“Let’s sit here.”
Tang Qian'er paid no attention to the gazes in the cultivation grounds, dragging Mu Chen to a spot near a golden stone pillar. In front of the pillar were three jade seats.
Mu Chen cast his gaze around, looking up at the golden stone pillar, unable to hide the flash of surprise in his eyes. He could clearly feel the dense spiritual energy radiating from the stone. This was obviously a Spirit Gathering Pillar; naturally, the closer one was to it, the better the cultivation effect would be compared to other places.
“This Spirit Gathering Pillar must have been crafted from Spirit Gathering Stones. As expected of a Grade 3 Spirit Gathering Array.”
Mu Chen marveled. Spirit Gathering Stones were a material highly beneficial for cultivation, and they were by no means cheap. Yet, the stone pillar before him was carved entirely from a single massive piece of Spirit Gathering Stone, making its value immense. No wonder everyone believed that establishing a Spirit Gathering Array required a faction with immense financial resources.
Tang Qian'er nodded and sat down cross-legged, straightening her back and chest. Her tight-fitting clothes accentuated her alluring curves, drawing many stealthy glances from those in the plaza.
“Qingshan, you should cultivate here too.”
Mu Chen also sat down, smiling as he spoke to Tan Qingshan. He knew very well that this cultivation spot was excellent, and there would usually be no shortage of people fighting over it, but he didn't mind. He had no intention of being overbearing, but he wouldn't play the meek victim and let himself be bullied either.
Sitting on the jade seat, Mu Chen felt the surging spiritual energy of heaven and earth growing stronger. He immediately circulated the Great Pagoda Art, drawing the spiritual energy into his body and refining it into dark wisps of spiritual energy that surged into his Aura Sea, making the energy within even more robust.
With such dense spiritual energy, Mu Chen could clearly feel the growth rate of his spiritual energy doubling, flowing in an endless stream.
Though he was usually quite calm, this speed brought a look of delight to his face. He quickly cleared his mind of distractions and immersed himself deeply in cultivation.
Seeing Mu Chen immediately enter a state of cultivation, Tang Qian'er's lips twitched slightly. She then closed her eyes as well and began her own cultivation session.
However, before they could cultivate for long, a commotion outside shattered the peace. Mu Chen opened his eyes first and looked at Tan Qingshan on his left. The latter's face was currently livid, his fists tightly clenched as he tried to suppress his rising fury.
In front of him stood two slightly older youths, laughing and pointing at Tan Qingshan.
“What do you want?”
Mu Chen frowned, looking at the two of them with a cold voice.
The two youths looked at Mu Chen, their brows furrowing slightly. One of them sneered and extended his hand toward Mu Chen:
“Are you Mu Chen? I've heard of you. I am Jiang Li, and he is Teng Yong.”
Mu Chen looked at Jiang Li's outstretched hand but had no intention of shaking it. From the look in the other's eyes, he could sense an attitude that was anything but friendly.
“Is there something you need?”
Seeing Mu Chen's lack of response, the expressions of Jiang Li and Teng Yong turned slightly awkward. Pointing at Tan Qingshan, Jiang Li smiled and said:
“Nothing much, we just want to swap seats with him.”
“No swap. Next time, come earlier yourself!”
Mu Chen replied indifferently.
“Jiang Li, what do you want?”
By now, Tang Qian'er had also woken up. Seeing the situation before her, her beautiful eyes flared with anger, and she snapped directly.
Jiang Li shrugged:
“Qian'er, you should know the rules of the cultivation grounds. How can a newcomer sit in this spot? I'm only doing this for his own good, to save him from being envied and resented by others.”
After Jiang Li finished speaking, he cast a brief glance at Mu Chen. Although both of them detested Mu Chen, they knew very well that he was not someone to be trifled with. His strength was by no means inferior to theirs, and his family background was quite prominent. Thus, instead of directly causing trouble for him, they targeted Tan Qingshan beside him. Clearly, they wanted to beat the mountain to scare the tiger, using this to give Mu Chen a warning.
"You..."
Tang Qian'er suppressed her anger. Just as she was about to speak, Mu Chen stopped her. Frowning at Jiang Li and his companion, as if contemplating something, he said, "I know that only those with sufficient strength and talent are qualified to sit in these positions. I believe I am qualified. Tan Qingshan is my friend, and he will also sit here. If you have any objections or want me to prove my strength, I am ready to take you on."
The commotion on this side was quite loud, naturally attracting a lot of attention. Consequently, every word that came out of Mu Chen's mouth fell clearly into their ears, causing many to look surprised. This newcomer was indeed formidable.
The expressions of Jiang Li and his companion turned ugly. They had not expected that Mu Chen, who looked gentle on the outside, could also be so overbearing.
They glared at Mu Chen in anger, but for a moment, they did not dare to shout at him. Both of them had heard about his feat of defeating Liu Yang, who possessed a Human-grade Spiritual Pulse. They themselves were not confident they could defeat Liu Yang, yet Mu Chen had done it. Therefore, they were not sure they could defeat Mu Chen either.
"Haha, as expected of the Young Master of the Mu Territory, your words are indeed full of mettle!"
Just as Jiang Li was caught in a dilemma, riding a tiger from which it was hard to dismount, a harsh, shrill laugh suddenly rang out from behind them. Jiang Li turned around, and upon seeing who it was, his expression instantly turned to joy.
"Big Brother Luo!"
Hearing Jiang Li's joyful voice, Mu Chen also looked over. A figure was slowly walking towards them. He looked to be about eighteen years old, with slightly deep-set eyes, thin lips, and a rather cold aura.
"Luo Tong?"
Tang Qian'er looked at this person, her face darkening as she exclaimed.
