Chapter 98: The Challenge

Xiao Yan slowly walked towards the tent, with Xiao Yu grinding her teeth and glaring at this hateful back. She never thought this guy would be so uncooperative. A few people approached the large green tent, and in the comfortable shadow of the tent, over a dozen men and women were gathered in small groups, chatting leisurely. Judging from their casual expressions, they must be students from the Jia Nan Academy, just like Xue Ni. Outside the shade, more than twenty young men and women sat on the ground under the scorching sun. Though sweat streamed down their faces due to the heat, their expressions were filled with restraint. It seemed they were new students who had just passed the preliminary test.

In the tent, a few chattering girls suddenly looked up as they saw Xiao Yu and others approaching. They couldn’t help but look surprised and joyfully rushed over, immediately surrounding Xiao Yu, giggling and laughing non-stop. The sudden sound wave attack made Xiao Yan, who was caught off guard, feel his brain swell. As he swept his gaze over the young and beautiful female students, seeing their excited expressions, Xiao Yan realized that Xiao Yu seemed to have very good interpersonal relationships in the academy.

“Ah, please, can you be a little more reserved?” Xiao Yu, who was torn between laughter and tears, pushed away a few playful friends who were clinging to her, and said helplessly.

“Yu-er, after two months, you’ve filled out quite a bit. Honestly, did you…” A girl with a pretty face sneaked her hand across Xiao Yu’s chest and then placed it on her shoulder, teasing.

Beside them, Xiao Yan sighed helplessly, and his gaze toward Xiao Yu became inexplicably strange. These friends of yours, why do they all seem like female predators?

“Go away, you lewd woman! Don’t act this way in front of me,” Xiao Yu, her face slightly flushed, pushed the girl away and, seeing another girl about to pounce, hurriedly stepped back, pointing at Xiao Yan and quickly introducing them, finally diverting these women’s intentions.

“Hehe, such a pretty little beauty.” Their eyes swept over Xun-er and Xiao Mei, and the outstanding appearance of the two girls, unsurprisingly, made these women exclaim in admiration. Their gazes then slowly shifted to Xiao Yan beside them. As for Xiao Ning, due to being Xiao Yu’s younger brother, he was fortunate enough to be ignored by these women.

Although Xiao Yan was a couple of years younger than Xiao Yu, after a year of hard training, he had grown to her height. His face, although somewhat delicate, had an oddly mature and seasoned look that didn’t match his age. This somewhat conflicting visual impact made these women take a few more glances.

“Hehe, what a handsome little man. Yu-er, is this your cousin? Not your younger brother, right? Be honest, have you been secretly helping yourself?” Hearing these women ask such a strong question in front of the person involved, even the composed Xiao Yan couldn’t help but twitch his lips, and his gaze toward Xiao Yu became even more strange.

Xiao Yu, hearing these women tease, her pretty face was full of shame and helplessness. Just as she was about to explain, she noticed a male figure hurrying over.

Her face slightly changed, Xiao Yu’s willow brows furrowed and then relaxed, a shy blush appearing on her cheeks. She said coyly, “He has no blood relation to me. You should stop teasing him. He has always been easily embarrassed.”

“Er…” Hearing this, the girls were stunned, and they looked at each other, seeing Xiao Yu’s unprecedented shy expression. They had originally just been joking, but Xiao Yu actually came out to explain seriously, and the tone… it was almost like she was defending a lover.

Xun-er and the others were also startled by Xiao Yu’s affectionate tone, looking at each other in confusion. When did Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan become so close?

Standing to one side, Xiao Yan coldly watched the woman’s performance, and his mouth curled. Just as he was about to reveal the truth, Xiao Yu, with swift hands, reached out and grabbed his wrist, patting the dust off his clothes with a familiar gesture.

“Ahhh…” Seeing Xiao Yu’s sudden action, everyone around was dumbfounded. When had they ever seen Xiao Yu treat a man like this?

“Xiao Yu, you… it’s been a long time,” a male voice suddenly spoke up as everyone was in shock.

Hearing the voice, everyone turned their heads, and a young man in gray and white robes stood behind them, smiling broadly. The young man was quite handsome, but his dazzling smile always felt a bit false to Xiao Yan and the others.

The blush on Xiao Yu’s cheeks gradually faded, and she turned around, still holding Xiao Yan’s arm. She glanced at the young man and said coolly, “Robo, it’s been a while.”

“Haha,” Robo nodded, smiling. His gaze casually looked at the two of them holding hands, and a hint of coldness and anger flashed in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Yan.

“Haha, are these the ones you brought?” Smiling, Robo walked up and asked kindly.

“Mm,” nodding casually, Xiao Yu introduced Xiao Yan and the others again, and smiled, “I brought them here for the test.”

“Oh, I see.” Nodding with a smile, Robo took out a fist-sized red crystal ball from his pocket and waved it, saying, “Just now, Mentor Rulin gave me a testing crystal. Let them try it. All the other testing crystals have already been taken to the testing passage in front. If they don’t use mine, they’ll have to wait a while longer.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yu hesitated slightly before nodding. She turned to Xiao Yan and softly explained, “This test is simple. As long as you reach the eighth stage of Dou Qi, the crystal will light up automatically. Then, you pass the initial test.”

“Let go!” Xiao Yan gave her a sidelong glance and said indifferently.

