To the north of the arena, three people sat upright. On the left was Teacher Mo, who had appeared yesterday. On the right was a gaunt, middle-aged man with a stiff face and deep-set eyes, looking rather cold and stern.
"Haha, today's academy competition seems a bit livelier than before..." Sitting in the seat of honor between the two was a grey-haired old man. He smiled as he looked down at the bustling atmosphere below, unable to help but chuckle.
"In previous academy competitions, we could always predict the outcome, but this time it's quite hard to say," Teacher Mo said with a smile.
"Why is it hard to predict? Liu Yang is already at the initial stage of the Spiritual Movement Stage, and he even possesses a Human-level Spiritual Pulse. I'm afraid he would rank near the top even in the Heaven Division, let alone here in the Earth Division. Although Mu Chen isn't bad, he is still a bit lacking compared to Liu Yang," the cold, middle-aged man on the right curled his lips and said. He was the highest-ranking instructor of the West Branch, so naturally, he hoped his West Branch disciple would achieve the best results.
"Teacher Xi, underestimating someone who was qualified to enter the Spiritual Road is a bit short-sighted of you," Teacher Mo said calmly.
"Unfortunately, that only applies to those who successfully complete their training in the Spiritual Road," the middle-aged man shook his head and said.
Hearing the debate between the two, the grey-haired old man only chuckled, clearly accustomed to this. His slightly cloudy eyes turned toward the seating area of the East Branch, resting on the slender figure of the youth there, and said, "It is indeed a pity... It has been over ten years since anyone from our Northern Spiritual Realm qualified for the Spiritual Road. This time, Mu Chen obtained the qualification, but he was expelled halfway through and failed to pass the final trial. It's as good as wasting a year of training there, which indeed delayed his cultivation by a year."
Teacher Mo also shook his head with regret. In the Spiritual Road, one could not cultivate spiritual energy, but if one successfully passed the final trial, they would receive a Spiritual Energy Baptism. For those with monstrous talent, they could completely reach the Spiritual Rotation Stage overnight, and there was even a chance of reaching the Spirit Stage. If Mu Chen had been able to complete his training, he would likely have already become the undisputed leader among the youths of the Northern Spiritual Realm. The spot in the Five Great Academies would naturally have belonged to him, and no one would have been qualified to compete for it.
At that time, even someone like Liu Mubai would have to rank below him.
But who could have expected that sudden incident? Not only did Mu Chen fail to receive the most precious Spiritual Energy Baptism of the Spiritual Road, but he was also expelled halfway through, wasting a year of cultivation for nothing.
"Principal Xiao, what on earth did Mu Chen do in the Spiritual Road? Why was he expelled? I know his talent very well, and his character is good too. There's no way he would be expelled just because of poor performance," Teacher Mo frowned, unable to help but ask. He only vaguely knew that Mu Chen had caused quite a stir in the Spiritual Road, but he didn't know the specifics.
Hearing this question, even the cold, middle-aged man turned his head to look at the Principal of the Northern Spiritual Academy, clearly quite curious as well.
Hearing this, Principal Xiao gently stroked his beard and shook his head with a bitter smile, saying, "I am not too clear on the details either, but I heard this kid caused quite a major incident in the Spiritual Road, even alarming the higher-ups of the Five Great Academies."
Instructor Mo and the cold middle-aged man were both stunned, their eyes filled with bewilderment. Clearly, they could not begin to imagine what kind of earth-shattering event Mu Chen had caused in the Spiritual Road.
"Well, let's not speak of this further. The bell has rung, quickly announce the start of the academy competition." Clearly, Principal Xiao did not wish to dwell on the matter, so he waved his hand to give the order.
Instructor Mo nodded and stood up at his words. His gaze swept across the entire arena, and his deep, powerful voice echoed clearly in the ears of every student.
"The time has arrived. The academy competition officially begins. You are all students of the same academy, so during the matches, you are absolutely forbidden from delivering lethal blows. Keep this in mind!"
"You all know the rules. Everyone who steps onto the stage has one opportunity to challenge an opponent, but only once. Therefore, you must know your own limits and choose an opponent suited to you."
"Yes!"
The dense crowd in the arena responded in unison with respect.
"In that case..." Instructor Mo nodded slightly, then waved his hand. "Begin."
*Dong!*
The moment his hand fell, a resonant bell chimed, echoing throughout almost the entire Northern Spiritual Academy.
*Whoosh!*
At this moment, the entire arena fell into a clamor as figures leaped onto the stages one after another, shouting continuously.
