Translated by: Hypersheep325 Edited by: Michyrr Within the Dark Forest, Mu Chen and his group were already approaching the depths of the forest. Along the way, they had encountered over a dozen waves of attacks from the Demonic Trees. However, although the attacks of those Demonic Trees were hard to defend against, they were no longer frightening once one was prepared. As for the most frightening poisonous mist, due to Mu Chen's existence, it had instead become the least threatening obstruction.
Therefore, for the remaining part of their journey, they were clearly able to move with ease.
"Looks like we're about to break through this forest."
As their figures shot forward, Luo Li suddenly raised her beautiful eyes to look before her. Within the depths of the darkness, there seemed to be faint rays of sunlight.
Hearing her words, Xu Huang and his group instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Danger lurked in every corner of this forest, and the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. They were afraid that a poisonous thorn would pierce through the ground and launch a sneak attack if they slightly relaxed.
On the other hand, Mu Chen smacked his lips in regret. Along the way, he had absorbed over a dozen waves of poisonous mist, and the poisonous energy within his fingers was even more violent than before. Naturally, the most important thing for them to do now was to search for the remnants and raise the strength of the entire group. Although these slightly unorthodox methods could temporarily raise their fighting prowess, they could not truly rely on them. Therefore, although Mu Chen felt that it was a pity, he wasn't stupid enough to waste a large amount of time to absorb the poisonous mist.
"Oh?"
While Mu Chen was feeling regretful, his expression suddenly changed as he looked towards the right side of the forest. At that location, he could sense an extremely powerful Spiritual Energy fluctuation erupting. From the looks of it, one of the groups should have encountered some trouble.
Noticing the commotion, Luo Li shot a glance at Mu Chen.
"Forget it, ignore it."
Mu Chen pondered for a brief moment, before shaking his head. In the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament, the majority of the groups were considered as opponents and enemies. Therefore, they did not have the leisure to help others.
Luo Li and the rest nodded their heads in agreement.
"Boom!"
However, just as Mu Chen was about to bring Luo Li and the rest away, another extremely powerful Spiritual Energy fluctuation erupted. This Spiritual Energy fluctuation caused Mu Chen's expression to change as he said, "It's the Holy Spirit House's Xia Hou?
They're making a move against the other groups? "
"That Spiritual Energy fluctuation from earlier was rather powerful. It's very likely to be the Wanhuang Lingyuan's Tang Mei 'er or Wu Ling's Courtyard's Zhou Yuan." Luo Li pondered for a moment, before saying in astonishment, "Xia Hou actually chose to make a move against them?"
Mu Chen's brows slightly knitted together. Although Tang Mei 'er and Zhou Yuan's group were slightly weaker than Xia Hou's group, they were definitely not easy to deal with. If an all-out battle broke out, even if Xia Hou's group could deal with them, they would still have to pay a price. Paying such a price at such a time didn't seem to be a wise choice, unless Xia Hou's group had the confidence to easily deal with Tang Mei' er's group.
"Do you want to go take a look?" Luo Li's beautiful eyes looked towards Mu Chen.
Mu Chen's eyes faintly flickered as he decisively nodded his head. "Xia Hou's group will make a move against us sooner or later. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Furthermore, we're not enemies with Wanhuang Lingyuan and Wu Ling's Courtyard for the time being. Helping them once is also a favor, which isn't a bad thing for us."
Furthermore … if it really was Tang Mei 'er, then given her relationship with Tang Qian' er, he couldn't just stand by and watch. However, he could only keep this thought in his mind.
Mu Chen secretly glanced at Luo Li. The latter only looked at him with a smile and nodded her head as if nothing had happened. "Since you've decided, then let's go."
From the looks of it, she didn't seem to know what was going through Mu Chen's mind. However, Mu Chen felt a little guilty no matter how he looked at it. He could only let out a dry laugh. His figure moved and he changed his direction, heading towards the direction of the Spiritual Energy ripples.
In the dark forest, a violent Spiritual Energy swept out like a wave. Even some of the gigantic demonic trees in the surroundings were shaken to the point that they started to sway. On the tree trunks, there were cracks spreading out.
Boom!
At the centre of the berserk Spiritual Energies, two figures crossed each other at lightning speed. In the next instant, the winds from their palms collided, causing frightening Spiritual Energy shock waves to instantly radiate out, causing the ground below to shake and split apart. Gigantic fissures started to extend towards the distance.
In that terrifying collision, one of the figures trembled, while the other slender figure flew out in a sorry state. In the end, she covered her red lips and couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Captain!"
Behind her, four charming figures flew over. They supported the slender figure and said anxiously.
"Haha, Captain Tang Mei 'er, looks like your luck isn't that good. Actually, I didn't want to treat you as my opponents. Who would have thought that you would give me such a good opportunity."
On the opposite side, a figure slowly descended. With a faint smile, it was the Captain of the Holy Spirit House's team, Xia Hou.
Behind him, the other four members also flew over. Shortly after, they locked onto the Wanhuang Lingyuan's team.
Tang Mei 'er wiped away the bloodstains at the corner of her mouth with her jade-like hand. At this moment, her usually smiling face was already covered in frost, while her peach blossom like eyes no longer had the usual flirtatious and flirtatious look, replaced by a chilling intent. Looking coldly at Xia Hou, she said, "Captain Xia Hou, you really are a dog. You've really grasped the timing to take advantage of an opening."
"I was just lucky."
