Mu Jinyu woke up, finding himself already at the top of Zhongfeng Mountain.
At the summit, there was only the Examiner Elder, no one else in sight.
"Huh, am I the first?!"
Mu Jinyu murmured to himself in surprise.
In truth, while he was in a state of enlightenment regarding his movement technique, he wasn't entirely unconscious. Focused solely on understanding the technique, he remembered several people passing by him.
Therefore, Mu Jinyu initially thought he wouldn't claim first place in the test, or even make it to the top three. Unexpectedly, as soon as he woke up, he magically found himself in first place.
"Yes, you are indeed the first."
The Examiner Elder heard Mu Jinyu's slightly surprised voice and gave him a strange look before responding.
Yun Ge and Wei Ziping were not far from the summit, so the Examiner Elder had just seen the moment when Mu Jinyu knocked Wei Ziping away.
Initially, the Examiner Elder thought Mu Jinyu did it on purpose, but judging by his expression, it seemed he didn't remember it at all.
So, the Examiner Elder was also somewhat puzzled about what had just happened with Mu Jinyu.
"What's my time?"
Mu Jinyu didn't think too much, respectfully asking the Examiner Elder.
The Examiner Elder replied, "One incense stick."
After speaking, he gave Mu Jinyu another strange look and said, "The previous record holder was our current Sect Leader with a time of one incense stick and one inch..."
This meant that after one incense stick burned out, the second incense stick had burned about an inch before the Sect Leader reached the summit.
So, Mu Jinyu broke the record again.
"Oh."
Hearing this, Mu Jinyu didn't care much about breaking the record again. He stood aside, lowered his eyes in contemplation, and then intentionally practiced the "Ten Steps Move."
He wanted to see if his movement technique had improved following his recent enlightenment.
"Hmm? This is..."
The Examiner Elder initially didn't pay much attention to Mu Jinyu practicing his movement technique, but after a few more glances, his eyes suddenly widened in amazement.
"Is this a masterful-level movement technique?"
"Is this... 'Ten Steps Move'?!"
The Examiner Elder, although not as attentive to Mu Jinyu as the Sect Leader and Elder Cheng, was very familiar with the Heavenly Sword Faction's manuals and immediately recognized Mu Jinyu's technique as the difficult-to-master "Ten Steps Move."
"'Ten Steps Move' is a body technique manual that can only be practiced by Inner Sect Disciples. How long has he been in the Inner Gate, and he's already reached a masterful level?!"
The Examiner Elder looked at Mu Jinyu's rapidly shifting figure with incredulous eyes, feeling a bit numb.
He had vaguely heard that Mu Jinyu's comprehension was extremely high, but hadn't known how high it was. Seeing this today, he understood why the Sect Leader and others valued Mu Jinyu so much.
Then, the Examiner Elder understood why Mu Jinyu, who was previously lagging behind Yun Ge and Wei Ziping, was able to surpass them in the end and take the first place.
Yun Ge and the others still hadn't reached the summit yet.
It seemed that Mu Jinyu had realized the intricacies of "Ten Steps Move" during the test, enabling him to overtake them.
"Very good. With such a talented disciple, who can challenge our Heavenly Sword Faction at the Four Sects Martial Meeting this time!"
The Examiner Elder stroked his beard and smiled contentedly.
"Whew!"
After performing "Ten Steps Move," Mu Jinyu found he had indeed improved significantly, estimating that his proficiency had advanced from integration to masterful skill.
At this moment, Yun Ge finally reached the summit, panting heavily.
"Junior Brother Mu… you've really surprised me again and again..."
Yun Ge panted, adjusting himself, and said with a wry smile to Mu Jinyu.
Mu Jinyu asked in confusion, "Brother Yun, I remember you overtook me earlier, right? How did you end up behind me again? Was it my imagination?"
Yun Ge replied, "No, it wasn't your imagination. Earlier, Wei Ziping and I did overtake you. But at that time, you were in a state of enlightenment, so we overtook you. You quickly came out of it and then surpassed us again. Wei Ziping was overconfident and got knocked away by you..."
He laughed, "I guess it will take him some time before he reaches the summit."
Hearing Yun Ge's words, the Examiner Elder nodded secretly. His guess was confirmed: Mu Jinyu had indeed experienced an enlightenment during the test of speed.
What a monster.
"Did I knock him away?"
Mu Jinyu asked in surprise after hearing Yun Ge's words.
He had no memory of it, then frowned and thought hard.
Gradually, he recalled, vaguely, that he might have indeed knocked someone away.
However, since there was no injury and it didn't hurt, he subconsciously ignored it.
Yun Ge asked, "So, what did you comprehend just now? Techniques, divine skills, or movement technique?"
Since Mu Jinyu's speed was already very fast at first, Yun Ge wasn't sure if Mu Jinyu's enlightenment was about the movement technique.
Hearing Yun Ge's question, Mu Jinyu revealed that he had perfected "Ten Steps Move" to masterful skill.
Yun Ge listened, filled with envy.
He had a movement technique at a masterful level too, but it was of mid-Profound Rank, whereas a top-Profound Rank movement technique remained at the integration level for him.
So sometimes, his mid-Profound Rank movement technique was better than his top-Profound Rank one.
"Huff… huff…"
After two incense sticks' worth of time, Wei Ziping finally arrived, panting heavily.
As soon as he reached the summit, he glared at Mu Jinyu with wide eyes, as if ready to fight.
But he didn't make a move; instead, he complained to the Examiner Elder, "Elder, Mu Jinyu here deliberately knocked me out when I was only a hundred meters from the summit..."
The Examiner Elder nodded with a blank expression, "Yes, I know about this."
"Hmm…" Wei Ziping nodded, staring straight at the Examiner Elder.
The Examiner Elder said nothing more, returning his blank stare.
Wei Ziping got furious, "And? You just know and that's it?"
The Examiner Elder saw he wouldn't let it go and coldly said, "Indeed, I know the full story. At that time, Mu Jinyu was in a state of enlightenment, so he didn't realize he knocked you away; there was no intentional act. Meanwhile, you were deliberately interfering with Yun Ge. If not for you doing so, both you and Yun Ge wouldn't have been hit at the same time, with Yun Ge being fine and you being knocked away..."
"This..."
Wei Ziping was furious.
This Examiner Elder was clearly biased towards Mu Jinyu!
"What, you're not satisfied? Think I'm favoring him on purpose?!"
The Examiner Elder, seeing through Wei Ziping's thoughts, coldly remarked.
Wei Ziping stood firm, "Isn't that the case? Yun Ge has a good relationship with him, so he was spared, and I was knocked away. Besides, you just received a life-saving pill from him; that's why you turn a blind eye to his actions. Aren't you biased towards him?"