The bonfire blazed, its warm sparks illuminating Tang Qian'er’s delicate form. Yet, she felt a chill, a coldness that stemmed from the Spiritual Road Mu Chen had described to her.
“It seems the Spiritual Road isn’t as good as I thought,” Tang Qian’er said, trembling, her heart pounding. “Good thing I wasn’t chosen, or I might not even have my bones left.” She truly couldn’t imagine a place where even trust didn’t exist; how terrifying must it be to live in constant fear and suspicion?
“It was never a good place to begin with.” Mu Chen chuckled faintly, then looked up to see Teacher Mo clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. The numerous disciples all turned their gaze towards him.
“The cultivation training in the Northern Spiritual Realm has officially begun. This will be our encampment, and tomorrow you will depart from here into the Northern Spiritual Realm for your training, directly confronting spirit beasts. Therefore, today I have a few reminders for everyone. Spirit beasts are divided into three ranks: high, medium, and low. Most of the spirit beasts outside the Northern Spiritual Realm are low-rank, but I believe you will still need to cooperate to deal with them.”
Teacher Mo swept his gaze around, his deep voice echoing through the tents in the encampment. Every disciple remained silent, listening attentively. They all understood clearly that this was not a drill or anything of the sort, but real combat. A single careless mistake could instantly turn them into fresh meat in a spirit beast’s mouth.
“Low-rank spirit beasts possess strength comparable to the Spirit Movement Stage, medium-rank to the Spirit Wheel Stage, and high-rank spirit beasts can even rival Spirit Manifestation Stage experts. Deep within this Northern Spiritual Realm, there are high-rank spirit beasts. I warn you, absolutely do not venture too deep into the Northern Spiritual Realm!”
His voice had turned stern, each word like iron. High-rank spirit beasts deep within the Northern Spiritual Realm were troublesome even for him to handle. These inexperienced disciples, accustomed to the warmth and comfort of the academy, would be no different from defenseless lambs.
Everyone nodded continuously like chickens pecking grain; not a single one dared to joke with their own small lives. Let alone high-rank spirit beasts, even medium-rank ones would have them fleeing without hesitation.
“For this cultivation training, the three teams with the best performance will each have every member receive a Spirit Nurturing Pill.” Teacher Mo’s voice softened again, his eyes on the disciples carrying a cheerful smile as he continued: “To achieve the highest performance, you must cooperate seamlessly with your teammates. With your current strength, only through cooperation can you move freely and comfortably in this chaotic Northern Spiritual Realm!”
“Yes, sir, ma’am!” The disciples mumbled in unison.
“After hunting spirit beasts, don’t forget to harvest their spirit essence. Low-rank spirit essence won’t attract the attention of Spirit Manifestation Stage experts; it’s only used to evaluate your performance.” Mu Chen nodded slightly. Spirit Manifestation Stage experts possessed the ability to refine spirit essence, but given their strength, ordinary low-rank spirit beasts naturally held no appeal for them.
“Teacher Mo, you’re also a Spirit Manifestation Stage expert, what kind of beast essence do you refine?” A curious disciple asked. For Spirit Manifestation Stage experts, the ability to refine beast essence was so appealing that it naturally greatly interested the disciples.
Hearing this, Teacher Mo hesitated for a moment, then suddenly formed a hand seal. A powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted from his body, and golden light condensed behind him, transforming into a Golden Giant Wolf that threw its head back and howled. On the Golden Giant Wolf’s fur, patterns like lightning seemed to appear, giving it an extraordinary and majestic presence.
“Wow… Whoa… Oh my goodness!”
Gasps of astonishment and admiration continuously echoed through the camp. Even the west compound, hearing the unusual sounds, looked over, and then they too were moved, exclaiming in awe at the golden giant wolf behind Master Mo.
Master Xi, having just finished announcing the rules, saw this and pouted. His body trembled as powerful spiritual energy erupted, and behind him appeared a giant black lion with a gray turtle shell on its back.
All the disciples' eyes were drawn to the two captivating spirit beast essences summoned by the two Spirit Manifestation Realm experts. This power was enough to make many people drool with envy – no, not tears, but drool.
"I have refined the essence of a high-grade spirit beast, the Golden Thunder Wolf, ranked 382nd on the Myriad Beasts Earth Ranking," Master Mo announced. "Master Xi has refined the essence of a high-grade spirit beast, the Stone Turtle Lion, ranked 390th on the Myriad Beasts Earth Ranking."
Seeing Master Xi's reaction, Master Mo smiled and waved his hand, causing the giant wolf to dissipate.
"Such powerful and majestic spirit beasts are only ranked in the 300s and 400s on the Earth Ranking?" someone muttered. "Then wouldn't the spirit beasts ranked in the top 100 be even more monstrous? And the legendary spirit beasts on the Myriad Beasts Heaven Ranking… they must possess heaven-defying power…"
Many disciples secretly gasped in fear. If those ranked in the 300s on the Earth Ranking were already so formidable, the Heaven Ranking must be far more terrifying!
"To be ranked in the top 100 of the Myriad Beasts Earth Ranking, these are no simple spirit beasts," Master Mo explained. "Their power far surpasses that of Spirit Manifestation Realm experts, comparable to those in the Three Thousand Realm. Therefore, they are often called heaven-tier spirit beasts, or simply heaven beasts."
