To be honest, a mere two days was nowhere near enough for Xiao Yao to fully digest what he had gained and turn it into his own strength.
Even so, successfully deducing a High Xuan Tier cultivation technique had already left Xiao Yao very satisfied.
His previous cultivation technique had been of a lower tier, leaving him slightly inferior to others in both the quantity and quality of his Dou Qi.
If not for his extremely fast Dou Qi recovery, he would have been at a serious disadvantage in battle.
Now that Xiao Yao had gained the ability to recover Qi, the Dou Qi shortage caused by his low-tier cultivation technique was no longer a problem as long as he was under sunlight.
His extremely fast Qi recovery even showed traces of a Heaven Tier Cultivation Method.
The defining characteristic of a Heaven Tier Cultivation Method was its extremely fast Qi recovery.
Once a Heaven Tier Cultivation Method was put to use, it could draw upon all the energy within a hundred zhang. With such terrifying refining efficiency, its Qi recovery speed was naturally extraordinary.
With his Qi recovery ability, Xiao Yao no longer had to worry about running short of Dou Qi under the sun.
But things could not always go his way. There would surely be times when he had to fight at night or in special environments.
At such times, his shortage of Dou Qi from his low-tier cultivation technique would become a glaring weakness.
Now that his cultivation technique had reached High Xuan Tier, however, it was more than sufficient for Xiao Yao at his current stage.
Xiao Yao arrived at the gathering place with Xun'er, Xiao Yi Xian, Instructor Ruo Lin, and the others. Quite a few people had already gathered there, three rings deep on the inside and three rings deep on the outside.
Although only the top fifty in the Inner Academy Selection Tournament would enter the Inner Academy, everyone wanted to see the excitement.
Aside from those who had genuinely come to see them off, most had gathered to watch the spectacle.
Xiao Yao and his companions had just arrived when a sharp-eyed student called out.
"Xiao Yao is here!"
At those words, the crowd turned to look behind them. The students standing in front of Xiao Yao and his companions moved aside of their own accord, leaving a path to the center of the crowd.
Gaze after gaze fell on Xiao Yao, filled with envy, admiration, and even worship. Xiao Yao remained unruffled and led his companions into the crowd.
At the center of the crowd, the top fifty from the Inner Academy Selection Tournament had all arrived except Xiao Yao. Still, as the tournament's first-place winner, it seemed only natural for him to arrive last.
Xiao Yao nodded to the others. "Senior brothers and sisters, sorry to have kept you waiting."
"You jest, Junior Brother Xiao Yao. We only arrived a day early."
"That's right. There's still some time before we set off."
The others all chimed in.
Before long, Xiao Yao was chatting and laughing with them as though they had known one another for years.
Of course, whenever Xiao Yao said something, the others chimed in to agree with him.
Given Xiao Yao's strength, there was nothing they could do no matter how he behaved. Now that Xiao Yao was treating them cordially and was willing to chat and laugh with them, they were naturally happy to oblige.
After another short wait, the door to the room slowly opened, and Hu Gan walked out.
He swept his gaze over them and nodded slightly. "Since everyone is here, prepare to set off!"
Hu Gan raised a hand and sent out a flash of Dou Qi. A moment later, the crowd began to feel a breeze.
Everyone looked up and saw enormous flying magical beasts slowly descending from the sky. The strong wind made them narrow their eyes.
"Let's go. Five to a group, one Griffin Beast per group."
Although Vice Dean Hu Gan had not said so explicitly, the students formed groups according to their rankings in the Inner Academy Selection Tournament.
Xiao Yao was the first to climb onto a powerfully built Griffin Beast. The feathers on its back were somewhat slick.
Xiao Yao was not affected in the slightest, however. He stood on the Griffin Beast's back as though his feet had taken root.
The others in the top five followed close behind, climbing onto the same Griffin Beast as Xiao Yao.
They were not as steady as a rock like Xiao Yao. As soon as they stepped onto the Griffin Beast's back, they all stumbled instinctively before finding their footing.
The other students fared even worse. Some were careless and slipped straight off the beasts' backs, tumbling to the ground.
"Haha, little fellows, don't force yourselves. Only a Da Dou Shi can stand steadily on a Griffin Beast's back. You'd better sit obediently in the saddles."
Hu Gan spoke with a hearty laugh.
Hearing this, everyone hurriedly climbed onto the Griffin Beasts. Xiao Yao also found a seat and sat down.
Since there was somewhere to sit, there was no need to stubbornly remain standing.
Han Yue and the others were all taken aback when they saw that Xiao Yao had actually sat down.
They had thought that, as the first to mount a Griffin Beast and the first-place winner of the tournament, Xiao Yao would care greatly about his image and would not sit down.
Instead, Xiao Yao not only sat down but adjusted himself into a comfortable position.
Seeing this, Han Yue and the others hurriedly sat down as well. After all, even the tournament's first-place winner had sat down; it would be even more awkward for them to remain standing.
Watching the students in all their different postures, Hu Gan could not help showing a faint smile.
Looking at these outstanding students made Hu Gan feel that his time as vice dean had not been in vain.
Then, led by Hu Gan and guarded by three elders at the Dou Emperor level, the flying group soared high into the sky and headed for the Inner Academy in a grand procession.
Their journey took them across a vast, boundless primeval forest. Although intelligent magical beasts would not attack a group guarded by four Dou Emperors,
there were always a few blind flying magical beasts, their heads filled with bloodshed and slaughter, that attacked.
But with four Dou Huang experts guarding them, they came through the danger unscathed.
Before long, the flying group landed in a mountain ravine. Xiao Yao carefully examined the ravine, and his soul perception told him that there was indeed something unusual about it.
Hu Gan smiled faintly and sent out a stream of Dou Qi. Ripples like those on water immediately spread across the previously empty ravine, and a massive silver gate, seven or eight zhang tall, slowly appeared.
"Let's go. The Inner Academy is inside."
Han Yue and the others looked at Xiao Yao. Seeing no sign that he intended to move, they had no choice but to go first and walk through the great gate.
Xiao Yao watched the group disappear after entering the gate, as though they had passed into another space.
It seems somewhat similar to Space Lock, but it's different as well. After all, the Inner Academy covers too large an area. Space Lock can't seal off such a vast region.
Xiao Yao thought to himself before following the students through the massive silver gate.
After the ten flying magical beasts had entered as well, the massive silver gate slowly closed. Faint ripples spread through the space, and the gate vanished, leaving an ordinary forested ravine behind.
Inside the massive silver gate, the view was still one of forest, just as it had been outside.
At the entrance to the forest, however, a group of people were waiting, led by two elderly men.
After exchanging pleasantries with the two elderly men, Hu Gan addressed the students.
"All right, my task is complete. From here on, I'll leave you in their hands."
"This is Elder Su, and this is Elder Qing. Follow their arrangements from now on. Good luck."
Hu Gan spoke with a smile.
Elder Su took out a stack of black cards and flicked his hand, sending one into each student's hand. He said calmly,
"These are Fire Energy Cards. Fire Energy is an important cultivation resource in the Inner Academy. Next, you will enter the forest in groups, cross it, and truly enter the Inner Academy."
"During this process, however, these senior students may attack you and seize the Fire Energy in your possession."
"The academy calls the battles and struggles that take place in this forest the Fire Energy Hunting Competition!"