Inner Academy Selection Tournament!

As one of Jia Nan Academy's grand events, the Inner Academy Selection Tournament naturally attracted tremendous attention. All the prominent figures who usually made waves in the academy would appear at this tournament.

For the male and female students who regarded these figures as their idols or objects of affection, this was undoubtedly an enormous draw.

On the day of the tournament, the academy prepared a massive arena in the plaza, which was already surrounded by an impenetrable sea of people.

Jiang Yun quietly arrived at his class's section with Zi Yan. His gaze swept around the plaza before finally settling on the center of the spectator stands.

Those seats offered the best view. There were three of them, occupied by three elderly men with white hair and beards.

Jiang Yun recognized one of them: Vice Dean Hu Gan. He had never met the other two. In his perception, one of them had a piercing gaze. Despite the man's best efforts to suppress it, Jiang Yun still seemed to see mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

This had to be Wu Tianlang, captain of the Jia Nan Academy Enforcement Team.

Occasional ripples of space appeared around the three men. Such fluctuations could only resonate with the surrounding space when the Dou Qi within someone's body had reached a certain extreme. They were also a sign of touching the threshold of Dou Zong.

Clearly, all three were Peak Dou Emperor experts, only half a step away from Dou Zong. This offered a glimpse of Jia Nan Academy's strength.

Yet that half step was fraught with a thousand hardships. With Sect Breaking Pills, they could probably advance directly to Dou Zong.

Jia Nan Academy lacked neither money nor medicinal ingredients, but it had no high-level alchemist capable of refining Sect Breaking Pills. That half-step gap had trapped them for who knew how many years.

Although Elder Huo had now entered the sixth grade, he probably still had a long road ahead before he could refine a peak sixth-grade medicinal pill like the Sect Breaking Pill.

Just as Jiang Yun looked away, Wu Tianlang frowned slightly and repeatedly scanned in his direction.

"What is it?" Noticing Wu Tianlang's unusual behavior, Hu Gan could not help asking.

"Nothing." Finding nothing, Wu Tianlang withdrew his gaze and answered flatly.

Hu Gan nodded, then glanced at the time and waved toward one side.

A moment later, with the referee's arrival, the Inner Academy Selection Tournament finally raised its curtain, and the atmosphere in the arena reached a fever pitch.

"First match: Wu Da of Yellow Tier Class One against Du Hao of Yellow Class Two. Contestants, take the stage!"

"Second match: Hu Yun of Yellow Class Two against Lü Lie of Profound Class Three. Get ready!"

"Yaaawn... Xiao Yun, this is so boring!"

In the stands, the "forever" twelve-year-old Zi Yan leaned listlessly against Jiang Yun's shoulder, utterly uninterested in the weaklings pecking at one another below.

Her strength ranked among the best in the entire academy. Battles between Dou Shi and Da Dou Shi really could not hold her interest.

"Bear with it a little longer. It'll be over soon!" Jiang Yun affectionately rubbed the top of Zi Yan's head. He was already a good deal bigger than her now and looked more like an older brother.

The way Zi Yan addressed him gave some hint of that.

"Ninth match: Jiang Yun of Yellow Tier Class Three against Li Yunzhi of Profound Class Two. Contestants, take the stage!"

Zi Yan, who had been watching until she grew drowsy, instantly perked up at the familiar name. She shook Jiang Yun's arm hard. "Xiao Yun, it's your turn!"

Jiang Yun nodded and walked toward the arena under the astonished gazes of his classmates.

After Jiang Yun left, the classmates who finally came to their senses exchanged looks.

"He's in our class?"

"Have you seen him before?"

"I haven't. Have you?"

"Neither have I!"

Even his own classmates were so surprised to see Jiang Yun, let alone the other students. He had kept an extremely low profile over the past two years, associating with no one and shutting himself away to cultivate, so he had little presence.

Su Qian's initial hopes had come to nothing. He had thought Jiang Yun would stir up storms in the Outer Academy and liven the place up. Who could have imagined that the boy would be so patient, simply shutting himself away to cultivate? As a result, he was now a complete stranger in the Outer Academy.

Jiang Yun's opponent, Li Yunzhi, looked eighteen or nineteen and had the strength of a Five-Star Dou Master. That was fairly good among this year's participants, though a place in the top fifty was still far from assured.

But when he saw Jiang Yun step onto the stage, delight immediately filled his face. He said casually, "Kid, this isn't somewhere you belong. Turn around and jump down yourself, and you can spare yourself a beating!"

Jiang Yun said nothing and looked toward the referee.

Seeing Jiang Yun's apparent "stubbornness," the referee gave him a pitying look, but still dutifully announced the start.

