Golden Elephant City and Wu Gang have clashed!
The fight instantly drew the attention of the Monitoring Room.
Both of them were high-priority targets.
"The Golden kid and Wu Gang—which one will win? Fascinating."
Xu Zhixiong chuckled with curiosity.
Just then, Shao Han turned and declared, "I bet Golden Elephant City wins!"
Xu Zhixiong and Instructor Xie Yingxue looked over in surprise.
"Oh? Why? Both have Spiritual Energy Talent C and Combat Level 5. Wu Gang looks stronger individually."
From the start of the trial, Golden Elephant City had rarely struck; when he did, he let companions drain the prey before he claimed the kill.
Shao Han folded his arms, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
On his right index and middle fingers he wore two silver rings, their intricate patterns both mysterious and beautiful.
"I recall the Martial Trial rules state participants may only use weapons from the armory—yet some items are exempt."
Xu Zhixiong nodded. "Right—drugs, amplifying under-armor, clothing, all allowed."
The Martial Trial looked fair, but wherever a path upward exists, shortcuts follow; absolute fairness is impossible.
Trials can be lethal, so the privileged will do anything to see their children pass.
"There's one more thing."
He stared at the battlefield, eyes sharpening: "ember remains."
The instant he spoke, on-screen Golden Elephant City smiled, slowly twisting the silver ring on his right ring finger.
A blinding flash—the silver ring morphed into a silver longsword!
"first-grade jinhai, silver sword!"
The silver blade shimmered with an enchanting hue that captivated the eye.
Yet the moment it appeared, the instructors inside the Monitoring Room turned grave.
"That shouldn't appear in the Entrance Trial!"
Shao Han grinned. "But it doesn't break the rules, right?"
A glint of white light reflected off Instructor Xie Yingxue's lenses.
"Even a first-grade jinhai is too much for a Fighting Fang Ability User to handle. Dangerous—yet still within regulations."
The mightiest weapons in the world aren't the Empire's cutting-edge alloy arms, but ember remains.
Everyone knows the supreme power is Spiritual Energy, and only sapient beings can condense it.
As the name implies, ember remains are the ashes and bones of the dead.
Only forging weapons from the bones of powerful Dark Race or beasts grants the strength to command Spiritual Energy.
Jinhai crafting is complex; the stronger and more intact the beast's bone remains, the mightier the weapon.
Carcasses long dead or aged lose much of their power.
Thus to craft jinhai one must capture formidable Dark Race or beast specimens, then have a Jinhai Master perform a perfect Seal—only then can such Spiritual weapons be born.
These weapons are exceedingly rare and difficult to forge.
Even a first-grade jinhai can massively boost a Spirit Energy User's combat strength!
Hence even a first-grade jinhai forger is deeply respected and enjoys high social status.
Legend says the first jinhai ever came from an ancient god who could Incarnate as a plant.
Of course, the rarity and power of jinhai make it astronomically valuable.
So much so that few participants on-site even recognized it.
Seeing the silver ring transform, Wu Gang seemed to realize something.
He raised his War Hammer warily, roared, and charged like a human tank at Golden Elephant City!
Golden Elephant City narrowed his eyes, lifted the silver sword, and met the strike head-on!
Clang!
The crisp ring of steel—the C-grade alloy trial weapon snapped like kindling!
Wu Gang's eyes dulled; the broken hammer unbalanced him.
Golden Elephant City seized the moment, reversed his blade and slashed upward!
Shh!
A thin red line appeared from Wu Gang's right hip to left shoulder.
His massive torso toppled, blood gushing and splattering nearby faces.
"Aaaaah!!!"
The gore sent many Trial Participants screaming and scrambling back.
Golden Elephant City's throat twitched; he swallowed the urge to vomit.
"We'll all face this step sooner or later. Better get used to it early."
Silence fell; those who had secretly doubted him dared not speak again.
In the Monitoring Room Xu Zhixiong scratched his bald head.
"Pity about that Wu Gang kid. But if he dies here, it's just bad luck."
The fall of a C-talent was merely "a bit of a pity."
Every year they saw countless youngsters like Wu Gang.
Only those who weather every trial become true warriors.
Instructor Xie Yingxue frowned slightly and glanced at Shao Han.
A woman's intuition—she sensed Shao Han's malice toward Zhao Mu.
Golden Elephant City's targeting of Zhao Mu likely traced back to Shao Han.
But Instructor Xie Yingxue would not interfere.
Rules are rules.
"Zhao Mu, I hope your luck holds—stay clear of that guy."
A wildfire had shrunk the hilltop, charring trees to blackened stakes and eliminating cover.
Everyone was exposed and forced to fight in the open.
Zhao Mu stayed busy, cutting down another dozen opponents along the way.
He now held 426 number tags!
Nearly one-fifth of all tags in the Trial Ground were in his hands alone.
He scattered and hid them in safe spots.
Thinking of Golden Elephant City and the thirty-plus Large Corps hunting him, Zhao Mu chose to lie low and ignore them.
"In the end they'll have to split their tags. Once division looks unfair, infighting is almost certain."
"As long as Golden Elephant City doesn't hog them all, with thirty-odd people wanting to pass, he can't possibly hold more tags than I do."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)