The First Written Exam!

"Quiet!"

With a furious roar, the smoke on the podium dispersed, revealing rows of stern-faced Chunin examiners. Like an iron wall, they stood before the blackboard, their eyes devoid of emotion, carrying only the icy scrutiny of executioners judging condemned criminals.

The man standing in the very center was Ibiki Morino.

The vicious scar running across his entire head looked especially terrifying beneath the pallid lights, as though recounting countless bloody memories. Simply standing there, he radiated a tangible pressure that enveloped the entire classroom.

"I am the chief examiner for the first test, Ibiki Morino."

Ibiki's voice was hoarse and low, carrying unquestionable authority. "Starting now, hand in your applications, collect your number tags, and take your seats according to your numbers."

The atmosphere in the examination room instantly dropped to freezing point.

The previously arrogant Genin all shrank their necks like quails. Sasuke frowned deeply; he hated this feeling of having someone else control the pace. Sakura's palms were drenched in sweat. She could sense that the aura emanating from these examiners was completely different from that of their previous opponents.

It was the aura of people truly tempered by torture, slaughter, and darkness.

Only Ye Tian leisurely found his seat after collecting his number tag.

This psychological warfare is pretty well done, Ye Tian assessed inwardly. First, crush the examinees' mental defenses with sheer presence, then make them panic and lose control in fear. A classic interrogation tactic.

The test papers were handed out.

There was no imagined command to begin. The exam started directly amid an eerie silence.

Ye Tian picked up his paper and glanced over the questions.

Question One: Codebreaking. Derive the corresponding tactical order from the following encrypted text.

Question Two: Parabolic calculation. Given a shuriken thrown from Point A toward Point B, seventy meters away, encountering a lateral force-seven gale and obstruction from trees, calculate the optimal throwing angle and force adjustment.

Question Three...

Seeing the densely packed text and complicated geometric diagrams, gasps quickly rose from the surrounding seats.

"These aren't questions Genin can possibly solve!"

"Are you kidding me? These are Chunin... no, Jonin-level theory questions!"

Sasuke stared at the questions, a fine layer of cold sweat forming on his forehead. The advanced mathematics and physics involved in these questions were far beyond the Ninja Academy curriculum.

Yet a disdainful curve appeared at the corner of Ye Tian's lips.

"That's it?"

He twirled the pencil in his hand, his eyes full of disappointment.

"I thought it would be some profound ninja theory. Turns out it's just this childish array arithmetic?"

For cultivators, calculation was a basic skill.

Whether it was the minute ratios of medicinal properties when refining pills, or deducing celestial positions when setting up a mountain-protecting grand formation, both were millions of times more complicated than this so-called ballistic calculation.

"Questions like these would probably only qualify as an entry assessment for outer disciples in the cultivation sects of my world."

Ye Tian put pen to paper.

There was not the slightest pause, nor did he need any scratch work.

His brain was like a precise quantum computer. In an instant, it constructed a 3D model of the shuriken's flight path in his mind. Wind speed, resistance, gravitational acceleration... every variable turned into a clear stream of data before his eyes.

Scratch, scratch, scratch...

The sound of his pencil moving over the paper was brisk and rhythmic.

In less than five minutes, he had answered all nine questions.

Ye Tian even casually corrected a logical flaw in the second question, leaving a note beside it: "The examiner did not account for the effects of air humidity. This answer applies only under standard atmospheric pressure."

Setting down his pencil, Ye Tian stretched, overcome by the loneliness of being a top student.

"Too boring."

Having finished the questions, Ye Tian began observing the various sights around him.

By then, the atmosphere in the examination room had subtly changed.

Most of the examinees had realized that the core of this exam was not solving questions, but cheating.

Under the coverage of Ye Tian's Divine Sense, the entire examination room was like a transparent aquarium, with no one's little tricks escaping his notice.

He saw Gaara, seated near the front, with one eye closed. An extremely fine strand of sand had gathered in the air into an eyeball, floating overhead as it peeked at other people's answers.

Crude Heaven Eye technique, Ye Tian commented inwardly. Using sand as a medium is too conspicuous, and the viewing angle is limited.

Elsewhere, Kankuro had returned under the pretext of using the restroom. A Crow puppet disguised as an examiner was perched on the ceiling, transmitting answers to him through coded signals.

The puppet technique is somewhat interesting, but the chakra fluctuations on that puppet are far too obvious. It only works because these examiners are blind too.

Looking at Sasuke again, his Two-Tomoe Sharingan was already activated as he frantically copied the writing movements of the examinee in front of him.

This clumsy method that relies solely on eyesight can only be used with the Sharingan. Still... it reminds me of the cultivation world's Mind Reading technique. The principles differ, but when it comes to cheating, they achieve much the same result.

There were also Shino Aburame's insects, Neji Hyuga's Byakugan, and Tenten's method of using steel wire to maneuver mirrors...

"Everyone has their own tricks."

