Mu Chen

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Mu Chen was born to Mu Feng, lord of the Mu Domain, and Qing Yanjing. Before his birth, his parents found and adopted Su Qing, who became his older brother despite their different surnames and lack of a blood relationship. Qing Yanjing was forced to leave the family shortly after Mu Chen was born because of pressure from her clan. Mu Feng openly explained Su Qing’s adoption to both boys, without weakening their family bond 4.

At birth, Qing Yanjing sealed Mu Chen’s Spiritual Vein. The seal concealed his talent while preventing a powerful faction from tracking him through the vein. Mu Chen initially believed that he had no Spiritual Vein; cultivating the Great Pagoda Art eventually made him aware of something hidden inside his body. Mu Feng warned him not to disturb the seal before becoming strong enough, and Su Qing later identified the Buddha Ancient Clan as the source of his troubles 15 70.

Mu Chen became the Northern Spiritual Realm’s first Spirit Road qualifier in more than a decade. Before he departed, Su Qing taught him the hand-to-hand techniques he had previously kept as trump cards. On the Spirit Road, Mu Chen traveled with Luo Li and caused the incident known as the Spirit Road Blood Calamity. His subsequent expulsion brought him home a year early and denied him the final trial’s Spiritual Energy Infusion; the precise circumstances of his expulsion were not explained by the academy’s instructors 4 5 37 41.

Appearance

• Build: Described as a slender young man during the Academy Trial 5.
• Eyes: Black; his expression becomes resolute and fierce when he learns that Luo Li challenged Ji Xuan for his sake 41.

Personality

Mu Chen is affectionate and loyal toward his family. As a child, he joined Su Qing in fighting those who mocked his brother’s adoption. He remains concerned about Su Qing’s injuries and explicitly aims to become strong enough to bring his mother home 4 13 29.

His confidence is matched by tactical judgment. Against Liu Yang, he avoids an apparent final clash rather than meeting the attack head-on. He accepts that a seed quota must be earned through competition and declares that he will reclaim what belongs to him through his own efforts 5 29.

Despite experiencing the Spirit Road’s cruelty, Mu Chen retains a protective streak toward innocent people. He rescues Sun’er from Flame Leopards and believes that avoiding the Spirit Road helped preserve her uncomplicated nature. Against hostile opponents, however, he can be ruthless: after defeating Chu Lin, he continues attacking vital points until the latter is eliminated 36 37 43 44.

Mu Chen jokes readily with his brother but is easily embarrassed by teasing about Luo Li or his childhood. He also recognizes Su Qing’s harsh training methods well enough to decline additional instruction on one occasion 6 27 41 64.

Abilities & Skills

Great Pagoda Art

A cultivation method left to Mu Chen by his mother. Its practice produces unusual phenomena and alerts him to the concealed presence within his body 13 15.

• Sealed Spiritual Vein: His mother’s seal makes the vein undetectable; its grade is not disclosed 15.
• Restriction: Mu Feng explicitly forbids him from tampering with the seal until he is sufficiently powerful 15.

Nine-Story Black Tower

Mu Chen manifests a black pagoda that can serve as both a striking weapon and a suppressive attack 72 73.

• Direct attacks: Swings the tower into Yang Hong’s Tiger Flood Dragon form, breaking its arms 72.
• Expansion and suppression: Activates the tower’s patterns and an ancient rune, enlarging it from one hundred to one thousand zhang before bringing it down on Yang Hong 73.
• Documented result: Pins Yang Hong beneath the pagoda and wins their Freshman Assembly battle 73.

Senluo Death Seal

An upper mortal-grade spiritual art classified as hazardous. Su Qing helps Mu Chen borrow its dark-red jade slip despite his lack of clearance 7.

• Mastery: Successfully cultivates a seal within half a month 7.
• Combat use: Defeats Luo Tong with a single Senluo Death Seal 7.
• Limitations: Places stringent demands on spiritual energy and risks injuring the practitioner. Master Mo reprimands Mu Chen after its use, then teaches him how to develop it further 7.

Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Step

An evasive movement technique used to exploit an opponent’s committed attack 5.

• Steps diagonally past Liu Yang’s charge and follows with a punch to his exposed back 5.

Spirit Arrays

Mu Chen begins studying Spirit Arrays after Mu Feng arranges an instructor, hoping that he will inherit Qing Yanjing’s expertise. His early progress demonstrates exceptional aptitude 15 16.

• Teacher: Wen Ling, who later gives him a grade-one scroll to practice independently 27.
• Continued practice: Chooses to work on Spirit Arrays rather than accept Su Qing’s offer of additional techniques 27.
• Unspecified rank: The provided chapters do not assign Mu Chen a Spirit Array Master rank.

Subduing Dragons and Taming Tigers

A technique taught by Su Qing in preparation for Mu Chen’s confrontation with Yang Hong 62.

• Intended to counter Divine Souls and Spirit Beasts 62.

