Time slowly passed, and it soon reached past nine in the morning.
Of the more than two thousand people, fewer than a hundred remained after fighting until this point.
Most of those remaining were in teams, or they were extremely rare powerful Lone Wolves like Zhao Mu.
By this time, everyone had a rough estimate of the number of people remaining on the mountain.
If nothing unexpected happened, all these people had passed the Martial Trial and entered the ranks of the top 160.
Some people didn't want to continue fighting; they were too tired and needed to find a place to stop and rest.
Others, whose Written Exam scores weren't high, wanted to fight for a better ranking.
Golden Elephant City still hadn't found any trace of Zhao Mu.
"The mountain peak isn't that big. Where could he have run off to?"
Someone asked, "Could he have already been eliminated?"
"Impossible!"
Golden Elephant City stated with absolute certainty, "Such a cunning and powerful fellow wouldn't be eliminated so easily."
He waved his hand: "Search! Keep looking for him. Once you find his whereabouts, tell him that his friends are in my hands! If he doesn't want to see them die, he should hurry over."
Golden Elephant City's subordinates took the order and left. The area of the mountaintop was limited, so it was inevitable they would encounter others.
Soon, they ran into another team.
There were only eight people in the team, led by a small, good-natured looking fatty.
Seeing them, the Trial Participants under Golden Elephant City exchanged glances.
They had strength in numbers, so naturally, they didn't need to fear the other side.
Thus, they sneered and surrounded them.
But soon, the smiles on their faces turned into terror!
In the opposing team, only one sharp-eyed youth stepped forward with a spear, fighting all of them alone!
His Spear Technique was fierce, like a raging storm, moving through the mountain forest and toying with the dozen or so people like they were toys. Soon, three people were knocked out and eliminated directly by the Long Saber!
"Boss, this is bad! We ran into a tough opponent!"
A subordinate quickly reported the situation to Golden Elephant City.
Golden Elephant City frowned and rushed over immediately.
When he arrived on the scene, he saw that the opponent was actually the Young Master of the Meng Family from Jiangnan Province. His pupils instantly contracted, and then he put on a beaming smile.
"Oh dear, a misunderstanding! My people truly didn't know it was you, Young Master Meng. My apologies, please don't take offense!"
The small fatty Meng Qiuqiu smiled and scratched his head: "No offense taken, no offense taken. My man just moved too quickly; I tried to stop him but couldn't."
"Um, I've already collected enough number tags. My dad told me that just getting a passing score is fine, so I won't compete with you anymore. Can we please leave?"
Golden Elephant City nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course, of course, please feel free!"
Meng Qiuqiu called Zhuo Yun back, and they left cheerfully. They planned to find a comfortable spot and wait peacefully for the trial to end.
Golden Elephant City's gaze swept over him.
His ten fingers, like small radishes, were covered in all sorts of Gem Rings, like those worn by a nouveau riche. Items on his neck and wrists were certainly not few either.
Golden Elephant City swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
If he provoked this ancestor, ten lives wouldn't be enough to pay the price... At nine in the morning, only the last two hours remained until the trial ended.
Golden Elephant City's Large Corps, personally led by him, began searching the entire mountaintop for traces of Zhao Mu.
With the ember remains in hand, as long as they didn't provoke the harmless Meng Qiuqiu, no one else was their opponent.
Soon, the number of Trial Participants on the mountaintop sharply decreased again.
In the end, only three factions remained.
But even so, Golden Elephant City and his people still couldn't find where Zhao Mu was.
He was too skilled in Jungle Warfare. Once he confirmed he was already the first place in the trial, he couldn't be bothered to clash with Golden Elephant City's Large Corps.
At this moment, Zhao Mu found a spot. After using Spiritual Energy Rotation to restore his Spiritual Power, he deployed the Turtle Breathing Technique to completely conceal himself.
The mountaintop had recently burned in a large fire, leaving ashes everywhere, and his presence was concealed by the thick smoke.
Even the best Hunting Dogs wouldn't be able to track him down.
In the Monitoring Room, Xu Zhixiong said to Instructor Xie Yingxue and Zhang Biao, "Judging by this trend, if the trial ends now, Zhao Mu will securely hold the top spot in the Martial Trial!"
"At that point, he will be the double champion of both the Written Exam and the Martial Trial!"
Speaking of this, Xu Zhixiong couldn't help but gasp.
"Who would have thought that an E-rank Talent holder could achieve such brilliant results?"
Instructor Xie Yingxue pushed up her Glasses, her eyes filled with admiration.
"Moreover, he took first place with a perfect score! This is a result unseen in Qingfeng Camp in nearly thirty years!"
Listening to the instructors praise Zhao Mu, Shen Moran clenched her fists and lowered her head, remaining silent.
The most terrifying hypothesis in her heart was slowly becoming reality.
If Zhao Mu joined Qingfeng Camp and stood beside her as the trial's first-place winner, how would she handle herself?
Shao Han, meanwhile, was staring anxiously at the screen.
"Golden Elephant City, what the hell are you doing? The person is right on the mountaintop! Are your men all useless? How can they not find him!"
At this moment, Zhao Mu was indeed hard to find.
Because he had smeared his entire body with ash and concealed himself within the burnt, charred forest.
Everyone who came to search for his whereabouts would be discovered by him in advance, allowing him to easily avoid them.
Golden Elephant City sat on the platform at the top of the mountain, watching the reports transmitted by the electronic wristband, and gradually lost his patience.
He had accepted five meditation capsules from Shao Han, and in the future, when he entered Qingfeng Camp, he needed to maintain a good relationship with Shao Han.
It would be inexcusable if he couldn't eliminate Zhao Mu, even while holding a decisive advantage.
Wang Qing and his two companions walked over and whispered sinisterly into Young Master Jin's ear: "Young Master Jin, why don't you leave this matter to us! We understand Zhao Mu and know how to force him to show himself!"
Golden Elephant City narrowed his eyes and suddenly laughed.
"Fine, then you guys go and do it!"
Wang Qing dragged over the bound Zhou Haoyu and Li Zixuan, pressing them down near the edge of the cliff.
"Wang Qing, what... what are you going to do?"
Zhou Haoyu shouted in terror.
Li Zixuan gritted his teeth: "Don't expect to use us to threaten Zhao Mu! Our relationship with him is only that of ordinary classmates; it's impossible for him to risk himself for us."
Wang Qing sneered: "He certainly wouldn't risk himself over your elimination. But what if the condition is your lives?"
"Will Zhao Mu, who likes to do good deeds to show off his sense of superiority, the Zhao Mu who seeks fame and compliments, be willing to watch his good classmates die because of him?"
Saying this, Wang Qing pulled out the Long Saber from his waist and chopped down straight onto Zhou Haoyu and Li Zixuan's thighs!
Even though the weapon was not sharpened, such a forceful chop still tore open a huge gash.
"Ah!!"
The two men let out painful wails that echoed from the mountaintop in all directions.
Wang Qing stood on the mountaintop, holding the saber, and shouted: "Zhao Mu! Listen to me! Zhou Haoyu and Li Zixuan are in our hands! You better get out here immediately!"
"Every ten minutes, if you don't show up, I'll remove a 'part' from their bodies! Until they are killed!"
"Remember, their deaths will all be because of you!"
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)