Ye Tian watched as though he were enjoying a low-budget circus performance. Chakra was flying all over the room. Ordinary Chunin examiners might have found it difficult to notice, but within Ye Tian's Divine Sense, it shone as brightly as laser lights in a nightclub.

Just as Ye Tian was enjoying the show, a burst of hurried, disordered breathing caught his attention.

Sitting diagonally in front of him was Hinata Hyuga.

Beside Hinata was Naruto Uzumaki, scratching his head and sweating profusely as if he had nails growing beneath his butt.

Naruto stared at the test paper, which might as well have been a heavenly tome, looking as though he were on the verge of collapse.

Seeing Naruto suffer, kind-hearted Hinata was frantic with worry. She wanted to move her paper over so Naruto could copy it, but she was afraid that the examiners would discover them and disqualify them both.

The extreme tension and inner conflict made Hinata's already fair face flush red. Her breathing quickened, her eyes rolled back, and she looked about to faint at any moment.

"Sigh, this girl has terrible mental fortitude."

Seated diagonally behind Hinata, Ye Tian shook his head helplessly as he watched her swaying back.

Although he had no intention of interfering with Naruto's storyline, it would be too much of a mood-killer if Hinata fainted here and got carried out. Besides, she was a rare potential Pure Yin Physique. If he could talk her into dual cultivation in the future... ahem, cultivation together, that would be quite nice as well.

"Fine. I'll lend a hand."

Ye Tian lightly flicked a finger.

There were no chakra fluctuations whatsoever. Only a nearly imperceptible thread of cool spiritual energy passed through the air like a breeze and precisely entered the back of Hinata's head.

[Clear Mind Mantra]

Hinata, whose world was spinning and whose heart felt ready to leap out of her throat, suddenly felt a cool spring flow into her mind.

The heat, panic, and anxiety miraculously vanished in that instant.

Her previously chaotic mind became clearer than ever, and even her vision, blurred by nervousness, became sharp again.

"Huh? I... I'm not nervous anymore?"

Hinata blinked in surprise, let out a long breath, and her heartbeat returned to normal.

Instinctively, she turned around, wanting to find the source of that strange sensation.

Then she saw Ye Tian sitting diagonally behind her.

The youth who always looked sickly was resting his cheek on one hand, his slender fingers nimbly spinning the pencil in his other hand. When Hinata turned around, Ye Tian said nothing. He merely gave her a calm look, his lips seeming to carry the faintest hint of a smile.

In that instant, Hinata felt her cheeks grow warm, though not from shyness. It was an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

Was it... Ye Tian who helped me?

Filled with gratitude, Hinata hurriedly turned back and straightened her posture.

After resolving Hinata's little incident, Ye Tian turned his gaze toward Naruto beside her.

That guy was still clutching his head in despair. Apart from his name, his test paper remained completely blank.

Should I give this idiot a hand?

Ye Tian formed a hand seal. If he wished, he could use Transmission of Voice to recite the answers directly into Naruto's ear. For someone with Divine Sense, it was as easy as eating and drinking.

But after hesitating for a moment, Ye Tian relaxed his fingers.

"Forget it."

Looking at Naruto's anxious yet stubborn back, Ye Tian thought, This kid's opportunity doesn't lie in his intelligence, but in that foolish determination to see things through to the bitter end.

This test isn't about knowledge. It's about conviction.

If I help him now, I'll instead ruin his most precious Dao Heart. That famous declaration of his—'Even if I have to be a Genin for the rest of my life, I'll still become Hokage'—is this kid's defining moment.

As a mature cultivator, Ye Tian understood the word karma well. Forcibly interfering with such a crucial moment of tempering Naruto's character would not necessarily benefit his growth.

Thus, Ye Tian lay down on the desk with a clear conscience, preparing to catch up on some sleep.

Before closing his eyes, however, he had nothing better to do. His Divine Sense spread out like tentacles before finally settling on the enormous iron fan behind Temari some distance away.

"This material... is it mixed with powdered wind Spirit Stone?"

Ye Tian's Divine Sense passed unhindered through the outer layer of the iron fan and delved into its internal structure.

"A three-star wind-attribute formation structure. Though the carving is extremely crude and the lines are broken and uneven, in this spiritually barren world, the craftsman who made a magical artifact capable of guiding airflow can still be considered talented."

As Ye Tian dismantled the structure of the three-star fan with his Divine Sense, he mentally began improving it.

"If these three wind nodes were changed into a Spirit Gathering Formation, and the fan ribs replaced with hollow lightning-struck wood... this thing could at least be upgraded into a low-grade Profound-rank magic treasure. One swing would not merely unleash Wind Release—it could even create a small tornado."

And so, while all the examinees in the room were so nervous their stomachs hurt, cheating frantically in a race against time.

Our protagonist Ye Tian was comfortably waiting for the tenth question to arrive while conducting a magical-artifact improvement research project in his mind.

As for the exam?

What was that? Could it be eaten?