Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

Perhaps by a stroke of luck, the Demon Core was of the Ice Attribute. Moreover, it was a Magic Beast Demon Core from a beast on the verge of entering the Venerable Realm. With no time to waste, Mu Chen pressed his left hand onto the enormous core. In an instant, all the vortexes swirling around him converged on his palm. The immense suction actually lifted the Demon Core into the air as vast Primordial Power surged from his arm and into his entire body.

Such a powerful fluctuation of Primordial Power! In that moment, the force shredded Mu Chen’s clothes to pieces and even caused numerous cracks to appear on his arm. But before any blood could flow, the Medicinal Power of the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus within his White Dragon Cauldron automatically released itself. In less than half a second, his arm was fully healed. The time that followed was nothing but pure, one-sided absorption.

Right then, Mu Chen was like a dry sponge, constantly soaking up the Primordial Power from the Exotic Beast Demon Core. As he watched the core’s color gradually fade, a blue light began to flicker around his body.

BOOM! A cyclone of energy erupted. The Primordial Power fluctuations inside Mu Chen’s body suddenly doubled in intensity. But that was just the beginning. As a continuous stream of Primordial Power poured in, the fluctuations swelled once more, and the trend showed no signs of abating.

CRACK!

With a sharp snap, a tiny fissure appeared on the blue Demon Core. Like a pebble tossed into a calm pond, its appearance caused countless more cracks to radiate outward. CRACKLE! CRACKLE! The sounds came one after another. A few seconds later, the now-pale Exotic Beast Demon Core let out an indignant roar and shattered with a bang, turning into a pile of white powder.

The pulling force around Mu Chen gradually subsided, but the light flickering about his body did not. As the pull dissipated, the light flashed with increasing frequency. Mu Chen’s expression was calm, but then, a massive surge of Primordial Power suddenly erupted from his Dantian.

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

RUMBLE RUMBLE...

Almost instinctively, Mu Chen shot to his feet and let out a long roar toward the sky. As his terrifying cry echoed, the entire chamber began to tremble violently. Wave after wave of turbulent energy slammed against the walls of the spacious room. The first to react to the tremors was Di Cang, who had been sitting and waiting with his eyes closed in the dean’s office. He suddenly felt the entire faculty building begin to shake violently, and the source of the vibration was coming from his own secret chamber!

Astonished, he quickly opened the secret chamber. But the moment the bookshelf slid open, a violent wave of energy erupted from within, slamming into his chest. Caught completely off guard, Di Cang was blown back several meters.

’What’s going on?’ Di Cang’s expression changed. Black Primordial Power instantly enveloped his body. He took a single step, causing the space around him to tremble, and vanished.

Inside the secret chamber, the space rippled, and Di Cang’s figure materialized. The instant he appeared, he saw Mu Chen standing at the epicenter of the shockwaves, roaring at the ceiling. The torrent of energy showed no signs of stopping, crashing against the chamber walls like monstrous tidal waves.

A sharp light glinted in Di Cang’s eyes, though inwardly, he was stunned. ’How could the reaction from a single Ice Spirit Grass be this immense? There’s only one explanation for this: extraordinary absorption of the Medicinal Power.’

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

The waves of energy continued to rage. Di Cang hastily stretched out his hands, and a terrifying amount of Primordial Power enveloped the entire secret chamber. Only then did the faculty building outside stop shaking. A few instructors who weren’t in class began to murmur among themselves.

"Is the Dean throwing a fit?" one instructor asked nervously.

"I don’t know, but we’d better watch our step. If we accidentally get on the Dean’s bad side, we’ll all be in for a world of hurt."

"Right? I’ll go warn those little brats downstairs. Anyone who stumbles into the line of fire is going to get what’s coming to them."

"AH!"

With one final, prolonged roar from Mu Chen, the waves of energy inside the chamber vanished in an instant. They disappeared so quickly it was as if they had never been there at all.

Then, six orange Martial Rings pulsed into existence at Mu Chen’s feet. Di Cang was utterly dumbfounded. ’This kid was just a Third-Ring Martial Master yesterday,’ he thought. ’He absorbed a single Ice Spirit Grass and jumped three whole levels! And from the looks of it, he’s about to reach the peak of a Six-Ring Martial Master!’

"Huu..." Taking a deep breath, Mu Chen actually smiled. "It’s been a long time since I’ve had a breakthrough like that. Now I should be able to take on a Two-Ring Martial Spirit."

The words had barely left his mouth when he noticed the astonished Di Cang standing off to the side. Mu Chen smiled, "Teacher, how did you get in here?"

Di Cang faltered, then gave two dry coughs. He suddenly realized Mu Chen was completely naked, his body a crisscrossing mess of innumerable scars. This was yet another shock for Di Cang; even he had never sustained so many grievous injuries. What’s more, Mu Chen’s right arm had clearly been brutally severed.

Frowning, Di Cang said in a low voice, "You should put some clothes on."

Mu Chen glanced down instinctively, his face flushing red. He was standing stark naked across from Di Cang. He hastily pulled a set of clothes from his Storage Ring and threw them on, only then feeling a little more comfortable.

