The Powerful Xiao Yun!

The next day, the Inner Academy Selection Tournament officially began!

As one of Jia Nan Academy's grandest events, the Inner Academy Selection Tournament naturally drew enormous attention. On this stage, the prominent figures of the Outer Academy, who usually kept a low profile, would all make appearances and compete. To the male and female students who regarded them as idols and objects of admiration, this was undoubtedly a tremendous attraction.

Therefore, even though Jia Nan Academy had long prepared its largest plaza as the venue, it was still packed full by the enthusiastic students. Countless Jia Nan Academy students squeezed and fought their way into the seats, and wherever one looked, there were dense masses of heads and clamor soaring into the sky.

The enormous plaza was circular. Above its center hung four massive light screens facing all directions, capable of displaying the battles in the arena at the first possible moment.

Mu Jin steps stretched continuously upward like a colossal gladiatorial arena. Even students seated on the farthest steps could clearly see everything happening in the middle of the plaza.

Four fighting platforms had been built in the plaza.

The competitors were divided into four groups—A, B, C, and D—according to their numbers, with each group's participating students fighting on their corresponding platform.

Xiao Yun, who had arrived at the plaza early with Fire Elder, was supporting his head with one hand as he boredly watched the battles on the platforms.

There were three hundred participants in total. Most of them were below the Da Dou Shi level, and fewer than twenty had reached the Da Dou Shi realm or above.

The selection tournament was an elimination match held before the major competition. Under normal circumstances, Jia Nan Academy would not arrange for two Da Dou Shi students to meet too early. Instead, it would try to separate them to ensure that they could pass through the selection tournament smoothly.

Thus, in Xiao Yun's eyes, there was no one among today's opponents worth his attention. They were all merely Dou Shi-level competitors, with no challenge whatsoever.

"Xuan Tier Class Four, Xiao Yun, versus Xuan Tier Class One, Yan Li!"

After watching for so long that Xiao Yun was nearly asleep, he finally heard the referee call his name.

As the voice from the referee's stand fell, the noisy plaza abruptly quieted considerably. Countless gazes turned toward the seats occupied by Xuan Tier Class Four.

Over the past two years, the name Xiao Yun had long been firmly remembered by Jia Nan Academy's students and even its instructors.

After all, he had entered Jia Nan Academy at the age of seven, become Fire Elder's disciple, broken through to Dou Shi in less than a year, gone to Peace Town to join the Law Enforcement Team, and repeatedly killed Da Dou Shi experts during his time there. A monster like that was hard to forget.

What was even more frightening was that Xiao Yun was not yet ten years old this year! Yet he was already a third-grade alchemist, and his future achievements were impossible to estimate.

So, when they heard Xiao Yun's name, they all looked toward Xuan Tier Class Four, wanting to witness his bearing for themselves.

However, they were destined to be disappointed, because Xiao Yun had not stayed with his class's team at all. Instead, he had gone to sit among the academy leaders.

Faced with the countless gazes shooting his way, Xu Ning could not help but break out in a cold sweat. His hands clenched as he swept his eyes around and cursed inwardly:

Why are all of you looking over here? That brat Xiao Yun isn't here with me either.

Whoosh!

Just as Xu Ning and everyone else searched everywhere for Xiao Yun, he leisurely rose from the elders' seats and lightly descended onto the platform.

"Is that Xiao Yun? He's so young? Could he be a new student like us?" Many newly enrolled students in the stands looked doubtful. They did not know Xiao Yun's true situation and assumed he was merely a new student who had come to join in the excitement.

"What do you know? Junior Xiao Yun is the pride of our Outer Academy. No one knows how many people see him as their idol. With his current strength, even most of the academy's instructors probably couldn't defeat him." Hearing the new students question Xiao Yun, many older students glared angrily at them. The female students in particular would not allow anyone to slander their Xiao Yun.

Ignoring the cheers around him, Xiao Yun quietly watched the young man walk onto the platform from the other side.

"Hello, Junior Xiao Yun. Although there is a great gap between us, I still want to fight with everything I have. Please go all out and let me see the difference between us!"

The moment Yan Li stepped onto the platform, he issued a challenge to Xiao Yun. The look of readiness to die on his face even stirred the referee's blood.

"Mm, since you say so, I'll grant your wish."

At those words, Xiao Yun took out the Red Blood Spear from his Storage Ring. He spun the spear in both hands and flourished it several times. He had originally intended to play with Yan Li for a while, but since Yan Li had asked for this, he would end it quickly.

