The Elder Makes a Move (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Follow-ups)

Xu Haoyu wore a faint smile as he idly toyed with a Fire Crystal Card, strolling through the forest with ease and not the slightest concern for danger.

Because in this forest, the roles of hunter and prey had already been reversed. He was the fiercest hunter, while the older students who had once been hunters had become prey.

"A five-man team only had 130 points of fire energy between them. Looks like robbery is just a way to make some extra money. Once I establish myself in the Inner Courtyard, I can compete for a spot on the Strong Ranking. That comes with a fixed amount of fire energy every month, and I can also refine and sell pills. As long as an alchemist like me gets a reputation, getting rich will be easy!"

Xu Haoyu spoke leisurely, storing the Fire Crystal Card back into his Storage Ring. Then he stamped his right foot down hard, using the rebound force to shoot forward like a cannonball as he resumed his rapid journey.

Along the way, he bulldozed through every opponent. Even when surrounded, he could easily turn the tables and defeat them. A Dou Ling fighting a group of Da Dou Shi was simply effortless.

Soon, word spread among the older students. A Dou Ling had emerged among the newcomers—powerful beyond belief. Not only had he not been robbed by the older students, but he had instead been continuously robbing them.

Before long, the older students' teams no longer dared to show themselves so readily. Everyone had come to earn some extra money; no one wanted to lose even their underwear in the end.

Xu Haoyu was alone, so it was impossible for him to rob all ten older-student teams in this competition. He planned to catch two big fish instead.

The edge of the forest!

Xu Haoyu stepped out of the shadows and paused, looking at the ten figures on the hillside. Five wore black robes, and five wore white. Each held a weapon, and all of them radiated a fierce aura. Even among all the older students, they were undoubtedly outstanding figures.

Xu Haoyu saw them, and they saw Xu Haoyu as well.

As the two strongest older-student teams in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition, the Black Fiends Team was led by Luo Shan, a Nine Star Da Dou Shi, with every one of his members being Seven Star Da Dou Shi. The White Fiends Team was led by Hu Tie, a One Star Dou Ling, while all of his members were at least Seven Star Da Dou Shi.

At that moment, Hu Tie of the White Fiends Team gave Luo Shan of the Black Fiends Team a look. The latter immediately understood, stepped forward, and said coldly, "Alone, yet still so composed in the face of us all... you must be Xu Haoyu, the champion of the Inner Courtyard Selection Competition—the one those newcomers said had been robbing our older students in the forest!"

Xu Haoyu was not particularly surprised that these older students knew his name. They only needed to have a little contact with the newcomers to find that out.

As calm as ever, he nodded. A breeze swept past, stirring the hair at his temples, while intense confidence radiated from him. He gave a light laugh and said, "That's right, it's me. Since you know what I've been doing, hand over your Fire Crystal Cards."

Arrogant!

That was the shared thought of all ten members of the Black Fiends Team and White Fiends Team. Xu Haoyu might be a Dou Ling, but against all ten of them, he had no more than a thirty percent chance of victory. Yet he still dared to speak so outrageously—it was infuriating.

Luo Shan's face darkened with fury, and he was just about to rebuke him when Hu Tie raised a hand to stop him. Hu Tie then looked down at Xu Haoyu and said, "One of the most important purposes of this Fire Energy Hunting Competition is to make newcomers understand their place before entering the Inner Courtyard. If you're a dragon, coil up. If you're a tiger, lie down. Don't bring those spoiled habits from the Outer Courtyard into the Inner Courtyard."

"Perhaps your talent and strength are unmatched in the Outer Courtyard, but now that you've come to the Inner Courtyard, as your senior, I must teach you some rules. You're a Dou Ling, and so am I, but there can still be an enormous gap between one Dou Ling and another."

After speaking, Hu Tie stomped his right foot against the ground and shot into the air. With his arms spread like a great roc unfurling its wings, he swooped toward Xu Haoyu.

