"Brother Wu Ling, Brother Wen."
Mu Chen looked at the handsome youth before him and smiled faintly. Then, he cupped his fists towards Wu Ling and Wen Busheng and said, "Many thanks to the two of you this time."
In this battle with Ji Xuan, both sides' lineups were rather important. If he had not roped in Wu Ling and Wen Busheng, it was likely that not only Ji Xuan but also all of Ji Xuan's allies would have made a move today.
These cunning fellows had extremely sharp eyes. As long as they felt that they could really deal with Mu Chen and the rest by joining hands, they would definitely not hesitate.
However, the appearance of Wu Ling and Wen Busheng had once again strengthened the strength of Mu Chen's group. This made Ji Xuan's allies know that even if they all made a move, they would definitely not gain much of an advantage today. Therefore, these fellows who would not act without seeing the hare finally chose to watch from the sidelines.
When Wu Ling heard this, he smiled and said, "Brother Mu is too polite. This time, it was indeed Yingying who added fuel to the fire. Otherwise, I would also have hesitated."
Mu Chen was somewhat astonished as he looked towards Wu Yingying. Clearly, he did not expect that this young girl, who had always been prejudiced against him, would actually help him.
When Wu Yingying saw his gaze, she lightly snorted.
"Thank you." Mu Chen sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Wu Yingying's small mouth twitched, wanting to mock him out of habit. However, when she saw Mu Chen's warm and smiling gaze, a faint blush involuntarily flashed across her pretty face. She swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth and only said, "That Ji Xuan is not a good person either. If we allow him to win people over, it will not do us any good in the end."
"I am thinking for our Wu Ling Courtyard. I am not helping because of a little pervert like you." Wu Yingying proudly raised her sharp chin and coldly snorted.
Mu Chen was embarrassed by how Wu Yingying addressed him. Especially when he saw Wu Ling looking at him suspiciously, he couldn't help but let out a dry cough.
Wu Yingying also reacted, and the redness on her face became a little thicker. She immediately turned her head guiltily, not daring to look at her big brother.
"We didn't do anything this time. On the contrary, it's brother Mu who has hidden his strength. Truly worthy of being the Blood Calamity of the Spiritual Road," said Wen Busheng with a chuckle as he looked at Mu Chen with interest.
"Brother Wen, you're not simple either."
Replied Mu Chen with a smile. His gaze swept across Wen Busheng's body, before finally stopping at the latter's slender right hand that was like white jade. That hand was exceedingly perfect, sparkling and translucent like a crystal, sparkling with a faint lustre. From that right hand, Mu Chen could sense a rather dangerous fluctuation.
"It's just luck."
Replied Wen Busheng with a smile, before keeping his right hand into his sleeve. However, he didn't give any further explanation. Mu Chen didn't care about it either. After all, everyone had their own secrets.
"Perhaps, it won't be long before the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament enters its final phase."
Wu Ling looked towards Mu Chen and said, "In this final phase, there might be countless powerful groups charging towards the top 8. Furthermore, with Ji Xuan's defeat, it's hard to guarantee that he won't have any other thoughts. Therefore, I think that we can work together more closely in this final phase."
Wen Busheng nodded his head in agreement. Their appearance had clearly angered Ji Xuan. If Ji Xuan wanted to deal with them after this, it would be troublesome.
Although they weren't pushovers, they didn't really want to clash with a monstrous figure like Ji Xuan at this moment.
Mu Chen nodded his head in agreement. It was always good to have another friend here.
Seeing that they didn't have any objections, Wu Ling smiled, before handing over three dark red jade pendants. Rays of light circulated on the jade pendants. "These are communication jades that I obtained from some ruins. If you encounter any trouble, you just have to activate them, and the owner of the jade pendant will be able to sense it."
"Furthermore, when we're completely prepared, we might be able to use this as a signal to ignite our Academy Plaques and start the final phase."
The opening of the final phase required half of the Academy Plaques in the top 16 to be ignited. Once this condition was met, the top 8 groups would advance to the final phase.
Mu Chen glanced at Wen Qingxuan, who had arrived behind him. The two of them nodded their heads, before receiving a jade pendant from Wu Ling, while Wen Busheng received the other jade pendant.
"Haha, today's matter has come to an end, so we won't stay here any longer."
Seeing that the matter was basically settled, Wu Ling gave a hearty smile. After a brief conversation, he cupped his hands and bid farewell. Then, he swiftly left with Wu Yingying, whose face was still flushed.
After Wu Ling left, Wen Busheng also bid farewell and left.
Mu Chen looked at the departing figures of Wu Ling and the rest and breathed a sigh of relief. The paleness that he had been suppressing suddenly spread out, and his body couldn't help but stagger.
When he staggered, Luo Li immediately extended her jade-like hand to support Mu Chen's arm. When Wen Qingxuan saw this, she stealthily retracted her hand, and a smile appeared on her beautiful face. "So you're just stubbornly holding on.
