Chapter 544 - 534: Intention

Chapter 544: Chapter 534: Intention

A huge question mark appeared in Mu Chen’s mind. He wasn’t afraid of failing once. What he feared was not finding the reason for his failure. Even if he found the cause, without a solution, he would just keep stumbling in the same spot, again and again.

’Practice makes perfect.’

After racking his brain to no avail, Mu Chen had no choice but to steel himself and resort to the most basic method: trial and error. He believed that if he experimented enough, he would eventually find a way to succeed. And so, immersed in the Beginner’s Chapter of the Forest of Myriad Manifestations, he began a long and tedious process of adaptation.

The night passed peacefully. As dawn began to break, a warm ray of sunlight streamed in through the new windowsill, falling directly onto Mu Chen’s face.

A smile played on Mu Chen’s lips, his excitement plain to see. Within his Sea of Souls, he watched as the Spiritual Concentration Profound Jade Fan broke through the final Spiritual Net. A look of triumph finally graced his features.

"I did it! Ha-ha!"

Mu Chen laughed aloud without realizing it. It wasn’t until he finally succeeded that he understood his previous approach had been completely foolish. That Senluo Saint certainly had a playful streak. The so-called Beginner’s Chapter didn’t just train one’s Spiritual Power, Spirit Concentration Power, Spirit Control Power, or even Spirit Decomposition Ability. More importantly, it subtly worked to break down rigid ways of thinking.

In other words, he wanted to tell the world that to cultivate the Forest of Myriad Manifestations, one needed to think outside the box and even have an innovative spirit capable of mental flexibility. Sticking to rigid, conventional methods would make it absolutely impossible to pass the test of the Beginner’s Chapter, which meant you were simply not suited for the Forest of Myriad Manifestations.

For example, during the Beginner’s Chapter, if Mu Chen hadn’t cleverly reoriented his condensed spirit from a vertical to a horizontal axis to match the Spiritual Net’s rotation, passing levels eighty-one through one hundred fifty would not have been so simple. In fact, after getting used to the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations of the earlier levels, adapting to the vertical rotation would have taken far more than just a few hours.

And once you failed at that stage, you’d have to re-acclimate to the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations, creating a vicious cycle. The solution didn’t just involve occasionally turning the condensed spirit; it required constantly shifting its orientation. For levels one hundred fifty to three hundred, the gaps in the Spiritual Nets were only two-thirds the size of the condensed spirit. If you tried to pass through vertically, maneuvering would be impossible. But if you entered a Spiritual Net vertically and then immediately shifted the spirit to a horizontal orientation, you could pause in the space between the nets. That was the true solution.

When an object is moving at high speed, any slight change in direction will inevitably cause a massive deflection. This is a law of the universe—an unbreakable law!

...

Taking a deep breath, Mu Chen’s eyes snapped open, a beam of white light flashing within his pupils. Completing the Beginner’s Chapter of the Forest of Myriad Manifestations had brought him more than just a qualitative leap in his Spiritual Power. More importantly, a new Secret Technique had appeared in his mind! A Spirit Secret Technique that he desperately needed!

’Multi-tasking!’

Just from the name, he could tell this Secret Technique had little combat potential; it couldn’t inflict even a sliver of damage. However, it could divide a person’s spirit into multiple threads, with each thread capable of independently completing a task according to the main consciousness’s thoughts and commands. It did have limitations, though. The more threads his spirit was divided into, the less power each could control and the less effective they would be. Conversely, the fewer the threads, the greater their power and effect.

While it seemed to have no direct application in combat, as a support ability, this Secret Technique was practically a Divine Skill. At the very least, the problem that had been plaguing Mu Chen was no longer an issue. Splitting his focus three ways, which had been so difficult before, was now incredibly simple with the help of Multi-tasking.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Just then, someone knocked on Mu Chen’s door. It was obviously Chu Aoqing.

"Mu Chen, are you up?"

Her alluring voice drifted into his ears, forcing Mu Chen to focus his mind. ’Just being around Chu Aoqing,’ he thought, ’is a trial for my Spiritual Power in itself!’

"Be right there."

Leaping out of bed, Mu Chen quickly washed up, straightened his clothes, and opened the door. Seeing the stunning, mature figure in red standing outside, he was momentarily dazed.

Chu Aoqing had a different look today. She was still wearing a long dress, but had swapped it for a vibrant red one. The color was as vivid as fresh blood, a shade that could have seemed overly flamboyant.

Yet for some reason, on Chu Aoqing, it only made her seem more alluring. Her long purple hair cascaded down her back, nearly matching the length of Mu Chen’s own blue hair.

She studied Mu Chen with a curious expression on her fair face and remarked with a hint of awe, "You seem different."

Mu Chen’s lips twitched. "How am I different?"

Chu Aoqing said seriously, "Your eyes... even your aura. I feel like I can’t see through you. Did you have a breakthrough?"

Shaking his head, Mu Chen smiled. "A breakthrough isn’t that easy. I just made a little progress in another area. Anyway, why are you up so early?"

