Xiao Yan Really Deserved to Die

Fox?

Upon hearing Zi Yan's words, Xiao Yan frowned.

In his memory, there were no particularly powerful fox-type magical beasts on the Dou Qi Continent. When the topic of Old Yao's old flames came up, Old Yao had revealed some information about them.

Since the Fox Clan's Demon Saint Valley was besieged by multiple Dou Sheng Expert, forcing Hu Jiujiu Fox Saint Jiu Jiu, one of Old Yao's old flames, to sacrifice himself and send the Fox Clan's Demon Saint Valley to another world to avoid disaster, the Fox Clan's lineage on the Dou Qi Continent has essentially been severed.

This Hu Qingqing...

What exactly is going on?

After all, if someone can transform into human form but their strength is only at the Dou Wang level, it must mean that they have consumed Human Transformation Pill or Transformation Grass.

But judging from his appearance, he was clearly different from Zi Yan, a pitiful child who had been stranded in the deep mountains since childhood.

Judging from her behavior, Hu Qingqing seems to have lived as a human since childhood, and it's impossible to tell that her true form is a magical beast.

"Teacher, do you think there's a possibility...?"

Xiao Yan asked himself quietly.

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's question, Old Yao remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know, but at least for now, he's definitely not alone. That treasure that conceals his aura is something no ordinary magical beast could possess. His elders are probably no weaker than Dou Zun."

The Old Yao actually hoped that Hu Qingqing could really have some kind of relationship with the people of the Demon Saint Valley. In that case, perhaps he would still have a chance to see the old friend he was just one step away from marrying.

However, for some things, not having hope is the most rational choice.

"Forget it, don't dwell on this for now. You'll have plenty of opportunities to investigate this later. For now, let's focus all our attention on the Strong Ranking Tournament."

The Old Yao sighed softly and said in a low voice.

"Hmm, if there really is some connection, this disciple will definitely try to find out. I'm very curious about what kind of person this Fox Clan, who almost became my official master's wife, really is!"

Xiao Yan said jokingly.

"You little rascal! You're making fun of your teacher now?"

Upon hearing this, the Old Yao laughed and scolded.

"Thump!"

Suddenly, the ancient bell rang again, causing Xiao Yan to regain his composure. He glanced around the arena and found that the Central Plaza was now packed with people. As the bell tolled, the noise gradually subsided.

"Laugh!"

As the chimes ceased to echo, a sudden whooshing sound of wind breaking through the air filled the sky.

The trainees looked up, but could only catch a fleeting glimpse of a blurry figure. Then, their gazes shifted downwards, and they were surprised to find that more than a dozen elderly figures had appeared at some point in time on special seats in the highest stands of the square.

Xiao Yan glanced over and immediately recognized that most of them were elders from the academy with whom he had some interaction. They were basically there because of his Alchemy, and Elder Su, whom he knew best, was also among them.

The old man in the central seat, dressed in black robes with white hair and a white beard, who looked quite familiar, was none other than Su Qian, the Great Elder of the Inner Academy whom he had met when he first encountered Zi Yan.

Xiao Yan was not surprised by Su Qian's attendance.

These people from the Ancient Clan are far too powerful. Without the Great Elder keeping an eye on them, even the elders at the Dou Emperor level would probably be a little worried.

Great Elder Su Qian stepped forward and pressed his hands down, instantly silencing the entire plaza.

At this moment, Su Qian slowly swept his gaze across the entire venue, finally settling on Xiao Yan, who was surrounded by beauties on the high platform. A faint smile appeared in his eyes, and his aged and deep voice resounded in the ears of everyone in the venue.

"Students ranked at the top of the Strong Ranking List, you may enter!"

As Su Qian's voice fell, figures flashed on the high platform, tracing arcs in the air before finally landing on the competition stage in the center of the square.

"Bang!"

With a cracking sound as the ground split open, a figure, as imposing as a mountain, crashed to the ground with a sharp whooshing sound. The dozens of contestants in the arena clearly felt the ground tremble the moment he landed. But when they saw the handsome figure in black trousers and a middle parting, they immediately understood.

Xu Kun, the leader of the Iron Mountain Gang, is a well-known body cultivation expert in the academy. Don't be fooled by his Iron Mountain Lean; in reality, his lower body is also quite stable, as immovable as a mountain and as powerful as thunder!

