Honorary elder

Above the vast forest, ten enormous black shadows streaked across the sky, whipping up a gust of wind. Standing atop the Griffin Beast, Xiao Yan gazed at the dense jungle rushing past below, letting out a long breath and muttering to himself, "Inner Academy, the Fallen Heart Flame... I hope it won't disappoint me!"

The flight formation flew through the vast, endless mountain range for nearly half an hour. Hu Gan, who was following behind, frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "Why has this journey been so smooth this year?"

Another elder flew over from the side and said to Hu Gan, "Why is this forest in the back mountains so quiet?"

Hu Gan nodded and said, "That's right, the forest in the back mountains is indeed too quiet this year. In normal times, magical beasts would already be attacking flying formations by now. Let's go a little further, but be careful!"

The old man nodded slightly, then flew back to his position.

Xiao Yu, who was standing next to Hu Gan, couldn't help but glance at Cai Die, who was following behind him. Cai Die smiled gently, her eyes revealing a hint of cunning and innocence.

Although Cai Die has now transformed into human form, she still carries a trace of the aura of a Seventh-Tier Demonic Beast. Most of the magical beasts in the mountains and forests Fifth-Order Magical Beast, and a few are Sixth-Tier Demonic Beast. They dare not be too presumptuous in the face of the aura of Cai Die, a Seventh-Tier Demonic Beast!

Of course, Hu Gan and the other elders, who were flying, had no idea what was going on and simply assumed that the magical beasts had become much more docile this year.

The flight formation had been traveling smoothly the whole way. Standing atop the Griffin Beast, Hu Jia couldn't help but mutter, "The old man said we should encounter magical beasts on the way to the Inner Academy, right? Why haven't we seen a single one?"

After flying for another hour or so, Hu Gan couldn't help but mutter, "This is really strange. Why is it so quiet in these mountains? It's even half an hour earlier than in previous years!"

Soon, the flight formation slowed down, and Xiao Yu, who was following behind, saw the bottomless ravine below. It seemed that the gate to the Inner Academy was right here!

As they were talking, the group, along with their flight formation, landed steadily on the ground. The open space was vast and the surroundings were empty. Many trainees looked around in confusion, wondering if they had come to the wrong place.

Hu Gan, noticing the confusion on everyone's face, smiled faintly and said, "Don't rush, getting into the Inner Academy isn't so easy!"

As he spoke, Hu Gan slowly took about ten steps forward, then waved his hand, and a beam of energy shot out from his hand. The energy suddenly vibrated in mid-air in front of him, and immediately spatial ripples spread out in all directions.

To everyone's astonishment, a massive, pale silver gate, seven or eight zhang tall, appeared out of thin air before them. Looking at the gate, Xiao Yu thought to himself, "We've finally arrived!"

With a soft thud, the pale silver gate slowly opened under everyone's watchful eyes. Beyond the gate lay another dense forest. Hu Gan beckoned and said, "Come with me!"

The forty-nine students behind him followed with expressions of curiosity, but only Xiao Yu knew that what was about to happen was a competition to seize Fire Energy.

The moment Xiao Yu stepped through the gate, he noticed that the surrounding environment seemed unchanged, except that there was suddenly a group of people in front of him, led by two old men.

Standing behind them were several middle-aged men and a group of young people with lazy and somewhat arrogant expressions; presumably, these were the senior students from the Inner Academy participating in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition.

After everyone from the Outer Academy entered, the elders and students from the Inner Academy immediately focused their attention on Cai Die, who was standing next to Xiao Yu. The reason was simple: she was just too charming and beautiful.

"This aura... Dou Zong?" Elder Su's expression suddenly turned serious.

Hu Gan also noticed Elder Su's gaze and beckoned to Xiao Yu, saying, "Come here!"

Xiao Yu led Cai Die to Hu Gan's side. Elder Qing, who was standing to the side, also sensed the powerful aura emanating from Cai Die and frowned slightly, asking warily, "Old Man Hu, who is this?"

With a casual wave of his hand, Hu Gan created a faint energy shield that enveloped the five people, cutting off their conversation. Everyone watching this scene was completely baffled.

Inside the energy shield, Hu Gan immediately laughed and said, "You two old guys, don't be nervous. Xiao Yu, these two are the elders of the Inner Academy. This is Elder Su, and that is Elder Qing. This is the first place winner of the Inner Academy Selection Tournament." The last sentence was obviously addressed to Elders Su and Qing.

"Elder Su, Elder Qing!" Xiao Yu bowed slightly and greeted them.

Elder Su and Elder Qing nodded slightly, glanced at Xiao Yu, and chuckled, "Not bad, to be the first in the selection competition at such a young age. I hope you can be just as outstanding among all the students in the Inner Academy!"

"I will definitely try my best, but I also have something I'd like to ask of you two elders this time," Xiao Yu said with a faint smile.

Elder Su glanced at Cai Die and asked, "Is it for her?"

Xiao Yu nodded and said, "Yes, this is my friend. Because she has some connection with me, she needs to stay by my side. She has absolutely no ill intentions towards the Jia Nan Academy, and her strength is also at the Dou Zong level, so she hopes to stay at the Jia Nan Academy. What do you think?"

Upon hearing Xiao Yu say that this alluring woman was actually Dou Zong, Elder Qing was standing nearby, trembled. She was actually a Dou Zong expert!

Su Qian frowned slightly and asked, "Can you guarantee that she won't pose a threat to the Jia Nan Academy? What is her background? What's her name?"

"I can assure you, her name is Cai Die, and she is the Medusa, the Queen of the Snake People Clan. She is by my side because she needs me to refine the Spirit Fusion Pill!" After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yu told him the truth.

Elder Su and Elder Qing suddenly stared wide-eyed at Xiao Yu in surprise and said, "You're an alchemist? And she's Queen Medusa's sister?"

Even Hu Gan looked at Cai Die in shock. He had only just learned that this woman had such a background and the strength of Dou Zong. Her sister must also be Dou Zong. The Snake People Clan actually had two Dou Zong!

Xiao Yu smiled faintly and said, "Yes."

Elder Su and Elder Qing exchanged a glance but didn't ask too many questions. The Snake People Clan and Jia Nan Academy had no conflict of interest and harbored no hostility. It was clear that Cai Die and Xiao Yu had a good relationship. In the end, Elder Su decided, "Alright, she can stay and serve as an honorary elder of the Jia Nan Academy, what do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu immediately smiled and said, "I will follow Elder Su's orders."

Cai Die was standing nearby, naturally heard that she could stay and had even become an elder. Her charming face immediately lit up with a smile, stunning the group of senior and junior students outside.

Elder Su looked at Xiao Yu and said, "You little rascal, if I hadn't promised to make arrangements for her, would you still have said you'd obey my orders?"

Xiao Yu didn't say anything, just chuckled, clearly indicating that this "if" was invalid!

Elder Su shook his head and smiled, not saying much, since the upcoming Fire Energy Hunt Competition was the main event.

Seeing that the matter of the Cai Die was resolved, Hu Gan smiled and nodded, then casually removed the energy shield.

At this moment, Elder Qing looked at Hu Gan and asked, "What about the other four people who were among the top five in this selection competition?"