Above the vast square, two figures stood facing each other. In their palms, deep blue and purple flames swirled, and as the flames danced, the intense heat caused the space around them to slightly distort and blur.
Looking at the two-colored flames in their hands, the spectators on the stands fell into a hush. After a long while, someone finally let out an incredulous exclamation, “How can Xiao Yan also summon a tangible flame? Isn’t that only something Alchemists or Dou Wangs and above can do?”
“Could this guy be an Alchemist as well?”
“The purple flame is so beautiful…”
Around the square, voices of astonishment and skepticism continued to rise.
“How does this brat have such a flame?” Watching the change in the arena, Xiao Yu was also momentarily stunned. After a moment, she muttered, “Come to think of it, I remember hearing when he left that this little guy had a mysterious Alchemist teacher. It seems he really is an Alchemist now. No wonder he can summon a substantial flame similar to Lu Mu’s.”
Beside her, Xun Er, who had been intently watching the battle, nodded slightly. Thanks to Ling Ying’s reports, she was clear that if all of Xiao Yan’s cards were played, there would be few people in the Academy at the same level who could defeat him. Although Lu Mu could be considered a talented individual, he still wouldn’t pose much of a threat to Xiao Yan. The current Xiao Yan was far from the waste boy who once suffered disdain and ridicule in the Xiao family. Now, his cultivation talent would shock anyone!
On the other side of the stands, Bai Shan’s face darkened slightly after seeing Xiao Yan summon the purple flame. He had never expected that Xiao Yan would have another card up his sleeve.
“Hehe, Brother Bai Shan doesn’t need to worry. Even if that guy has a flame like Lu Mu’s, he won’t be your match. Didn’t Lu Mu, with his Blue Crystal Flame, still lose to you back then?” When Bai Shan’s face darkened, a somewhat fawning voice came from beside him. Turning to look, he saw several of his classmates who usually followed him around. He did not show much joy at the flattering words, merely nodding and saying coolly, “Lu Mu’s Blue Crystal Flame is indeed quite intimidating. I managed to beat him partly due to luck. But I wonder if his Blue Crystal Flame is stronger, or if Xiao Yan’s purple flame is even better.”
“Regardless of who wins, once they meet you, they will face elimination. And by then, Xun Er will see how excellent you are. With her seemingly calm but actually proud personality, she definitely won’t be with a loser. Then, you’ll get what you want.”
Bai Shan’s mouth curled slightly; everyone loves to hear pleasant words. Moreover, he enjoyed it when others belittled Xiao Yan in front of him.
“Xiao Yan, I hope you can defeat Lu Mu! Otherwise, I won’t have as much fun. I’ll completely defeat you in front of Xun Er, and I’ll make sure you never have the face to appear in front of her again!”
In his heart, a sinister laugh echoed, but on his face, his smile gradually became warm. Folding his arms, he gazed calmly at the arena.
On the other side, the red-clothed girl was also slightly surprised by Xiao Yan’s purple flame, but she quickly recovered, muttering to herself before focusing her attention back on the fight. Compared to the previous matches today, the one between Xiao Yan and Lu Mu was undoubtedly the most interesting. Even with her pride, she didn’t deny it.
“Old Fire, how about it? Can you tell what Xiao Yan’s purple flame is?” From the central seat, the vice-principal smiled and looked at the silent old man to his left.
“Based on what he ate earlier, it should be a pill or medicine containing a violent flame element. I didn’t expect him to come up with such a method. Though it seems simple, it’s extremely difficult to control. If Xiao Yan wants to use it to counter Lu Mu’s Blue Crystal Flame, it might be a bit challenging.”
The old man, known as Old Fire, pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. Although the higher-ups of the Gan Nan Academy knew most of Xiao Yan’s information, this was limited to rough battle records and other broad details. They weren’t very familiar with the finer details, such as what kind of flame Xiao Yan possessed. Even with the impressive intelligence network of the Gan Nan Academy, it was impossible to gather every detail of events happening thousands of miles away in the Jia Ma Empire. Due to the urgency of time, the information they had about Xiao Yan was mostly gathered from local sources within the Jia Ma Empire. In such places, many things about Xiao Yan had not been widely spread. Thus, even the higher-ups who had some information about Xiao Yan didn’t know how skilled he was at controlling flames. This was bound to leave them in awe today!
In the arena, Lu Mu slowly recovered from the shock of Xiao Yan’s purple flame. Taking a deep look at the black-robed youth, he said with a smile, “I didn’t expect to meet a fellow Alchemist. I guess you’re also an Alchemist, right?”
Xiao Yan nodded slightly, not denying it.
“Although I don’t know your exact Alchemist rank, I’m guessing it’s at least Second Rank. Such talent is truly amazing.”
Lu Mu sighed lightly, and the blue flame in his hand slowly drifted. Staring intently at the flame, a surge of fighting spirit permeated from his body after a moment.
“Xiao Yan, go all out. Let me see how proficient you are in playing with fire!”
Lu Mu took a deep breath, raised his head, and roared with fiery determination in his eyes. As an Alchemist, he could ignore losing in terms of Dou Qi, but when it came to playing with fire, he had his own pride!
With his shout, the blue flame in Lu Mu’s palm suddenly surged, forming two blue, round arcs of fire that surrounded him, like two sentient blue snakes, moving up and down, protecting him.
Xiao Yan gently joined his slender fingers, then pulled them apart. Ten small purple flames, like tiny whips, intertwined and formed a long whip covered in purple fire. The whip quivered, striking the ground and leaving a charred, black mark on the hard stone.