"Are you ready? The match begins!"

At the referee's command, Xiao Yun's body transformed into a crimson streak of light. In an instant, he crossed more than half the platform and arrived before Yan Li like lightning.

Bang.

The spear swept sideways, crimson Dou Qi clinging to its shaft and condensing into a fire dragon. With a divine dragon's tail sweep, it sent Yan Li flying off the platform.

Xiao Yun gripped the spear and spun it once around his body. The fire dragon followed the spearhead out, finally dissolving into specks of firelight in the air.

"Thank you for letting me win, Senior," Xiao Yun said with a smile, cupping his fist toward Yan Li, who was sitting flat on the ground and had yet to recover his senses.

"The match is over. Xuan Tier Class Four's Xiao Yun wins!"

Only after Xiao Yun walked off the platform did the referee come back to his senses and hurriedly announce the result. The surrounding spectators erupted into even louder cheers to celebrate Xiao Yun's victory.

"You brat, you're really strong. If I remember correctly, Yan Li has the strength of an eight-star Dou Shi. Among all the participants, that's considered mid-range, yet you knocked him down with one spear. Looks like you'll take first place in this Inner Academy Selection Tournament."

At Xuan Tier Class Four's seats, Xu Ning laughed heartily and patted Xiao Yun on the shoulder, greatly satisfied with his performance just now.

"I only took advantage of my speed. It isn't as exaggerated as you say, Instructor." Responding modestly, Xiao Yun sat down beside Xu Ning.

"Enough. Everything about you is good, except you're far too modest. You don't have any edge at all. I checked your match schedule, and you have nothing else today. Go back and get some rest. Over the next two days, your opponents will probably be Da Dou Shi-level fighters. Don't let yourself get overturned in a ditch. Getting into the Inner Academy isn't such an easy matter." Xu Ning waved his hand, telling Xiao Yun to return and prepare properly for the battle the day after tomorrow.

The next day, the second day of the Inner Academy Selection Tournament.

During yesterday's selection matches, half of the three hundred contestants had already been eliminated. Of the remaining one hundred and fifty, the next battles would determine the fifty places.

Because only the top fifty were qualified to enter the Inner Academy.

The plaza was still packed with people, and Xiao Yun's arrival stirred cries of surprise from the crowd.

After yesterday's one-move victory, nearly everyone in the Outer Academy now knew how powerful Xiao Yun was. Many students at the Da Dou Shi level regarded Xiao Yun as their strongest competitor and hoped they would not encounter him too early.

When a middle-aged referee slowly stepped onto the plaza, deafening cheers immediately erupted from the stands.

The cheers gradually calmed as the referee pressed down with his palm. The middle-aged referee looked around, and seeing that the crowd had finally quieted down, he said, "Students, after yesterday's eliminations, only one hundred and fifty of the original three hundred contestants remain today. At this pace, we should be able to determine the fifty places qualified to enter the Inner Academy by the end of today."

"All right, it is time for the selection tournament. Starting now, any contestant whose name is called should come onto the platform as quickly as possible. If you exceed the allotted time, it will be treated as forfeiture."

After explaining the tournament rules, the middle-aged referee slowly stepped back to the referee's stand. At the same time, two names rang out from there.

"Xuan Tier Class Four, Xiao Yun!"

"Xuan Tier Class One, Fang Wen!"

From Xuan Tier Class One's seats in the stands around the plaza came a frustrated curse.

"Damn it, why is it Xiao Yun again? Are they specifically targeting Xuan Tier Class One?" Xuan Tier Class One's instructor looked extremely displeased. Out of three hundred contestants, students from his class had encountered Xiao Yun twice. Their luck was truly unmatched.

"Fang Wen, it's all right. If you can't beat him, conserve as much Dou Qi as possible. You can still fight your way out of the Losers' Bracket later."

Seeing Fang Wen's ugly expression, the instructor comforted him. Fang Wen was one of the only three Da Dou Shi students in his class. Even if he lost to Xiao Yun, as long as he did not consume too much Dou Qi, he still had a good chance of entering the top fifty.

"Instructor, I understand. If I can't beat him, I'll surrender immediately." Fang Wen rose to his feet, darted down from the stands, and landed steadily on the platform.

After Fang Wen entered the arena, a crimson figure instantly streaked across the air above the plaza. His toes lightly tapped a pillar around the plaza, and his body soared into the air before he leisurely landed on the platform.

