Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

Mu Chen turned toward the voice and saw a stooped, wizened old man with sparse hair and a handlebar mustache approaching from a distance. Behind him, a handsome young man who bore some resemblance to the elder walked toward them, head held high and hands clasped behind his back. Whether it was his imagination or not, the young man’s gaze seemed to drift over Wan Xian’Er from time to time. Mu Chen’s expression hardened. ’These newcomers mean trouble.’ Furthermore, judging from the voice just now, the stooped, wizened old man had to be Ma Gedan, the one who had been speaking with Xu Fei before they entered the city.

Xu Fei’s expression was grim. He turned to Mu Chen and said, "Brother Mu Chen, I’m here. This young lady won’t be harmed. Let’s go register first."

Mu Chen glanced at the arrogant man one last time, nodded in agreement, and walked into the magnificent building.

After Mu Chen’s group had left, a sharp glint flashed in Ma Gedan’s eyes. He looked at the young man beside him and chuckled. "Ma Bi, have you taken a liking to that little lady? As expected of my son, your taste is excellent. That girl is a peerless beauty, the kind you’d be hard-pressed to find even in the Imperial Capital."

Ma Bi snorted. "A pity she’s so short-sighted, following a worthless Third Grade Spirit Selector with no future." With that, he flicked his sleeve, a smirk playing on his lips. "However... nothing I set my sights on has ever escaped me."

As his sleeve moved, an emblem of five feathers inlaid with brilliant Spirit Crystals caught the city lights, announcing his identity to all: Fifth Grade Spirit Selector...

Meanwhile, upon entering the building, Mu Chen was captivated by the decor. But when he saw the tables and chairs, which were completely different from those in an inn, he was rather shocked.

’This hotel is really magnificent.’

Seeing his reaction, Wan Xian’Er nodded happily. "Hehe... I didn’t expect to find a hotel in this city. Now I can have a much more comfortable bath."

Mu Chen was speechless. ’Is bathing all this girl ever thinks about...?’

The thought of bathing made him involuntarily recall Wan Xian’Er’s smooth, fair, creamy skin and the two round mounds on her chest. Coupled with the curves she had unintentionally revealed while stretching earlier, Mu Chen felt a momentary pang of awkwardness. However, having grown accustomed to it over the past several days, he didn’t blush as he normally would have.

They followed Xu Fei up to the second floor. Xu Fei didn’t say a word the entire way, and Mu Chen had a vague sense of why. After a moment, Xu Fei suddenly sighed and called out, "Brother Mu Chen."

Mu Chen looked up and asked directly, "Brother Xu, who were those two?"

Xu Fei was taken aback by the direct question, but he quickly recovered and replied helplessly, "Those two are father and son. The father is named Ma Gedan. He’s a second-rate Fourth-grade Spirit Selector, and his Martial Artist Realm is quite low. You could say he’s a total failure. But even so, no one in the entire Imperial Capital dares to offend him. That’s because, despite his incompetence, he managed to have a genius son—the twenty-six or twenty-seven-year-old man you saw earlier, named Ma Bi."

"Ma... Bi?" Mu Chen was stunned. ’What is with this father and son? Is it some family tradition to pick such ridiculous names?’ he wondered, breaking out in a cold sweat. ’It sounds just like a curse word...’

Xu Fei chuckled. "You think the name is weird too, don’t you? But you can’t judge a person by their name. I watched that Ma Bi grow up. I remember when I first came to the Imperial Capital and saw him, he was only seventeen and a Second-Grade Spirit Selector. Back then, a seventeen-year-old Second-Grade Spirit Selector was nothing special. The only expected outcome for him was to end up at the bottom. But I don’t know if it was a stroke of luck or what, he actually managed to break into the top one hundred before being eliminated." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"You have to understand, the minimum requirement to even make it into the top one hundred was to be a Third Grade Spirit Selector, and the strongest competitor back then was a Fifth Grade Spirit Selector. For a mere Second-Grade Spirit Selector to get in immediately drew everyone’s attention. From that moment on, Ma Bi’s innate talent for spirit selection began to reveal itself. After that, he participated in the Imperial Capital’s Spirit Selection Conference every year, making greater and greater progress, to the point that even the Spirit Selection Masters of the capital were singing his praises."