Seeing the two people in the arena display their stunning fire control skills, the audience on the stands burst into exclamations. Some girls even got stars in their eyes. This beautiful and elegant way of fighting made them yearn for the noble profession of Alchemists.
Seeing the long flame whip in Xiao Yan’s hand, a flash of surprise passed through Lu Mu’s eyes. His opponent’s control over the flame exceeded his expectations. However, if it was just this, it was still manageable.
His foot slightly twisted, and he instantly launched forward, almost turning into a blue shadow, charging directly at Xiao Yan.
“Whoosh!”
Seeing Lu Mu charging at him, Xiao Yan’s brows furrowed. His arm vibrated, and the purple fire whip shot out, creating a strange sound like boiling oil meeting ice.
The purple fire whip attacked swiftly, but just as it was about to hit Lu Mu, the two blue fire arcs around him suddenly accelerated, colliding heavily with the whip. Instantly, sparks of two colors erupted.
The sparks flickered, and the blue shadow shot out again. Xiao Yan’s purple fire whip was completely blocked by Lu Mu’s fire arcs!
Entering three meters from Xiao Yan, Lu Mu’s lips curled. His hands opened and closed, and blue flames appeared, rotating rapidly to form a spiral flame cone, only the size of a palm, in a short instant!
“Hehe, Xiao Yan, this is a unique attack skill for Alchemists. By turning fire into energy, the power it bursts out is no less than a Dou Technique! In the Alchemy Department, we call it the ‘Pill Fire Skill’!”
The spiral flame cone in Lu Mu’s palm whistled. He grinned and slammed it towards Xiao Yan’s chest. The sharp tip of the cone, due to its high-speed rotation, formed vortex-like blue wind patterns at the tip.
“Pill Fire Skill? The Alchemy Department indeed has some secrets, allowing Alchemists to use their flames like this! No wonder my teacher highly praised the Gan Nan Academy. It truly has its outstanding points!”
Sensing the terrifying energy on the incoming spiral flame cone, Xiao Yan felt a bit of surprise. With a thought, the purple fire whip in his hand instantly shrunk into a purple flame ball. Under his nearly abnormal soul power, the purple flame ball split in two. Most of it was forcibly manipulated into a purple fire screen, while the smaller part slipped down his arm, falling to the ground like a dead snake without attracting any attention.
The spiral flame cone finally struck the fire screen with a sharp whistling sound, causing a violent explosion and sending a two-colored wave of fire surging out from the center of the square. Instantly, the heat wave swept the square, forcing the students on the stands to turn their faces to avoid the sudden heat.
In the middle of the square, a blue shadow suddenly shot back, sliding several meters across the ground before looking up at where the fire wave was dissipating.
After a moment, the fire wave completely disappeared, but no one was in sight.
Seeing this, Lu Mu was slightly stunned. Just as he was about to look around, he suddenly felt a slight burning sensation on his arms and feet. Turning his head, he saw, to his horror, that two fire bands had wrapped around his limbs!
The two fire bands, like two small snakes, glowed faintly with heat. “Don’t move, or the fire bands will explode. Your hands and feet won’t be safe.”
A calm voice suddenly sounded behind him, making Lu Mu stiffen, just as he was about to resist. Struggling to turn his head, he saw Xiao Yan, who had appeared behind him. He noticed that Xiao Yan’s right hand was slightly open, and as his fingers moved, Lu Mu could clearly feel the fire bands on his arms and feet twitching.
“This guy…can actually control flames to such a precise degree?!”
Seeing Xiao Yan, who was ten meters away, still able to control detached flames, a look of shock flashed in Lu Mu’s eyes. This distance was beyond the reach of even a typical Fourth Rank Alchemist!
On the square, Xiao Yan stood over ten meters away from Lu Mu, who stood motionless, his body bound by the fire bands. The purple flames flowed slowly, like ropes, confining him, and he dared not struggle.
At this moment, the students on the stands, who had turned their heads to avoid the heat wave, saw this strange scene, and their faces showed confusion.
On the entire stand, only a few people could clearly see how Lu Mu had been defeated. Even Bai Shan and others were bewildered, their faces showing disbelief.
“Good boy, splitting the flame, using one part for defense to attract Lu Mu’s attention and the other to set a trap. Though the trap was crude, during a fight, plus the distraction of the flames, Lu Mu couldn’t pay much attention to his feet. This kind of multitasking requires considerable soul power. Xiao Yan is truly worthy of being the champion of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Competition.”
From the central seat, the old man, known as Old Fire, let out a breath, his face full of admiration.
“I lost…” Not daring to move, Lu Mu sighed after a while, turning to Xiao Yan with a bitter smile.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan chuckled and clapped his hand, and the purple flames binding Lu Mu vanished. This gesture made Lu Mu smile bitterly again.
“This Pill Fire Skill of the Alchemy Department is indeed powerful. If I hadn’t used Dou Qi to form a partial armor on my chest, just the purple fire screen wouldn’t have stopped Lu Mu’s spiral flame cone. I should study this Pill Fire Skill if I get the chance. If I can master it, I’ll have more tricks up my sleeve in future battles.”
Looking at the hole burned in his black robe, Xiao Yan muttered to himself.
“This match, Xiao Yan from Class 2 of Yellow Rank wins!” At this moment, the referee’s voice rang out again.
As the referee declared the result, the stands erupted in cheers. The flame battle between Alchemists today had truly opened their eyes!
Xiao Yan’s name might start spreading throughout the Academy from this battle. The doubts about Xun Er’s judgment began to dissipate. Regardless, a person who excelled in both Dou Qi cultivation and Alchemy was rare even in the entire Gan Nan Academy. Today, Xiao Yan truly rose to fame with this battle!
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