Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

"Yes!"

Led by Lingyun, all the students quickly filed out of the classroom. Qiu He gave Mu Chen a deep look before he left, then turned and walked away, his steps firm and resolute.

Mo Qing smiled. "I finally understand why Captain Mu Chen recommended Qiu He."

"Why?" Ye Shuangshuang asked.

"Because he’s steady, persistent, and has a clear, firm goal in his heart," Qing Lei said quietly as he walked briskly past Mo Qing and Ye Shuangshuang, his eyes filled with unconcealed admiration.

Little Tiger, with his usual simple and honest look, exchanged a few words with Mu Chen before following the others out of the classroom. Mu Chen remained seated at the back, watching their retreating figures. A slight smile touched his lips. ’He has more than just those qualities,’ he thought quietly. ’Most importantly, like me, he has the heart to become one of the strong.’

After everyone had gone, Mu Chen left as well. The classroom was now empty, and there was little reason to linger. After some thought, he decided the academy’s Library Tower was a far more appealing destination. It was morning, and nearly every student was in class, which made Mu Chen look rather conspicuous as he walked through the deserted academy grounds with the Profound Jade Box on his back. The Library Tower wasn’t far from the special class’s building, and he reached the entrance after just a few minutes’ walk.

As he entered, Mu Chen casually glanced toward the administrator’s counter on the right. Sure enough, the old man with white hair, white eyebrows, and a white beard was fast asleep, snoring loudly. A seemingly permanent trickle of drool hung from the corner of his mouth. He looked to be thoroughly enjoying himself, lost in some unknown dream.

A small smile on his face, Mu Chen was careful not to wake the old man. Controlling his Primordial Power, he moved without making a sound. He decided not to go upstairs this time, either, opting again for the miscellaneous essays and histories on the first floor. It wasn’t that he wasn’t curious about the knowledge on the second floor, but it wasn’t what he urgently needed. In fact, he found his interest in these assorted historical texts to be particularly strong.

’An interesting little fellow.’ As Mu Chen focused on selecting a book, a playful smile briefly appeared on the sleeping librarian’s face. A moment later, his snoring resumed, and he was once again fast asleep.

Over the next two days, the atmosphere in the academy grew calm. Mu Chen continued to keep to himself. Aside from his nightly Cultivation and basic attack training with the Profound Jade Fan, he spent nearly all his time immersed in the Library Tower. With his photographic memory and a lifetime of extensive reading, he flew through the books without any difficulty. In just two days, he had skimmed through nearly half of the books on the first floor.

The Library Tower’s doors were open every day when Mu Chen arrived and still open every day when he left. During the two days he spent there, he noticed that the old man at the front counter seemed to spend the entire day sleeping, as if he could never get enough rest. Mu Chen had no idea when the old man woke up or when he left for the day.

He glanced at the setting sun. It was already dusk. Tomorrow morning, the others would return from their life-and-death trial. Mu Chen put his book down early and returned to his dormitory. Tomorrow was also the day he would challenge the Tower of Calamity. For that reason, he did something unusual that night—instead of practicing the basic techniques of the Profound Jade Fan, he bathed and went to bed early. He had his reasons. A month of intense Cultivation had put a strain on his body, and he knew that alternating between exertion and rest was the key to ensuring a steady increase in his strength and physical fitness.

「The next day」

The sun was bright and a gentle breeze was blowing—it was another refreshingly clear day. Although the Xuanling Empire was remote, the climate was pleasant year-round. Rain and clouds were rare, yet it never felt arid. Mu Chen awoke as the first rays of sunlight streamed through his window. He glanced at the Snow Qilin on his bed, feeling a bit helpless. It had been two days now. For two days, the Snow Qilin had been in what seemed like a deep slumber, showing no signs of Awakening. If Mu Chen hadn’t checked and found its life force to be exceptionally vigorous, he would have worried that something was wrong.

Cradling the Snow Qilin, Mu Chen slung the Profound Jade Box onto his back and strode briskly out of the dormitory. His body was in peak condition, ready to unleash astonishing combat power at a moment’s notice. He likely wouldn’t be able to wait for his classmates to return. The Tower of Calamity only permitted one person to enter at a time, and since today was the first day it had opened this semester, there were bound to be many Holy Hall Students attempting the challenge. If he arrived late, he might not get a chance to enter until the afternoon.

Mu Chen was a man with a strong sense of responsibility. As the monitor of the special class, he felt its concerns were his own. He felt a pang of guilt for not being able to wait for his classmates’ triumphant return, but for the sake of the special class, he had to make a name for them.

’For this challenge, victory is the only option!’

With that thought, Mu Chen’s entire demeanor changed dramatically. He began walking toward the Tower of Calamity, his steps firm and steady...

The Tower of Calamity was situated between the Holy Hall and the special class’s building, roughly equidistant from both. However, the number of people heading there from each location was vastly different. The Holy Hall had practically turned out in full force, while from the outer circle, only Mu Chen was present. The Tower of Calamity was originally meant for the training of Holy Hall Students and had no connection to the outer circle. Mu Chen was the sole exception in many years—a fact the Holy Hall Students were not yet aware of.

