Legs wide open, a puff of smoke blowing from his mouth, Master Popo couldn't help but smile as he placed the hand holding his pipe on his knee. His eyes were fixed on the battle below; the flashing lights and sounds of explosions were like music to his ears.
"Now the fun begins," Master Popo muttered, taking another puff from his tobacco pipe. Once they realized that the test was more than just climbing the mountain, chaos would ensue—a scenario the instructor eagerly anticipated.
It didn't take long before some of the martial students began fighting, trying to eliminate other participants to reduce the number of competitors for the later test.
This caused some of the martial students to hurriedly run up the stairs, while others banded together to fend off those trying to eliminate them, especially in groups.
After watching the fight for a bit, Master Popo sighed, losing interest almost immediately.
Nothing caught his eye except for that guy who had already learned the Great Serpent Technique, despite his cultivation only being at the 3rd-Step Foundation Building.
"If he only focused on his cultivation, he would have probably reached Half-Step Qi Condensation by now," Master Popo muttered with disappointment.
Then his eyes landed on the first person leading the martial students.
"Hmm, Arke?" Master Popo took another puff from his tobacco pipe before blowing the smoke into the air. "The Great Serpent has a lot of talented students."
While observing the first martial student, it seemed like Arke felt the gaze and stared back with a small smile on his face.
"Though arrogant and… a fool," Master Popo muttered. "It seems no one outstanding will emerge this year."
Although there were a few talented ones, their abilities were not enough to awe or shock him. It seemed like raising the difficulty of this exam would prove more challenging for the martial students. However, it was necessary to ensure the success of their plan to identify those who had stolen some of the cultivation techniques from their martial school.
Thinking about this matter, Master Popo found it very strange. How had they managed to get past the security of each library without anyone noticing at first? If there were no regular checks of each scroll and technique, they wouldn't have noticed that their cultivation techniques were being stolen by their own students.
Even the three most powerful martial schools in Klown City had some of their techniques stolen: the Great Serpent Cultivation School, the Fire Shrine Cultivation School, of which he was the Headmaster, and lastly, the Sword and Shield Martial School.
This led them to raise the difficulty of the Advancement Examination. They wanted to root out all the students who had learned the stolen techniques. The Headmasters, including Master Popo, were certain that one way or another, the culprits would reveal themselves under the intensity of the exam.
As he pondered this, his eyes never left those who were fighting, even though he felt bored watching them. After a while, he saw something that made him stand up.
A martial student wearing a black and red uniform with an insignia of a red fire on his chest was fighting another student. His entire body was practically red, and even the veins on his face were bright red. He looked like he was being cooked, emitting smoke from the top of his head. No, he was definitely being roasted!
"This fool! Using the Furnace Strengthening Technique with his mere 3rd-Step Foundation Building cultivation?! He's killing himself!" Master Popo muttered in a mix of annoyance, anger, and frustration. The martial student belonged to his Martial School and was using one of the stolen techniques from the library.
It's a technique meant only for those who have reached the Qi Condensation Stage and above.
It wasn't a technique that required one to be a genius to learn. However, if someone managed to learn it below the required Cultivation Stage, their body wouldn't be able to handle the intense heat generated by the technique. Slowly, their insides would melt, followed by their muscles and bones, until they became nothing more than a pile of hot paste on the ground.
Even Master Popo wouldn't use it casually unless absolutely necessary. It could increase one's strength, but if used excessively, even his 3rd-Step Qi Condensation Stage wouldn't be able to protect him.
The martial student using the Furnace Strengthening Technique was winning the fight against his opponent, but it was evident that he was in great pain.
Seeing this, Master Popo knew the student was already experiencing the melting of his organs.
"What a fool," he muttered. Although frustrated, he couldn't intervene to save the kid, as it would expose their plans. Fortunately, they had anticipated such situations and made proper arrangements.
With at least a thousand participants in this Advancement Examination, dozens of them immediately turned to glance in the direction of the Fire Shrine student using the stolen technique.
One of them, who was closer to the burning student, turned to look at the instructor standing on the very last step of the mountain. His eyes focused on the Headmaster of the Fire Shrine.
Master Popo nodded, and the man pretending to be a participant dashed towards the burning martial student. With a powerful punch, he sent the roasted student tumbling towards the foot of the mountain.
There were twelve 1st-Step Qi Condensation cultivators hiding among the martial students. They were pretending to be participants, but their main purpose was to identify anyone using stolen techniques and remove them by any means necessary. These cultivators came from the martial schools, though the students didn't recognize them, as they mostly worked in other areas.
"This should serve as a lesson," Master Popo muttered. As soon as the student who used the stolen technique crashed to the ground, a group of men wearing white hanfu suits dragged him to a specific location. His condition was unknown, but he would definitely be treated as a prisoner or a criminal.
But this wasn't the end. The Headmaster of the Fire Shrine soon noticed another martial student using a stolen technique. This student didn't belong to his school but to another martial school. Everyone involved in this plan was already familiar with all the stolen techniques and their effects, so Master Popo immediately recognized the technique.
He wasn't the only one, as those pretending to be participants quickly made their move.