Trial Interrupted, Various Parties Vie

Spiritual Road Plane, Black Demon Forest.

The mysterious man with an ancient, multicolored mirror hovering above his head appeared, and with a thunderous display of power, he brought the situation under control as swiftly as lightning, causing the entire world to fall silent.

On the outskirts of the mountain range, all the human geniuses watching the battle knew that once the Five Great Academies, who had been hiding behind the scenes, intervened, this fight could no longer continue.

Mu Chen, this youth, was truly terrifying.

The blood calamity he single-handedly orchestrated in the Spiritual Road had forced the experts of the Five Great Academies to step forward and forcibly terminate the battle during the selection process—a feat truly unprecedented and unique.

"Is that a projection of the artifact, Mirror of Judgment?"

Bing Qing, the genius from the ancient Ice Spirit Clan, spoke up.

She possessed a head of extremely dazzling ice-blue hair, and even her bright eyes held a strange, icy-blue luster; her aura was frigid, much like a ten-thousand-year-old iceberg.

Legend had it that the Spiritual Road Plane was created by the five founding principals of the Five Great Academies—five super experts nearing the Heavenly Sovereign level—who had joined forces to fabricate rules and alter decrees out of thin air.

To move freely and use spiritual energy within the Spiritual Road Plane, one had to utilize the Mirror of Judgment, the ultimate artifact jointly held by the Five Great Academies, to resist the constraints of the plane's rules.

"Is the person who arrived a Sovereign from the Five Great Academies?"

The burly genius of the Wood Spirit Clan, Mu Kui, had a different concern.

When the spiritual light shrouding the mysterious man dissipated and people saw his appearance, they let out soft gasps: "So it is him."

One of the three guardians of the Eastern Sanctuary, an elder of the Wu Ling Academy and an expert of the Heaven-Sealing Stage: Wu Tian.

During the battle between Mu Chen and Chu Qi, he had even secretly praised the former.

The enraged Sovereign of the Holy Spirit Academy ultimately could not make a move, having been blocked by the Sovereigns of the other four academies, who sent an expert from the traditionally neutral Wu Ling Academy to control the situation.

This precedent must not be set, or the consequences would be extremely dire.

"Mu Chen, stop at once!"

Wu Tian, with the phantom of the Mirror of Judgment above his head, suddenly shouted, his eyes wide with fury.

People followed the gaze of this Heaven-Sealing Stage expert and were immediately stunned.

It turned out that while everyone's attention was drawn to the arrival of the Five Great Academies, Mu Chen had let his ferocity run wild, swinging his staff once more toward Ji Xuan's head with a gust of wind.

"Ahem, everyone, please do not misunderstand, Mu has no ill intentions."

"I just wanted to test whether the Demon-Subduing Staff or Ji Xuan's head is harder."

Mu Chen muttered, reluctantly putting away the primitive battle staff.

From the very beginning, he knew that Ji Xuan could not be killed in the Spiritual Road.

This was not because Ji Xuan possessed an immortal body; there were two reasons.

First, the Spiritual Road Plane was jointly managed and monitored throughout by the Five Great Academies.

It was difficult for Mu Chen to kill the next-generation Holy Son candidate designated by the Holy Spirit Academy—a guest from the Southern Border whom they had cultivated with great care—under the strict surveillance of a large group of experts from the Five Great Academies.

The Sovereign of the Holy Spirit Academy stationed here would never allow such a situation to occur.

Among the Five Great Academies, the Prince of Hundred Spirits had no friendly relations with any party, so there was no help to be borrowed.

Second, by leveraging the power of his family, Ji Xuan had successfully formed a parasitic bond with an adult Ancient Heavenly Dragon Eagle, a former Fourth Grade Sovereign, sharing life and death.

At the moment of life and death, Ji Xuan, whose spiritual energy cultivation was only at the Sensing Stage, could even draw upon the great power of a Sovereign to severely injure his enemy or perish together with them.

Either Mu Chen had to reach the Sovereign level himself.

Or, Mu Chen had to tame the Nine Nether Sparrow in advance.

