Mu Chen didn't immediately continue; instead, he sat cross-legged in place to recover his Spiritual Energy.
Only when his spirit, Spiritual Energy, and physical strength had all returned to their peak did he say, "Next level."
"Boom!"
A dark figure fell from the air—a three-meter-tall puppet with an extremely burly build, looking like a small giant.
It emanated a terrifying aura, and the intense pressure caused the air to distort slightly.
Mu Chen's expression was serious, his eyes filled with solemnity. As expected, this was a Heaven Merging Realm early-stage puppet!
He even suspected that Liu Mubai's grandfather couldn't defeat it.
An unprecedentedly strong enemy!
Mu Chen immediately began forming Spirit Seals to set up a Spirit Array. With his Divine Soul Realm mid-stage cultivation, it was impossible for him to cause effective damage to the opponent; he could only rely on Spirit Arrays!
The puppet didn't give Mu Chen time to calmly set up his Spirit Array. Red light flashed in its eyes, and it charged over in a flash, its fist, as big as a casserole, smashing down with the force to destroy cities and shake mountains.
"Adamantine Pagoda Hand."
Mu Chen's Spirit Array had reached a critical moment, and he couldn't afford to be interrupted; he had to forcibly endure one move.
A Spiritual Energy-condensed palm struck towards the puppet but was shattered by its punch.
A dark, profound light emerged on Mu Chen's body, forming a black light pagoda.
The light pagoda was struck by the puppet's punch, and ripples spread across its surface. As the light pagoda vibrated, Mu Chen's face also turned pale, and he tasted a hint of metallic sweetness in his mouth.
At this moment, his Spirit Array was also completed.
"Dragon Elephant Array!"
The Golden Dragon and the Giant Elephant appeared again, suppressing the puppet.
An earth-shattering collision rang out, but Mu Chen could clearly feel that the puppet's aura remained strong.
"Is there no other way...?" Mu Chen hesitated, wondering whether to admit defeat.
"Mu Chen, are you stupid? As a Divine Soul Realm person, you haven't even activated your Worm of Spirit's essence?" Amon shouted in his mind.
"Ah?" Mu Chen was startled. "Isn't that move 'Time Zero'?"
"That's only a part of it. Do you think the abilities I bring, as the number one Divine Beast on the Heavenly Rank, would be so simple?" Amon said proudly.
"I wasn't studying it because I was worried about affecting your stability; at that time, you were almost too faint to be seen," Mu Chen muttered softly.
Amon was silent for a moment, then smiled again:
"Hehe, Mu Chen is worried about me? That makes me quite happy, but there's no need. I won't die... Unless the patriarch wants to kill me, no one can kill me."
"Then I'll give it a try." Mu Chen's expression became serious, and he fully activated the Worm of Spirit's essence.
A hint of starlight bloomed within the dark Spiritual Energy, and two illusory small worms, formed from Spiritual Energy, with twelve segments and starlight-like colors, appeared.
The illusory worms condensed a large amount of Spiritual Energy and began to solidify. The two worms connected head to tail, forming a ring.
A long, melodious chime sounded.
Dong...
This chime seemed to come from across time and space, spreading out majestically, causing the entire World to fall silent.
An indescribable torrent burst forth, and pure light poured out from the ring formed by the two small worms connected together.
"Focus the light and aim it at half of the puppet's body!" Amon quickly urged.
Mu Chen's Spiritual Energy simply couldn't sustain this move for long; victory or defeat would be decided in an instant.
He also knew that time was of the essence, and upon hearing Amon's prompt, he immediately complied.
The torrent of time swallowed half of the puppet's body, and the puppet immediately became paralyzed, falling to the ground with a "bang."
Mu Chen was startled: "That amazing?"
"That's... Hahaha, that's the power of the Worm of Spirit!" Amon laughed, hands on her hips.
"Tenth Level, passed." A emotionless prompt sounded.
Hearing the prompt, Mu Chen relaxed and collapsed to the ground. This move had drained all his Spiritual Energy and physical strength, and he felt a strong sense of mental fatigue.
He rubbed his temples, forcing himself to gather his spirits, and asked, "What exactly happened just now? What effect does this move have?"
Mu Chen was still a bit dazed. He could feel that the light projected by the Worm of Spirit's illusory image had no destructive power, yet the puppet became paralyzed immediately after being hit.
Amon explained with a smile, "This is also the power of time. In areas brushed by the torrent of time, the flow rate of time will fall into chaos."
Mu Chen was puzzled: "But how would that paralyze the puppet?"
Amon pinched her monocle, which was ground from crystal, and a smile played on her lips:
"Spirit Arrays are inscribed on the puppet, which is its source of power. The half of its body illuminated by the torrent of time had its time flow rate altered, which also means the Spiritual Energy flow rate in that part was changed.
"But the Spiritual Energy flow rate in the unaffected areas remained the same, which caused problems in its Spiritual Energy circulation, and the array was destroyed.
"With the array destroyed and its power source lost, the puppet naturally became paralyzed."
Mu Chen thought for a moment and said, "It sounds very powerful, but it seems it can only be used to destroy arrays. If the opponent is a person, the effect wouldn't be as good, right..."
