White Fiend Team Captain Lin Yan!

Han Yue had already spotted Xiao Yan. She had expected him to help her, but to her surprise, he simply walked away.

A sense of disappointment washed over Han Yue, though she quickly reconsidered. They had only met a few times; what right did she have to demand he save her?

Before long, as the girls continued to fall one by one, Han Yue lost all will to fight.

"Alright, everyone stop. Hand over our Fire Energy to them," Han Yue said, forced to compromise.

The lead senior laughed heartily and remarked, "If you had just done that earlier, we wouldn't have had to go through all this."

The seniors thoroughly searched all the freshmen for their Fire Energy before taking their leave.

Once they were gone, Han Yue and the others felt deeply dejected, realizing they were likely the last group to leave the forest.

Meanwhile, the formidable Black Fiend Team had finished clashing with both Bai Cheng's and Yao Sheng's factions.

Qin Zhen held the gathered Fire Energy, smiling as he said, "Isn't your big brother Liu Qing? I'll be waiting for him in the Inner Academy. Tell him to come find me if he has the guts."

With that, he departed. Yao Sheng and Bai Cheng were still busy blaming each other.

Xiao Yan had been waiting for the seniors who had robbed Han Yue. Once they were a safe distance away, he crept up and relieved them of all their Fire Energy.

Including what he had already collected, Xiao Yan now held nearly 400 points of Fire Energy.

"These seniors had quite a bit of Fire Energy on them. This should be enough to last us a long time," Xiao Yan said triumphantly.

Xun Er smiled and added, "Brother Xiao Yan has even managed to secure the freshmen's Fire Energy as well."

Xiao Yan scratched his head, explaining, "I earned this through my own ability, not by robbing them."

Xun Er nodded. Xiao Yan tucked away the Fire Energy, knowing only one final hurdle remained.

That was the White Fiend Team. If he could defeat them, Xiao Yan would achieve a total victory.

However, Xiao Yan felt a bit uneasy. In the original story, the White Fiend Team had reached the Dou Ling level.

Furthermore, the students of that year were relatively weak; if this year's team was any indication, the White Fiend Team would likely be even stronger.

It was even possible they had reached the three-star Dou Ling level, which gave Xiao Yan a headache—defeating them would be quite difficult.

The members of the White Fiend Team were mostly at the peak of the Da Dou Shi level. Xiao Yan stood no chance if he had to fight all five at once.

Still, there was no other way. Xiao Yan bit the bullet and led Xun Er to the edge of the forest.

At that moment, the members of the White Fiend Team were discussing the freshmen of the year.

Their captain, Lin Yan, sat waiting for the newcomers, his large axe resting by his side.

"Captain, I heard a kid managed to get into the Inner Academy after only a month or two in the Outer Academy."

"That's right. Apparently, the guy is only sixteen. To enter the Inner Academy at such a young age, he must have some real skill."

"And this kid is arrogant, too. I heard he's basically robbed every senior participating in the hunting competition."

Lin Yan finally opened his eyes, asking skeptically, "What? The seniors' Fire Energy has all been stolen?"

The team member nodded. A surge of anger immediately ignited within Lin Yan.

On one hand, he cursed the seniors for being spineless, but on the other, Xiao Yan's arrogance infuriated him.

Just then, a figure in a black short-sleeved shirt appeared before them, a massive ruler strapped to his back.

As Lin Yan stood up, a team member shouted, "That's him! That's the freshman, Xiao Yan."

"Is that so? He doesn't look like much. Doesn't seem all that impressive," Lin Yan remarked dismissively.

Xiao Yan raised his Mysterious Heavy Ruler and said, "Enough talk. Do I have to defeat you to pass?"

Lin Yan leaped down, the aura of a three-star Dou Ling radiating from his body.

Xiao Yan swallowed hard; it was just as he had feared. Fortunately, he had a plan.

Yesterday, Xiao Yan had pestered the system until it finally agreed to give him three chances to draw a prize as a test.

To his surprise, while the first two draws yielded useless pills, the third resulted in a fifth-grade Dragon Strength Pill.

This pill was incredible; it could force even a Dou Wang into a berserk state, increasing their power by thirty percent.

For a Da Dou Shi or a Dou Ling, the boost in strength would be even more formidable.

With this trump card, Xiao Yan was no longer afraid of Lin Yan. However, knowing Lin Yan was a man of honor and loyalty, Xiao Yan didn't want to burn bridges, so he planned to hold back.

Lin Yan, however, was already impatient and swung his axe directly at Xiao Yan's head.

Xiao Yan hurriedly raised his Mysterious Heavy Ruler to block. The immense force slammed into the ruler, forcing Xiao Yan to drop to one knee.

Lin Yan sneered, "Just a seven-star Da Dou Shi, and you dare to be so arrogant in front of me? Today, I'll teach you the meaning of humility!"

Xiao Yan braced his core and pushed back against the axe.

The other team members moved to intervene, but Lin Yan stopped them.

"Back off! Do I, Lin Yan, need help to deal with a junior? If I lose to him today, I'll hand over my spot on the Strong Ranking." With that, Lin Yan's eyes turned blood-red as a fierce, explosive power erupted from him.

Xiao Yan watched him quietly. He could already see the signs of fire poison invading his system; treating it now would still be relatively simple.

However, now was not the time to dwell on such matters; Xiao Yan began to burn the Dou Qi within his body, pushing his strength to its peak state.

The first time their weapons collided, Xiao Yan lost control of half his body, which went completely numb.

It seems the gap between a seven-star Dou Shi and a three-star Dou Ling is still vast; the accumulation I've gained over this period is nowhere near enough to bridge it. Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and pulled back to create some distance.

He then retrieved a Dragon Strength Pill from his storage ring and said with a smile, "As an alchemist, surely there's no harm in me taking a medicinal pill, right?"

Lin Yan replied magnanimously, "Even if you were to eat the entire medicinal herb vault of Canaan Academy, I wouldn't be afraid in the slightest!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan chuckled and swallowed the pill.

The energy contained within a tier five medicinal pill was immense, but fortunately, Xiao Yan's cultivation technique operated at a high speed, allowing him to vent the excess Dou Qi in time.

Watching Xiao Yan's entire body turn crimson, a flicker of regret crossed Lin Yan's mind; had he known, he wouldn't have let the lad pop a pill.

"Just what tier of pill did you eat? Isn't this a bit too terrifying?" Lin Yan couldn't help but remark.

Xiao Yan knew he couldn't maintain this state for long, so he hoisted the Mysterious Heavy Ruler.

He then let out a roar toward the sky, "Take this!"

Lin Yan's expression tightened as he held his large axe horizontally before him.

"Mountain Splitting Axe!"

Xiao Yan continuously poured his Dou Qi into the Mysterious Heavy Ruler, the red light radiating from it stinging the eyes of anyone who looked.

"Flame Splitting Wave-Devouring Ruler!"