Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

With a low shout, Mu Chen locked onto the Saber-toothed Pig. A pure blue beam shot from his fingertip and struck the beast’s body directly. With a series of crisp, chiming sounds, the Saber-toothed Pig’s spinning body was instantly frozen solid within a huge block of Profound Ice, unable to move.

Subduing a Third-level Magical Beast—an equivalent to a Grand Martial Master—in a single move, Mu Chen had proven his strength. Though the others remained expressionless, they were utterly horrified inside. They all knew Mu Chen had the power to kill a Third-level Magical Beast, but they never imagined he could subdue one in just a single move. ’This kind of power is simply not something an ordinary person can possess...’

Little Tiger stared blankly at Mu Chen and murmured, "Brother Mu Chen, you’re so strong..."

Hearing this, Mu Chen smiled. "Don’t celebrate too early. This guy isn’t that easy to subdue."

Sure enough, just as Mu Chen finished speaking, the Saber-toothed Pig frozen in the Profound Ice erupted with a black light. As the light flared, the Profound Ice imprisoning it began to tremble violently. A moment later, with a series of CRACKS, it shattered into a pile of fragments. Four yellow Martial Rings materialized beneath the Saber-toothed Pig’s feet.

The corner of Mu Chen’s mouth lifted. "Just a Fourth Ring? Hey, Little Tiger, aren’t you hungry? If you can kill it, we won’t have to go hungry for the next few days."

Little Tiger started, then whipped his head around. "Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"ROAR! Food!"

With one hand, he swiftly unlocked the Power Shackles on his chest. Little Tiger let out a massive roar, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot. A blood-red character meaning "Power" materialized on his chest. With a flick of his wrist, a huge Double-Bladed Battleaxe appeared in his grasp.

Dragging his Battle Axe, Little Tiger stomped his foot, making the very earth tremble. He shot into the air, his Double-Bladed Giant Axe enveloped in earth-yellow Primordial Power. He then brought it down viciously on the Saber-toothed Pig with the might of a Powerful Slash of Hua Mountain!

’Such immense power!’ Mo Qing thought, feeling the Giant Axe create ripping sounds as it tore through the air.

BOOM!

With the massive boom, the Saber-toothed Pig let out a miserable shriek. Little Tiger’s strike sent its heavy body flying backward, crashing through countless large trees. A huge gash had been torn open on its back; from above, one could see that its spine was shattered. This was only because the beast’s body was exceptionally tough. Otherwise, that single blow from Little Tiger would have dismembered it on the spot.

It was no wonder the Saber-toothed Pig hadn’t reacted in time; even Mu Chen was startled by Little Tiger’s sudden explosion of power. ’It seems this guy turns into a ferocious beast whenever he goes berserk,’ he thought.

Ye Shuangshuang swallowed hard and rubbed her eyes fiercely, her face a mask of disbelief. "Is that a man or a beast?"

"AWOO! Food!"

With another beast-like roar, Little Tiger brought his Double-Bladed Giant Axe crashing down on the nearly dead Saber-toothed Pig. Unsurprisingly, the beast convulsed twice before its Life Aura faded completely.

Only then did Little Tiger seem to snap out of it. He said excitedly, "Brother Mu Chen, quick, where’s the food? I’m starving!"

With that, Little Tiger dropped his Battle Axe and plopped onto the ground. The corner of Mu Chen’s mouth twitched. "The food... the food’s coming right up..."

After saying this, Mu Chen walked over to the Saber-toothed Pig. With a flash from his ring, a sharp dagger appeared in his hand. Then, under the astonished gazes of the other four, he swiftly butchered the beast. Skinning, deboning, removing tendons, carving the meat, gutting—his practiced movements were as smooth as flowing water, leaving the others staring in a daze.

’What an amazing captain...’ Ye Shuangshuang and Mo Qing exchanged a look. They were now even more certain of one thing: this captain of theirs was no ordinary person.

While the two girls were still in a daze, Mu Chen suddenly turned and said, "Qing Lei, go gather some firewood. Mo Qing, you have a Water Attribute, so you can summon some water in a bit. As for Shuangshuang, I’ll leave starting the fire to you. We’re having roasted meat tonight."

Qing Lei said nothing, simply nodding before his figure vanished into the twilight. The sky had darkened after the battle, and they would have needed a fire even if they weren’t cooking. They already had a water container among their essential supplies. Mo Qing quickly used her Primordial Power to fill the waterskin and handed it to Mu Chen.

Mu Chen took the waterskin and began to meticulously wash the chunks of meat from the Saber-toothed Pig. Watching his focused expression, Mo Qing found herself somewhat lost in a daze. She quickly snapped out of it, silently scolding herself as a faint blush crept up her neck. However, her scar-covered face betrayed nothing.

Just like that, Mu Chen finished washing all the bloody chunks of meat. At that moment, Qing Lei returned. With a flash from his Storage Ring, a large pile of firewood of various sizes appeared. Mu Chen smiled faintly. "Good work."

Qing Lei remained silent, turning coolly to stand off to the side. But before he had taken two steps, a strange sound rumbled from his stomach.

GROWL...

The others froze for a second before turning to look at the petrified Qing Lei, then burst into laughter. Qing Lei’s face flushed bright red. He spun around and roared, "Stop laughing!"

GROWL...

"Hahaha..."

