Hu Gan's meaning was obvious. Elder Su had little choice but to say more, so he led everyone back, leaving a wide stretch of ground for Xiao Li and the old students to fight.
On the open ground, Xiao Li faced off against forty old students. Behind him, Lin Xiuya felt cold sweat bead on his forehead. At least half of the forty were Da Dou Shis.
Should I step in and help?
Lin Xiuya clenched his teeth, torn with indecision. Suddenly, an arm came to rest on his shoulder. He jumped, then turned and saw Liu Qing. Only then did he relax.
"Lin Xiuya, haven't you figured it out yet? If Xiao Li loses, these people will hunt us down too."
Lin Xiuya's heart stirred. "You mean..."
Liu Qing nodded. "Better to join forces with Xiao Li now and take out some of them first than get hunted down later."
Lin Xiuya nodded and looked at Yan Hao, Han Yue, and the others in their group. Their year's students were far stronger overall than the previous year's. If they all joined in, they could ease at least a quarter of the pressure on Xiao Li.
Seeing everyone nod, Lin Xiuya nodded too. Anyone who made it into the Inner Academy wasn't stupid, and none of them were cowards. Of course they could tell which way the wind was blowing.
"Xiao Li, do you want us to help?" Lin Xiuya shouted toward the black-robed figure ahead.
Xiao Li froze, then turned around in surprise. The new students were all looking at him with determined expressions. He couldn't help feeling a headache coming on. If you guys do this, it'll be hard for me to charge you protection money afterward.
"Thanks, but there's no need. I can handle this myself." Xiao Li waved them off.
In the group, Liu Qing frowned. "He's even more arrogant than I am. I have no idea what he's thinking."
Lin Xiuya sighed. "You idiot. Someone with that kind of strength can't possibly be stupid."
Liu Qing blinked. "I guess that's true. Wait, who are you calling an idiot?"
Lin Xiuya curled his lip, too lazy to talk to this musclehead. He turned his gaze to Xiao Li and murmured inwardly, "Xiao Li, just how strong are you? You really dare to take on all forty of them by yourself."
It was no exaggeration to say that these forty people were stronger than all fifty new students from their year combined. More than ten of them were Da Dou Shis.
Watching the old students across from him, Xiao Li twirled the Thunder Scale Spear in his hand, tracing a crimson arc.
"Come on!"
As soon as Xiao Li spoke, the old students, who had been itching to attack, swarmed forward.
"Kid, you should be grateful the rules saved your life!"
Xiao Li sneered. "You're just a Dou Master, yet you dare to run your mouth!"
Crimson lightning burst across his body. The sheer weight of his bloodlust made everyone below the Da Dou Shi level struggle to breathe.
High in the air, Hu Gan's Dou Qi Wings faltered slightly. "This kid's bloodlust is terrifying. Did he kill ten thousand people over the past year? How is that possible? What did Elder Qian and Elder Bai take him out to do?"
Hu Gan wasn't the only one. Everyone present stared in shock. His bloodlust was almost tangible. Just how many people had Xiao Li killed?
Xiao Li moved, leaving the bloodlust in his wake hanging in the air long after he was gone. Crimson lightning coiled around him like ravenous tentacles, striking terror into everyone who saw it.
With a single blow, he sent the three men at the front out of the fight with severe injuries. The Thunder Scale Spear had carved gaping wounds across their chests, and the bloodlust clinging to them kept the wounds from healing.
The moment Xiao Li made his move, Hu Gan sensed the truth in his aura. "Three-Star Dou Ling!"
Elder Su exchanged a look with the others. None of them could hide their shock. "No wonder the Great Elder called him a true dragon trapped in a shallow pool. His talent is truly astounding."
Elder Li, however, looked worried. "Xiao Li's talent is undeniable, but he's improved so much in just a year, and his bloodlust has grown so intense. Could he have... practiced some wicked art?"
Hu Gan shook his head at once. "Impossible. His bloodlust is heavy, but his aura is upright and imposing. There's no trace of evil in it. If anything, it feels like he's punishing the wicked."
More importantly, Hu Gan knew who had taken Xiao Li out to train. With those two watching over him, if Xiao Li could still be corrupted by evil, then it would be beyond anyone's power to fix.
On the open ground, seeing that his strength had stunned everyone, Xiao Li took the initiative and attacked. Crimson afterimages flickered one after another. The explosive power and speed of lightning made him several times faster than others of the same rank, whether over a long distance or a short one.
And these old students were, at best, mid-level Da Dou Shis.
After several of them were eliminated in quick succession, one attack finally landed on Xiao Li. The attacker's face lit up. As a Da Dou Shi, he was quite confident in his strength.
Xiao Li's black clothes tore, exposing his muscular build. The old students froze, despair spreading across their faces.
A Da Dou Shi's attack hadn't left so much as a mark on Xiao Li.
The Mystic Thunder Body was an exceptionally powerful constitution, even among Dou Lings. If every old student present had joined forces, they might have managed to give Xiao Li a few minor injuries. But getting all forty to attack together required no small amount of coordination, and these old students, hastily thrown together, had nothing like that.
The fact that they couldn't break through his defenses was the greatest source of confidence behind Xiao Li's reckless challenge.
"Mystic Thunder Shock Flash!"
A blood-red lightning dragon sprang up. The little fish swimming along the Thunder Scale Spear turned from blue to crimson, and its fierce horns made it look nothing like a fish anymore. It looked instead like a flood dragon coiled around the spear.
The Thunder Flood Dragon rampaged, churning the wind and clouds, and flung more than ten people out of the arena. Xiao Li showed no mercy. A deep, dark glow shimmered over his body, and no attack could leave a mark on him.
Looking at the dozen or so men still standing there, trembling, Xiao Li's blood-red lightning gradually subsided.
"Everyone, hand over your Fire Crystal Cards, or don't blame me for showing no mercy."
His cold words extinguished the old students' last shred of hope. They'd thought this new student didn't know what Fire Crystal Cards were for, but he'd picked up the rules in no time.
With their hearts dead, they handed over their cards. This trip had cost them dearly, and they had nothing to show for it.
Xiao Li mercilessly drained all the Fire Energy from their cards, leaving only the grayish-white minimum of seven points.
The Fire Energy on Xiao Li's own card immediately soared from five points to 683.
After tucking the Fire Crystal Cards away, Xiao Li turned to the dozen or so old students still able to move and asked, "As I understand it, every year has a Black and White Twin Fiends Team. Where are those two teams?"
The old students exchanged glances, looking rather surprised.
"Xiao Li, we admit you're strong, but both the Black and White Duo have Dou Ling-level fighters. Going after them would just waste the Fire Energy you've only just gotten your hands on," one old student said with a cold snort.
Xiao Li narrowed his eyes, a dangerous light in them. "I asked where they are."
The old student fell silent. They looked at one another, then said coldly, "The Black Fiend Team is in the woods. The White Fiend Team is guarding the Hunting Competition's finish line."
Xiao Li nodded and headed straight for the woods. Lin Xiuya and the others hesitated briefly, then chose to follow him.
Hu Gan chuckled. Interesting. He was still as sharp and unrestrained as ever. Even Hu Gan couldn't deny that, with strength enough to back it up, this was the quickest and most effective way.
In the Inner Academy, only someone decisive enough to kill could establish a firm foothold.