But just as Su Qian was about to resort to calling someone out by name, an experienced graduate finally stepped forward.
"I am Lei Yan. I would like to exchange a few moves with Miss Feng." A relatively young-looking elder at the Nine-Star Dou Wang level took a step forward and greeted Feng Qing'er.
This man is quite strong. Could he be from the Lei Clan? Feng Qing'er narrowed her eyes, sensing that this challenger was not as simple as she had imagined.
Seeing the graduate who had stepped forward, Su Qian finally smiled and stroked his beard.
"He ranked first among the students who graduated three years ago. Though he has no particular backing, his fundamentals are extremely solid, and he possesses powerful lightning-attribute abilities.
"Besides, when the dean returned a while ago, he gave him some pointers along the way. So, rounding things up, he could now count as half an unofficial disciple of the dean."
At this point, a hint of pride appeared on Su Qian's face. After all, anyone who caught the dean's eye was certainly no person of ordinary talent.
Moreover, the fellow had a good disposition, without that arrogant attitude of looking down on everyone and believing himself unrivaled under heaven. As a dean himself, Su Qian had witnessed his diligent daily training over the years.
Barring any surprises, he would break through to the Dou Emperor level within six months and become a senior elder with a certain say in the academy's affairs.
"Please show me your skills." Seeing him enter the arena, Feng Qing'er wasted no words. Her previous two opponents had not given her enough of a fight.
This was the perfect chance to see whether this young Nine-Star Dou Wang could put her under some pressure.
Soon, the two clashed. This time, Feng Qing'er had gained some understanding of her own strength, so she did not choose to meet his attacks head-on as she had before.
Instead, she adopted the fighting style best suited to her.
"Colorful Phoenix Returns to Origin!" Feng Qing'er cried in a low voice, and ribbons imbued with powerful Dou Qi flew from the cuffs at both her wrists.
At her will, the ribbons could lengthen freely and execute all manner of turns and other highly difficult maneuvers.
In an instant, a dense mass of ribbons filled half the arena.
Their movements alone left the spectators dizzy, let alone Lei Yan, who was caught within their attacks.
Yet even while controlling so many ribbons, Feng Qing'er remained methodical and orderly.
There was not a trace of panic on her face. Every attack path of every ribbon lay within her calculations.
Lei Yan found the situation somewhat tricky. Although he immediately burned away some of the ribbons with his powerful lightning attribute,
It had no real effect on his opponent. The ribbons seemed endless; even if he burned some away, more would surge in from behind to replace them the very next second.
Still, they were merely rather tricky, not troublesome enough to pose any great problem.
After all, a full six stars separated their cultivation levels. Besides, Lei Yan's earlier attacks had only been probes. He had yet to reveal his real trump cards.
Sure enough, after getting a feel for some of his opponent's attacking moves, the Dou Qi around Lei Yan suddenly surged.
Amid a series of crackles, every ribbon within a dozen or so meters was burned completely to ash.
Seizing the opening in her defenses, Lei Yan pushed his lightning attribute to its limits and charged before her in just a few breaths.
Then came the Low Earth Tier Dou Technique the dean had personally taught him: Thunderclap Finger.
A brilliant gleam wreathed in lightning flashed from his finger.
The Dou Qi gathered into a long, straight line and shot toward Feng Qing'er like a laser.
But Feng Qing'er would not simply take the blow without resistance. She likewise unleashed her signature technique, Demon Phoenix Bell, a defensive skill exclusive to the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan.
Powered by Feng Qing'er's current Three-Star Dou Wang strength, it was somewhat stronger than even a Low Earth Tier Dou Technique.
The beam from Thunderclap Finger struck the Demon Phoenix Bell head-on. Though it did not pierce through immediately, it scraped against its surface, throwing off dazzling showers of sparks.
Both drove their Dou Techniques to the limit. Unfortunately, Feng Qing'er's strength still fell a little short.
After roughly two or three breaths, her supreme defensive technique, the Demon Phoenix Bell, was pierced.
The lightning-laden beam grazed Feng Qing'er's cheek, leaving a small cut.
"Miss Feng, thank you for the match." Lei Yan let out a long breath and cupped his hands toward her.
Feng Qing'er knew that he had held back slightly just now. Otherwise, she would not have escaped with only a small cut.
Truth be told, she still felt unconvinced, but her behavior was rather different from that in the original story.
In the original story, whenever Feng Qing'er lost, she would fight her opponent desperately. Even her intelligence seemed to drop a little, and she would refuse to stop until one of them was dead.
But the current Feng Qing'er had spent over a year under Qin Yun's tutelage, and some of her former arrogance had been worn away.
Although she was still unwilling to accept defeat, at least she would no longer make unreasonable trouble.
"Thank you for holding back. But if we were at the same cultivation level, I would be no worse than you."
Feng Qing'er also realized that she truly had done her best, but the disparity in their strength had made this an unequal fight from the start.
If they really fought at the same cultivation level, she could completely suppress him within thirty moves.
"That is indeed true. I benefited from my higher cultivation level." Lei Yan did not skirt the issue. As Feng Qing'er's opponent, he naturally knew how terrifying her talent was.
With the strength of a mere Three-Star Dou Wang, she had fought him, a Nine-Star Dou Wang, to this extent. Though he still had some trump cards he had not used,
This was not a fight to the death. Who knew whether she possessed some forbidden technique that could kill a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of her own, or even drag them both into the grave?
But the next moment, Lei Yan made a decision that surprised everyone. Rather than paying further attention to Feng Qing'er before him, he turned to look at the person behind her.
"Brother Qin, I have already experienced Miss Feng's techniques. Might I exchange a few moves with you as well?"
"Hm? Me?" Qin Yun had not expected him to come straight to him, wanting to spar. Wonderful. To think he even knew how to pick his opponent.
"Little Yun, since he has put it that way, shouldn't you respond? Go down there and spar with him." Fei Tian coughed a few times beside him and gave him an encouraging look.
"Young Pavilion Master of the Wind and Lightning Pavilion, please grant me your guidance," Lei Yan said again, adopting an even more humble posture.
"With your talent, serving as a mere academy elder is rather like using great timber for a small task. Do you have any specific plans for the future?
"Or has Elder Su Qian made other arrangements for you?"
Qin Yun was quite curious about this young man, who stood head and shoulders above the rest of his generation.
After all, such a young elder did not seem to have appeared in the original story.
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