"As expected of Ji Xuan," Mu Chen softly said. "If we continued to fight, I'm afraid that today's outcome would have been too easy."
The Spiritual Energy in his body had been greatly depleted. If they continued to fight, he would truly have to fight with his life on the line. Ji Xuan's strength was quite strong.
"You don't need to undervalue yourself. In this fight, Ji Xuan isn't any better. In the last attack, he also used some extremely well-hidden methods. Otherwise," Wen Qingxuan said.
Luo Li lightly nodded her head. Mu Chen's previous two shocking attacks were almost perfect. One was in the light, and the other was in the dark. The timing was extremely perfect. If not for the ancient eagle cry at the end, Ji Xuan would have been seriously injured.
"Ji Xuan hid his true trump card."
Mu Chen said slowly. His black eyes flickered with coldness. He had also heard the ancient eagle cry. Furthermore, he felt an indescribable sense of threat from it. That sense of threat was stronger than any of the people of the same generation that he had encountered before.
Luo Li pondered for a moment, then said, "If I'm not wrong, that ancient eagle cry is very likely from the supreme spiritual beast ranked eighth on the Earth Ranking, the Primordial Skydragon Eagle."
"Primordial Skydragon Eagle?"
Hearing that, Mu Chen's pupils shrunk and his eyes were slightly shaken. No wonder even the black egg that Jiu You transformed into had some movement. So that eagle cry had such a shocking origin.
The Primordial Skydragon Eagle was ranked eighth on the Earth Ranking. It was three ranks higher than Jiu You. In the Great Thousand World, the Primordial Skydragon Eagle had an extremely resounding reputation. It was considered a relatively powerful race among the spiritual beasts. Even if a Sovereign expert were to encounter it, they would be fearful and not dare to provoke it.
"Could it be that Ji Xuan had once refined the Primordial Skydragon Eagle's Soul Essence?" Mu Chen's eyes flickered as he muttered to himself.
In the cultivation of Spiritual Energy, one would possess the ability to refine a Spiritual Beast's Soul Essence when one was at the Spirit Stage. However, the power of the Soul Essence was limited. Therefore, once one's strength increased, the Soul Essence that was refined would gradually lose its effect. Therefore, the Soul Essence that many people refined would lose its effect when they became stronger.
However, this wasn't absolute. This was because if the Spiritual Beast's Soul Essence that was refined during the Spirit Stage reached a certain level, the power of the Soul Essence would continue to be passed down and become a powerful technique for cultivators.
For example, the Jiu You Sparrow that Mu Chen possessed.
Therefore, if Ji Xuan also possessed that kind of power, then he must have refined a powerful Spiritual Beast's Soul Essence when he was at the Spirit Stage. For example, the powerful Primordial Skydragon Eagle.
Of course, with Ji Xuan's strength at that time, it was impossible for him to refine the Primordial Skydragon Eagle by himself. It was just like how it was impossible for Mu Chen to refine the Jiu You Sparrow. Therefore, there must be an extremely powerful powerhouse that helped him.
Ji Xuan's background wasn't simple.
"It's very possible."
Hearing this, Luo Li and Wen Qingxuan nodded their heads with solemn expressions on their faces. If that was truly the case, Ji Xuan's degree of thorny had increased once again.
Mu Chen let out a light breath. There was some shock in his eyes, but there wasn't much fear. After all, even if Ji Xuan possessed the Primordial Skydragon Eagle's Soul Essence, he also possessed the Jiu You Sparrow's power.
Furthermore, there was a Bloodline Bond between him and the Jiu You Sparrow. They were almost like one body. Therefore, Mu Chen's fusion with the Jiu You Sparrow's power would be even more perfect.
Of course, although the Primordial Skydragon Eagle's ranking was slightly higher than the Jiu You Sparrow, it didn't mean that it was much more powerful than the Jiu You Sparrow. After all, at this level, they could be considered as Superior Spiritual Beasts. If they were to fight, it would be difficult to determine who was superior.
Most importantly, the Jiu You Sparrow was no longer a Spiritual Beast. She had already evolved into the Jiu You Underworld Sparrow, which was considered as entering the ranks of Divine Beasts. Once she awakened, she would possess the power to contend against a Sovereign Stage existence!
"This is interesting."
Mu Chen pursed his lips and smiled. He looked at the direction where Ji Xuan and the others left as a cold light flickered in his black eyes. Shortly after, he waved his hand and turned around, heading towards another direction.
Below, Shen Cangsheng, Li Xuantong and the others immediately rushed out after seeing this, and all of them followed suit.
Ji Xuan, in the upcoming Final Match, let me see how powerful your trump card is.
However, no matter what, this time, I will definitely win against you!
The grudges and grudges within the Spiritual Road would be completely settled in the Finals!
(To be continued)