Xiao Yao reached out and took the stack of Fire Crystal Cards the captain handed him. As for the bow-wielding captain, he was being helped to his feet, his face full of pain as he looked at his broken bow.
Even so, he bore Xiao Yao no grudge. On a battlefield, how could an enemy possibly show mercy to your weapon?
He was already lucky enough that only his weapon had been damaged and his own injuries were not serious.
Xiao Yao swiped the stack of Fire Crystal Cards against his own card, deducting their Fire Energy until only seven days remained.
"Have all the veteran student teams joined forces like you?" Xiao Yao suddenly asked.
He had defeated three teams earlier and two more now, which meant there were five veteran student teams left.
If all the remaining teams joined forces, Xiao Yao would have to face a full twenty-five veteran students.
The captain shook his head with a wry smile. Since even their Fire Energy had been taken, he was straightforward about it and hid nothing, speaking frankly.
"Excluding the teams you defeated, there are five left. Two of them are on the only road to the Inner Academy."
"Of the other three, one has already been eliminated."
Xiao Yao raised an eyebrow. "Tell me more."
"This actually has something to do with you. Word of you hunting veteran students in reverse hasn't just spread among the veteran teams. It's spread among the new students too."
"The strongest new students joined forces. About three teams teamed up and took down that veteran team."
"That's why the two remaining veteran teams joined forces to deal with them."
Xiao Yao was a little surprised. He had not expected the new student teams to take the initiative to resist the veteran teams under his influence.
Xiao Yao guessed it was probably Han Yue and her group.
However, they probably did not have enough prestige to bring all the new student teams together as Xiao Yan had in the original story.
So they could only choose to have the strong join forces, allying themselves with the stronger students.
For example, of the seven Da Dou Shi among this year's new students, all but Xiao Yao were probably in that group.
Of the three teams' members, aside from the six Da Dou Shi, the other nine were all Dou Shi. Against two veteran teams, their chances of winning were probably slim.
After some thought, Xiao Yao decided to help them. He had to deal with the remaining veteran teams anyway, so he could kill two birds with one stone. Why not?
"Do you know where they are now?"
The captain thought for a moment and shook his head.
"I certainly don't know their exact location, but they most likely headed toward the deeper part of the forest. The two veteran teams are chasing them, so they can only flee deeper into the forest."
"If you don't intervene, their fate is practically sealed. If they go deeper, they're bound to run into the other two veteran teams."
Xiao Yao nodded and tossed him his Fire Crystal Card.
"I'll give you twenty days of Fire Energy for the information. Whether you keep it all for yourself or share it with the others is none of my concern."
The captain was taken aback. He had not expected such a windfall, and hurriedly swiped twenty days of Fire Energy back onto his own Fire Crystal Card.
Xiao Yao took back his card and headed deeper into the forest.
The others remained where they were, and the captain handed over his Fire Crystal Card.
"Let's split it among everyone. At least we can recover some of our losses."
The bow-wielding captain shook his head with a wry smile. "We've really lost everything this time."
"Be content. At least not everyone was seriously injured. Once you've recovered, we can go hunt magical beasts to earn Fire Energy."
"Speaking of which, that guy really is a monster. He could actually use a High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique over and over. I really don't know how his meridians are built, or how abundant his Dou Qi must be."
The group talked about Xiao Yao. Clearly, he had left a very deep impression on them.
If they met him again, they would never provoke him if they could help it.
In the forest, Xiao Yao recalled the captain's words.
He could tell that the captain had still held a little back.
For instance, he had not mentioned the Black Fiend Team or the White Fiend Team.
And between the lines, he had seemed to be urging Xiao Yao to rescue the new students.
Clearly, they wanted him to go after the veteran teams again.
No matter which side won, they would be happy to see it.
If the veteran students lost, they would have others who shared their plight.
If Xiao Yao lost, it would be an even better way to vent their frustration.
Xiao Yao did not mind.
They were not sages. After being defeated by him, they could hardly be expected to warn him without the slightest resentment about how formidable the Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Team were. It was perfectly normal for them to have such little schemes.
What mattered most was whether he could recognize those little schemes, rather than let others use him as a weapon against someone else.
As Xiao Yao pondered, he sensed something. His steps suddenly halted, and he turned slightly and hurried toward another location.
In another forest clearing, a massive melee was raging.
Two veteran teams were pressing the new student teams hard. By now, most of them were injured and unable to fight.
Only a few new students were still struggling to hold on, and Han Yue was among them.
She used ice-attribute Dou Qi, making the veteran student fighting her suffer.
But that was only temporary. Once the other veteran students were free to act, Han Yue's defeat was all but certain.
Sure enough, after Han Yue forced that veteran student back, a spear came at her from the side with unstoppable force.
Han Yue was startled. She hurriedly twisted around and raised her jade-like hand. Icy mist gushed out and swiftly formed an ice shield.
Crack!
Although it could not completely stop the spear, the momentary delay gave Han Yue enough time to react and dodge the thrust.
As soon as Han Yue landed and saw the scene before her, her heart sank. Two more new students had been defeated.
Defeat was certain!
Han Yue sighed inwardly. In the end, she could not create a miracle like Junior Xiao Yao.
"...We surrender."
Han Yue sighed, lowered her weapon, and handed over her Fire Crystal Card.
The other new students were unwilling to accept it, but there was nothing they could do. One after another, they handed over their cards.
The veteran students collected the Fire Energy from the cards one by one, their faces bright with joy.
Han Yue stood to one side, her face somewhat pale. She had expended a great deal of Dou Qi just now.
Just then, a senior female student Han Yue had injured earlier suddenly approached her. A vicious look flashed across her face, and she struck at Han Yue's chest with a ruthless palm.
Caught completely off guard, Han Yue had no time to defend herself. With her Dou Qi overtaxed, she could not have blocked the chilling blow even if she had reacted in time.
"Senior Han Yue, watch out!"
"Senior Han Yue, a veteran student is attacking you from behind!"
The new students cried out warnings.
"Leng Shuang, what are you doing!?" someone among the veteran students shouted as well.
But both the new and veteran students were some distance away, and none could reach her in time to save her or stop the attack.
Just then, a sharp whistle suddenly cut through the air. A figure appeared abruptly in front of Han Yue and took the palm strike, filled with chilling Dou Qi, head-on.
The delight on the face of the veteran student named Leng Shuang froze as she looked at the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared.
He was handsome and tall, and her palm was pressed squarely against his chest. She could clearly feel his strong muscles.
Han Yue froze. Seeing that familiar back, she hurriedly reached out to support Xiao Yao.
"Junior Xiao Yao, are you all right?"
Xiao Yao merely waved a hand and freed himself from Han Yue's support. Then he struck back at the veteran student who had launched the sneak attack, sending her flying backward with blood pouring from her mouth.