After his figure landed, another figure lightly touched the ground with his toes on the platform, and then shot out from the platform like an arrow. At the same time, a light blue vortex appeared around him, which accelerated his speed. He then shot directly towards Xu Kun.

Many people could only see a pale blue afterimage fly out, and then the white-clad figure, whose legs were longer than Zi Yan's height, descended from the sky. His legs pierced the ground as if cutting through tofu, and his feet were embedded directly into the hard ground.

Seeing this, it wasn't hard for everyone to recognize that this was Li Da, who had always been one step ahead of Xu Kun.

If Xu Kun is as immovable as a mountain, then Li Da is an A-rank in both strength and speed!

This guy's physical body is even stronger than Xu Kun's, especially his long legs, which greatly expand his attack range. Combined with his domineering strength and the speed brought by his wind attribute Dou Qi, over the years, although he has always fought Xu Kun to a great extent at the beginning, he has always been able to win steadily in the end and firmly suppress him!

"Good heavens, could those two be Dou Wang?"

A few surprised exclamations came from the crowd.

It should be noted that the arena floor was specially hardened for the convenience of the competition. Even a full-force attack from an ordinary high-level Dou Ling would not be able to damage it. Yet these two easily destroyed the arena by simply displaying some of their strength. Clearly, this demonstrates the formidable strength of Li Da and Xu Kun.

After that, the members of the Ancient Clan made a high-profile appearance. The five of them flashed and appeared in the arena in a strange way. Their speed surprised Li Da and Xu Kun.

They suddenly realized that after three months of training, not only had they failed to close the gap with those people, but they had actually been pushed further apart by them!

It's true what they say, comparisons are odious!

As for Hu Qingqing's appearance, it amazed many students who had never seen her before.

How come I didn't know there were such beautiful students in the Inner Academy?

However, as some veteran students shared their knowledge, the new students immediately felt regretful.

Male?

Is it still number one on the Strong Ranking List?

That's a pity.

Among the many figures, Xiao Yan's group had the most impressive lineup, and it looked extremely intimidating.

As Xiao Yan's figure drifted down like a feather, several figures followed, each a beautiful woman with her own unique charm. However, they all deliberately lagged behind Xiao Yan by half a step, making it seem as if a rich young master was taking his wives and concubines on a stroll. This sight made many people clench their fists.

Damn it, Xiao Yan really deserves to die!

It's one thing that he came with four pretty female classmates.

Even the Three Beauties of the Inner Academy have been lured away.

That's not all. Huo Zhi, who entered the Inner Academy with the Ancient Clan and was ranked second on the Strong Ranking List, has also been "bewitched" into the Student Union by him. Although she has never shown her face, her figure is obviously Huo Zhi of an extremely beautiful woman. Seeing her willingly playing a supporting role, it's hard not to have some thoughts.

Despite the many murderous stares emanating from the audience, Xiao Yan remained remarkably calm.

Even Xu Kun, that senior from the Iron Mountain Gang, couldn't possibly make me explode just by looking at him twice. What can these people do if they look at me?

It's just jealousy of one's own charm.

In the arena, some of the Strong Ranking List experts, including the group from the Ancient Clan, showed signs of apprehension upon seeing Xiao Yan.

Putting aside his combat prowess, the Three Beauties of the Inner Academy are all top twenty experts on the Strong Ranking List, and Huo Zhi is even a Dou Wang level expert. They don't believe that these women are just gifted love-struck fools who can be easily manipulated by Xiao Yan and thus show such an obedient side.

It's obvious that Xiao Yan is probably a young genius with considerable strength!

Perhaps his talent and background are on par with those new overpowered guys!

Moreover, the movement techniques and Dou Technique that Xiao Yan just used did not leak any Dou Qi at all. His exquisite control over the Dou Technique and precise manipulation of Dou Qi clearly showed that he had put in a lot of hard work.

They absolutely must not be underestimated!

Zi Yan followed Xiao Yan into the arena.

I'm just bored anyway, so I'll just play around. But if I happen to run into Xiao Yan, then I'll take it more seriously.

"Cough!"

A faint cough, amplified by the Dou Qi, reached the ears of everyone in the room.

Upon hearing this, everyone stopped chatting about the contestants and gossip, and instead raised their heads to look at Su Qian in the center of the high platform. Their eyes were filled with awe and respect. As the Great Elder of the Inner Academy, whose strength and power were second only to that Mysterious Dean, even ordinary elders held him in high esteem, let alone the students like themselves.

