Awakening

At first, Xiao Yan did not agree when he heard Supreme Elder Lin boasting about his grandfather.

After all, for a powerhouse above Dou Venerable to boast about being a Dou Wang is ridiculous.

It's not that Xiao Yan disrespects his grandfather.

Rather, it's a stark reality that makes lying about it so blatantly insulting to the intelligence of others.

How could I not know about my own grandfather's situation?

In the Northwest Continent and the Jia Ma Empire, the strength of Dou Wang is indeed quite formidable.

But that's all.

Although he had heard that if his grandfather hadn't been "severely injured" by his enemies, he would have had a good chance of breaking through to the Dou Huang Realm.

But so what?

Whether they are Dou Wang or Dou Emperors, aren't they all just easy targets who could be wiped out with a single slap in front of Dou Venerables?

Xiao Yan found it hard to imagine how two complete strangers, Dou Wang and Dou Venerable, could become friends.

Because he can't imagine it himself!

It wasn't until later, when he heard Supreme Elder Lin mention the Dao of Formations, that a flash of inspiration struck him, and he revealed an expression of sudden realization.

He was wondering how his grandfather, a Dou Wang, could become friends with Supreme Elder Lin, a Dou Venerable or higher powerhouse.

So it turns out that everything started because of the Formation!

Then everything would seem perfectly reasonable.

It should be noted that the art of Formations in the Dou Qi Continent has declined.

In fact, if Formation Master is skilled enough, given enough time and materials, the Formation he sets up may not necessarily be of a lower level than the Formation set up by someone with higher Dou Qi cultivation.

In other words, in Xiao Yan's eyes, his grandfather's skill in Formation formations might not be lower than that of Supreme Elder Lin.

In addition, there are very few Formation Masters on the Dou Qi Continent.

With these two factors combined, it's not surprising that his grandfather was able to become friends with Supreme Elder Lin.

At this moment, Xiao Lin had only made a start, and Xiao Yan had already filled in the rest of the story in his mind.

"No wonder the Formations I saw when Vice Dean Hu Gan took me from the Outer Academy to the Inner Academy were so similar to the Formations I saw in the Xiao Household's Scripture Pavilion in the Imperial Capital!"

It seems that Grandpa and Supreme Elder Lin must have had some exchanges about the Dao of Formations!

"I reckon most of the Formations I saw at the Jia Nan Academy were set up by Supreme Elder Lin."

At this moment, memories from the past reappear one by one.

At the same time, Xiao Yan finally showed a look of sudden realization.

To be honest, after Xiao Yan filled in the blanks, everything started to make sense.

"Oh, I see!"

After listening to Xiao Lin's description, Xiao Yan nodded in understanding.

In Xiao Yan's view, his grandfather was clearly trying to make friends through military force.

"I never imagined that you, Supreme Elder Lin, and Grandpa Xiao had such a connection!"

After Xiao Yan finished imagining it, Xun'er suddenly spoke up.

Clearly, what Xun'er imagined was very similar to what Xiao Yan had imagined.

Nalan Yanran, on the other side, was naturally in the same situation.

It can only be said that Xiao Lin's use of the Dao of Formations as his entry point indeed gave him an impeccable reason.

"Yes, after all, there aren't many people left on the entire Dou Qi Continent willing to learn the art of Formations, and your grandfather was one of the best in this field!"

Xiao Lin continued to boast without blushing or panting.

Anyway, he's praising himself, so there's nothing wrong with it!

"Supreme Elder Lin, you flatter me. I think Grandpa would be very pleased to hear your evaluation of him!"

Xiao Yan then spoke with a smile.

Of course, Xiao Yan was also very happy at this moment!

After all, how could his grandfather not be happy when someone praises him?

Xiao Yan was truly honored!

Yes, I am indeed very happy!

Xiao Lin kept these words to himself.

After chatting for a while, Xiao Lin and Xiao Yan finally saw them off from the Trial Grounds.

At the same time, the news that Xiao Yan and his two companions had successfully passed the Trial Grounds spread far and wide.

This greatly increased the prestige and influence of the Pan Gate established by Xiao Yan and his group!

Especially after Xiao Yan left the Trial Grounds, his cultivation level soared to the peak of the Nine-Star Dou Spirit, which made none of the top talents on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking dare to underestimate him anymore!

After all, Xiao Yan has only been in the Inner Academy for less than two months, and he has already achieved so much!

Who can compare to him?

Moreover, Xiao Yan's subsequent revelation of his identity Tier 5 Alchemist made the Pan Gate a highly sought-after force throughout the Inner Academy!

With a boss who's both a fighter and a pharmacist, who would dare mess with him?

Therefore, even though the Pan Gate has not been established for long and most of its members are freshmen who have just passed the Inner Academy examination, its development has already caught up with many established forces.

Not only that, Xiao Yan himself also made it onto the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking, fighting his way up to eleventh place!

If he takes one more step forward, he will be among the top ten on the Strong Ranking!

Xiao Yan's influence in the Inner Academy will then expand even further!

However, since the top ten on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking were all Dou Wang experts, Xiao Yan didn't continue to recklessly charge forward.

It's important to understand that there's a significant gap between Dou Ling and Dou Wang.

The Dou Wang not only mastered the ability to fly, but he has also been able to manipulate the energy of heaven and earth to a certain extent.

Therefore, don't be fooled by the fact that there's only one step between the Peak Dou Ling and the Dou Wang.

Under normal circumstances, even ten or eight Peak Dou Ling wouldn't be enough to defeat a one- One-Star Battle King.

And this is a conservative estimate!

It can be said that even if the number of Peak Dou Ling doubled, Dou Wang would still be invincible!

With Xiao Yan's combat strength, although he is not afraid of a one- or two-star Dou Wang.

But winning the battle is not an easy task.

This was even after he had played all his cards.

Therefore, this is also why Xiao Yan has not yet made a run for the top ten of the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking.

Clearly, Xiao Yan was waiting until he broke through to the Dou Wang realm before doing this!

Furthermore, once he breaks through to the Dou Wang, what Xiao Yan wants to compete for is not just tenth place on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking.

At the Peak Dou Ling, without using the potentially deadly Fire Lotus, he could only barely contend with a one- or two-star Dou Wang.

But once he breaks through to the One-Star Battle King, even without using the Fire Lotus, he is confident that he can fight in the Mid-Stage of Dou Wang!

This is Xiao Yan's fighting power!

This is also the most obvious difference between the Dou Ling and Dou Wang realms!

While Xiao Yan was diligently cultivating, hoping to break through to the Dou Wang realm as soon as possible, Xiao Lin, on the other side, finally witnessed Zi Yan's awakening after four months.

Although Zi Yan's four-month slumber was not due to advancing in the competition.

However, after she completely corrected the part of her congenital developmental deficiencies, her strength still improved significantly.

Four months ago, Zi Yan was only Five-Star Battle Emperor Huang.

After awakening, he has now soared to the Peak Nine-Star Dou Emperor!