After Mu Chen defeated Chen Fan and Huo Yun, his next training opponent was Master Mo, who made him suffer quite a bit.
Although Master Mo suppressed his own strength back to the Spirit Wheel Realm, it was not the early stage, but the middle stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm. In his view, tempering must involve pressure; if one only tempered at an equal level of strength, the effect would not be high.
Mu Chen did not question or object, but after a few rounds of combat with Master Mo, he began to feel that he had been set up. Master Mo suppressed his spiritual power to the middle stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm, but that was only spiritual power. His eyesight, combat experience, agility, physical strength, and proficiency in offensive and defensive spiritual techniques—all truly belonged to the Divine Soul Realm. Master Mo also had no way to turn back time to use his past level of skill to train Mu Chen.
Therefore, Mu Chen was essentially fighting a Divine Soul Realm expert who was holding back a little.
And the result of such a confrontation was, naturally, that Mu Chen was completely abused and beaten black and blue.
On the first day of fighting, Mu Chen and Master Mo fought 13 rounds. Master Mo basically suffered no damage, while Mu Chen repeatedly suffered crushing defeats, which made Tang Tian'er feel distressed and Chen Fan click his tongue in awe.
The second day was a little better, but he was still thoroughly beaten by Master Mo, completely on the defensive. If he made even a slight mistake or lost his footing for a step, he would immediately be knocked face-first into the ground by Master Mo with a single move.
However, despite the miserable situation, Mu Chen was not an ordinary youth. He had participated in all sorts of bloody, deadly brawls in the Spirit Road, which had cultivated his talent quite excellently. He accepted these failures, analyzed the reasons, and quickly strengthened and changed himself.
After only two days of abuse by Master Mo, by the third day, he had grasped a bit of the combat rhythm. Although he still couldn't achieve much, he could occasionally counterattack, which was at least a positive change.
Under the waterfall in the ravine.
Powerful spiritual energy erupted, shattering the surrounding rocks and pebbles. A youth, like a swift gust of wind, shot out, his five fingers clenched, dark spiritual energy pouring out without reservation, striking the back of a tall figure's neck.
"Slap!"
However, before his fist reached its target, the figure, without even turning around, was able to throw a fierce punch that collided with Mu Chen's fist force.
A surging gust of wind swept out, and the two figures trembled. Master Mo changed his fist into a palm, emitting a spiritual energy fluctuation even more powerful than Mu Chen's.
"Boom!"
Mu Chen seemed to have taken a serious blow, his body flying far away. He struggled to somersault in mid-air, then landed unsteadily on the ground.
"He lost again."
Not far away, Chen Fan saw him lose the battle and smirked with delight. For the past three days, they had lost count of how many times they had seen that guy defeated. However, compared to the day before, Mu Chen had improved significantly. He could now actively attack, even if Master Mo easily blocked his offensive.
"For Mu Chen to be able to spar with Master Mo like that is already very impressive. As for you two, I'm afraid you wouldn't even have the courage to fight."
Tang Tian'er saw Chen Fan's smugness and immediately glared at him, saying.
"We certainly wouldn't dare, because we're not that stupid."
Chen Fan sneered. He would only fight a Spirit Soul Realm expert if his brain was addled. An expert from the Spirit Soul Realm suppressing their spiritual power to the Spirit Wheel Realm – did that truly make them a Spirit Wheel Realm practitioner?
Tang Tian’er’s eyes widened even further.
“Today is the last day of training. Tomorrow we have to fight to secure a spot…”
Mo Ling looked regretful.
“It seems Mu Ge won’t be able to achieve his goal.”
“His effort isn’t bad. That guy is arrogant and ambitious, and his performance during this time truly makes me admire him. But to defeat Master Mo? That’s still a long way off!”
Huo Yun patted Mo Ling’s shoulder, seemingly to comfort him.
Mo Ling scratched his head. Indeed, Master Mo was currently an expert whose strength they were far from reaching. It was fundamentally impossible to defeat Master Mo, even with suppressed spiritual power.
“That guy isn’t giving up yet.”
Chen Fan said unexpectedly, his eyes fixed on the figure still standing upright after being sent flying by Master Mo. That person still had a stubborn gaze, his fighting spirit burning fiercely and unextinguished.
“That guy… he’s truly crazy, but he’s also far more formidable than us. At least I wouldn’t continue after being abused like that.”
Tang Tian’er clenched her fists, her eyes filled with worry. But she knew Mu Chen’s temperament; he would absolutely not easily give up an opportunity to strengthen himself.
“Just one last round. Tomorrow is the competition, you should also rest and recover well.”
Master Mo saw that Mu Chen was still unwilling to yield, and simply said calmly.
