The moment he stepped out of the blacksmith's shop, Mu Chen felt a refreshing coolness. But when he looked up ahead, a group of people immediately caught his eye. The group consisted of three people, each dressed splendidly. Leading them was a woman in green. She was about twenty years old with exceptionally delicate features. Her skin was as smooth as fine cream, her eyes shimmered like autumn waters, and a gentle smile always graced the corners of her lips. Her looks were in no way inferior to Mu Bingling's, and with her mature charm, she even seemed to faintly surpass her.
'A woman like water,' Mu Chen couldn't help but sigh softly.
Following behind her were an old man in black with an indifferent expression and a young man in green who was about the same age as the woman. Their clothes were quite neat, and on each of their cuffs was a special mark. It looked like the character for "Profound," formed from strange symbols.
Just then, the group was walking toward Mu Chen. When the young man in green saw Mu Chen staring blankly at the woman, his face darkened. "Kid, get out of the way!" he yelled.
Mu Chen was startled and snapped out of his daze, a bitter smile on his face. He hadn't expected to attract such hostility just by looking at the woman in green for a moment too long.
The woman in green's expression soured. "Tang Hao," she said coolly, "don't stir up trouble for no reason. We're here representing the academy to recruit students. Don't bring shame to our academy's name."
The woman's name was Yan Ruoshui. In her heart, she truly detested Tang Hao. He was the only son of the Imperial City's Tang Family, which made him arrogant and domineering, and he was constantly pestering her at the academy. No matter how she rejected him, he was completely unfazed, impervious to all her attempts to get rid of him. In previous years, academy instructors had been responsible for recruiting students from the various towns, but for some reason, the academy had dispatched the top-ranked student from each grade to handle recruitment this year.
Coincidentally, Yan Ruoshui was a sixth-year student, and in her grade, there wasn't just one top-ranked student, but two. Tang Hao certainly had the capital to be arrogant; his cultivation talent was on par with even the academy's Core Disciples. In another year at most, his martial power level would be high enough for him to become a Core Disciple as well. Ruo Shui sighed inwardly. 'Looks like it'll be hard to get Tang Hao out of my sight from now on.'
The man, Tang Hao, immediately beamed at the woman in green, his eyes full of fiery passion. "Ruo Shui is right. I was rude. We should hurry and get down to business."
Hearing Tang Hao call her Ruo Shui, Yan Ruoshui's brow furrowed. Without even glancing at Tang Hao, she turned to Mu Chen and said apologetically, "I'm sorry about that. That's just how he is."
Mu Chen was stunned for a moment; he never imagined she would apologize to him. He quickly waved his hands and said, "It's alright. I have other things to do, so I'll be going now."
Blushing, Mu Chen fled. He had to run—Yan Ruoshui was simply too beautiful, and he was afraid that looking any longer would attract unnecessary trouble.
Seeing Mu Chen run off like that, Yan Ruoshui's expression was complicated. 'Am I that scary?' she thought, exasperated. 'Did he really have to run like he'd seen a ghost? Have I gotten uglier lately?' Touching her cheek, Yan Ruoshui shook her head and led the old man and Tang Hao away. From beginning to end, the black-robed old man hadn't said a single word or even let his expression flicker…
Mu Chen didn't stop running until he reached the main gate of the Mu Mansion, where he finally let out a small sigh of relief. "Who were those three?" he muttered to himself. "I don't think I've ever heard of them."
Just then, the Profound Old Ghost's voice rang out, "Hehe, kid, those three were no simple characters. Although their talent would have been considered average a hundred thousand years ago, in this day and age, they're exceptionally gifted geniuses."
Startled, Mu Chen hurriedly asked, "Then, Master, what level of Martial Artists are they?"
The Profound Old Ghost laughed. "That girl and the other kid are both at the Four-Ring Martial Spirit Realm. Reaching that realm by twenty... tsk, tsk. But the strongest of them is still that old man. As for his level, I'm not telling you right now."
"What? A Martial Spirit? A Four-Ring Martial Spirit? At twenty years old!" Mu Chen was horrified. He'd only processed the Profound Old Ghost's first couple of sentences before he was completely stunned. His own grandfather was only a Nine-Ring Grand Martial Master, and he was already sixty! The gap was simply terrifying.
"Hmph. The Extreme Martial Continent is vast and boundless, with a population in the countless trillions. Talent like that is nothing," the Profound Old Ghost said with eloquent disdain. "Back in my era, there was a peerless prodigy who was born a Martial King, became a Martial Venerable in three years, and an Emperor in ten, achieving eternal fame. People called him the Celestial Emperor. But in the end, wasn't he blasted into nothing but dust by a single Taigu Thunder Tribulation?" As he spoke of this, however, his voice suddenly turned bleak.
Mu Chen was utterly dumbfounded. "An Emperor in ten years? Damn, was he even human?"
"He wasn't," the Profound Old Ghost said irritably. "Anyway, I forgot to tell you something. You've lucked out big time, kid."
"How so?" Mu Chen asked, confused.
"When I was examining your body just now, I found that even though your constitution hasn't even reached the level of a Martial Disciple, you can bizarrely absorb Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. It's as if it has no conflict with you whatsoever. I figure it must be an effect of the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique. Do you know what that means?"
"I don't know."