Amid the continuing laughter, the bond between the members of the small team began to deepen.

The fire was lit. Mu Chen divided the large chunks of meat into five portions, skewering each on a branch. Then, under everyone’s eager gazes, he began roasting them. His Storage Ring flashed repeatedly as salt, chili powder, and various other seasonings he carried with him appeared one by one before the others.

Watching Mu Chen take bag after bag of seasonings from his ring, the others all swallowed hard. The roasting process soon began. For Mu Chen, who had been roasting meat for several years, a task like this was as simple as opening his eyes in the morning.

The meat gradually turned golden brown over the fire. Rendered fat dripped and sizzled in the flames. SIZZLE... POP... Soon, a mouth-watering aroma drifted from the meat, tickling everyone’s noses. Little Tiger was the most anxious of all. He stared intently at the largest piece of meat, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

Mu Chen noticed but didn’t slow his work. He continued to turn the skewers, slowly adding salt and other seasonings. An aroma even richer than before wafted from the meat. This time, it wasn’t just Little Tiger; even Qing Lei, Mo Qing, and Ye Shuangshuang found themselves staring intently at the cooking meat, as if they’d never seen anything like it before.

After giving the meat one final turn, Mu Chen smiled. "Alright, it’s ready. It’s hot, so eat slowly!"

But before Mu Chen could finish his warning, Little Tiger let out a yelp and began sucking in sharp breaths of air.

"It’s so hot! So hot!"

Mu Chen sighed and handed him the waterskin. "I told you it was hot," he said, exasperated. "You just had to ignore me."

Little Tiger gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, looking aggrieved. He took a small bite of the roasted meat, chewed a couple of times, and then froze completely.

"This... is so good!"

With that, he ignored the heat and began devouring the meat in huge bites. Seeing his reaction, the others tore off small pieces for themselves. After a few chews, they all stared at Mu Chen in astonishment. Ye Shuangshuang’s eyes sparkled. "Are you a genius? It feels like you can do anything." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Mo Qing was equally amazed. A lovely smile touched her lips. "It seems no one is more suited to be our captain. You make precise judgments, you’re incredibly vigilant, you have a wealth of knowledge about Magical Beasts, you possess immense power, and you can even cook... The more I see, the less I understand you."

Mu Chen could only chuckle in response. ’I’ve lived alone in the wild for three years,’ he thought. ’If I didn’t even know how to feed myself, I’d never have survived.’

WHOOSH! BANG!

Just then, however, five dazzling red flares shot up into the dark night sky. They soared to their apex and burst with a bang, forming five brilliant red blossoms of light.

Qing Lei commented lightly, "The first day isn’t even over and someone’s already been eliminated?"

No one else spoke. Their mission was more difficult than most, yet someone had already been eliminated on the very first day. It seemed this Demon Beast Prison was truly a dangerous place.

After quickly finishing their meal, the group sat around the fire. Ye Shuangshuang asked curiously, "I’ve been wondering... earlier, when the Saber-toothed Pig appeared, none of us sensed it. How did you detect it so early, Captain?"

"Because my Spiritual Power is quite strong, I can probe anything within a four-thousand-meter radius. So naturally, I detected it before you did." Mu Chen didn’t hide this. He could sense the intentions of those around him through the consciousness of the Shattered Star Lock Chain, and he knew these four people were all trustworthy.

Mu Chen’s words were casual, but they struck everyone silent. They were past the point of surprise; this young man was simply not normal. Nothing about him could be judged by ordinary standards. ’Fifteen years old, a Sixth-Ring Martial Master, and capable of using Spiritual Power probes! That’s a special technique only available to those at the Early Stage of the Kan Realm! It means that not only is his Cultivation Talent astounding, but his Spiritual Power is also vastly superior to others.’

Spiritual Power was an ethereal force, much harder to advance than one’s Martial Artist Realm. Typically, only an expert who had reached the Martial Spirit realm could achieve a Spiritual Power breakthrough to the Leaving Realm. Only Martial King Level Martial Artists could push their Spiritual Power into the Kan Realm and use it for probing. Yet, this young man before them, a mere Martial Master, had already pushed his Spiritual Power into the Kan Realm, or perhaps even beyond. There were only two possible explanations for this. First, he possessed a Cultivation Technique specifically for Spiritual Power. Second, he was born with Spiritual Power that was many times stronger than an ordinary person’s.

Either one of these possibilities meant that this young man was destined to reach a height others could only gaze up at in awe. In that instant, the four of them made what would be the most important decision of their lives: they would follow this young man of infinite potential. Both Mo Qing and Ye Shuangshuang’s faces lit up with excitement. ’Perhaps,’ they thought, ’our destinies really can change.’

The night passed peacefully. Everyone entered a state of Cultivation, except for Mu Chen, who simply lay on his side. The Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique circulated rapidly within him, drawing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to constantly flood his body. His posture was odd; he looked just like he was sleeping. Though the others were puzzled, they subconsciously reminded themselves that Mu Chen was anything but ordinary. ’Conventional logic just doesn’t apply to him,’ they thought. ’He’s a monster, a freak, a total anomaly!’

「The next morning.」

Mu Chen was the first to awaken from his Cultivation. He let out a long, turbid breath. After a night of practice, his mental state was back at its peak, and his newly achieved Sixth Environment Realm had gradually stabilized.