The Thousand and Hundred Elders

Everyone's gaze swept briefly over Xiao Qing before moving on to the other four without lingering.

When picking persimmons, you picked the soft ones. In a one-on-one fight, no one present dared claim they could last more than a few exchanges against Xiao Qing.

Therefore, challenging the other four was naturally the better choice.

After a series of battles, the top five were successfully decided.

Just as Hu Gan had expected, only one person lost their place in the top five due to being slightly weaker in cultivation.

The other three withstood the repeated challenges from everyone present.

As for Xiao Qing?

Naturally, no one dared challenge him, so he won the championship without lifting a finger.

The Inner Academy Selection Tournament came to a perfect close. According to academy rules, within seven days after the tournament ended, the top fifty students had to prepare to enter the Inner Academy.

The top five, meanwhile, could choose a time during those seven days to enter the academy's Library Pavilion.

Three days later, while Xiao Qing was cultivating in his dormitory, a knock on the door startled him awake.

He got up and opened the door, where Ge Long's burly figure came into view.

"The vice principal asked me to notify you. Today is the day you enter the academy's Library Pavilion."

A faint smile appeared on Xiao Qing's face at those words.

He had been looking forward to Jia Nan Academy's Library Pavilion for a long time.

He had even missed the opportunity to join the Inner Academy through the previous Inner Academy Selection Tournament because of it.

"Thank you for coming all this way to notify me, Mentor Ge Long."

Xiao Qing said with a smile.

"It was no trouble. You won this Inner Academy Selection Tournament, and as your mentor, I received quite a few benefits as well."

Ge Long waved his hand with a smile.

He was already a Xuan Rank mentor, with little room left for advancement in his position.

However, Xiao Qing's victory this time had earned him enough cultivation resources from the academy to raise him to the Dou Ling level.

"Hurry along. There are plenty of good things in the Library Pavilion. You should be able to gain something."

Xiao Qing nodded. After briefly bidding Ge Long farewell, he headed straight toward the depths of Jia Nan Academy.

Inside the spacious, brightly lit room, bookshelves crisscrossed one another, filled with all kinds of ancient books and giving the place a rich scholarly air.

At that moment, the other four members of the top five stood quietly in the center of the room.

Behind the desk before them, Hu Gan slowly flipped through the documents in his hands, and the entire room was steeped in silence.

Just then, a gentle knock sounded, breaking the atmosphere.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in!"

Hu Gan closed the book in his hand and smiled at Xiao Qing as he entered the room.

"Vice Principal."

Xiao Qing entered the room, casually swept his gaze over the four others, and finally settled it on Vice Principal Hu Gan.

"Hehe, I didn't expect you to be entering the Inner Academy so soon."

Hu Gan looked at Xiao Qing with some emotion.

Back then, he had not expected Xiao Qing's cultivation to improve so quickly.

In just over two years, he had soared from a Dou Zhe to the verge of breaking through to Dou Ling.

And his talent for alchemy was absurdly high as well.

Xiao Qing gave Hu Gan a slight bow and said gratefully, "Without the help of the vice principal and my teacher, I could not have improved so quickly."

Hu Gan shook his head, refusing to take credit.

"You've come this far mainly through your own talent. Fire Old Man and I have not provided you with much help."

The four standing nearby were somewhat surprised. They had not expected Xiao Qing to have such a close relationship with the vice principal.

But when they recalled that Xiao Qing was the personal disciple of Fire Elder from the Alchemy Department, they no longer found it strange.

"All right. Since everyone is here, follow me."

As he spoke, Hu Gan rose from his chair, walked to the wall behind him, and casually slapped it several times with his palm.

The next instant, a deep rumbling sound arose, followed by the appearance of a pitch-black passage before them.

"All of you, follow behind me."

Hu Gan waved to the five of them and took the lead into the dark passage.

Xiao Qing followed closely behind, while the other four hurried after him.

Large luminous pearls were embedded in the walls around the passage, their faint radiance casting a hazy glow over the corridor.

Xiao Qing looked around curiously for a while, then lost interest and silently followed behind Hu Gan.

After walking through the passage for roughly half an hour, a glimmer of light finally appeared at its end.

They quickened their pace and, shortly afterward, arrived at the end of the passage and stepped out.

Blinding sunlight poured down from the sky, causing Xiao Qing and the others to narrow their eyes. Only after a while did they slowly open them again.

Before them was clearly a hollow valley, its steep mountain walls stretching upward until they vanished beyond sight. Between three sheer cliffs lay a broad expanse of open ground.

Upon that open ground stood an enormous, heavy, ancient pavilion so vast that it left them speechless.

On an extremely ancient plaque outside the pavilion were three characters, worn blurry by the passage of time.

They appeared faintly.

Library Pavilion!

Hu Gan led the five slowly toward the Library Pavilion, but abruptly stopped when they were about twenty meters away.

With a solemn expression, he clasped his fists slightly toward the front and said:

"The top five of this year's Inner Academy Selection Tournament have been determined. According to the rules, I have brought them here. I ask the two elders to open the door!"

Hu Gan's voice, wrapped in Dou Qi, echoed throughout the valley.

Not long afterward, two gray-robed figures suddenly appeared seated cross-legged at the entrance of the Library Pavilion.

The two figures seemed as though they had been sitting there from the start, appearing without a sound.

Hu Gan's voice slowly faded through the valley, yet the two gray-robed men remained completely still, as if they had heard nothing.

Seeing that the two did not respond, Hu Gan did not speak again. He maintained his clasped-fist posture and waited quietly.

Standing behind Hu Gan, Xiao Qing secretly studied the Thousand and Hundred Elders seated on the ground.

He could not help but sigh inwardly. What one learned from books always felt shallow; only after seeing them in person did one understand what it meant to be unfathomable!

Even with his late Mortal Realm soul power, he had not sensed how the two had appeared.

The silent atmosphere persisted in the valley for several minutes before the two gray-robed men seated at the pavilion entrance slowly opened their eyes, revealing two pairs of serene, ancient eyes like those of old monks.

Their gazes calmly swept over Hu Gan and the others in turn before finally stopping on Xiao Qing.

After sensing Xiao Qing's cultivation and bone age, Thousand Elder, on the left, squeezed a faint smile from beneath his gray hood and said in a hoarse voice, "Not bad!"

His voice echoed through the valley and clearly reached Xiao Qing and the others.

"May I ask whether this young friend has a master?" Hundred Elder likewise fixed his gaze upon Xiao Qing, and a trace of amazement flashed through his otherwise tranquil eyes.

A seven-year-old eight-star Da Dou Shi!

And such powerful soul force!

Had they not possessed absolute confidence in their own strength, the two would have suspected that Xiao Qing before them was some old monster in disguise.