The Ranking Tournament Begins

Lin Ming stepped onto the arena and watched as each person drew their Number Plate.

After each person draws their Number Plate, someone on site will register the Number Plate and the person who drew it to ensure the fairness of the Number Plate.

Soon, it was Lin Ming's turn to draw Number Plate. Lin Ming reached into the draw box, randomly picked a Number Plate, and pulled his hand out.

Seeing the Number Plate "ten" written on it, Lin Ming knew his opponent was someone who had also drawn a number ten. After handing his Number Plate to the registration person, Lin Ming stepped off the stage and left.

Soon, everyone had finished drawing their Number Plate. After the drawn Number Plate were registered with the person who drew them, the competition would officially begin.

"Next, the competition will officially begin. The ten people who drew the numbers one, two, three, four, and five, please come to the five arenas in front of you and begin your respective battles." As the referee called out at each arena, the people who drew the corresponding numbers went to their respective arenas and began their ranked battles.

Based on a five-match format, the fifty people who have secured Inner Academy Slot will be able to complete the first round of competition in five matches. At that point, the top twenty-five will be selected.

Half an hour later, the results of the five matches on the arena were all in. Then, at the referee's call of "Number 10, Lin Ming versus Helian," Lin Ming stepped onto the arena corresponding to his turn.

Upon arriving at the arena, a somewhat smug-looking young man also appeared. Lin Ming knew that this person was his opponent for this round, Helian.

After Helian arrived at the arena, he grinned slyly and called out to Lin Ming, "Brother Lin! I hope you'll go easy on me later and let me lose with some dignity."

Lin Ming was amused by Helian. As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. Lin Ming observed that Helian's cultivation was at the Seven-Star Dou Master, which posed no threat to him. Therefore, Lin Ming nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll be careful later."

After receiving Lin Ming's reply, Helian thanked Lin Ming.

Once both sides were ready, the referee announced the start of the match.

The match officially began. Helian 'Storage Ring flashed with a cold light, and a pair of daggers appeared in Helian hands. After taking out the daggers, Helian summoned his Dou Qi Gauze Robe and then launched the first attack on Lin Ming.

Lin Ming's cultivation level was that of Da Dou Shi, while Helian Cai's was that of Dou Master. He knew that in the battle with Lin Ming, if he didn't strike first, he probably wouldn't even have a chance to make a move once Lin Ming attacked.

Seeing Helian attacking, Lin Ming didn't hesitate and immediately activated his Dou Qi Armor. After activating the Dou Qi Armor, Lin Ming swung his fist, which was covered by the Dou Qi Armor, and punched Helian's dagger.

"Bang!"

Lin Ming blocked the incoming dagger with a single punch.

In this Lin Ming's opponent, Helian, did not think that his ordinary attacks could cause any damage to Lin Ming. So after Lin Ming so easily interrupted his attack, he was not discouraged, but instead launched an even more fierce attack.

"Bang... bang bang... clink clink... clang!"

The daggers attacked the armor from different directions, but were all easily blocked by the armor.

Seeing that his Dou Qi had been nearly half depleted and he still couldn't inflict any damage on Lin Ming, Helian decided to stop this pointless waste of energy. In a battle of attrition, he, a mere Dou Master, was definitely no match for Lin Ming, a Da Dou Shi.

Seeing that Helian had stopped attacking and instead created distance, Lin Ming knew that he was about to use Dou Technique.

As expected, after stopping, Helian told Lin Ming to be careful and then accelerated towards him. A pair of daggers spun rapidly in Helian's hands.

Lin Ming sensed the energy fluctuations emanating from the dagger, which were equivalent to Profound Tier Mid-grade Dou Technique. Therefore, he dared not be careless. He circulated his Dou Qi, swung his fist, and smashed it towards Helian, who was attacking him.

"Swift Dual Blades, Attack!" Helian shouted, and then the daggers in his hands spun rapidly, flying directly out of his body like two venomous snakes, baring their fangs as they attacked Lin Ming.

As the first Explosive Thunder Fist technique Lin Ming learned, Lin Ming can now use it with ease. When Helian's two daggers attacked, Lin Ming threw a punch at them.

"Buzz!"

"Boom"

The explosive sound of the Explosive Thunder Fist preceded the clash between the fist and the dagger.

Shortly after the two different sounds rang out, Helian, who had just come to his senses, shook his head. He had been stunned for two breaths by the sonic boom of Lin Ming's Explosive Thunder Fist, and was only now regaining his senses.

Helian saw the dagger that had been knocked to the ground. His strongest attack had been so easily blocked by Lin Ming, and if Lin Ming had attacked earlier, he would have been completely powerless to resist in his moment of distraction. So there was no need to continue the fight.

