considered as forfeit... The thirteenth, besides victory or defeat in the match, the examiners will also evaluate the potential shown by the examinees. Even if a candidate loses, as long as they demonstrate satisfactory potential and fighting spirit, they will be given another chance..."

Du Chen had no interest in these rules and regulations. He squatted among the crowd below the stage, chatting casually with his newly acquainted gnome friend, Sem.

"Hey, dear Sem, you're the first one! I can see your performance right away!" Du Chen smiled.

Sem's big eyes were filled with gratitude. For a gnome, being squatted down to talk to was a great sign of respect, especially when the other person was a divine descendant.

"Yes, I will be the first to go on stage. Oh, you're number seven! Well, we won't meet for a long time!" Sem replied.

With a total of 240 people, fighting in pairs and eliminating each other, the exam would have nine rounds, and in the sixth round where fifteen would advance to eight, one lucky person would get a bye.

At this moment, a burst of flames suddenly erupted from a direction of the Vern Palace. Following that, the flames soared into the sky, appearing particularly dazzling against the blue sky.

Sem shook his big head and lamented, "They set off the holy fireworks. Tsk tsk, some poor guy died in fight!"

The examiner happened to announce the last rule, "The twenty-sixth, regardless of life or death, both sides must give their all! Let the competition begin!"

The arena was two meters high and thirty meters in diameter, a sturdy square platform built of rocks. Four white-robed priests sat in the four corners, serving as both examiners and maintaining order.

The first pair to fight was Sem and a human warrior.

Sem's holy weapon was a short staff the length of his arm. After changing into gnome-specific armor, it was revealed that he was actually a third-tier yellow-robed magic fighter god, while his opponent was only a first-tier red-robed fighter god!

This brother's strength was mediocre, but he had a big mouth. Pointing his holy weapon longsword at Sem, he arrogantly shouted, "Sem, give up! Your gnome brain is dumb. Even if you can defeat me, you won't pass the written test!"

Sem's big eyes turned red, and his pitch-black skin emitted a purple light, a sign of gnome's anger.

He didn't respond and uttered in a low voice, "Fire Crown!"

The roaring flames surged up from the rocks of the arena, and in the blink of an eye, the large arena was completely covered in flames, while only the four examiners remained calm.

The warrior had no place to staty, so he forcefully propelled himself with a burst of fighting spirit, leaping high into the air, with both hands holding his sword, aiming to strike Sem's head.

Sem grinned, his white teeth shining brightly against his dark skin. Then, a pillar of fire spewed out from his head, hitting the warrior's chest accurately.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Thud! The warrior fell to the ground, and the flames on the rocks instantly engulfed him.

Aliza, who was watching from below, smacked his lips and said, "Young master, I smell the aroma of roasted suckling pig!"

Du Chen clasped his hands in front of his chest and sighed, "Poor guy, he dared to challenge the pride of the Sino gnomes!"

Sem extinguished the flames and raised his arms high, emitting the unique laughter of their race, "Koko."

"Sem wins!" one of the examiners stood up and announced loudly, "In this battle, Sem gets a perfect score of ten points and advances to the second round. However, his opponent, despite facing a warrior two levels higher, showed no fear and chose the most appropriate way to fight within the knowledge range of a one level warrior. Therefore, he gets six points and the opportunity to fight against the loser of the next round!"

This was the scoring method of the martial arts exam. Regardless of victory or defeat, as long as the examinees demonstrated what the examiners wanted to see, they would receive points.

The exam consisted of nine rounds, and as long as one won all the way, they would have nine opportunities to fight. Each round was worth ten points, totaling ninety points!

Losing was not a big deal either. As long as they showed potential and fighting spirit, they would have the opportunity to fight again and earn more points.

Finally, the first-place winners from each of the twenty groups would compete again, giving them a tenth opportunity to fight and one more chance to earn points. Their maximum score would be one hundred!

The martial arts competition continued, and the injured were carried out. Sem ran to Du Chen's side, angrily cursing his opponent who had been turned into a roasted suckling pig.

"Number seven, Francis, number eight, Kaman, step onto the stage!"

"Dear brother Francis, Sem wishes you good luck!"

It was Du Chen's turn, and he strolled onto the stage, while Kaman on the opposite side jumped up.

Today, Kaman was dressed in orange heavy armor and had temporarily switched to an axe as his holy weapon. Seeing that Du Chen was still dressed in a white robe and empty-handed, he couldn't help but sneer, "Hmph, the shame of the Saint Kain family, are you here to court death?"

"Who will die today is still uncertain. Oh, dear young master Kaman, can't you smile? Do you want hundreds of examinees to witness your sour face?" Du Chen retorted.

"Don't get too cocky! Hmph!" Kaman pointed at Du Chen and shouted loudly, "Everyone, this is the shame of the Saint Kain family, a waste who was born unable to cultivate Dou Qi! It's my disgrace to be his opponent!"

"Kaman!" one of the examiners stood up and shouted, "The Holy Scripture of the Church does not state that one cannot participate in the exam without Dou Qi. On the contrary, it stipulates that the descendants of the fighter God must participate in the exam at least once. Francis is fulfilling his duty, so please respect your opponent! Alright, let's officially begin!"

With a command, Kaman swung his battle axe and charged towards Du Chen.

Du Chen looked at him coldly, hands crossed over his chest, feeling the necklace hidden in his clothes. He thought to himself, if Ferdinand's plan had any flaws, he would have to rely on the necklace to save his life!

If the necklace didn't work, he might have to show Kaman the Lotus Internal Energy, which was praised by the Buddha and the Great Sage Sun Wukong!

Twenty steps, fifteen steps, ten steps...

Kaman was getting closer and closer.

But just as he was five steps away from Du Chen, his feet suddenly gave way, and with a thud, he fell in front of Du Chen.

"Oh dear, Young Master Kaman, what's wrong with you?" Du Chen anxiously crouched down, checking Kaman's breathing. He saw that Kaman was foaming at the mouth, his face turning pale, and he was clutching his stomach, convulsing.

Just like a freshly steamed fish on a plate!

Du Chen kicked him hard twice, but there was no response. He turned to the examiners and said urgently, "Respected examiners, please come and take a look. Kaman seems to be in bad shape!"

The examiners checked on Kaman, their faces turning pale, and one of them announced loudly, "Kaman has eaten something contaminated and is poisoned!"

"According to the Holy Scripture, in this battle, Kaman gets zero points, and Francis wins. However, his victory was not honorable, so he only gets a passing score of six points!"

This judgment was fair, and the examinees had no objections. The examiner continued, "To prevent any cheating by Francis before the exam, the exam is temporarily suspended. Both examinees and their attendants should come up to the stage immediately to cooperate with the investigation conducted by the Church. All examinees from Group 7 will be witnesses on the spot!"

Aliza obediently went up to the stage, and Kaman's attendant followed suit.

Let the investigation begin. Kaman was indeed poisoned, but it was the poison administered by Father Ferdinand. And the personnel conducting the investigation were all from the Church. If they could still uncover the truth, Du Chen and Ferdinand might as well go and headbutt a wall to death!

In exams, the most feared thing is the collusion between examiners and examinees to cheat!