After cleaning himself up, Mu Chen rushed back to Great Zhou City without delay.
“Brother Chen, can you explain properly why you disappeared for so long?” As expected, what awaited Mu Chen was Su Youwei’s resentful gaze.
She had really thought Mu Chen had left without saying goodbye, leaving her for good.
Su Youwei now held deep feelings for Mu Chen and had grown accustomed to having him around.
If he truly left, she would feel disappointed, sad, and afraid.
That look made Mu Chen’s scalp tingle, and a wave of guilt washed over him.
He had thought gaining the Devouring Ancestral Symbol’s recognition would take less time.
Who would have expected more than three months?
“I’m sorry, Youwei.” Mu Chen pressed his palms together and apologized sincerely.
“Forget it, Brother Chen.
You look tired.
Get some good rest.” Su Youwei sighed softly, noticing the exhaustion in Mu Chen’s eyes.
The fatigue of the Divine Soul could be seen not just in one’s complexion but also in their eyes.
“Mm, I understand, Youwei.” Mu Chen nodded.
“You’ve opened two meridians now?” “Yes, I’ve opened two.
The third won’t take much longer.” Su Youwei said.
Mu Chen was a bit puzzled.
Based on the speed of her first meridian, with more than three months having passed, Su Youwei should have opened at least three.
What he didn’t know was that Su Youwei had been so worried about him not returning that after opening two meridians, she had stopped advancing.
Moreover, each meridian became increasingly difficult to open and required more time.
Relying solely on a Qi Drawing Technique wasn’t very efficient.
With external assistance, the speed of opening all eight meridians would increase.
Even so, she was still much faster than Mu Chen.
His Divine Soul was stronger than Su Youwei’s, but he had no soul attack techniques and no Genesis Runes.
He couldn’t unleash the power befitting the late Illusory Stage.
… A few days later, Mu Chen had recovered well.
He and Su Youwei went to the Great Zhou Academy together.
Commoners could enter the academy through selection, as long as their talent wasn’t too lacking.
The reason Mu Chen had gone to Zhou Qing for spots was to get on his good side.
It was a win either way.
Most of the students entering the academy were around Mu Chen and Su Youwei’s age.
Most were at the Channel Opening Stage.
After reaching the Qi Nourishing Stage, they would have other options.
“Mu Chen, you finally came.
I haven’t seen you in a while.” Zhou Yuan came over to greet him.
If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t matter much, but Zhou Yuan was the prince of Great Zhou.
Many people paid attention to him.
Most of them, however, looked down on him.
He still couldn’t open his meridians.
If it weren’t for his royal birth, he wouldn’t even be in the academy.
The academy was open to commoners, but not all commoner children could enter.
Those who couldn’t even open their meridians naturally wouldn’t be accepted.
The people Zhou Yuan knew also became curious about Mu Chen.
He was quite handsome, but his clothes were very ordinary.
Nothing special.
Su Youwei, on the other hand, stirred the hearts of the adolescent boys.
Her looks were undoubtedly goddess-level among the female students.
The male students couldn’t take their eyes off her, while the female students were envious but helpless.
“Zhou Yuan, long time no see.
Let me introduce you.
This is Su Youwei.” “Youwei, this is the prince of the Great Zhou Empire.
He’s a friend of mine.” Mu Chen introduced them.
Su Youwei looked at Zhou Yuan with curiosity.
She had heard that the prince of Great Zhou couldn’t cultivate.
She truly didn’t sense any Channel Opening Stage aura from him.
Because of Mu Chen, her grandfather had been treated early, so Su Youwei didn’t know Zhou Yuan.
She only nodded politely at him.
“Mu Chen, what do you mean by ‘a friend’?
My father thinks highly of you.
I’ve heard him mention you often lately.
Why haven’t you come to the palace to visit?” Zhou Yuan shrugged helplessly.
However, when he saw Su Youwei, he felt a strange sensation for some reason.
“Haha, I’ve been busy with some things lately.
I’ll come by when I have the chance.” Zhou Yuan’s complexion was much better than before.
It seemed the Ancestral Stone Spirit Liquid had helped.
But it was only temporary.
Unless Zhou Yuan opened his meridians and started cultivating, the Dragon’s Resentment Poison would still devour his blood when it flared up.
Though he had opportunities from the Martial Universe world, he could also try what this world had to offer.
“Zhou Yuan, it seems you’re not doing well at the academy.
A lot of people look down on you.” Mu Chen said.
Zhou Yuan glanced around and nodded.
There was nothing he could do about it.
Those who had opened their meridians naturally felt superior to someone who couldn’t.
“I can’t sense my eight meridians.
They look down on me because of it.
If it weren’t for my status as prince, I would have been kicked out by now.” Zhou Yuan laughed bitterly.
“Thirty years east, thirty years west.
Don’t underestimate a young man in poverty.
I think highly of you.” Zhou Yuan felt warmth in his heart and nodded.
Those words resonated with him.
They were inspiring, like something a protagonist would say.
“Heh.
Thirty years?
Even if you gave him sixty, he still wouldn’t be able to open his meridians.” A mocking laugh rang out.
Several young men in fine clothes showed no regard for Zhou Yuan’s status as prince.
“I advise you not to get too close to this Prince Zhou Yuan.
Otherwise, you’ll get into trouble.” “Who does this nobody think he is?” Mu Chen said speechlessly.
He was meddling too much, as if the academy belonged to him.
“He’s the son of the governor of Zhenxi County.
He’s one of Qi Yue’s lackeys.
He’s caused trouble for me before.” Zhou Yuan said calmly.
The King Qi was backed by the Great Wu Empire.
In recent years, he had been very active, causing trouble behind the scenes.
Because Great Zhou was weak now, they couldn’t act against him, or it would give Great Wu an excuse.
“Oh.
He’s not even anyone important.
Just a lackey.” Mu Chen mocked.
“Since you won’t take good advice, let me test you.” Xu Lin had opened two meridians.
His body shot forward, throwing a punch that carried a gust of wind toward Mu Chen.
Thump!
Mu Chen reached out and caught the fist effortlessly.
Xu Lin’s expression changed.
The force behind his punch suddenly vanished, as if something had devoured it.
Using the Devouring Ancestral Symbol on someone like this was overkill.
Crack!
Mu Chen twisted his wrist with unstoppable force.
Xu Lin’s wrist made a sound like it was breaking.
He cried out in pain and fell to one knee.
Beads of sweat rolled down his face.
It was broken.
He really felt like his wrist was broken.
The piercing pain left him speechless.
“As a practice dummy, you don’t even qualify.” Thump!
Mu Chen said something Xu Lin didn’t understand, then tossed him aside.
Xu Lin landed face-first in the dirt nearby.
Though there was no experience gain, it established Mu Chen’s authority at the academy.
Future trouble would be much less.
Anyone looking for trouble would have to consider whether they were worthy.
(End of Chapter) —