Xu Fei paused before continuing, "But he only truly earned widespread recognition three years ago. At that time, as a mere Fourth-grade Spirit Selector, he managed to defeat a Fifth Grade Spirit Selector and take first place. I’m not sure of the exact details of what happened then, but from that day forward, the name Ma Bi echoed throughout the entire Fenglan Empire. You know the saying, a rising tide lifts all boats. As Ma Bi’s fame grew, so did the reputation of his hometown, Marsburg City. It was eventually given an unprecedented promotion to the status of the Second City of Fenglan."

"And that was just the beginning. For the next three years, Ma Bi won first place every time, securing the Fenglan Empire’s first-ever three-peat championship. Then, just last year, he broke through to become a Fifth Grade Spirit Selector, making him the only one in the entire Empire to reach that level before the age of thirty. His reputation spread far and wide, and even several neighboring empires came to know his name. With that, the Ma Family of the Fenglan Empire reached its zenith, becoming the number one Spirit Selection Family in the Fenglan Imperial City. Now do you see why I didn’t want to interact with them?"

"I see," Mu Chen said with dawning realization.

Xu Fei sighed. "Brother Mu Chen, I have sharp eyes, so I know your Spirit Selector Grade can’t be any lower than Fifth Grade. But can you tell me, are you confident you can take down Ma Bi?"

Mu Chen froze, looking at Xu Fei in surprise. Then he smiled. "Well, I’ll do my best."

Hearing Mu Chen’s reply, although it wasn’t the exact answer he’d hoped for, Xu Fei suddenly felt a wave of relief. After hearing about all of Ma Bi’s accomplishments, Mu Chen hadn’t said, "I’m not confident," but rather, "I’ll do my best."

In a way, that was as good as telling Xu Fei he was fairly confident he could defeat him. And if he thought about it, what would defeating Ma Bi mean? It meant this year’s champion was very likely to be Mu Chen! Looking at Mu Chen’s confident expression, Xu Fei laughed aloud and thought to himself, ’At this Spirit Selection Conference, a massive dark horse is about to emerge.’

’Ma Gedan, Ma Bi, Ma Family... I hope for your sake you aren’t too careless. Otherwise, you’re about to find out what defeat tastes like.’

Xu Fei grinned, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes. Yes, the years of suppression could finally be vented. How could that not drive a man to feel a little wild?

"Brother Mu Chen, come quickly! The registration is in that room." As if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, Xu Fei’s pace quickened. The sudden change made Mu Chen shake his head with a wry smile. Fortunately, neither he nor Wan Xian’Er were slow, and they easily kept up.

The staircase led them into the central hall on the second floor. The moment he stepped into the hall, Mu Chen was swept up by the bustling atmosphere, and for a second, it felt like he was back registering for the academy tournament.

"Qi Dao, age thirty, Fourth-grade Spirit Selector. Registered."

"’Handsome,’ age twenty-two, Third Grade Spirit Selector. Registered. Not a bad name."

"Thanks, everyone says so."

"A shame you don’t live up to it. Waste of a good name. Next!"

"Screw you! I’m reporting you!"

"Hmm, Wu Dalang. That name sounds familiar. Twenty-nine, Second-Grade Spirit Selector. Tsk, tsk. Registration complete. I admire you. Having the courage to participate is what truly matters. You’ll be a success someday. Next!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

Xu Fei laughed heartily. "This is the place. The guy handling registration is an old friend of mine. He’s not a schemer or anything, he just loves to roast people. It’s why he enjoys this job so much. Hey, Da Wei!"

