Zhao Mu's little stunt reminded a lot of people of something.
Right away, quite a few on site began forming groups to copy the move.
As for Zhao Mu himself, although his quick wits drew some attention, most assumed he'd simply used Qi; with that kind of power the feat wasn't too outrageous.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Human cannonballs filled the air; since everyone had wrapped themselves in Qi beforehand, the worst they suffered on landing was a light injury.
Still, it beat fighting through a stampede of horses and men.
After sending the pair off, Zhao Mu met their grateful glances as they entered the hall and gave a faint smile.
"Now, who's going to toss me?"
He clapped his hands lightly, surveying the chaos in front of him as the corner of his mouth curled upward.
"No help? Then I'll just have to do it myself."
He crouched, setting himself like a cheetah at the start of a hundred-metre dash.
Light and Agile Steps – Proficiency 156.
Hup!
Zhao Mu exploded into a sprint; the instant he moved, a whirlwind rose beneath his feet!
Instructor Xie Yingxue, whose gaze had never left him, couldn't help but constrict her pupils.
"He's lost his mind!"
With more than two thousand people brawling in the square, each interfering with the others, breaking through was easier said than done.
After all, the rest weren't pushovers—why would they clear a path for you?
But the next moment, watching Zhao Mu's move, Xie Yingxue's mouth fell open and stayed open.
He wasn't barging through; he leapt up and sprinted across people's shoulders!
"This little rascal… so slippery!"
To make the right call again and again in so short a time was truly impressive.
Even the strict Xie Yingxue found herself nodding slowly.
"Pity he's only E-rank… but E-rank doesn't necessarily mean hopeless, does it?"
Seeing Zhao Mu's confident grin and recalling his earlier feats, her resolve began to waver.
Could the Empire be looking at a second Marquis Changfeng?
Zhao Mu was too fast; people didn't want to become his stepping-stones, yet before they could react he had already flitted overhead, leaving many gnashing their teeth.
Unwilling to let him steal the limelight, several of them marked him as a target.
As Zhao Mu drew close, one Trial Participant lunged and grabbed his leg.
As expected, Zhao Mu lost balance and plummeted toward the crowd!
"Hah, show-off—get him, guys!"
The grabber gloated, calling for others to gang up on Zhao Mu.
But Zhao Mu, seemingly falling, twisted his legs mid-air and locked them round the man's neck.
Seven Kills Battle Method – Lock Technique!
Before the man could react, Zhao Mu jerked hard and planted him head-first into the ground.
Thud!
He landed upside-down, his stubborn skull smacking the flagstones with a crack—his brain was probably scrambled.
The victim was a D-rank Dou Level 2 Ability User, yet even with Qi protecting him, Zhao Mu's head-slam knocked him out cold.
Zhao Mu himself never hit the floor; he kipped up and stood straight.
He swept the surroundings with an icy glare; the brutal takedown made the would-be attackers lower their fists, exchange glances, and hurriedly back off.
By now halfway across, Zhao Mu simply charged forward with sweeping momentum!
Anyone blocking his way was effortlessly brushed aside—arms spread, he parted the crowd like wheat.
With a lifting capacity of 150 kg, shoving people aside was child's play.
It looked like an adult bullying three-year-olds.
Not far away, Chen Mingming clenched his fists, itching to jump in.
Sun Wei held him back. "Don't be rash—even if you ambushed him, you'd still lose."
Chen Mingming flushed red with agitation. "I…"
He wanted to say he'd trained hard lately, yet swallowed the words in frustration.
Sun Wei whispered, "Let him strut for now; Shao Han has a plan—he won't be cocky much longer."
The group stared venomously at Zhao Mu before banding together and struggling toward their own exam hall.
Zhao Mu passed through the crowd almost effortlessly and reached the entrance.
Thud! Thud!
Bruised Trial Participants still came flying; Zhao Mu smiled faintly and stepped inside.
He found his seat, sat down, and quietly waited for the exam to begin.
Candidates trickled in, many sporting injuries—clearly they'd fought bitterly to get here.
When the ten minutes were up, a sharp bell rang and the hall doors slammed shut!
The invigilator stood on the podium, expressionless as he noted nearly a third of the seats were empty.
Those still outside wailed in despair and were quickly removed.
The chief examiner for Zhao Mu's hall was a middle-aged officer in military uniform. "Exam starts now! Papers and stationery will be handed out—you have 120 minutes."
"Stop writing the instant time is called; anything later counts as cheating."
"Any form of cheating disqualifies you from the trials immediately."
"Pass the papers and stationery back—one set per person."
He gave the first row their papers; they were passed steadily backward.
Zhao Mu skimmed the booklet the moment he got it.
One glance and surprise flashed in his eyes.
Now he understood why Instructor Xie Yingxue had worn such an odd expression when Golden Elephant City asked his question.
It was way beyond the syllabus!
Compared with their twelve-year curriculum, the paper was seriously off-charts.
Yuwu Middle School, as its name implies, focuses on forging strong warriors.
Martial prowess comes first; academics are only support. Students needn't master much theory—basic battlefield common sense suffices.
Yet this paper bundled Beasts Studies, Dark Race Studies, Mathematics, Botany, First-Aid and more; at least forty percent had never appeared in their textbooks.
In other words, an average Yuwu graduate couldn't finish it, let alone ace it.
Out of thirty points, merely scraping the eighteen-point pass was already brutal.
Every candidate stared in shock after seeing the questions.
Soon, however, some realised Qingfeng Camp had done it on purpose.
What they wanted wasn't test-crammers but elites—true Geniuses.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)