Inner Courtyard Selection Competition

Xiao Yang had been busy studying the newly acquired Earth-Rank Fighting Skill. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.

The annual Inner Courtyard Selection Competition had arrived as well.

In just those ten-odd days, the medicinal power of the Mystic Bodhi Foundation Pill had raised his cultivation by another star, making him a three-star Da Dou Shi.

Seeing this, Xiao Yang simply pressed on and took another Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill, pushing his cultivation all the way to a four-star Da Dou Shi!

The Inner Courtyard Selection Competition was practically Jia Nan Academy's annual grand event. Those qualified to take part were all outstanding individuals in their respective classes. This year, Xiao Yang had even set the record as the youngest competitor.

At the same time, Xiao Yang was also the student who had spent the shortest time in the entire Outer Courtyard.

Ever since enrolling, Xiao Yang had barely attended classes before going into seclusion to break through to the Dou Shi realm.

After breaking through to Dou Shi, he had gone straight to the Black-Corner Region for two months of training. He had then crossed an entire major realm and jumped to Da Dou Shi before registering for the Inner Courtyard selection.

This was a record that had never appeared among Jia Nan Academy's New Students.

Normally, no student could participate in the Inner Courtyard selection during their first year of enrollment.

Recruitment took place in the middle of every year. Then, returning from the surrounding nations to the Black-Corner Region, tens of thousands of miles away, took nearly several months.

All in all, recruitment was around June, while the school term began in September.

That left only three months until the Inner Courtyard selection at the end of the year.

Aside from freaks like Xiao Yang, newly enrolled students each year were generally only one- or two-star Dou Zhes. The strongest were merely five-star Dou Zhes. Some even had only eight or nine stages of Dou Qi and could not even pass the initial selection.

They generally had to spend one or two years honing themselves in the academy. Only after reaching the cultivation of a Dou Shi or Da Dou Shi would they have any hope of entering the Inner Courtyard.

Someone like Xiao Yang was a true anomaly.

In the first preliminary round, the person drawn against him had terribly bad luck. A Dou Shi had been matched against Xiao Yang, a four-star Da Dou Shi. There was truly nothing worth mentioning about the match. Xiao Yang merely glanced at him, and the man's eyes rolled back as he fainted on the spot.

Less than ten seconds had passed before the referee declared Xiao Yang the winner.

At the judges' stand nearby, Outer Courtyard Principal Hu Qian stroked his beard. "It seems this little fellow gained quite a few benefits in the Black-Corner Region this time. He even managed to obtain such a rare eye-technique Fighting Skill."

The two vice principals beside him nodded as well.

Jia Nan Academy was, after all, known as the number one academy on the Douqi Continent. It had been founded by Mang Tianchi of the Lei Clan, so naturally they possessed considerable knowledge. They recognized the origins of Xiao Yang's move at once.

On the Douqi Continent, the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was known for its eye techniques. Jiu Feng, the next clan leader of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, specialized in eye-technique Fighting Skills.

The next day, as the sun rose once more, the stands surrounding the Martial Arts Arena were packed with a sea of people. The clamor shot into the heavens as the second round of the Inner Courtyard Selection Competition finally began again.

When a middle-aged referee slowly stepped onto the plaza, thunderous cheers immediately erupted from the stands.

The cheers gradually subsided as the referee lowered his palm. After sweeping his gaze around, he announced in a clear voice, "Students, after yesterday's preliminary eliminations, only one hundred and twenty-eight competitors remain from the original two hundred and seventy-three.

"At this rate, the fifty spots qualifying for the Inner Courtyard should be decided by the end of today."

The Inner Courtyard matches were entirely decided by random draw. Some people drew opponents like Xiao Yang and were miserably defeated in a single move, while others crushed their opponents instead.

Of course, there were also evenly matched opponents who refused to yield an inch. With the mindset of, If I lose, you're not getting into the Inner Courtyard either. No matter what, I'm taking you down with me, they ultimately perished together and were both eliminated.

"Alright, time's up. The competition begins now. Any contestant whose name is called, please come onto the stage promptly. Anyone who exceeds the time limit will be deemed to have forfeited."

The middle-aged referee did not waste words. After explaining the rules once, he slowly retreated to a referee's platform on the plaza. At that moment, two names rang out from the platform.

"Mysterious Rank Class One, Ye Qiu!"

"Mysterious Rank Class Seven, Huang Shao!"

Upon hearing their names, two figures immediately darted down from the stands.

Both were Dou Shis. Ye Qiu possessed a mutated Lightning Attribute Dou Qi, dark purple in color, with offensive power several degrees greater than ordinary Lightning Attribute Dou Qi. Huang Shao, meanwhile, had the Wind Attribute, excelled in speed, and used a sword.

Like Xiao Yang's second brother, Ye Qiu used a spear. The two of them always gave Xiao Yang an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

After a fierce battle, Ye Qiu ultimately won. A spear was, after all, longer than a sword, while the numbing effect unique to Lightning Attribute Dou Qi made Huang Shao's movements just a beat slower.

Because of that, Huang Shao grumbled the entire way off the stage, chattering away to a degree that truly did not lose to a certain Sword Saint.

What Xiao Yang had not expected was that his turn came in the very next match.

"Mysterious Rank Class One, Wang Teng, versus Yellow Rank Class Two, Xiao Yang!" The middle-aged referee slowly rose to his feet, swept his gaze around the arena, and shouted!

Enhanced by Dou Qi, his voice echoed throughout the entire plaza.

Whoosh! With a piercing sound, Xiao Yang had already appeared on the competition stage. Only then did the afterimage that had been standing beside Instructor Ruo Lin slowly fade away.

Such terrifying speed startled every student present.

And just after Xiao Yang entered the arena, another figure in white swept into the field.

One was dressed in white as pure as snow, while the other wore black like ink. They stood at opposite ends of the competition stage, forming a striking contrast.

Wang Teng held a three-foot sword in his hand, clear and shimmering like autumn water.

At Xiao Yang's waist hung a long, narrow, straight black blade—

Tensa Zangetsu!

That was right—Xiao Yang's Zanpakuto was now permanently locked in its Bankai state.

And after entering Bankai, Xiao Yang's Zanpakuto finally revealed how it differed from Kurosaki Ichigo's.

Under normal conditions, Xiao Yang's blade remained sealed within its scabbard. Once drawn, its power would be correspondingly released.

At the same time, Tensa Zangetsu gained two forms: yin and yang.

The yin form was the black Tensa Zangetsu, capable of unleashing black crescent slashes filled with violence and destruction.

The yang form, meanwhile, was pure white from hilt to tip. It possessed purifying power and could heal its wielder.

This was the power it had gained only after absorbing the Yin-Yang Dual Flame.

At the same time, Xiao Yang no longer needed secret techniques that boosted his strength, such as a Clan Tattoo or the Heavenly Flame Three Transformations.

Bankai and Hollowfication were his best formulas. When layered together, they could raise his strength by as much as twenty times!

However, perhaps due to the system's twisted sense of humor, Xiao Yang had to shout, "Bankai!" in order to unleash that power.

Otherwise, although Zangetsu's form would change, its power would only be about twice that of its normal state, and the crescent blade auras it released would merely turn black and red.

Who the hell had come up with such a goddamn setting?