The moment the crimson figure appeared, the surrounding stands immediately erupted with wave-like cheers of support. Although Fang Wen was also a Da Dou Shi expert, most people still favored Xiao Yun.

"Junior Xiao Yun, can we settle this with just one move?"

"Hm?" Xiao Yun looked puzzled as he stared at the young man across from him.

"Although your strength is very great, it surely won't be easy for you to defeat me either. I also don't want my Dou Qi to be exhausted from fighting you, only to fail to fight my way out of the Losers' Bracket afterward."

"So I was thinking that we could decide the winner with one move. That way, we can both conserve our Dou Qi. What do you think of my proposal?" Fang Wen's face reddened. Although he felt that his proposal was somewhat unfair to Xiao Yun, he still said it for the sake of entering the Inner Academy.

"Fine. I want to save time as well." Xiao Yun nodded. Even with one move, he was confident he could defeat Fang Wen.

Seeing that the contestants were ready, a middle-aged man at the referee's stand waved his hand and declared loudly, "The match begins!"

At the referee's words, Xiao Yun looked up at Fang Wen across from him. Light flashed from the Storage Ring on his finger, and a long spear appeared in his hand. He gripped it tightly, its tip angled toward the ground. Crimson Dou Qi slowly rose from within his body before enveloping him completely, forming a suit of Dou Qi armor. A powerful aura spread outward.

"Senior Fang Wen, please."

Looking at the fully armed Xiao Yun and sensing the powerful aura within him, Fang Wen's heart shook. He felt an invincible strength from the Xiao Yun before him.

"Junior Xiao Yun's talent truly is outstanding. He's more than ten years younger than me, yet his cultivation far surpasses mine." Fang Wen smiled bitterly. "But even so, standing on this platform, I will not surrender!"

An aura weaker than Xiao Yun's burst out from Fang Wen's body. Green Dou Qi covered his entire body and likewise formed a suit of Dou Qi armor around him.

The two on the platform had already shut out the noise of the outside world. Dou Qi surged within their bodies as they gathered power for their strongest attacks.

Mysterious Dragon Turning Wood! Of the two, Fang Wen was ultimately the first to lose his patience. The Dou Qi throughout his body boiled, forming an azure wooden dragon around him that dived toward Xiao Yun.

"It's actually the Xuan Tier mid-level Dou Technique, Mysterious Dragon Turning Wood. That brat, didn't I tell him to conserve some Dou Qi? Yet he used his strongest trump card the moment he came up." Xuan Tier Class One's instructor, watching from outside the arena, did not know about the conversation between Xiao Yun and Fang Wen. He merely assumed Fang Wen was recklessly wasting Dou Qi out of competitiveness.

"Wood Release? You really know how to make trouble." Xiao Yun's calm voice rang out from the platform. He gripped his spear tightly as dark crimson Dou Qi burst from his body and spread around him. To the spectators in the stands, Xiao Yun looked like a god of war wreathed in flames.

Scarlet Flame Palm! The Dou Qi throughout his body gathered in his hands, flowed through the spear shaft, and circulated at the spearhead. Xiao Yun suddenly swung his spear, and a gigantic flaming palm as tall as a three-story building appeared, flying toward the wooden dragon.

The collision between the giant palm and the wooden dragon shook rings of energy through the air, spreading in all directions. The wooden dragon was like a tiny loach caught in the giant palm's grasp, and it was immediately crushed apart. After crushing the wooden dragon, the palm did not lose any of its momentum as it continued toward Fang Wen.

Bang!

Fang Wen only felt that the Dou Qi armor around his body was like paper. The giant palm blasted through it with effortless ease.

At the same time, a portion of the fire-element energy exploded before Fang Wen. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body fell off the platform like a kite with its string cut.

Fortunately, he held back. Otherwise, I might have died.

As Fang Wen fell from the platform, he instead let out a sigh of relief inwardly. When facing the flaming giant palm, he had truly believed he was about to die. Now, although his injuries looked severe, they were actually only superficial wounds caused by the explosion. Most of the giant palm's force had dissipated after destroying the Dou Qi armor on the surface of his body.

The next moment, the middle-aged man from the referee's stand appeared beside Fang Wen and examined his condition. Discovering that he had not suffered any serious injuries, he looked at Xiao Yun with surprise.

"What incredible control. Even from such close range, you didn't injure his vital points. You win this match."