"All right, enough idle talk. Although you passed the selection tournament and earned the right to enter the Inner Academy, that isn't the end of it."
The Great Elder smiled and raised his hand, taking a large handful of pitch-black crystal chips from his Storage Ring.
With a casual toss, he sent the chips flying as streaks of light. As though they had eyes of their own, each streak came to a stop before a student.
Of course, there was none for Zi Yan!
"Hey, Old Man Su, why didn't I get one?"
After being subjected to one "injustice" after another, Zi Yan finally exploded. She planted her hands on her hips and stared straight at the Great Elder, her face full of "indignation."
Everyone present was stunned, especially the Inner Academy veterans standing beside the Great Elder. This was the Great Elder of the Inner Academy!
Zi Yan actually dared to challenge him. Were all the new students this fierce now?
But what happened next nearly made their eyes pop out. Instead of punishing Zi Yan, the Great Elder wore a helpless expression.
Their hearts tightened. Could this harmless-looking little girl have some extraordinary background? Or was she one of the Great Elder's younger relatives?
Su Qian could only feel helpless when faced with Zi Yan. What had possessed him to bring her back in the first place?
Over the past few years, she had nearly eaten the Outer Academy's Medicinal Materials Treasury bare. From time to time, she also went into the Magical Beast Forest to torment the other magical beasts, throwing the entire forest into utter chaos.
The Great Elder had been forced to assign more people to watch the Magical Beast Forest, afraid that some hotheaded magical beast might charge into the academy. If students were injured because of that, it would be an utterly undeserved disaster!
"Here!" Seeing that Zi Yan had no intention of backing down, Su Qian tossed out a Green Card.
Zi Yan immediately caught it with a beaming smile. The card felt cool in her hand, yet a strange warmth seeped out of it. She lowered her head and carefully examined the chip's transparent surface, where a large red number was printed: "Five hundred!"
Zi Yan was puzzled. Her card was clearly different from everyone else's. She reached over and grabbed the card in Jiang Yun's hand, only to find that it was black, with the number five written on it.
"All right, you can examine the cards later. Now you need to enter the forest and successfully reach the Inner Academy at Forest's End."
Seeing Zi Yan's confusion, Su Qian made no attempt to explain. Instead, he spoke slowly and pointed toward the group of young people beside him. "As you cross this forest, watch out for them. Under the Inner Academy's rules, they will try to seize your crystal chips. Within this forest, they are free to attack you. In other words, they are the final obstacle between you and the Inner Academy."
"Don't take this lightly. Once you enter the Inner Academy, you'll understand how important the cards in your hands are! So, in this final trial, unleash your strength to the fullest!"
As he finished, Su Qian's gaze settled on Jiang Yun. Jiang Yun's eyes flickered. He knew those words were meant for him.
Although only two Dou Lings had come among this batch of veteran students, both were Five-Star Dou Lings who had already reached the middle stages of that realm. They were experts on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking, clearly brought here for him.
Still, these few were nowhere near enough!
"Now, I declare this year's Fire Energy Hunting Competition officially underway! Students, start running!"
After Su Qian finished explaining the Inner Academy's traditional group activity, the Fire Energy Capture Tournament began.
Hearing the Great Elder announce the start of the Fire Energy Hunting Competition, the veterans standing behind him let out excited, strange laughter. Quite a few of the nastier ones even made provocative gestures at Jiang Yun and the others, earning furious glares from many new students.
"We'll be waiting for you in the forest!" a voice called from among the veterans. Its owner clearly commanded considerable respect among them. After speaking, he turned and headed into the forest, with the other veterans following close behind.
Seeing this, the new students arranged to stick with people they knew and entered the forest in groups of three or five.
"Go wait for me at the end with the Great Elder!" Jiang Yun smiled and released Zi Yan's hand. With a flash of light, he put his card into his Storage Ring.
"Zi Yan."
Only after watching Jiang Yun enter the forest did Su Qian address Zi Yan. Unfortunately, she ignored him completely. With a cold snort, she unfurled purple Dou Qi Wings behind her and shot toward the other end of the forest as a streak of light.
"Th-this..."
"Great Elder, she... she's a Dou Wang?"
Zi Yan's manifestation of Dou Qi Wings instantly stunned the elders present. Their eyes widened as though they had seen a ghost while they stared after her departing figure. Those beating purple wings were almost painfully dazzling.