Unfortunately, neither method was realistic; distant water could not quench a near thirst.

In the Spiritual Road Plane, Ji Xuan, who had both backing and a trump card, could not be killed.

Perhaps only in the Relic Continent, the final battlefield of the Spiritual Academy Tournament, would there be a chance to completely erase Ji Xuan from this world.

The Relic Continent was mostly composed of fragments of super continents shattered during the ancient cataclysm of the Great Thousand World; it held massive opportunities, but also countless crises and layers of seals.

Even the reach of the Five Great Academies could not extend there; it was beyond their grasp.

Of course, even though he knew Ji Xuan could not be killed, it did not stop Mu Chen from probing.

Once Ji Xuan showed the slightest weakness, or if the experts of the Holy Spirit Academy hesitated, Mu Chen would not mind turning his bluff into reality and killing this fellow right here.

Although he did not kill Ji Xuan today, he had achieved the effect of "beating the grass to startle the snake."

Under the eyes of the masses, the next-generation Holy Son groomed by the Holy Spirit Academy had been trampled by Mu Chen like a dead dog; let's see how Ji Xuan could still have the face to call himself the number one person in the Spiritual Road.

Luo Li and the others stepped forward, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Mu Chen, silently expressing their stance through their actions: they would stand or fall with the Prince of Hundred Spirits.

Mu Chen gripped the silver-haired girl's cold hand, nodded slightly, and offered a smile to meet her worried gaze, signaling that she need not worry.

"Mu Chen, do not be reckless; things are not as simple as you think."

Wu Tian descended from mid-air. Having always appreciated Mu Chen, he acted as if he hadn't seen the series of small actions just now and spoke with profound meaning.

Whether it was his own Wu Ling Academy, the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy—which had always been at odds with the Holy Spirit Academy—or the Qingtian and Wanhuang Academies, which kept their distance, it was rare for them to reach a consensus on major issues, as it involved deep-seated power struggles.

"Lord Wu Tian, Mu Chen dares to brandish his weapon and provoke us even with the experts of the Five Great Academies present. This is a clear sign that he holds the Five Great Academies in contempt."

"I implore you to take action and slay this fool who knows nothing of status or respect!"

Ji Xuan and Yang Hong helped each other to their feet, retreating behind Wu Tian.

The Sorrowful Crisp Breeze gifted to Mu Chen by the chief alchemist of Bailing was a diluted version designed to control the potency of the drug; even without an antidote, those affected would regain their freedom once the time limit expired.

Hearing this, a fierce glint erupted in Mu Chen's eyes. He gripped his ancient battle staff and stared at the youth in white, eager to strike, "Ji Xuan, do you truly believe I wouldn't dare to kill you?!"

Ji Xuan had already been scared out of his wits. Stung by Mu Chen's chilling gaze, he dared not meet his eyes and hurriedly lowered his head, his expression turning increasingly ghastly.

To threaten someone right in front of an enforcer—his audacity was truly unparalleled.

As for Wu Tian, he continued to smile, acting as if he had seen nothing at all.

If you asked him, Ji Xuan had absolutely no self-awareness.

I am here to clean up your mess, not to act as your father.

If you hadn't performed so pathetically, why would I have to step in to handle the aftermath, dragging a whole crowd of Five Great Academies experts stationed here into this mess as well?

Do you really think they are happy about it?

As for killing Mu Chen, ask yourself—or ask everyone present—who they value more: Ji Xuan or Mu Chen.

Ji Xuan seemed to realize something, and he fell silent.

This man was an elder of Wu Ling Academy, not Holy Spirit Academy.

Outside the Spiritual Road Plane, within that ancient hall, the dispute continued.

"This boy Mu Chen is ruthless, vicious, and ignorant of the heavens. He has wantonly violated the rules of the Spiritual Road, slaughtered the innocent, and incited the wrath of both gods and men. Furthermore, he holds the Five Great Academies in contempt."

"I propose we erase Mu Chen to serve as a warning to others!"

An exceptionally cold voice echoed through the hall.