Close-Quarters Combat

Mu Chen combines Su Qing’s hand-to-hand instruction with ruthless targeting and rapid follow-up attacks 2 4.

• Cripples Xue Dong’s hand through a wrist-and-tendon lock, then knocks him unconscious with an elbow to the temple 2.
• Defeats Chu Lin with a golden hand seal before pressing the attack until his elimination 43 44.
• Obtains a Divine Spirit Art by using ingenuity to defeat a Guardian comparable to the Heaven Transformation Realm 78.

Equipment / Items

• Mustard Seed Bracelet — Storage item used to put away a Jade Talisman seized from Su Qing 41.
• Emergency bamboo slip — Given to him by Su Qing before the Northern Spirit Plains trip for use if he encounters danger 7.
• Mysterious scroll — Receives it from Su Qing after the collapse of the Liu Domain; its contents are not identified 27.
• Grade-one Spirit Array scroll — Supplied by Wen Ling while the latter is occupied with the Mu Domain’s Spirit Gathering Array project 27.
• Divine Spirit Art scroll — Earned in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy’s Spiritual Arts Hall by defeating a powerful Guardian; the art’s name is not provided 78.

Relationships

• Su Qing — Adopted older brother, childhood companion, protector, and combat instructor. Mu Chen admires him and hopes to catch up to him, while frequently becoming the target of his teasing 4 6 27 41.
• Mu Feng — Father and lord of the Mu Domain. Supports Mu Chen’s cultivation, explains his sealed Spiritual Vein, and arranges his Spirit Array education 14 15.
• Qing Yanjing — Mother, separated from the family by clan pressure. Leaves him his cultivation method and seals his Spiritual Vein for protection; bringing her home becomes one of his central goals 4 13 15 29.
• Luo Li — Spirit Road companion and romantic partner. Challenges Ji Xuan after Mu Chen’s departure; Mu Chen chooses the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy after learning that she enrolled there, and the two reunite in an embrace 31 41 50.
• Tang Qian’er — Childhood friend and academy companion. Frequently joins Su Qing in teasing him, particularly about Luo Li and childhood incidents 4 31 41.
• Zhou Ye — Mu Feng’s sworn friend, addressed as Uncle Zhou. Watches Mu Chen grow up and treats him as family 14.
• Master Mo — Academy instructor who guides his Senluo Death Seal practice and personally trains him before the seed-quota tournament 7 30.
• Wen Ling — Spirit Array teacher appointed through Mu Feng 27.
• Sun’er — Younger girl rescued from Flame Leopards. Trusts Mu Chen and asks him to help find her sister 36 37.
• Ji Xuan — Enemy from the Spirit Road. Mu Chen asks which academy recruited him and explicitly identifies him as an enemy 31.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Northern Spiritual Academy

• Responds to the beating of Su Ling and Luo Dong by Western Academy students. Defeats Xue Dong, then helps his friends secure victory 2.
• Defeats Liu Yang in the Academy Trial. Su Qing intervenes when Liu Yang tries to use a Spirit Breaking Bead afterward, and Mu Chen advances to the senior class 5 6.
• Borrows and masters the Senluo Death Seal before joining the Heaven Tier trip to the Northern Spirit Plains 7.

Mu Domain and Black Nether Abyss

• Accompanies Su Qing through Northern Spirit City to draw out Liu Domain watchers. The brothers are trapped by Ji Zong’s Soul Bewildering Array, which Su Qing overcomes 13 14.
• Helps analyze the Liu Domain’s likely expedition plans and persuades Mu Feng to let him enter the Black Nether Abyss 15 16.
• Does not become the Nine Nether Sparrow’s host in this version of events: she chooses Su Qing instead 21 22.

Academy Recruitment and Entrance Trial

• Defeats Huo Yun to earn a seed quota, then selects the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy to reunite with Luo Li 31.
• Travels with Su Qing and Tang Qian’er to the entrance trials, promising with his brother to bring Qing Yanjing back 32.
• Rescues Sun’er and becomes involved in the search for her sister. Yu Yue uses the captured sister to demand revenge against Mu Chen, but Su Qing destroys the ambushing Yu Gang 36 37 39.
• His reputation as the Blood Calamity draws attention from former Spirit Road participants. Defeats and eliminates Chu Lin after the latter demands that he stay away from Luo Li 42 43 44.

Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy

• Reunites with Luo Li and later secures a Grade A residence with her 50 55.
• Defeats Yang Hong during the Freshman Assembly and qualifies for the Spiritual Arts Hall as one of the event’s five leading finishers 72 73.
• Returns from the Spiritual Arts Hall badly injured but carrying a Divine Spirit Art earned through a successful Guardian trial 78.
• Fields inquiries about joining the Luo Shen Society after Su Qing rises to fifth on the Heaven Ranking 87.

Notable Quotes

“I’ll take back everything that belongs to me with my own two hands, one piece at a time!” 29

“Since I came across it, I figured I’d give it a try.”
— After obtaining a Divine Spirit Art despite the danger of its Guardian trial 78