"Do you truly intend to make enemies of us?"
Ji Xuan's voice echoed through the valley as he struggled to maintain a tough facade, fierce on the outside but craven within.
"Heh..." Mu Chen gave a mocking smile.
To Ji Xuan, such contempt was more provocative than any words!
Ji Xuan sharply swept down the hand behind his back, then attacked Mu Chen head-on!
At the same time, a boy with a sinister gaze and a level three spirit body roared.
"Attack!"
Almost the instant his voice rang out, blood surged through the boys' bodies. Blades left their sheaths, fists and palms whipped up gusts, and they charged from every direction!
They were no disorganized rabble. Anyone who had made it into the depths of the Black Demon Forest had exceptional abilities of his own.
Now, striking together in fury, they presented a terrifying force despite lacking a rigorous formation.
Surrendering their tokens meant losing their eligibility for the Spirit Road Empowerment. They refused to accept that!
Thus, even after Mu Chen had displayed such monstrous strength, they still wanted to join forces and try their luck!
Killing intent spread like a net, closing over Mu Chen.
At that very instant, Luo Li moved!
Her silver hair streamed like a waterfall, tracing a breathtaking arc against the dark forest. Her blade trembled faintly, giving off a nearly inaudible hum.
Sword light blossomed, clear and cold as moonlight reflected in an icy spring!
It flowed from the Luo God Sword in Luo Li's hand, silently washing over the treetops like moonlight.
The moment it appeared, it cleaved through the clamor and quelled the seething killing intent!
The five or six boys at the front saw a blur flash before their eyes. An irresistible force struck their weapons, instantly splitting the skin between their thumbs and forefingers and sending their blades flying from their hands!
Before the fists and palms of those close behind could reach her, sword energy as cool as moonlight yet incomparably resilient swept into them. Blood sprayed, and they no longer dared advance!
Luo Li's figure darted through the crowd, her steps swift as thunder. As her sword light flowed, not one of them could cross the forbidden boundary!
Single-handedly, she stopped everyone except Ji Xuan.
Meanwhile, Ji Xuan saw only Mu Chen casually strike out with one palm!
Then a terrifying sense of danger that made his scalp prickle crushed down on him from every direction!
Fast! Indescribably fast!
Ji Xuan dared hold nothing back. The power of his fourth-grade spirit body erupted!
Crack!
Pfft!
As though an ancient savage elephant had rammed him head-on, Ji Xuan's breastbone let out a teeth-grating groan. He flew backward like a kite with its string cut, his blood tracing a bleak, vivid arc through the air.
Thud!
He slammed into a black tree trunk more than a hundred feet away. The thick trunk shuddered violently, its bark bursting apart.
Ji Xuan slid to the ground and spat out another mouthful of blood. His once-spotless white robes were instantly covered in filth and bloodstains. His jade-handsome face was pale as paper, filled with incredulous horror.
One palm!
Just one palm!
The fourth-grade spirit body he had cultivated through such bitter effort was as fragile as thin paper before that seemingly unremarkable palm strike!
Was the gap... really this enormous?
What grade of spirit body did he have?
Mu Chen slowly withdrew his hand and walked toward Ji Xuan. His footsteps were light, yet each seemed to land on Ji Xuan's heartbeat, making him tremble all over.
Ji Xuan struggled to rise, only to discover that his blood and vital energy had scattered and his meridians were completely severed!
Under Ji Xuan's venomous gaze, Mu Chen crushed his skull, ending his life.
This genius, who had stirred up so many storms along the original story's course, now perished like an insect.
As for whether this would invite revenge from Tiansheng, the head of the Sacred Spirit Academy... Mu Chen was not the Blood Calamity Bringer now, and the Five Great Academies were not Tiansheng's private domain!
Putting away the token, Mu Chen turned his gaze toward the other boys Luo Li had stopped in the valley.
No words were necessary. The moment his gaze swept toward them, they felt as though they had plunged into an ice cavern.
