Sanctuary, Villain Blocks the Path

The vast clearing echoed with continuous roars.

Dozens of giant, fire-red apes shrieked incessantly, baring their fangs with ferocious glares.

Led by their tribal chieftain, they launched wave after wave of attacks against the human martial artist who had invaded their territory.

Fire Spirit Ape, a low-level spirit beast, prefers to live in groups, and an adult can reach the late stage of Spirit Movement.

Mu Chen held his primitive battle staff, dancing the thirty-three forms of the Demon-Subduing Staff into an impenetrable wall of wind. With killing intent overflowing, every solid shadow of the staff claimed the life of a savage ape.

A pack of low-level spirit beasts was not particularly difficult to deal with.

The key was the Fire Spirit Ape King at the Spirit Wheel Realm; it possessed considerable intelligence and was exceptionally cunning, gathering its scattered subordinates and directing them with precision.

A moment later, with a thunderous crash, the last survivor—the troublesome Fire Spirit Ape King—collapsed. Mu Chen stood with his staff retracted, reaping dozens of points once again.

He lifted his head to identify a direction, then his figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

After months of bitter fighting and total isolation from news, it was time to head out and see what was happening.

On the distant horizon, an ancient and weathered town lay quietly prone.

Four city walls stood shoulder to shoulder, towering and majestic, bristling with ballistae like four giants standing between heaven and earth, firmly protecting the town behind them.

Sanctuary—this was a temporary shelter and resting place jointly established by the Five Great Academies for the human geniuses participating in the Spirit Road Selection, protecting them from the predations of spirit beasts.

Of course, only the Five Great Academies possessed such terrifying financial resources.

Mu Chen, covered in the dust of his travels, glanced at the town from afar and headed straight inside.

To gather information, the bustling Sanctuary was undoubtedly the best place.

Mu Chen's appearance caused the eyes of several human youths, who were yawning in boredom near the city gate, to light up with renewed vigor.

At a signal from their leader, the others immediately swarmed forward.

"Hold it, stop right there!"

"Listen well, everyone entering the Sanctuary must pay one low-level spirit beast essence as a tax. Kid, where is your entry tax?"

The man in the lead, dressed in yellow, puffed out his chest and shouted boisterously.

"Entry tax? What is that?"

Mu Chen had been kind-natured and gentle since childhood, so he asked out of genuine confusion.

As far as he knew, although there were strict limits on the time and frequency of entry into the Sanctuary, and violence was prohibited within, the Five Great Academies also dispatched experts to maintain order.

Beyond that, there were no other cumbersome rules.

"This is an order from the Guardian. Why do you care so much?"

"Are you paying or not? If not, get lost and stop loitering here."

The yellow-clad youth waved his hand impatiently, his attitude perfunctory.

The Guardian was the expert dispatched by the Five Great Academies, who rarely appeared in public.

"An order from the Guardian, very well. Do you have a token, document, or seal as proof?"

Hearing this, Mu Chen's smile became even more amiable.

"Oh, look at this kid, so you're here to mess with me? Trying to be a smart-aleck, are you?"

"Boys, slap his mouth for me—slap him hard!"

The yellow-clad youth sneered after looking Mu Chen up and down.

The youths guarding the gate received the order and agreed with grins. Without any order or discipline, they rushed forward in a chaotic mess, completely devoid of strategy.

In their minds, a group of Level 3 Spirit Body cultivators, plus one Level 4 Spirit Body cultivator, meant they had the numbers. If they ambushed him together, they could even beat back a typical Level 5 Spirit Body—what was there to be afraid of?

"Without a token or proof, this is an unlawful order!"

Mu Chen let out a soft laugh. Having already guessed as much, he decided to end this farce. He stomped his foot hard against the ground, and his entire body shot forward like a leopard.

"Ah! Argh! Aaaah!"

The group guarding the gate was used to being bullies and never expected Mu Chen to launch a sneak attack. They scrambled to fight back, only to suffer immediately, being knocked to the ground one punch at a time.

Screams rang out incessantly, and the scene descended into chaos.

The yellow-clad youth stared in stunned silence; this guy was a powerhouse.

Realizing the situation was dire and knowing he was no match, he turned to run.

But just as he turned his head, a fierce gust of wind struck his back.

The next moment, he was hoisted into the air by a tremendous force, his legs kicking wildly in the void.

Mu Chen gripped the yellow-clad youth as easily as if he were a chick, using his ape-like arms to swing left and right, landing ten slaps at lightning speed.

The yellow-clad youth's cheeks swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye, puffing out high.

"Is that enough? Is that enough, kid? If it's not, I can give you some more~"

Mu Chen held him by the collar of his neck, smiling as he asked.

"Enough, enough! You're the boss, you're truly my boss!"

The youth in yellow, his face nearly slapped into a pig's head, shrank his neck and nodded hurriedly, mumbling as he begged for mercy.

"I wasn't talking to you. You're already fourteen or fifteen, how can you still call yourself a child?"

"Do children look like you? Are they as tall as you? If so, is there any hope left for the Great Thousand world!"

Mu Chen shook his head, his expression showing clear displeasure.

He immediately followed up with ten more slaps—ten solid, resounding strikes. By now, the youth in yellow's face was so swollen he looked like a pig; his own mother probably wouldn't recognize him.

The latter wept, crying most sorrowfully.

Either way, everything was his fault, and everything earned him a beating.

"Brother, don't go too far. Do you know who my boss is?!"

Seeing Mu Chen raise his hand to strike again, the youth in yellow grew anxious.

Mu Chen was delighted to hear this and laughed, "You're quite sensible, saving me the trouble of forcing it out of you. Speak quickly, who is the person standing behind you?"

"Extorting and blackmailing, trying to pull that on me? I think he's tired of living."

Youth in yellow: "..."

Brother, do you even realize I'm threatening you!!

"My boss is Chu Qi, a seeded candidate pre-selected by the Five Great Academies. He has a Level 5 peak Spirit Body and is currently at the half-step Level 6, qualified to challenge for the King Rank."

"To break through to Level 6, he ordered us to set up a checkpoint at the entrance of the Sanctuary, falsely claiming it was the guardians' command to pluck feathers from every passing goose and scavenge Spirit Beast essence souls for him to refine."

Seeing that neither soft nor hard tactics worked and he couldn't escape, the youth in yellow had no choice but to cave, spilling everything he knew like beans from a bag.

The King Rank is said to be an honorary title bestowed by the Five Great Academies upon the top human geniuses who reach the end of the Spirit Road. Their numbers are extremely few, and their status is lofty.

As for whether there are higher ranks above it, it remains unknown.

Having squeezed out all the information, Mu Chen waved his hand in disgust, "Get lost."

The group of youths guarding the city felt as if they had been granted amnesty and scrambled away in a chaotic swarm.

"Yo, Xiao Wu, out begging again?"

On their way, they bumped into another group leaving the city, and someone in that party laughed.

Those who dared to speak like that naturally possessed power no weaker than the group guarding the gate.

"Ghost Six, get lost! I don't have time to deal with you right now!"

Deeply embarrassed, the youth in yellow immediately wrapped his swollen, pig-like head in his clothes and, head buried, led his band of thugs to rush into the city.

Having dismissed the youth in yellow, Mu Chen was just about to step into the city when a light chuckle came from above, "Good, good, good. Your movement technique is truly impressive, Excellency. I, Chu Qi, am genuinely impressed."

A handsome youth with an extraordinary aura leaned against the city wall, his posture lazy, clapping his hands together.

It was as if he were celebrating the spectacular scene that had just unfolded at the city gate.