Xia Hou paid no heed to Tang Mei 'er's mockery. With a faint chuckle, he gazed at the five charming children in front of him. There was a trace of black aura between their brows. This was a sign that poison had entered their bodies. Evidently, they had all been poisoned.
Under normal circumstances, Xia Hou would naturally not target Tang Mei 'er and the rest. However, who would have thought that he would accidentally discover that Tang Mei' er and the rest's strength had been greatly reduced due to being poisoned. He did not understand why Tang Mei 'er and the rest would be poisoned. Although this place was indeed very dangerous, it should not have forced them to such a state. Nevertheless, doubts were doubts. Nevertheless, Xia Hou would not easily let go of such an opportunity that had been delivered to his doorstep.
Outside the forest, it was because Tang Mei 'er had teamed up with Mu Chen and Zhou Yuan to suppress their Holy Spirit House's momentum. At that time, Xia Hou had been afraid that the three teams would join forces and retaliate, hence he had endured it. Therefore, now that he had encountered them alone and in a weakened state, he naturally did not hesitate to act.
"Captain Tang Mei 'er, please hand over your Academy Plaque."
Xia Hou smiled faintly as he extended his hand and said, "Although it's not very nice to attack girls, I believe that you should be able to understand our current position."
Iciness suffused Tang Mei 'er's beautiful eyes as she tightly gritted her teeth and hatefully glared at Xia Hou. However, she was after all a decisive person and knew that it was impossible for them to match up to Xia Hou and the rest in their current state. If they were to forcefully resist, it would instead cause the poison in their bodies to erupt. If that happened, the consequences would be even more severe.
"Fine. Xia Hou, remember this. I will properly settle this matter with all of you in the future!"
Tang Mei 'er clenched her lily-white hand as a sparkling jade plaque appeared within it. Soon after, she directly threw it towards Xia Hou.
Xia Hou was all smiles as he extended his hand to grab the Academy Plaque. However, just as he reached out, a suction force suddenly erupted from behind him. With a swoosh, the Academy Plaque swept past Xia Hou and the rest and flew towards the rear.
Xia Hou's expression instantly changed as he shouted with a dark expression, "Who?!"
"Haha, I never imagined that I would be able to pick up an Academy Plaque with so many points on the way."
Laughter rang out from the dark forest behind them. Soon after, ten figures flew out and landed on the empty ground. It was Mu Chen and the rest. At this moment, he was holding an Academy Plaque in his hand. He could not help but grin as he looked at the 2,000 points on the plaque.
"Mu Chen!"
Upon seeing Mu Chen's figure, Xia Hou's face instantly turned cold. On the other side, the beautiful eyes of Tang Mei 'er and the rest lit up as joy surfaced on their lovable faces.
"Return the Academy Plaque!" Xia Hou extended his hand as he spoke in a cold voice.
With a faint smile, Mu Chen did not waste any more words. With a clench of his hand, a long black spear appeared in his hand. Behind him, Luo Li, Xu Huang and the rest also had Spiritual Energy rippling around them, ready to fight at any moment.
"If Captain Xia Hou wants to spar with us here, we'll be more than happy to," said Mu Chen with a smile.
"You're courting death!" Behind Xia Hou, the four members flew into a rage as they furiously roared.
Mu Chen did not pay any attention to them as his gaze rested on Xia Hou, who had a dark expression on his face. The latter slowly clenched his fist as killing intent condensed in his eyes. However, after remaining silent for a long time, he finally inhaled a deep breath and said in a sinister tone, "Good, Captain Mu Chen is truly bold. I'll give you the Academy Plaque for now. However, believe me, I'll make you spit it out with interest next time."
Although he really wanted to slap Mu Chen to death with a palm, this wasn't the best time to do so. They still had to preserve their strength to search for the ruins. At that time, a great battle would definitely erupt.
"You're welcome," said Mu Chen with a smile as he nodded his head.
"Let's go!"
Xia Hou's eyes were cold as he waved his hand, decisively turning around and leaving. His four members hesitated for a moment, but could only grit their teeth and follow after him in the end.
As Xia Hou and his group decisively left, Xu Huang and the rest also breathed a sigh of relief. Holding onto the Academy Plaque, Mu Chen looked towards Tang Mei 'er and the rest. The latter's beautiful eyes coldly glanced at the departing figures of Xia Hou and his group, before raising her beautiful face and smiling towards Mu Chen. "Many thanks. Take half of the points on the Academy Plaque as our thanks."
Fiddling with the Academy Plaque, Mu Chen smiled as he shook his head. With a flick of his finger, the Academy Plaque transformed into a streak of light, shooting over under the startled gazes of Tang Mei 'er and the rest.
"If there's a need, I'll take action after you guys have recovered your strength," replied Mu Chen with a faint smile.
Tang Mei 'er and the rest exchanged glances with each other, while the four lovable and adorable girls looked at the handsome, slender, spear-wielding youth before them with a calm demeanor. At this moment, a glimmer was clearly condensing within their beautiful eyes.
"Hehe, then I'll owe you guys a favor."
Tang Mei 'er wasn't an indecisive person. After a slight hesitation, she gave a sweet smile as she received the Academy Plaque. Once again, a soul-stirring charm surfaced in her beautiful eyes. Looking at Mu Chen with a grin, she said, "However, it seems that my younger sister's eyesight is pretty good. Even I, your elder sister, am about to be moved."
Upon hearing her words, the smile on Mu Chen's face stiffened. He could feel the young girl beside him lightly stroking the Luo God Sword in her hand …
—