Old and Cunning
The venue for the Fire Energy Hunting Competition wasn't very large. The five of them walked and stopped frequently, and along the way, they wiped out two other five-person teams. It took them a total of two days to reach the destination of their journey.
This is an open area filled with scattered rocks, the edge of the forest, with no trees obstructing the view—it's like a stage to showcase yourself.
Not far behind the stage was a raised hillside, where many people were gathered, some sitting and some standing.
These people weren't very old, only in their twenties or thirties. Although their robes were not exactly the same, they all wore a tower-shaped badge on their chests.
It was obvious that these students were all senior students from the Inner Courtyard.
On another part of the hillside, there was a platform made of huge stones, where a group of middle-aged and elderly people sat. They were obviously elders or stewards, and they had better seats.
The senior students were all chattering away. They had experienced the Fire Energy Hunting Competition before, but they had never seen such a scene before.
The top fifty on the Power Ranking —those fifty most powerful people in the Inner Courtyard —were actually dragged out by the Great Elder to teach the new students a lesson.
I should have known that in previous years, this kind of thing was the work of the weaker members of the Inner Courtyard!
As Xiao Yan and his group of five walked out of the forest and stepped into this rocky area, everyone's attention was focused on them.
"Zi Yan, Dou Wang."
"Lin Xiuyai, Nine-Star Dou Ling."
"Liu Qing, Nine-Star Dou Ling."
"Yan Hao, Nine-Star Dou Ling."
"Qin Zhen, Nine-Star Dou Ling".
The top five on the Power Ranking introduced themselves, and then all turned their attention to Xiao Yan.
"Xiao Yan, Two-Star Dou Wang."
"Xiao Yi Xian, Seven-star Dou Spirit."
"Gu Xun'er, Four-Star Dou Ling."
"Hu Jia, a Dou Ling."
"Qing Lin, Nine-star Dou Grandmaster."
The two sides are far apart in terms of combat strength. Apart from Xiao Yi Xian and Gu Xun'er being able to take down a Nine-Star Dou Ling one-on-one, Hu Jia and Qing Lin combined cannot hold off one.
Therefore, Xiao Yan decided to strike first.
"Earth Tier Dou Technique, Heavenly Strike!"
Xiao Yan shouted, and a streak of light in his hand shot straight toward Zi Yan.
This seemed to be a signal, and the other nine people present also started to move... bewildered.
The reason is simple: the power of this Earth Tier Dou Technique seems a bit off; it's even less powerful than their casual strikes.
Zi Yan grasped the "Earth Tier Dou Technique" with a bewildered look, only to find it was a Pills Jade Bottle containing a pill.
Upon opening the Jade Bottle, a rich fragrance of elixir, accompanied by intense energy fluctuations, emanated from it.
"Dou Ling Pill?" Gu Xun'er was full of surprise, never expecting that Xiao Yan's so-called Earth Tier Dou Technique was actually a legitimate bribe.
Zi Yan swallowed the Dou Ling Pill and then exclaimed, "What terrifying power! No wonder it's Earth Tier Dou Technique!"
Immediately afterwards, Zi Yan ran to a distance and began to digest the medicinal power of the Dou Ling Pill.
"..."
"Ahem, Brother Xiao Yan, do you still have any Earth Tier Dou Technique left?" Lin Xiuyai stepped forward and asked.
"Lin Xiuyai, I never expected you to be this kind of person?" Yan Hao jumped out and accused him, then said righteously:
"I have never experienced Earth Tier Dou Technique before. Today, let me see just how powerful Earth Tier Dou Technique really is!"
"Good."
Xiao Yan nodded, his Dou Qi surging wildly within him. He gripped the Heavy Black Ruler, and indigo flames instantly clung to it. "Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!"
"I'm not kidding, you're serious!" Yan Hao felt the terrifying fluctuations and instantly lost his composure.
The four Nine-Star Dou Ling were also surprised by Xiao Yan's differential treatment, but they were all elites and quickly realized what was happening, so they used their special skills.
However, just as Yan Hao said, he had never seen Earth Tier Dou Technique before. The four people's special skills were only High Profound Tier Dou Technique. With years of training, they might be comparable to ordinary Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique, but they would definitely not be able to withstand the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler with the support of Heavenly Flames.
After only a brief stalemate, Xiao Yan broke through the four's trump cards, and then they were suppressed by the fierce fire wave, leaving them coughing up blood and in a sorry state.
"Earth Tier Dou Technique, isn't it amazing?" Xiao Yan made a ruler-shaped gesture with one hand and charged towards Yan Hao.
At this moment, the four of them were injured but had not lost their ability to fight, so Xiao Yan naturally would not give them a chance to recover.
"Ahem, alright, you freshmen win."
Before Xiao Yan could completely defeat the four and seize their Storage Ring, an old voice rang out, and Su Qian's ghostly figure blocked Xiao Yan's path.
"I thought that no one else could stop you, and Zi Yan would be able to suppress you, but I never expected... sigh."
Su Qian watched as Zi Yan happily refined the medicinal power of the Dou Ling Pill and sighed helplessly.
"What? You think a Dou Ling Pill is cheap? How about you reimburse me?"
"..." Su Qian was speechless. To be fair, he had seen it clearly just now. The others were also unable to resist the sugar-coated bullets and were about to fall for them.
"Let's not talk about that. Just return those senior students' Storage Ring to them! Stealing Fire Energy is one thing, but stealing Storage Ring is a bit against the rules." Su Qian changed the subject quite decisively.
"No, no, no, those aren't Storage Ring. They're Fire Energy that hasn't been fully converted yet. Once I sell them in the Inner Courtyard, they'll all be Fire Energy," Xiao Yan replied seriously.
"..." Su Qian was speechless for a moment, but still patiently said, "You performed excellently, so how about rewarding each of your Storage Ring with Heavenly Fire Energy?"
"Two hundred."
"Can."
"..." Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, feeling that it was too little.
Su Qian smiled without saying a word. "How much Fire Energy do you need is just a matter of my word. If I weren't Heart Flame energy would become worthless, two thousand wouldn't be a problem!"
Besides, these people on the Power Ranking can't even beat the freshmen. We can use that as an excuse to deduct all their rewards next month and even get more back!
Xiao Yan eventually had to admit that experience still mattered, and handed over four Storage Rings in exchange for eight hundred Heavenly Fire Energy.
Adding to the initial 300 in the card, all five now have Heavenly Fire Energy.
With that, the five of them had successfully completed the Fire Energy Hunting Competition and were now waiting for the other newcomers.
For ordinary freshmen, this year's Fire Energy Hunting Competition was far beyond their level, and there was no way they could pass. In the end, the Fire Energy was snatched away by the senior students, and they gathered over looking dejected.
After all the new students had arrived, Su Qian led them up the steps to the small hill behind the rocky area.
Beyond the hillside lay an extremely large sunken basin. The shape of this basin resembled that of a giant meteorite that had crashed down from the sky and carved it out...
Within the basin, towering buildings stand in rows, stretching as far as the eye can see.
This magnificent sight filled everyone with longing, and they would begin their Inner Courtyard life here.
"Hehe, little guys, welcome to the Inner Courtyard!" Su Qian said with a smile.
The sentence about the meteorite impact is something I found in the original text. The original text also mentions that the Heavenly Flames "might be the cluster of flames carried by the center of a meteorite that fell from the sky." I once suspected that the Fallen Heart Flame was the Heavenly Flames brought by the meteorite.