When Mu Chen's figure appeared within Xia Hou's line of sight, the sharp black spear had already brought along overbearing gales as it shot forth like a bolt of lightning, heavily clashing against Xia Hou's white jade-like palm.
Bang!
At the instant of the collision, frightening gales instantly wreaked havoc akin to a hurricane. Under the frightening gales, even the surrounding space started to ripple.
As the frightening shock waves swept out, just as they were about to reach Mu Chen, lightning arcs abruptly sparkled on his body. Lightning runes surfaced on his chest, while a faint black colour appeared on his skin, appearing akin to black metal, sparkling with an indestructible lustre.
Bang!
The shock waves heavily smashed against Mu Chen's body, causing metallic sounds to erupt. A jolt shook through Mu Chen's body, before he was sent flying back. However, there weren't any signs of injuries on him.
Opposite him, Xia Hou's body had also jolted. However, he did not use his body to withstand the incoming shock waves. Instead, with a stomp of his foot, extremely robust Spiritual Energy swept out, smashing against the incoming shock waves. As a muffled bang rang out, his figure fluttered back in retreat.
Both of them retreated dozens of metres back, before stabilising themselves.
Silence filled the entire region.
Every single group present had unconcealable shock present on their faces as they watched the spectacle unfolding before them, with thick disbelief present within their eyes. Mu Chen, whose cultivation was only at Heavenly Completion Stage Late Phase, was actually able to clash head-on against Xia Hou, who had passed his Spiritual Energy Disaster?
Furthermore, there weren't any injuries on his body?
The faces of Tang Mei 'er and Zhou Yuan started to turn solemn, as their gazes started to re-examine the slender figure.
A handsome young man.
They knew how formidable Xia Hou was. His cultivation of Spiritual Energy Disaster might be ranked amongst the top in the entire Great Spiritual Academy Tournament.
Both of them could be considered as top-notch experts. If the two of them were to face Xia Hou one on one, they might be able to exchange a few blows with him. However, there was absolutely no chance of victory. Therefore, they were rather fearful of Xia Hou.
As for Mu Chen, he was only at the late stage of the Reaching Heaven State, which was much weaker than the Spiritual Power Disaster. Previously, after witnessing Luo Li's strength, Mu Chen and Mu Chen felt that there was a huge gap between them and the Spiritual Power Disaster.
In his heart, he had also thought that Mu Chen's position as captain was only a cover. However, this thought had been shaken.
This seemingly ordinary young man.
It seemed to possess extremely terrifying combat power.
"Tsk tsk, I've misjudged you this time. No wonder Qian 'er is so infatuated with you. You do have some skills." Tang Mei' er pursed her sexy red lips.
Then, she let out a charming laugh.
Her alluring gaze swept back and forth across Mu Chen's body with interest.
Zhou Yuan licked his lips as he stared at Mu Chen with a scorching gaze. He couldn't help rubbing the black metal rod in his hand. Clearly, this battle maniac's hands were itching for a fight.
Up in the sky, Xia Hou's gaze was a little dark as he looked at Mu Chen and slowly said, "No wonder you're so arrogant. So you do have some ability."
Mu Chen smiled.
With a flick of his finger, the long spear in his hand disappeared.
Raising his head to look at Xia Hou, he smiled and said, "I've made a fool of myself. I'm still lacking compared to Captain Xia Hou."
He paused for a brief moment, before continuing with a faint smile, "I wonder if Captain Xia Hou thinks that we still have the qualifications?"
Xia Hou took a deep look at Mu Chen. Soon after, a smile appeared on his face as he said, "If even Captain Mu Chen doesn't have the qualifications, then perhaps no one else here will."
Although the previous exchange had only lasted for an instant, Xia Hou could feel that Mu Chen was a little troublesome. Although he did not believe that Mu Chen would be his match in a real fight, it was still better to pay more attention to him than before. Moreover, the current him.
Mu Chen smiled as he cupped his hands together. Xia Hou was quite a character, and knew how to endure. However, Mu Chen knew that if he had not displayed such power in the previous fight, Xia Hou would not have hesitated to kill him to warn the others. However, upon seeing that Mu Chen's strength had exceeded his expectations, the killing intent in his eyes instantly retracted.
Although their group was indeed the strongest here, Xia Hou did not have the confidence to deal with Mu Chen's group after exhausting all his strength to avoid being taken advantage of by Wanhuang Lingyuan and Wu Ling Courtyard.
Therefore, Xia Hou had no choice but to endure for the time being.
However, the strength of a Spiritual Energy Disaster expert was indeed formidable.
Mu Chen's brows slightly knitted together. Compared to Mo Xingtian, Xia Hou's strength was practically a level higher. Although he was stronger than when he fought with Mo Xingtian, he still did not dare to underestimate him. According to his estimations, if he were to fight with Xia Hou without holding anything back, it would definitely be a fierce battle not inferior to the one he had with Mo Xingtian back then.
Mu Chen's eyes slightly drooped down. However, although Xia Hou was indeed troublesome to deal with, he hoped that the latter would not take the initiative to provoke him again. If not, Mu Chen wouldn't mind causing the Holy Spirit House to lose a group.
