An Endless Arsenal of Tricks!

"An Earth-Rank Dou Technique?"

By now, Sun Hai and Wu Qiu had long since shed their earlier contempt. As they felt the restless energy of heaven and earth, they knew this was certainly not something a Xuan-tier Dou Technique could cause.

The simple words "Earth-tier" plunged the surroundings into silence. In an instant, not even a crow or sparrow could be heard.

Although High Xuan Tier and Earth Tier were only one tier apart, the gulf between them was like the distance between heaven and earth.

Most Xuan-tier Dou Techniques drew their power from the user's own strength. Earth-Rank Dou Techniques, however, could already harness the energy of heaven and earth to unleash devastating destruction. One relied on human strength, the other on the power of heaven and earth—the difference was clear.

Although Xuan-tier Dou Techniques were quite rare, everyone who could enter the Inner Academy was an elite of Jia Nan Academy. Even if they lacked a High Xuan Tier technique, they certainly possessed mid- or low Xuan-tier ones.

Yet no one had ever been heard to possess an Earth-Rank Dou Technique.

Even for Dou Wangs and Dou Emperors, Earth-Rank Dou Techniques were powerful trump cards. Among the Inner Academy's students, who were generally Dou Lings, they were truly something of a luxury.

Cultivation demanded steady, gradual progress. In truth, only upon reaching the Dou Wang level would one begin to explore Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills of the Earth tier.

Watching Jiang Yun, whose body was wreathed in a cold, oppressive aura, both men grew somewhat solemn. Their auras continued to rise as they joined forces to resist the pressure coming from him.

"Are we in trouble?" Sun Hai and Wu Qiu exchanged a glance, each seeing the worry in the other's eyes.

"Isn't he a new student? How can he be this strong?"

Not only the members of the Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Squad facing Jiang Yun's might, but even the many eliminated senior students watching from afar were stunned speechless.

"A Dou Technique of this caliber cannot possibly be Xuan-tier."

At that moment, the elders observing from a distance all wore solemn expressions. Jiang Yun truly gave them one surprise after another! Now he had even brought out an Earth-Rank Dou Technique.

With things developing this way, one careless moment in the battle might leave even them unable to intervene in time to save someone.

"But I have seen the might of Earth-Rank Dou Techniques. Although Jiang Yun's technique is equally terrifying, I still feel it lacks something."

After their initial shock, some of the elders also looked doubtfully at the enormous flaming hand in the arena.

"Indeed! I remember Fire Cloud Hand being an ordinary Xuan-tier Dou Technique. How did it become Earth-tier?"

Now, quite a few elders came to their senses and turned toward the Great Elder ahead of them, hoping to obtain an answer from him.

With his back to everyone, Su Qian's mouth twitched. How was he supposed to know how that brat Jiang Yun had done it? As a Dou Zong who possessed a genuine Earth-Rank Dou Technique, he was certain the technique Jiang Yun had unleashed fell short of the Earth tier.

Yet there could be no mistake about the restless energy of heaven and earth. That could only be attributed to Jiang Yun's outstanding talent and his frighteningly high affinity for fire.

"Wu Qiu, give it everything you have!"

Watching the enormous flaming hand descend, Sun Hai's pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints, and his aura surged to its peak. His hands swiftly formed seals, and a gigantic lightning lion rapidly took shape before pouncing toward Jiang Yun.

"Mad Lion Break!"

"Earth Flame Slash!"

Sun Hai reacted swiftly, and Wu Qiu did not fall behind. His full strength as a Four-Star Dou Ling erupted. The earth churned, and an immensely powerful surge of energy poured out from underground. In the blink of an eye, all that power had gathered.

It formed an enormous earthen-yellow energy sword, identical to the greatsword on Wu Qiu's back. He fused the two swords together, bringing an "enchanted" divine weapon into being.

An energy construct compressed and condensed from the power of the earth, combined with the keen edge of a mighty weapon-its power was tremendous.

Boom!

A violent explosion rang out. The battlefield had become a sea of fire, and the other members of the Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Squad were scrambling desperately to dodge the falling flames.

"Please leave the field, everyone!"

Just then, a calm voice rang out. The senior students dodging the aftermath of the Dou Techniques suddenly felt something tighten around their ankles. Before they could understand what was happening, the world spun around them.

"Aah!"

Screams rose one after another, making Wu Qiu and Sun Hai, whose hands were numb, grow anxious. Ignoring the drain on their Dou Qi, they exerted themselves with a fierce jolt and finally escaped the area where the techniques were colliding.

Once they saw the scene outside, their faces darkened, and a wave of dizziness swept over them.

Not far away, Jiang Yun was watching them calmly. Their teammates, meanwhile, hung upside down from a tree, bound by a Flame Rope. Every one of them sported swollen bumps on their heads and pale faces, clearly unable to fight any longer.

