Ji Xuan

Mu Chen and Luo Li headed toward the end of the Final Spirit Road.

The deeper they ventured, the more treacherous their surroundings became.

The towering ancient trees gradually gave way to strange, pitch-black trees whose twisted branches resembled ghostly claws. Their dense crowns blotted out the sky and sun.

The forest was dim, its air filled with a thin mist that smelled of decay. Countless years of thick humus carpeted the ground, soft and silent underfoot, yet concealing bogs that devoured life.

This was the Black Demon Forest, the last obstacle before the end of the Final Spirit Road!

Only by crossing this forest could they undergo the final Spirit Road Empowerment and contend for the Spirit Crown!

Mu Chen moved through it with steady strides, his sharp gaze sweeping his surroundings.

His powerful perception spread like invisible ripples, taking in every rustle of grass and stir of wind within several hundred yards.

The skittering of lurking venomous insects, the paths of drifting miasma, even the faint traces of spirit beasts in the distance-all were clear to him.

Luo Li quietly followed half a step behind Mu Chen's side, her glass-clear eyes calm and still. Only when her gaze passed over the tall, straight, black-clad figure ahead did a hint of tenderness flicker deep within them.

As the two traveled onward, the attacks only grew more frequent. The spirit beasts in the Black Demon Forest were fiercer and more cunning, and most possessed potent venom or special abilities.

But to Mu Chen and Luo Li, these threats were not enough to rattle them.

Often, before an attacker could even bare its fangs or claws, a punch or a sword strike had already killed it, and its soul essence was taken to fuel their growth.

After this period of development, Luo Li had also firmly attained a fifth-grade spirit body!

They scarcely needed words to communicate. A glance or a slight movement was enough for each to understand the other's intent.

Mu Chen led the assault, his imposing might crushing finesse with brute force; Luo Li supported him, her sword light and nimble, covering every gap!

They were crossing a grove of dead trees shrouded in pale purple poisonous mist when Mu Chen abruptly stopped and raised a hand.

Luo Li halted at once, the Luo God Sword slipping silently into her palm.

"There are people ahead. Quite a few." Mu Chen spoke quietly, narrowing his eyes. "Twenty-three, all with decent auras, gathered together. One fourth-grade, four third-grade, and the rest second-grade."

Deep within the Black Demon Forest, where danger lurked on every side and everyone was prey to everyone else, a gathering of this size was anything but ordinary.

Either they had formed some sort of alliance, or someone powerful enough had cowed or rallied them all.

Beyond the dead grove lay a relatively open forest valley, where the poisonous mist was a little thinner.

At the center of the valley stood a group of youths. A quick count revealed exactly twenty-three!

Their clothing varied, and most had weather-beaten faces and sharp eyes. Clearly, they were all outstanding contenders who had fought their way into the Black Demon Forest.

They formed a loose circle, with several particularly conspicuous figures at its center.

Mu Chen and Luo Li's arrival immediately drew everyone's attention.

The conversations in the valley stopped abruptly. Gazes swept toward them, probing and wary, with undisguised appraisal.

When those gazes landed on Luo Li, their astonishment at her beauty was impossible to suppress.

Even in the dark, foul Black Demon Forest, her flowing silver hair and peerlessly beautiful, cool features were like a bright moon reflected in muddy water, setting hearts aflutter.

Yet when they saw Mu Chen beside her, some of their expressions turned to uncertainty and alarm.

They were victims whose blood-red tokens had been stolen, and who had luckily managed to seize tokens from others...

Amid the crowd's varied gazes, a white-clad figure stepped out from the people at the center and slowly approached.

He wore spotless white robes. His face was like polished jade, his lips red and teeth white, his features gentle, and a faint smile hovered at the corners of his mouth.

Even from afar, he possessed a refined elegance that set him apart, utterly at odds with the sinister surroundings of this dark forest.

His steps were unhurried. His gaze crossed the valley and settled on Luo Li with undisguised ardor.

Yet Mu Chen's presence beside Luo Li made the white-clad youth pause slightly. The gentle smile remained on his face, but it never reached his eyes.

His gaze shifted from Luo Li to Mu Chen's face, looking him up and down before he spoke in a clear voice. "I am Ji Xuan. This must be Miss Luo Li? And how should I address you, my friend?"

Ji Xuan!

Mu Chen understood. So it really was him.

One of the greatest opponents in the early part of the original story. Hypocritical, affected, and brimming with ambition.

A mere fourth-grade spirit body wasn't worth mentioning!

His expression unchanged, he said mildly, "I am Mu Chen. I hope you'll all oblige me and hand over your tokens, so you can spare yourselves some physical suffering!"

The gentle smile on Ji Xuan's face froze completely.

The expressions of the twenty-odd youths behind him shifted from shock to disbelief, then from disbelief to the fury of being humiliated.

Their group was a behemoth in the Black Demon Forest. Even the team led by another genius, Wen Qingxuan, had to give them a wide berth!

And now, a youth who appeared to be a lone wanderer dared speak to them like this?

"Sir," Ji Xuan said, his voice still courteous, though a few degrees colder, "that joke isn't funny."

"This fellow is truly arrogant!" A burly youth holding a heavy hammer could not help stepping forward, his eyes wide with anger.

He possessed a level three spirit body and ranked among the strongest fighters in this group.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you act so insolently before Brother Ji Xuan!"

Whoosh!

The sharp sound of a pebble cutting through the air was so brief it almost seemed imagined.

Then came the dull crack of shattering bone, mingled with a scream so agonized it distorted.

"Aaargh!"

The anger on the burly youth's face froze, twisting into utter agony.

His left leg buckled. Losing his balance, he dropped heavily to his knees.

A thumb-sized bloody hole pierced straight through his knee. Warm blood gushed out, quickly soaking his trouser leg and spreading into a dark red patch on the gray-black humus.

Mu Chen lowered his eyes, casually tossing another pebble in his hand, his gaze resting on Ji Xuan's now-pale face.

"You're a poor master. You can't even keep your dogs from barking out of turn."

The youths behind Ji Xuan abruptly changed expression. Many instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons, their uncertain gazes darting between Mu Chen and their companion howling on the ground.

It had been too fast.

They had not even seen how the pebble was launched. By the time they heard it, their companion had already fallen.

He possessed a level three spirit body!

Such speed and power, and the ruthlessness revealed in that casual gesture, cast a chill over the hearts of these trial participants who had fought their way into the Black Demon Forest.

"My patience has limits. Are you handing over those tokens or not?"