Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

The Snow Qilin looked at Mu Chen, then at the dagger, and began to whimper innocently. A telepathic message, a direct translation of its cries, echoed in Mu Chen’s mind. "Dad, there’s something yummy on this, but there’s also not something yummy on this... Waaaah..."

Mu Chen was confused, but after mulling the words over, he understood what the Snow Qilin meant. It was probably saying that the dagger possessed some kind of powerful energy, just like that tiny golden bean from the Golden Dragon Scripture—a power he couldn’t sense, but the Snow Qilin could. However, when the Snow Qilin tried to devour it, it discovered the power didn’t belong to the dagger itself. Or rather, the residual power left on it was already extremely faint.

If that was the case, then this dagger was indeed special. ’Perhaps it has some fated connection to something powerful,’ he mused.

Picking up the dagger next to the Snow Qilin, Mu Chen placed it back into his Storage Ring. He then turned to Mu Bingling and said, "Hey, Mom, let me see your hand for a second."

Mu Bingling froze, a deep blush creeping all the way to the tips of her ears. ’Mom?’ Mu Chen had actually called her that. She shot him a glare but still extended her fair, delicate hand. Mu Chen smiled and took it. Her hand felt cool to the touch. Even in the middle of this, he had a spare moment to wonder, ’Are all girls’ hands this cool?’ (Ruo Yu Suifeng: Mu Chen’s emotional intelligence is so high. I also want to know if all girls’ hands are this cool to the touch. Let me feel... (pervy drooling face))

Mu Bingling had offered her left hand, which was the one she wore her Storage Ring on. Mu Chen said to the Snow Qilin, "Xiaobai, see if you can get into this Storage Ring."

The Snow Qilin nodded, its body rapidly turning to mist. With a single leap, it vanished right before Mu Chen’s eyes. A moment later, the Snow Qilin reappeared, emerging from Mu Bingling’s Storage Ring with a Third-level Demon Core in its mouth. Then, right in front of Mu Chen and Mu Bingling, it brazenly swallowed the core whole.

Mu Chen’s face clouded over. "Hey! I told you to go inside, not to go in and steal snacks!"

At his words, the Snow Qilin’s expression suddenly became incredibly pitiful, its big, golden eyes welling up with tears. The moment Mu Bingling saw this, she scooped the creature into her arms and shot Mu Chen a harsh glare. "It’s just one Third-level Demon Core. Why are you yelling at it?"

Mu Chen was speechless, but inwardly, his mood was soaring. If the Snow Qilin getting into his own Storage Ring was due to their bloodline connection, then getting into Mu Bingling’s proved that this little guy could ignore Barriers and Seals. It was simply incredible. ’A Magical Beast that can ignore Seals and Barriers... Tsk tsk, I’ve really hit the jackpot.’

’I just don’t know if there’s a limit to the strength of the Barriers and Seals it can pass through,’ he thought. ’If there’s no upper limit, then I’ll have an unparalleled advantage when I encounter ruins like the Cave of Ten Thousand Bones in the future.’ Lost in such thoughts, Mu Chen quickly passed the next four days on the carriage.

The Imperial Capital was as bustling and prosperous as ever. However, there was a custom among the empires: every year, at the start of the new term, each nation would send its most outstanding new student to a Neighboring Country for advanced training. This was called an "academic exchange." Of course, that was the official term. In reality, it was a blatant excuse to poach other academies’ teaching methods.

He Long was this year’s most outstanding student from the neighboring Celestial Eagle Empire’s Imperial Academy. He was also the Eldest Prince of the Celestial Eagle Empire. Although the Celestial Eagle Empire was a neighbor to the Xuanling Empire, its performance in the inter-empire competitions was leagues ahead. In the last competition, the Xuanling Empire ranked 1,120th, placing it among the lowest of the Lower-class Empires. The Celestial Eagle Empire, however, ranked 833rd, making it a Middle-class Empire. The difference might seem like only a few hundred places, but those ranks were a measure of an Empire’s true strength.

With He Long’s talent, there was a ninety percent chance he would inherit the throne as the next Emperor of the Celestial Eagle Empire. However, when it came to drawing lots for the academy exchange, he had the misfortune of drawing the Xuanling Empire.

Meanwhile, the Xuanling Empire’s most outstanding student was, naturally, Amoluo. Thus, the Xuanling Empire gladly signed the exchange Contract. For the next year, Amoluo would go to the Celestial Eagle Empire to study, while He Long would have to remain at Xuanling Imperial Academy. Of course, since the dean was Qin Yuan, He Long was naturally assigned to the Holy Hall. What Mu Chen didn’t know was that the appearance of this prince from a neighboring country would completely upend his life and nearly trigger a war between empires. But that is a story for another time.

Amidst the clamor of the streets, the carriage made its way to the Imperial Academy. With a final neigh, it stopped at the academy’s main gate. Like Mu Chen, other students were also arriving one after another, so when he and Mu Bingling disembarked, they blended into the crowd and didn’t attract much attention.

"We’re finally here." Mu Chen shook his head, a weary look on his face. He had to admit, traveling was exhausting. Fortunately, they had the Snow Qilin, their little source of joy, to keep them from getting too bored along the way.

