The Bloody Truth

Mu Chen looked up at the man on the city wall, his expression inscrutable. "Chu Qi?"

"That's right. I'm Chu Qi. What happened before was all a misunderstanding."

The handsome youth leaned lazily against the battlements. With an air of pride and ease, he cupped his hands toward the people below. "Your heroic bearing has captivated me, sir."

"Why don't we put this behind us and forge an alliance between our two families!!!"

The human genius who called himself Chu Qi hadn't even finished speaking when everything suddenly went dark before his eyes. A clap of thunder rang in his ears, and a tall figure appeared right in front of him.

A pair of iron fists shot toward his face.

Caught off guard, Chu Qi had no time to raise his hands and block. The immense force sent him flying. His blood and qi churned wildly, his breathing grew erratic, and he collapsed helplessly to the ground.

"Are you insane? This is the Sanctuary! Fighting is forbidden!"

Chu Qi rolled several times along the bluestone path before staggering to his feet. His hair was disheveled, fear and fury mingling on his face as he stared at Mu Chen in disbelief.

This mysterious genius had flown into a rage and punched his way from the ground all the way up to the city wall.

Fighting was forbidden in the Sanctuary. That was an ironclad rule.

A light offense meant losing one's qualification for the Selection. A serious one meant immediate execution.

Boom!!

Before Chu Qi could steady himself, Mu Chen—who had leapt onto the city wall—appeared in front of him again, less than a few feet away. Another fierce Martial Saint Fist came crashing toward him.

This time, Chu Qi finally managed to catch a glimpse of Mu Chen's movements.

Terrified and panicking, he crossed his arms over his chest and raised them to block.

Crack! The grating sound of breaking bones rang out.

Chu Qi grunted, his arms dangling limply in front of his chest. His eyes bulged with fury.

This time, Mu Chen had gone even further. In full view of everyone, he sent Chu Qi flying straight off the city wall. Chu Qi crashed miserably at the city gate, shattering a large patch of stone slabs.

"Now you're outside the city. That doesn't count as being in the Sanctuary."

Mu Chen landed after him and stood beside the trench, speaking coolly.

A crowd that had gathered to watch erupted into an uproar.

A man had fallen from the sky! Now that was a man—a peerless tough guy!

After falling from such a high wall without spiritual energy to protect him, Chu Qi had surely broken more than just both arms. Who knew how many bones in his body were shattered? He couldn't move at all.

He tried several times to climb out of the trench, but failed each time.

"You dared to break the ironclad rule jointly established by the Five Great Academies, right before everyone's eyes! You've destroyed the rules and challenged the Five Great Academies' authority. This is intolerable!"

"I'll go to the City Lord's Mansion and lodge a complaint with the three guardians stationed there. I'll have them arrest you and execute you in front of everyone!"

Chu Qi twisted his head to glare at Mu Chen as he spoke.

"Foolish. You still don't understand. Every rule of the Spirit Road exists to raise the strongest human geniuses, like raising Gu insects. Everything else is an illusion, mere details."

"What are the rules of the Sanctuary?"

"Just a minor regulation under the Spirit Road's rules, still there to serve the selection of the elite."

"You think the guardians above didn't know that you had your subordinates forge orders and charge people to enter the city? Of course they knew."

"But why didn't they say anything?"

"Because you were strong, and you were talented."

"Because it was also a trial and a test for the other geniuses."

"And now, I've beaten you as easily as killing a chicken."

"Do you really think the guardians would kill me, someone stronger than you, over a minor violation?"

Mu Chen shook his head at Chu Qi, seemingly deeply disappointed in him.

When Mu Chen exposed the brutal, bloody truth of the Spirit Road Trial before everyone and laid it all out for Chu Qi, the human genius's reason completely crumbled.

"Mu Chen, if you've got the guts, kill me! Kill me!!"

After learning Mu Chen's name, Chu Qi roared helplessly.

Mu Chen ignored him. He crouched down, said nothing, and searched the Blood-Colored Token from Chu Qi's robes. After taking all his points, he slowly walked into the city without looking back.

Sometimes, this kind of silent disregard was even more humiliating than a stream of curses—especially for someone as arrogant and self-important as Chu Qi.

"Ahhh, Mu Chen!"

Lying on the ground, Chu Qi watched the figure gradually disappear into the distance and let out anguished howls like a wounded beast, despair filling every cry.

The many geniuses who had come after hearing the news watched with pity.

Chu Qi had been half a step from Level 6, a rare talent qualified to vie for King Rank. Yet he had been so easily crushed by a mysterious youth who called himself Mu Chen.

Unless something unexpected happened, he was as good as finished.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

But none of the men Chu Qi had recruited—not even the group led by the youth in yellow—had shown up to clean up the mess.

"An excellent talent. His aptitude, character, and constitution are all monstrous."

"Indeed. Kings have emerged from each of the other four Sanctuaries."

"Mu Chen, was it? I'm from Wu Ling Academy..."

On the distant city wall, three mysterious figures stood with their arms folded, speaking in low voices.

Each person could enter the Sanctuary only three times, and each stay could last no more than three days.

The rule was obviously meant to prevent people from cheating by hiding in the safe haven until the very end, or exploiting loopholes by going in and out repeatedly.

A Blood Stele stood in the center of the city, recording information about everyone who entered.

Once the time limit was up, it would automatically expel them.

The city streets were relatively empty, and vacant houses stood everywhere.

After activating his Blood-Colored Token beneath the Blood Stele, Mu Chen could use it to unlock the wards on any house. No one could break in, giving him a chance to catch his breath and rest.

For the next two days, Mu Chen went out early and returned late, gathering information everywhere he could.

There were five Sanctuaries in this world.

The one he was in lay in the east.

In each of the other four Sanctuaries, multiple Level 6 or higher spirit entities had emerged—in other words, the King Rank contestants people talked about, such as Ji Xuan, Wen Qingxuan, Yang Hong, and Zhou Ling.

Of course, the Spirit Road Selection wasn't over yet, so none of them could truly be called kings.

"Anyone else? Have any other impressive figures appeared?"

Mu Chen stood on a street, urging the young human at the stall to keep talking.

This was his third day in the Sanctuary—and his last.

He had asked around everywhere, but still hadn't gathered any information about that girl.

Damn it. Wasn't he supposed to meet Luo Li during an ambush?

Half of the two-year Spirit Road Selection had already passed. Why hadn't he met his destined girl yet? Forget a beauty—he hadn't even run into a pretty pig.

Where was the promised hero saving the damsel in distress?

Mu Chen silently grumbled to himself.

He had come to the Sanctuary mainly to find out about Luo Li. Was he really going to leave empty-handed?

"Uh, Brother Mu Chen, are you looking for someone?"

The young stall owner whom Mu Chen had been questioning was quick-witted. He ventured the question cautiously.

This was a lively market in the city.

It was where the human geniuses traded goods and supplies, and shared information.

Thanks to what had happened at the city gate a few days earlier, nearly half the Sanctuary had heard of Mu Chen. It was as if there was no one in the world who didn't know his name.

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