Chapter 224

Xiao Yan sat to the side, shaking his head helplessly and saying with deep regret: "Thank you all for acknowledging Xun Er's beauty—I understand you still harbor fantasies and delusions, mistaking her for your personal white moonlight."

"I know I share responsibility for shattering your illusions, but my opponent wasn't my choice—it was assigned by the academy."

Xiao Yan shook his head, slightly disappointed he couldn't immediately satisfy these people's desire to be humiliated.

The little enchantress paused, then asked slowly: "You didn't know?"

"Huh? What should I know?" Xiao Yan frowned in confusion, replying.

The little enchantress flicked her hair and said: "Today's match isn't one-on-one—it's a free-for-all to determine the top five from fifty contestants. The last five remaining on the stage become the top five, eligible to enter the Library Pavilion and choose their rewards."

!!!!!!

Xiao Yan blinked twice, still processing, when Vice Dean Hu Qian's voice rang out.

The deep, thunderous voice echoed through the air above Guang Chang: "Yesterday, the Inner Court Selection Exam selected the final fifty—each qualified to train in the Inner Court. Yet even within the Inner Court, clear ranks exist. To secure better cultivation conditions, you must achieve the highest possible result in this final match—every rank improvement will greatly benefit you. Give it your all—for superior cultivation conditions!"

Hu Qian glanced at Xiao Yan, who stared at him in stunned silence, and smiled: "In past years, the selection used round-robin matches. This year, after a college council meeting, we've slightly altered the final round's format."

"This year, we abandon individual rounds. Instead, we hold a blood-pumping, high-stakes free-for-all elimination tournament. The longer you survive, the higher your rank—and vice versa." Looking at the contestants streaming onto the field, Hu Qian grinned: "Within this square, you may use any means—even form alliances. As long as you remain standing at the end, you win."

The moment Hu Qian finished speaking, murmurs erupted across Guang Chang—this year's unprecedented format had caught them off guard.

Aside from a few like Hu Jia, who had ties to the academy, even Xun Er and Ruolin the Mentor didn't know the rules had changed!

With a sharp slap on his thigh, Xiao Yan leapt up in excitement.

"Hey! Why did you slap my thigh?!" Xiao Yu glared at Xiao Yan, clutching her slightly reddened leg. "If you're going to slap your thigh, slap your own! Why mine?!"

"Excited, excited—next time, go easier," Xiao Yan chuckled sheepishly.

Xiao Yu stared, dumbfounded: "You're planning a next time?!"

Xiao Yan slowly turned to the little enchantress and the others. Perfect—what he wanted had come to him. A free-for-all? Then today's top five? That's entirely up to Xiao Yan.

No more pretending. I'm revealing it—I'm a Dou Ling. You're all trash.

Xiao Yan licked his lips, his gaze fixed on the fifty contestants like a predator eyeing prey—no, forty-three. He was already calculating how to eliminate them all at once without being disqualified!

Then the top five would all be his allies?!

But Xiao Yan didn't know—the high-ranking officials had changed the rules precisely to force the Outer Court disciples to unite against him, to test just how strong he truly was.

"Do you all understand the rules?" When all had entered Guang Chang, Hu Qian scanned the crowd and called out loudly.

"Understood!" A unified roar answered him.

"Good. Since you all understand," Hu Qian slowly raised his hand, then slammed it down with a thunderous crash under countless gazes: "The final round of the Inner Court Selection Exam—Elimination Tournament—begins now!"

The moment Vice Dean finished speaking, the positioning across Guang Chang became bizarre.

Xiao Yan stood before Xun Er and the others, facing the remaining forty-three.

Bai Shan deliberately stoked the crowd's emotions, accusing Xiao Yan: "Xiao Yan, are you looking down on us? Thinking you can take on all of us at once?"

"Bai Shan, don't bother with such childish tricks. I don't just look down on you—I look down on you, and you, and you." Xiao Yan pointed at the little enchantress and Wu Hao, shaking his finger.

Xiao Yan had returned four months ago. Even when he walked with Xun Er through Canaan City, people still dared rush up to confess their love to her.

The most common thing he heard: "You're not worthy of Xun Er. XXX is a better match."

