The fist, carrying the scorching cyan flame, had not yet touched the body, but Bai Shan still felt a burning pain on his skin. Gritting his teeth against the pain, silver light surged on his feet once more. His figure flickered, and he retreated several meters in an odd flash. However, as soon as Bai Shan had escaped Xiao Yan’s attack range, before he could even raise his spear to strike, a cyan shadow flashed in front of him. Xiao Yan’s cold face appeared again, his fists crazed, unleashing a dozen afterimages that mercilessly attacked Bai Shan from all directions. Each punch struck flesh, and for a time, the thudding sounds of fists hitting flesh echoed incessantly in the arena.
“Damn it!” The continuous pain in various parts of his body made Bai Shan’s inner rage rise. Xiao Yan’s attacks were all close-range, which didn’t give him the chance to use his spear skills. Although using the “Wind Lightning Movement” skill temporarily allowed him to avoid the attacks, Xiao Yan, free from the constraints of the Heavy Xuan Ruler, could use his increased speed to chase after Bai Shan. Therefore, no matter how Bai Shan used the “Wind Lightning Movement” to create distance, it was all in vain. If Bai Shan retreated two meters, Xiao Yan would follow up with two meters. Regardless, Xiao Yan always stayed in close combat, never giving Bai Shan a chance to use his spear. Without the assistance of his strongest weapon, Bai Shan fighting hand-to-hand with Xiao Yan was a complete tragedy.
Xiao Yan, holding the Heavy Xuan Ruler, was not scary. What was terrifying was Xiao Yan without the weight of the Heavy Xuan Ruler and the peculiar effects that suppressed his Dou Qi. With the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Bai Shan might have been able to fight Xiao Yan with his lightning Dou Qi and excellent spear skills, but in hand-to-hand combat, Bai Shan’s best option was to quickly create distance. However, this was completely suppressed by Xiao Yan. A moment of carelessness would leave him in a hopeless situation.
Xiao Yan turned into a blurry black shadow, constantly weaving around Bai Shan, his fists unleashing fierce punches at Bai Shan, who was enveloped in silver Dou Qi. At this moment, every part of his body—fist, palm, arm, elbow, foot, knee—became weapons, and the air hummed with the sound of continuous afterimages.
Facing Xiao Yan’s almost frenzied hand-to-hand attack, Bai Shan lost his long spear. Though he could occasionally use his fists to counterattack, the blue lotus core fire surrounding Xiao Yan was extraordinary. Every time they clashed, Bai Shan’s fists would swell and turn red. If not for the protection of his Dou Qi, he would have been scorched to a crisp pig’s hoof just by touching the high-temperature blue lotus core fire.
The once domineering Bai Shan had now become a punching bag, only able to take hits. This extreme transformation left countless spectators in the stands stunned. Was this the same Bai Shan who was a fearsome genius in the academy?
“Insane guy…” Teacher Rulin, Xiao Yu, and others watched the berserk Xiao Yan with blank faces. They hadn’t expected this seemingly gentle person to be so terrifying when he got serious.
“The cyan flame on Xiao Yan, should be… a Mysterious Flame, right?” In the center of the square, the old man called ‘Fire Old Man’ by He Gan and others, observed the cyan flame around Xiao Yan. His usually calm expression finally changed, and he slowly said, “Yes, it should be. The temperature that makes us feel uneasy is indeed a Mysterious Flame, but I don’t know which one. If Xiao Yan’s strength were a bit stronger, even a regular Dou Wang wouldn’t dare to take this Mysterious Flame lightly.”
“This Xiao Yan, I want him for the Alchemy Department,” the Fire Old Man mused quietly.
“Huh? But he’s going to enter the Inner Academy, isn’t he?” Hearing this, He Gan was taken aback.
“Joining the Inner Academy and the Alchemy Department are not in conflict. Xiao Yan is also an alchemist. If he joins the Alchemy Department, it will only benefit him, and it won’t delay his training in the Inner Academy,” the Fire Old Man replied calmly.
“As you wish. As long as you can get him into the Alchemy Department, I have no objections. After all, having an outstanding alchemist in the academy is something I’d be grateful for.” He Gan shook his head and smiled.
The Fire Old Man nodded slightly, his gaze returning to the field, his old eyes fixed on the cyan flame rising from Xiao Yan’s body. After a while, a rare look of envy flashed in his eyes.