"Liu Xiong, get down here! I've been sick of looking at you for a long time!"
"Chen Tong, you get out here too! This time, I will definitely settle the score with you!"
Mu Chen looked at the chaotic scene below and smiled faintly. Most of these matches were just ordinary spars, so Mu Chen did not pay too much attention. He only occasionally glanced over at Liu Yang of the West Branch, who was also staring back at him coldly.
Today, everyone in the Northern Spiritual Academy knew that Liu Yang would choose Mu Chen as his opponent in this competition, so no one from the West Branch dared to challenge Mu Chen. Of course, they also knew that with Mu Chen's current strength, only Liu Yang was a match for him.
Everyone was highly anticipating the match between these two, who were considered the most outstanding figures of the Northern Spiritual Academy's Earth Division.
Mu Chen ignored Liu Yang's ice-cold gaze, occasionally chatting and laughing happily with Tang Qian'er beside him. This behavior made Liu Yang grit his teeth in rage.
The competition was quite lively, but to truly capture everyone's interest, it had to be the battles for the top ten positions in the Earth Division, as these matches could shift their rankings.
"Isn't that Tan Qingshan from our East Branch? That guy is indeed going to make a move..."
Su Ling, who was standing beside him, suddenly cried out in excitement, and Mu Chen followed his gaze. Not far from where they stood, a youth dressed in black suddenly stood up and walked toward the arena stage.
The youth's frame was extremely thin and his face pale, but a resolute determination showed at the corners of his mouth. He neither spoke nor smiled, seemingly indifferent to the chatter around him.
"Tan Qingshan..."
Mu Chen was also slightly startled when he saw this black-robed youth. He knew this person; before Mu Chen arrived at the Northern Spiritual Academy, Tan Qingshan could be considered the strongest in the East Branch Earth Class, and even now, he was fully capable of ranking in the top five among all Earth Class disciples.
Seeing Mu Chen's gaze, Tan Qingshan paused for a moment, then raised his head to look back at him, a smile breaking through his serious expression.
"Do your best."
Mu Chen smiled back at him. Although he and Tan Qingshan were not very close, they were both disciples of the East Branch after all, and he didn't dislike the guy.
Tan Qingshan nodded slightly, then leaped onto the arena stage. Instantly, numerous eyes turned toward him; it seemed he was quite famous in the East Branch.
"I wonder who he wants to challenge..."
Some people began to whisper, their eyes filled with curiosity. The people Tan Qingshan considered worthy opponents in the West Branch were likely few and far between.
"Liu Yang."
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Tan Qingshan looked straight at the person standing at the front of the West Branch's ranks. His voice was calm, yet it caused a stir among the surrounding crowd.
"He actually wants to challenge Liu Yang?"
Many disciples exchanged glances. Although Tan Qingshan was considered one of the strongest in the Northern Spiritual Academy's Earth Class, he was still slightly inferior compared to Liu Yang. No one expected him to dare to take the initiative to challenge him like this.
In the seating area of the West Branch, Liu Yang was quite taken aback, his gaze gradually turning gloomy. Up until now, no one had dared to step forward and actively challenge Mu Chen, yet he was the one being challenged first. Didn't this tell everyone that his prestige was inferior to Mu Chen's?
"Truly someone who doesn't know his own limits."
Liu Yang stood up. A dark and terrifying aura emanated from him, making the surrounding disciples feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar. At this moment, Liu Yang was clearly furious.
Liu Yang quickly leaped onto the stage where Tan Qingshan stood. He glanced at Tan Qingshan before looking over at Mu Chen, who was sitting in the East Branch area, and said coldly, "Are you planning to use someone to test my strength?"
Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to stare at Tan Qingshan, a dark smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "You blind fool, do you still think you're the strongest in the East Branch Earth Class?"
Tan Qingshan looked at Liu Yang, his expression turning solemn. He had once been the strongest among the East Branch Earth Class disciples. Although that title had passed to Mu Chen, his pride had driven him to constantly cultivate with all his might. While there was a competitive relationship between them, they were both disciples of the East Branch after all. He had no desire to cause trouble for Mu Chen; if he could defeat Liu Yang now, he could reclaim his title as the number one.
Tan Qingshan clenched his fists. A powerful surge of Spiritual Energy erupted from his body, wrapping around his arms, while his entire being gradually radiated a sharp and formidable aura.
"This Spiritual Energy..."
Su Ling and his group looked at the Spiritual Energy on Tan Qingshan's arms in astonishment.
"He has actually reached the Spiritual Movement Stage as well!"