Growth

"Hm?"

Yun Mo took out his Token. He had heard the ancient voice coming from it too. "How long were we in the Ancestral Hall? How did time pass so quickly?"

Wen Qingxuan and the others did not quite understand what he meant.

Wu Yingying, however, raised her slender brows and opened her almond-shaped eyes wide, gritting her teeth. "Mu Chen!"

"Who is this Mu Chen? He actually managed to break the Spirit Road's rules? What rules does the Spirit Road have? Did he attack someone in the Guardian Land? No, that can't be right. The Mirror of Judgment should have struck him dead long ago if that were the case. Why would they make a special announcement?"

Seeing Wu Yingying grit her teeth, Wu Ling was baffled. Then he seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Judging by that look, could he be the one who got the better of you at the start?"

"Hmph!"

"..."

Wu Ling paid her no further attention and turned to Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan. "The Guardian Land's selection begins in a month. We're still quite far away, and our Tokens are only level three. We need to hurry."

Yun Mo and Wen Qingxuan exchanged a glance. Neither saw any other problems. Their next objective was clear: seize Tokens, then pass the Guardian Land's selection.

Since they had come to the Spirit Road, they naturally had to obtain the highest-level Tokens and receive the spiritual energy empowerment at the finish. Otherwise, it would truly be a waste.

They just did not know how the second half of the Spirit Road would differ from the first.

But the journey was long. Even traveling at full speed, the four of them took more than ten days before they finally saw other people.

Yet the sight of those people left them somewhat speechless.

"Hand over your Tokens, or we'll kill you in an instant."

There were nearly ten of them, every one wounded. Even so, they surrounded Yun Mo's group of four. Their leader raised his saber and spoke viciously.

To be honest, after their experience with the Wu Clan, Wu Ling and the two women viewed the Spirit Road Trial with somewhat different feelings.

The Spirit Road was cruel as well, but for them, it could no longer stir any ripples in their hearts.

Yun Mo remained much as he had always been, though his mood was still terrible. That hate mark was like a thorn driven into his heart.

The four did not move, continuing to watch the performance before them in silence.

These people were already like arrows at the end of their flight. Intense fighting had left them with numerous wounds, but their desire for Tokens had eclipsed everything else.

Their leader grew irritated beneath the four's silent, lofty scrutiny and was just about to attack.

Wu Ling stepped forward, the War Staff appearing in his hand. "The Guardian Land isn't far from here. Why linger here to ambush passing travelers? You should know that the Spirit Road is different now.

"There are countless exceptional talents. Among the people you ambush, there might be someone you have absolutely no hope of standing against."

"Hmph. Maybe there are people like that on the Spirit Road, but it certainly won't be you four."

Had they encountered a larger group, they naturally would not have jumped out, letting them pass instead. But with only four... nine against four gave them an overwhelming advantage.

Unable to bear the lofty looks Yun Mo and the others kept giving them, the leader swung his saber, let out a furious shout, and charged at Wu Ling.

Seeing their alliance leader attack, the others raised their weapons and rushed forward as well.

"Looks like we'll encounter plenty of groups like this just by openly heading toward the Guardian Land. Hopefully, they have enough Tokens to go around." Wen Qingxuan wore a faint, ambiguous smile. A long spear appeared in her hand, and she swept it toward the greedy-faced men charging at her.

There was a hint of pent-up frustration in Wu Yingying's eyes. As she was now, she could overturn these people blinded by greed even on her own. Her Longbow abruptly appeared, and she fired four arrows in rapid succession, sending them whistling straight toward the others.

Yun Mo also chose an opponent. His Flexible Sword thrust out, its shadows blending the real and the illusory. With a single move, he stabbed the man to the ground, where he lay motionless.

As for the leader, the instant his saber collided with Wu Ling's War Staff, his expression changed drastically. An irresistible force slammed into him, instantly splitting the web between his thumb and forefinger. Then his body flew backward, completely beyond his control.

"Cough, cough..."

He lay face down on the ground, blood spilling endlessly from his mouth. With just one strike, Wu Ling had caused the injuries he had been suppressing to erupt completely.

Had they been uninjured, they might have had a chance to make a second move. But their pursuit of Tokens had blinded them. With their wounds forcibly suppressed, how could they possibly be a match for Yun Mo and the others?

When he looked at the others, his heart sank further into despair. Several members of their alliance had physical strength that met the standard of the Spirit Movement Realm. They would have had some confidence of passing even if they participated in the Guardian Land's selection.

Yet these four had finished them off in an instant, leaving them no room to fight back. This time, they really had encountered people they could not stand against.

That was how the latter half of the Spirit Road worked. One wrong step, and their chance was gone all the same.

"Heh. I told you there were people you couldn't stand against. Hand over your Tokens." Wu Ling realized that, facing these people now, he had lost even the desire to fight. Perhaps only those on the Spirit Road who were on their level could offer them any resistance.

He just did not know whether anyone could stop their little group of four.

The leader gave a bitter laugh. Their nine-person alliance had collapsed, and he did not even know how many were still alive.

He took out the Token hidden against his chest, with no intention of gambling with his life. Even if he gained nothing from the Spirit Road Trial, staying alive was always best. He might simply have to wait until the selection began before continuing on his way.

With his injuries now flaring up, he had no confidence that he could reach the Guardian Land safely.

"Not bad. People like you actually have a level five Token. You must have ambushed quite a few others." Wu Ling tossed the Token in his hand and offered a word of praise, then stopped caring whether the man lived or died.

He turned back toward Yun Mo and the two women. "How did you do?"

"Pretty well. The lowest are level four, and there are even two level five Tokens." Yun Mo inspected the Tokens Wen Qingxuan and Wu Yingying had tossed him as he spoke.

"Try merging them all into four Tokens. Let's see how far that gets us." Wu Ling handed his Token to Yun Mo as well.

Without wasting words, Yun Mo began merging them on the spot.

The Tokens overlapped

and shone with a red glow. Before long, they had all merged together, forming four darker Blood-Colored Tokens.

"They're all level six. Looks like the further we go, the more Tokens we'll need. Level nine is still a long way off." Yun Mo returned the Tokens to the others.

"Let's merge our previous Level Three Tokens into them too and see if we can take them a step further."

As expected, the Tokens did not change much. Their color merely deepened a little.

"Let's go. Keep moving. There's no need to worry too much about Tokens. We'll reach the Guardian Land and pass the selection first. Once we get to the final stage, if all else fails, we can just seize someone else's level nine Tokens."

"That makes perfect sense. Hopefully, there are plenty of people with level nine Tokens." Wu Ling paused, eagerness flickering in his eyes.