Within the spacious ancient tower, a faint white mist swirled, and at the edge of this mist, an elderly figure stood with a slightly hurried breath. At this moment, Elder Liu’s face rapidly changed colors, sometimes in awe, sometimes in suspicion, making for quite a spectacle. His robes were nearly burned to a crisp, and his hair emitted a subtle burnt smell. From his overall appearance, this elder, who held a high position within the inner court, was in a rather disheveled state.
In the hall, the other senior students who had scattered to avoid the flames finally regained their composure from the earlier chaos. However, when they turned their gazes back to the source of the commotion, they saw the disheveled Elder Liu, causing their newly regained calm to be replaced by shock once again.
Becoming a guardian elder of the inner court required strict requirements of strength. Therefore, all the elders in the tower were extremely powerful. In the inner court, while there were some exceptionally talented individuals who, through arduous training, could match some elders, such people were exceedingly rare. And each of them had spent nearly four to five years honing their skills to reach such a level.
But now, Elder Liu had been reduced to such a sorry state by a newcomer who had been in the inner court for less than three days. This scene was even more shocking and unbelievable than when Xiao Yan led the freshmen to counter-raid the seniors.
Han Yue’s shock lasted for about a minute before it gradually subsided. Her gaze swept towards the place shrouded in white mist, and her previously indifferent eyes now showed a trace of curiosity. This freshman was indeed very interesting.
The quiet ancient tower was suddenly broken by a cough. Elder Liu’s gaze fixed on the swirling white mist, then he lowered his head and patted his scorched clothes, smiling lightly. “Quite a show, Xiao Yan. No wonder those old guys always speak mysteriously about you. So, you have this thing. You truly are a blessed one. The elders in the tower all covet this kind of thing…”
The senior students in the tower did not fully understand Elder Liu’s words, but they could sense that Xiao Yan had something mysterious that even the elders desired.
With a wave of his sleeve, Elder Liu was about to disperse the white mist in front of him when the sound of light footsteps suddenly came from within the mist, causing him to stop and fix his gaze on the fog.
The footsteps echoed slowly within the ancient tower, and everyone eagerly turned their attention to the area where the footsteps were coming from. Regardless of anything, the overwhelming power displayed by Xiao Yan earlier had already made them forget his status as a newcomer.
Though they did not know, this power was not under Xiao Yan’s control; it was entirely due to the occasional burst of protective power from the Qing Lian Earth Flame.
If Xiao Yan were to direct the Qing Lian Earth Flame to burst again and force Elder Liu into such a state, the failure rate would be over ninety-five percent.
As the footsteps in the white mist grew louder, a blurry figure slowly appeared. Finally, the figure stepped out of the edge of the white mist, appearing under the watchful eyes of everyone.
A young man in a black robe, carrying a huge black ruler as tall as himself, held Wu Hao, who seemed to have fainted, in his left hand. His slightly furrowed brows scanned the crowd, and the seniors who met his gaze, except for a few strong ones, mostly avoided his eyes due to the intimidation of his previous burst of power.
“Wow, to recover from the first heart-fire roasting by your own strength. Xiao Yan, you’re the first one to do so in many years,” Elder Liu sighed, looking at the restored Xiao Yan.
“Who are you?” Xiao Yan asked, somewhat puzzled, as he looked at the disheveled elder in front of him.
“Hehe, I’m the guardian elder of the first floor of the Burning Sky Pagoda. You can call me Elder Liu,” Elder Liu replied with a smile, without the harsh tone he used with the other seniors. The special treatment Xiao Yan received made the surrounding seniors whisper among themselves.
In the Burning Sky Pagoda and the entire inner court, the status of an elder was extremely high. Here, no student dared to defy their words, except for some exceptional ones. Because these exceptional students might have the chance to become elders, and in the inner court, even if they were elders, they needed to win over strong allies for the future.
