Chapter 77

North Spirit Academy, Rear Mountain.

This was a lush, verdant forest, with a massive waterfall cascading down like a silver water python, its thunderous roar sending up a mist that spread across the sky.

Teacher Mo stood with his hands behind his back on the open ground below the waterfall. In front of him were Mu Chen, Tang Qian'er, Mo Ling, Chen Fan, and Huo Yun.

"Starting today, I will provide you with specialized training. Apart from Mu Chen, the rest of you must officially advance to the Spirit Wheel Realm within this month. Otherwise, you will lose the qualification to compete for the five academy spots," Teacher Mo said, his gaze sweeping over the group.

Hearing this, Tang Qian'er, Chen Fan, and the others became more serious. They had been training at North Spirit Academy to secure one of the five academy spots. Losing this qualification would be a devastating blow.

"You four are already at the peak of the Spirit Movement Realm, and Chen Fan and Huo Yun have even started to try to form spirit wheels. However, you are still one step away. Therefore, you need to use some external pressure to help your internal spirit energy condense into a wheel."

"External pressure?" Chen Fan and the others looked at each other in confusion.

"Do you see that waterfall?" Teacher Mo smiled, pointing to the waterfall behind them, where countless streams of water poured down with great force, crashing onto the rocks below and sending up a mist.

"Starting today, the four of you will sit under this waterfall to train, using all your spirit energy to resist the impact of the waterfall. That external pressure will gradually transmit into your bodies, compressing the spirit energy in your qi sea into a wheel."

"Ah?"

Chen Fan and the others were dumbfounded. Training while sitting under that waterfall? The impact would probably make them dizzy and disoriented after just a minute.

"There are no shortcuts in cultivation. If you want to advance to the Spirit Wheel Realm within a month, you must take drastic measures. If you can't even do this, I suggest you don't compete for the spots!" Teacher Mo said sternly.

"Yes!"

Chen Fan and the others quickly responded.

"If your spirit energy runs out, step back temporarily to recover, then continue," Teacher Mo said, his gaze sharp.

"Yes!"

"Begin."

Tang Qian'er and the others looked at each other, then gritted their teeth. Spirit energy surged from their bodies as they leaped over the wide river and landed below the waterfall.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As soon as they landed, before they could even sit down, they were immediately swept into the lake by the powerful impact, drenched like drowned rats.

The four of them climbed out of the lake, spirit energy continuously surging from their bodies to resist the water's impact. They finally sat down, gritting their teeth and enduring the pain, while circulating their spirit energy to resist the water.

Mu Chen watched the four of them sitting under the waterfall and was secretly amazed. This training intensity was indeed quite heavy, truly a devilish training.

"Mu Chen."

Teacher Mo's gaze turned to Mu Chen, making his heart skip a beat, with a sense of foreboding.

"Have you reviewed those two spirit techniques?" Teacher Mo asked casually.

Mu Chen nodded.

"Your training ground is there," Teacher Mo pointed to the river below. Mu Chen's gaze followed, and his scalp tingled. The waterfall there cascaded down unobstructed from a great height. While Tang Qian'er and the others had some rocks above to reduce the impact, here, it was completely open, with no obstacles.

Moreover, there were several wooden stakes, only as wide as two feet, standing below the waterfall.

"If you want to master the Spirit Shadow Step, it's simple. Just shuttle back and forth between those wooden stakes without getting wet," Teacher Mo said.

"What?"

Mu Chen was stunned. Shuttle back and forth without getting wet? Was that even possible?

"These waterfalls are not continuous; there are brief gaps. To meet this condition, you must match your speed to the gaps in the water flow."

Mu Chen smiled bitterly. The difficulty was indeed high, but it was indeed an excellent method for training his body techniques.

"Additionally, the Spirit Emperor Finger is powerful and fierce. Your current finger strength is not enough to practice it. Therefore, your fingers must also be trained. I will make the waterfall occasionally send down wooden stakes, and you must pierce them with your fingers as they rush past," Teacher Mo said slowly.

Mu Chen's scalp tingled again. The force of the wooden stakes rushing down with the water would be immense, and the speed so fast that any distraction would cause you to miss them. To pierce them, you must strike at the exact moment they pass, requiring perfect control of your speed and intense training of your fingers.

