Tree Realm Descent

Mu Yuan constantly sensed what was happening outside. Seeing Ning Rongrong about to face danger, he instantly dispelled the Wood-Block Wall's defense.

Although Ning Rongrong disliked him, as Ning Fengzhi's disciple, Mu Yuan had a responsibility to protect her from harm.

However, Zhao Wuji was now less than a meter away from Ning Rongrong. Mu Yuan no longer had time to use conventional means to reach her rescue.

Soul Power gathered in Zhao Wuji's broad palm as he struck toward Ning Rongrong.

"Little girl from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, step down first!"

As Ning Rongrong watched Zhao Wuji's palm draw near, terror welled up within her.

She had been well protected ever since childhood and had never been injured. Faced with such a situation now, she fearfully closed her eyes.

"Ah!"

Yet the pain she had imagined never came.

A figure descended from the sky and stood in front of Ning Rongrong.

When Ning Rongrong opened her eyes, she saw Mu Yuan using his body to shield her from the attack.

His long black hair danced in the shockwave. The youth seemed not to feel even the slightest pain, his eyes holding only a pure determination to protect her.

At that moment, Ning Rongrong froze where she stood.

An emotion called gratitude surged up in her heart of its own accord.

At that moment, she felt that her father's arrangement did not seem so bad after all.

"Brother Mu Yuan..."

However, that gratitude did not last long.

Wood chips appeared at the spot where Mu Yuan had been struck.

It turned out that this was not Mu Yuan's real body, but a clone made from Soul Power—his third spirit skill, Wood Clone.

Because of the distance, Mu Yuan had been unable to quickly reach Ning Rongrong to save her. Thus, he had used his third spirit skill to split off a piece of wood from his body, turning it into a Wood Clone that landed before Zhao Wuji and blocked the attack for Ning Rongrong.

Ning Rongrong had thought Mu Yuan had used his own body to block the attack for her. Discovering that it was only a clone, the immense sense of disappointment caused the gratitude she had just felt to vanish.

"This guy, hmph..."

On the field, the Wood Clone remained locked in combat with Zhao Wuji.

The Wood Clone possessed combat power equal to a percentage of Mu Yuan's own level.

Mu Yuan was currently level forty-nine, so the Wood Clone possessed forty-nine percent of his main body's combat power.

Although its combat power was not particularly high, the Wood Clone did not fear injury. As long as it was not struck in a vital spot, it would not dissipate. In a drawn-out fight, Zhao Wuji found it difficult to deal with it in a short time.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mu Yuan's real body swiftly reached Ning Rongrong, grabbed her arm, and led her away from the battle zone.

"I can walk by myself!" Ning Rongrong said unwillingly.

Mu Yuan ignored her and forcibly pulled her back to a safe area.

"Now is not the time to be willful. Stand obediently behind me and don't move around!" Mu Yuan ordered.

Although Ning Rongrong was deeply unwilling, she knew Mu Yuan was right. She did not resist and obediently stood behind him.

Still, Mu Yuan's commanding tone made her feel uncomfortable.

She turned her face away and stubbornly said, "Who asked you to care!"

Xiao Wu also came over at this point. Watching the way the two interacted, her eyes shifted slightly, as though she were thinking about something.

When Zhao Wuji saw Mu Yuan withdraw with Ning Rongrong, he could not help but grow anxious.

More than two-thirds of the incense on the ground had already burned away. The test would soon be over.

If he kept getting tangled up with the Wood Clone like this, he might not defeat a single person before the test ended. That would be far too embarrassing.

Thus, Zhao Wuji directly used his fifth spirit skill, Gravity Crush.

This was a powerful ten-thousand-year spirit skill that could control gravity, forcing opponents to endure immense pressure from every direction.

Even from far away, Tang San and the others felt their bodies become incredibly heavy.

Dai Mubai, who was watching the battle, wore a grave expression. "The fifth spirit skill... has Teacher Zhao already been pushed this far?"

Then he began to envy Mu Yuan again. If he possessed Mu Yuan's strength, he would not have been forced by his elder brother to flee the Starfall Empire.

After Zhao Wuji used Gravity Crush, Mu Yuan's Wood Clone was immediately suppressed by the overwhelming gravity. Its entire body found it difficult to move, and Zhao Wuji soon found an opportunity to strike its vital point, causing it to dissipate.

With the Wood Clone no longer holding him back, Zhao Wuji turned and rapidly charged toward Mu Yuan.

At this moment, only a quarter of the incense remained.

The test was about to end.

Seeing this, Mu Yuan decided to use his fourth spirit skill to restrain Zhao Wuji and drag out the remaining time.

His fourth spirit skill was called Tree Realm Descent, a large-scale control spirit skill. Before releasing it, Mu Yuan called out to Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing nearby, warning them to evade it and not be accidentally injured by the spirit skill.

"Got it!" Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing replied in unison.

Zhao Wuji heard Mu Yuan's words as well.

He accelerated and swiftly rushed at Mu Yuan, intending to interrupt his spirit skill.

Unfortunately for him, Mu Yuan released his spirit skill faster.

Mu Yuan brought his hands together, and his fourth spirit skill activated instantly.

"Tree Realm Descent!"

As his words fell, incomparably immense Soul Power erupted from Mu Yuan's body. The ground shook with a rumble as enormous trees burst from the earth one after another. Thick roots rapidly grew, instantly swallowing Zhao Wuji's figure.

In the blink of an eye, the testing grounds before them had transformed into a forest packed full of trees.

Of course, Mu Yuan had deliberately avoided the incense on the ground so that he would not be considered to have broken the rules.

Tang San dodged among the countless rapidly growing trees. Though Mu Yuan had warned him in advance, he had never expected the scale of Mu Yuan's spirit skill to be so immense.

"Isn't this a bit too exaggerated?!"

He was also a Control System Soul Master with a plant-type martial soul. Would his fourth spirit skill possess such power in the future?

On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing darted between the trees like an agile cat. Her shock was no less than Tang San's. Moreover, Zhu Zhuqing was more knowledgeable than Tang San and better able to recognize the terrifying nature of Mu Yuan's talent.

At this age, level forty-nine, with strength comparable to a Soul Sage!

What astonishing talent!

If her fiancé possessed such talent as well, she would not have to struggle against the fate imposed by her family.

Unfortunately, Mu Yuan's talent had nothing to do with her. Her fate was almost already decided...

Within the crushing sea of trees, Zhao Wuji was bound by densely packed trunks. These trees were extraordinarily tough and difficult to break free from.

Several spirit rings on Zhao Wuji's body lit up in succession. Apart from his seventh spirit skill, he used every one of his other spirit skills, but none could produce a decisive effect. At most, they shattered some trees, which were quickly replaced by newly grown ones.

What was even more terrifying was that the trees wrapped around him were absorbing his Soul Power. If this continued, he might even lose.

"This kid really is a monster!"

Zhao Wuji sighed and no longer dared to hold back.

If he were truly defeated by Mu Yuan here, he would become the academy's greatest joke from then on.

"Seventh Spirit Skill, Great Strength Vajra Bear True Body!"

Zhao Wuji directly used the strongest move of a Soul Sage—the Martial Soul Avatar.