Wen Rou waved away Mu Jinyu's hand from her nose and timidly glanced at Jian Ruyan beside her. Seeing her turn her head away as if she hadn't seen anything at all, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Then, she whispered, "Little Mu, I am now at the Fourth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm too. How about I also participate in the Outer Gate's grand examination?"
"Of course, no one said you couldn't," Mu Jinyu replied with a smile.
As he spoke, a flash of light twinkled in his eyes, and he laughed, "It's perfect. I heard there are three top experts among the Outer Sect Disciples. Chen Qiuqiao, who bullied Little Yanzi that day, is one of them. It would be good for us to go and trample them underfoot today and see how the higher-ups of the Heavenly Sword Faction react!"
As they were speaking, some Outer Sect Disciples who had previously expressed envy towards Wen Rou for her breakthrough hastily walked past them toward another direction, seemingly rushing to join the Outer Gate's grand examination.
"Looks like it's about to start. Let's head over too," Mu Jinyu suggested upon hearing this commotion, addressing both Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan.
Subsequently, they gathered their belongings and headed for the square where the Outer Gate's grand examination was held.
Along the way, they saw many men and women in the attire of Outer Sect Disciples, all crowding and moving forward.
All of them were there to participate in the Outer Gate's grand examination.
Mu Jinyu examined them briefly and shook his head secretly.
Although the Heavenly Sword Faction was one of the Four Great Sects in Yan Kingdom and much stronger than Shen Cangsheng's Tianhe Sword Sect, the Outer Sect Disciples were mostly at the levels from Dark Energy to Energy Transformation, with only a few in the Divinity Transformation Realm.
With his strength at the Sixth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm, winning the first place in the Outer Gate's grand examination would be a piece of cake.
Soon, he reached the small square where the Outer Gate's grand examination was taking place, together with Jian Ruyan and Wen Rou.
There were many people on the square, Mu Jinyu estimated at least three to four hundred, and more Outer Sect Disciples were continuously arriving, making the crowd even larger.
Not knowing when the Outer Gate's grand examination would start, Mu Jinyu asked someone, "Hey, brother, when does the Outer Gate's grand examination begin?"
"In a little over ten minutes. Just wait," the disciple glanced at Mu Jinyu casually, initially hesitant to answer. But, seeing Mu Jinyu's inscrutable strength, he replied.
At that moment, a scream of excitement suddenly erupted from the crowd, much like fangirls seeing their idol!
"Here he comes, Brother Chen is here!"
"Wow, I've heard so much about Brother Chen, and seeing him today, he certainly lives up to his name!"
"Brother Chen is so handsome; I want to have his baby!"
"Have you noticed? Brother Chen's aura has grown much stronger; it seems he has made another breakthrough recently. Haha, it looks like he's sure to take first in the Outer Gate's grand examination!"
" … "
Hearing this commotion, Mu Jinyu was intrigued and also looked in the direction of the loudest noise.
He saw Chen Qiuqiao with a sword hanging from his waist, his expression stern, like a sword unsheathed, striding towards the center of the square.
His aura was terrifying, as if he truly was an unsheathed sharp sword. Those in his path felt a chilling cold that made their skin crawl, as if they should retreat immediately unless they wanted to risk "moving their heads" in the next second!
Thus, the crowd parted like a tide, allowing Chen Qiuqiao to stand unimpeded in the center of the square.
"All he does is show off; he's not afraid he might get struck by lightning later!" Mu Jinyu watched Chen Qiuqiao with his overbearing attitude and couldn't help but find it amusing.
He was only at the Fourth Layer of Divine Transformation Realm, yet he acted as if he was invincible.
After Chen Qiuqiao settled in the center of the square, he began to frown and look around as if searching for someone.
The ordinary Outer Sect Disciples were clueless and thought he was looking for the other two top Outer Sect Disciples, but Chen Qiuqiao's followers knew — he was looking for Mu Jinyu!