"This move consumes so much, and I'll lose combat power after activating it, while the opponent would only be confused for an instant."
Amon shook her head: "You can use it when the opponent activates a powerful move. In that situation, interfering with the flow of Spiritual Energy within their body would cause the opponent to suffer a backlash; even if they don't die, they'll lose half their life.
"You feel it consumes a lot because you are still too weak now. Once your cultivation level goes up, the consumption will be relatively acceptable.
"Even those overlords who dominate a region in the Great Thousand World, few can resist the power of time.
"Hmm, actually, you can't activate this move at all right now; I helped you bear a portion of the consumption just now."
Only then did Mu Chen notice that Amon seemed to have become even more ethereal, but her original lines were already very faint, so he hadn't noticed it immediately.
"It seems this move can't be used too often, as it would cause you harm, right?" Mu Chen's face showed concern.
"It's fine, it's fine, just use it boldly... I won't die, just get some Worm of Spirit essence to replenish me."
Amon waved her hand nonchalantly, looking completely unconcerned.
She paused, then showed a sly smile: "If you feel bad about it, you can promise some Wicked Lord True Eye as compensation."
The worry on Mu Chen's face disappeared, and he shook his head with a wry smile. Amon gave him the impression of someone who valued money more than her life.
He took out his Spirit Value token, injected Spiritual Energy, and after the light screen unfolded, he clicked on the God Soul List list.
The rankings had already changed: first place was Luo Li, who had passed the eleventh level of the Trial Tower and lasted half an hour on the twelfth level.
Second place was Yang Hong, who had passed the eleventh level and lasted five minutes on the twelfth level.
Third place was Bing Qing, who had passed the tenth level and maintained an undefeated record on the eleventh level.
Because the God Soul List ranking method was different from the original, even if they ascended the rank, it wouldn't affect the interests of the senior students who had already advanced to the Heaven Merging Realm. Therefore, Yang Hong, Bing Qing, and others didn't wait and immediately began to challenge the ranks.
Mu Chen had now passed the tenth level, ranking fifth.
"Tsk tsk, that Yang Hong is your rival, right? He's fallen behind you, huh..." Amon teased.
"Temporary wins and losses don't mean anything." Mu Chen smiled slightly, "Let him stay in that position for a while longer."
Amon raised an eyebrow: "I didn't expect you to be so calm."
Mu Chen said, "Amon, I'll recover my Spiritual Energy, and then you cooperate with me a few more times. Let's directly take down the thirteenth level as well."
Amon: "..."
Alright, not calm at all.
While these outstanding new students were fighting in the Trial Tower, the new and old students outside were all staring at the God Soul List, with endless discussions.
"It's changed, it's changed, the God Soul List has changed again."
"This Mu Chen seems to be a new student too, right? I've never heard of him before."
"Amazing, four of the top five on the God Soul List are new students."
"These few probably won't stay on the God Soul List for long, will they?"
"Huh? Is there someone even more powerful who will push them down?"
"No, I mean they will probably advance to the Heaven Merging Realm very soon."
"Yes, anyone who can make it onto the God Soul List right after enrolling is a favored child of heaven."
Chu Lin and Fang Zhong looked at the stone tablet on the wing of the giant eagle-shaped mountain from afar, their faces full of longing.
"As expected of Mu Chen. I remember he was only Divine Soul Realm mid-stage, right?" Fang Zhong said softly.
Chu Lin stared blankly at Luo Li's name, his eyes seemingly unable to hold anything else.
Fang Zhong glanced at his dazed friend and sighed, "Give up, you have no chance."
In the Trial Tower, a tall, slender youth in a green robe stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an exceptionally arrogant aura.
Yang Hong looked at Mu Chen's name displayed on the Spirit Value token, a faint smile playing on his lips:
"Stopping at the tenth level? Without the Spiritual Energy anointing from completing the Spiritual Road, you've already been left behind by us."
On a cliff, a young man in a green robe with long, flowing hair, a handsome face, and a distinctly chiseled profile, showed clear surprise when he saw the name at the top of the God Soul List:
"Luo Li? Why would she be here?"
"Li Xuantong, do you know her?"
Beside him was a black-clothed youth.
The youth's face was resolute, his eyes calm like deep Tan water, carrying an air of looking down upon the World.
Li Xuantong was silent for a moment, then replied, "I'm not sure if it's her. Logically speaking, the Luo Li I know wouldn't likely come here, but being able to rush to the top of the God Soul List right after enrolling makes me think it's highly probable it's her."
Seeing his expression, the black-clothed youth smiled: "You like her?"
Li Xuantong neither admitted nor denied it.
He changed the subject: "How's your progress recently? Do you have the confidence to challenge those two monsters?"
The black-clothed youth showed a helpless smile: "Not at all, they are despairingly strong."
"I didn't expect to hear such words from your mouth, Shen Cangsheng." Li Xuantong raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
"I just fought Hun Jin a month ago, and in one move... I lost in one move." Shen Cangsheng sighed slightly.
Li Xuantong's pupils contracted, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face: "One move?"
☰