Mu Chen successfully broke through his cultivation realm without any obstacles. After two days of consolidating his cultivation, he took a Spiritual Array from Mu Territory to Northern Spirit City and returned to the Academy.
He did not become arrogant due to his realm advancement; instead, he cultivated even more diligently, whether it was through meditation, studying spiritual arrays, or practicing spiritual arts.
While he was immersed in cultivation, the quotas for the Five Great Academies were also distributed.
In addition to five general quotas, North Spirit Academy also received one special seed-level quota.
The Five Great Academies' quotas were divided into three tiers: the lowest was the ordinary quota, the second tier was the seed-level quota that North Spirit Academy received, and the first tier, the core quota, was only available to the most dazzling geniuses who performed exceptionally well in the Spiritual Road.
The entire Hundred Spirits World had only twenty such quotas across all its spiritual institutes combined. The fact that North Spirit Academy managed to secure one left the teachers in the Academy somewhat puzzled.
Some astute individuals connected Mu Chen, the only person expelled from the Spiritual Road in a hundred years, with this seed quota, believing that he might have caught the attention of the Five Great Academies.
After the news spread, everyone in North Spirit Academy eligible to contend for a quota raced against time to improve their combat abilities.
Mu Chen was no exception. With more than a month remaining, under the guidance of Teacher Mo, the instructor of North Spirit Academy's East Wing, he selected two spiritual arts: "Spirit Shadow Step" and "Spirit Emperor Finger," a Spirit-tier Mid-grade movement spiritual art and a Spirit-tier Low-grade finger spiritual art, respectively.
Teacher Mo of the East Wing was very satisfied with this student. To keep the seed quota in the East Wing, he personally acted as Mu Chen's sparring partner.
The Nine Nether Bird obediently squatted in its floral prison, pitiful, weak, and helpless.
Amon, however, was a bit impatient, constantly instigating Mu Chen to make a deal with her.
"Hey, hey, Mu Chen, what's so good about practicing these trashy spiritual arts? Why not trade with me? You can pick any spiritual art you want; I have plenty. Not to mention Divine-tier spiritual arts, even if you want Divine Arts or Divine Abilities, it's no problem."
Generally speaking, spiritual arts are divided into cultivation spiritual arts, attack spiritual arts, defense spiritual arts, movement spiritual arts, and so on. These various types of spiritual arts are roughly categorized into three tiers: Divine, Spirit, and Mortal, with each tier further divided into High, Mid, and Low grades.
Above Divine-tier spiritual arts were Divine Arts and Divine Abilities, but Divine Arts and Divine Abilities were difficult to cultivate and not something he could touch at his current realm.
Mu Chen was not tempted by Amon and refused with a smile:
"Being overly ambitious isn't good. For me right now, spiritual arts of this level are just right. Higher-tier ones are difficult to cultivate and consume more spiritual energy to activate."
"Moreover, with only a month, I wouldn't be able to achieve much with high-tier spiritual arts. With your realm, don't you even understand this?"
Amon responded, "Understand, of course I understand... Hmm, I was just testing your judgment!"
Mu Chen savored the joy of his strength progressing bit by bit. Amidst busy and fulfilling cultivation, time passed little by little, and soon it was the day the quota contention battle began.
Across the vast territory of Bei Ling Territory, the quota contention battle held in Northern Spirit City was always a rare grand event in Bei Ling Territory, attracting the attention of various major forces every time.
After all, although Bei Ling Territory was vast, it was merely an insignificant corner relative to the Great Thousand World. For the large and small forces in Bei Ling Territory, the only way to truly experience the wonders of the Great Thousand World was through the "Five Great Academies" path.
Northern Spirit City was bustling with people from various large and small forces. The Territory Lords of the Nine Territories personally attended, and the leaders of each force mingled and exchanged greetings in small groups.
For them, in addition to watching the North Spirit Academy students compete, exchanging pleasantries and deepening connections were equally important.
The students' performance also influenced the relationships between the various forces. If a student performed well and obtained a "Five Great Academies" quota, their affiliated force would be eagerly befriended by related forces, leading to better development.
The venue for the quota contention battle was set at the North Spirit Plaza in the Northwest district of Northern Spirit City, the most spacious area in Northern Spirit City.
Inside the plaza, the students' faces were filled with excitement. Although not many were qualified to compete, these spectators often became even more excited than the contestants.