"Luo Tong?"
Mu Chen frowned. This name was not unfamiliar to him. The guy's father was also a Territory Lord. However, Luo Tong had turned eighteen last year, yet his current strength was still only at the late stage of the Spiritual Movement Stage. In other words, he was no longer qualified to enter the Five Great Academies.
And such a person was exactly what Tang Qian'er had referred to as "one of those cunning fellows, the most troublesome kind of people."
"Mu Chen, it really has been a long time."
Luo Tong walked up to Mu Chen, a faint smile on his lips, though it was far from friendly. The two had known each other for a long time, but they had never seen eye to eye.
Mu Chen glanced at him. "Do you also want to come and show off your authority in front of me?"
"How would I dare? You are the genius who qualified for the Spiritual Road, after all."
Luo Tong curled his lips, feigning surprise, though his words did not hide his jealousy. When he had first heard that Mu Chen had qualified, his eyes had turned red with envy. Now that he was over eighteen and still hadn't reached the Spiritual Rotation Stage, his path to the Five Great Academies was completely cut off. Thinking about Mu Chen's talent and how entering the Five Great Academies wouldn't be difficult for him only made Luo Tong's jealousy burn even more fiercely.
Mu Chen stopped looking at him, ignoring this pitiful, envious guy. Compared to Liu Mubai, this Luo Tong was absolutely nothing.
"Get out of that seat."
Seeing that Mu Chen was ignoring him, Luo Tong's anger flared even hotter. However, he did not directly provoke Mu Chen, but instead looked at Tan Qingshan beside him and spoke coldly.
Whether in terms of strength or background, he naturally did not take Tan Qingshan seriously.
"Luo Tong, don't go too far."
Mu Chen spoke calmly, but there was a trace of coldness in his voice.
"What? Not convinced? Want to fight me?"
Luo Tong sneered. With his strength at the late stage of the Spiritual Movement Stage, he did not fear Mu Chen at all. On the contrary, he wanted to provoke Mu Chen into a rage, giving him an excuse to deal with the guy who made him jealous day and night.
Mu Chen's pitch-black eyes stared at Luo Tong. As his gaze swept over, Luo Tong's momentum faltered slightly. No matter how jealous Luo Tong was, he understood very well what it meant for Mu Chen to have been qualified for the Spiritual Road. If Mu Chen hadn't been abruptly expelled halfway through, he probably wouldn't have the courage to stand in front of Mu Chen and talk back like this now.
Though his momentum had been suppressed, Luo Tong quickly recovered. No matter what Mu Chen had experienced, he currently only had the strength of the middle stage of the Spiritual Movement Stage, and was simply no match for him.
"You don't dare?"
Luo Tong mocked, his anger flaring from embarrassment.
"Luo Tong, what are you doing?"
However, before Mu Chen could reply, a deep voice echoed from not far away. Everyone looked over to see a handsome young man walking over quickly, standing in front of Luo Tong.
"Mo Ling, why are you being so nosy?"
Luo Tong looked at the person in front of him, his brows furrowing as he snapped in annoyance.
The person in front of him was quite famous in the Northern Spiritual Academy, ranked not far behind Liu Mubai. He was also currently at the late stage of the Spiritual Movement Stage, and was highly likely to break through to the Spiritual Rotation Stage in half a year. At that time, he would be qualified to enter the Five Great Academies, making him one of the key targets for cultivation by the academy.
"The training session has already begun. If Teacher Mo sees you causing trouble here, do you think he'll let you off?"
Mo Ling also seemed to dislike Luo Tong, speaking with a frown.
Luo Tong's face turned unsightly, but since Mo Ling was not afraid of him at all, he could only bite his lip and swallow his anger. At this moment, a figure leisurely walked into the training ground. Upon seeing this person, most of the students instantly fell silent, for that person was indeed Teacher Mo.
Seeing Teacher Mo's arrival, Luo Tong did not dare to linger any longer. He shook his fist threateningly at Mu Chen before reluctantly returning to his spot.
"Are you guys alright? That guy is indeed a bit annoying, but you'll get used to it after a while."
Seeing Luo Tong leave, Mo Ling turned around and smiled faintly at Mu Chen.
"We're fine, thank you."
Mu Chen smiled gently.
"It's nothing. I heard you were the only one in the Northern Spiritual Realm who qualified for the Spiritual Road? Haha, looks like I'll have more pressure in the future."
Mo Ling laughed, and without chatting any further, he turned and left.
Mu Chen watched Mo Ling leave and smiled, feeling a slight sense of goodwill toward him.
"Mu Chen, thank you."
Tan Qingshan, standing beside him, expressed his gratitude.
"We came here together, so of course we should look out for each other. Don't mind those guys; sooner or later, you will surpass them."
Mu Chen smiled.
Tan Qingshan nodded vigorously.
Teacher Mo slowly made his way to the center of the plaza. He cast a brief glance at Mu Chen, said nothing, and simply waved his hand. Several beams of light shot out, striking the stone pillars. Instantly, everyone felt the spiritual energy in the courtyard grow increasingly dense. Clearly, Teacher Mo had just fully activated the Spiritual Convergence Array.
Feeling the dense spiritual energy, Mu Chen's smile widened. Without another word, he closed his eyes and entered a state of cultivation once more, steadily refining the spiritual energy flooding into his body.
Half a day of cultivation quietly slipped by. Just as the last wisp of spiritual energy was drawn into his spiritual sea and Mu Chen was about to finish his cultivation, his body suddenly trembled violently, and a wondrous sensation welled up from within his spiritual sea.
This sudden, wondrous sensation startled Mu Chen, but it was immediately followed by a surge of wild joy. Was this... the Foundation Stage?