Drawing on his memory, Mu Chen soon arrived before the Tower of Calamity. A line of seven or eight Holy Hall Students already stood waiting, each wearing a faint expression of pride and disdain.

Shaking his head, Mu Chen decided not to judge them. ’Too young,’ he thought. He walked quickly down the steps and stood silently behind the eighth student in line. The student, his arms crossed, turned to glance at Mu Chen. With a look of confusion, he asked arrogantly, "Hey, what year are you? I’ve never seen you around before."

The Holy Hall Student wasn’t particularly tall, maybe five-foot-seven. From Mu Chen’s vantage point, he had to look down to meet the student’s eyes. "First-year. Mu Chen."

"First-year? New student? Your name’s Mu Chen?"

The student looked surprised for a moment, then scoffed. "Who do you think you’re kidding? It’s true that Mu Chen is a first-year, and he’s apparently pretty famous, but he’s an outer circle student. The way people have been hyping him up lately, you’d think he could walk on air. I can’t believe someone’s actually pretending to be him."

As he spoke, the student sized Mu Chen up, muttering, "Black box, blue hair, white robes... Heh, you must be a huge fan, dressing up exactly like him."

The student’s words drew the attention of the other seven. Mu Chen had no desire to engage with him and remained silent after his initial reply. The student was only a second-year, and while he possessed the typical pride of a Holy Hall Student, he didn’t push it. Seeing that Mu Chen was ignoring him, he shot him a few disdainful looks and turned away. At that exact moment, the first floor of the Tower of Calamity ahead of them suddenly pulsed with a brilliant blue light.

"Han... Lei... Challenge... Failed. Halted at... Floor One!"

Following the majestic, emotionless announcement, a figure was sent flying out of the tower’s gate with a WHOOSH, landing hard on the ground with a THUD. Mu Chen glanced down. The person who had been ejected was a young man of seventeen or eighteen, now grimacing and clutching his rear as if seriously injured. But Mu Chen knew he hadn’t suffered any actual harm.

The seven or eight students in front of Mu Chen looked down at the one named Han Lei, their expressions a mix of sympathy, disdain, and ridicule. From their reactions, Mu Chen deduced one thing: the Holy Hall Students had almost no sense of unity, like a pile of scattered sand.

"Han Lei, not bad this time," a youth in a fitted combat suit standing third in line said with his hands on his hips, laughing. "You actually lasted a whole twenty minutes before getting kicked out."

Han Lei’s face flushed red. He pouted and retorted, "Why don’t you try lasting twenty minutes, if you’re so tough?"

"Everyone knows you specialize in stealth," said an expressionless youth in a long robe who was fifth in line. "The illusory phantom in there should share your specialty. If you both just hide, of course neither of you can do anything to the other."

This time, Han Lei merely glanced at the long-robed youth, a hint of reverence in his eyes. Just then, the student at the front of the line stepped forward to the main gate of the Tower of Calamity. A ring on his finger flashed, and a White Jade Token engraved with the character "Xuan" appeared in his hand. With a CLICK, he inserted the Jade Token into a slot on the tower’s gate. He waited until the gate began to glow with a dazzling blue light before pulling the token back out.

"Min Nan... Clear Record... Floor Two... Please begin challenge!"

It was the same hollow, mechanical voice that set one’s teeth on edge. The moment the youth named Min Nan withdrew his Jade Token, he was sucked into the tower by the blue light. Mu Chen focused his attention on the Tower of Calamity. Its first and second floors were both glowing faintly blue, while the third floor remained dark. He understood now. The "clear record" marked the floors you had already passed. On subsequent attempts, you would start directly from the floor where you had previously failed.

Mu Chen smiled slightly. ’A little interesting.’

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from behind. Mu Chen turned curiously to see a group of Holy Hall Students arriving. It was a sizable group of thirteen. A burly, tall man with short hair led the way, and the twelve people behind him followed closely with respectful expressions, looking like he was their leader. This prompted Mu Chen to give the man a second look.

The man was about six-foot-three and built like a bear. He wore a tight combat suit, and his bulging muscles looked as if they might burst through the fabric at any moment. At a glance, anyone would assume he was an Earth Attribute Martial Artist. But under Mu Chen’s Spiritual Encompassment, the man’s Martial Artist Attribute was quickly revealed. ’Wind Attribute... He’s actually a Wind Attribute Martial Artist!’

Mu Chen was surprised. Wind Attribute Martial Artists usually had slender builds to better utilize the Attribute’s mobility, but this man couldn’t be further from slender. What’s more, this man hadn’t been present during Kong Ye Ming’s challenge last time. Mu Chen had a photographic memory; if he had seen someone even once, he would remember them for a long time.

The man strode to the front of the line, not bothering to queue up, and cut directly into the first spot. The men with him, who also looked quite a bit older, lined up one by one behind him. The queue, which originally had only a handful of people, instantly swelled to twenty. Mu Chen, who had been seventh in line, was now pushed back to the twentieth spot.

"What the fuck, who are you? What gives you the right to cut in front of us?" the brown-haired youth who had been second in line and silent until now roared, finally venting his frustration.