Chapter 464: The Mysterious Black Tower?

“Xiao Yan, the ‘Pivot Gate’ has just been established, and you’re already running off. I’ve been in the Enforcement Team for many years, and this is the first time I’ve seen such an irresponsible leader…” On a wide road, Wu Hao helplessly said to Xiao Yan, who was walking briskly ahead. After this guy confirmed the name of the faction earlier, he handed the task of arranging the new students to Xun Er and Hu Jia, using an excuse to slip away.

“They can handle it. I’m just there to settle the hearts of the people. Now that everyone has been brought over, the tedious tasks naturally fall on them. If anyone causes trouble, we can step in then,” Xiao Yan slowed his pace, smiled at Wu Hao, and then turned to look around the wide road. At this moment, students from the inner courtyard occasionally flashed past, but few paid attention to the two of them. Clearly, not all the older students had heard of the reputation of this batch of newcomers.

Wu Hao shook his head helplessly, looked up at the well-connected roads, and asked, “Where are you planning to go?”

“To the north to take a look…” Xiao Yan slowly stroked the black ring as he pointed his chin towards the north. Last night, he heard from the Pharmacist Elder that there might be some clues about a Heavenly Flame in that direction. Now, Xiao Yan was in urgent need to find a Heavenly Flame to quickly boost his strength. Therefore, he didn’t want to waste any time.

“North?” Slightly startled, Wu Hao nodded indifferently. It didn’t matter where they went since they were just out to get familiar with the place.

“Let’s go.” Waving his hand, Xiao Yan suddenly stomped his foot on the ground, and with a burst of energy, his figure shot out. Such speed attracted the surprised gazes of some of the passing older students.

“This guy…” Shaking his head, Wu Hao’s legs suddenly glowed with blood-colored Dou Qi. The Dou Qi slightly fluctuated, and Wu Hao’s body became somewhat ethereal. Then, with a tremor, he mysteriously disappeared, reappearing several meters away. In a few blinks, he was already following Xiao Yan swiftly.

From the display of their movements and Dou Techniques, it was clear that Wu Hao’s technique was more elusive. If used in combat, it would certainly make the opponent more vexed.

“What a strange movement Dou Technique…” The passing older students couldn’t help but praise, looking at the vanishing blood shadow.

The area of the inner courtyard was much larger than Xiao Yan and Wu Hao had expected. They sprinted for nearly half an hour, yet they still hadn’t reached the boundaries of the inner courtyard. Along the way, they often saw groups of students sparring enthusiastically.

Outside these circles, there were many onlookers. Some of them, while watching, shouted out occasional flaws in the fighters’ moves, causing the combatants to fight with increasing trepidation, ultimately retreating with frustration.

“Those who enter the inner courtyard of the Gan Nan Academy are indeed no ordinary people. Such keen observation is something outer court students can only aspire to,” Xiao Yan said with some admiration, retracting his gaze from a sparring circle.

“Most of the students here have undergone rigorous selection. Any one of them placed in a continent empire would be treated as a genius. Having such keen eyesight is not surprising,” Wu Hao smiled, “But the atmosphere here is indeed quite fierce; any disagreement, and they’ll start sparring right away.”

Xiao Yan nodded with a smile, glancing around. He was somewhat surprised to find that more and more people were flocking towards the northern route, each pushing their speed to the limit. Thus, Xiao Yan and Wu Hao saw countless figures flashing past the trees on both sides, accompanied by the sound of wind rushing.

“It seems they are all heading north. What’s going on there?” Wu Hao, noticing the sudden influx, asked in surprise.

“Hey, let’s go and see.” Xiao Yan smiled, stomping his foot and shooting off again. Behind him, Wu Hao followed closely like a shadow.

This high-speed dash lasted another twenty minutes before Xiao Yan and Wu Hao gradually slowed down. Before them, a large group of students had gathered, blocking their path.

“Why so many people?” Xiao Yan gaped at the crowd, resembling a swarm of ants.

“I don’t know…” Wu Hao, also unfamiliar with the place, could only shake his head helplessly.

Rubbing his chin, Xiao Yan looked around and then walked quickly to a giant tree. “I’ll go up and take a look…” Without waiting for a reply, he leaped up onto a tree branch, climbing with agility like a monkey. In just a few seconds, he was at the top of the tree.

Standing on the treetop, Xiao Yan looked down at the scene below, his gaze skipping the crowd and scanning the area ahead. He was momentarily stunned, his mouth slightly open: “What is this…?”

In Xiao Yan’s sight was a sunken terrain. Within it, an enormous black tower was buried deep in the ground, with only its tip and a black entrance visible above ground.

A tower buried underground? This extremely unusual scene made Xiao Yan even more astonished. After a while, he muttered, “Could this be the so-called ‘Heavenly Fire Refining Tower’? I never imagined it would be buried underground, and people can still enter to train?”

