Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Exam Begins

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At first, when he learned that cheating was required, Feng Xue refused. He couldn’t just do it because someone told him to... well, never mind, enough nonsense.

Feng Xue never intended to cheat, but he soon realized that the proctors were starting to pay attention to him, especially since he showed no interest in answering the exam questions. That was definitely not a good thing, so Feng Xue had no choice but to cheat like everyone else.

Though the exam was supposedly designed to test information-gathering skills, in reality, it was simply a ploy by the Leaf Village to observe the intelligence-gathering methods of other ninja villages. It was an open and blatant scheme: if you didn’t show your true skills, you’d be eliminated; but if you did, the proctors would record everything, and if war broke out in the future, the Leaf could devise specific countermeasures against the intelligence techniques of each village.

After all, real intelligence work bears little resemblance to these on-the-spot performances. It’s like the difference between copying homework and brazenly telling the teacher you intend to cheat in an exam and then succeeding. Take Gaara, for example—he blatantly created an eyeball in full view. Did the proctors not see it? No, it’s just that disqualification for cheating only happens after five offenses. That means if you can copy all the answers in a single cheat attempt, you won’t be considered to have failed.

And then there’s Sasuke—the so-called “Second Pillar”—who lived up to his nickname by using the Sharingan to mimic others’ movements. Didn’t he realize he was copying off the wrong row?

Of course, those idiots who kept glancing around and were caught had no one but themselves to blame. After all, this is still called an exam. If you think you can just peek around when stealing intel, you deserve to fail a hundred times over!

The first exam wasn’t the slightest challenge for the transmigrators. Even Mu Qianrou, the most combat-oriented among them, managed to pass by scribbling nonsense and relying on the last question. In fact, the Transmigrator Academy never expected anyone to fail the first round. The threat of not becoming a chunin meant nothing to transmigrators; even those clueless about the plot wouldn’t give up over such a trivial matter.

That’s why the task on their student IDs didn’t even mention the first round—they were sent straight to the second.

“So it really is the Earth Scroll?” Feng Xue tossed the scroll lightly in his hand, his face reflecting the satisfaction of having guessed correctly.

Although officially no one was supposed to know what scrolls the other teams held, the Leaf Village certainly did. While they couldn’t openly tell their own genin, “The scroll you need is with that weakling over there—go snatch it,” they could manipulate which teams received which scrolls to suit their purposes.

The evidence is clear in the original story: nearly all of the Leaf’s promising teams held the Heaven Scroll, which greatly reduced the chance of internal conflict. Even Gaara’s team, who were clearly formidable, received the Heaven Scroll, thus avoiding early clashes between key contenders.

But this, too, was an obvious scheme. Since the Leaf was the organizer, as long as there was no direct favoritism, everything was above board. Even if accused, the Leaf could simply say, “It’s just a coincidence! Didn’t you see plenty of our genin received the Earth Scroll too?”

Of course, the main reason Feng Xue and his team got the Earth Scroll was because they’d inherited the fate of the original Sound Ninja trio.

“The scroll isn’t the issue. When I entered that room, I deployed my AT Field. While my soul particles can’t last long outside the space shaped by Heaven and Earth Souls, I’ve already marked three minor teams carrying Heaven Scrolls. I’ve placed markers on them—now we just wait to see who gets unlucky.” Feng Xue discreetly pointed out the three teams and then said no more, as Orochimaru was lurking nearby, and saying too much could be dangerous.

...

“Even though they’re also Leaf ninja, they’re clearly not on the same level as the main twelve!” Mu Qianrou made quick work of a minor team, and Feng Xue’s group successfully claimed a Heaven Scroll. Yet, unlike Gaara’s team, they couldn’t head straight to the central tower, as they could receive a mission from Orochimaru at any moment.

“Don’t get careless. No one knows what hidden tricks these minor teams may have. Plus, we have to attract Orochimaru’s attention before the finals of the third exam. Otherwise, our only fate is to be used as living sacrifices. According to the plot, Orochimaru should be fighting Sasuke’s group by now. Should we intervene?” Xia Mi pulled out a compass—not a feng shui compass or a regular one, but a tracking device, the product of a tracking spell. Who knows when he managed to tag Orochimaru with it? Luckily, spiritual energy and chakra operated on different systems, so Orochimaru hadn’t noticed.

“No need. Orochimaru is extremely suspicious by nature. If we approach him directly, it’ll be dangerous. Better to wait for him to come to us.”

A tense silence fell among the three as they pondered how to draw Orochimaru’s attention.

“If—just hypothetically—if we took out Sasuke while he’s still in the first stage of the cursed seal, would Orochimaru...”

“Don’t even think about it!” Feng Xue and Xia Mi cut her off almost in unison, leaving Mu Qianrou a bit embarrassed.

“Orochimaru’s ultimate goal is still the Sharingan. Defeating an undeveloped Sasuke wouldn’t accomplish much. Besides, as the protagonist favored by fate, aren’t you worried he’ll suddenly awaken the third tomoe mid-fight? Even if you win, would you kill him or not? Who knows how much time has passed since the one-day deadline. Killing the protagonist now would leave you with nothing but a blood-red fate. Want to risk seeing the Grim Reaper? Even if you survive the backlash from the world itself, what if Itachi suddenly returns and erases you with Amaterasu?” Xia Mi kept glancing at the compass to maintain a safe distance from Orochimaru, all while mercilessly dismissing the idea.

From the start, the three had never considered sparing their target, since Orochimaru’s orders to the Sound Trio were clear and unchanging—kill Sasuke.

If they won but didn’t follow through, no matter how strong they were, Orochimaru would simply see them as useless failures.

“We have only two chances: first, after receiving Orochimaru’s orders, we display techniques in our battle with Sasuke that will intrigue him—like Sage Chakra or some rare bloodline limit. Second, in the preliminary round of the third exam, we show overwhelming, inhuman strength. The more impressive, the better!” Feng Xue took over the conversation. He meant what he said—the stronger, the better. He wasn’t worried about alarming Orochimaru. In this bizarre world where fantasy ran wild early on and later even epic-level powers became commonplace, Orochimaru, wielding core technologies, never worried about his subordinates becoming too powerful.