Another punch landed heavily on Bai Shan’s chest, followed by a faint crackling sound. Xiao Yan smirked as he saw the Dou Qi armor on Bai Shan’s body begin to shatter. A kick flew out, slamming heavily into Bai Shan’s stomach, and a loud boom followed. The lightning Dou Qi armor on Bai Shan’s body was forcibly shattered by Xiao Yan’s blow.
Xiao Yan’s kick was extremely powerful, causing Bai Shan to slide nearly dozens of meters on the square floor before stopping. A mouthful of blood spewed out, his face pale, as he trembled to his feet, glaring at Xiao Yan in the distance. Then, he took out a light black pill from his storage ring, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it.
At this moment, Xiao Yan didn’t rush to deal with Bai Shan because he noticed that his Dou Qi, after the fierce hand-to-hand combat, had started to surge wildly. Waves of Dou Qi flowed through his meridians, and the space around him fluctuated rapidly, with pure energy pouring into his body like a flood.
This was clearly the sign of a breakthrough! In that earlier, unrestrained, fierce hand-to-hand combat, Xiao Yan had unexpectedly reached the brink of a breakthrough. Now, his Dou Qi was flowing automatically, and his strength began to advance naturally!
But the timing and place for this breakthrough seemed extremely bad…
Xiao Yan’s actions, of course, did not escape the eyes of some keen observers. Soon, cries of “Xiao Yan is breaking through during the battle!” rose from the stands, and countless people stared at the figure enveloped in the cyan flame in the arena, wondering how this guy could pull off such incredible things.
Now, the battle was at a critical moment, and he suddenly decided to break through. It was truly laughable and frustrating to see such luck. During a breakthrough, one couldn’t be disturbed too much, or else the consequences could be severe, even life-threatening. If this happened at another time, people would envy him, but here, in this situation, was it really a good time for a breakthrough?
“Damn, this can’t be happening, right?” Even Xiao Yan couldn’t help but curse out loud. He understood that it was nearly impossible to have a quiet breakthrough in this situation.
However, this breakthrough was completely automatic, and Xiao Yan had no choice but to accept it, which was the most frustrating part. Usually, he tried hard to reach this state, but now that he didn’t want it, it came knocking.
“Ha ha, Xiao Yan, it seems even the heavens are helping me!” After swallowing the light black pill, Bai Shan’s pale face suddenly flushed with a nearly sickly red, and his weak aura surged. Seeing Xiao Yan, who dared not move, and sensing the commotion around him, he laughed wildly. He extended his hand towards the distant fallen silver spear, and the spear turned into a shadow, flying into his hand.
“Big Brother Xiao Yan, go ahead and complete your breakthrough. I’ll hold them off for you!” A light cyan figure flashed in front of Xiao Yan. Xun’er smiled, her hands glowing with golden light. “If you want to come, do so, but I won’t hold back.”
Hearing Xun’er’s cold words, a ferocious look appeared on Bai Shan’s face. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his anger and turned his gaze to another side of the square.
There, Wu Hao and Hu Jia’s teams had just expelled the two teams with Great Dou Masters from the field. Wu Hao and Hu Jia, noticing Xiao Yan’s strange behavior, were clearly stunned. They hadn’t expected Xiao Yan to encounter a breakthrough at this crucial moment.
“Wu Hao, Hu Jia, I think we should team up to drive Xiao Yan and Xun’er out. You both know their strength, and now, Xiao Yan is in the middle of a breakthrough. If he succeeds, his power will increase even more. Will you two, fighting alone, be able to handle them then? If this continues, we will eventually lose!”
Just as Wu Hao and Hu Jia were shocked by Xiao Yan’s strange behavior, Bai Shan’s voice rang in their ears.
Hearing Bai Shan’s words, both were stunned and frowned deeply.
“Heh, haven’t you both been eyeing Xun’er? If we can drive Xiao Yan out now, he will lose his top five qualification. You should know there’s a special assessment for the top five. When we’re with Xun’er, without that pesky Xiao Yan, it will be up to who can win Xun’er’s heart. Hu Jia, Gan Nan Academy won’t find another girl as charming as Xun’er. Do you want to see her wasted by Xiao Yan? And Wu Hao, Xun’er is the only one who has moved you in all these years. If Xiao Yan is always by her side, how will you have a chance? So, he is our common enemy! Don’t hesitate. If Xiao Yan successfully breaks through, we will be the ones who fail!”
Bai Shan’s words made Wu Hao and Hu Jia’s expressions change. This hit their sore spots. After a while, they looked at each other, nodded, and said in unison, “Fine, let’s get Xiao Yan out of here first!”
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