Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

Silence reigned before the Tower of Calamity. The Holy Hall Students were all speechless. Having Amoluo’s record shattered by a new student from the Outer Circle left a bitter taste in their mouths. If he had just broken it normally, it would have been one thing, but Mu Chen had achieved a perfect clear—a feat countless times more difficult than Amoluo’s run. What did this mean? It meant that the current Mu Chen was several levels stronger than Amoluo, the number one student of their Holy Hall! 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Meng Bao had already retreated behind the other Holy Hall Students, all traces of his earlier arrogance gone. He was now thankful that he hadn’t gotten into a direct confrontation with Mu Chen; otherwise, it would have been far worse than simply losing face. The students of Demon Castle, in contrast, all wore looks of adoration. This was their Demon Castle class president! Their spiritual pillar!

"What time is it?" Mu Chen asked, looking uncertainly at the sun already setting in the west.

Mo Qing was about to speak, but after glancing at Mu Bingling beside her, she swallowed her words. Mu Bingling, clever and perceptive, saw right through her. She smiled sweetly and said, "I don’t know either. Sister Mo Qing, what time is it?"

Hearing this, Mo Qing stared blankly at Mu Bingling for a moment before her face flushed red. "It’s almost three in the afternoon. Mu Chen, you’ve been in the Tower of Calamity for nearly six hours."

Mo Qing’s voice was soft and gentle. Every time Mu Chen heard it, he felt a sense of tranquility. ’It’s a nice feeling...’

"This... So you all waited here for me for six hours?"

Mu Chen was surprised, but a warmth spread through his heart. ’To have someone care about you is what gives life its greatest meaning. To be cared for by a whole group of people... that’s the greatest happiness of all.’

"Yeah! Brother Mu Chen, we’ve all been waiting for your barbecue," Little Tiger said, clutching his stomach with a miserable look on his face.

"That’s right, Class President! We’ve all been waiting! We haven’t eaten in two days! We’re so pitiful, Class President!" the others chimed in, starting to act cute now that they knew Mu Chen didn’t put on any airs.

Dark lines appeared on Mu Chen’s forehead. "This dedication of yours is terrifying. Couldn’t you have just gone to eat lunch first?"

Ye Shuangshuang placed her hands on her hips and snorted. "We thought you’d be out by noon! Who knew you were just going to keep plowing through so many floors? We ended up waiting until now. I don’t care! You have to grill extra meat today to make it up to everyone."

"Noisy." Qing Lei pursed his lips, calmly uttering a single word.

Ye Shuangshuang instantly flew into a rage. "Who are you calling noisy?! If you’re so tough, then make your stomach stop growling!"

GRUMBLE GRUMBLE...

Qing Lei’s face flushed red as he snapped, "I can’t control my stomach! You crazy hag!"

"Who are you calling a crazy hag, you block of ice!"

"Crazy hag!"

"Block of ice!"

"..."

The Demon Castle students watched the red-faced pair and let out cheerful peals of laughter. The Holy Hall Students took it all in, their hearts stirred. ’We... seem to have lost something. So much so that on our path of growth, we’ve strayed further and further, to the point we can no longer see the end...’

Mu Chen watched the two of them, red in the face from arguing, and said blankly, "Those two..."

Mo Qing couldn’t help but smile sweetly, her gentle eyes filled with amusement. "Oh, them. I don’t know when it started, but they’ve always been like this. You don’t need to worry about them."

"Alright. Since we’re having a barbecue, let’s hurry up and get everything ready. We might be eating late tonight." Mu Chen gave a helpless smile, then turned to Mu Bingling and said, "Bing’Er, you’ve never had my barbecue before. Come with us today."

Mu Bingling smiled radiantly. "Okay."

With that, she took Mo Qing’s hand and started walking ahead. The two peerless beauties left the crowd under everyone’s watchful eyes. Mu Chen rubbed his nose. He felt like something wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

"Class President, where are we eating?" a cheerful student shouted.

Mu Chen replied, "The small woods north of the academy. The environment is nice, and there’s plenty of firewood."

"Alright!" Once they knew the destination, the students, who were already starving, sprinted in that direction.

As Mu Chen watched them go, a warm feeling flowed through him...

Just then, Di Cang, Wu Changqing, Wu Kui, Lingyun, and Xuan Yin walked over. Di Cang laughed, "Mu Chen, not bad at all. I didn’t realize you were hiding your strength so well."

Mu Chen replied respectfully, "Not at all. I was just a bit lucky."

"Hey, Old Cang, you see that? The kid’s still being polite with you," Wu Kui said. "I hear you make some mean barbecue. Mind if we come along for a free meal? We haven’t eaten in days, either." Wu Kui’s personality was much like Little Tiger’s; they were both straightforward, despised evil, and didn’t have a scheming bone in their bodies.

