A Fellow Spirit Road Survivor, Ge Hai

"I'm Ge Hai. I've already been selected by the Northern Heavens Academy, one of the Five Great Academies."

"When the Spirit Road Trial ends, I'll enter the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy."

"Kid, don't make me use force. You'll be responsible for the consequences."

The black-clad youth stood with his hands behind his back, sneering arrogantly.

Before each opening of the Spirit Road, the Five Great Academies selected a batch of cultivation seeds from the outside world and sent them into a half-plane ahead of time. They would complete the Spirit Road, receive a spiritual empowerment, and be groomed as elites.

The Ge Clan had a modest reputation on the Northern Heavens Continent, so they had one recommendation slot.

"The Five Great Academies have always shared honor and shame, advancing and retreating together. We all start school on the same day, too."

"After half a year of trials, it'll finally be our turn to show what we can do."

"You can enroll as soon as the Spirit Road ends?"

"Brother, did some shady Spirit Academy scam you? You should go back and check."

Hearing this, Mu Chen's expression grew increasingly complicated, tinged with pity.

Besides, he had even harsher words he hadn't said yet.

With your pathetic level of perception, you think you can enter one of the Five Great Academies? They probably wouldn't even take you to scrub toilets.

"..."

The black-clad youth called Ge Hai was about to lose his mind from Mu Chen's taunts.

I'm here to rob you, you bastard! Can't you show me some respect?!

"Su Cheng, Zeng Qi, get him! Beat him to death!"

Ge Hai waved his arm, hopping mad.

"Yes, boss!"

The four youths behind Ge Hai shouted and charged forward as one.

All four had Level 3 Spirit Bodies. They moved swiftly, quick on their feet and nimble with their hands.

They split up and came at him from different directions, relying on their numbers as they swarmed forward with claws bared, surrounding Mu Chen on all sides. For a moment, they looked rather imposing.

But before they could even get close to Mu Chen, as soon as they came within a zhang of him—

Thud, thud, thud! A series of muffled grunts rang out. Su Cheng, Zeng Qi, and the others flew backward as if they had slammed into an invisible, transparent barrier. Their wails filled the air.

--

"Useless! Every last one of you!"

Ge Hai's face darkened as he watched, and he stamped his foot and cursed.

Whoosh! A huge shadow suddenly flashed past, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind from a fist.

Ge Hai opened his mouth, caught off guard, and hurriedly dodged.

The iron fist came at astonishing speed, straight for his face, and slammed into the bridge of his nose.

"Hiss!"

Ge Hai staggered back several steps. His nose and mouth burned. He instinctively touched his nose, felt something slick, and sucked in a sharp breath. Blood.

That blow had probably broken his nose.

The shadow came into view, hot on his heels, and launched another close-range attack.

"Kid, you've gone too far!"

Ge Hai hurriedly wiped away the blood streaming from his nose, then crossed his arms and struck out. The sound of a great river surging seemed to rumble from his fists. He roared, "Do you know the Ge Family Fist Technique, the Torrent—ow!"

Just as he raised a hand to block, Mu Chen punched him in the stomach again. A deft force flicked gently upward from below, and Ge Hai felt his body go weightless. In an instant, he was lifted as if soaring through the clouds.

He flew backward on his back and landed hard, face-first in the dirt.

"Aaagh! Take this! The Ge Family Torrent!"

No wonder Ge Hai had been selected in advance by the Northern Heavens Academy.

Forget his laughably weak fighting skills. At least his fighting spirit was a rarity in this world. Even in desperate straits, he never gave up. He was a true cockroach that just wouldn't die.

Unfortunately, he had run into Mu Chen.

Thud!

A fist loomed larger and larger in Ge Hai's eyes, then smashed into his left eye.

His eye socket quickly swelled, reddened, and turned black and blue. It hurt like hell.

"Ge Family Torrent!"

Thud!

"Torrent!"

Thud!

Ge Hai's "incantation" was interrupted again and again, each time answered with a punch.

From beginning to end, he never got the chance to shout the final word: "Fist."

