Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

"I’m surprised you all managed to find your own teams. How is it the academy recruited such a perfectly even number of students this year? That’s no fun at all!"

Lingyun’s words made all the students break out in a cold sweat. She had actually used the word "fun." Suddenly, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.

"Alright, that’s it for today’s new student assembly. Use the rest of your time to get to know each other. Because tomorrow, I’m taking you all to a ’fun’ place, where you’ll be living for an entire month..." Lingyun flashed a sunny smile, making the students feel, for a moment, as if they were bathed in a spring breeze. After dropping that line, Lingyun swayed away, leading the other instructors out of the plaza.

Hearing the word "fun" again, all the students had conflicted expressions. That "fun" place was definitely *not* going to be fun; everyone had a bad feeling about it.

Seeing that everyone was starting to get to know their teammates, Mu Chen turned his head and finally got a clear look at the two girls. Their faces were... very ugly. But Mu Chen didn’t let their appearances affect him. This was a realization he’d come to back when he was still considered useless.

’No matter what someone is like, the first thing is to know how to respect others. It doesn’t matter how weak they are; as long as their character is sound, they deserve respect.’

"Hello, my name is Mu Chen. Sorry if I scared you in the heat of the moment." Mu Chen offered a small smile as he introduced himself.

One of the girls gave a wry smile. "You definitely scared us, but thank you. If it weren’t for you, the two of us would have probably been assigned to the regular classes."

"Ah... my apologies. I’m Mo Qing, and this is my roommate, Ye Shuangshuang."

Leaving their faces aside, the two girls had absolutely perfect figures. Mo Qing’s skin was fair, while Ye Shuangshuang’s had a healthy, wheat-colored tan. They were the type of girls who would stun anyone from behind, but their faces... Mo Qing had two gruesome scars. They stretched diagonally from the corner of her left eye to her right jawline, spanning her entire face.

It was safe to say the two gruesome scars had completely destroyed the girl’s beauty. What was admirable, however, was that while most women would use a veil or mask to hide such a disfigurement, this girl, Mo Qing, faced her flaws head-on, seemingly unbothered.

The other girl, Ye Shuangshuang, had a face full of black acne, making her appearance even harder to accept than Mo Qing’s. But with just a glance, Mu Chen noticed something was off. Ye Shuangshuang’s skin tone was slightly different from the color of the skin on her face. However, Mu Chen subconsciously assumed it was because of the acne and didn’t look any closer.

"Hello." Ye Shuangshuang’s voice was very sweet, but her expression remained completely blank.

Mu Chen didn’t mind. He glanced at Qing Lei and Little Tiger next to him and said, "This skinny guy on my left is Little Tiger. He’s simple and honest, and his strength... is immense. The one on my right who looks cold is Qing Lei. He might seem aloof, but he’s actually very kind. As for me, there’s nothing special. Anyway, since we have no idea where we’ll be sent tomorrow, I’m not sure what else we need to know about each other."

Mo Qing smiled faintly. "Aren’t you disgusted looking at us?"

This was the question she most wanted an answer to. But Little Tiger just looked confused. "Brother Mu Chen, what does ’disgusted’ mean?" he asked.

Qing Lei, for his part, just looked indifferent. Mu Chen smiled and shook his head. "Of course not. Everyone has their own destiny. We might not have the power to change it right now, but who’s to say we’ll be like this forever?"

As he spoke, Mu Chen withdrew the Primordial Power filling his right sleeve and pinched the empty sleeve with his left hand. "Take me, for example. A useless person like me is now standing here in the Xuanling Imperial Academy. Isn’t that proof enough that destiny can be changed? So... don’t look down on yourselves. Maybe one day, you’ll find your own chance to change your fate..."

The sun blazed down, the summer air scorching hot as always. But this year’s new students had no time to fret about the oppressive weather. They were all too busy speculating about where they would be sent tomorrow.

Seeing Mu Chen’s empty sleeve, both Ye Shuangshuang and Mo Qing were stunned. "You..."

Mu Chen waved his hand dismissively. "My attitude is much worse than yours. At least you two have the courage to face your reality, while I’m still trying to conceal mine."

For a moment, they all fell silent. Little Tiger and Qing Lei were filled with even greater admiration for Mu Chen. ’For a disabled person who lost his right arm to have reached such a level in his Martial Artist Realm, and to be so powerful... they knew it would be impossible without extraordinary willpower and grueling Cultivation.’

"Alright, enough with the heavy topics. We have no idea where Instructor Ling Yun will send us tomorrow, and there’s no use guessing. Let’s go back and prepare for now. We should rest and get our Spirit into peak condition. I have a hunch that wherever we’re going, it won’t be ’fun’ at all." A glint flashed in Mu Chen’s eyes. ’That Lingyun... she’s definitely no simple character.’

Mo Qing nodded slightly, then changed the subject. "Since we’re a team now, we’ll need a leader. What do you guys think?"

Qing Lei, who had been quiet until now, spoke up decisively. "A team’s leader is crucial. Most importantly, they have to be responsible for every single person on the team and can’t, because of..."

