The enormous square was abuzz with excitement. Countless eager eyes cheered, fixed on the center of the arena, thrillingly awaiting the true dragon-and-tiger battle to contend for the special quota.
Under the gaze of ten thousand people, Liu Mubai's movement appeared on the arena. He stared at Mu Chen from the East Branch, a sinister smile playing on the corner of his mouth. He had been looking forward to this moment; this was the best official opportunity to defeat that detestable Mu Chen. He wondered how exhilarating it would be then.
Mu Chen received Liu Mubai's devouring gaze, merely smiling coldly. Suddenly, his face became serious, and he slowly stepped onto the stage, facing Liu Mubai not far away.
"Brother Mu, fight!"
"Brother Mu, beat that bastard to death, avenge Mo Ling!"
"Brother Mu is mighty!"
Su Ling and the disciples of the East Branch shouted their encouragement. Although Liu Mubai was very powerful, they had the equally mysterious Mu Chen on their side. Their faith in Mu Chen was not small.
"Finally, today has come..."
Liu Mubai gently rotated his neck, twisted his body, and cracked his knuckles, his eyes still fixed on Mu Chen without moving an inch. His face now smiled even more clearly, though beneath that smile were tightly clenched, fierce, and savage teeth, filled with boundless hatred. He had endured this situation for a long time.
"Twisting so hard, aren't you afraid of spraining something?" Mu Chen said with a slight smile.
"I will cripple you," Liu Mubai said with a shrug and a smile.
"If I get the chance, I will too," Mu Chen nodded, appearing to agree.
Liu Mubai maintained his smile, and Mu Chen looked directly into his eyes. Both clearly saw the icy killing intent swirling in each other's eyes.
"Indeed, only Mu Chen has the ability to contend with Liu Mubai for that seed quota."
Domain Lord Tang Shan looked at the two young men below the stage and commented. These two were undoubtedly the most outstanding young people in the Northern Spirit Domain.
"However, as far as I know, Liu Mubai currently possesses the strength of the intermediate Spirit Wheel Realm. The powerful spirit arts of the Liu Domain are all prioritized for him to learn, so his combat power is quite terrifying... Mu Chen is currently only at the initial Spirit Wheel Realm, which might put him at a significant disadvantage."
Tang Shan turned to discuss with Mu Feng. After all, the relationship between the two domains was quite good, so he naturally cared more about Mu Chen.
Mu Feng merely smiled upon hearing this. "That young fellow Liu is indeed exceptionally talented, but my son Mu Chen is not a soft persimmon to be easily squeezed."
Mu Feng clearly knew and acknowledged Liu Mubai's abilities, but his confidence in his son was much stronger.
"Haha, then I must observe very carefully," Tang Shan replied with a polite smile.
On a nearby VIP seat, Liu Qingtian also heard Mu Feng's words. He did not turn to look, only spoke in a mocking tone, waiting for the show:
"Daydreaming..."
Mr. Hao also stared intently at the two youths in the arena. Finally, he sat up straight, no longer looking as lazy as before, and a hint of interest appeared in his cloudy eyes:
"A good play needs talented actors. Finally, there's something worth watching."
Dean Xiao stood up, swept his gaze across the arena, stopping his gaze at the center. He narrowed his eyes, observing Mu Chen and Liu Mubai, then raised his right hand high and then waved it down.
"The challenge to contend for the seed quota officially begins!"
As soon as Dean Xiao gave the order, two powerful spiritual energies simultaneously erupted, creating an extremely loud explosion. In the center of the arena, many atmospheric changes formed into whirlwinds.
Two pairs of cold eyes pierced through the spiritual energy shrouding their bodies, meeting and intertwining in the arena, sparks vaguely flying.
"Pfft!"
Both lunged forward simultaneously, one a black shadow, one a red shadow. The two violent shadows tore through space, overcoming all air resistance and charging straight ahead, with no intention of evading, but instead clashing head-on like two mad bulls.
"Clang!"
With a single collision, a violent wave of energy swept out, shattering the hard stone ground, cracking it into tiny fissures.
The two shadows retreated as soon as they touched, leaping back ten steps, each foot leaving a deep imprint.
The spiritual energy of the two had already grown strong enough to surpass early-stage Spirit Wheel Realm experts!
"Interesting."
Liu Mubai licked his lips, his gaze still fixed on Mu Chen, like a hungry tiger eyeing intriguing prey. Next, his legs were enveloped in fiery spiritual energy, each step seemingly accompanied by an explosion beneath his feet, and his body transformed into a streak of red flame, charging forward.
His speed was like thunder and lightning, causing the audience to gasp in astonishment.
"That is... Blazing Steps, a low-grade spiritual movement technique from the Liu Territory. I can't believe Liu Mubai has cultivated it to such a profound level."
Tang Shan looked at Liu Mubai's fiery footsteps with considerable surprise.
The red shadow instantly appeared behind Mu Chen, striking out with a palm, his fiery hand seemingly corporeal, its aura extremely violent.
"Whoosh!"