Usually, Chu Aoqing loved to sleep in. She rarely woke up before the sun was high in the sky. For her to be up this early, the sun must have risen in the west.

Chu Aoqing pursed her lips but didn’t argue. She really did love to sleep. If she had spent all that time on Cultivation instead, her Martial Artist Realm would be far beyond its current level.

"Great Elder Dilaka sent a message this morning. He wants us to go to the Elder Space together." Chu Aoqing crossed her arms, her weapon Qianye strapped to her back, and looked at Mu Chen with a nonchalant expression.

Chu Aoqing was surprisingly tall. From this angle, her eyes were level with his; she was almost exactly his height. Mu Chen felt a little flustered under her gaze. He scratched his head and held out his right hand. "Right, I almost forgot. Here, give me your hand."

Without a second thought, Chu Aoqing placed her left hand in his palm. Mu Chen gave it a gentle squeeze. Her hand felt as light and soft as flowing water, and a tremor went through his heart.

The instant Mu Chen’s hand closed around hers, Chu Aoqing froze. A flustered look crossed her face. "What are you doing? That was so sudden."

Mu Chen knew she had gotten the wrong idea. He rubbed his nose and said, "We’re teleporting, of course. Did you think we were going to fly to the Elder Space?"

"Oh."

Chu Aoqing realized her mistake, and her cheeks flushed red. She quickly relaxed, however, and squeezed his hand in return. "Let’s go."

When Chu Aoqing squeezed his hand, Mu Chen’s heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, he managed to keep his focus and didn’t let himself get flustered.

He closed his eyes and sent a wisp of Spiritual Power into his Golden Storage Ring. The Golden Ring flared with light. After a ripple in space, both Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing vanished from the doorway of his room. When they reappeared, they were in Dilaka’s office.

As their vision cleared from the spatial distortion, a pair of teasing eyes fell upon Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing. Dilaka smiled. "Good morning."

Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing smiled back, greeting him simultaneously—Mu Chen with "Good morning, Teacher," and Chu Aoqing with "Good morning, Great Elder."

Dilaka cleared his throat, his eyes darting between Chu Aoqing and Mu Chen. "You know," he said mischievously, "you two make a good pair. It’s fine for young people to be affectionate, but do you have to flaunt it right in front of this old man?"

As he spoke, Dilaka’s gaze shifted from their shocked faces down to their hands. He raised an eyebrow. ’These two are making good progress,’ he thought to himself. ’Looks like that old coot Chu will owe me big time. Mu Chen is one of the finest young men I’ve ever met in terms of character. He’s more than worthy of Chu Aoqing.’

Following Dilaka’s gaze, Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing looked down. Sure enough, they were still holding hands.

"Ah!"

As if zapped by lightning, Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing yanked their hands apart. Mu Chen stared awkwardly at the ceiling, while Chu Aoqing’s face flushed crimson as she buried her head and stared at her own fingers, both of them trying to hide their acute embarrassment.

"Ahem. Alright, let’s get down to business."

Dilaka cleared his throat, his voice turning serious. "Mu Chen, are you prepared to enter the Eternal Holy Domain?"

"Yes. I’m fully prepared."

Mu Chen’s gaze snapped to Dilaka, all traces of his earlier embarrassment gone. Chu Aoqing, on the other hand, stared at Mu Chen in shock, stammering, "Great Elder, what did you just say? He... he’s going to enter the Eternal Holy Domain? But isn’t that place a..."

"A forbidden zone, right?" Dilaka finished her sentence for her. "Mu Chen’s situation is unique. Mu Chen, I’ll permit you to share this secret with Chu Aoqing, but whether or not you tell her is your choice."

Dilaka’s words carried a deeper meaning. If Mu Chen chose to tell her, she would know his secret. And knowing his secret meant she would be in the same boat as him. Dilaka wasn’t pushing them together because he was unaware that Mu Chen already had two romantic partners. He was doing it because those two partners couldn’t help Mu Chen establish a foothold in the Central State in the future.

But Chu Aoqing was different. She was Chu Jingyun’s only granddaughter, the sole heiress of the Hidden Sword Manor. If she were bound to Mu Chen, with the combined backing of two great powers—Holy Tomb Mountain and the Hidden Sword Manor—Mu Chen’s future path would be much smoother. In this world, no single person could walk an easy path through life on their own. Factions and patrons were the greatest assets of all!

Everything he was doing was for his one and only Closed-door Disciple. More than that, he wanted to atone for his guilt over Qiye by pouring everything into Mu Chen. He could not bear to lose someone so important to him a second time.

"Alright. I’ll tell Aoqing everything."

Mu Chen answered without the slightest hesitation. It wasn’t for any other reason than the fact that Chu Aoqing had always stepped forward to help him, always saved him in moments of crisis. He would even trust her with the secret of his Nine Attributes Dantian. This decision wasn’t driven by lust or romantic fantasy. It was born of trust.