He needed an opportunity to declare his claim.

Seeing Xiao Yan point at her and say "not good enough," the little enchantress, who had been bouncing around, grew dark-faced. Wu Hao, who had long pursued Xun Er, was even more furious.

He was calm by nature, born for slaughter. He'd finally found a woman he desired—and he wanted to see what kind of man had captured Xun Er's heart.

"Since Vice Dean gave me such a perfect chance, I'll settle this all at once. Whether you secretly adore Xun Er or simply hate me, Xiao Yan—come together. Save yourselves the trouble of hearing whispers in the Inner Court." Xiao Yan held one hand behind his back, beckoning with a finger, radiating the same aura as Ye Wen once challenging ten opponents.

"Brother Xiao Yan, I can help you handle some of them." Xun Er smiled sweetly, glancing at the clearly divided sides of the field.

With elegant, slender legs stepping forward, Xiao Yu snorted: "Hmph. Even if you're strong, don't think we're weak. I'll leave those three to you—we can handle the rest."

"That's right! Young Clan Leader, we can fight too!"

On the stands, as the field split into two factions from the very start, screams of excitement erupted into the sky—many spectators screamed themselves hoarse, cheering for their favorite contestants.

"Heh, Xiao Yan looks like he's taking on all of them at once," chuckled an old man on the central stands.

"Let's see if this Xiao Yan, after training outside for over a year, can outmatch our Jia Nan Academy's top students," said Vice Dean, stroking his beard.

With a surge of aura, every student on the field activated their cultivation methods, unleashing Dou Qi.

"Xiao Yan, let me show you what true genius looks like! You're unworthy of Xun Er!" Amidst howling winds, Bai Shan struck first, a silver spear materializing in his palm.

A hissing sound filled the air—the spear was now almost entirely transformed into a weapon of Silver Lightning. Electric sparks danced along its length, thunder rumbling within. As it shifted slightly, it radiated terrifying energy that warped the surrounding space.

"Die!"

A cold, sinister glint flashed in Bai Shan's eyes. He gripped the spear tightly, stepped sideways, and raised it above his head. Instantly, with a thunderous roar, he slammed it into the solid ground. A deafening explosion erupted, drawing every gaze. When they saw Bai Shan, now glowing like a silver sun, and felt the spear's terrifying power, a wave of shocked murmurs swept the stands.

"Thunder-Shattering Earth Arc!"

A chilling cry rang out from within the silver glow. Under countless stunned stares, a silver lightning arc, over a zhang thick, erupted from the spear's point on the ground. Where it passed, the hardened floor of Guang Chang was utterly shattered.

The arc slithered like a silver serpent, moving too fast to react to. Outside, spectators saw only a flash of silver—then deep, jagged furrows appeared along its path, like fields plowed by oxen. Then came a thunderous boom. Eyes snapped toward the sound—and found the explosion centered precisely where Xiao Yan stood.

Watching the massive trench left by the silver arc, countless people swallowed hard. Such a devastating attack—if it struck even a Star Seven or Star Eight Da Dou Shi, they'd be critically wounded on the spot.

Seeing the lightning spear hurtling toward him, Xiao Yan twisted his body sharply, gathered a streak of blood-red flame around his right foot, and kicked the spear back.

Boom! The lightning erupted—but only for a second before being completely incinerated by Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame. The silver spear was sent flying back by Xiao Yan's kick.

"Not over yet!" Bai Shan knew he couldn't defeat Xiao Yan so easily. A flash of lightning carried him into the air, where he caught the returning spear.

"Lightning Spear Flash!" Bai Shan leapt high, his right hand's spear blazing with daylight-bright lightning as he thrust it toward Xiao Yan—transforming into a streak of lightning.

Countless bolts of lightning instantly engulfed Xiao Yan. The ground cracked open, lightning arcs dancing wildly across its surface.

A cold smile curled on Bai Shan's lips. Though only a Five Star Da Dou Shi, he'd used several Arcane-Rank High-Level Dou Techniques acquired in the Black Horn Region to severely wound—and behead—a Dou Ling who hadn't been prepared.

Even if Xiao Yan matched his strength, he'd still suffer.

