Fire Energy Hunting Tournament

Nalan Chenfeng raised his hand, and with a thought, a wisp of dark-red Dou Qi emerged from his palm.

Although the Dou Qi was a deep color, the heat it emitted was far fiercer than the Dou Qi cultivated through the Flame Yang Art. The moment it surged forth, the surrounding air became much drier.

"No wonder it's Dou Qi cultivated from a Mid Earth Tier technique..."

Nalan Chenfeng murmured as he slowly clenched his hand.

Dark-red Dou Qi circulated through Nalan Chenfeng's palm, producing a faint hissing sound.

He could clearly sense that this wisp of Dou Qi was more than twice as condensed as the golden Dou Qi produced by the Flame Yang Art.

If he encountered his former self now, he would probably win with ease.

With the same amount of Dou Qi, a higher quality of Dou Qi could unleash far greater power.

This was one reason why people of the same rank could have such vastly differing combat strength.

Not only that, his current Dou Qi recovery speed had undergone a qualitative leap as well.

If all the Dou Qi in his body had been depleted before, he would have needed to meditate for half a shichen to fully recover. Now, however, he could likely replenish it within the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

This was the gap created by the rank of one's cultivation technique.

A Mid Earth Tier technique truly lived up to its reputation.

"Mm..."

Nalan Chenfeng gathered his thoughts and was about to continue circulating the technique to familiarize himself with it when he suddenly felt an unusual movement from the Dou Qi Sea Urchin within his body.

His awareness sank into his dantian. At that moment, Nalan Chenfeng saw that the glow of the fifth spine on the diamond-shaped Dou Qi Sea Urchin was dimming at a visible rate.

"This is..."

Nalan Chenfeng was slightly stunned, then delight surged through his heart.

During the conversion of his cultivation technique, he had inadvertently washed over the Dou Qi Sea Urchin time and again. His continuous cultivation had also absorbed a great deal of natural energy, leaving him only one step away from becoming a Five-Star Dou Ling.

"Since that's the case, I'll push through in one go!"

Nalan Chenfeng did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately formed hand seals and fully activated the Heavenly Flame Art.

Whoosh!

The energy of heaven and earth surged toward him like a tide, its rate of absorption astonishing.

As the energy entered his body and was refined by the Heavenly Flame Art, it transformed into wisps of dark-red Dou Qi that flowed into the Dou Qi Sea Urchin in Nalan Chenfeng's dantian.

The glow of the fifth spine on the sea urchin grew dimmer and dimmer...

Half a day later.

Crack!

A faint sound, audible only to Nalan Chenfeng, echoed within his body.

The fifth spine completely dissolved!

Five spines had vanished from the sea urchin, leaving four behind.

Five-Star Dou Ling!

"Phew..."

Nalan Chenfeng let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes.

Dark-red light flickered like flames within his pitch-black pupils, taking quite a while to settle.

"Hehe..."

Nalan Chenfeng raised his hand and gently clenched it.

The sensation of power welling up from the depths of his bones was intoxicating.

As a Five-Star Dou Ling, with Dou Qi cultivated from a Mid Earth Tier technique and such rapid Dou Qi recovery, even without using his special ability, he was confident he could fight a Seven-Star or Eight-Star Dou Ling.

Now, his only shortcoming was his lack of formidable Dou Skills. The High Mystic Rank Dou Skills he possessed were fairly powerful, but compared to Earth Tier Dou Skills that could draw upon the energy of heaven and earth, they fell far short.

"I'll deal with that later. I should consolidate my realm first. Tomorrow is the Fire Energy Hunting Tournament before entering the Inner Academy..."

Nalan Chenfeng muttered inwardly, closing his eyes once more to experience the improvement in cultivation speed brought by the Mid Earth Tier technique.

If the growth of his Dou Qi while cultivating the Flame Yang Art had been like streams flowing into a lake, then now it was like rivers rushing into the sea.

Every time he circulated the technique, he could clearly feel the Dou Qi within his body increasing. The sensation of his strength rising so rapidly was intoxicating.

However, by his estimation, this speed would gradually slow as his strength increased.

In the overall cultivation system of the Dou Qi Continent, a Dou Ling could still only be considered at an initial stage.

The next morning.

When Nalan Chenfeng arrived before the pavilion where Hu Gan was staying, he saw that the open ground in front of it was already filled with people.

They were divided into groups of various sizes, chatting and laughing quietly among themselves. Of these groups, those centered around Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing were the largest.

Nalan Chenfeng's appearance immediately silenced the lively clearing. Everyone's eyes were filled with awe, while some female students practically had stars in their eyes, their faces full of fervent admiration.

On the Dou Qi Continent, strength was supreme.

Nalan Chenfeng's Dou Ling strength undoubtedly held special significance within Jia Nan Outer Academy.

Everyone understood that perhaps before long, Nalan Chenfeng would advance even further and reach the Dou Wang realm that all yearned for.

"Why are you only getting here now? We were just about to go find you."

Han Yue walked forward and spoke softly.

"Coming early would've been pointless. Weren't you all waiting too?"

Nalan Chenfeng glanced at the tightly shut pavilion doors and smiled.

"According to the rules I know from previous years, the five of us should form a team for this Fire Energy Hunting Tournament. You're the strongest, so the captain's position is naturally yours."

Liu Qing, Lin Xiuya, and Lin Yan walked over and spoke to Nalan Chenfeng.

Compared to ordinary students, people like Liu Qing, whose families had some connections and members who had visited Jia Nan Academy, naturally knew more about the Inner Academy.

Jia Nan Academy's so-called secrecy measures forbidding outsiders from learning about the Inner Academy were merely empty words and held little meaning.

Therefore, Nalan Chenfeng was not surprised that they knew the rules of the Fire Energy Hunting Tournament. He simply nodded.

"The Fire Energy Hunting Tournament is just a formality."

With his current strength, even among the older students of the Inner Academy, he could easily rank among the top fifty. Yet among the teams assigned to make things difficult for new students in the Fire Energy Hunting Tournament, having a Dou Ling would already be impressive.

Such strength posed no threat to him at all. They were simply Fire Energy delivered right to his door.

Fire Energy was essential for entering the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower in the Inner Academy. He would not miss this chance to obtain Fire Energy during the tournament.

"Haha, with a Dou Ling expert leading us, we won't have to worry about those hateful older students this time."

"..."

As they spoke, the tightly shut pavilion doors finally opened, and Hu Gan emerged at an unhurried pace alongside several Outer Academy elders.

At once, Nalan Chenfeng and the others stopped talking.

Everyone turned their eyes toward Hu Gan.

Hu Gan slowly swept his gaze across the fifty students on the clearing. Seeing that no one was absent, he nodded in satisfaction and spoke loudly.

"Students, today is the day you enter the Inner Academy. First, allow me to congratulate you. Your long years of effort have finally been rewarded."

"I believe that after entering the Inner Academy, you will be able to fully unleash your potential and greatly improve your strength..."

"Now, according to the rankings, form teams of five and follow me aboard the Griffin Beasts..."

"..."

A massive formation of Griffin Beasts swept through the sky, crossing vast forests and mountain ranges. Finally, under Hu Gan's guidance, they passed through a silver light gate and arrived at the entrance to a forest.

"Next, I'll briefly explain the rules of the Fire Energy Hunting Tournament. This is a trial before you enter the Inner Academy..."