The Profound Old Ghost cleared his throat. "A straightforward answer. I like it. It means you can start absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi right now, getting a head start on everyone else. Ordinary people have to reach the Martial Artist realm before they can absorb it, but you can do it without even being a Martial Disciple. Damn it, you've really hit the jackpot."
Mu Chen was overjoyed, but also at a loss for words. "Master," he said, abashed, "could you please not be so crude?"
"Piss off. I talk how I talk, what's it to you?" the Profound Old Ghost said, rolling his eyes. "Now, go back. From now on, I want you to continuously circulate the cultivation technique portion of the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique. Absorb Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, use it all to nourish your body, and then expel it. As for increasing your strength, that's something to do after you become a Martial Artist. Understood?"
"Understood," Mu Chen replied. He understood what the Profound Old Ghost meant. The body is a person's foundation; the stronger it is, the greater one's explosive power and endurance, and the higher one's limits. By the same token, even if your Primordial Qi is incredibly pure, if your physical constitution is extremely poor, the limit of the power you can unleash will be dictated by your body's strength. Pushing past that limit and continuing to output Primordial Power would only cause your body to burst.
Back home, no one paid him any mind, and he was happy for the peace and quiet. He returned to his room, closed the door, and the cultivation technique portion of the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique naturally surfaced in his mind. Following its instructions, Mu Chen soon assumed a strange posture. It was extremely peculiar and completely different from the common "Five Hearts Facing Heaven" meditation pose. He lay on his side on the bed, propping his head up with his left hand, his right leg bent and his left leg straight—looking for all the world like he was taking a nap.
Mu Chen was speechless when he saw the posture. 'Is this really for cultivation?' But when he tentatively recited the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique's mantra, streams of white Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi rapidly converged on him. Because the posture stretched out his entire body, the Primordial Qi quickly and smoothly entered through his pores, completely unobstructed.
However, as the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi entered his body, Mu Chen felt as if his body and the Qi were one and the same; there was no sense of rejection at all.
"Idiot, keep reciting the mantra!" the Profound Old Ghost's voice interjected at the perfect moment. "Guide the Primordial Qi to circulate through your meridians, bones, and flesh. Otherwise, the mantra will draw it all into your Dantian."
Mu Chen immediately used his Spiritual Power to guide the Primordial Qi, making it wander to every corner of his body. Occasionally, some Primordial Qi would accidentally flow into his Dantian, but he would always pull it back out to continue tempering his body.
As his muscles, bones, and flesh were nourished by the Primordial Qi, a tingling itch would arise from time to time, which was both comfortable and slightly unbearable for Mu Chen. Time always flies during cultivation, and the afternoon passed in a flash. Just as always, a maid brought his dinner on time.
Truth be told, Mu Chen was starving; he hadn't eaten anything since morning. Seeing the delicious food and with no one else around, he wolfed it all down. The plates were empty in no time. Mu Chen didn't have to worry about cleaning up, as a maid would naturally come to take care of it.
Although Mu Bingling still came to see him occasionally, with the family competition fast approaching, she was cultivating with even more diligence so as not to bring shame upon their family.
Shaking his head, Mu Chen went back into his room, closed the door, and once again began circulating the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique. Time passed, second by second, and two days flew by in cultivation. Stretching his limbs, Mu Chen suddenly clenched his left fist and threw a punch through the air.
WHOOSH… The air whistled as it rushed past the back of his hand.
'My speed and strength have both improved a bit.' Mu Chen could feel that his strength and speed had both increased from being nourished by the Primordial Power. Although the improvement was slight, he could still sense it. He was already very satisfied with this; after all, it had only been two days. If he continued to nourish his body with Primordial Power until he became a Martial Artist, the benefits of a strengthened physique would last a lifetime. A solid foundation meant greater potential in the future.
"Mu Chen, are you up?" a voice like silver bells called from outside.
Mu Chen smiled and gently pushed the door open. He was greeted by the sight of Mu Bingling's exquisitely beautiful face. What puzzled him, however, was that after half a year of exposure to the wind and sun, nearly all the Mu Family disciples had become tanned, yet Mu Bingling's skin remained as white as snow.
Seeing Mu Chen open the door, Mu Bingling's large, blue eyes showed a hint of apology. "Mu Chen, I'm sorry," she said softly. "I haven't had time to come see you lately. You aren't mad at me, are you?"
Mu Chen scratched his head and smiled. "Of course not. You're working so hard for our family's honor. My days have actually been pretty peaceful. All those annoying guys are busy with Body Forging, so I'm enjoying the quiet. What brings you here today?"
Mu Bingling let out a sigh of relief at his words. Then, she shot him a playful, reproachful glare. "You silly goose. You're probably the only person in the entire Mu Family who doesn't know."
"Uh… know what?" Mu Chen began to feign ignorance again. How could he not know what day it was?
Mu Bingling placed her hands on her slender waist, leaned forward, and said huffily, "The family competition, of course! How could you forget such an important day? Hmph."
Mu Bingling's fair face was slightly flushed, her small lips opening and closing as she spoke. Mu Chen watched her, but his mind was elsewhere, secretly comparing her to the green-clad woman from two days ago. He quickly reached a conclusion: 'Give her three to five more years, and Mu Bingling will definitely surpass that woman.' Lost in this thought, he found himself simply staring at her in a daze.