"Lightning Dou Qi should be brutal, powerful, and forceful. Why does yours feel weak, limp, like a woman's? Are you really a genius of Jia Nan Academy?"

Within the lightning, Xiao Yan, wrapped entirely in blood-red flame, caught Bai Shan's spear with one hand. The lightning attacks didn't even pierce Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame—they were all burned to ash.

Honestly, Xiao Yan felt a bit disappointed. He'd expected the top academy on the Dou Qi Continent—Jia Nan Academy—to produce disciples stronger than those from Yun Lan Sect.

But after two exchanges, Xiao Yan was certain that Bai Shan was far inferior to Nalan Yanran.

If Nalan Yanran was 1, Bai Shan was at most 0.3 of her.

With a whoosh, under Bai Shan's stunned expression, Xiao Yan delivered a whip kick to his side, shattering the Dou Qi armor he had condensed instantly.

Enhanced by the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame, his body was like a demonic beast—his terrifying strength flung Bai Shan flying, making him lose grip of his spear, spitting blood as he was hurled backward.

Xiao Yan casually tossed aside the silver spear; the next second, a whip shadow descended from above with a thunderous crack—Hu Jia swung her long whip.

"Dragon Soaring Whip!" Hu Jia channelled her Dou Qi; the whip in her hand became a furious dragon lashing toward Xiao Yan.

"Your dragon isn't much." Xiao Yan's left hand formed a claw, seizing the dragon—his five fingers gripped the whip tightly, like a Golden-Winged Great Peng bird clutching a dragon.

As Xiao Yan neutralized Hu Jia's attack, a blood-red shadow suddenly appeared behind him.

Sensing the bloody aura surging from his right, Xiao Yan turned his head and saw Wu Hao, drenched in blood aura, resembling a demon, slapping his palm forward—the stench of blood on his palm was thick enough to congeal.

"Blood-Dry Demon Palm!"

Facing that lethal palm strike, Xiao Yan's expression remained calm; his right hand formed a fist, condensing the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame into a single punch.

"Eight Extremes Collapse."

Though both were Xuan Jie High Grade Dou Ji, Xiao Yan's strength vastly surpassed Wu Hao's—let alone his use of the Strange Fire.

Eight layers of hidden force exploded—feeling the terror of the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame and the hidden force, Wu Hao's face turned pale; the hidden force detonated through his body. Boom! Boom! Boom! Eight times—the Dou Qi armor covering his entire body could not withstand it; the armor shattered, and he staggered back eight steps, each step cracking the Guang Chang's ground.

Wu Hao struggled to lift his head, a trickle of blood oozing from his lips.

Xiao Yan glanced at Hu Jia, who was pulling hard on the whip, then flicked his finger—the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame bomb exploded with a boom. Only then did Hu Jia understand why the two men who fought Xiao Yan couldn't block his casual finger flick.

The explosion of the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame was impossible to resist with ordinary Dou Ji—even Dou Qi armor could barely withstand one or two impacts.

As the flames receded, Hu Jia's body was burned raw and blistered; she knelt half-bowed, gasping for breath.

Wu Hao and Hu Jia stared at Xiao Yan in the arena with shock and wariness. How could he be this strong?!

Are you really only nineteen?!

The spectators in the stands were utterly stunned—not just the student audience, but even several Elders and Vice Dean Hu Qian were dumbfounded.

Facing a three-way assault from Outer Court geniuses, he defeated all three in one go?!

"What cultivation realm is he in? How did he casually defeat Little Enchantress Hu Jia, Blood Demon Wu Hao, and Thunder Spear Bai Shan?!"

"I don't know, but Xiao Yan is incredibly strong!"

Vice Dean Hu Qian frowned and said: "Fire Elder, Xiao Yan's strength isn't just because he possesses a Strange Fire, is it?"

The fiery Fire Elder could only sigh helplessly and shake his head, looking at Xiao Yan, who stood calmly among the crowd with no one daring to approach him, and said: "His strength isn't just in his Dou Qi cultivation—his body is terrifyingly strong too. The Dou Ji he used to knock Wu Hao into spitting blood relied entirely on physical power."

At this moment, Xiao Yan showed no joy or pride; he looked coolly at Hu Jia and Wu Hao and commented: "You two are slightly better than Bai Shan."

