Mu Chen and Tang Qian'er vanished into the ancient forest of the Northern Cang Realm, steeped in a primeval aura.
This place was utterly unlike the Northern Spiritual Realm. Danger seemed to lurk in every inch of space.
"There's a little fellow in the Spirit Wheel Realm up ahead," Mu Chen called from the front, his tone questioning. "Want to try your hand, Qian'er?"
On his shoulder, the grayish-brown sparrow tilted its little head, its black, beanlike eyes casually sweeping over the dark gaps between the trees.
"Sure!"
Tang Qian'er took a deep breath, her body tensing slightly beneath her black combat attire.
They had barely gone any farther when the bushes ahead and to one side suddenly burst apart!
A leopardlike spirit beast covered in blue-gray scales, with a single horn on its forehead, sprang out. Swift as lightning, it stirred up a rank wind, its sharp claws slashing straight for Tang Qian'er's throat.
Its aura unmistakably placed it at the middle stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm, one stage above her.
Tang Qian'er's pupils contracted slightly, but she did not panic. Spiritual energy surged through her as she twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the lethal pounce. At the same time, she raised her delicate hand, firing a fierce ribbon of spiritual energy from her palm that cracked toward the softer flesh around the beast's waist and belly.
Clang!
The spiritual energy struck its scales with the sharp ring of clashing metal, leaving a faint white mark.
The spirit beast growled in pain, its attacks turning even more savage. Its claws swept out in streaks of afterimages, laced with razor-sharp spiritual energy as they rushed toward her.
Tang Qian'er pressed her lips together, her gaze focused. Her figure advanced and retreated like a willow, meeting hardness with softness and breaking strength with finesse.
Mu Chen stood quietly to one side, watching. The sparrow on his shoulder had no interest whatsoever in this "pecking match between weaklings" and simply closed its eyes to doze.
The battle lasted roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn.
Sweat beaded at Tang Qian'er's temples, and her breathing grew slightly quick, but her gaze became ever clearer.
She seized the instant after the spirit beast missed a pounce, when its old momentum was spent and new strength had yet to gather, and abruptly accelerated!
Closing in on its flank, she gathered all her spiritual energy into a palm strike and slammed it into the gap between the scales where the side of its neck met its torso.
Roar!
The spirit beast let out a short, piercing howl of agony, staggered to the ground, and twitched a few times before falling silent. A faint glimmer of soul essence drifted out.
Panting, Tang Qian'er looked toward Mu Chen.
"Not bad," Mu Chen said with a smile. "Take a breather, Qian'er. Now watch me put on a show."
With Tang Qian'er in tow, he launched straight into speedrun mode in the Northern Cang Realm.
Every spirit beast in their path fell dead, their soul essences streaming into the pair's marks like fireflies.
Even heaven-tier spirit beasts could not withstand a single exchange, each crushed beneath one strike of his palm.
In just two days, more than half of the Northern Cang Realm had been swept clean.
By sunset, the purple-gold marks on their foreheads blazed and swirled. Both had unmistakably reached level nine.
Deep within the dense forest lay a rare stretch of open ground.
Several enormous grayish-white boulders naturally enclosed the clearing. Their surfaces were flat, as though they had once been hewn by some mighty power.
A bonfire blazed in the center. Firewood crackled, and sparks rose with the heat, disappearing into the dim light between the trees.
Paths led here from every direction, drawing many trial participants and turning it into an unofficial trading spot.
Some exchanged goods here, while others stopped to rest.
Mu Chen and Tang Qian'er approached, intending to find somewhere to take a break.
The purple-gold marks on their foreheads shone brilliantly, like two conspicuous lamps in the gloom.
Their surroundings gradually fell quiet.
First, the scattered conversations dwindled. Then gaze after gaze converged on the pair and froze.
Level 9 marks.
They had entered the Northern Cang Realm only two days ago. Everyone present understood what level 9 marks meant.