As he spoke, Master Mo suddenly glanced at Mu Chen. Mu Chen immediately understood his meaning, because his father had refined the Blazing Dragon Eagle, a spirit beast ranked 85th. This meant the Blazing Dragon Eagle must have reached the level of a heaven beast. Normally, for a Spirit Manifestation Realm expert to refine the essence of a spirit beast with power significantly higher than their own was an extremely difficult and rare feat. Yet, his father Mu Feng had managed it, which was a great stroke of luck. It was also because of this that Mu Feng's combat power, among the nine domain lords of the Northern Spiritual Realm, was absolutely among the top three.
After all, upon entering the Spirit Manifestation Realm, the greatest skill was refining spirit beast essences, which provided no small amount of combat power. Naturally, the stronger the spirit beast one refined, the more formidable their combat power.
"As for the creatures on the Myriad Beasts Heaven Ranking…"
He paused, glanced at the youngsters, and chuckled: "…I'm afraid even the supreme, super-tier figures of the Great Thousand World wouldn't dare to offend them."
"Alright, it's getting late. You all should rest. We depart tomorrow morning to enter the Northern Spiritual Plains!"
Master Mo felt he had said enough and ordered the still-excited youths to disperse.
Hearing this, everyone, still carrying a bit of their excitement, gradually made their way back to their tents. Mu Chen also returned to his tent, closed his eyes to cultivate, and continued to try and manifest the second layer of the Senluo Purple Seal.
A quiet night passed.
Early morning, as the sun cast its first rays onto the leaves, the disciples in the camp were meticulously prepared, their faces filled with eager excitement as they gazed at the vast, dense forest before them.
Mu Chen stood beside Tang Tian'er, his gaze sweeping around, when he suddenly spotted Tan Qingshan in the distance. Beside him, surprisingly, was Mo Ling. It seemed the two of them were a team. This slightly surprised Mu Chen, as Mo Ling, originally a late-stage Spiritual Movement Realm expert, would surely have had many better choices than Tan Qingshan if he wanted to form a team.
“Mu Chen, are you and Tian’er a team? Haha, I’m going with Tan Qing Shan. He’s new, and this place is a bit dangerous, so I should look after him a bit.”
Mo Ling had also spotted Mu Chen and walked over with Tan Qing Shan, smiling and talking.
Mu Chen smiled and nodded. Listening to Mo Ling’s words, it seemed the guy wanted to build a good relationship with him. It looked like taking care of Tan Qing Shan was just an excuse; more than likely, he wanted to befriend Mu Chen himself.
“Thanks to Senior Mo Ling’s thoughtful consideration.”
Mu Chen said with a smile. He had no ill will towards Mo Ling, so befriending him was no problem.
The two chatted and laughed for a bit, then suddenly stopped. To their right, groups of people suddenly parted, and a few familiar figures appeared in Mu Chen’s sight. The one leading them was Liu Yang, the guy he’d defeated in the academy trial last month.
Liu Yang glared at Mu Chen, his eyes filled with malice. That academy trial battle had significantly damaged his reputation. Even after entering the Heavenly Realm, though protected by his elder brother Liu Mubai, many still secretly mocked him behind his back, filling his heart with resentment.
Mu Chen merely glanced at Liu Yang before looking at the person beside him. A tall, sturdy young man, who was also looking at Mu Chen with interest.
“You’re that Mu Chen? Your reputation has been quite resounding lately.”
The young man in yellow smiled faintly, asking with an air of nonchalance.
“Chen Tong, what do you guys want?”
Mo Ling saw the two of them, his brows furrowing as he said in a deep voice.
Mu Chen’s expression remained calm. Chen Tong? This name was quite famous in the Northern Spiritual Academy. Although slightly inferior to Liu Mubai, he still ranked third on the Northern Spiritual Academy’s overall leaderboard. His cultivation was at the late-stage Spiritual Movement Realm, and like Mo Ling, he was a key cultivation target for the academy.
“Before, you always acted so arrogantly on your own. Why do you need to bring someone along now to dare show up?”
Mu Chen glanced at Liu Yang and said with a smile.
Hearing his taunt, Liu Yang’s face turned ashen with rage, and he spoke in a sinister tone:
“Go ahead and be smug. Just make sure we don’t run into you in the Northern Spiritual Realm, or you’ll regret it!”
Mu Chen chuckled, shaking his head:
“Compared to your elder brother, you’re truly far too inferior.”
“Hahaha, truly arrogant, aren’t you? Let’s get acquainted. I’m Chen Tong from the West Academy. I’ve long wanted to meet the only person in the Northern Spiritual Realm qualified to participate in the Spiritual Road.”
Chen Tong extended his hand, a mocking smile on his face.
“Let’s go.”
Mu Chen smiled, too lazy to pay attention to these two, and squeezed past Chen Tong, then suddenly paused, looking towards a spot not far away. A handsome figure in white, Liu Mubai, was calmly watching them.
Their gazes met, and a faint chill seemed to flow through the air, making the surrounding disciples hold their breath.
“If you have a problem with me, come at me yourself. Don’t send these guys; they’re truly an eyesore.”
Mu Chen chuckled softly, not stopping at all, and led Tang Tian’er’s group out of the camp, quickly heading into the Northern Spiritual Realm.
Liu Mubai narrowed his eyes, watching Mu Chen disappear into the distance, a sharp glint flashing in his gaze.
“That bastard!”
Liu Yang gritted his teeth.
Chen Tong smirked, his eyes also narrowing slightly.
“It’s fine, let him be smug for a bit. We’ll have a chance to meet in the Northern Spiritual Realm. Then, if no one’s watching, I’ll teach him how to write the word ‘respect’. He’s truly a brat who doesn’t know how to respect his seniors.”