Xiao Yan looked at Little Enchantress Hu Jia and said: "You're not as strong as that blood-stinking one, but you're younger—maybe 0.4."

"You're also 0.4," Xiao Yan said slowly to Wu Hao. "If you work harder, you might reach 0.5."

Wu Hao and Hu Jia were utterly confused—what was 0.4, what was 0.5? What was he talking about?

Only Xiao Yan understood what he meant—it was a combat power unit! Anyone weaker than Nalan Yanran was just weak trash.

Xiao Yan frowned, thinking: "Could it be that Nalan Yanran is actually quite strong? Is her talent really that high?"

Xiao Yan fell into self-doubt—he had assumed Nalan Yanran's strength wasn't particularly high in the Northwest Region or even at Jia Nan Academy, merely powerful enough to bully others in Jia Ma Empire.

But now, looking at it, this Little Enchantress was called a once-in-a-century genius, yet at nineteen, she was only a Five Star Da Dou Shi.

Wu Hao was known as the Enforcement Team's Blood Demon, slaughtering across the Black Horn Region, having killed several Dou Spirits—but his cultivation was only Six-Star Essence Refining, and his strength still fell short of Nalan Yanran, who had received Yun Potian's inheritance.

After all, the only person Xiao Yan had ever truly battled among his peers was Nalan Yanran—naturally, she had become Xiao Yan's "combat power unit" for comparing with his age group!

Xiao Yan rarely got to battle peers; after fighting too many old monsters, he'd forgotten he was only nineteen.

Precisely because of this, Xiao Yan suddenly realized that Nalan Yanran's talent and combat power were actually quite high.

"Hu Jia, Wu Hao, let's team up," said Bai Shan, who had just risen after being flung away—he reached out, drew the silver spear Xiao Yan had discarded back into his hand.

Bai Shan gritted his teeth and coldly shouted; silver Dou Qi surged over his body, his silver spear trembled, and lightning-like Dou Qi flickered and danced rapidly at its tip. As Bai Shan's spear tip shook violently, silver Dou Qi began to condense at the point, emitting a faint hissing sound—clearly, he was preparing a formidable Dou Ji, ready to fight to the death.

Beside him, Wu Hao and Hu Jia hesitated slightly, but their Dou Qi also surged rapidly—given their reputations at Jia Nan Academy, their pride made them loath to team up against an opponent.

But Xiao Yan's strength now forced all three to unite; there was no longer any room for holding back.

Especially since it was Xiao Yan—the rival for affection?!

Hearing Bai Shan's words, emerald-green and blood-red Dou Qi erupted violently from Hu Jia and Wu Hao; on their whip and heavy sword, ferocious offensive Dou Ji rapidly brewed—after their earlier defeats, they were now fighting with all they had!

Seeing the three prepare for a desperate final strike, Xiao Yan smiled faintly, respecting them—he drew out the Xuan Heavy Ruler, glanced around, and said: "You other forty-three—join in too. Hmm, seems there aren't forty-three left."

Xun Er and the others had already defeated several opponents; now only slightly more than thirty remained in the arena.

The silence in the arena lasted less than a minute before it shattered explosively!

"Thunderclap of Eight Directions!"

"Dark Wood Venom Snake Vine!"

"Blood-Cleaving Slash!"

In the arena, Bai Shan and the other two widened their eyes—their powerful Dou Ji had reached its peak; their weapons trembled violently, and instantly, three ferocious energies—silver, green, and red—shot out like lightning. Where the three energies passed, the hard ground shattered; jagged, blinding cracks spread all the way to the edges of the Guang Chang before stopping.

Seeing the three fully matured Xuan Jie High Grade Dou Ji attacks, Xiao Yan no longer held back—his Dou Qi surged, his Spiritual Soul barrier lifted, revealing his cultivation realm.

"Kuang! This kid is a Two-Star Dou Spirit?!" Several academy officials leapt to their feet, as if their worldview had collapsed. Nineteen years old and a Two-Star Dou Spirit?! Are you kidding?!

But their shock wasn't over—they felt Heavenly Energy stirring.

"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!"

(End of Chapter)