At that moment, they began to question everything they knew. A Dou Wang? A new student?
"Once you get to know her, you won't find it strange anymore!" The Great Elder's gloomy mood vanished, and he spoke with a hint of smugness. Although Zi Yan could be infuriating, he was the one who had brought her home. After years together, they had long since formed a deep bond. Otherwise, how would Zi Yan dare to be so "spoiled and willful"?
"No wonder you forbade Zi Yan from taking part in the Fire Energy Capture Tournament, Great Elder!" Elder Qing of the Inner Academy shook his head with a wry smile.
"Those little brats from the Inner Academy are probably in for trouble!" Suddenly, a mischievous gleam flashed through Elder Qing's eyes as he spoke with ill intent.
As their voices faded, the elders disappeared from the spot, and silence returned to the forest.
Bang!
Jiang Yun struck downward with his palm. A White Flame Palm Print appeared, sending two figures flying.
These were two Seven-Star Great Dou Masters. Against any other group of new students, the outcome would have been entirely different. Unfortunately, they had encountered Jiang Yun. He barely lifted a hand before they were defeated.
"Will you hand them over yourselves, or do I have to take them?" Flames gathered in Jiang Yun's palm, forming a Flame Sword that he held beside their heads. The white flames along its blade radiated scorching heat.
Neither doubted that if this sword came down, they would be bedridden for ten days or half a month.
"Ahem... brother, can you leave us a little?" The two veterans stared at Jiang Yun in horror, trembling as they took out their blue Fire Crystal Cards and forced ingratiating smiles.
"I'll leave you the minimum five days."
Jiang Yun swept his gaze over the cards. Apart from the basic five days of Fire Energy he left each veteran, he confiscated everything, earning a net profit of fifty-five days of Fire Energy.
He had headed straight toward Forest's End and already encountered several waves of ambushes. The Fire Energy in his Fire Crystal Card had surpassed two hundred days—a nice Little Fat Haul.
Among everyone here, he was probably the richest now, aside from Zi Yan.
"If either of you is dissatisfied, you're welcome to find some helpers and come back!"
Tossing their Fire Crystal Cards down, Jiang Yun continued toward the finish at an unhurried pace. Before long, he disappeared from sight.
"Damn it, why are there so many ruthless monsters among this year's new students?"
"Exactly! First there was that little girl who dared to shout at the Great Elder, and now this freak. Are new students all this strong now?"
"Just how strong is he? The two of us couldn't even fight back!"
The two veterans traded remarks, then looked at each other, wanting to cry but finding no tears. The strength Jiang Yun had displayed was terrifying. They suspected that even someone from the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking could have done no better.
They had thought this year's Fire Energy Capture Tournament would bring them a flock of sheep. Instead, a genuine ferocious tiger had been hiding among them.
"No. I'm not going to be the only one to suffer this loss." The more one veteran thought about it, the more bitter he became, until he spoke with a sinister expression.
"You mean..."
"Exactly. We'll spread the word right away that this kid has a huge amount of Fire Energy. If that new student wins, he'll become a fat sheep in the eyes of every faction the moment he enters the Inner Academy. Someone will naturally make trouble for him. If he loses, all the better-he'll learn that the Inner Academy isn't a place where he can run wild."
As he finished, his eyes brimmed with venom, making even his companion shiver.
"Fine. We'll do it your way." Although his companion felt that targeting a new student like this was somewhat improper, the glaring "five" on his Fire Energy Card made him grit his teeth and agree.
Once the two reached an agreement, word that Jiang Yun possessed a vast amount of Fire Energy quickly spread among the Inner Academy veterans.
"Have you heard? A powerful newcomer showed up in this year's Fire Energy Hunting Competition. He defeated an entire veteran team alone and robbed them of their Fire Energy."
"Hmph-a genius?"
"In the Inner Academy, genius is the most worthless title there is. What can he turn upside down here all by himself? Those useless fools must have been so incompetent that he robbed them instead. What a disgrace to our Inner Academy."
"True. Even if he's a genius, he'll have to obey the Inner Academy's rules once he gets in."
"Come on. Let's go see how much this number-one genius of the Outer Academy really weighs."
After that, Jiang Yun encountered plenty of veterans who had come after hearing the news.
Whenever they first caught sight of Jiang Yun, their faces lit up with excitement. They stared at him with burning eyes as though they had found a fat sheep, ready to turn into hungry wolves and pounce at any moment.