“Oh,” Xiao Yu nodded with a smile, very obediently letting go of his hand. Watching her obedient appearance, the young man named Robo clenched his fist holding the crystal much tighter.

“Xun-er, you try first,” Xiao Yan rubbed his wrist, which had turned red from Xiao Yu’s grip, and smiled at Xun-er.

Smiling, Xun-er, Xiao Mei, and Xiao Ning stepped forward, placing their hands on the crystal for a moment. After the crystal lit up, they stepped back.

Seeing the three succeed, Xiao Yan also stepped forward and casually touched the crystal, achieving the same result.

“Don’t worry, if they hadn’t reached the passing standard, I wouldn’t have brought them in on my own,” Xiao Yu said calmly, seeing the four of them succeed.

“Haha, I’m not doubting you, it’s just the rule,” Robo smiled apologetically at Xiao Yu, put away the crystal, and pointed to the men and women sitting outside under the scorching sun, saying to Xiao Yan and the others, “Congratulations on passing the initial test. Now, please stay outside for half an hour.”

“What do you mean, Robo?” Hearing this, Xiao Yu’s willow brows raised, and she coldly demanded.

“Xiao Yu, as a senior student, you should know this is the rule during admissions. Nowadays, new students are getting more and more impatient, so we need to dampen their spirits a bit during the admission process, which is beneficial for their future life in the academy,” Robo said with a smile.

“Hmph, Robo, I don’t care if you say this to the ignorant new students, but don’t apply these ridiculous rules to the people I bring,” Xiao Yu said coldly.

“This is the rule,” Robo’s mouth twitched. Xiao Yu’s lack of respect, reprimanding him in front of everyone, also made him angry and bitter inside.

“Robo, don’t cause trouble. You know very well these rules are optional. Why make such a fuss?” The other girls, finding his actions annoying, frowned and said.

“Haha, sorry. They passed the test under my supervision. According to the rules, I should temporarily manage them during this period,” Robo said with a bright smile. Seeing Xiao Yu about to get angry, he suddenly changed his tone, “Alright, for your sake, not all of them need to go out. Just let one person represent them? Hmm… let’s see, let this little brother go out. Haha, anyway, a man doesn’t need to worry about getting tanned.”

Robo’s finger slowly moved over the group and stopped in front of Xiao Yan, smiling.

Xiao Yan lifted his eyes slightly, staring indifferently at the smiling young man in front of him.

“Get lost, Xiao Yan won’t go out. I’ll go find Mentor Rulin myself, no need for you to give orders here!” With a step forward, Xiao Yu blocked in front of Xiao Yan, speaking coldly.

“Hey, Big Brother Robo, seems like there’s a problem here,” as they were arguing, a group of men laughed and came out from the tent’s shadow.

“No, just a new student unwilling to go out in the sun,” Robo said casually, putting away the crystal.

“Hey, it’s been a while since we’ve seen such a arrogant new student. Big Brother Robo, do you need our help?” a young man with a gold star on his chest asked Robo, his smile carrying a hint of flattery.

Nodding with a smile, Robo looked at the frowning Xiao Yu, and after a moment, he said, “Alright, if he doesn’t want to go out, then fine. But there are many new students watching. If they don’t go out, others might be unhappy.”

As he spoke, Robo patted the young man next to him and said to Xiao Yan with a smile, “Since you don’t want to go out, then spar with Gela. Of course, you don’t need to defeat him. Just hold on for twenty rounds, and that’s fine.”

Hearing this, the girls around Xiao Yu started to scold Robo. They understood now that he was jealous of Xiao Yan and trying to take revenge.

Compared to the angry girls, Xiao Yu fell strangely silent. She turned her head slightly, her eyes fixed on Xiao Yan. She knew Xiao Yan’s strength was not weaker than hers, and dealing with a one-star Dou Shi would not be difficult.

Ignoring Xiao Yu’s gaze, Xiao Yan indifferently stared at Robo, who had a radiant smile on his face. A hint of coldness flickered in his dark eyes. He had not intended to cause trouble, but this guy was insisting on bullying him.

“Hehe, come on, kid, let me teach you how to respect your seniors. Otherwise, if you get into trouble in the academy later, you’ll blame us,” the young man named Gela stepped forward, and said with a malicious smile to Xiao Yan.

Taking a deep breath, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly and took two steps forward. As he walked past Xiao Yu, he suddenly reached out and tightly hugged her soft waist, pulling her into his arms.

Caught off guard by Xiao Yan’s sudden attack, Xiao Yu first froze, then her face turned crimson. Considering Robo was nearby, she could only stop struggling, clenching her teeth in frustration, and cursing this guy who dared to take advantage of her in public.

Xiao Yan’s actions left the nearby girls dumbfounded once again, and also made Robo’s face instantly dark. He turned his head and said to Gela, “Don’t hold back!”

Hearing this, Gela nodded with a sly smile.

Xun-er and the others, seeing the strange behavior of the two, shook their heads helplessly.

“This is interest,” Xiao Yan’s hand lingered on Xiao Yu’s waist, and he said coldly in her ear.

After saying that, Xiao Yan didn’t look at Xiao Yu, whose face was blushing, and let go of his hand. Twisting his neck, with a faint smile on his lips, he slowly walked towards Gela, who was staring at him menacingly.