After all, the elders in the inner court were not all from the same faction. Any place has its conflicts, perhaps for power, profit, or other things…
“Oh, Elder Liu, what happened?” Xiao Yan nodded in understanding and asked, glancing at Elder Liu’s appearance.
“Eh, nothing. I made a mistake in controlling the flame,” Elder Liu’s eyebrows twitched at the innocent question, and he chuckled, shaking his head. He did not suspect Xiao Yan of feigning ignorance. The terrifying flame Xiao Yan had unleashed, although fearsome, was, in the eyes of someone who had played with fire all his life, merely an autonomous counterattack from “that thing.”
“And my friend?” Xiao Yan pointed to Wu Hao, who was in a coma.
“Don’t worry. He’s just exhausted from the heart-fire roasting. He’ll be fine after a night’s rest,” Elder Liu explained with a smile.
“Heart-fire roasting?” The unfamiliar term made Xiao Yan frown again.
“Hehe, you’re new to the inner court, so you don’t know about the Burning Sky Pagoda and its rules. If you have time, I can explain it to you,” Elder Liu smiled.
“Thank you, Elder Liu,” Xiao Yan responded after a brief hesitation. As a newcomer, he indeed needed to learn about the most mysterious place in the inner court to help his “Pill Sect” freshmen quickly improve and stand firm in this realm of strong contenders.
“It’s my duty,” Elder Liu waved his hand, his gaze turning to the surrounding students. His smile faded, and he shouted, “What are you still doing here? Go and train! If you think you’ve trained enough, I can help you find a better spot.”
Hearing Elder Liu’s shout, the surrounding students quickly shook their heads and scurried off in various directions, afraid that their hard-earned spots would be taken away if they lingered.
Seeing the proud seniors, who acted like lambs before Elder Liu, Xiao Yan found it amusing. But beyond the amusement, he felt a deeper respect for Elder Liu. Without real authority, the rebellious seniors would never be so submissive.
“Hehe, these rabbits are full of pride. If you don’t be strict, they won’t listen to you,” Elder Liu said with a smile, dismissing the crowd.
Xiao Yan smiled but did not comment.
“Come, come, Xiao Yan. Let me introduce you to someone,” Elder Liu’s gaze swept over the ancient tower, then he grabbed Xiao Yan and walked towards a woman in a silver dress. She was Han Xue, who had the right to enter the sixth floor of the Burning Sky Pagoda.
“This is Han Xue. She has been in the inner court for three years, so she’s your senior. Her strength is extraordinary, and she leads a group called ‘Moon Spirit’ with considerable power. Few factions dare to provoke her in the inner court,” Elder Liu introduced her.
“Oh?” Hearing the introduction, Xiao Yan’s face showed a hint of surprise as he looked at the woman named Han Xue. Her cold demeanor, like an iceberg snow lotus, left a deep impression on him.
What shocked him more was her strength. Although it was not visible to the naked eye, Xiao Yan, with his strong soul power, could vaguely sense that the woman in the silver dress and hair was much stronger than Luo Hou.
“The inner court truly hides dragons and tigers. I didn’t expect a woman to be so powerful. It seems this place is indeed difficult to navigate,” Xiao Yan thought, but his face remained composed. He placed Wu Hao on the ground and extended his hand, saying, “Hello, Senior Sister Han Xue.”
Seeing Xiao Yan extend his hand to Han Xue, Elder Liu was taken aback. Knowing her nature, he understood that this woman, who was obsessively clean, usually avoided physical contact with men, even using her fighting spirit to cover herself in battle. Her cleanliness was truly speechless.
But before Elder Liu could stop them, Han Xue, after a slight hesitation, extended her fair wrist from her silver sleeve and gently clasped Xiao Yan’s hand, her lips parting to reveal a voice as clear as a stream, “Hello…”
In the ancient tower, when some gazes from various directions saw the two holding hands, they were stunned, and their envious, heated gazes instantly shifted to the black-robed youth, their teeth grinding in frustration.
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