Even Ji Xuan, the strongest among them, had been defeated with a single palm strike, utterly powerless to resist. What hope of luck did they have left?
Alliances and interests were worth nothing before absolute strength and survival.
"We'll... we'll hand them over!"
"Here's my token!"
"Don't kill us!"
Amid frantic cries, blood-red tokens were tossed out one after another, carrying their owners' lingering reluctance and fear.
As long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood!
Of course, not everyone thought that way. Some boys tried to flee, only to be cut down by sword light in the blink of an eye.
"Twenty-three. That's all of them!" Mu Chen nodded.
Seeing this, Luo Li sheathed her sword and quietly returned to Mu Chen's side.
Mu Chen paid no further attention to the boys, who were silent as cicadas in winter, and looked at Luo Li.
"Let's go."
Luo Li nodded lightly.
The two lingered no longer. Their figures soon vanished into the shadows and mist deeper within the Black Demon Forest, as though they had never appeared.
Only a devastated valley remained, along with a group of dazed boys who had survived the disaster, and a corpse.
Mu Chen and Luo Li traveled through the Black Demon Forest and reached the end of the Spirit Road.
Before them stood a circular platform constructed entirely of white jade. Its edges were densely engraved with ancient spirit marks that radiated a gentle yet majestic glow.
Directly above the platform, a gate of light hovered silently.
The gate was not solid, but formed from countless tiny points of light. They slowly flowed and revolved like an inverted river of stars, breathtakingly beautiful.
At the end of the Spirit Road stood the Final Gate!
Mu Chen narrowed his eyes, sweeping his gaze beneath the platform.
Fewer than forty people had gathered there.
They stood scattered in twos and threes, maintaining wary distances from one another.
The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.
Everyone was waiting for the Final Gate to open while secretly sizing up potential opponents.
Claiming the Spirit Crown would increase the effects of the Spirit Road Empowerment by as much as thirty percent. No one would give up on that!
Mu Chen and Luo Li's arrival immediately drew many gazes.
Especially Luo Li.
Yet she seemed entirely unaware, merely standing quietly beside Mu Chen.
Two fourth-grade spirit bodies, thirteen level three spirit bodies, and the rest were all second-grade...
Mu Chen's gaze swept across the crowd and soon settled on one spot.
Seven or eight people stood there, led by a proud young woman.
She was exceptionally beautiful, standing with her arms folded and her chin slightly raised, like a phoenix surveying her domain.
Of course, though she had a distinct charm of her own, she still could not compare to Luo Li.
Wen Qingxuan.
The name surfaced in Mu Chen's mind without any need for thought.
Mu Chen's gaze did not linger long, continuing onward.
Then he spotted another familiar figure.
Wu Yingying.
She stood behind a young man with delicate, almost feminine features, yet his bearing was upright, and sharpness lurked within his gentle gaze.
He wore martial robes similar in style to Wu Yingying's, with exquisite spirit marks embroidered on the cuffs.
Wu Ling, Wu Yingying's older brother.
Wen Qingxuan and Wu Ling were the only two people present with fourth-grade spirit bodies, far beneath him.
Wu Yingying noticed Mu Chen then as well. She froze for a moment before her eyes widened and a complicated expression appeared on her face.
Her lips parted as though she wanted to say something, but after glancing at her brother in front of her, she held back. She merely turned her head away, pretending not to have seen Mu Chen.
Mu Chen smiled, paying it no mind.
His attention returned to the Final Gate.
"It's about to open," Mu Chen said softly.
Luo Li gave a quiet "Mm."
The two found a relatively open spot and stood there, waiting quietly.
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second.
More and more trial participants gathered beneath the Final Gate, until their numbers finally settled at one hundred.
Suddenly, the resonant peal of great bells rang out, and all the spirit marks engraved on the circular platform lit up at once!
Gentle white light rose from the jade platform's surface, washing through every engraved line like a tide.
The Final Gate opened, and starlight cascaded down!
Before you continue