Cheong’s daily routine had simplified considerably. As soon as the sun rose, she took on the duties of an evaluator.

The first day of exams consisted of two sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon. Each candidate’s martial arts demonstration took about one quarter of an hour, allowing Cheong to observe the antics of up to thirty-two candidates per day.

Of course, that was just the theory. In practice, the actual number was usually a bit lower, as a few oddballs inevitably showed up and tried all sorts of gimmicks to draw attention.

Martial arts, after all, were …