In the spacious clearing, the atmosphere was tense and silent. All eyes were fixed on Fu Ao, who lay motionless dozens of meters away, with a look of shock in their eyes. This was a three-star Dou Ling! With Fu Ao’s strength, he could easily rank in the top seventy within the entire Inner Academy. Yet, now, he had been defeated by a newcomer who had only joined the Inner Academy for five days. Moreover, this defeat… it was so utterly humiliating. Thinking back to the smug Fu Ao just a few minutes ago, now lying there like a dead dog, this dramatic scene was truly mind-boggling for everyone around.
“Cough, cough, cough…” A series of violent coughs suddenly broke the silence, shattering the quiet atmosphere.
Xiao Yan’s heavy scale touched the ground, but his knee couldn’t help but press against the earth. His handsome face was pale, and cold sweat continuously seeped from his forehead. From his rapid breathing, it was clear that this victory had not come easily.
“Brother Xiao Yan, are you alright?” A graceful figure flashed to his side, her slender hand circling around Xiao Yan’s waist. The blue-robed girl, seeing the pale face of the latter, couldn’t help but say with concern, “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, just some aftereffects of forcibly enhancing my strength,” Xiao Yan struggled to prop himself up, gritting his teeth and shaking his head. The Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes indeed allowed him to increase his strength temporarily, but the violent energy inflicted significant internal injuries. If not for his own expertise as an alchemist and the assistance of the experienced Medicine Elder, he would never dare to use such a method. Even so, each time he used it, he felt a searing, piercing pain in his body.
Placing his arm on Xun Er’s delicate shoulder, Xiao Yan cast a cold glance at the distant Fu Ao. This guy wouldn’t have lost so badly if he hadn’t underestimated the degree to which the different fire attributes suppressed water attribute Dou Qi. The earlier attack, imbued with powerful Dou Qi, would have been much more difficult for Xiao Yan to counter if it hadn’t been so heavily restricted by the different flames.
But regardless of whether the battle had any lucky breaks, Xiao Yan had already won this match, and that was enough.
Taking out a healing pill from his ring, Xiao Yan popped it into his mouth before turning his gaze to Bai Shan’s group.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s sharp, knife-like gaze, the “White Gang” members, including Bai Shan, involuntarily took two steps back, staring at Xiao Yan with full vigilance.
“Fu Ao has lost. Take him away. Remember our agreement. There are many witnesses here. If you want to go back on your word, your White Gang will be disgraced,” Xiao Yan said coldly, taking no aggressive action.
“That arrogant fool thought being a three-star Dou Ling made him invincible. Now, not only has he lost, but he’s also given Xiao Yan and his group half a year’s respite. Half a year later, if we want to deal with their ‘Rock Gate’ again, cousin might have to lead the charge personally,” Bai Shan glared at the nearby Fu Ao, who lay like a dead dog, cursing furiously in his heart.
“Leave,” Bai Shan growled, feeling uncomfortable under Xiao Yan’s icy gaze. Finally, he waved his hand, his voice low and reluctant.
With that, he turned and walked quickly towards the outside of the freshmen dormitory area. The other “White Gang” members hurried to follow, pausing to lift Fu Ao as they passed. Watching the group disappear into the distance, the “Rock Gate” members, who had been on edge, finally let out a sigh of relief.
However, this time, they didn’t cheer. Looking at each other, they saw a sense of urgency in each other’s eyes—an urgency to grow stronger. Although they had only been in the Inner Academy for a few days, they had genuinely felt the importance of strength. They had been top students in the Outer Academy, but now, in the Inner Academy, they were just ordinary. To avoid similar humiliations in the future, they needed to strengthen themselves quickly.
They understood that in the Inner Academy, everything couldn’t always rely on Xiao Yan and a few others. As members of the Rock Gate, they also needed to contribute.
“Everyone, the show is over. You can all return,” Xiao Yan smiled and bowed to the surrounding onlookers.
Hearing Xiao Yan’s dismissal, the onlookers politely returned the bow and began to leave, chattering among themselves about the earlier battle.
“Haha, Brother Xiao Yan, it won’t be long before news of your defeat of Fu Ao spreads throughout the Inner Academy,” Xun Er, supporting Xiao Yan, said with a laugh.
“Good. At least it will deter other forces with bad intentions towards our Rock Gate,” Xiao Yan sighed, looking at the eager faces of the Rock Gate members. “Everyone, I think you now understand how important strength is in the Inner Academy, right?”