Da Wei didn’t even look up from his frantic scribbling. "Who the fuck is calling me Da Wei?!" he yelled. "I’ve told you all, call me Brother Wei! Goddammit! Now I’ve written the wrong word!"

"ACHOO!" Ma Gedan, who was on his way from the first-floor hall to the central hall on the second floor, suddenly sneezed. A lecherous thought crossed his mind. ’Some little vixen must be thinking of me again. Just wait until this conference is over. I’ll come back and discipline all of you properly!’

...

Hearing his voice, Xu Fei rushed over to Da Wei’s side and smacked him on the head, laughing as he scolded him, "You brat! It’s only been a few days and you’re already this cocky? You itching for a beating, huh?!"

Da Wei yelped, "Ow! Who the f— Huh? Brother Xu, what are you doing back so early? Did you find a contestant? This is your last chance to enter, you know. If you fail again, your position here in the Imperial Capital might be in jeopardy." After speaking, Da Wei looked at Xu Fei with concern.

Xu Fei smiled mysteriously. "Of course I found a contestant."

With that, Xu Fei beckoned Mu Chen over. Mu Chen nodded and led Wan Xian’Er to Da Wei’s desk. Xu Fei made the introduction, "This is the contestant I’ve chosen this time. His name is Mu Chen. What do you think?"

Da Wei’s demeanor immediately turned serious, his mocking, playful expression vanishing completely. His sharp eyes scanned Mu Chen from top to bottom before he suddenly broke into a knowing smile. "Hehe, he’s definitely talented. However, it’s extremely difficult for a Third Grade Spirit Selector to break into the top hundred at the Spirit Selection Conference these days. But, I’m talking about a *genuine* Third Grade Spirit Selector."

With that, Da Wei plopped back down into his seat and pointed at the person in line. "You. Yeah, you. Take two steps back."

The person blinked, took two steps back, and asked, "Why?"

Da Wei said, "No reason. You, kid, come over here. Stand in front of me."

Mu Chen was also taken aback. He pointed at himself and asked, "Are you talking to me?"

Da Wei rolled his eyes. "Duh. Is there anyone else standing there? Hurry up."

Mu Chen said, "Oh," and stepped in front of the person who had moved back. Da Wei took out his pen. "Name, Spirit Selector Grade, and age. The age has to be real, or you’ll be disqualified, you know."

Mu Chen answered automatically, "Mu Chen, fifteen years old, Third Grade Spirit Selector."

An uproar went through the crowd. "Fifteen years old!! A Third Grade Spirit Selector!! Tsk, tsk, looks like we’ve got another Ma Bi on our hands!"

Da Wei was stunned for a moment, then a slight smirk appeared on his face. ’You sly old fox, Xu Fei,’ he thought to himself. ’To think you managed to find someone like this. Looks like Stone City is finally going to make a comeback.’ He quickly jotted down Mu Chen’s information on the participant list, then said, "The competition starts at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. If you’re even one minute late, you’ll be disqualified. So, don’t oversleep, kid. Next!"

With that, Da Wei was once again absorbed in his work. The man standing behind Mu Chen was fuming. ’I can’t believe the registrar abused his power to let someone cut in line,’ the man who had been cut thought viciously. ’I’m definitely going to report him!’

"What’s your name?!"

"Zhu Sai!"

"What? ’Pig Head’?! I like your taste. Alright, state your age and Spirit Selector Grade..."

Xu Fei shook his head helplessly and said to Mu Chen, "Let’s go. I’ve already booked rooms for you. Go back and get some rest. Don’t worry about being late tomorrow; I’ll come and get you."

With that, Mu Chen and Wan Xian’Er followed Xu Fei toward the third floor, where the contestants were to rest. Unbeknownst to Mu Chen, Ma Bi and Ma Gedan had silently appeared in a corner of the crowd. Watching Mu Chen’s retreating figure, Ma Bi curled his lip into a smirk and chuckled. "’The next me?’ Heh. I’m very interested to see how a mere Third Grade Spirit Selector will make it into the top one hundred in this day and age."