Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

For some reason, upon hearing Di Cang’s words, Mu Chen felt as if his former Master were by his side again. ’Does every master say such things to their disciple?’ he wondered. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Don’t worry, Vice-Dean. I’ve endured far greater hardships. I’m used to it," Mu Chen said, looking at Di Cang with a faint smile.

His smile was so full of confidence that Di Cang’s heart swelled with gratification. "Ahem," he coughed. "Shouldn’t you be calling me ’Teacher’ now?"

"Er..." Mu Chen scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and grinned. "Teacher!"

"Haha, good lad. I’ve never taken on a disciple before, so I haven’t prepared any gifts." With that, Di Cang flicked his wrist, and a box that looked like it was made of withered wood appeared in his hand. Mu Chen recognized its material at a glance—it was actually Genmu Jade. Di Cang smiled. "This Seventh-Grade Ice Spirit Grass is something I’ve had in my collection for years. Since I’m a Fire Attribute Martial Artist, this Ice Attribute medicinal herb is useless to me, so I’m giving it to you. As for its effects, you’ll find out tonight when you take it."

"This is..." For a moment, Mu Chen didn’t know whether to accept it.

Di Cang’s expression darkened. "What’s wrong? You think your teacher’s gift is too shabby to be seen with?"

Startled, Mu Chen quickly dropped to one knee. He accepted the Gengmu Jade Box and said hastily, "Thank you, Teacher."

Seeing Mu Chen accept the Ice Spirit Grass, Di Cang finally helped him up, stroking his beard happily. "Now that’s more like it. You’re my first disciple, and you’ll be my last. It’s useless for me to hold onto these things. It’s getting late, and you have the new student ceremony to attend tomorrow. You should get some rest. Come find me after the ceremony is over, and I’ll create a training plan for you."

Mu Chen nodded, placed the Jade Box into his Space Ring, and replied softly, "Okay, I’ll come over again tomorrow."

After a quick word with Zhun Cang, Mu Chen left the vast space. Zhun Cang remained behind, completely bewildered. Mu Chen and Di Cang had been too far away for him to hear a single word of their conversation. All he knew was that they had been fighting one moment and talking the next. In the end, Mu Chen had accepted a Jade Box and left.

"What just happened? And why was your fight with Mu Chen so awkward? It was like you were intentionally holding back."

Di Cang chuckled slyly. "You should fight him yourself someday. My disciple’s Pupil Technique is just too bizarre."

Zhun Cang exclaimed, "What?! A Pupil Technique? That’s an Innate Talent! Just what kind of person is this kid? Wait a minute... what did you say? ’My disciple’?"

Di Cang shook his head smugly and laughed. "He just accepted me as his master. Now that old crone won’t be able to snatch him away even if she tries. And I have a feeling: this kid will either fail to grow, or he’ll grow to startle the world and contend for supremacy over the entire continent!"

"But his right arm..." Zhun Cang brought up a subject Di Cang was reluctant to discuss.

"Sigh... I suppose it’s a form of balance. That’s why the heavens granted him such a heaven-defying opportunity and Cultivation Talent. This world is never short on opportunities. Who’s to say his arm can truly never be restored?" Di Cang stared intently at the doorway, where the lonely, slender figure of the young man was slowly vanishing down the long hallway.

The moonlight was hazy. By now, the night was deep. The shadows of the surrounding trees swayed, and a warm summer breeze rustled the leaves as it blew through the wooded path.

Leaving the instructor’s building, Mu Chen looked up at the starry sky and let out a long breath. He now had a rough idea of the limits of his realm. Perhaps his current strength would allow him to challenge others several Great Realms above him, but once his opponents reached the Martial Spirit realm, the gap between each level would be like the difference between a stream and a mighty river. ’When that time comes, how many realms will I be able to cross?’

’No! I have the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique. As long as I absorb new Ultimate Elemental Spirits, my Primordial Power will evolve again. I have an advantage others can’t possibly match, because I am a Nine-Attribute Martial Artist!’ Mu Chen affirmed this in his heart. ’I can reach the pinnacle of this world. I *will* reach the pinnacle of this world!’ When he faced the moonlight again, a confident smile appeared on his face.

By now, there were no other students on the path. To speed things up, Mu Chen used the Illusory Step Technique nearly the entire way back, returning to his dormitory in less than two minutes. The lights were out. Clearly, Little Tiger and Qing Lei couldn’t wait up for him and had already gone to sleep.

Mu Chen gently pushed the door open. By controlling his Primordial Power, he kept it from making the slightest sound—a feat impossible for an ordinary person. Back at his own bunk, he saw that Little Tiger and Qing Lei were fast asleep, their snores thunderous.

Mu Chen shook his head and lay down on his bed, still fully clothed. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating his face. As he gazed at the sprinkling of stars, his heart grew calm once more. Here, he no longer had to worry about attacks from Magical Beasts in the dead of night. Before long, he slowly drifted off to sleep. However, long-ingrained habits prevented him from falling into a deep slumber. In the Demon Beast Forest, he had to remain constantly vigilant. And even though he had returned to the Human World... ’The Human World is far more dangerous than the world of Magical Beasts...’

