Surpass Him? Stand Beside Him

"Wu Bai was born in Tianbei City in the Central Plains, the second son of the Wu Family's head. He showed promise from an early age but was never favored. As he grew older, he became increasingly estranged from his family."

"At fourteen, he was sent to the Han Family as a hostage. Soon after arriving, Wu Bai displayed extraordinary talent and received the Han Family's full support."

"At fifteen, he became a Fourth-Rank Alchemist and came to Jia Nan Academy with Han Yue, the eldest daughter of the Han Family's head..."

In Gu Xun'er's room, her guard was reading aloud the Gu Clan's findings on Wu Bai.

At the mention of Jia Nan Academy, she raised a hand to stop him. She knew everything that came after.

"What frightening talent. Even the Gu Clan doesn't have a genius like that, does it?"

"No."

"I suppose not. If we did, those old fellows would probably try to arrange another..."

Apart from the Yao Clan, where gifted Alchemists were everywhere, any of the other ancient clans would have been tempted by an Alchemist as talented as Wu Bai.

Marrying him to a woman of high standing within the clan was the classic move. They never seemed to tire of it.

At that thought, Gu Xun'er's eyes shifted.

"Destroy these records. And don't send any more information about Wu Bai back to the Gu Clan."

"...Yes, miss."

Gu Xun'er went to the window and gazed into the distance, as though she could see the figure flying toward the Inner Academy.

"Senior, you already have Senior Han Yue. There's even a Han Xue in the Han Family."

"Brother Xiao Yan, Xun'er believes that one day, you'll surpass... stand beside him."

She remembered how, a few days ago, her guard had sensed a fluctuation remarkably similar to the formation of a Sixth-Grade Pill. Even Gu Xun'er could not bring herself to praise her Brother Xiao Yan beyond reason.

Two sixteen-year-old boys: one was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist, while the other had only just set foot on the path of an Alchemist...

"Wu Bai is here?"

"Elder Liu, is it your turn this year?"

"Yes. Quite the coincidence..."

At the edge of the Inner Academy, the new students and the older students met for the first time, each side studying the other with curiosity.

A few who knew each other well exchanged looks, but no one spoke. They were all waiting for the important figures to finish chatting.

"Ahem. To enter the Inner Academy, you youngsters must first compete against these older students in a Fire Energy Hunting Competition."

"It doesn't matter if you don't know what Fire Energy is yet. All you need to know is that many of these older students ranked near the bottom of last year's top fifty. Yet in just one year, their cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds. Now they're behind only the few geniuses among you."

"..."

"I now declare this year's Fire Energy Hunting Competition officially begun."

"New students, off you go!"

At Elder Liu's command, most of the new students dashed into the dense forest.

Only seven or eight remained where they were. When the two figures at the front finally moved, they followed.

Just before entering the forest, Wu Bai suddenly stopped.

He turned around, took out a purple pill, and showed it to the older students, who were itching to make their move.

"Older students, defeat me and I'll give you five Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills. Remember, that's five!"

With that, his figure vanished into the dense forest.

The older students looked toward the elder beside them. They said nothing, but their eyes made the question clear.

"This is the Fire Energy Hunting Competition. A Fifth-Rank Alchemist is still a new student."

That casual remark fired them up, and they charged in.

"Get him!"

"Go!"

"Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills, here I come!"

"Yeah!"

Watching the older students howl with excitement, Hu Gan and the others could not help laughing.

These innocent children had yet to learn how cruel the world could be!

"Let's go wait for them at the finish."

"Very well."

They flew into the sky and looked down over the dense forest. The Blue-White Flame and the blocks of ice trailing white mist stood out sharply.

Even without going down to watch, the elders could already imagine how miserable the scene below would be.

By then, only a dozen or so people in the forest were still fighting. They were followers of Wu Bai and Han Yue, battling the older students.

Wu Bai and Han Yue watched the sparring from the side, unhurried.

Even so, the older students felt immense pressure.

After all, more than thirty of their peers were already lying on the ground nearby.

And the two powerful figures watching were inserting cards one after another, taking the little Fire Energy the older students possessed...

"Mr. Wu Bai, you're already so strong, and you're a Fifth-Rank Alchemist. Why bother with the little Fire Energy we have?"

Once it was over, the older students were all curious. A single Fifth-grade Pill would tempt even the elders and could easily sell for several thousand days' worth of Fire Energy. Why insist on taking their paltry scraps?

Wu Bai returned the last crystal card in his hand and said with a smile:

"I'm a new student too. I have to follow the Inner Academy's rules, don't I?"

"..."

The older students were speechless. Those rules really had it in for them.

When they had been new students, the older students had bullied them. Now that they were older students, the new students were bullying them.

So they were just meant to be bullied either way?

Near dusk, Wu Bai and his group finally reached the last obstacle: the White Fiend Team.

The new students who had arrived ahead of them while Wu Bai's group held back the older students had all fallen here.

Even with their advantage in numbers, they had failed to break through.

That was because the White Fiend Team Captain was a genuine Dou Ling!

As the footsteps drew closer, the White Fiend Team Captain opened his eyes and looked expectantly at the man in the center.

Five Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills—even if he did not take them himself, he could sell them like a spendthrift and get five or six million Gold Coins.

That was an enormous fortune!

"You're finally here."

"Let's make this quick. It's getting late."

Wu Bai glanced at the sky and waved a hand.

An invisible wave swept over the five members of the White Fiend Team.

In an instant, the four Da Dou Shi members lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground as though asleep. Only the White Fiend Team Captain remained standing.

His world spun, and his vision blurred.

A flush crossed Wu Bai's face. He waved his hand.

The next moment, a blue blur appeared where the White Fiend Team Captain had stood, while the captain himself was sent flying.

At the critical moment, the White Fiend Team Captain forced himself to focus and used all his strength to protect himself.

But before he could land, a Flood Dragon formed from Blue-White Flame soared into the sky. Its long jaws opened, and a scorching breath rushed toward him.

A yellow-brown glow stubbornly held against the blast of the Flood Dragon's breath. Before the White Fiend Team Captain could raise his head, he sensed a terrifying surge of heat gathering inside its jaws.

He had no doubt it would burn him to a crisp.

"I surrender!"

In the end, his will to live outweighed his desire for Fire Energy.