As he spoke, Qing Lei’s emotions suddenly became unstable. Mu Chen turned and patted him on the shoulder. The White Dragon Cauldron within him rapidly spun, releasing a trace of Medicinal Power from the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus. The power slowly seeped through Mu Chen’s arm and into Qing Lei’s body. Instantly, Qing Lei’s turbulent emotions calmed. Seeing Mu Chen’s concerned gaze, Qing Lei’s eyes turned red. "I’m sorry, I just..."

Mu Chen shook his head. "Everyone has their own story, their own secrets they can’t bring themselves to share. But if you keep them bottled up inside, one day they’ll warp who you are."

Qing Lei froze, then let out a deep breath. "I understand."

A flicker of surprise vanished from Ye Shuangshuang’s eyes as quickly as it appeared. She then said, "We’re both girls, so it wouldn’t be quite right for either of us to be the leader. You three guys should pick one."

"Brother Mu Chen should be the leader," Little Tiger said with a smile, glancing at Qing Lei. "I don’t know anything, but Brother Mu Chen knows so much."

Qing Lei nodded as well. "I also vote for Mu Chen to be the leader."

The two girls both looked at Mu Chen. He nodded with a sigh of resignation. "Alright, it would be rude to refuse. Who knows when this team will be disbanded anyway. I’ll act as your temporary leader."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They could all see that this young man, though not the oldest in their group, possessed a calm and composure far beyond that of an ordinary person. What was a leader? A leader was a team’s compass, the one who determined their path. Every decision had to be precise.

To ensure everyone was well-rested and in top mental shape for the next day, Mu Chen issued his first order as leader: everyone was to return to their quarters to rest and reassemble here tomorrow.

Little Tiger, Qing Lei, and Mu Chen were all in the regular male students’ dormitory. Ye Shuangshuang and Mo Qing, however, headed for the dormitories designated for attribute martial artists. By the time the girls departed, Mu Chen’s group was already far away.

"Shuangshuang, what do you think of that boy, Mu Chen?" Mo Qing asked softly after they left the plaza.

Ye Shuangshuang smiled faintly. "He’s calm, composed, and most importantly, he has a natural charisma. It’s an ability that allows him to slowly win over anyone who gets close to him."

"Hmm... so you’re saying we made the right choice in picking him as our leader?"

"We’ll know if it was the right choice tomorrow." Ye Shuangshuang tugged on Mo Qing’s arm and pouted. "Sister Mo Qing, let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving."

Mo Qing shook her head in resignation. "Alright, alright. Go ahead, as long as you’re not afraid of making those stuck-up students sick to their stomachs..."

"Hee hee, I couldn’t care less about them! Let’s go! I’m going to eat a mountain of delicious food today..."

Watching Ye Shuangshuang skip along cheerfully, Mo Qing’s eyes filled with affection. She smiled softly and followed after her...

As Mu Chen and the others reached the dormitory, he suddenly remembered that the Vice-Dean had asked him to drop by after the new student assembly. After a quick word with Little Tiger and Qing Lei, Mu Chen headed back to the instructors’ building. Many instructors were still coming and going, and they gave the white-robed youth carrying a huge black case on his back some odd looks. Clearly, these were instructors for the second-years and above who hadn’t been involved with recruiting new students.

But they all just glanced at him; no one paid any real attention to a mere student. Mu Chen was happy to be left alone and quickly made his way to Di Cang’s office. He was just about to raise his hand to knock when, with a CLICK, the door opened from the inside.

Mu Chen instinctively looked up. A woman had opened the door. Her long black hair was piled high on her head, and she stared at Mu Chen in surprise. It was Lingyun, the head instructor for new students who had spoken that morning. A grin spread across her face. "You’re one of this year’s new students, right? Here to see the Vice-Dean?"

Mu Chen blinked. "Hello, Instructor Ling Yun. The Vice-Dean asked me to come..."

"Oh? Is that so? Then you must’ve gotten into trouble. Haha, good on you, kid! Nicely done! I remember when I first came to the academy, I beat up an instructor from the Holy Hall on my very first day. So what did you do wrong?" Lingyun looked like a mischievous boy at that moment, with none of a woman’s typical demeanor.

Mu Chen was at a loss for words. ’Lying would be bad, but telling the truth would be even worse.’ Just as he was caught in this dilemma, Di Cang suddenly walked out from inside. "Xiaoyun, what are you muttering about at the doorway?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when Di Cang saw Mu Chen standing there, looking innocent and bewildered. "Haha, I was wondering what you were up to. So you’re giving your Little Junior Brother a hard time, are you?"

"Little Junior Brother?" Mu Chen and Lingyun exclaimed in unison.

"Oh, you don’t know yet, Mu Chen. Lingyun is actually the most brilliant of all my students. Don’t be fooled by how young she is; she’s already a powerful Seventh-Ring Martial Sect, with considerable standing throughout the Xuanling Empire. Right now, she’s an Elder of the Huayang Sect. But for the foreseeable future, she will be your head instructor." With that, Di Cang turned to the astonished Lingyun and chuckled. "What’s so surprising? I’m getting old; it’s about time I took a disciple. This is the first one I’ve ever accepted, and my only Closed-door Disciple, Mu Chen. From now on, he’s your Little Junior Brother. You’ll have to take good care of him."