The next morning, at the first chirp of a bird outside, Mu Chen rolled out of bed. He glanced at Little Tiger and Qing Lei, who were both still sleeping soundly. Mu Chen smiled faintly. He’d gotten back too late last night to wash up, so the first thing he did was head to the bathroom for a long, refreshing shower. Today was the new student assembly; he had to look presentable.

By the time Mu Chen emerged from the bathroom, Little Tiger and Qing Lei were already making their beds.

"Brother Mu Chen, what took you so long yesterday? We just couldn’t stay awake," Little Tiger said, his hair a mess and his eyes still bleary with sleep.

Mu Chen smiled. "I got a harsh lecture from the Vice-Dean yesterday. He’s a bit long-winded and went on for quite a while. Anyway, the new student assembly is today, so you two better hurry up."

Qing Lei and Little Tiger both froze. "Oh, crap! How could I forget about that? Wash up, wash up, wash up!"

With that, Little Tiger charged into the bathroom first. Qing Lei was also frantic; he had clearly forgotten as well. Five minutes later, the three of them were finally dressed and ready. Nearly all the other students in the new student dorms had already headed for the academy plaza. After all, no one wanted to make a bad impression on their very first day. Mu Chen, Qing Lei, and Little Tiger were among the last to leave.

The three of them stood near a corner of the plaza, so not many people paid them any mind. However, any student who did notice them immediately started whispering, mostly about the incident in the cafeteria the day before.

The sun had risen high in the sky, and everyone was growing impatient by the time the academy instructors finally entered from one side of the plaza. This time, however, the one in the lead was a woman no one had ever seen before. The rest of the instructors were the same ones from yesterday’s testing.

Seeing all the students standing bored under the sun with various expressions, a mischievous smile touched the corners of the lead instructor’s lips. Mu Chen focused his gaze and finally got a clear look at this new instructor. She had beautiful, jet-black hair tied up high. Her face, while not conventionally pretty, wore a faint smile, and there was a red mole at the corner of her mouth. She was dressed in a tight-fitting black uniform, giving her a surprisingly fierce and capable look at first glance.

Yet, this same woman gave off the illusion of being extremely approachable. But Mu Chen, with his Shattered Star Lock Chain, could clearly sense that she was nowhere near as gentle as she appeared on the surface.

"Hehe, hello, new students! I’m your new instructor, Lingyun, and I’ll be your head instructor from now on..." After speaking, Lingyun even gave everyone a little wink. "Over the next month, from the seven hundred and fifty of you here, I will be selecting fifty students to form an elite class for the outer grounds. This class will have only fifty members, and any student who makes it in will receive double the resources of an ordinary class..."

"Double?"

The students immediately erupted. They all knew what it meant to receive double the resources of their peers: in the same amount of cultivation time, you could advance much further than others and reach a higher realm.

This potent stimulus had its effect. A thick battle-lust filled the air as every student’s eyes burned with fervor. Seeing their heated gazes, the corner of Lingyun’s mouth curled up. "I’ll give you one minute to form your own groups. Five people per group. After one minute, any student who hasn’t found a group will be assigned directly to an ordinary class. And you only get one chance to team up. My eyes see everything very clearly."

At her words, the students froze for a second before scrambling to find teammates. The obvious first choice was to group up with dorm mates, but each dorm only had two or three students, and some only had one. This meant there were bound to be people left over. Forty seconds passed in a flash. Mu Chen, Qing Lei, and Little Tiger had grouped together, but they had no idea where to find two more members.

It wasn’t that no one approached them; rather, the students nearby had all formed their teams quickly. The spot where Mu Chen’s group stood just happened to be rather out of the way.

Fifty seconds had passed. Seeing that nearly every other student had found a team, Mu Chen started to feel a bit anxious. While he didn’t care much about the extra resources, Little Tiger and Qing Lei desperately needed them.

"Ten... nine... eight... seven..." Lingyun had started the countdown, leaning lazily against a flagpole on the high platform. Mu Chen scanned the plaza and immediately spotted two girls in a distant corner who looked just as anxious as they felt.

Elated, Mu Chen paid no mind to the stunned looks from the others. He turned to Little Tiger and Qing Lei and said, "Grab on!" Then, he channeled Primordial Power to his feet. With a surge of silver Thunder Light, Mu Chen’s figure flickered, and he vanished from the spot, taking Little Tiger and Qing Lei with him.

"Three... two... one... Time’s up!"

The very instant Lingyun called out that time was up, Mu Chen, Qing Lei, and Little Tiger appeared beside the two girls, whose faces were filled with resignation. The two girls cried out in alarm when three figures suddenly materialized before them, but they quickly covered their mouths when they saw it was Mu Chen.

Although Lingyun’s expression remained lazy, the moment Mu Chen burst forth with Thunder Light, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, and she immediately reverted to her usual languid look.