“Yes!” Dozens of freshmen nodded in unison!
“Without strength, you’ll be bullied at the doorstep. Do you want to experience today’s humiliation again?” Xiao Yan said solemnly.
“No!” All the freshmen’s faces flushed with fervor, shouting in unison.
“Starting tomorrow, Rock Gate members will enter the ‘Heavenly Flame Refining Tower’ to train. With Fu Ao’s defeat, we should be safe from other forces for a while. So, we must use this time to strengthen ourselves,” Xiao Yan said in a low voice.
“Moreover, today’s defeat of Fu Ao has given the White Gang a hard slap. They won’t let this go. Due to the promise, they may not target us for the next six months, but once that time passes, the White Gang will come at us in full force.”
“To withstand the White Gang in six months, increasing our strength is urgent!”
Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, the Rock Gate members all nodded, their faces flushed with determination.
“Alright, everyone can disperse for today. We’ll meet here tomorrow and enter the ‘Heavenly Flame Refining Tower’ together.” Xiao Yan waved his hand and turned towards the small building. Just as he was about to enter, he paused, turning to Xun Er and saying softly, “By the way, call Tai over. I have something to ask him.”
“Mm.” Xun Er nodded and stepped back.
“How much do you know about the ‘White Gang’?” In the hall, Xiao Yan, Xun Er, Wu Hao, and Hu Jia sat in their respective seats, with Tai sitting slightly to the left. Xiao Yan’s question was clearly directed at him.
“The leader of the White Gang is named Bai Cheng, Bai Shan’s cousin. He’s very strong, around the level of a six-star Dou Ling, and is also a ‘Strong Ranking’ expert, highly regarded within the Inner Academy,” Tai responded after a moment of thought.
“Six-star Dou Ling? ‘Strong Ranking’ expert? What rank?” Xiao Yan’s brow furrowed slightly as he tapped his fingers on the table. He had already used the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes and relied on the benefits of the Green Lotus Earth Core Fire to narrowly defeat Fu Ao. If he faced a six-star Dou Ling, there would be a whole rank difference, and victory would be nearly impossible unless he used the Flame Split Wave Scale or a large-scale Buddha Angry Fire Lotus.
“Thirty-four,” Tai replied honestly. His knowledge of the Inner Academy surprised Xiao Yan somewhat.
“A six-star Dou Ling ranks thirty-fourth… the ‘Strong Ranking’ of the Inner Academy is indeed impressive,” Xun Er, holding a warm teacup, smiled and said, “Yes, it’s quite challenging.”
Wu Hao nodded with a smile, his face filled with intense fighting spirit.
Crossing his fingers and leaning back in his chair, Xiao Yan sighed, “What about the other members of the White Gang? How strong are they?”
“Besides the leader, Bai Cheng, the White Gang has three other Dou Ling experts. One of them is today’s Fu Ao. The other two may be slightly stronger than Fu Ao, but their levels are also around three-star Dou Ling. There are a total of thirty-four other members, with thirteen Great Dou Masters. Most of the rest are at the peak Dou Master level, and some may soon advance to Great Dou Master,” Tai mused.
“Four Dou Lings, thirteen Great Dou Masters, and the rest at peak Dou Master level…” Xiao Yan murmured, “The White Gang is not weak… troublesome.”
“Indeed, it’s not weak. The White Gang may not be the top force in the Inner Academy, but not many people dare to provoke it,” Tai said with a wry smile. “Usually, forces of the White Gang’s caliber wouldn’t bother new groups, but this time it’s likely because of Bai Shan.”
Xiao Yan nodded slightly. He and Bai Shan had a grudge, and now that Bai Shan had entered the Inner Academy and gained the strength to use, he naturally wanted to make trouble for Xiao Yan. It seemed that the Rock Gate was caught in the crossfire.
“Follow the plan I mentioned earlier. Starting tomorrow, Rock Gate members will enter the ‘Heavenly Flame Refining Tower’ to train. We need to increase our strength quickly,” Xiao Yan pondered for a moment and then asked, “Do you all have enough ‘Fire Energy’?”
“Hehe, thanks to you, we got enough Fire Energy in the hunting competition to train in the tower for a month,” Tai replied with a smile.
“Mm, that’s good…” Xiao Yan nodded and let out a breath, muttering softly, “I hope there won’t be any more complications. The Rock Gate is still too weak. It’s really troublesome to establish ourselves in the Inner Academy.”
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