Arena!

Inside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, on the first level, in a high-grade cultivation chamber.

"Just a tiny fragment flame can refine my Dou Qi to this extent. I can't imagine how powerful the complete Falling Heart Flame must be."

Xiao Yun sat cross-legged atop a black stone platform. The Dou Qi in his meridians circulated madly, continuously surging out from his Qi Vortex. After completing a cycle along the path of his cultivation method, it finally passed through the cluster of invisible flame within his body. The Dou Qi burned within the flames as streams of gray mist continually emerged. Under the refinement of the Falling Heart Flame, the Dou Qi that had originally been as thick as an arm was reduced to the width of a finger.

This gray mist was the impurity brought by the natural energy Xiao Yun had absorbed when he used lightning to temper his body a few days ago. Although that natural energy had already become exceptionally pure after being tempered by the power of lightning, quite a few impurities were still burned away before this incomparably domineering Heavenly Flame.

Xiao Yun not only wanted to use the power of the Heart Flame to temper the impurities in his Dou Qi, but also to further consolidate it. After all, his breakthrough had come somewhat too quickly. If he did not lay a solid foundation, then no matter how high a building was constructed, it would collapse one day.

Strands of Dou Qi returned to the Qi Vortex through his meridians after being burned by the flames. As the Dou Crystal within the vortex was continuously infused with Dou Qi, its glow became increasingly brilliant...

He cultivated like this until the following day. At the reminder of a ringing bell, Xiao Yun opened his eyes and ended his cultivation.

"Nine-Star Da Dou Shi Peak. Not bad. My foundation is finally no longer unstable." Although his cultivation had not improved much, Xiao Yun was still happy. To an Alchemist, the quantity of Dou Qi was never the issue; its quality was what truly mattered.

After leaving the cultivation chamber, Xiao Yun still wanted to continue cultivating, but the academy rules prevented him from doing so. Since he had nothing else to do without cultivating Dou Qi, he wandered around the Inner Academy.

"Boss, go! Take down that dead fat bastard Zhao Rongxing!"

Xiao Yun suddenly heard an extremely boisterous roar. Looking up, he realized that he had unknowingly arrived at the Arena within the Inner Academy.

The Arena was one of the most popular places in the Inner Academy. Because the Northwestern Continent's most chaotic Black-Corner Region lay nearby, the atmosphere within the Inner Academy was likewise exceptionally fierce. Whenever students had even the slightest conflict, they would come to the Arena and fight it out.

Not only that, the Inner Academy encouraged battles between students and offered generous Fire Energy rewards. As long as one had sufficient strength, one could settle personal grudges here, gain exhilaration and breakthroughs, and receive additional rewards. This was something every Inner Academy student was happy to see.

It was precisely because of this rather wise decision by the Inner Academy that every student who emerged from it was extraordinarily skilled in battle. Even in life-and-death struggles, they would not become frightened, timid, or weak in the knees.

The Arena was almost always packed every day. Its clamor could be heard clearly even from a hundred meters outside.

"Since I'm already here, should I go in and have some fun?"

Xiao Yun thought of how, after his all-out battle with Xu Feng last time, he had not only improved his proficiency with Dou Techniques but also increased his cultivation and made the Dou Qi within his body more solid. He had long since grown fond of this feeling of fighting with all his strength without having to worry about anything else.

He acted as soon as he decided! Xiao Yun looked at the enormous building before him and strode inside.

"Here to watch or fight?"

At the entrance to the Arena, a middle-aged man dressed as an instructor lay slumped over a table with his head lowered. He spoke coldly.

"Hello, Instructor. I'm here to fight."

"Fight? You're so young—aren't you afraid you'll wet your pants? Forget it, it's none of my business. Name, cultivation, personal grudge or open challenge?" The middle-aged man raised his head and gave Xiao Yun a suspicious look. Then, with an impatient expression, he took out paper and a pen from his Storage Ring and asked with a frown.

Looking at the middle-aged man's expression, Xiao Yun seemed able to see through his skin to the lifeless soul worn down by work. After a while, just as the man's impatience grew so intense that he was about to lose his temper, Xiao Yun finally came back to himself. "Xiao Yun, Nine-Star Da Dou Shi, open challenge."

The man quickly wrote something down, then handed Xiao Yun a completed card. "Black Tortoise Arena, Group B. Your number is on it. Someone will call you up when it's your turn. Remember, no matter who your opponent is, you cannot avoid the fight. Otherwise, seven days of Fire Energy will be deducted." After saying that, the middle-aged man lowered his head again and continued lying on the table.

Xiao Yun took the card. It contained his information, while its reverse side bore a number. "Seventy-eight. There really are a lot of people in this Arena." He stored the card in his Storage Ring and quickly entered the Arena.

The moment he entered, Xiao Yun discovered that there truly were an enormous number of people here, almost as many as during the previous Inner Academy Selection Tournament. Everywhere he looked was a sea of heads, while deafening noise rang in his ears.

Within the massive Arena stood quite a few sizable fighting platforms. Figures flickered atop them as combatants fought fiercely.

