It turned out that the plot of The Great Ruler had yet to begin.
No wonder the system had arrived late.
He had planned to be a couch potato, yet in an instant, he had become an invincible cheater.
At that moment, Mu Yuan had forgotten how to smile happily.
"Congratulations to the host on your first check-in. You have received the beginner's reward: God Vein!"
Surprises often came this suddenly.
"God Vein! Holy crap, this reward is way too overpowered! With it, cultivation will be as easy as playing around. This feels damn good!"
Mu Yuan knew that the most important reason Mu Chen had risen in just a few years, stood at the pinnacle of the Great Thousand World, and entered the unprecedented Ruler Realm was because he possessed God Veins.
And they were the Nine Divine Veins, something rarely seen in thousands of years.
Soon, Mu Yuan felt as though something had appeared within his body.
He could also clearly sense the spiritual energy drifting between heaven and earth.
"Damn, I haven't even started cultivating, and I'm already about to break through to the Sensing Realm?"
Mu Yuan was both delighted and amused.
For years, he had been unable to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Yet merely implanting the God Veins had shattered the bottleneck that had troubled him for years.
"God Veins really are awesome. I just wonder whether mine are Seven Divine Veins, Eight Divine Veins, or Nine Divine Veins?"
God Veins ranged from seven to nine, and those with Nine Divine Veins possessed the strongest cultivation talent. However, Mu Yuan's current strength was still insufficient for him to examine the exact state of the God Veins within his body.
"Haha, of course. Forget our East Courtyard—even among everyone our age in the entire Northern Spiritual Academy, I doubt there are many who can compare to Brother Mu Chen. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Yuan."
At that moment, a gray-clothed youth who was quite familiar with Mu Chen laughed loudly.
Quite a few youths immediately turned their gazes toward Mu Yuan.
"Su Ling, you're right. Little Mu is indeed exceptionally brilliant among those his age in our Northern Spiritual Territory. After all, he is the only person in the entire Northern Spiritual Territory who has ever participated in the Spiritual Road."
"Everyone who enters the Spiritual Road is a freak. Those who come out of there are basically reserved by the Five Great Academies."
Hearing Mu Yuan's assessment, Su Ling looked rather pleased with himself, as though he were Mu Chen.
However, in the next moment, Mu Yuan unexpectedly shook his head.
"Huh?"
Mu Yuan's action left the youths stunned, and they could not help looking at one another.
"I heard that Brother Mu Chen was the first person to be expelled before the Spiritual Road had even ended."
After hesitating for a moment, one youth quietly said this.
After all, this matter was no secret in the Northern Spiritual Academy or even the entire Northern Spiritual Territory.
But immediately afterward, he asked incredulously:
"Even so, Brother Mu Chen's abilities are no less impressive than those of the gifted geniuses throughout the Great Thousand World."
"How could anyone in our Northern Spiritual Academy be more outstanding than Brother Mu Chen?"
The youths nodded, while Su Ling subtly raised his brows and snorted coldly.
"Exactly. Brother Yuan, don't believe the rumors. The people in the Spiritual Road must have been jealous of Brother Mu Chen's cultivation talent, so they used underhanded means to force Brother Chen out."
"I understand Little Mu better than any of you. Naturally, I don't believe the rumors from outside."
Mu Yuan knew perfectly well why Mu Chen had been expelled from the Spiritual Road.
He was the infamous Blood Calamity of the Spiritual Road.
"However, I'm stating a fact. In the past, there truly was no one in the Northern Spiritual Academy or even the Northern Spiritual Territory more outstanding than Little Mu. But from now on, there really is."
Mu Yuan spoke the truth.
Hearing Mu Yuan stress this again and again, Su Ling and the others found it extremely hard to believe, but they still asked curiously:
"Who is it?"
"Far away at the edge of the sky, yet right before your eyes."
Mu Yuan pointed at himself and spoke seriously.
Cough, cough, cough!
The sound of numerous youths coughing dryly immediately rang out around him, and they could not help rolling their eyes.
As expected of a legend of the Northern Spiritual Academy.
Not only was he a huge slacker, he was also a drama queen.
If they had not known him so well, they might truly have been fooled by him.
He had entered the Northern Spiritual Academy and cultivated for years, yet he had never managed to step into the Sensing Realm.
One had to know that even the least talented students of the Northern Spiritual Academy could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and enter the Sensing Realm after half a year.
Mu Yuan had broken the Northern Spiritual Academy's record for the most mediocre talent in centuries.
Between him and his genius younger brother Mu Chen lay a gulf that was almost impossible to cross.
Such an ordinary person, practically useless, actually claimed that his talent was stronger than Mu Chen's?
"Mu Yuan."
A cool voice came from the high platform not far away.
The youths looked up and saw several figures standing atop the platform.
Among them was a red-clothed girl with a slender figure, snow-white skin, and a beautiful oval face that carried a touch of charm.
"Can't you try a little harder?"
There was anger in her eyes as she glared at Mu Yuan.
Seeing the girl's inexplicable anger, Mu Yuan raised his brows and recalled how, when they were children, Hong Ling had chased after him and insisted that she would become his bride when they grew up.
His gaze involuntarily drifted toward her curvaceous figure, and his expression turned strange.
The little girl had grown up without him noticing.
"Hong Ling, we're still young. Let's talk about marriage later."
Mu Yuan said earnestly.
The moment those words fell, the entire place fell silent.
The youths on the platform felt their anger rise.
This shameless bastard actually dared to publicly provoke the pride and joy of their West Courtyard Heaven Tier.
The Northern Spiritual Academy was not only divided into East and West Courtyards, but also into Heaven and Earth Tiers.
Mu Yuan and the others belonged to the East Courtyard Earth Tier, while those on the platform belonged to the West Courtyard Heaven Tier. Their strength far surpassed that of the Earth Tier.
Hong Ling froze.
Then, scenes from their childhood surfaced in her mind.
Her father was one of the regional lords of the Northern Spiritual Territory and had some connection with the father of Mu Yuan and his brother.
The three of them had played together when they were young.
Back then, Mu Chen liked following behind her, while she liked clinging to Mu Yuan and making him tell interesting stories.
She had been deeply captivated by those love stories, even imagining herself and Mu Yuan as the male and female leads within them.
When they had been sent to the Northern Spiritual Academy to cultivate, their fathers had met once and made a very improper joke.
At that thought, Hong Ling's pretty face instantly turned crimson. Was this bastard deliberately twisting her meaning?
"What I mean is, the Academy Trial is about to begin. You still haven't even embarked on the path of cultivation. How are you supposed to pass?"
Hong Ling's chest rose and fell as she spoke in exasperation. She lowered her head to glance at Mu Chen, who was still sitting on the stone platform cultivating, and said:
"I hope you won't affect Mu Chen's future when the time comes."
Mu Chen was the only person in the Northern Spiritual Territory to have earned the qualification to enter the Spiritual Road. Even though he had been expelled from it, after entering the Northern Spiritual Academy, he had begun to reveal his brilliance once more.
"The Academy Trial is a piece of cake for me."
Mu Yuan spoke with complete calm.
After three days apart, one should look at someone in a new light. Besides, he was a cheater with a system.
If he still could not pass the Academy Trial even with an invincible cheat like the system, then Mu Yuan really would be an irredeemable couch potato.
"Three years. You have never managed to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, yet you still boast shamelessly in the academy. I would like to ask you, Mu Yuan, do you even know how to write the word 'shame'?"
A stern voice suddenly rang out, causing the youths to look up.
Several figures approached from afar. At their head was a youth with an arrogant expression.
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