Mu Chen didn’t respond with a sound. He took another deep breath, his eyes becoming sharp. Dark spiritual power once again enveloped his legs, and his body transformed into a black shadow, charging straight towards Master Mo.
Master Mo’s expression didn’t change. He dug his toe into the ground, kicking up a shower of gravel that attacked fiercely. Spiritual power enveloped each stone, making them as powerful as arrows shot across the sky and earth, threatening Mu Chen.
“Pop pop pop!”
Mu Chen suddenly accelerated, a trail of afterimages appearing behind him. His body pierced through the sky full of gravel.
“Bang!”
Master Mo stomped his foot and leaped up, engaging Mu Chen in close combat. Spiritual power radiated from his body, and his close-quarters combat ability erupted. Palms, fingers, elbows, feet, knees, heels… all became deadly weapons with terrifying destructive power, ferociously attacking the vulnerable points on Mu Chen’s body.
Mu Chen urged his Spirit Shadow Steps to the extreme, becoming a blurry shadow howling around Master Mo, dodging each attack that carried immense force.
“Faster!”
Mu Chen clearly felt the dangerous attacks grazing his body, the powerful wind making him ache. Moreover, Master Mo was fighting faster and faster, and sooner or later, he would be shattered. He had to accelerate even faster!
Clenching his teeth, his mind focused to the extreme, the spiritual power within him was pushed to its limit, roaring forth with a mighty force.
“Still not enough!”
“Not strong enough!”
Unwilling to give up, he roared softly, his mind filled only with Master Mo’s attacking movements, narrowly dodging each of Master Mo’s sharp offensives.
My power, come forth!
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, a strange sound occurred in Mu Chen’s Qi Sea. Above the spiritual power light wheel, spiritual power once again condensed into a blurry tower.
“Swish swish swish swish!”
As soon as the black tower appeared, deep within his body, black dots hidden within it, like soldiers hearing the call of a great general, appeared in unison, shimmering in response to his summons.
“Boom!”
Spiritual power suddenly surged like a raging flood. An indescribably powerful sensation churned in every blood vessel and tendon, spreading to all his limbs and bones!
His speed increased, transforming into even more afterimages that enveloped Master Mo, making the old man realize with alarm that all of his current attacks had been evaded by Mu Chen.
"How did he suddenly speed up so much?" Master Mo was startled.
"Mu Chen seems faster, how is that possible?" The four people on the other side were still intently observing the battle, when they suddenly found it difficult to keep up with Mu Chen's speed, and cried out in surprise.
Master Mo ceased his attack. He looked at the afterimages swirling around him, the rising whirlwind making his hair stand on end, completely enclosing him. He frowned, because Mu Chen, whom he had clearly sensed before, was now only vaguely visible.
"It's my turn!" A fierce shout echoed through the ravine. Master Mo's eyes widened. He turned just in time to see two fingers striking towards him, their fingertips adorned with dazzling golden light, sparkling brilliantly as if emanating from the bones, making his fingers appear to be cast from pure gold.
"Whoosh!"
The Golden Fingers, like a golden spear, tore through space, carrying a powerful and brutal force, along with an abnormally fast spiritual energy fluctuation, like a lightning bolt, stabbing into Master Mo's chest.
One strike, without hesitation, sharp and vicious!
"So fast!" Master Mo was also alarmed. The dazzling golden light had already pierced his chest before he could even react.
"Boom!"
An incredibly powerful spiritual energy surged out from Master Mo's body. The earth-shattering pressure caused the surrounding ground to tremble, and a nearby rock even cracked open.
Mu Chen's two fingers, having just struck, were sent flying like a kite with a broken string by that terrifying pressure before they could even touch Master Mo's chest. He tumbled and skidded along the ground for dozens of meters before stopping.
The four people stared wide-eyed at the scene. Suddenly, Tang Tian'er cried out, "Master Mo, you're cheating!"
The spiritual energy that Master Mo had just unleashed was indeed far beyond the mid-stage Spirit Wheel Realm.
Master Mo heard Tang Tian'er's scolding voice and gave a slight, embarrassed smile. He had been too rushed just now, and his body, sensing danger, had automatically counterattacked; he hadn't had time to control himself.
Mu Chen struggled to get up, covered in injuries, but not significantly weakened. He looked up at Master Mo, his eyes filled with extreme excitement.
"You little brat..." Master Mo saw the excitement in Mu Chen's eyes and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile, praising him, "Impressive."
"I win!" Mu Chen plopped down onto the ground, feeling the aches all over his body, a smug smile on the corner of his mouth.
"Damn it... no way?" Chen Fan, Huo Yun, and Mo Ling were dumbfounded. That freak Mu Chen, was he even human?