Following the instructions on the card, Xiao Yun soon found the platform he was assigned to. It happened to be vacant at the moment. Holding his card, Xiao Yun stepped onto the platform and quietly waited for his opponent.

The moment Xiao Yun stepped onto the platform, the surrounding students all wore puzzled expressions.

Xiao Yun was simply too young, and he was also a freshman. Hardly anyone in the Inner Academy recognized him.

"Kid, are you my opponent this time?"

At that moment, a young man had already stepped onto the other side of the platform. He appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five, with a rather burly build. Even beneath his robes, his clearly defined muscles could be seen. He resembled a humanoid Magical Beast.

Someone in the stands recognized Xiao Yun's opponent and shouted, "It's actually Raging Bear Shi Yan! I remember he's about to break through to the Dou Ling realm. He's a formidable fighter who has won four consecutive matches in the Arena. That kid is in for a hard time now."

Hearing the shout from the stands, Xiao Yun's expression did not change. Instead, he looked toward the referee at the side and waited for the match to begin.

"The match begins!" The referee looked over Xiao Yun and Shi Yan. After seeing that both were prepared, he announced the start of the match, then flashed away and leaped off the platform.

"Whoosh!"

The next second, Xiao Yun's figure flashed. In an instant, he crossed more than half the platform with lightning-like speed and closed directly upon his opponent.

He bent his arm, then scarlet Dou Qi enveloped his fist as he viciously swung it toward Raging Bear before him.

The fighters in the Arena truly had abundant combat experience. Even when facing the slight Xiao Yun, Shi Yan did not lower his guard. Dou Qi churned within his body as earth-yellow Dou Qi seeped out. He likewise bent his arm and threw a simple punch, clearly intending to meet Xiao Yun head-on.

Bang!

The instant their fists collided, Shi Yan realized he had been wrong—terribly wrong. A tremendous force completely mismatched with Xiao Yun's slender body surged from his opponent's fist. In just one exchange, Shi Yan's massive body was sent flying off the platform.

At the same time, the noisy crowd in the stands around Xiao Yun's platform seemed as though someone had pressed a mute button. Everyone stared at Xiao Yun in stunned silence. The sight of his slight body sending Shi Yan, nicknamed Raging Bear, flying was such a shocking contrast that no one could believe it.

"Number seventy-eight wins!"

After a while, the referee was the first to recover. He leaped onto the platform and loudly announced the result. Immediately afterward, the people in the stands also came back to their senses and erupted into cheers for Xiao Yun's victory.

"Number seventy-eight, would you like to choose consecutive battles?"

Hearing the referee's question, Xiao Yun looked puzzled. "Consecutive battles? What does that mean?"

"Consecutive battles, as the name implies, are continuous fights. In the Arena, after a victor wins, he can choose to begin consecutive battles. The more consecutive victories you achieve, the stronger the opponents you will face. At the same time, the more Fire Energy the academy will reward you with, and you may also enter the Strong Ranking."

"For ordinary battles, the academy does not award Fire Energy. The Fire Energy earned by the winner is paid by the loser. But in consecutive battles, if you achieve three consecutive victories, you will not only receive the loser's Fire Energy, but the Inner Academy will also award you an additional ten days of Fire Energy. The same applies onward: the more consecutive victories you win, the greater the rewards. The current record holder is the person ranked first on the Strong Ranking. She achieved twenty-five consecutive victories."

Seeing Xiao Yun's confusion, the referee explained patiently.

"I see. Then I choose to keep fighting." After understanding the rules, Xiao Yun nodded.

Shi Yan, who had just come up, had not given Xiao Yun the thrill of battle at all. He desperately wanted an evenly matched fight.

Hearing this, the referee nodded at Xiao Yun and loudly announced, "Group B platform is beginning consecutive battles! Wait a moment, and an opponent will be arranged for you shortly."

The spectators in the stands also grew excited and eagerly awaited Xiao Yun's next battle. After all, few people here would normally choose to begin consecutive battles. The Arena's matching system was inherently fair and would assign opponents of similar cultivation. Against evenly matched opponents, most people would have to win with great difficulty. How could they have any spare Dou Qi left to support the consecutive battles that followed?

A short while later, Xiao Yun welcomed his second opponent, another Inner Academy senior at the Nine-Star Peak Da Dou Shi level.

As expected, although this student was much stronger than Shi Yan, there was still a considerable gap between him and Xiao Yun. After seizing an opening, Xiao Yun kicked the senior off the platform.

Over the next several battles, Xiao Yun's opponents remained Nine-Star Peak Da Dou Shi fighters, which left him somewhat bored. After all, only evenly matched battles could excite him. Constantly crushing weaker opponents would not improve his strength in the slightest.

Just when Xiao Yun began wondering whether there were no Dou Ling-level students in the Arena today, his fifth match finally brought him his first Dou Ling-level opponent!

This was a burly man standing a full two meters tall. His body was powerfully built, his features seemed carved from stone, and his thick hair fell casually over his shoulders. Simply standing there, he made Xiao Yun feel a powerful aura.