"Now that everyone is here, the competition should begin," Su Qian said with a faint smile. "However, before the competition, I must remind you that although the Inner Academy has an open-minded atmosphere, I still hope that everyone will go easy on each other during the competition. You are all still students, not in a dog-eat-dog place like the Black Corner Region. Although the Inner Academy has a slightly bloody Arena, the purpose is only to train you, not to make you fight to the death. Therefore, I hope that everyone will be mindful of their limits."

Upon hearing this, some participants nodded slightly, but many more remained skeptical. In such a competition, who wouldn't give their all to secure a place in the top ten?

When going all out, some moves are naturally difficult to control, and unexpected things are bound to happen.

Su Qian glanced around and knew that his words were probably wasted, so he could only shake his head helplessly.

The atmosphere in the Inner Academy has become increasingly fierce. With the help of the Arena, some rookies who originally lacked combat experience have gradually grown into wolves with rich combat experience. Now it's quite difficult to curb their ferocity.

Fortunately, the elders act as referees in the competition, protecting the students. Although injuries are unavoidable, their safety is guaranteed.

"The rules are the same as before: opponents will be determined by drawing lots."

After Su Qian finished speaking, he waved his sleeve lightly, and a piece of black cloth not far from Xiao Yan and the others fell down, revealing a stone platform underneath. On the stone platform, there was a large wooden tube filled with many bamboo sticks.

"There are twenty-five blue-background sticks and twenty-five red-background sticks in the tube, numbered from one to twenty-five. For example, if you draw the blue stick number twelve, then your opponent is the holder of the red stick number twelve."

Su Qian briefly explained the rules of the draw. It wasn't complicated, so even students participating in the Strong Ranking Tournament for the first time understood it immediately.

"Alright, let's begin the draw!"

One by one, the contestants walked to the stone platform, drew a bamboo stick, read out their number in front of everyone, and then stepped back.

After waiting for a while, Xiao Yan walked over and casually picked up a blue bamboo stick.

"Blue background, number twenty-one".

"Red background, number twenty-one".

Immediately afterwards, a familiar voice rang out from the side.

Xiao Yan turned his head and saw Sun Qingyang with a bitter smile on his face.

"President, please go easy on me!"

Sun Qingyang cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, revealing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"How could it be you?"

Xiao Yan was somewhat amused and exasperated; his first encounter was with one of his own kind?

After Xiao Yan, some other people drew bamboo sticks. The opponents of the many female roommates were basically students ranked lower on the "Strong Ranking List," so there was basically no suspense.

What's funny is that Gu Xing and Gu Hua from the Ancient Clan were drawn into one match, as were Gu Qingyang and Gu Yao.

Xiao Yan suspected, or even believed, that this was a tactic secretly employed by Great Elder Su Qian.

After all, the influx of the Ancient Clan did disrupt the ecological balance of the Inner Academy, and Xiao Yan was happy to see this.

Unfortunately, if that's the case, I'm afraid I won't have the chance to beat up the Gu Yao. I'll have to save it for when I go to the Ancient Clan later.

Besides them, there are two unlucky guys who have been rising stars on the Strong Ranking List recently. They entered the academy a year earlier than Xiao Yan and now have the strength of Four-Star Dou Ling. Their talent is indeed good, but they have probably been in seclusion for cultivation and do not know how formidable opponents Zi Yan and Xiao Yi Xian are.

Therefore, upon discovering that his opponents were actually a little girl and a junior who had only been in the Inner Academy for half a year, he immediately burst into laughter amidst the pitying glances around him, thinking to himself that no matter what, the advantage was in his hands.

Xiao Yan could only shake his head in regret.

Hopefully they can hold out for another round...

Su Qian's gaze slowly swept across the entire arena. After confirming that all the contestants had decided on their order, he nodded slightly, his soft, aged voice echoing throughout the hall:

"Now that the draw is complete, please return to your seats. The order of the matches will be drawn randomly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Qian casually pulled a bamboo stick from a bamboo tube in front of him, glanced at it, and said indifferently, "Number ten."

Upon hearing the number Su Qian read out, two contestants in the arena immediately stiffened.

"The blue and red bamboo sticks, number ten, remain. The rest of you, leave the area."

With a wave of his hand, Su Qian gave the order.