"Teacher," Mu Chen said with a slight smile.

Di Cang grunted in acknowledgment and asked gravely, "How did you lose that arm?"

Mu Chen stiffened and fell silent. Di Cang didn’t press him; he simply waited. He knew this incident must have left a deep scar on Mu Chen’s heart. After a moment, Mu Chen sighed and said quietly, "To be honest, for a long time I didn’t know how I lost my arm. It wasn’t until these past three years that my Master slowly explained it to me. This arm was most likely severed by someone. But... I have no idea who did it."

At his words, Di Cang also fell silent. Seeing his teacher’s somber expression, Mu Chen gave a slight smile. "Teacher, let’s just drop it for now. I may be missing an arm, but I’m still standing here at the Imperial Academy, right? I’m confident that one day, I will get revenge for my lost limb." As he spoke, a murderous glint flashed behind his closed eyes and was gone in an instant.

Di Cang let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I suppose I’m the one being sentimental. We’ll speak no more of it. You, on the other hand, continue to astound me. A single Seventh-Grade Medicinal Herb let you break through three consecutive levels. You should be able to defeat a Two-Ring Martial Spirit now."

Di Cang wasn’t the only one surprised—Mu Chen himself was astonished as well. He, too, had inexplicably broken through to become a Six-Ring Martial Master. ’This gives me a much better chance when I challenge the Holy Hall Students in the future,’ he thought. "By the way, Teacher, did you summon me today to give me a training plan?"

Di Cang nodded. "Yes, I was going to give you a training plan. However, seeing as you’ve just broken through so many levels, you should focus on stabilizing your realm for now. As for your training plan after that... heheh, there’s only one item on the agenda: challenge the academy’s Tower of Calamity."

"The Tower of Calamity?"

"That’s right. The Tower of Calamity is the most special thing about our Imperial Academy. Usually, only Holy Hall Students are permitted to use it, but your abilities have already far surpassed theirs. I will grant you access. For the next year, you will cultivate inside that tower. You can use any attack methods you wish in there; no one will be able to spy on you. The tower only allows one person inside at a time, and the next challenger can only enter after the current one has failed. There is absolutely no chance of being watched."

"There’s a place like that?" Hearing this, Mu Chen felt a flicker of curiosity. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Di Cang was all smiles. "I don’t know when the Tower of Calamity first appeared; it was already standing there when I was born. The tower has a total of thirty floors, and each floor is a trial. When you go inside, a figure that looks identical to you will appear. Believe me, it’s not an Illusion Realm, because that figure is a physical entity."

"It’s a physical entity?" Mu Chen was completely astonished.

Seeing Mu Chen’s astonished face, Di Cang chuckled. "Correct. It is indeed a physical entity. However, once you defeat it, it vanishes like a phantom. To this day, no one can explain it. When you clear the trial on the first floor, the entire floor will erupt in a brilliant, multi-colored light. Then, your name and your completion record will appear on a large stone monument beside the tower."

Seeing Mu Chen grow more amazed with every word, Di Cang stroked his beard. "Quite miraculous, isn’t it? As of now, the academy’s highest record is held by the top student of the Holy Hall, Amoluo, who has already reached the Martial King Realm. A few days ago, he cleared the tenth floor of the Tower of Calamity. However, that will probably be his final record."

"His final record? Why?" Mu Chen asked, looking at Di Cang in confusion.

Di Cang turned and started walking slowly toward the exit. "Because there is an age restriction for the Tower of Calamity," he said as he walked. "Only Martial Artists under the age of twenty are allowed inside. If you’re older than that, the tower will eject you the moment you enter. The day Amoluo cleared the tenth floor was the day before his twentieth birthday." Here, Di Cang stopped and turned to face Mu Chen. "And you... you will break his record. I have no doubt about it."

Mu Chen left the dean’s office in a daze. His mind was completely occupied by the name Amoluo. ’A twenty-year-old Martial King... A Martial King! Balrek, who I beat in two moves a few days ago, is also twenty, but he’s only a Grand Martial Master.’ The thought brought a sudden, immense pressure down on him. ’This is just a Low-level Kingdom ranked over a thousandth place. What about the Martial Artists from the High-Level Kingdoms, the ones ranked in the top one hundred? Aren’t they going to be even more monstrously talented?’

It was then that Mu Chen truly understood something his Master had once told him: ’The Extreme Martial Continent is never short on geniuses, but how many of them can remain humble and patient enough to safely grow into the powerhouses of their generation?’ At that thought, Mu Chen made a silent vow. ’I will surpass the genius named Amoluo. Since you reached the Martial King Realm before twenty, I will reach it before I turn eighteen.’ Having a goal gave him a new sense of drive. Even his stride seemed to grow firmer.

Mu Chen had already missed lunch. On an empty stomach, he originally planned to head straight back to his dorm to stabilize the Martial Artist Realm he had just advanced through. But at that moment, he suddenly heard a noise coming from the small grove over by the third-year students’ area.

This discovery delighted Mu Chen. ’I’m about two thousand meters away from that grove! Before, I would never have been able to hear a thing from this distance.’