The Fire-Energy Hunting Tournament

In response to Lin Ming and the others' greetings, Elder Liu nodded and said, "Hmm, not bad."

Elder Xu then glanced at Lin Ming and said to Vice Dean Hu Gan, "This little fellow is the student named Lin Ming that Old Huo brought up to show off and get for a bargain, right?"

"Haha, Old Xu. If Old Huo hears you say that, it'll be difficult for you to get him to refine pills for a while." Vice Dean Hu Gan teased Elder Xu with a laugh.

"Let's not talk about anything else, business is more important, let's get down to business first!" After Vice Dean Hu Gan finished speaking, Elder Liu noticed Elder Xu's embarrassment and tried to smooth things over by suppressing a laugh.

Elder Liu took a few steps forward, and after approaching the students, he slowly said to them, "Do you see that group of young people behind me? I'm sure you recognize many of them."

"They were the ones who entered the Inner Academy last year and ranked last in cultivation. Now, a year has passed, and among the fifty students present, apart from those few Da Dou Shi, I dare say that no one else could be their match."

"Some people might disagree with this, but that's okay. I'll give you a chance to prove whether I'm exaggerating or not."

After Elder Liu finished speaking, he smiled, his Storage Ring flashed, and with a flick of his hand, a large handful of jet-black Crystal Card appeared in his palm.

After Elder Liu received the Black Crystal Card, he waved his hand, and the Black Crystal Card in his palm flew all over the sky. Then, as if they had eyes, a Black Crystal Card floated in front of each student.

After the trainees took the Black Crystal Card in front of them, a strange heat emanated from the Black Crystal Card.

Some trainees looked down at the Black Crystal Card in their hands. On the black Crystal Card was a transparent mirror, and on this transparent mirror was a red number "five".

The students at the scene looked at the black Crystal Card and the numbers on it with puzzled expressions, while some students wanted to ask for clarification.

Looking up, he saw the gazes of the twenty young people standing in front of him, gazes like those of Fierce Beasts beast eyeing its prey. The question he wanted to ask remained unspoken.

However, none of this was a secret to Lin Ming. In his Storage Ring, he possessed a Crystal Card Black Crystal Card one, but in a crimson color. That Crystal Card had over a thousand numbers on it.

"Students, I know you have many questions, but because of certain things, I can't explain them to you now. So, I'll leave these things for you to figure out on your own after you enter the Inner Academy."

"The cards you hold are called Crystal Card in the Inner Academy. As for the numbers on them, they can be called Fire Energy Points."

"You'll understand the importance of the Fire Energy Points once you enter the Inner Academy. But look at the people behind me; their eager eyes surely show how precious the Fire Energy Points is."

"I just told you I would give you a chance to test your skills against them. Now that chance has come. Next, all of you will enter the forest and proceed forward until you reach the Inner Academy at the end of the forest."

"After you enter the forest, those people behind you will also enter. They won't kill you, but they will do everything in their power to seize the Black Crystal Card in your hands and take the numbers on them."

"And you people are to do everything in your power to protect your Crystal Card from being taken away and losing the Fire Energy Points on them. Then, you must reach the Inner Academy at the end of the forest as quickly as possible."

"Those who haven't been captured and lost their Fire Energy Points after reaching the Inner Academy will receive rewards from the academy, and the earlier they arrive, the richer the rewards will be."

Elder Liu's words gradually made the students present understand that they would soon be tested by these senior students from the Inner Academy. Those who passed successfully would receive generous rewards from the academy, while those who were caught would lose the Fire Energy Points that Elder Liu had just mentioned.

Although these students didn't know the specific uses of Fire Energy Points, judging from Elder Liu's words and the looks in the eyes of those behind them, they were probably quite precious, so no one was willing to lose their Fire Energy Points.

"It seems you all basically understand, so we can begin."

"Oh, by the way, students, in our Inner Academy, we have a name for the competition for Fire Energy in the forest: the Fire Energy Hunt Competition."

"Haha, I hereby declare this year's Fire Energy Hunt Competition officially open! Students, let the great escape begin!"

After Elder Liu finished speaking, the twenty or so young people behind him walked away and disappeared into the forest.

Seeing these people disappear, Lin Ming also took a step forward and walked towards the forest, and then disappeared into the forest as well.

Lin Ming had already decided to act alone before setting off. The quality of their class of students was not like that of Xiao Yan's class, which was able to poach senior students.

