That was Zhao Mu's voice, deep and calm, as unruffled as an ancient well.
As if everything were unfolding exactly as he had foreseen.
Everyone stared in astonishment at the scene. The instructors' faces brimmed with delight and admiration, while Shao Han and Jin Xiangcheng looked shocked and bewildered.
Zhao Mu stood right in front of Jin Xiangcheng, slowly raising the white longsword in his right hand.
The silver sword, forged from the fangs and claws of the Silver Wolf beast, possessed the ability [Tear].
Simply channel spiritual energy into it, and it unleashed powerful slashing and piercing effects.
Zhao Mu gripped the silver sword; as spiritual energy poured in, he could clearly feel the might of this first-grade jinhai.
"There are two ways to control jinhai. Either you possess formidable mental willpower to suppress the residual consciousness of the original owner within the jinhai, or your own spiritual energy is strong enough to forcibly subdue it."
Zhao Mu spoke in a gentle tone, yet after hearing him, Jin Xiangcheng's face turned as pale as frost.
"H-how do you know so much about jinhai? With your background, you shouldn't have access to such Advanced goods!"
Zhao Mu smiled faintly.
He had indeed never handled jinhai before, but Bu Yanhuan had, so of course she had taught him how to wield such weapons.
The moment he picked up the silver sword, he was already prepared.
Zhao Mu lifted his head, a cold mockery flashing in his eyes.
"I'll trade this silver sword for your life. Any objections?"
Unable to bear such a crushing blow, Jin Xiangcheng's already battered body dropped to its knees before Zhao Mu with a thud.
"N-no, you can't. If I lose this jinhai, it'll be the death of me!"
Even coming from a great Family, his status was clearly not high enough to casually misplace a jinhai worth 60 million xuanfeng coins.
"Then I'll have to kill you."
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Mu raised the gleaming silver blade and walked toward Jin Xiangcheng.
"Don't!"
Terror was written all over Jin Xiangcheng's face; Zhao Mu ignored him, his Killing Intent growing heavier.
"I—I agree! Trade the silver sword for my life! But don't eliminate me—if I'm out, I'll really die!"
Losing the jinhai was a grave fault, but if he could still enter Qingfeng Camp, he might barely atone for it.
The Jin Family rules were ice-cold; waste was never tolerated.
Zhao Mu glanced at the jinhai worth 60 million xuanfeng coins in his hand and slowly nodded.
"Fine. But tell me—who ordered you to target me here?"
By now Jin Xiangcheng posed no threat, and the Martial Trial was almost over; Zhao Mu saw no need to drive a dog into a dead end.
Jin Xiangcheng's heart was filled with bitterness; his losses were immense.
And it was all thanks to Shao Han.
Had he not agreed to Shao Han's deal, he could have secured a high score and entered Qingfeng Camp with ease.
Compared to a first-grade jinhai, the five Meditation Capsules Shao Han had given him were utterly insignificant.
Gritting his teeth, he spat out word by word: "It was Shao Han who told me to eliminate you!"
In the monitoring room, everyone instinctively glanced at Shao Han.
Shen Moran frowned but offered no comment on Shao Han's actions.
She knew of the feud between Zhao Mu and Shao Han and had no wish to intervene.
Yet confirming Zhao Mu had passed the trial left her feelings tangled.
Shao Han stared at Jin Xiangcheng on the screen, grinding his teeth and cursing inwardly: "Useless trash!"
"But so what if you enter Qingfeng Camp? You're just the best of the garbage. An E-rank will always be an E-rank—you'll never surpass me!"
Zhao Mu didn't keep hunting other participants; he already held the most number tags.
Even the tags on Jin Xiangcheng's person he left only one, taking all the rest.
After finishing, Zhao Mu sat on a boulder at the mountaintop and cycled [Spiritual Energy Rotation] to recover his spent spiritual energy.
Now he could complete 62 Meditations a day.
Ordinary participants below C-rank could barely manage ten in a day.
Thus his spiritual-energy recovery rate was more than six times that of others.
Before long, eleven o'clock arrived, and the bell signaling the trial's end rang out.
Zhang Biao lowered his propped-up legs, his powerful frame suddenly rising.
He shouted toward Xiuyun Mountain: "The Martial Trial ends now!!"
His mighty voice, amplified by spiritual energy, rolled across the entire Trial Ground like a loudspeaker.
That robust power secretly startled Zhao Mu and the others.
"Instructors of Qingfeng Camp really aren't ordinary!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Mu gathered the number tags he had hidden, stuffed the bulging bundle sewn from several people's clothes with tags, slung it over his back, and headed down the mountain.
On the way, Meng Qiuqiu strolled over leisurely with Zhuo Yun and a few bodyguards.
"Zhao Mu, my dear friend! As expected of the man I fancy—absolutely fierce!"
Meng Qiuqiu rubbed his hands together and gave Zhao Mu a big thumbs-up.
Zhao Mu's gaze landed on the glittering, jewelry-bedecked Meng Qiuqiu. Looking over the ornaments, he smiled faintly: "With the jinhai you're holding, if you'd gone for first place, even I'd have struggled."
After all, this was a pay-to-win monster—no way a free player could beat him.
The richest man in Jiangnan wasn't just talk.
But after hearing Jin Xiangcheng say his first-grade jinhai was worth 60 million, Zhao Mu's notion of wealth was refreshed again.
Most of Meng Qiuqiu's accessories were probably jinhai—maybe even all of them!
His fortune was simply unimaginable.
Meng Qiuqiu chuckled, scratching his head.
"These trinkets of mine are just for show, to scare people. In truth, only a few are usable—nothing like you, my fierce friend!"
"From now on we're comrades-in-arms; I'll be clinging to your coattails!"
Meng Qiuqiu stared at Zhao Mu with blazing eyes that clearly read 'a rare commodity worth hoarding'."
"Happy to oblige. I've always liked making honest, reliable friends like you."
Zhao Mu certainly didn't mind having a wealthy friend. The Jiangnan Meng Family had vast resources and far-reaching connections; as long as you paid, they could get anything.
Even the military maintained close ties with them—having such a friend would surely be beneficial.
At that moment, Jin Xiangcheng also sidled over with a chuckle.
"My two friends, we've come to know each other through battle! Haha, especially you, Zhao Mu—don't take the trial to heart. We're all recruits of the same batch; we'll need to look out for each other from now on!"
Moments ago Jin Xiangcheng had been beaten to a pulp by Zhao Mu and had his precious jinhai seized—he should have hated Zhao Mu to the bone.
Yet here he was, blood still at the corner of his mouth, acting as if nothing had happened and cozying up to Zhao Mu.
Zhao Mu raised an eyebrow, thinking: This kid's definitely going places! With a temperament like this, few can compare."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)