What terrifying efficiency that required, how many spirit beasts they must have slain, and what overwhelming strength they must possess.
"How is that possible..." muttered a thin-faced youth in blue.
A level-four mark gleamed on his forehead, already placing him among the best in the Northern Cang Realm.
"Even those with core quotas could only reach level six in two days at the absolute most..."
Whispers spread like a rising tide.
"Look at that girl. Isn't she only in the Spirit Wheel Realm?"
"What about the one beside her? What realm is he in? I can't see through him..."
"Could they have some clever shortcut?"
The gazes grew increasingly heated, greed stirring within them, yet no one dared take the first step.
Sensing those stares, Tang Qian'er straightened her back slightly.
Being scrutinized by so many ill-intentioned eyes left her uneasy after all.
"Tsk."
Mu Chen noticed and released a trace of his aura-
Boom!
Just as on the Reception Platform, a terrifying pressure descended without warning.
The heat, scrutiny, and greed in every gaze directed at them were extinguished at once, leaving only profound fear and disbelief.
Whether sitting or standing, every figure froze in place, unable to move.
Those with weaker cultivation were already drenched in sweat, trembling all over.
Heaven Reaching Realm!
Absurd, unbelievable, overturning everything they knew...
"No wonder... level 9 marks..." someone murmured, his voice dazed. "He's in the Heaven Reaching Realm... then it's no surprise..."
For someone in the Heaven Reaching Realm, even a heaven-tier spirit beast would take only a few moves.
Reaching level nine in two days no longer seemed so impossible to accept.
The crushing pressure receded like the tide.
The flames of the bonfire straightened and danced again, and the frozen air began to flow.
But the undercurrents and hidden schemes from before had vanished without a trace.
In their place came absolute reverence and cautious silence.
No one dared let their gaze linger too long on Mu Chen or Tang Qian'er again.
Strength was the most direct, most effective passport and protective talisman in the Northern Cang Realm-and indeed, throughout the Great Thousand World!
"It's him...!"
An ordinary-looking youth stared fixedly at Mu Chen's profile, his eyes flickering. Suddenly, as though remembering something, his expression changed sharply.
He had traveled the Spirit Road, but unfortunately had failed to earn the title of king.
"You know him?" his companion asked quietly.
The youth's Adam's apple bobbed. With an indescribable emotion, he slowly uttered a name. "Mu Chen."
"Mu Chen?" His companion froze, then his eyes widened and his voice suddenly rose, filled with horror. "The champion of the Spirit Road... that Mu Chen who single-handedly subdued the entire Spirit Road?!"
"Mu Chen, the Spirit Crown Holder... so it's him!"
Cries, sharp intakes of breath, and disbelieving discussions rose one after another.
For most of those present, the Spirit Road was a distant legend that filled them with yearning.
It gathered the finest geniuses from many continents, and its competition was far more brutal than any ordinary trial. Everyone who distinguished themselves there was a monstrous talent!
And the Spirit Crown Holder was the king among those monsters, the strongest of his generation.
The news quickly spread with the passing crowds, sweeping across the entire Northern Cang Realm.
"Mu Chen... he's actually come to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy too..."
In a corner, a youth in green robes whose aura had already reached the half-step Heaven Fusion Realm murmured to himself, his expression complicated.
He had seen with his own eyes how that black-clad figure had claimed the Spirit Crown on the final battle platform with unmatched might.
That strength inspired despair, and also... left an indelible mark on his memory.
"That walking calamity... he's here too."
Elsewhere, a short youth with sharp eyes gritted his teeth and unconsciously touched his chest.
He had once been knocked unconscious by a single punch and had his token taken. Had luck not been on his side, he would not even have gotten a share of the Spirit Road Empowerment.
Did he hate him? Perhaps a little.
But far more than that, he felt fear that sank deep into his bones.
A Spirit Crown Holder, in the Heaven Reaching Realm.
An existence far beyond the bounds of this trial had appeared in the Northern Cang Realm.
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