"Begin!"

"Wild Wind Palm!"

At the referee's command, Li Yunzhi shot forward. Dou Qi gathered in his palm, wind sprang beneath his feet, and he hurtled toward Jiang Yun. It had to be said that, as someone cultivating wind-attribute Dou Qi, Li Yunzhi struck quite quickly.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast he was, he could neither escape Jiang Yun's lock nor overcome the gap in their cultivation realms.

Jiang Yun merely shifted sideways and easily evaded the attack. At the same time, his palm was already against his opponent's chest, making it look as though Li Yunzhi had run into it himself.

With a bang, Jiang Yun sent Li Yunzhi flying with a heavy palm strike. Still airborne, Li Yunzhi clutched his chest with one hand and stared at Jiang Yun in horror.

He felt as though the impact had shaken his entire body apart. Unable to summon even a shred of strength, he could only watch helplessly as he fell out of the arena.

"Whoa-"

Seeing Li Yunzhi defeated so easily, the spectators fell as silent as crows and sparrows for a moment. The outcome was simply too dramatic. Had they not known that he could not possibly throw the match, some might have suspected he had been bought off.

The referee also recovered his senses. He stared in horror at Jiang Yun's retreating back as the boy walked off the stage. Being closer, he had felt it more clearly: a terrifying aura had erupted from Jiang Yun just now, posing a lethal threat. And he was a Five-Star Dou Ling!

This child was terrifying beyond belief!

Vice Dean Hu Gan and the other two had taken in the entire scene from the stands. With a trace of uncertainty, Hu Gan turned to Wu Tianlang and asked, "That aura just now?"

"That's right. Da Dou Shi strength, though I'm not sure exactly how far he's progressed!" Wu Tianlang nodded. Even his composure wavered a little. Could such a genius truly exist in this world?

A ten-year-old Da Dou Shi?

"The Great Elder really did bring back a little monster!" Hu Gan let out a long breath and sighed with feeling. Then, seemingly recalling something, he broke into a gleeful smile. "The Inner Academy probably won't have much peace this year!"

The other two nodded in turn. They thought Hu Gan meant Jiang Yun. Indeed, once someone with Jiang Yun's talent entered the Inner Academy, clashes with the senior students were inevitable. The Inner Academy really was about to become lively.

Unfortunately, Hu Gan was referring to someone else. Still, either one would have much the same effect!

"Xiao Yun, you fought so well!" Seeing Jiang Yun return victorious, Zi Yan was happier than if she had won herself, waving her arms and dancing with excitement.

"There's nothing to be proud of. He was only a Dou Shi!" Jiang Yun calmly shook his head, his tone indifferent.

"Fortieth match: Zi Yan of Yellow Tier Class Three against Wang Shan of Profound Class Three."

Watching Jiang Yun indulge in a little humblebragging, Zi Yan nodded solemnly. Indeed, a mere Dou Shi was nothing to celebrate.

Just then, Zi Yan heard her name. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she said eagerly, "My turn! Xiao Yun, just watch my performance!"

As Zi Yan ran toward the arena, Jiang Yun hurriedly called after her, "Know your limits. Don't hit too hard."

Watching Zi Yan wave a hand, Jiang Yun turned his gaze toward her opponent. He was a tall, burly man whose tiger's back and bear's waist gave him an imposing presence.

Beside him, Zi Yan looked positively tiny. Yet Jiang Yun could only observe a moment of silence for her opponent in his heart and hope that she would not hit too hard.

"Jiang Yun, is Zi Yan really strong?" Wu En, who had quietly slipped over, happened to hear Jiang Yun's warning to Zi Yan. He studied her retreating figure curiously as he asked.

"Yes, very strong. Under normal circumstances, I'm no match for her." Jiang Yun pondered for a moment, seemingly weighing his chances against Zi Yan, before answering.

"That strong?" Wu En was a little startled. In his eyes, Jiang Yun already embodied unfathomable strength, and that performance had confirmed his suspicions. What strength did Zi Yan possess, then, if she was even stronger than Jiang Yun?

Dou Ling? Or Dou Wang?

"Then under what special circumstances would you be stronger?" Though he had his answer, Wu En still asked curiously. What exactly were those special circumstances?

Jiang Yun did not answer. He simply smiled silently at Zi Yan standing in the arena, his fingers ceaselessly rubbing the Storage Ring on his hand.

Seeing that Jiang Yun would not answer, Wu En stopped pursuing the matter. He silently watched Zi Yan on the stage, wanting to see what was so extraordinary about this little girl.