A chilling glint flashed across Mu Chen's eyes. In the next instant, he waved his hand towards Luo Li, before turning around and walking back to his group. As for Xu Huang and the other two, they raised their thumbs up towards him, their faces brimming with pride. The current Mu Chen was truly worthy of being the number one person in their Hokuang Reiwon, to the point where even a figure like Xia Hou had no choice but to compromise for the time being.
Beside them, the faces of the group from the Desolation Spiritual Academy were also brimming with revere. Although they had seen Mu Chen take action and defeat two Human Body Disaster experts by himself, when they saw that Mu Chen was actually able to cross swords with Xia Hou, whose cultivation had reached the Spiritual Energy Disaster, they couldn't help feeling shocked once again.
With a smile, Mu Chen swept his gaze around. This time, the gazes of the groups hovering in the sky no longer had any doubt present in their eyes. On the contrary, they were brimming with revere. From the looks of it, it was at this moment that they had truly categorized Hokuang Reiwon as one of the Five Great Academies. After all, their previous group had indeed appeared somewhat weak.
Humm!
Just as Mu Chen's gaze swept around, a gigantic pillar of light suddenly erupted from the depths of the dark primordial forest. As the pillar of light shot straight towards the clouds, a fragrance seemed to radiate from within. That fragrance caused the minds of countless people to shake, before their eyes turned scorching hot as they looked towards the depths of the forest. Indeed, there's an ancient remnant here!
That fragrance was extremely similar to the fragrance being emitted by some kind of rare and precious treasure.
In the sky, the eyes of seemingly over a thousand groups started to light up as they greedily licked their lips, eager to make a move.
Smelling that strange fragrance, Mu Chen instantly felt signs of the Spiritual Energy within his body fluctuating, causing a smear of astonishment to flash within his eyes. Could it be that there's really some kind of rare and precious treasure within the depths of the primordial forest?
"Looks like the groups here can't hold it in any longer."
Lin Zhou said in a low voice. As of now, the number of groups converging towards this place was increasing. Just by relying on Xia Hou's group, they were clearly unable to completely suppress them. Coupled with such an unforeseen event, the situation might very quickly spiral out of control.
Mu Chen nodded his head. From the start, he didn't think that the situation would be under his control. Now that the news had spread, it was even more impossible for him to do so.
"We'll also prepare to move out later. However, everyone, be careful. There's something not quite right about this place."
Shooting a look at the jet-black primordial forest, Mu Chen's brows started to faintly wrinkle up. This region always made him feel uncomfortable.
Hearing that, everyone nodded their heads, while the Spiritual Energy within their bodies started to quietly circulate.
"The remnant has opened! Let's rush out! For an ownerless item like this, it'll belong to the first to obtain it!"
The fragrance in this region grew increasingly dense. In the end, there were groups that were finally unable to endure the temptation, and instantly roared out. In the next instant, dozens of groups seemingly rushed out at the same time.
Whoosh!
Very quickly, those dozens of groups rushed into the sky above the black primordial forest. However, at the instant when they entered the range of the forest, they suddenly let out panicked cries, before their bodies rapidly descended. From the looks of it, it seemed as though flying was prohibited in this region.
Puff!
Over a hundred figures directly fell into the primordial forest.
Looking at this scene, the surrounding gazes were slightly stunned. From the looks of it, one couldn't fly through this region.
"If we can't fly through the air, we'll just charge through!"
It didn't take long for another group to respond. Then, one group after another whistled through the air and descended to the ground before rushing towards the black forest.
"Should we move out as well?" Xu Huang and the rest asked eagerly.
Mu Chen's brows were tightly knitted together, as he felt that something was amiss.
"It's too quiet." All of a sudden, Luo Li said in a soft voice.
Mu Chen was startled. That's right, the forest was too quiet. Previously, when over a hundred people had entered, there should have been some sort of commotion. Why was there not the slightest sound now?
It felt as though they had been devoured the instant they fell into the forest.
"I'm afraid that this place isn't simple." Mu Chen said with a grave expression.
The faces of Xu Huang and the rest slightly changed as they asked, "What should we do?
Are we still going to explore the ancient remnant? "
"It wasn't easy to find a remnant, we can't give it up so easily."
Mu Chen shook his head. Looking at the groups rushing towards the primeval forest like a swarm of locusts, he said in a soft voice, "Let's wait and wait for those fellows to scout ahead. Don't you see that even Xia Hou, Tang Mei 'er, Zhou Yuan and the rest aren't moving at all?"
Xu Huang and the rest looked over, and indeed saw that there wasn't the slightest bit of movement from those three groups. In the surroundings, there were still a few groups that were not weak. Furthermore, all of them had maintained their calm and rationality.
Crossing his fingers, Mu Chen stared at the dark forest as he muttered, "Let's see exactly what's so strange about this godforsaken place."
While Mu Chen and the rest were quietly waiting, they did not notice that there were several figures hidden in the shadows of a dense forest on a mountain peak behind them. Their gazes were similarly looking towards the primeval forest, as cold and indifferent laughter softly rang out.
"Looks like we've found the right place. This should be the Poison Forest, one of the gates of one of the overlords of the Shattered Continent in ancient times, the Divine Wood Palace."