In front of the plaza were some particularly prominent special seats, filled with figures exuding abundant spiritual power and extraordinary aura. They were the various Territory Lords of the Nine Territories within Bei Ling Territory.
At this moment, Mu Feng and Liu Qingtian were directly confronting each other.
"Hmph, it's your luck that you and that boy weren't blown to death earlier," Liu Qingtian said with a cold sneer.
"Oh, your Liu Territory is indeed a big family, isn't it? You lost an arm and grew it back so quickly? Must have used a lot of spiritual medicine," Mu Feng mocked.
Liu Qingtian's expression grew even colder: "I won't let that past debt go so easily. Your Mu Territory won't be proud for long... I hope that little brat of yours has some self-awareness; when he gets on the arena, he should quickly kneel and beg for mercy, otherwise, don't blame us if he dies at Mubai's hands."
Mu Feng raised an eyebrow: "I'm more afraid that your Young Master Liu will get bruised and then blame us, chasing us for compensation."
Their conflict was no secret, and the other Territory Lords did not meddle in their open and secret struggles, as offending either side was not ideal.
On the other side, Mu Chen and Liu Mubai were also at loggerheads, their gazes meeting in the air. A murderous aura permeated between them, causing the surrounding students to involuntarily step back a few paces.
Dong...
A deep bell rang, and the clamor in North Spirit Plaza instantly quieted. Four figures emerged from the main direction.
Dean Xiao of North Spirit Academy was at the forefront. After arriving at their position, he first cupped his hands to the Nine Territory Lords, then smiled and introduced the middle-aged man behind him:
"This is Mr. Hun from Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, and he is also the supervisor of this quota contention battle."
Looking at the middle-aged man dressed in black robes, with a pair of slightly rough hands extending from his sleeves and an ordinary face, the Nine Territory Lords were slightly surprised and quickly rose to cup their hands to him.
The middle-aged man called Mr. Hun merely nodded slightly to them, then shifted his gaze elsewhere.
His indifferent attitude left the Nine Territory Lords somewhat awkward, but they didn't have many other thoughts. The background of Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was enough to inspire their awe, and Mr. Hun himself was likely a formidable expert not to be underestimated.
Mu Chen shifted his gaze from Liu Mubai and sized up Mr. Hun, finding that the other party was also looking at him.
Mr. Hun forced a somewhat stiff smile and nodded to Mu Chen.
At the same time, a voice sounded in his ear: "Are you Mu Chen?"
Mu Chen was startled, knowing that Mr. Hun was speaking to him. He scanned his surroundings, finding that no one else had noticed.
"You just need to speak to him in your mind. This isn't sound transmission; he's communicating with you directly through soul power," Amon's voice echoed in Mu Chen's mind. "Hmm, don't worry, he can't detect our conversation."
Mu Chen nodded slightly: "Indeed, this junior is."
"Not bad. We all saw your performance in the Spiritual Road. It was the other spiritual institutes that expelled you; our Dean voted against it at the time. However, the minority had to obey the majority, and we couldn't keep your Spiritual Road quota," Mr. Hun seemed a little regretful.
"Thank you for your esteemed Dean's protection, this junior is deeply grateful," Mu Chen quickly replied.
"Saint Spiritual Academy had long set their sights on your rival, Ji Xuan. At that time, they even proposed to kill you, but we stopped them.
"So, when choosing an institute, it's best not to choose Saint Spiritual Academy. Of course, I hope you can enter our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy."
"We are very fond of you and feel that your methods of conduct in the Spiritual Road are very consistent with the characteristics of our Academy," Mr. Hun seemed very confident in Mu Chen obtaining the quota and began to recruit him.
Mu Chen hadn't expected such a story. He quickly thanked him, then asked:
"Senior is so confident that I can obtain the quota?"
Mr. Hun answered very naturally: "Hmm, I think you should have already guessed that this seed quota was specifically given to you by our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. I believe you have the strength. What, you don't have confidence in getting it?"
"Of course I do!" Mu Chen paused, then asked, "I'd like to inquire about the whereabouts of two people, Senior."
"Ask away."
"Which spiritual institute did Ji Xuan go to?"
"Saint Spiritual Academy, of course. To get him, Saint Spiritual Academy offered a considerable price."
"Which spiritual institute did Luo Li go to?"
"She's right here in our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy."
Mu Chen said without hesitation: "Thank you for informing me, Senior. This junior will definitely win this seed quota and then head to Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy!"
A slight smile appeared on Mr. Hun's somewhat stiff face.