Although Lin Ming was fighting alone, he had no problem fighting a Dou Ling if he used all his Trump Card.

However, because his Cultivation Method is currently only equivalent to the Yellow Tier High-grade, Lin Ming can only fight against one Dou Ling at most. But with his knowledge from the original work, Lin Ming knows that there are two Black-and-White Fiends teams in the end, and the leaders of these two teams are both Dou Ling cultivators.

Among the senior students from the Inner Academy participating in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition, there were quite a few with the cultivation level of Da Dou Shi. A team of two Dou Ling plus several, or even a dozen, Da Dou Shi wanted to steal their Fire Energy Points.

Lin Ming could only think that trying to steal something by being stubborn was tantamount to courting death.

Besides, none of Lin Ming's generation had the same appeal as Xiao Yan's generation, capable of rallying all fifty people who entered the Inner Academy this time.

In the original novel, Xiao Yan's class was able to gather all fifty people who were supposed to enter the Inner Academy because of the presence of two great beauties Xun Er and Hu Jia.

Xun Er's beauty, combined with Hu Jia's presence as the granddaughter of the Vice Dean Hu Gan, that allowed her to rally all fifty people who had entered the Inner Academy.

In contrast, while Lin Ming's class does have one beauty, Su Xue usually maintains a cold and aloof demeanor. Asking her to rally these people would likely yield unsatisfactory results.

Lin Ming was only a newcomer to the academy for a year, so he wasn't familiar with the senior students. In addition, he spent most of his time in the Alchemy Department practicing alchemy and had little contact with other students in the academy. Of the dozens of people who entered the Inner Academy, Lin Ming could only name a few.

It's wishful thinking to try and rally others when you don't know them well. Of course, it's precisely because they're unfamiliar with each other that Lin Ming doesn't feel anything when these people suffer; after all, we don't know each other.

Besides, this Fire Energy Hunt Competition has been held every year since its inception in the Inner Academy, and everyone else is doing just fine. Why should Lin Ming show off by organizing people to try and steal the senior students' talents?

In the original novel, although Xiao Yan led everyone to victory against the veterans, most of the benefits ultimately went to Xiao Yan, Xun Er, and the top five, while the rest only received a few days' worth of Fire Energy.

But what happens after entering the Inner Academy? It's the ordinary students who get bullied. Some of them will probably have to pay far more Fire Energy Points than they received in rewards, and they'll also be subjected to all sorts of harassment.

Therefore, sometimes breaking certain rules is not a good thing, or rather, only a small number of people benefit, while the benefits gained by the majority are far less than what they lose.

All these reasons combined meant that Lin Ming had absolutely no intention of breaking the rules or trying to steal the senior students.

For Lin Ming, the Fire Energy Hunt Competition was not something he would suffer in. With Lin Ming Movement Fighting Skill, it would be an easy task for him to shake off these Da Dou Shi from the Inner Academy.

Even if all else fails, Lin Ming possesses the Purple Crystal Wings. Once Lin Ming takes to the sky, let alone those who are not even ranked in the Inner Academy and are participating in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition, even those ranked on the Strong Ranking will be helpless against Lin Ming until their cultivation reaches the Dou Wang.

Lin Ming was walking alone in the dense forest. Suddenly, he heard voices coming from ahead, and Lin Ming jumped into a tree to hide.

"Damn it, our team has only encountered a few people so far, and the Fire Energy Points we've earned aren't even enough to cover the cost of participating in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition. If we can't find any other new students, we'll be at a huge loss by participating in this Fire Energy Hunt Competition!"

"Complaining is useless. There's still time; we need to find those new students. Although Hua Zi's complaints are pointless, they do touch on the same issue. We can't go back empty-handed after participating in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition."

Lin Ming, hiding in the tree, overheard the conversation below and knew that some people had already been captured by the senior students, who had obtained some Fire Energy Points from them.

After watching the group walk away, Lin Ming climbed down from the tree and continued his solitary journey.

Three days later, after dodging three groups of senior students, Lin Ming had basically reached the rear of the forest. According to the simple map provided by the academy, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Lin Ming would leave the forest and reach the Inner Academy at most one day.

After walking for more than an hour, Lin Ming stopped. Through Lin Ming Soul Perception, he sensed movement from people ahead.

Sensing that there were people ahead, Lin Ming cautiously approached them, intending to investigate them.