"Jiang Yun, let them go!"

Hot-tempered by nature, Wu Qiu spoke in a deep, rumbling voice, a trace of self-reproach in his eyes. As captain of the Black Fiend Team, failing to protect his teammates was a dereliction of duty-something he considered unforgivable.

Dense, pure Dou Qi gathered over the greatsword in his hand. His slightly scorched and disheveled hair and clothes, together with his iron-blooded bearing, gave him an air of unparalleled dominance.

"That's right. Let them go. We haven't settled this fight yet!" Su Hai also spoke, staring straight at Jiang Yun with icy eyes.

At their words, Jiang Yun released the rope suspending the others. They immediately fell to the ground, unable to fight again.

"I never intended to do anything to them. They've already been eliminated, so these belong to me!"

As he spoke, Jiang Yun took several Fire Energy Cards from them. Following the same procedure as before, he left each of them five days of Fire Energy and transferred everything else to his own card. His card now held over a thousand days of Fire Energy.

"Hmph. You've already unleashed an Earth-Rank Dou Technique. Your Dou Qi must be almost exhausted, right?"

"You have no chance left."

Seeing Jiang Yun release the others, Wu Qiu's expression softened slightly, but his words remained cold.

"That depends on what you're capable of!" Jiang Yun remained as composed as ever, as though everything was under his control. The sight was infuriating.

"I don't believe a mere Da Dou Shi like you has that much Dou Qi!"

With that, Wu Qiu charged ahead of Su Hai, swinging his greatsword and unleashing streak after streak of sword energy.

Watching the countless streaks of sword energy hurtle toward him, Jiang Yun flicked all ten fingers in succession. Balls of flame immediately whistled toward the sword energy. Under his control, they struck every single streak with perfect accuracy.

As Wu Qiu charged straight at him, Jiang Yun's eyes flashed. Rather than retreat, he advanced. With a light tap of his toes, he left a trail of afterimages behind and swiftly reached Wu Qiu, raising his hand to strike directly at his forehead.

Wu Qiu's eyes narrowed. His combat experience was formidable. Twisting his body at an unusual angle, he evaded Jiang Yun's punch while sweeping his greatsword upward, intending to deal him a grievous blow.

"Not bad."

There was praise in Jiang Yun's voice, but his hands did not slow. He raised them and chopped downward, his bare palms seemingly becoming the sharpest weapons in the world, ready to cleave Wu Qiu in two.

"Don't underestimate me!"

Seeing this, Wu Qiu's expression hardened. Instead of retreating, he swung his greatsword around and thrust it straight forward.

With a clang, the sword tip collided with Jiang Yun's palm. The blade bent slightly, and Wu Qiu slid backward uncontrollably, his feet digging into the ground and leaving two long furrows.

"Thunder Sword Finger!"

The instant Wu Qiu fell back, Sun Hai abruptly launched an attack from the side. Dou Qi gathered in his left hand, countless streaks of lightning sword energy condensing around his five fingers. As he closed in on Jiang Yun, he thrust toward his chest.

His timing was undeniably excellent. Jiang Yun had just forced Wu Qiu back, leaving him at the moment when his previous strength was spent and fresh strength had yet to arise.

Thus, Sun Hai opened with the highest-level Dou Technique he had learned—the High Xuan Tier Thunder Sword Finger.

Finger-based Dou Techniques had always numbered among the strongest techniques for single-target attacks. Coupled with Sun Hai's exceptionally rare lightning attribute Dou Qi, this move was powerful enough to severely injure a high-level Dou Ling.

But Sun Hai had underestimated Jiang Yun. The attack that had forced Wu Qiu back had not been delivered with his full strength.

And so.

A slender hand swiftly reached out, its surface gleaming faintly like a piece of fine refined iron.

Finger and palm collided fiercely. A deep sonic boom erupted at the point of contact, and a ripple of force powerful enough to make space shudder surged outward before spreading in every direction.

"Impossible!" Seeing that Jiang Yun still had strength to spare, Sun Hai's composure wavered. Terror filled his eyes. As he looked into Jiang Yun's eyes, calm as still water, the thought that he was unbeatable arose for the first time.

Jiang Yun would not let his opponent's mistake pass. He shook his right hand, flinging away countless streaks of lightning sword energy.

"Fire Cloud Seal!"

An enormous flaming seal rapidly condensed in his palm and, beneath Sun Hai's despairing gaze, slammed into his chest.

The next second, Sun Hai's body trembled violently. He felt countless strands of flame winding tightly around his meridians. The moment he used his Dou Qi, he would suffer the agony of ten thousand flames consuming his body.

His face turned deathly pale as he staggered backward, every step leaving a deep footprint in the ground.