"Scared?"

Teacher Mo asked casually.

"Although it's a bit troublesome, I'm not afraid," Mu Chen took a deep breath, his handsome face gradually calming, and a glint of determination appeared in his black eyes.

"Hmm."

Teacher Mo nodded in satisfaction. "Then let's begin."

Mu Chen also nodded, without any hesitation, and leaped over the water, dashing into the fierce waterfall like a swallow, landing on a narrow wooden stake.

Boom!

The powerful water flow rushed down, and Mu Chen quickly stepped on the wooden stake, dashing toward the next one.

Bang!

However, just as he dashed out, a powerful water flow rushed down, instantly sweeping him into the lake below. He had underestimated the speed of the water.

Mu Chen spat out the lake water, slapped the water with his palm, and leaped onto another wooden stake. His face became serious, and spirit energy surged from his body to resist the water's impact.

At the beginning, he clearly needed to use spirit energy to protect his body before gradually adapting.

Mu Chen focused, dashing out again, piercing through a stream of water, and landing on another wooden stake. Just as he was about to leap again, he heard a strange sound in the water. Glancing sideways, he saw a black shadow rushing toward him.

It was a wooden stake mixed in the water.

Mu Chen bent his fingers, and in the next moment, he thrust out sharply.

His fingers, like a spear, stirred up layers of water vapor, and as the black shadow rushed past, he thrust it forcefully.

Thud!

A dull sound echoed, and the wooden stake was only pushed back slightly, showing no signs of being pierced, then rushed into the lake below.

Seeing his attack fail, Mu Chen winced, feeling intense pain in his fingertips. The wooden stake, soaked in the lake water and moving at such speed, was harder than steel. Without using spirit energy, the impact felt like his finger bones were about to shatter.

Bang!

In this moment of distraction, the rapid waterfall rushed down again, sweeping Mu Chen into the lake.

"Damn it!"

Mu Chen surfaced from the lake, cursing, then gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his fingertips, and leaped up again, pushing his speed to the limit, dashing straight out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Under the waterfall, the figure continuously dashed out, only to be mercilessly swept into the lake by the water. The powerful force made him dizzy, but he was stubborn, enduring the pain, and continuously improving his speed.

Sometimes, he managed to avoid the water's impact, but the wooden stakes rushing down with the water tortured his fingers.

The four people sitting under the waterfall nearby, Tang Qian'er and the others, heard the commotion and opened their eyes, shivering. Although they hadn't tried it themselves, they could see that Mu Chen's training was even more intense than theirs.

Beside the lake, Teacher Mo stood with his hands behind his back, watching the figure under the waterfall, who looked particularly disheveled. To succeed, one must first pay the price.

For the entire afternoon, the figure continuously dashed and leaped under the waterfall, not stopping even for a moment. Even Tang Qian'er and the others had taken two breaks, but he continued his almost self-torturing training.

When the sunset hung low in the sky, Tang Qian'er and the others dragged their exhausted bodies to the shore, their faces pale, and collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

Teacher Mo saw this and said, "Today's training ends here."

Tang Qian'er and the others breathed a sigh of relief but felt a wave of darkness at the next words.

"Continue tomorrow."

Tang Qian'er and the others sat on the ground, exhausted, and after a while, they heard a splash nearby. They looked up and saw the slender figure, seemingly oblivious to Teacher Mo's words, still moving like a machine, being swept away and getting up again.

Although they could feel that the figure was becoming slower due to fatigue, the slender body seemed to be supported by a resolute soul, preventing it from falling.

"Teacher Mo, he's almost at his limit!" Tang Qian'er bit her lip, unable to bear to look, and turned to Teacher Mo.

Mo Fei shook his head slowly and said softly, "This is his own choice. The reason he is stronger than you is not just because of his talent. Mu Feng has a very capable son."

Chen Fan and the others looked at the exhausted figure under the waterfall with complex expressions, feeling a rare admiration. If Mu Chen's talent was superior to theirs, they would say it was a gift from heaven, but Mu Chen's willpower made them admit that this guy was truly extraordinary.

(To be continued)