Carefully examining the part of the tower above ground, Xiao Yan suddenly frowned. He noticed that the space around the tower seemed slightly distorted and wrinkled, a phenomenon he had seen before in the ‘Library’ of the outer courtyard.

“Wow, they’ve even set up such a defense…”

According to Vice Dean Amber’s explanation, Xiao Yan knew that setting up such a spatial distortion required at least Battle Sect level strength…

“Battle Sect…” Shaking his head, Xiao Yan thought of how terrifying such a level of strength was. To be able to use something as intangible as space, and even higher levels like Dou Sheng and Battle King, what kind of terrifying realms must they possess?

Just as Xiao Yan was marveling at the terrifying power of Battle Sects, a rush of air sounded from behind. Turning, he was surprised to see almost a dozen figures flashing in from the distance. These people moved extremely fast, appearing in the branches of the nearby trees in less than ten seconds.

“These people are pretty strong…” Observing them closely, Xiao Yan noticed that each of them wore a badge resembling a coconut shell on their left chests, indicating they belonged to the same faction.

“Ah, the inner courtyard truly has many powerful factions. Our ‘Pivot Gate’ has only just started…”

Xiao Yan shook his head with a wry smile. He watched as these figures, after observing the scene below, each darted downwards, plunging from the sky into the dense crowd below.

“This faction must be quite powerful in the inner courtyard…” Xiao Yan murmured, then quickly jumped down from the tree.

Landing, he met Wu Hao, who hurriedly asked, “Did you find anything out?”

“Looks like this is the ‘Heavenly Fire Refining Tower’.” Xiao Yan patted his hands and moved towards the crowd, smiling, “Let’s go, let’s see what this ‘Heavenly Fire Refining Tower’ is all about, that it can attract so many people to train here so quickly.”

“Is this the ‘Heavenly Fire Refining Tower’?” Wu Hao’s face brightened, and he eagerly followed Xiao Yan, pushing through the crowd. Clearly, he was very interested in this place.

As Xiao Yan and Wu Hao struggled to push through the crowd, they reached a point where they could no longer move forward. Not because the crowd was too dense, but because in front of them was a wide open space, and beyond it, about a dozen meters away, stood the mysterious black tower buried in the ground.

At this open space, the area was neatly divided into several zones, with a large number of people sitting cross-legged in each zone. Xiao Yan recognized some of the people he had seen from the treetop among them.

“These people must belong to some of the stronger factions in the inner courtyard. They’re quite domineering, not having to queue and directly occupying the best positions. No wonder A Tai said that to get the best training conditions in the inner courtyard, one needs to form or join a powerful faction,” Wu Hao whispered.

“Indeed, quite domineering…” Xiao Yan nodded, glancing at the various factions, and entered the zone without drawing attention. He knew that he and the ‘Pivot Gate’ didn’t have the qualification yet. Only when he reached the ‘Dou Ling’ level might he be able to join them. For now, he should keep a low profile.

*Boom!*

Just as they were discussing, an ancient bell toll echoed throughout the area, silencing the chatter instantly.

“Open the tower!” An aged voice boomed from within the tower.

Shortly after, the tightly closed black gates creaked open, and a faint heat seeped out, raising the temperature slightly.

Feeling the sudden rise in temperature, Xiao Yan’s pupils constricted, and his fists clenched tightly.

“Enter the tower!” The aged voice rang out again, and all the cross-legged figures in the open space suddenly opened their eyes, rising to their feet. The sound of rushing wind filled the air as a multitude of figures surged towards the tower gate.

“Let’s go, we’re going in too.” Suppressing his racing heart, Xiao Yan waved to Wu Hao and led the way, striding towards the mysterious black tower.

As they neared, Xiao Yan finally realized the enormity of the tower. Just the part above ground was equivalent to a two or three-story building. One could only imagine the magnitude of the tower hidden beneath the ground.

Stopping a few meters from the tower, Xiao Yan stepped aside, carefully observing the ancient-looking structure. The material of the tower seemed heavy and… icy?

“Such a strange place. The inside is filled with heat, yet it’s built with cold materials. This is… bizarre.” Xiao Yan shook his head, puzzled. The opposite effects in one place were usually to suppress something.

“Let’s go, Xiao Yan.” Wu Hao tugged at Xiao Yan, who was staring at the tower.

“Alright.” Smiling, Xiao Yan nodded, turning to look at the dark entrance. For some reason, something within him stirred.

As he approached the tower entrance, his heartbeat quickened. By the time he stood at the doorway, his palms were drenched in sweat.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan suppressed his emotions, gritted his teeth, and stepped into the darkness beyond the door.

The light dimmed, and a moment later, Xiao Yan felt his feet touch hard stone. But before he could relax, his face suddenly turned red, as if scorched by fire. This situation was… extremely bizarre!