Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

Taking a deep breath, Mu Chen had pretty much grown immune to the Imperial Academy’s extravagance. He steadied his mind and circulated the Primordial Power in his body. Bending his arm, he clenched his fist, and the Fire Attribute Primordial Power in his Dantian was instantly released. It rapidly enveloped his fist the moment he clenched it, and crimson flames flared to life with a WHOOSH. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi seemed to be drawn in, gathering toward his fist like a vortex. It looked as if a fiery vortex was coalescing on his left fist.

"Blast Fist!"

BOOM!

The entire room shook. Mu Chen’s fist struck the wall squarely. But unfortunately, the barrier—one that even a Martial Emperor would struggle to shake—merely trembled for a moment before falling still. However, this was just the prelude to the Blast Fist. A moment later, his fist radiated an intense light. With a WHOOSH, the fiery vortex encasing it spun violently, and a massive explosion erupted from his training room.

BOOM!

Although the room’s soundproofing was excellent, the massive boom still startled the other four, who were in the middle of their cultivation. Mo Qing was the first to rush out, and an inexplicable worry filled her heart as she saw training room 203 flashing with red light. Just then, Ye Shuangshuang, Little Tiger, and Qing Lei also burst out of their rooms. They all asked Mo Qing what was happening, but her only reply was a bewildered look.

Inside the training room, a sea of flames engulfed the entire space. Mu Chen stood at the center of the inferno, his body tightly encased in a giant sphere of ice he had condensed using his Extreme Ice Attribute. Countless cracks spiderwebbed across the sphere’s surface, all caused by the shockwave from Blast Fist.

The flames raged for a moment before vanishing completely, leaving the room entirely unscathed. The ice sphere protecting Mu Chen also appeared to have sustained little damage. It began to peel away like an eggshell, flaking off into sparkling ice crystals that vaporized into nothing. By the time Mu Chen’s figure was fully revealed, the ice sphere had completely disintegrated.

"Cough, cough..."

A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. The sudden eruption of the Fire Attribute’s impact had been too intense. Although Mu Chen had been prepared, he was still caught in the aftershock of the initial blast. ’I can’t believe a High-grade Profound Rank Combat Skill can unleash such immense power!’

"Cough!"

After another cough, Mu Chen touched his chest. A milky-white stream of energy was rapidly repairing his injuries. However, as he felt the last remaining drop of the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus liquid dwindling, his brows furrowed.

’Looks like it’s time to gather some medicinal herbs for healing,’ he mused. ’Otherwise, I’m about to be weaned off this stuff.’

The pain in his chest had subsided significantly. Instead of rushing out, Mu Chen calmed himself. He bent his arm, clenched his left fist, and the red, fiery cyclone coalesced once more. He had just used the most powerful, focused form of Blast Fist; now, he decided to test its scatter-shot version.

It was the same skill, but his posture and the circulation path of his Primordial Power were completely different. Stomping his foot, Mu Chen shot toward the wall like an arrow loosed from a bow. He dropped his stance and hammered out an uppercut with his left fist.

BOOM!

The fiery cyclone on his left fist distorted for an instant before bursting apart. Propelled by the force of his punch and the power of Blast Fist, it spread out like a shotgun blast of fiery meteors, covering a massive area! The barrier-protected wall rippled under the impact of the flames. Though its power was perhaps thirty percent weaker than the previous attack, this time, Mu Chen was completely unharmed.

’It’s exactly as I deduced. With these two forms, I can be more flexible in battle. This is a pretty decent Combat Skill.’

A satisfied smile appeared on Mu Chen’s lips, but it quickly turned wry when his gaze drifted downward. As it turned out, his clothes had been shredded by the immense shockwave from the first Blast Fist. Coupled with the scorching flames, his outfit was now completely unrecognizable—not only was it in tatters, but parts of it were charred black.

Fortunately, Mu Chen had plenty of spare clothes in his Storage Ring. After quickly changing into a new set, he slowly opened the door.

"Huh? Why are you all out here?"

Opening the door, Mu Chen let out a small sound of surprise upon seeing the four familiar faces, then chuckled. "I was just testing a Combat Skill. No need to make faces like that."

Ye Shuangshuang pouted and shot him an exasperated look. "Oh, is that it? We thought you were inventing bombs in there."

Mu Chen rubbed his nose in resignation. "Was it really that loud? I hope it didn’t disturb the students on the floors below."

Qing Lei looked at Mu Chen with a very serious expression. "It probably did," he said gravely. "Based on that sound, Captain, you’re about to become famous again."

Seeing Mu Chen’s exasperated expression, Mo Qing covered her mouth and giggled, the worry in her eyes finally fading. Little Tiger, however, just gave a simple, honest smile. He looked at Mu Chen, rubbed his stomach, and said, "Brother Mu Chen, I’m hungry. I wanna eat the meat you roast. My folks back home like to barbecue too, but theirs doesn’t taste good at all."

Everyone immediately agreed with the suggestion. It was currently three in the afternoon, and they had to gather for their assigned classes at six. Three hours was the perfect amount of time for a barbecue. Mu Chen couldn’t help but smile. "Alright then. It’ll be a good chance for the little guy to try some, too. It’s never had barbecue before. Wait here for a moment."

