First Place, Fame Shakes Misty Cloud

"How could there be such a ferocious magical beast?"

That was everyone's thought. The Thunder Giant Elephant let out a demonic roar, shaking even the void. The surrounding Dou Qi became wildly turbulent as thunder rumbled.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion echoed across the entirety of Misty Cloud Mountain. When two volcano-level energies collided, the resulting shockwave even caved in the ground.

The massive stone monument at the center of the plaza would have shattered long ago if not for Yun Yun's personal protection.

Before the terrifying shockwave dissipated, even the air had twisted. Through the gradually fading energy ripples, they could see that the Thunder Giant Elephant had devoured the Red Sun, though more than half of its illusory body had also scattered away.

Yet it still carried terrifying residual might. Like a demon god descending upon the world, it swept toward Nalan Yanran.

Pfft!

As a hazy mist of blood appeared in midair, the Thunder Giant Elephant dispersed. Nalan Yanran's delicate body, like a battered flower petal, drifted down with the wind.

It was clear that before the Thunder Giant Elephant struck, Nalan Yanran had used an advanced movement technique to evade it. However, the area swept up by the Thunder Giant Elephant was simply too vast, and she was still caught within it.

Taking advantage of the Accompanying Purple Crystal Source energy still coursing wildly through his meridians before it ran dry, Chen Mo fixed his gaze on where Nalan Yanran would land and shot toward her.

Finally, when Nalan Yanran was still several dozen centimeters from the ground, Chen Mo slid forward, dropped to his knees, and caught her.

But before he could check on her condition, the nearly depleted energy began rampaging through Chen Mo's body, where scarcely any Dou Qi remained.

Chen Mo fainted.

Before losing consciousness, Chen Mo vaguely felt his head land against something very soft.

At that moment, the entire venue fell silent.

Everyone recalled the ancient giant elephant covered in thunder and entwined with Purple Fire, as well as the sight of Nalan Yanran falling from the sky.

Nalan Yanran, the strongest among the younger generation of the Misty Cloud Sect, had condensed her Qi Cyclone and become a Dou Zhe at thirteen, advanced to a Dou Shi at sixteen, and reached the Seven-star Dou Master level by eighteen.

That cultivation speed utterly surpassed the disciples of her generation in the Misty Cloud Sect.

Yet such an outstanding figure, one whom others did not even dare aspire to surpass, had been defeated by a sixteen-year-old youth with merely the cultivation of a Two-star Dou Master, whom the Sect Master had brought back only three days ago.

Perhaps Nalan Yanran's image in everyone's hearts had been too flawless. Even after a long while, a small number of people still could not accept this fact.

The referee had yet to announce the result. Chen Mo had already fallen unconscious, while Nalan Yanran, though severely injured, was still awake.

Strictly speaking, although Nalan Yanran had been knocked down by Chen Mo, she had not admitted defeat, so the referee could not declare her the loser.

Meanwhile, Chen Mo was unconscious.

Nalan Yanran lay atop Chen Mo, while Chen Mo's head rested against her chest. Her beautiful eyes stared at him, and after a moment, she seemed somewhat entranced.

Dual thunder-fire attributes, a sixteen-year-old Two-star Dou Master, and the strength to challenge a Seven-star Dou Master across five stars.

All of it made Nalan Yanran completely disregard the fact that Chen Mo's head was resting in a rather inappropriate place.

Then she slowly said, "I admit defeat."

"Chen Mo wins." At the same moment, the referee's voice rang out.

At that same instant, Sect Master Yun Yun flew down from the elevated platform. A flash of light gleamed in her jade-like hand as she first fed each of them a medicinal pill, then said, "From this day onward, Chen Mo will be my second Direct Disciple, as well as the first place winner of this Inner Sect competition."

No one in the plaza objected. Even the Elder Council strongly supported it.

Great Elder Yun Leng had even decided that once the competition was over, he would personally have someone deliver Chen Mo some Saint Medicine for healing and cultivation resources.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Yun Yun saluted Jia Xingtian and the others on the high platform. With a wave of her jade-like hand, a Green Tornado appeared beneath the two of them. As Yun Yun rose into the air, the Green Tornado carried them upward as well, gradually vanishing into the depths of Misty Cloud Mountain.

With Yun Yun gone, Yun Leng, whose status was second only to the Sect Master's, naturally took on the role of distributing rewards to the Top Ten disciples.

"Nalan Su, it seems calling off that engagement a year ago was indeed a very wise decision. Perhaps your Nalan Family will gain quite a fine son-in-law," Mu Chen said. This time, he was no longer teasing him, but was simply jealous.

Jealous that he did not have a younger clanswoman as beautiful as a flower.

"Tsk, tsk. Didn't you see the way that girl Yan Ran looked at that boy? She was clearly smitten." Mitel Tengshan wondered whether he should invite Chen Mo to visit in a few days.

Nalan Su was in an excellent mood and felt that Mu Chen's words made perfect sense. Chen Mo had gone to catch Yan Ran just now, which showed that he was interested in her too. He could give them a little push afterward.

If they worked hard enough, perhaps he would be holding a grandson next year.

Jia Xingtian left. He was not in a very good mood, because Chen Mo was a disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect.

Fa Ma and Gu He gathered together. "He has the fire attribute, and his soul energy is very strong as well. If we inspect him and find even a trace of the wood attribute, I can guarantee that he'll be an exceptional talent in alchemy too."

"You want to poach him?"

"What do you mean, poach him? The Alchemist Association doesn't mind that he's a disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect."

"In alchemy, you've always lost to me."

"Could it be that you also want to—"

"That's right. What I really meant was, if he has the wood attribute, you think you can snatch him from my hands?"

"Master, how is Junior Brother?"

Although Nalan Yanran had been seriously injured, she felt slightly better after some treatment. Looking at Chen Mo, who lay unconscious on the bed with a body as hot as a furnace, she asked.

"He's slightly better than he was the night before last. Mainly, he expended too much Dou Qi, and his body has been severely drained." After feeding Chen Mo another fourth-tier medicinal pill, Yun Yun spoke.

"The night before last?" Nalan Yanran seemed to have noticed something.

Yun Yun coughed. A faint blush appeared on her pretty face, but fortunately, she had her back to Nalan Yanran and was not seen. Then she said, "The night before last, he had the same condition. It was even worse than today, but..."

Yun Yun paused for a moment. "He... he'll be fine after resting for a night."

Nalan Yanran did not suspect anything. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on Chen Mo's face. After hesitating briefly, she said, "Master, then I'll stay tonight and take care of Junior Brother."

"No." Yun Yun answered far too quickly. Seeing Nalan Yanran's surprised gaze, Yun Yun explained, "You were seriously injured too, and your foundation has been damaged. Come to my room tonight, and I'll help you recuperate."

"My foundation was damaged? No, it wasn't, Master." Nalan Yanran was even more surprised.

"It was. It's simply hidden very deeply, so you didn't notice." With that, Yun Yun led Nalan Yanran out of the side hall, not giving her a chance to ask further.

Late at night.

After confirming that Nalan Yanran would not wake up, a figure quietly slipped into the side hall.