Chapter 523: Xiao Mu's Grand Plan

On a small hill in the Kao He Qu, Xiao Mu sat sideways on the back of a Sacred Winged Heavenly Tiger, tossing several Jade Pendants in her hand.

As the Jade Pendants rose and fell, the gazes of the crowd below fluctuated incessantly, and their hearts pounded with fear, terrified that one careless slip would cause a Jade Pendant to shatter, signaling the end of their entrance examination right then and there.

"This young lady is in a bad mood right now, and whenever I'm in a bad mood, I feel like crushing something."

The young girl's pretty face was slightly pouted, her puffed-up appearance looking quite adorable, but the crowd below was in no mood to appreciate it; seeing her make a move as if to crush the Jade Pendants, they hurriedly cried out to stop her.

"No, no, no! Little Miss, just tell us what you want! As long as it's something we can do, we will definitely get it done for you!"

"You must hold what's in your hand steady, please hold it steady!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"..."

A group of young people who had been robbed of their examination credentials were practically crying without tears, hurriedly calling out to stop her.

To them, this strange young girl was simply demonic.

The Jade Pendant was not only proof of the examination but also the final barrier protecting their safety; if they encountered an insurmountable crisis during the examination, they could shatter the Jade Pendant to be teleported out of the Kao He Qu, but this also meant the gates of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy were closed to them.

The importance of the Jade Pendant went without saying; calling it their lifeline would not be an exaggeration.

Yet, no one knew what method this girl had used; many people had lost their Jade Pendants in a daze, and one look showed they had all ended up in her hands.

It wasn't that no one had tried to snatch them back by force—after all, with so many people, they could have worn her down—but the girl, who was the target of everyone's ire, had merely crushed a few Jade Pendants at random and sent away the leading experts, causing their fragile, makeshift alliance to instantly fall apart, leaving them to be molded and shaped by her at will.

"Very good!"

As the group reacted with trepidation like little chicks, the girl's proud gaze glanced subtly at the big tiger beneath her, only to be met with the latter's helpless look.

"Don't play too big!"

"Don't worry."

After tidying up her words, Xiao Mu cast her gaze toward the crowd, imitating the way her mother spoke before her subordinates; suddenly, the image of the black-bellied young girl vanished, replaced by an overwhelming majesty that made many subconsciously hold their breath.

"To be honest, this young lady has no interest in eliminating you; with your meager strength, I don't even look at you."

Her stinging words left the crowd both angry and happy; what they were happy about was that, judging by this young lady's attitude, their own examination credentials seemed safe.

At the same time, they were angry that she was being far too arrogant, her words filled with nothing but belittlement and contempt for them. Having obtained the qualifications for the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy examination, they were, at the very least, geniuses from their respective hometowns, yet now they were being mocked for their strength by a girl of similar age, giving them quite the urge to challenge her to a duel.

But it was limited to an urge; given her method of taking their Jade Pendants without a sound, there was indeed a tiny gap in their strength.

If the girl's image in their hearts had previously been merely arrogant, her subsequent words left everyone aghast.

"In fact, not just you, but everyone in this examination, in this young lady's eyes, is unqualified!"

The girl's arrogant words were almost the exact opposite of her youthful face.

Hah!

What big talk, not afraid of the wind flashing her tongue!

A group of young geniuses sneered in their hearts, remaining silent, watching mockingly to see what kind of overreaching nonsense this arrogant person could spout.

"So..."

"This young lady believes the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy does not need so many people."

"I can't control the others."

"But this Kao He Qu..."

"Let's set the number of those who pass at five thousand."

"Five thousand?!"

The crowd's expressions changed, and they shouted in their hearts:

"A lunatic!"

As one of the most outstanding academies in the Great Thousand World, the number of geniuses from all over who came to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy for the examination every year was countless; even with the entrance threshold being raised repeatedly, under the massive base, the number of students entering the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy every year was no less than five hundred thousand.

Distributed evenly among the ten examination areas this time, the quota was at least fifty thousand!

They had not expected this girl to actually harbor the delusion of cutting the already pitifully small number to one-tenth of the original!

Was she not afraid of inciting public anger?

But soon, the group set their minds at ease; there were so many people participating in the examination, and their group alone numbered no less than ten thousand. To achieve her goal, she would have to deal with at least half of them, and anyone with a shred of reason would not act this way.

Moreover, in this Kao He Qu alone, there were no less than one million people; wanting to ensure only five thousand passed meant eliminating over ninety-nine percent of the people—it would be impossible even if she were worked to death.

Furthermore, the Elder Council of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was observing the entire process of the examination and would certainly not allow the situation to escalate. If we can't deal with this girl, can't the Elders?

No matter how great her ability, she wouldn't be able to stir up any big waves!

"Do you think this young lady is arrogant and overreaching?"

As if she could read their minds, the girl opposite them spoke their inner thoughts, her tone incomparably calm, as if she didn't care at all.

"But this young lady is right here, and I am going to take you lot of shrimp soldiers and crab generals to clear out this examination area."

Her light words were like heavy hammers striking the hearts of the crowd.

"Not a single one left!"

"Ten thousand people eliminating one million..."

"Do you dare to do it?"

As her voice fell, the field fell into a long silence.

"Gulp..."

Many were attracted by this arrogant yet tempting idea, unable to stop themselves from swallowing a few mouthfuls of saliva.

As the saying went, they were geniuses from their respective hometowns, young geniuses, the batch with the most imagination and initiative, longing to build a career, dreaming in their hearts of doing something earth-shattering.

To make a splash in the Five Great Academies' entrance examination, to be recorded in the history of the academy's entrance examinations for later juniors to admire, to make their seniors look at them with new eyes...

Just thinking about it made one's blood boil!

Xiao Mu, who was constantly watching the crowd's reaction, chuckled inwardly; as expected of a bunch of youngsters, once they were pumped up, their blood went straight to their heads.

"Of course, everything depends on your choice!"

"I can't be bothered to keep these assessment proofs, you all can take them back yourselves."

"But I'll say this first: one for each person, no trying to fish in troubled waters!"

As she spoke, she waved her hand, summoning a sky full of Jade Pendants that shimmered with a blinding light against the sunlight, before embedding them into the mountain wall nearby.

Finally, a fire was lit.

"Whoosh—"

With the assessment proofs placed right before their eyes, everyone's breathing involuntarily grew much heavier.

Before long, one person couldn't help but be the first to step out from the crowd, take their own Jade Pendant, and return.

With someone setting the example, the others followed suit; perhaps due to the deterrent effect of Xiao Mu standing by, no chaotic scene occurred, and instead, a simple order was maintained.

During this process, many people stayed, while some also left; to each their own, and they were not willing to take risks following a young girl.

The remaining people looked at Xiao Mu with anticipation in their eyes; if Xiao Mu had coerced them into participating in her plan using the assessment proofs, this group of geniuses might have been quite unyielding and destroyed both jade and stone together, and even if they had reluctantly agreed, they might have turned against her at any moment.

But now, for the sake of this seemingly delusional plan, over seven thousand geniuses from all over Da Qian had joined in.

Perhaps the other party was merely talking nonsense, or perhaps it was a case of a mayfly shaking a tree; their end might be suffering betrayal, falling into an encirclement, and finally ending up battered and bloody, leaving the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy assessment in disgrace.

But after thinking it over repeatedly, they still made their choice.

Facing the like-minded people below, Xiao Mu stood up from the back of the Sacred Winged Heavenly Tiger, and like a mountain bandit chief, shouted that phrase buried deep in her heart,

"Little ones, follow me!"