With that, Mu Chen turned and went into his room. On the bed, the Snow Qilin, Xiaobai, was sleeping soundly. Its entire body was burrowed into the white, fluffy blanket, blending in perfectly. If not for the sparkling, crystalline horn on its head, Mu Chen would have had trouble spotting where it was.

He gently scooped up the Snow Qilin. The little creature seemed displeased at being plucked from its cozy Snow Floss without permission and squirmed a few times in silent protest. But Mu Chen had no intention of letting it go. Realizing its protest was futile, the Snow Qilin simply went back to sleep. A smile touched Mu Chen’s lips at the sight of the adorable little thing. He then slung the Profound Jade Box from the head of his bed onto his back. A heavy pressure immediately settled over him, suppressing the Primordial Power in his body and drastically slowing its circulation. After taking a few seconds to adjust, Mu Chen quietly walked out of the room.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting!"

As Mu Chen emerged from the room, both Ye Shuangshuang and Mo Qing let out a simultaneous gasp. The reason, of course, wasn’t that Mu Chen had suddenly become more handsome, but that the Snow Qilin had caught their eyes.

"Wow! What is that? It’s so cute!" Ye Shuangshuang shrieked, snatching the Snow Qilin from him before he could even react. The poor little thing had been enjoying a sweet dream, only to be jolted awake by her rough movements. It rubbed its eyes unhappily and glared at the "ugly woman" before it with pure disdain in its golden pupils.

It whimpered unhappily.

After lodging its unhappy protest, the Snow Qilin suddenly glanced over at Mo Qing, and its gaze fixed on her face. It let out two happy chirps, then leaped out of Ye Shuangshuang’s arms and dove headfirst into the embrace of the curious Mo Qing. It began to gently nuzzle back and forth against her soft chest. The sight made Mu Chen break out in a cold sweat, but Mo Qing seemed to adore it, hugging the Snow Qilin tightly as she playfully teased it.

"That detestable little creature..."

Ye Shuangshuang shot the Snow Qilin an annoyed glare, crossing her arms with a look of pure dissatisfaction. Mu Chen could only shrug helplessly, figuring the little creature simply preferred Mo Qing. After they all took turns playing with the Snow Qilin for a bit, they followed Mu Chen toward the academy’s mountainous region. A barbecue required the right setting, after all. This was the Imperial Academy; they couldn’t just start grilling in the main square.

The academy grounds were vast, containing all sorts of terrain. The mountainous region was in the southern part of the campus, a large stretch of jungle. On most days, it was just a scenic area with little practical value, which meant not many people came here. That was why Mu Chen chose it as the location for their barbecue.

"Let’s do it here."

The surroundings were quite nice. Mu Chen scanned the area and saw no one around, and the ground was relatively flat. As for firewood, Qing Lei had already gathered a good amount on their way over. Mu Chen quickly arranged the wood in an even pile to ensure the fire would burn at a consistent size.

This time, Ye Shuangshuang didn’t need to be asked. She held out her index finger, and with a soft POOF, a ball of green flame ignited on its tip. Mu Chen started in surprise when he saw the green flame. "Shuangshuang, did your Fire Attribute advance again?" he asked.

Seeing that Mu Chen had noticed, Ye Shuangshuang gave a mischievous grin. "Mhm... When I went back home, my father captured a wisp of a Fire Spirit for me. My flame advanced after I absorbed it."

The strength of a flame was ranked by its color: yellow, red, green, blue, purple, and white. Advancing to a green flame was undeniable proof of Ye Shuangshuang’s extremely high talent in wielding fire. Not that Mu Chen needed convincing; the Flame Battle Skill she had displayed last time had already been a huge eye-opener for him. He could still vividly recall the terrifying power of her Nine All Burned.

With a flick, Ye Shuangshuang sent the flame from her fingertip onto the firewood, which instantly erupted in a blaze. Mu Chen was just as quick, pulling out the leftover Demon Beast Meat, slicing it up, skewering the pieces, and beginning to roast them.

There was no air inside a Storage Ring, so it couldn’t be used to store living creatures or plants that possessed a Life Aura. By the same token, any meat or vegetables placed inside would never spoil or rot.

Thanks to Mu Chen’s skillful technique, the meat was cooked through in no time. Little Tiger was, as usual, the first to get a bite. Surprisingly, the second person scrambling for a piece was Ye Shuangshuang, which made Mu Chen chuckle. Martial Artists with the Fire Attribute tended to have a zealous, uninhibited temperament—they were often carefree and paid little mind to trifles. In stark contrast was Mo Qing, with her Water Attribute. She gently tore off a small piece of meat, placed it in her mouth, and chewed delicately. The rest of the skewer, she gave directly to the Snow Qilin. The little creature had only been born recently and had only ever eaten Primordial Qi or Demon Cores. It had never encountered this kind of human delicacy before. After a long moment of curious sniffing, it finally took a careful bite.

And with that one bite, it was utterly hooked. Ignoring the meat’s scalding heat, the little creature opened its mouth wide and devoured the entire piece in one go. It chewed furiously, its cheeks puffed out. Its ravenous display was so impressive that even Little Tiger felt humbled.