With the Bearing of an Absolute Powerhouse...

"Exactly. I'll have to trouble Elder Chen to bear witness." Wu Yan nodded.

"Of course, of course..."

Elder Chen had specifically swapped shifts today just to witness how strong this new student truly was.

As they spoke, Elder Chen led the two of them to an empty Main Arena.

When the surrounding older students saw Cao Ping, the number one student of the Inner Academy, step onto the arena against an unfamiliar young newcomer who seemed to have entered the Inner Academy only yesterday, they all felt a wave of pity for the newcomer.

Cao Ping was not only powerful, but also a Fifth-Grade Alchemist. Daring to challenge him meant this new student's path had come to an end.

In the spacious arena, the two stood facing each other. As the bell in Elder Chen's hand rang out—

Cao Ping's figure flashed, and he appeared before Wu Yan.

"Kid, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have a little talent. Before me, that bit of talent of yours isn't worth mentioning!"

Cao Ping was answered by a slender palm covered in a faint layer of frost.

Although Cao Ping had used eighty percent of his strength, he still had no power to resist the force contained within that palm.

Bang!

Cao Ping flew dozens of meters away at even greater speed, crashing straight into the wall beneath the stands.

On the stands, everyone stared blankly at the figure standing in the arena. Quite a few of them had their mouths hanging open.

What had happened?

Cao Ping attacked.

Cao Ping lost?

The young man looked as though he had merely swatted away a fly. His expression did not change, remaining as indifferent as ever.

What kind of joke was this? That was the number one student of the Inner Academy!

Cao Ping—the unparalleled number one among the Inner Academy students, a super genius who had become a Fifth-Grade Alchemist in his twenties and whose cultivation had reached the Half-Step Dou King realm!

"Cough, cough... Are you a Magical Beast that has taken human form?"

As the dust settled, Cao Ping jumped out of the wall on his own. The pain shooting through both his arms clearly told him that this youth, who did not look particularly burly, might have a Tier 5 Magical Beast hidden within his body!

One had to know that he was from the Cao Clan, one of Pill Tower's five great clans!

Since childhood, countless heavenly treasures had been used to temper his body. Though many claimed that Alchemists were delicate and pampered, those people had simply never seen a truly formidable Alchemist fight.

Even when Cao Ping, raised by his clan with vast resources, had previously fought a Tier 4 Magical Beast in close combat, he had never been reduced to such a sorry state.

Wu Yan looked expressionlessly at Cao Ping. His emotionless voice rang through the arena and entered every ear.

"You're an Alchemist. You should have healing pills, right? Take one quickly."

"Hm? What do you mean by that?!"

"I dislike trouble. So, to settle any trouble that might arise in the future all at once, I will completely defeat you next with the bearing of an absolute powerhouse."

Looking into those calm amber eyes, Cao Ping could no longer suppress the rage in his heart.

"Arrogant!"

Black flames surged violently out of Cao Ping's body like an erupting volcano. The terrifying heat of the black flames distorted even the air within the arena.

The next moment, the black flames seemed to come alive, rapidly condensing into a black tiger. A gigantic beast nearly ten meters tall was formed just like that by Cao Ping.

"Kid, today I'll teach you how to respect your senior!"

Though Cao Ping was furious beyond measure, his expression had returned to calm.

Then his hand seals changed madly, while the Dou Qi within his body drained away at a rapid pace. Correspondingly, the black tiger beside him expanded dramatically.

Within only a few breaths, a black flame beast more than twenty meters long had appeared in the arena.

Cao Ping raised his head, forcing a smile onto his calm face. "Kid, it's not too late to admit defeat now. I've never pushed this move to such a degree before. Once I unleash it, even I won't be able to control it."

"Are you ready?"

Wu Yan stared expressionlessly into Cao Ping's eyes, completely ignoring the terrifying flame beast.

"I'm ready?"

"Get ready to welcome your defeat."

Wu Yan gently raised his foot. As it fell, white cold air flowing from his body slithered like a serpent and bit down on the flame beast.

Seeing this, Cao Ping almost wanted to laugh.

"Hehe, kid, this is Tier 7 Beast Fire. Though it cannot compare to the Heavenly Flames born of heaven and earth, against your ordinary cold air, even if I stood still and let you drain all the Dou Qi in your body, I wouldn't feel the slightest chill."

Wu Yan merely moved a finger, signaling Cao Ping to look up.

Only then did Cao Ping notice the deathly silence in the arena stands. Realizing something was wrong, he hurriedly raised his head.

There stood the lifelike black flame beast, tightly encased in a layer of crystalline ice like a work of art.

"How is that possible? I didn't sense a thing..."

Cao Ping wore a look of utter disbelief. As a Fifth-Grade Alchemist, his Dou Technique had been silently frozen without him noticing even the slightest thing.

It was nothing less than a huge humiliation!

Crack... crack...

The ice sculpture crumbled bit by bit, tiny chunks of ice falling onto Cao Ping and burying him beneath them.

Calm footsteps approached, and the ice instantly melted.

Soaked from head to toe, Cao Ping raised his head and stared in a daze at the youth before him, who was far younger than himself. Doing his utmost to preserve the dignity of a Fifth-Grade Alchemist, he forced an ugly smile onto his face.

"You won..."

After handing over his crystal card, Cao Ping took back the Azure Flame Crystal Card that had been reduced to zero, then walked out of the arena on unsteady, bewildered steps.

Inside the private standalone villa that belonged to him alone, Cao Ping soaked in a bathtub with vacant eyes.

He did not know how he had returned, nor did he know how he had gotten into this bathtub.

After soaking for quite some time and reheating the cooled water several times, Cao Ping finally took off the bothersome clothes on his body and let them soak in the bathtub with him.

"Wasn't that a little too ruthless?"

Elder Chen came back to his senses and spoke to Wu Yan with a bitter smile.

It had truly happened just as this kid had said—he had completely defeated Cao Ping with the bearing of an absolute powerhouse. This was not merely a literal defeat; Cao Ping's mindset had clearly been shattered as well.

"This way, I'll have much less trouble."

Wu Yan said it seriously.

Elder Chen twitched the corner of his mouth. With the way he had put it, no one would indeed dare to disturb him anymore.

After asking when the Power Ranking experts would receive their free Fire Energy, Wu Yan left the arena and headed unhurriedly toward the Sky-Burning Qi Refining Tower.

Mm, in that case, the best cultivation room among the students would be his.

And the Fire Energy on his crystal card had already become a four-digit number.

After all, Cao Ping was a Fifth-Grade Alchemist. There was no way he would lack Fire Energy. For any Fifth-Rank Medicinal Pill, even Inner Academy elders at the Dou Wang realm would scramble to exchange for it.