Strange Plane, the Zhan Brothers

"Hum."

At this moment, a pitch-black vortex manifested out of thin air above Mu Chen's head, shooting a streak of crimson light directly toward his chest.

Mu Chen instinctively reached out to grab it, and the black vortex vanished instantly.

As the crimson light faded, a jet-black metallic token lay in his palm, with the character "Spirit" carved into its center with strokes as sharp as iron hooks and silver needles.

In an instant, a massive torrent of information surged into his mind.

The Blood-Colored Token is held by every living being participating in the Spirit Road Selection.

The Five Great Academies have released countless spirit beasts into the Spiritual Road Plane—thousands upon thousands of them, ranging from low to high grades, corresponding exactly to the three realms of the human race: Spirit Movement to Spirit Soul.

Since each realm is further subdivided into early, middle, and late stages, the spirit beasts are categorized into nine levels.

A low-grade early-stage spirit beast is worth one point, while a high-grade late-stage spirit beast is worth nine points.

The youths of the Great Thousand world can earn points by hunting these spirit beasts.

By extracting a wisp of spirituality from a spirit beast and feeding it into the Blood-Colored Token, one can not only increase their point total but also absorb and refine it to expand their meridians, strengthen their physical body, and cultivate a spirit body.

Points and the level of one's spirit body must be strengthened in tandem.

On one hand, when the selection ends, the Five Great Academies use the points on each token to evaluate performance and determine the degree of the Spirit Road empowerment granted to those who make it to the end.

On the other hand, the level of the spirit body determines the extent of the Spirit Road empowerment a being can receive; the higher the spirit body level, the more spiritual energy one can naturally withstand.

Therefore, both are indispensable.

After digesting all the information, Mu Chen rubbed his chin and recalled leisurely, "This is exactly the same as the freshman trial held by the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy in the Northern Heavens Realm."

The Spirit Road trial is, after all, jointly organized by the Five Great Academies.

To a certain extent, it is simply a simplified version of the freshman trials held by the various spiritual academies—a direct copy.

Because the rules of the Spiritual Road Plane forbid the use of spiritual energy, no living being can utilize spiritual power.

The human youths cannot, and naturally, neither can the spirit beasts.

However, the spirit beast clans of the Great Thousand world are inherently strong in their physical bodies, which is their greatest advantage.

With spiritual energy sealed away, battles must be fought with pure physical strength, giving the advantage to the spirit beasts.

For a group of youths whose spiritual cultivation is merely at the Sensing Realm, taking on a low-grade spirit beast comparable to a Spirit Movement warrior one-on-one is not much of a problem.

Mid-grade spirit beasts can also be challenged through teamwork.

As for the high-grade spirit beasts capable of devouring Spirit Soul warriors alive, it is fortunate enough to leave with one's corpse intact if one encounters them.

Fortunately, most spirit beasts possess little intelligence, leaving room for a fighting chance.

"You two have been watching for quite a while; it's time to come out, isn't it?"

Mu Chen put away the token and suddenly looked toward the depths of the forest.

"Ahem, don't be nervous, little brother. We were just passing by."

Two mysterious figures emerged from the darkness, one after the other.

They were two youths of similar age to Mu Chen.

One wore a black robe, had delicate features, and was empty-handed.

The other carried a mace on his shoulder, with a burly and powerful physique.

"I am Zhan Cheng, and this is my younger brother, Zhan Xiong. We brothers come from the Zhan Clan of the Northern Heavens Continent and have a bit of a reputation."

The older man in black coughed lightly and introduced them as they walked forward.

"I see. I am Mu Chen, from the Hundred Spirit Continent."

Mu Chen crossed his arms, eyeing the newcomers with a faint, inscrutable smile.

The Spirit Road Selection is filled with murderous intent; it is a matter of life and death, and it is incredibly harsh.

In this world, the enemies are not just spirit beasts; even more terrifying are one's own kind.

The points within the Blood-Colored Token can be obtained not only by hunting spirit beasts or gathering heavenly treasures but also by seizing them directly from other participants.

He did not believe for a second that two "innocent passersby" would just happen to appear here.

As everyone knows, those who claim to be innocent passersby are rarely up to any good.

"You are in luck to have met us, brother Mu Chen."