Gazing at the familiar academy gates, the corners of Mu Chen’s mouth curled up. ’I’ll be spending at least a few years here.’ He eagerly pulled Mu Bingling through the gates. The moment he stepped inside, he saw two people standing there and was at a loss for words.

That’s right—standing before him were a smiling Di Cang and Lingyun. As for Zhun Cang, the bald-headed man was busy scolding a few students. ’It seems all deans of discipline are like that,’ Mu Chen thought.

Lingyun smiled sweetly at Mu Chen. "Welcome back, Student Mu Chen, Student Mu Bingling."

Mu Chen nodded politely. "Hello, Vice-Dean. Hello, Instructor Lingyun."

The three of them exchanged meaningful glances. Mu Chen naturally understood. Although the three of them were master and disciples—Lingyun being the senior disciple and him the junior—they still had to maintain a certain decorum in front of others.

Di Cang grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze lingering on Mu Chen and Mu Bingling’s clasped hands and the blissful expressions on their faces. A thought immediately came to his mind.

Since Mu Bingling was a student of the Holy Hall, she had to go there first to check in. Though extremely reluctant to part, she still smiled and said a temporary goodbye to Mu Chen. The check-in area for the Holy Hall was inside a luxurious building, while the registration for the outer-circle students was held in the open square. Such was the difference in status.

Seeing Mu Bingling leave, Di Cang sighed softly and said to Mu Chen, "Mu Chen, there’s something I need to tell you. It might affect your life from now on, but no matter what you do, your teacher will support you."

Mu Chen frowned at his words and asked grimly, "Teacher, what is it? What happened in the couple of weeks I was gone?"

Lingyun sighed as well and said helplessly, "The Eldest Prince of the Celestial Eagle Empire, He Long, has come to our academy as an exchange student. His cultivation has already reached the realm of a First-Ring Martial King. But his realm isn’t the most critical part—it’s his age. He’s only eighteen this year."

"A Martial King Strong Person at eighteen?" Mu Chen was stunned. ’But what does that have to do with me?’

Seeing Mu Chen’s expression, Di Cang gave a wry smile. "You think this has nothing to do with you, don’t you? Sigh. You’re focused on the wrong thing. I’m talking about Mu Bingling. With a girl as beautiful as she is, do you think He Long won’t be interested? We all know what your relationship with her is, but do you think He Long will care about that?"

Mu Chen’s face darkened, and his voice grew low. "What are you trying to say?"

"He will definitely pursue Mu Bingling. When that happens, you certainly won’t be able to just sit by and watch. But because he’s an exchange student, the Eldest Prince of a Middle-class Empire, and the future heir to its throne—with all those titles combined, probably no one in the entire Empire will dare to touch him. And they won’t let you touch him, either. That’s the trouble you’re in," Di Cang said, shaking his head.

Mu Chen’s expression shifted rapidly. Mu Bingling was his Reverse Scale; no one could touch her. ’I will never let that guy touch a single hair on Bingling’s head. Not unless it’s over my dead body!’

"Sigh... In any case, promise your teacher you won’t do anything rash. I will absolutely help you with this matter, so before you make your next move, you must discuss it with me first," Di Cang said gravely.

Mu Chen looked dazed for a moment before finally nodding. ’With my current strength, the most I can do is defeat a Sixth-Ring Martial Spirit, and that’s only by using the Profound Jade Fan and the Purple Sky Demon Pupils. If I fought with my life on the line, using Ice Prison Cold Mist and the Meteor Fall I just comprehended, I could definitely defeat or even kill a Seven-Ring Martial Spirit. But even that is a world away from a Martial King.’

"A First-Ring Martial King..." Mu Chen murmured to himself. ’Unless I can advance to the Grand Martial Master realm, I have no hope of defeating an expert of that caliber.’

Seeing the worried look on Mu Chen’s face, Di Cang smiled and said, "Actually, you don’t need to be so nervous. Although He Long has been confirmed as the exchange student for the Xuanling Empire, the distance between our empires is vast. It will take him at least a month to arrive. In that month, all you have to do is find a way to snatch Mu Bingling from the Holy Hall for good."

Hearing this, Mu Chen’s eyes lit up with delight. He had thought He Long had already arrived, which would have left him no time to prepare. But now things were different. A month was more than enough time for him to do many things. And he couldn’t forget about the special pill lying in his Storage Ring—the Martial Power Pill!

His current cultivation was at the Eighth-Ring Martial Master level. If he could advance to Ninth-Ring Martial Master within the month and then use the Martial Power Pill, everything would change. He hadn’t consumed a single one since he first became a Martial Master, saving them for a critical moment to break through to the Grand Martial Master Realm in one fell swoop.

Going from the Eighth-Ring to the Ninth-Ring Martial Master realm in just one month—anyone else would be accused of bragging. But for Mu Chen, it didn’t seem impossible at all.

"Teacher," Mu Chen suddenly looked up at Di Cang and asked, "is there any way to rapidly increase my realm within a month, other than by artificially boosting it with pills?"

Di Cang had been wondering about Mu Chen’s silence. He was a little surprised when Mu Chen suddenly spoke up, and even more so that his question wasn’t about something else, but about how to increase his own power. However, Mu Chen’s question instantly brought a certain place to Di Cang’s mind.

But Lingyun had also thought of the same place. The two of them spoke in unison, "The Tower of Calamity!"