After leaving the cave, Mu Yuan ran into Master Mo and the others.
"Mu Yuan, Mu Chen may be in trouble. Come with us."
On the way to find Mu Chen, Master Mo briefly explained what had happened.
"So he ran into Blood Butcher."
Upon hearing Blood Butcher's name, Mu Yuan was relieved instead.
Because in the original story, that guy had ultimately been toyed to death by Mu Chen.
"Don't worry, Master Mo. Little Mu came out of the Spiritual Road. Anyone who underestimates him will suffer."
Mu Yuan's words made Master Mo and the others roll their eyes.
Were these two really brothers?
However, just as Mu Yuan had said, Mu Chen was safe and sound.
When they found Mu Chen, aside from looking a little pale, he was fine.
Master Mo and the others sighed in relief, then frowned and said,
"Where's that Blood Butcher? He had some nerve attacking students from our Northern Spiritual Academy."
"That guy's dead."
Mu Chen pointed toward the grass ahead and gave an awkward laugh.
"This..."
Master Mo and Master Xi stared at Blood Butcher's corpse, then looked at Mu Chen in disbelief.
Just then, the sound of rushing wind came from afar.
Liu Ming arrived swiftly with Liu Mu Bai, Liu Yang, and a large group of men.
Seeing the obvious shock in Liu Mu Bai and Liu Yang's eyes, Mu Yuan immediately understood.
He remembered that Mu Chen had not encountered Blood Butcher by chance.
"Blood Butcher?"
Liu Ming naturally saw Blood Butcher's corpse as well. With a wave of his hand, two subordinates immediately went over, crouched beside the body, and searched it.
After a while, they shook their heads at Liu Ming.
Seeing this, Liu Ming looked at Mu Chen and smiled.
"Mu Chen, did you see anything on Blood Butcher's body?"
"What thing?"
Mu Chen shook his head and said with utmost sincerity,
"Blood Butcher wasn't killed by me. An old man saw him chasing me and killed him. Afterward, he did search through the body for a while."
"Maybe that old man took whatever you're looking for."
Liu Ming's face immediately darkened. He forced his expression to become kinder and smiled again.
"Mu Chen, don't joke around. If you really took it, hand it over to me. I'll reward you handsomely."
"Third Master Liu, I didn't take anything from him."
Mu Chen still shook his head. The young man's face looked especially earnest and honest.
"You!"
Liu Ming gritted his teeth, his gaze turning much gloomier. But with Master Mo nearby, he did not dare do anything to Mu Chen.
Master Mo was a genuine Divine Spirit Realm expert, and he was also the Northern Spiritual Academy's chief instructor. Even the Liu Domain did not dare offend him lightly.
"Keep it if you want it. But be careful not to choke on things you can't swallow!"
Liu Ming gave Mu Chen a dark look, suppressed the rage in his heart, then waved his hand and left with Liu Mu Bai and the others.
"Alright, let's return to camp first."
Master Mo smiled faintly.
"Little Mu, you really are something."
Mu Yuan patted Mu Chen's shoulder and said with a half-smile.
"Brother Yuan, you flatter me."
Mu Chen smiled as well.
Between brothers, no words were needed. A single gesture was enough for them to understand each other.
When they returned to camp, Tang Qian'er saw Mu Chen come back safely and felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her heart. Her eyes reddened as she said,
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
If not for her, Mu Chen would not have encountered Blood Butcher and fallen into such danger.
News of Blood Butcher's death spread when Master Mo and the others returned.
Many students were instantly dumbfounded, staring in astonishment at the innocent and bewildered-looking Mu Chen.
Mu Chen merely smiled.
The day after Blood Butcher was killed, Liu Ming left with his men.
However, the gloomy look he gave Mu Chen before leaving made Mu Chen realize that this matter would not end so easily.
"Soldiers will come to block them, water will come and earth will dam it!"
Mu Yuan told Mu Chen to relax.
Liu Ming and his men did not dare act in the outer region of the Northern Spiritual Plains.
The half month of training finally came to an end.
Today was the day their results would be assessed, so the camp was especially lively.
Tang Qian'er stood among the East Courtyard students, her beautiful eyes shining.
"Mu Yuan, don't forget our wager."
She also wanted to know what results she and Mu Chen had achieved during this time, and whether they could surpass Mu Yuan.
"Heh heh..."
Mu Yuan smiled faintly.
Over the past half month, he had gained quite a bit as well. His cultivation had completely stabilized at the late Spiritual Movement Realm.
Not only him—the other Northern Spiritual Academy students also looked somewhat more capable than they had half a month ago. This training had clearly been quite effective.
"Today officially marks the end of the Northern Spiritual Plains training. Next comes the assessment. Every team, bring out the Spirit Beast Essences you acquired during this period. We will record them and use them to determine your results."
Master Mo nodded to a recorder beside him and said,
"Begin."
"Deng Lei's team: three low-grade mid-stage Spirit Beast Essences, eight low-grade early-stage Spirit Beast Essences..."
"Liu Yun's team: two low-grade mid-stage Spirit Beast Essences..."
"..."
The camp became especially bustling.
Excited students continually stepped forward before the recorder, taking out all the spoils their teams had obtained during this time.
Soon, it was Tang Qian'er and Mu Chen's turn.
Tang Qian'er walked before the recorder, then reached into her clothes and took out one glowing orb after another. The Spirit Beast Essences within them shone with dazzling radiance.
"Thirty-five low-grade mid-stage Spirit Beast Essences."
"Fifteen low-grade late-stage Spirit Beast Essences."
Hearing the recorder's voice, a genuine uproar broke out around them.
Low-grade late-stage spirit beasts were comparable to late Spiritual Movement Realm cultivators.
They normally avoided such spirit beasts from a great distance.
Tang Qian'er looked slightly proud, then took out another glowing orb that resembled a flame.
"This is... the Fire Spirit Ape King's essence?!"
The surrounding students instantly fell silent.
Even the recorder was stunned for quite some time. He had clearly not expected a student to bring out a Spirit Beast Essence of this level.
That was the essence of a mid-grade late-stage spirit beast.
With that, who could possibly compete?
"Heh heh..."
At that moment, Liu Mu Bai chuckled softly and stepped forward, taking numerous Spirit Beast Essences from his clothes.
Among those glowing orbs, two—one azure and one deep yellow—emitted astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations.
Those two Spirit Beast Essences had actually reached the late Spirit Wheel Realm as well!
Whoosh!
An uproar immediately erupted around them. Countless disbelieving gazes fixed upon Liu Mu Bai. They had actually hunted two spirit beasts with the strength of the late Spirit Wheel Realm?
"Y-you cheated!"
Tang Qian'er's pretty face turned pale, and she immediately shouted angrily. Liu Mu Bai's strength was indeed formidable.
But if anyone claimed he could hunt spirit beasts with the strength of the late Spirit Wheel Realm, that was absolutely impossible.
PS: Thank you to reader Dreamlike Illusion for the 100 book-coin reward!
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