"Iron Tiger Crushing Fist!"

Hu Tie shouted, and violent Dou Qi surged forth, making his clothes snap in the wind. Behind him, it condensed into a gigantic white tiger. The tiger's phantom rapidly merged with his body, and in the end, he threw a fierce punch at Xu Haoyu. Powerful force burst outward as wild winds swept through the area, shredding the surrounding vegetation to pieces.

Xu Haoyu's expression did not change in the slightest. Even with Mount Tai collapsing before him, his face remained calm. He even had the leisure to reflect that the Inner Courtyard students did possess some skill. The power of this strike alone was quite formidable.

However, to him, it was no more than a gentle breeze brushing his face—there was not the slightest threat.

"Thousandfold Strike!"

Xu Haoyu swept out a hand, directing surging Dou Qi into his palm. It compressed and layered upon itself, one layer after another. The terrifying power accumulated within caused energy ripples to spread through the surroundings—the sign of a Dou Technique whose power had reached the Earth Tier.

Facing Hu Tie's attack, Xu Haoyu did not retreat a single step. Just as Hu Tie's fist reached him, Xu Haoyu thrust out his palm, carrying the force to topple mountains and overturn seas as it collided with Hu Tie's punch.

Boom! Boom!

Violent force exploded from the point where the two collided, blasting one huge crater after another into the ground.

As for Hu Tie, his expression changed drastically. It felt as if his punch had struck a high-tier magical beast. The backlash of that power sent the Dou Qi within his body into chaos. He spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward like a ragged sack, continuing to vomit blood wildly in midair.

Xu Haoyu withdrew his hand. He had held back in the end; otherwise, that strike could have reduced Hu Tie to a pile of minced flesh. The combination of his physical strength and the power of his Dou Technique was enough to produce an effect greater than one plus one.

With a heavy bang, Hu Tie crashed to the ground. Fear showed in his eyes as he stared at Xu Haoyu. Spitting blood in great mouthfuls, he shouted sternly, "Everyone, attack together! This brat isn't someone any one of us can handle alone!"

At those words, the remaining members of the Black Fiends Team and White Fiends Team finally snapped out of their shock. Gritting their teeth, they launched an attack on Xu Haoyu under Luo Shan's lead.

In an instant, Dou Qi of every color converged in the sky. The Dou Techniques these people used were all at least Mystic Tier, and the power unleashed by their combined attack was no weaker than Hu Tie's Iron Tiger Crushing Fist.

Xu Haoyu watched it all. Though he could easily defeat them one by one, he wanted to test himself in a direct clash. He said in a low voice, "Heaven Splitting Divine Palm!"

Xu Haoyu raised his palm and slowly pushed it forward. In the process, surging Dou Qi compressed and layered within his hand. Finally, through resonance, it shook the energy between heaven and earth. Waves of energy ripples spread frantically outward, carrying destructive and terrifying fluctuations that would make anyone tremble in fear. Even Xu Haoyu himself was enduring immense pressure.

Boom! Boom!

As Xu Haoyu thrust out his palm, a destructive palm imprint shot toward the group from the Black Fiends Team and White Fiends Team.

The Dou Techniques they had unleashed were swept away in an instant. They could only watch helplessly as that palm imprint descended over their heads, despair filling their hearts as they roared inwardly, Was this really just a newcomer?!

Suddenly, two figures descended from the sky. Two surging waves of Dou Qi erupted, seemingly bearing the might of heaven and earth, and only then was the palm imprint completely extinguished.

When the dust settled, Elder Liu and Elder Wan looked at Xu Haoyu with strange expressions. This was not power that a One Star Dou Ling could possibly unleash. A Nine Star Dou Ling would be more believable. With the aid of this obviously Earth Tier Dou Technique, even a Dou Wang would have to think twice.

If they had arrived even a moment later, all ten members of the Black Fiends Team and White Fiends Team would have been finished. There was no way they could have blocked it.