The short-haired woman picked up the teapot, pouring tea for Lin Zhiquin as she spoke quietly.

Lin Zhiquin glanced towards the examination room, then picked up his teacup and sipped slowly, his brow furrowed. "Xiao Mubai is certainly strong," he admitted. "But with his power so clearly on display, other disciples will undoubtedly be instructed by their respective backers to target him. I don't think he'll easily secure the position of personal disciple."

At this point, Lin Zhiquin had completely discarded any unrealistic thoughts and was entirely relaxed. Being a mere spectator allowed him to see the situation more clearly.

"You're not wrong," the short-haired woman nodded. "Never mind that he's outstanding enough on his own; even if he were just average, the mere fact that he's the candidate recommended by Second Senior Brother would make the other disciples band together to eliminate him first. But..." she suddenly shifted her tone, whispering, "don't forget what kind of person Second Senior Brother is."

Lin Zhiquin was taken aback.

"If Second Senior Brother lets you see seven parts of his ability, then rest assured, in ways you can't see, he's definitely hiding a full ten parts of other tricks."

"...Half a month ago, Second Senior Brother had someone order a full set of B-grade protective suits from the Sum Nation. Do you think he bought them for himself to wear?"

"B-grade protective suits?!" Lin Zhiquin's pupils contracted sharply. "Is such a thing even allowed by the examination rules?!"

"That's why Teacher has never liked you, ever since you joined." The short-haired woman glanced at him. "Don't you know Teacher's personality? This personal disciple is being recruited for him, and he set the examination format. As for the rules, naturally, he has the final say. Second Senior Brother is closest to Teacher; he understands Teacher's temperament the best. If he thinks it's not a problem, then it's naturally not a problem."

Lin Zhiquin's gaze flickered for a moment. He suddenly thought of something and asked, puzzled, "Such an important matter... how could Second Senior Brother let you know?"

The short-haired woman held the teapot with both hands and tilted it. The tea flowed from the spout in a thin, straight stream. There was an ineffable air of serene nonchalance about her.

"Perhaps... Second Senior Brother knows that among the few of us, I'm the least interested in competing with him."

"Have your tea, Lin."

Lin Zhiquin said nothing, silently lifting the teacup before him. He couldn't help but glance again towards the examination room. The image of a young figure in a B-grade protective suit, dominating the arena, involuntarily surfaced in his mind. A deep worry couldn't help but surface on his face. In the end, it could only transform into a soft sigh, dissolving entirely into the tea.

「......」

BOOM!

A figure shot out like a cannonball, smashing hard into a wall. The large 'Crane' character on the wall shattered instantly, and pieces of plaster fell like paper.

Xiao Mubai, wearing the protective suit on his upper body, was half-embedded in the wall, having created a moderately deep dent in the steel plate exposed behind the fallen plaster.

"COUGH, COUGH—"

Xiao Mubai, head lowered, clutched his chest with both hands, coughing violently.

The vast examination room suddenly fell into an eerie silence. The burly man and the others had stopped at some point; only the sound of Xiao Mubai's coughing echoed in the hall.

"Er..."

The five men stood scattered, motionless. Their gazes lingered on Xiao Mubai, embedded in the wall, then shifted to another person.

Baffled! The only word in their minds was baffled. They had no idea what had just happened. Oh no... to be precise, they had no idea *why* it had happened this way! To break their five-person encirclement, Xiao Mubai had intended to casually grab the kid—bought for twenty million just to make up the numbers—to use as a human shield. He'd tugged twice but couldn't move him. Instead, his opponent had backhanded him, sending him flying into the wall...

Twenty million? Just to fill a spot? And he sent Xiao Mubai, wearing a B-grade protective suit, flying with a backhand?

The five men felt their minds reel, as if they'd been punched hard in the head, and then someone had leaned in close to their ears and whispered, 'Well? Surprised? Wasn't that unexpected?!'

"COUGH, COUGH—"

Xiao Mubai slowly extracted his body from the indented wall. He steadied himself, took several deep breaths, and gradually suppressed the shock and disbelief on his face.

Lu Yuan's face showed a hint of surprise—directed, of course, only at the protective suit Xiao Mubai was wearing.

So powerful. He took a punch like mine and he's fine. Is this what Yellow Bear and his group wear? It doesn't quite seem like it...

"Very good." Xiao Mubai's expression had completely calmed. He stared deeply at Lu Yuan. "Very good. I didn't expect to find someone like you hidden in this pile of trash."

CRACKLE, CRACKLE—

Xiao Mubai rotated his shoulders, his bones emitting a series of popping sounds.

"Now... I'm starting to get interested in this assessment. I... am going to get serious!"

Having said that—

BANG!

The wooden floor beneath Xiao Mubai exploded, and his entire figure vanished instantly. In the blink of an eye, he was before Lu Yuan. He raised his arm and threw a punch. Mysterious qi flowed around his fist, compressing the air into visible white ripples.

"Die for me!"

BOOM!

A massive collision sound echoed. A figure shot back even faster than he had come, slamming hard into the wall, creating an even larger and deeper indentation than before.

Lu Yuan maintained his punching posture, taking a small half-step back. His right arm, the one he'd punched with, had swelled a full size larger. Thick blue veins coiled like earthworms, and his muscles were like cast iron.

"PHEW—"

Lu Yuan exhaled lightly, his eyes bright.

CLATTER—

Xiao Mubai struggled out of the wall with great effort, like a catfish stranded on shore. One of his arms was twisted at an unnatural angle. His face was once again filled with deep shock, and even the exclamation he uttered sounded distorted.

"You... you've also comprehended Crane Strength?!"

"HMM?!"

Lu Yuan neither confirmed nor denied, calmly walking towards Xiao Mubai. A terrifying sense of pressure spread, as if invisible waves of water were rising layer by layer within the room.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Xiao Mubai seemed to grow flustered. He gritted his teeth, a fierce hostility surging on his face. "So what if you've comprehended Crane Strength? I still have my True Skill!"

With that, he produced a pill from seemingly nowhere with a flip of his hand and swiftly stuffed it into his mouth. His aura instantly skyrocketed; even his fractured arm seemed to crackle and twist somewhat back into place.

"The Heaven Water Sect's Flowing Crane Faction Fist Skill Supreme True Skill—Crane Shadow Floating in the Air!"

Xiao Mubai roared, stomping his foot and shattering the floor beneath him. He charged madly towards Lu Yuan, the force of his fist more than ten times fiercer and more terrifying than before.

However...

He suddenly lost sight of Lu Yuan.

CRACKLE, CRACKLE—

A series of bone-popping sounds came from above.

Xiao Mubai looked up blankly.

In the next second, his pupils contracted violently.

He saw Lu Yuan, whose body had swelled a full size larger, somehow appear above his head. His massive frame, exuding an incomparably terrifying aura, cast a heavy shadow. It blotted out the light from the overhead lamps, rapidly spreading to every corner of the examination room.

"What a coincidence." Lu Yuan's voice had become hoarse and deep. "Crane Shadow Floating in the Air... I can do it too."

The next instant.

The sound of a fist tearing through the air, high-pitched like a crane's cry, resounded.

In the eyes of everyone present, an image seemed to appear—

A monstrous crane, bluish-black all over with gnarled muscles, flapped a pair of fleshy wings thicker than door planks, aiming for Xiao Mubai's head and slamming down violently...

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