Look... Look at Ling Xuan!

The students' gazes toward Ling Xuan had shifted from their initial perception of him as "slightly talented" to one of deep shock and awe.

Sakura Haruno's mouth hung open as she stared in disbelief at the usually reticent orphan, a complex mix of emotions swirling within her.

Sasuke Uchiha, meanwhile, had his brows tightly locked; within his originally calm eyes, a fierce fighting spirit and a subtle, imperceptible sense of frustration began to ignite.

"Hmph," Ino Yamanaka stood with her arms crossed beside Sakura, curling her lip as she whispered to Shikamaru Nara beside her.

"That guy Ling Xuan, he's usually so quiet, I never expected him to be hiding so much! His shuriken technique is... maybe even a little bit better than Sasuke-kun's. What a weirdo."

There was a hint of reluctance in her tone, but it was accompanied by an undeniable sense of wonder.

Shikamaru let out a yawn: "Yeah, yeah, what a troublesome genius..."

Yet his eyes were a few degrees sharper than usual, clearly having taken note of Ling Xuan's performance.

Hinata Hyuga stood behind the crowd, her hands clasped tightly against her chest. A bright luster shone within her white eyes—a look of pure admiration and longing.

Ling Xuan-kun... he really is amazing!

She felt her heartbeat accelerating, and her resolve to work hard and catch up grew even firmer.

In the shadows behind the high platform, an Anbu ninja felt a ripple of surprise.

"Target Ling Xuan, chakra control precision S-rank, throwing technique S-rank (relative to grade level). Calm and composed, excellent psychological quality... Preliminary assessment: immense potential. Requires continued observation."

The first phase of the assessment concluded, with Ling Xuan leading all students for the time being through an indisputably perfect performance.

Iruka cleared his throat, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and announced loudly.

"The first phase of the assessment is over! Next, we proceed to the second item: the weighted obstacle course!"

The students' gazes toward Ling Xuan grew even more complex.

This boy, whom they had always regarded as an "ordinary honor student," was now shrouded in a mysterious and powerful aura in their eyes.

Ling Xuan remained calm, as if the stunning performance from moments ago had nothing to do with him.

To him, this was merely the first step of his plan; the real show was perhaps yet to come.

"The second assessment—weighted obstacle course, begin!"

Following Iruka's command, the first group of students, wearing specially designed weighted vests and leg guards, charged out.

Each student's weight had been fine-tuned based on their physical test data from enrollment, aimed at testing their endurance, willpower, and the combined application of chakra and physical strength to the maximum.

The perimeter of the training ground had long been transformed into a rather complex track.

It featured not only standard mud, grass, and sand, but also steep dirt slopes that required climbing, jungle areas thick with vines, and balance beams and ropes stretched over water pits.

There was even a section that required the use of chakra for brief leaps between trees or traversing through water.

Of course, for first-year students, falling in was no great tragedy, though it would waste precious time and consume more stamina.

Naruto Uzumaki took the lead, relying on his stamina that far exceeded the average, as well as the faint influence of the Nine-Tails chakra within him, charging ahead while yelling and kicking up a cloud of dust.

However, due to his recklessness, he soon stepped into thin air and face-planted into the first mud pit.

This drew a burst of laughter, but he didn't care in the slightest, scrambling up to continue his wild charge.

Sasuke Uchiha displayed a good sense of rhythm and technique; his movements were light and agile, always passing through obstacles in the most concise manner.

He was truly worthy of being a descendant of a prestigious clan, with a solid foundation in taijutsu.

Shikamaru Nara remained in the middle of the pack, unhurried and steady.

He seemed to have observed the general layout of the entire track before starting, always finding shortcuts that looked unremarkable but saved a great deal of effort, leaving Kiba Inuzuka, who was competing with him, in a state of exasperation.

Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno were secretly competing against each other; both were agile girls, weaving and leaping between obstacles, striving not to fall too far behind.

Hinata Hyuga, however, appeared to be struggling.

The weight was a significant burden for her petite frame; her breathing was becoming ragged, and her fair cheeks were flushed from the exertion.

But Hinata bit her lip, a stubborn refusal to give up in her eyes, as she struggled to keep up with the group.

Whenever she felt she could no longer hold on, the image of Ling Xuan's calm and powerful figure would surface in her mind, along with the words he had once said to her.

"Your potential is far greater than this."

This allowed her to summon a fresh surge of strength.

Ling Xuan was in the second group to depart.

He did not explode into a sprint at the start like Naruto, nor did he deliberately show off his technique like Sasuke.

His start was steady, his breathing long and rhythmic, and the span and frequency of every step remained consistently uniform.

The Eye of Truth had already taken in the terrain for hundreds of meters ahead, the distribution of obstacles, and even the stability of every stone on the ground.

In his mind, he instantly constructed an "optimal path" that required the lowest energy consumption and offered the highest time efficiency.

When encountering dirt slopes that required climbing, other students either used their hands and feet to scramble up clumsily or burned chakra to force their way up.

Ling Xuan, however, always found the most stable and easily leveraged footholds and handholds.

His body ascended with a strange and fluid rhythm, with almost no wasted movement visible.

When traversing the water pit via rope, the amplitude of his body's swing and the timing of his exertion were absolutely perfect.

With minimal effort, he generated maximum momentum, landing lightly on the opposite bank without even splashing much water.

He moved like a cyan shadow, navigating the complex course with ease.

Gradually, Ling Xuan began to overtake the students who had initially surged ahead of him.

These students were often already panting, drenched in sweat.

Yet Ling Xuan maintained a composed rhythm, as if he were merely taking a leisurely post-meal stroll.

"Look... look at that Ling Xuan!" a teaching assistant responsible for recording couldn't help but exclaim.

"His speed is steadily increasing, but his breathing... it hasn't changed at all! His stamina is incredible!"

"It's not just stamina," another guest examiner noted with sharp eyes, "look at his route selection and how he clears the obstacles. There are no wasted movements; every burst of power is perfectly timed."

"His control over his own strength and his judgment of the environment are simply inconceivable! This child... he really is a monster!"

In the shadows behind the high platform, an Anbu ninja's eyes flashed with intrigue.

[Target Ling Xuan, demonstrating A-rank physical fitness (comprehensive endurance, explosive power, recovery), A+ rank environmental utilization and path planning, S-rank energy efficiency.]

[Movement patterns are highly optimized, suspected to have undergone long-term, systematic extreme training. Observation priority further increased.]

Halfway through the course, Hinata encountered trouble on a slope covered in slippery moss.