Unfortunately, they had encountered Jiang Yun. Whether they were Eight-Star Great Dou Masters or Nine-Star Great Dou Masters, he dealt with them effortlessly.
Afterward, these veterans stared at the black cards in their hands with lifeless expressions. Only "five" days of Fire Energy remained, and they shed tears of "excitement."
"I've collected six hundred and seventy-one days of Fire Energy already. It's time to take a look at the final Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Squad."
Jiang Yun looked at the number on the black card in his palm, then calmly headed toward his final destination.
"Zhao Ji and his team lost too. Jiang Yun, that number-one genius from the Outer Academy, defeated them in just three moves."
In another corner of the forest, ten people sat together discussing Jiang Yun's achievements. The two leading them had powerful auras that clearly set them apart from the others.
"What?"
"Three moves? Zhao Ji already has one foot in the Dou Ling realm. If even he lost so easily, could that kid be stronger than Brother Sun?"
One of them spoke in shock, then could not help glancing at the man sitting farther away.
He was handsome and dressed in white robes, with a warm smile that made him extremely likable. Calm and unruffled, he possessed an air that inspired confidence.
"Hmph, hearing isn't believing. I refuse to believe a new student could reach that level."
Another man spoke with extreme impatience. He was exceptionally burly and held a large black sword. His thick brows swept upward like blades, and his stern, resolute face carried a sharp, domineering air even without a show of anger.
"Exactly. Back then, I remember we only defeated a few teams before hurrying on. We passed by avoiding the Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Squad. From the look of things, this kid is coming straight for us. He really doesn't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is."
Another cold laugh rose from the group. Those words left everyone somewhat displeased. Nobody liked being treated as a soft persimmon ripe for squeezing, much less Inner Academy veterans who considered themselves a cut above the Outer Academy.
"I really don't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is. Why don't you seniors enlighten me?"
A calm voice reached them, putting everyone on guard. Some even broke into a cold sweat. Not one of them had noticed anyone approaching.
Their vigilance instantly rose to its peak. Those who had previously claimed not to care no longer dared to be the least bit careless. That feat alone was enough to prove the newcomer was no ordinary person.
Under their gazes, a somewhat slender figure slowly emerged from the dense forest.
Even though they had already heard about Jiang Yun, seeing him in person still made them draw sharp breaths, unable to suppress their shock.
He was simply too young. At his age, they had still been struggling through the Dou Power and Dou Zhe stages! Yet he could already force them to focus every ounce of their attention on him.
This youth was terrifying indeed!
"I truly never expected someone like you to appear among this year's new students!"
The members of the Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Squad wore uneasy expressions. None wanted to offend a genius with such boundless potential. Who knew what his temperament was like? With his talent, he would leave them all far behind before long once he entered the Inner Academy. Their lives would become difficult then.
"The real show is finally about to begin!" At the distant forest exit, several old men discussed the situation with excitement written across their faces. Jiang Yun had crushed his earlier opponents like rotten wood and dry weeds, to the point that even Su Qian wondered whether someone was throwing the matches.
Now they should finally be able to gauge the depths of Jiang Yun's strength!
"You're the final obstacle, then?" Jiang Yun calmly swept his gaze over them. His eyes seemed to pierce straight into their souls, weighing heavily on the veterans.
"Sun Hai, captain of the White Fiend Squad!"
"Wu Qiu, captain of the Black Fiend Team!"
The captains of the Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Squad introduced themselves. Neither had taken his eyes off Jiang Yun since his arrival. His aura was barely perceptible, as unfathomable as an abyss, and it made them feel a faint pressure.
"Jiang Yun!" Jiang Yun gave his name. The next moment, a long cry rang out. "Let's fight!"
"Fire Cloud Hand!" Jiang Yun stepped forward, gradually unleashing his powerful aura in full. The fire-attributed energy in the air suddenly erupted, condensing into a giant flaming hand that descended upon the Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Squad.
At that moment, his true strength was revealed to everyone for the first time.
"He's an Eight-Star Great Dou Master?"
"An earth-rank Dou Technique?"
Someone cried out in utter disbelief. Jiang Yun's strength was completely beyond their expectations. They had considered the possibility that he was a Dou Ling, never imagining that he was only an Eight-Star Great Dou Master.
And was this an earth-rank Dou Technique?
Before you continue