At those words, the watching family heads looked stunned.
They were Chunin who had been famous in Jiangli City for years. No one knew better than they did how difficult it was to improve their proficiency in ninjutsu.
A trainee candidate bringing Great Fireball to advanced mastery was something they would never have dared imagine.
After all, one-star ninjutsu were their staple techniques, yet even after years of use, they had only reached Minor Mastery.
And a youngster had reached advanced mastery!
Deep down, they refused to accept it.
The head of the Chen Family voiced his doubts. "His proficiency in Great Fireball isn't the only problem."
"It's only been a few minutes, and he's already unleashed so many Great Fireballs!"
"That's way too much chakra!"
"Could he have deliberately held back his rank to get the special badge and the Yamato fragment?"
He could casually kill even Novice Rank Three Mutant Beasts with a single Great Fireball, including Water Lizards, which countered Fire Release.
Was this really a Trainee Exam candidate?
He seemed stronger than plenty of Genin.
Curator Jiang narrowed his eyes slightly. "Look closely. His chakra actually recovers quickly."
As he spoke, countless thoughts ran through Curator Jiang's mind.
No wonder the kid could use the Mangekyō Sharingan without the slightest hesitation.
His chakra recovery could keep up with the drain.
That raised another question: why did his chakra recover so quickly?
"Old Bai, looks like you'll be handing your Yamato fragment over to Luo Yu."
Curator Jiang grinned.
He suspected the Yamato fragment had been placed on the most dangerous peak in the Trial Grounds at the last minute because Old Bai couldn't bear to let anyone take it.
As long as no one could make it through all those dangers and obtain the Yamato fragment, it wouldn't be claimed.
Then the fragment would still belong to Old Bai.
President Bai was unconcerned. "If Luo Yu really has what it takes, what would it matter if I gave him a complete Yamato inheritance?"
"A prodigy like him appearing in Jiangli City can only benefit this city, which has suffered so much from Mutant Beast attacks."
"For the greater good, this is my contribution to defending against Mutant Beasts."
Curator Jiang nodded slightly.
Old Bai might be stingy, but he knew what mattered when it counted.
There was one hour left before the exam ended.
Luo Yu darted along the rugged mountain path.
Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure three hundred meters ahead.
It was Chen Qi, the guy he had made that shady deal with.
At that moment, Chen Qi was struggling miserably against a white wolf at Novice Rank Two.
Judging by his expression, he seemed to be debating whether to withdraw.
At full strength, Chen Qi, who had absorbed Genma Shiranui's inheritance, would never have lost to a Novice Rank Two giant wolf.
But the wounds on his body suggested he had already been through a major battle and was completely exhausted.
This giant wolf was about to become the last straw.
Since he had accepted payment from Chen Qi, Luo Yu swiftly closed in on the wolf and, with the aid of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, hurled a shuriken with pinpoint accuracy.
Thanks to his recently increased stamina, the shuriken instantly pierced the wolf's lung.
But even in its final moments, the giant wolf tried to put up a desperate struggle.
"Ninja Art! Senbon Rain!"
Seeing this, Chen Qi hurriedly used his last scrap of chakra to finish it off.
Since Chen Qi had stolen the kill, Luo Yu gained no points.
No attribute points dropped either.
Luo Yu didn't mind, though. He had intended to help Chen Qi secure second place anyway.
"Luo, we finally meet again."
"This damn place is full of Novice Rank Two and Three Mutant Beasts. The difficulty is ridiculous. President Bai must be a bit of a Souls fan."
Once he was sure he was safe, Chen Qi plopped onto the ground, panting heavily.
He had thought he could compete for second place even without Luo Yu's help.
He had only made the deal with Luo Yu to build a connection.
Who would have thought he would nearly be eliminated without Luo Yu?
Good thing he had been smart enough to make that deal!
Now that he had found Chen Qi, Luo Yu immediately formed hand seals and dispelled the Shadow Clone searching for him.
The next moment, it happened.
The chakra he had split off immediately flowed back into his body.
His chakra reserves returned to 49.
Along with it came the Shadow Clone's memories from that time, as well as its fatigue.
"Those hand seals... Luo, you know Shadow Clone too?"
Chen Qi had Minor Mastery of Shadow Clone, so he naturally recognized Luo Yu's hand seals at a glance.
"Yeah. I learned it on the spot when we fought."
At that, Chen Qi fell silent.
The main reason Genma Shiranui's inheritance was rated T0 among White Legacies was that absorbing it guaranteed Minor Mastery of Shadow Clone.
He had been thrilled for ages after learning it.
Yet Luo Yu had learned it after seeing it once in an actual fight?
Damn it!
If I'd known, I wouldn't have used Shadow Clone back then!
But remembering Luo Yu's Sharingan, Chen Qi accepted it.
Supposedly, any skilled Sharingan user could use its precise perception to learn ninjutsu.
Luo Yu had even mastered the Mangekyō. Copying Shadow Clone was nothing to him.
"Why did you come here?"
"I thought you were in another area."
Luo Yu sounded puzzled.
At that, Chen Qi looked ready to cry. "I noticed I'd been teleported close to the danger zone."
"I figured you'd come here to compete for the Yamato Legacy Fragment, so I wanted to get here early and wait for you."
"But my luck was absolute crap."
"I ran into a Novice Rank Three Giant-Toothed Demon on the way and barely won... then I ran into that giant wolf."
As he spoke, his expression suddenly changed. "Right, Liu Jiajia and Yang Jie went up the mountain ahead of me."
"We need to hurry, or they'll find the Yamato Legacy Fragment first."
Luo Yu paused. "Yang Jie from the Yang Family, the one they call Jiangli City's rising star? Isn't he from another school?"
"How did Liu Jiajia end up with him?"
Chen Qi chuckled. "There's probably some filthy backroom dealing going on."
Luo Yu rolled his eyes at him, then said, "Since they've gotten ahead of us..."
"I'll hurry up the mountain. Stay here and recover for a while. Once I get the Yamato Legacy Fragment, I'll come back and help you rack up points."
With that, Luo Yu blurred out of sight.
Meanwhile, at the summit of the danger zone...
A young man and woman reached the mountaintop, brimming with confidence.
They were Liu Jiajia, Tengyang's star student and campus goddess, and Yang Jie, the Yang Family's prodigy.
"Um, Jiajia, sit down and rest for a bit. I'll look for the Yamato fragment."
Like a gentleman, Yang Jie took off his jacket and spread it on the grass, then went to search nearby for the special reward.
"Thank you." Liu Jiajia sat gracefully on his jacket, her thoughts wandering as she watched Yang Jie busy himself.
As her male best friend, Yang Jie was pretty decent.
He regularly studied and trained with her, keeping her grades among the best in the city.
Her stunning performance in the morning's test had also been thanks to him giving her the resources the Yang Family had allocated to him.
Unfortunately, Luo Yu had stolen her thunder afterward.
Fortunately, after being subjected to her barrage of tears, Yang Jie had agreed to give her the Yamato Legacy Fragment to cheer her up.
Since things were already impossible between her and Luo Yu, should she consider taking things further with her best friend?
Just as Liu Jiajia's thoughts were running wild, the ground suddenly cracked.
A white arm reached out of the fissure.
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