Chen Qiuqiao had yet to spot his target when another wave of excitement erupted from the crowd.
"Wow, it's Brother Wu and Sister Li!"
"With all three top experts of the Outer Sect here, this examination is going to be spectacular!"
"Ah, time is cruel. If only they had moved to the Inner Gate six months earlier, then it would be me shining in the Outer Gate today. How sad!"
"The day hasn't ended yet, how have you started dreaming already?"
"..."
Mu Jinyu was also curious about the other two skilled practitioners from the Outer Gate, and turned toward the source of the voice.
He saw two individuals with a temperament wholly unlike the surrounding Outer Sect Disciples, striding towards the center of the square. Without uttering a word, the crowd automatically parted to create a path for them to pass through.
Among these two, the male had a tall and burly stature, nearly two meters in height, with muscles coiled like granite sculptures, filled with explosive strength.
Each step he took shook and trembled the ground!
He must be the Brother Wu often mentioned by others.
Mu Jinyu observed that Brother Wu's strength was at the Fourth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm!
Just like Chen Qiuqiao who had broken through not long ago.
The other woman was clad in a red dress, her face delicately beautiful, her figure graceful and distinguished, with a charming and captivating demeanor.
She must be the Sister Li spoken of by everyone, her strength also at the Fourth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm.
However, like Chen Qiuqiao, she had just advanced to the Fourth Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm, her realm still somewhat unstable, not as firm as Brother Wu's.
'It seems that the first person of the Outer Gate must be that Brother Wu?'
Mu Jinyu stroked his chin, thinking to himself.
'However, Brother Wu's popularity in the Outer Gate does not seem to surpass that of Chen Qiuqiao. There are no young admirers declaring to bear his children; it seems muscular men are indeed less popular than pretty boys.'
Mu Jinyu thought to himself with amusement.
At this moment, Wu Lei and Li Xiaoxiao had also arrived at the center of the square and saw Chen Qiuqiao who had arrived slightly earlier.
Li Xiaoxiao greeted, "Junior Brother Chen, you've really reached the Mid Stage of the Divine Transformation Realm. You haven't disappointed us!"
Wu Lei spoke, his voice deep and resonant, "As the top three experts of the Outer Gate, everyone has reached the Mid Divine Transformation Realm today. I'm even more eager to see your performances later..."
Chen Qiuqiao gave them a cold glance, not engaging with them.
In his heart, crushing these former arch-rivals meant little; only by defeating Mu Jinyu, the genius with the Spirit Root, would he catch the eye of the Sect Leader.
Thus, he ignored them, without any of his previous competitive thoughts.
He continued to turn his head, searching for Mu Jinyu's figure in the crowd.
Li Xiaoxiao and Wu Lei noticed that Chen Qiuqiao disregarded them, causing their expressions to freeze slightly and their brows to furrow, their faces darkening a bit.
Then, noticing Chen Qiuqiao's action of scanning around, they had a thought. They realized that it seemed no one else in the Outer Gate would elicit such vigilance from him!
They were about to ask Chen Qiuqiao whom he was looking for.
At that moment, Chen Qiuqiao had already found Mu Jinyu with his companions on the outer edge of the crowd!
"I've finally found you!"
Chen Qiuqiao murmured, and then quickly walked towards Mu Jinyu's direction!
"Hmm? What's going on here?"
Li Xiaoxiao and Wu Lei looked at each other, utterly unclear about what Chen Qiuqiao was up to.
As Chen Qiuqiao walked forward, a fearsome aura erupted, immediately causing the disciples in front to be unable to withstand the pressure, scattering to both sides and revealing a pathway to where Mu Jinyu and his companions stood.
Thus, in that moment, everyone present, following Chen Qiuqiao's steps, purposefully walked towards Mu Jinyu, casting their gazes onto the trio.
At this moment, Mu Jinyu became the focal point of attention throughout the venue!