Wang Shan fell silent for a moment as he watched the tiny figure race toward him. After repeatedly confirming that no one else was coming up, he warned her somewhat reluctantly, "Little girl, you'd better go back down. At your age, I really can't bring myself to hit you!"

Zi Yan's presence on the stage drew countless gazes. Some people even beat their chests and stamped their feet in regret, staring at their own opponents while shouting inwardly.

Why couldn't that guy have been me?

In their eyes, Zi Yan was practically a "child bearing riches," there to hand out points! Who knew whether the instructor of Yellow Tier Class Three had lost his mind? How had someone of her strength even been allowed to register?

Under the strange gazes surrounding her, Zi Yan cast a sidelong glance at Wang Shan with her large, dark eyes. A peculiar smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She interlaced her fingers and pressed them lightly, making her joints crackle. Then she raised her head toward the referee and said with an air of old authority, "Hey, can we start?"

On the raised platform, the referee was drenched in cold sweat. He did not even dare look Zi Yan in the eye. The instant she looked his way, he seemed to see a terrifying Magical Beast staring coldly at him, and his heart could not stop trembling.

When no response came, Zi Yan frowned slightly and regarded the referee with inward disdain. What a weakling. Xiao Yun wouldn't be frightened of me.

At that thought, the corners of her mouth involuntarily curved upward.

"All right, begin. Remember, no taking lives!" Just then, Hu Gan's calm voice rang out, freeing the referee from his awkward predicament.

Zi Yan looked up at the three old men on the high platform and pursed her lips. They were all people she could not beat.

"Hmph-then we'll see whether he can take it!"

"Is that one of the geniuses the Great Elder brought back?" Wu Tianlang asked, studying Zi Yan curiously.

"That's right. Don't let her tiny appearance fool you. As far as I know, her true form is a Magical Beast with an extraordinary bloodline. She accidentally ate transformation grass and ended up looking like this. Before joining the academy, she was already at the peak fourth rank. By now, she's probably reached the fifth rank." Hu Gan quietly explained to the other two as he watched Zi Yan.

"The fifth rank?" Even Wu Tianlang, captain of the Enforcement Team, whose countless battles had long taught him to remain expressionless even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, could not stop his mouth from twitching at the news.

"A Dou Wang could already reign supreme in the Inner Academy. Why did the Great Elder leave her in the Outer Academy?" Elder Li, the last of the three Peak Dou Emperor experts, asked in confusion.

"She refused to go herself. Said she wanted to wait for that boy!" Hu Gan explained softly, pointing toward Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun keenly sensed someone watching him and looked up. His gaze immediately met those of the three men. He gave a slight nod, then returned his attention to Zi Yan in the arena.

"What keen perception. This year's new students are exceptional!" Wu Tianlang remarked with feeling as he watched Jiang Yun.

"Hehe! I'm more envious of his luck with women!" Elder Li chuckled, his smile carrying a hint of mischief.

"You shameless old man!" Hu Gan scolded him with a light laugh, though envy stirred in his heart too.

Who would not want a childhood sweetheart of extraordinary talent, wholly devoted to them, with whom they could grow together? Especially when that sweetheart offered such a mighty leg to cling to-one that could support them for a lifetime.

Unaware of how Hu Gan and the other two were discussing and envying him, Jiang Yun watched Zi Yan in the arena with keen interest. The battle had already begun.

"Arrogant!" He had kindly warned her out of consideration for her being a little girl, yet she had treated him with such contempt in front of everyone. Wang Shan's expression darkened, and he said sternly, "Don't think I'll hold back just because you're a little girl. The Inner Academy isn't somewhere a milk-drinking baby like you can enter. Let your senior teach you a lesson!"

Seeing Wang Shan launch into a lecture, Zi Yan impatiently flicked her pale-purple ponytail. Her cute, neatly aligned little canines ground together. Then she gently raised her slender foot and, a moment later, stamped it down!

Bang!

As her foot landed, a dull explosion thundered out. Amid a prolonged uproar of shock, a crack half a foot wide shot outward from beneath Zi Yan's foot.

In an instant, it reached the equally dumbstruck Wang Shan. An invisible force burst from beneath the ground and shot straight toward him.

Wang Shan reacted quickly. Though the terrifying strength Zi Yan had displayed in that instant had cast a shadow of fear and unease over his heart, he still swiftly responded.

With a fierce shout, powerful Dou Qi surged from his body. In the blink of an eye, it formed a suit of yellow Dou Qi Armor over him.

He was, impressively, a Da Dou Shi, a seeded contender for one of the fifty places. Unfortunately...

He had encountered Zi Yan. Sometimes luck mattered more than strength.