Eventually, Mu Chen couldn't bring himself to hit him again.

The man was just too pathetic.

At last, Ge Hai found an opening Mu Chen had deliberately left.

Curling into a ball, he performed an exceedingly ugly donkey roll and escaped.

His appearance was now truly awful.

His clothes were in tatters, like a beggar's.

His hair tie had been knocked loose, and his hair hung messily over his shoulders, a tangled nest of straw.

His face was swollen, both eyes black and blue, and blood from his nose was smeared everywhere, like some ghastly scrawl.

Su Cheng, Zeng Qi, and the others, who had been beaten earlier, supported one another as they cowered behind their boss, Ge Hai, facing down the fiend in their eyes.

--

"Phew~~"

Ge Hai drew a deep breath of fresh air into his lungs. The icy chill stirred his nerves and coursed through his body, and his reason slowly returned.

This guy's dangerous. I kicked an iron plate!

He cupped his hands. "Brother..."

"My name is Mu Chen."

"Mu Chen, let me give you some advice, brother. Spare others when you can. Don't force my hand."

"If you push me, I can do anything."

Ge Hai's face was taut and cold.

With his injuries and bruises, he still managed to carry himself with a certain air.

"And what if I do?"

Mu Chen stood tall with his arms folded, calmly pressing him.

"Why! Why! Why do you insist on forcing me?!"

Ge Hai clutched his head, his expression anguished and his face twisted. A beastlike roar suddenly burst from his throat, chilling to hear.

"I didn't want this. You forced me."

"You forced me into this!!"

Mu Chen's casual air faded a little.

Oh, is he about to unleash his ultimate move?

He watched with eager anticipation as things started to get interesting.

Boom! A tremendous aura suddenly erupted from Ge Hai.

He spread his arms and struck—

With two people dangling from his hands and two more hanging from his waist, he was practically covered in men.

In an extremely bizarre pose, he piled his four bewildered underlings onto himself like a human pyramid, turned, and ran. He looked just like the legendary Ganges People.

The long-extinct Ganges People could carry at least six people on themselves at a time!

His every movement was as swift as a startled rabbit and as smooth as flowing water, clearly practiced to perfection.

The bizarre "human-shaped weapon" bolted down the mountain and quickly vanished from sight. A voice drifted back from far away:

"Though the green hills remain, the rivers keep flowing. Mu Chen, we'll take our leave for now."

Mu Chen stood frozen, slowly forming a string of question marks.

He was silent for a long while.

Fellow Spirit Road survivors really were all talented!

Even while escaping, Ge Hai hadn't forgotten to bring all his underlings along. What a guy.

Mu Chen shook his head, let it go, and turned to leave.

He had spent nearly a year fighting his way across the Spirit Road, crossing hands with all sorts of human geniuses. Some had ruthless methods, some were devious, and others were innocent and carefree.

But he had never met anyone as much of a clown as Ge Hai.

Suddenly, Mu Chen felt that getting robbed wasn't so bad after all.

He needed to find a safe place to refine the spirit fruit. He could forget about chasing them.

--

Inside a remote cave with its entrance sealed shut.

Mu Chen flipped his palm and took out the plump, round Red Cloud Crimson-Refining Fruit, its fragrance rich and sweet.

As the spirit fruit went down, streams of scorching, boiling energy surged through his body along his esophagus, seeping into his bones, tendons, internal organs, and even his countless cells.

Even his fair skin quietly turned crimson, as if he were surrounded by a sea of fire.

In the sealed space, his breathing gradually grew more labored.

Mu Chen's newly achieved Level 5 Spirit Body continued to grow stronger!

P.S. I just got back from outside. I'm dog-tired.

Also, I've noticed that the number of follows and recommendation votes on the Reading side has already comfortably surpassed those on Qidian. What a mess. This book was supposed to debut on Qidian, after all.

If you can, brothers, remember to head over to Qidian and vote and interact with me. Old Li doesn't want to miss out on a trial recommendation slot, sob sob ┭┮﹏┭┮.