Fire Energy Hunting Tournament

Although Xiao Qing's face still carried a trace of youthful immaturity, no matter how outstanding his talent was, it had yet to be realized.

Could he possibly evade the pursuit of two teams with the cultivation of an eight-star Da Dou Shi?

Facing their puzzled gazes, Hu Gan merely smiled without explaining.

Based on the strength Xiao Qing had displayed during the Inner Academy Selection Tournament, this Fire Energy Hunting Competition posed virtually no difficulty for him.

Even if two Dou Ling experts joined forces to besiege him, he could still retreat with ease.

Seeing that Hu Gan had no intention of saying more, the two could only suppress their doubts.

In any case, whatever methods Xiao Qing possessed would naturally be revealed during the Fire Energy Hunting Competition.

An old man stepped forward, swept his gaze around, and spoke to the dozens of students present:

"Little ones, congratulations on successfully passing the Inner Academy Selection Tournament. You may call me Elder Su, and the one beside me, Elder Qing."

"However, while you have passed the Inner Academy Selection Tournament, entering the Inner Academy will not be so easy."

As he spoke, Elder Su raised his hand, and a large handful of pitch-black crystal chips appeared in it.

With a casual toss, the chips shot forth, then hovered before everyone as though they had grown eyes.

The students each grasped a chip, immediately feeling a strange warmth seep out from it.

Lowering their heads to inspect them, they saw that each chip had a transparent mirror-like surface, upon which a large red number was printed.

"Five!"

At the sight of that red number, confusion flashed through the eyes of all the students except Xiao Qing. They did not understand its meaning.

Meeting their puzzled gazes, Elder Su spoke calmly:

"For certain reasons, this cannot be explained in just a few words. You need only safeguard the chip in your hand as if it were your life. Once you enter the Inner Academy, you will understand how important it is to you."

As he finished speaking, Elder Su pointed at the group of eager-eyed young men behind him.

"Next, you must enter the forest and successfully reach the Inner Academy at its far end."

Elder Su's finger remained directed at those young men.

"And as you make your way through this forest, beware of them... According to the Inner Academy's rules, within this forest, they may attack you and use every method short of killing to seize the numbers on your crystal chips."

"So you must do everything possible to avoid them. As long as you are not caught by them and reach the Inner Academy safely, you will receive a final reward. The earlier you arrive, the richer the reward."

Elder Su suddenly shifted his finger toward the dark forest behind him. "We of the Inner Academy call this forest battle for plunder... the 'Fire Energy Hunting Competition'..."

"Now, I announce that this Fire Energy Hunting Competition has officially begun! Little ones, begin your escape!"

Walking through the dense forest, Xiao Qing released a powerful soul force from between his brows, continuously scanning his surroundings.

After entering the forest, he had separated from the other four among the top five and headed alone toward the Inner Academy.

At the same time, he used his soul force to observe the surroundings, checking for any traces of old students.

It would be fine if he encountered none. If he could reach the Inner Academy without obstruction, Xiao Qing could not be bothered to make a move.

But if he did encounter them, those old students could only count themselves unlucky. After all, there was no reason for him to refuse Fire Energy delivered right to his door.

With his current strength, ordinary Dou Ling were no match for him. Passing a Fire Energy Hunting Competition was naturally more than easy.

"Rustle..."

A breeze brushed across his face, and a rustling sound suddenly echoed through the silent forest.

"Sigh, I didn't want to make a move either. You forced my hand."

Xiao Qing abruptly halted and shook his head helplessly.

The moment his words fell, four figures flashed out from the surrounding woods, forming a square around Xiao Qing and trapping him in place.

At the same time, a puzzled voice came from the treetops not far away, drawing nearer.

"Interesting. How did you discover us?"

Following the voice, Xiao Qing looked up and saw a handsome young man in fitted black clothes standing atop a treetop, watching him curiously.

Without any intention of explaining himself to the handsome young man, Xiao Qing's Dou Qi surged, and a jade-green palm seal instantly formed in his right hand.

"Scarlet Fire Seal!"

He casually picked an unlucky one among those surrounding him and struck out with his palm.

A jade-green palm seal shot from Xiao Qing's hand, whipping up a fierce gust and carrying scorching heat as it sent the black-clad old student to the east flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth.

He crashed heavily onto the ground some distance away, while jade-green flames continued to burn across his black fitted clothes.

At this sight, the remaining four were greatly alarmed. The handsome young man on the treetop angrily demanded, "Did you kill him?"

Without answering, Xiao Qing raised his hand again and sent three palm seals shooting toward the remaining three people around him.

The palm seals were crystalline and jade-green, their palm lines clearly visible.

Seeing the scorching palm seals rushing at them without the slightest loss of power, the three men's expressions changed drastically. Each unleashed a Dou Technique, attempting to weaken and neutralize the seals.

However, their attacks were like paper before the crystalline jade-green palm seals. They could not last even an instant before slowly dissipating.

Despair filled the three men's faces as they could only watch helplessly as the palm seals descended.

Boom!

The scorching palm seals blasted the three men away and smashed them into the ancient trees behind them, immediately igniting bursts of jade-green flame.

The handsome young man on the treetop changed expression several times. Seeing that Elder Su and the others had yet to intervene, he knew that the four were not seriously harmed.

After hesitating for a while, he ultimately chose not to make a move.

After all, he had witnessed the power of those palm seals. Though his cultivation as a two-star Dou Ling would allow him to withstand them, he would still have to pay a considerable price.

Moreover, judging by the appearance of the new student below, he clearly still had plenty of strength left. The handsome young man did not dare guarantee that he could win after fighting him.

Xiao Qing walked over to the four men one by one. After extinguishing the flames burning on them, he began collecting his spoils.

After searching them for a while and transferring the Fire Energy from the four Fire Crystal Cards onto his own card, Xiao Qing did not even check whose cards they were before casually tossing them back to the four men.

Xiao Qing slightly raised his head and looked at the handsome young man still standing on the treetop, speaking softly:

"Will you hand over your Fire Energy yourself, or shall I help you?"

Hearing this, the handsome young man shook his head with a bitter smile.

Though he did not wish to fight Xiao Qing, that did not mean he could simply hand over his Fire Energy.

It seemed that a battle was unavoidable after all.

Leaping down from the treetop, the handsome young man carefully examined Xiao Qing before him, inwardly unable to suppress his astonishment.

His perception had not been clear from atop the tree just now, but only at close range did he realize it.

The Xiao Qing before him was actually only an eight-star Da Dou Shi!