The entire White Fiend Squad had been eliminated from this Fire Energy Capture Tournament!

Meanwhile, Wu Qiu's numb arm had recovered. He stopped and looked at the tiny notch in his blade, then at Sun Hai, who had fallen in a mere instant. For the first time, his gaze toward Jiang Yun changed, filling with profound disbelief. He could not help exclaiming in horror, "Are you even human?"

The strength Jiang Yun had revealed could no longer be described as genius. He was simply a monster.

For Wu Qiu, even Jiang Yun's defeat of Sun Hai was less shocking than his terrifying physical strength.

It was not that humans with powerful bodies did not exist, but they were all cultivators who had devoted themselves to that path for years. Jiang Yun was so young, yet his Dou Qi cultivation was already high. When he first appeared, he had also faintly revealed considerable soul cultivation.

Now even his body was this absurdly powerful. Even Wu Qiu, who had grown up beneath the halo of genius, could not help losing his composure.

"As you can see!"

Jiang Yun walked toward Wu Qiu as leisurely as though strolling through a quiet courtyard, even shrugging along the way.

Wu Qiu drew a deep breath. Watching Jiang Yun approach, he felt an invisible weight pressing down on his heart. He thought even the top ten of the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking would exert no greater pressure on him.

"Jiang Yun, I know you're strong, and I'm no match for you. But I still have one final move. Let's settle this with a single strike!"

Hearing Wu Qiu's words, Jiang Yun raised a hand in invitation, signaling him to use whatever move he had.

Wu Qiu looked solemnly toward Jiang Yun. With a slight exertion of his arm, he swung his greatsword down and planted it in the ground.

Both palms abruptly gripped the hilt. Somewhat dark-red Dou Qi flowed along his broad hands and enveloped the entire blade. It swirled around the sword's edge, condensing slightly and giving off an icy, sinister gleam.

"Rock-Splitting Mountain-Cleaving Slash!"

With a thunderous shout, Wu Qiu leaped into the air and lunged straight at Jiang Yun. His greatsword slashed down with the crushing might of thunder. Invisible gales formed a faint arc of light ahead of the blade, and the air around Jiang Yun abruptly stilled beneath its astonishing momentum.

"Fire Cloud Blade!"

Jiang Yun calmly watched Wu Qiu descend. With a shake of both hands, a blade of energy formed from white flames shot toward the airborne Wu Qiu, radiating terrifying waves of heat as it slashed straight at his face.

Before the flaming blade energy even reached him, it seemed to draw all moisture from the surrounding air, leaving Wu Qiu's mouth parched. Yet when he saw the expectant eyes of the senior students nearby, he silently gritted his teeth. A trace of blood seeped from his cracked lips as he gathered every ounce of strength and slashed toward Jiang Yun.

Bang!

Wu Qiu held both hands in a diagonal cross to block the flaming blade energy. After a resounding explosion of force, ripples of a violent energy storm surged outward. Wherever they passed, furrows covered the ground, as though the entire surface had been plowed.

The storm soon subsided!

"We lost."

As that dispirited voice rang out, the senior students of the Inner Academy came to their senses and stared at the scene with disappointment written across their faces.

A figure slowly walked out. Behind him lay two motionless fellows, a blue Fire Crystal Card resting on their faces and looking painfully conspicuous. Who else could those two be but Wu Qiu and Sun Hai?

After dealing with the White Fiend Squad and Black Fiend Team, Jiang Yun had not walked far before he spotted a raised hillside nearby, scattered with irregular rocks.

On and beside those rocks, middle-aged people with steady auras sat or stood. Clearly, they were administrators of the Inner Academy.

Zi Yan was there as well, and she waved excitedly when she saw Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun returned her greeting with a smile. Elsewhere on the hillside stood a platform built from enormous stones, with two old men seated upon it.

They were Su Qian and Elder Qing. Looking at Jiang Yun as he emerged, his clothes perfectly neat, it seemed the Black Fiend Team and White Fiend Squad had caused him no trouble whatsoever.

The corners of Su Qian's and the other elders' mouths twitched slightly.

"Is this fellow really only ten? He bulldozed his way through the entire course. We still haven't uncovered his full capabilities, while he's practically seen the Inner Academy down to its underwear!"

Elder Qing, who had watched Jiang Yun's entire "trial," spoke with some helplessness.

"..."

Su Qian also fell silent. All he knew about this child he had brought back was that his origins were extraordinary and his talent exceptional. Considering his young age, Su Qian had not interfered much, intending to wait until he entered the Inner Academy.

But judging by the result...

Well, then! Jiang Yun did not need his help at all. With that endless arsenal of Dou Techniques and that unreasonable speed of cultivation, all he needed was a stable environment to grow in, and he could give you an entire sky in return!