Helian immediately admitted defeat, then picked up his Helian and stepped off the stage.

As expected, Lin Ming won the Lin Ming. Next, the remaining three groups will compete.

Two hours later, the Arena Tournament between the fifty people who had secured a place in the academy had ended. Now, the twenty-five winners returned to the arena to draw their Number Plate for this round.

Because twenty-five people participated in the Number Plate drawing, one person will be left without a number. Among the Number Plate, only Number Plate one through twelve are available, along with one blank Number Plate.

The person who draws the number, of course, needs to compete against someone who drew the same number, and the winner advances to the next round.

Those who draw a blank Number Plate do not need to participate in this round of the competition and can directly enter the next round.

On the arena, all twenty-five winners from the first round arrived. An elder took out a lottery box and had the twenty-five people on the arena draw Number Plate.

After drawing Number Plate, the same procedure as before is followed: the Number Plate is reported to the person in charge of recording for registration of the person and the number on the Number Plate.

After several people drew their Number Plate, it was Lin Ming's turn to draw one.

Lin Ming randomly grabbed a Number Plate from the draw box, then looked at Number Plate corresponding number.

But when I looked, holy crap! There were no numbers! I've never won the lottery in my past life, how come I got a blank Number Plate?!

After checking and confirming that the number Number Plate were blank, Lin Ming announced the results and displayed the blank Number Plate to the public.

The other participants, seeing that Lin Ming had drawn a blank Number Plate and thus advanced directly to the next round due to a bye, mostly wore expressions of relief, except for a few who looked annoyed. This included three other participants who were also Da Dou Shi like Lin Ming.

The pressure Lin Ming exerted on them was immense, as evidenced by the fact that at the Year-End Grand Competition, Lin Ming, a Six-star Dou Shi, nearly killed Zuo Rulong, a Da Dou Shi, causing Zuo Rulong to spend his entire New Year's holiday in bed. Now, Zuo Rulong sees Lin Ming, he unconsciously averts his gaze, avoiding direct eye contact.

Since he had a bye this round, Lin Ming stepped off the stage and walked towards the outside of the plaza.

Today's competition will end after this round. Lin Ming received a bye in this round and advanced directly to the next round. Lin Ming didn't like the noisy environment, so there was no need for him to stay here any longer.

After leaving the arena, Lin Ming headed towards a secluded spot. This was a direction he randomly chose.

Lin Ming had been at the Jia Nan Academy for a year, and apart from the classrooms, the Alchemy Department, and a few other places, he was truly unfamiliar with the rest of the campus.

With some time still left, Lin Ming wanted to wander around, as he wouldn't have many more opportunities to visit the Outer Academy in the future.

Lin Ming wandered around and barely encountered anyone. This was normal, as most of the academy students were watching the Ranking Tournament for those who had Inner Academy Slot. It was already quite good that Lin Ming ran into even a few people.

Lin Ming wandered around until it got dark before returning to his dormitory room near the classroom.

After washing up, Lin Ming went to his bedroom to begin his cultivation for the evening. Although he had already advanced to the rank of Da Dou Shi, he still needed to maintain his daily Dou Qi training.

However, before starting his cultivation, Lin Ming focused his mind into his dantian and inwardly observed the Flame Gold Flame swirling within his qi vortex.

After absorbing the energy of the Earth Core Flame, the Flame Gold Flame had been dormant. However, Lin Ming could sense that the energy carried by the Flame Gold Flame now was much stronger than before.

Furthermore, the Flame Gold Flame is still undergoing mutations. Every day, Lin Ming examines the Flame Gold Flame internally and feels that its power has increased slightly compared to the previous day. This makes Lin Ming increasingly eager to see what level the Flame Gold Flame will reach after its mutation is complete.

After observing the Flame Gold Flame and realizing that its transformation was not yet complete, Lin Ming exited the internal observation state and began cultivating his Dou Qi.

The Dou Qi Energy provided to Lin Ming by refining the Earth Heart Fire Stone last time not only enabled Lin Ming to advance from Dou Master to Da Dou Shi, but also significantly improved Lin Ming cultivation beyond that of One-Star Great Dou Master.

Furthermore, during his cultivation over the past few days, Lin Ming sensed that some residual Earth Core Flame energy remained within his body. This allowed Lin Ming to get closer and closer to becoming a Two Star Dou Grandmaster in his subsequent cultivation sessions.

If he continues his cultivation in the following sessions, releasing the remaining Earth Core Flame energy and having Dou Qi channeled into his meridians and transformed into Dou Qi, Lin Ming feels that he will be able to advance to Two Star Dou Grandmaster before even entering the Inner Academy.