However, just as Liu Mubai's attack touched Mu Chen, his figure trembled slightly, and Liu Mubai's palm passed straight through.
"An afterimage?"
His attack having failed, Liu Mubai focused his mind to observe, then suddenly swept out a kick behind him, the force of which was sharp and fierce.
"Slap!"
A resounding clap echoed. Mu Chen had appeared behind Liu Mubai at some unknown point, dark spiritual energy filling his fist as he powerfully punched the other's sweeping kick.
"Not bad footwork..."
Liu Mubai sneered, the crimson spiritual energy on his leg suddenly flashing. He flipped into the air, unleashing countless punches at Mu Chen. The force of his fists, propelled by violent spiritual energy, increased in speed and power, enveloping Mu Chen.
Facing the fierce onslaught, Mu Chen's body moved subtly, drifting like a ghost, vague afterimages trailing him, making it difficult for others to discern his movement trajectory.
"Oh? Such profound footwork."
Tang Shan's eyes widened as he witnessed the sharp scene. With his eyesight, he could discern the extraordinary nature of the movement technique Mu Chen was employing.
Mu Feng was also very surprised. He had never seen this movement technique before. It certainly wasn't something he had taught the boy. It seemed he had acquired this from the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.
Liu Mubai attacked fiercely, relentlessly pursuing. But Mu Chen, with his mysterious footwork, continuously dodged left and right, evading all of Liu Mubai's attacks.
The speed of the two in the arena had been pushed to its limit. Some experts in the stands could still keep up, but ordinary disciples like Su Ling and Tan Qingshan could only see two black and red shadows intertwined, like a two-colored whirlwind flashing back and forth, their faces stiff and their eyes trembling intensely.
"Where are you running to!"
After a long, fruitless chase, Liu Mubai also became enraged, the abundant spiritual energy within him erupting violently. His speed instantly increased by another level, immediately closing in on Mu Chen.
However, just as he accelerated to pursue, Mu Chen stopped. He merely extended his hand, two fingers turning a dazzling golden, radiating sharp and powerful spiritual energy fluctuations.
The two fingers pointed straight forward, tearing through the air, showing no mercy as they aimed directly at Liu Mubai's throat.
Mu Chen's sudden switch from defense to offense startled Liu Mubai, but he remained unperturbed. He also extended two fingers, his crimson spiritual energy soaring, incredibly violent.
Golden fingers versus fiery fingers, they powerfully collided.
"Clang!"
The four fingers clashed head-on, emitting a sound like metal striking metal, sparks flying, and the force of the impact curving and exploding outwards.
Mu Chen's eyes were icy. His two palms formed a finger seal, his fingers like brilliant pure gold, activating the Spiritual Emperor Finger like two golden spears, fiercely thrusting at Liu Mubai with the finger seal.
"Pak pak pak...!"
Facing Mu Chen's cold and sharp finger seal, Liu Mubai sneered and changed his move, his overflowing spiritual energy also thrusting straight out without any reservation.
Golden and fiery red colors enveloped the bodies of the two.
Everyone could perceive that each finger seal possessed terrifying destructive power.
Many held their breath, focusing on the clash of the two finger techniques. This level of head-on combat was probably difficult for even a mid-stage Spiritual Wheel Realm expert to achieve.
"Pak!"
With another clash of finger seals, both were pushed back. Blood dripped from their fingers, clearly indicating that the intense battle had caused considerable damage to their bodies.
Mu Chen coldly stared at Liu Mubai's face. That guy was indeed very strong; such a fierce offensive had no effect.
To win, this was probably not enough.
Mu Chen took a deep breath, then his body suddenly drifted backward. He retracted both hands into his sleeves, which greatly astonished and confused everyone. He slowly closed both eyes.
Mu Chen's strange actions involuntarily filled people with dread. No one could guess what he intended to do.
"This..."
Tang Shan also looked at Mu Feng in confusion. The battle was at a critical juncture; closing both eyes was surely asking for trouble?
Mu Feng didn't understand either. He frowned, deep in thought.
"Playing tricks, you want to die!"
Liu Mubai narrowed his eyes, sneered, and lunged forward, continuously attacking Mu Chen. However, the latter completely evaded him. Although he had both eyes closed, he pushed the Spiritual Shadow Steps to its limit, his body constantly creating mesmerizing afterimages, continuously dodging all of Liu Mubai's attacks.
Liu Mubai was not intimidated by his mysterious state; his offensive grew denser and denser, gradually blocking all of Mu Chen's escape routes.
However, just as Mu Chen was about to be enveloped, suddenly, the two hands from within his sleeves emerged, and ten more spiritual seals appeared on his fingers, silently merging into the air.
On the arena, Mu Chen, who had been constantly evading, suddenly stopped. He subtly glanced at Liu Mubai, who was in close pursuit, a calm smile gracing his handsome face. His two hands quickly combined, forming a strange seal.
In the VIP seats, Mr. Hao looked at Mu Chen's seal, his eyes becoming serious.
"This is... a spiritual array seal?"