Mu Chen smiled. "Of course not. I’d be honored. I was just worried you wouldn’t like it."

"Hehe, Old Cang, you’ve really found a good disciple. So young, and quite sharp-witted," Wu Changqing said, stroking his beard. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s head over together." Just as they were about to leave, he noticed Lingyun spacing out and asked, "Little Yun’er, what are you thinking about?"

Startled by Wu Changqing’s question, Lingyun snapped out of it and smiled. "Oh, nothing. I was just curious about the difference between a perfect clear and a normal clear."

Xuan Yin laughed. "Then let’s just ask Mu Chen on the way."

"Good point. Let’s go, Little Junior Brother~" Lingyun’s teasing expression returned.

"Er..."

...

When Mu Chen and the others left, only the Holy Hall Students remained before the Tower of Calamity. They looked at each other in dismay, staring at the empty tower entrance and the twelve floors glittering with golden light. A bitter feeling settled in their hearts, and they couldn’t even muster the will to continue their own challenges.

This dark horse, Mu Chen, had shocked them too deeply. Those Holy Hall Students who had become arrogant after clearing just one floor now looked at their rewards without any of their previous excitement. They now realized the pride they had felt was worth nothing in Mu Chen’s eyes.

Seeing the Holy Hall Students looking so dejected, Qin Garden’s face turned ashen. She snapped, "What is wrong with all of you? A single Mu Chen has scared you this badly? Don’t forget, there is only one Mu Chen in the entire Outer Circle! And what about you? You are indeed not as monstrously talented as he is, but you must remember this! You are students of the Holy Hall! Every single one of you is several tiers stronger than the average Outer Circle student! In combat, ten of them wouldn’t be a match for one of you! If you let a single Mu Chen intimidate you like this, then I can only say I am deeply disappointed in you all!"

With that, Qin Garden turned away sharply, not giving the Holy Hall Students another glance, as if she were truly disappointed. The students flushed with shame after hearing her words. ’She’s right. Throughout history, how many dazzling geniuses have appeared on the Extreme Martial Continent? They were powerful, even monstrously so, but no matter how strong, they were always a tiny minority. You could count them on two hands.’

’And most of those were recluses who cared little for worldly affairs. What is Mu Chen right now? Nothing more than a lucky guy with great potential who stumbled upon some good fortune. How long is the road to becoming a peak expert? How many dangers must one face? He could easily perish on that path long before he gets there.’

One had to admit, the Holy Hall Students were excellent at consoling themselves. The mentality of the hundred-plus students quickly shifted. As they looked at the gleaming golden record again, their entire mindset had subconsciously undergone a massive change.

"So what if it’s a perfect clear? I can do it too!"

A heaven-shaking battle intent erupted from the students. They scrambled over one another to enter the Tower of Calamity and began desperately challenging their own limits. In their fervor, they even forgot that they, too, had skipped breakfast and lunch...

Mu Chen, who was already far away, would never have expected that instead of crushing the Holy Hall’s confidence, his breaking of Amoluo’s record had instead stimulated its students, reigniting their long-lost battle spirit and forcing them to cast aside their arrogance. It was precisely because of this that in the years to come, the students of the Holy Hall and Demon Castle—the academy’s two great powers—would subconsciously compete, pushing the name of the Xuanling Imperial Academy to the pinnacle of the continent. But of course, that is a story for another time.

After leaving the Tower of Calamity, Lingyun could no longer hold back the question nagging at her. "Mu Chen, what exactly is the difference between a perfect clear and a normal clear?"

Indeed, the difference between a perfect and a normal clear had long been a subject of research at the Imperial Academy. After all, no one had achieved a perfect clear of the Tower of Calamity in nearly a thousand years. Even Di Cang was completely in the dark. Their strongest dean from a millennium ago, Shen Jianxin, had managed it once. However, because he only did it that one time, it was impossible to deduce any information about a perfect clear beyond the fact that it granted a First-Ring realm reward.

Mu Chen didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he asked a question of his own, "Besides receiving a special reward, is there any other purpose to a perfect clear? For some reason, I feel like it’s not that simple."

His question reminded Di Cang and the others that Mu Chen didn’t know about the legend. ’That makes sense,’ they thought. After all, they themselves had only recalled that ancient rumor after seeing him achieve consecutive perfect clears.

Wu Changqing sighed. "You’re right, it’s not that simple. The Tower of Calamity is, after all, known as one of the Ancient Ruins. And since it’s an Ancient Ruin, it’s bound to have something special sealed within—be it an evil Demon, immense power, or some priceless treasure. However, to obtain or release these things, you must pass a series of trials. Otherwise, even if you were a Martial Saint, you wouldn’t be able to so much as shake any of the Ancient Ruins."

"Not even a Martial Saint could shake them? Are the Ancient Ruins that sturdy? You can’t break through with brute force?" Mu Chen’s question was met with a collective sigh from the others...