"The Spirit Road is fraught with danger. Not only must one defend against terrifying spirit beast attacks, but one must also constantly guard against backstabbing from companions. After all, points can be stolen from one another."

Mu Chen's completely unguarded and relaxed state delighted the Zhan brothers, and they couldn't help but quicken their pace. "Furthermore, the Five Great Academies have established five Sanctuary locations."

Mu Chen suddenly spoke up to stop them: "Wait."

"Hm? What is it, brother Mu Chen?"

Zhan Cheng's pace faltered, and he exchanged a secret glance with his companion.

"What did you say just now?"

"We two brothers are not bad people."

The brothers, hailing from the Northern Heavens Continent, let out a collective sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Mu Chen continued, "No, the sentence before that."

"Human hearts are unpredictable, points can be plundered from one another, so you must be wary of strangers."

Zhan Xiong, the younger of the Zhan brothers, rubbed the back of his head with a feigned air of simple honesty and laughed, "But rest assured, we Zhan brothers are truly not that kind of people."

"That is precisely the problem; you aren't, but I am."

Mu Chen narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint shooting from them. Gone was even a shred of his previous benevolent demeanor as he shouted, "Hand over your points, and I will spare your lives—breaking your legs will suffice."

The Zhan brothers: ...

"Big brother, we've run into a case of thieves robbing thieves. What are we waiting for?"

"Right, let's attack together and finish him off!"

After a moment of silence, the exasperated Zhan brothers roared.

Damn it, to have someone try to rob them? Were they tired of living!

Zhan Xiong hoisted his Eight-Hole Mace onto his shoulder, while his elder brother, Zhan Cheng, also prepared himself.

He summoned a cyan longsword from the Mustard Seed Bracelet at his waist. It shimmered with spiritual light, clearly a formidable spiritual weapon of exceptional sharpness.

In the Spiritual Road Plane, one cannot utilize spiritual energy. Any spiritual techniques relying on such energy naturally lose most of their destructive power; without the pressure of spiritual energy, they are nothing more than flashy, empty moves.

At such times, the importance of weaponry is magnified infinitely.

In a clash between those of the same rank, if one party wields a divine weapon, it is an absolute, crushing advantage.

"Second brother, let me be the one to teach this ignorant brat a lesson."

Zhan Cheng flicked his spiritual sword, carving two elegant sword flowers in the air. He stomped his foot hard against the ground, his figure shooting forward like a cannonball.

"BOOM!!!"

In less than half a breath, Zhan Cheng flew backward at a speed even faster than he had charged, his chest caved in, blood staining the corners of his mouth, and even his weapon was covered in cracks.

He slammed into a trench like a discarded sack, his aura withered.

"Big brother!"

"You dog, you dare hurt my big brother? Go to hell!"

Driven by his protective instincts, Zhan Xiong's eyes turned bloodshot at the sight.

Born with natural superhuman strength, his eyes were scarlet and his veins bulged. He gripped the Eight-Hole Mace tightly, swinging it with such ferocity that it created a whistling wind, leaving no room for escape.

The strike of the mace even carried a faint, thunderous roar.

Swish. Yet, despite Zhan Xiong's Herculean strength, his vision darkened. A mysterious figure flashed past like a ghost, appearing behind him and tapping a finger against his right shoulder.

In an instant, Zhan Xiong felt his arms go numb. The mace slipped from his grasp involuntarily, flying into the air. Then, a massive force slammed into his lower back.

With no leverage to resist, he let out a mournful cry and collapsed.

Before Zhan Xiong could even slap the ground to push himself back up, a foot descended from the air, firmly pinning his head and grinding it relentlessly into the dirt.

In just a few short seconds, both Zhan brothers had lost their ability to fight.

Mu Chen revealed his figure, tilted his head, and said softly, "Is that it?"

PS: You cannot write fanfiction for Yuan Zun; it carries copyright risks.

The great author Tang Jia San Shao has long since left the Yuewen system to establish his own independent path, handling all-channel distribution and holding almost all copyrights himself, including the adaptation rights for derivative fanfiction.

Unlike his previous trilogy, which was fine to write about on Yuewen, writing Yuan Zun fanfiction could result in a "dimensional strike" from the author himself.

Yuewen will not sign such works either, unless you can obtain authorization from the author himself.