Chapter 241: Fame Resounds Through the Inner Court

"You see? I told you not to get on his bad side." At that moment, Bai Shan, the only member of the White Gang who hadn't fought, spoke softly.

Although the White Gang lost and had to pay several hundred days' worth of Fire Energy in total, Bai Shan still felt a small sense of satisfaction—at least it proved his judgment was right; he hadn't been wrong.

Lost, alright? Now do you see I was right?

Gazing at Bai Cheng and Yao Sheng, defeated by Xiao Yan and Xun Er, the entire Guang Chang fell into an eerie silence; many had yet to recover from the shock.

The remaining senior disciples still on the arena had all lost their Battle Intention and raised their hands in surrender.

Bai Cheng, a Sixth-Star Dou Spirit ranked thirtieth on the Strong List, and Yao Sheng, ranked seventeenth—two of them together still couldn't defeat two New Students who had entered the Inner Court less than a month ago!

Although some had suspected this from the start of the battle, when the reality appeared before them, everyone still found it hard to believe.

"Those New Students actually beat so many seniors!"

"Beat them? Pfft! If Xiao Yan hadn't used that strange sonic Dou Technique to instantly knock out a whole crowd and injure even more, how could these New Students, barely at Great Dou Shi level, have beaten five times their number of seniors?"

Everyone fell silent, because no matter how you looked at it, this battle was unwinnable—the seniors held overwhelming advantages in Cultivation Realm and numbers.

But Xiao Yan's strange sonic Dou Technique had struck their Spiritual Souls, leaving those Dou Spirits unable to activate their Dou Techniques or even gather their Dou Qi.

This kind of sonic Dou Technique, capable of piercing straight through defenses and striking the Spiritual Soul directly, none of the Inner Court's many people had ever seen before.

All the seniors understood: this battle had been carried by Xiao Yan alone, who had rallied all the New Students, and then, despite exhausting vast amounts of Dou Qi, he still held firm against Yao Sheng and Bai Cheng's pincer attack until Xun Er finished clearing the remnants and came to assist.

And even more terrifying: even if they knew Xiao Yan relied on the sonic Dou Technique, a wide-area attack, should it happen again, the senior alliance still couldn't win—because that sonic Dou Technique was utterly undefeatable.

On the judging platform, Liu Elder stood up with a smile, his gaze sweeping the entire arena; after a moment, he slowly said: "This faction battle is won by Xiao Yan's Xiao Dian!"

As Liu Elder's verdict echoed, applause instantly erupted across the arena; the looks directed at the black-robed young man in the center held unmistakable awe and reverence—Xiao Yan's displayed power had utterly subdued them.

A Sixth-Star Dou Spirit, possessing a powerful sonic Dou Technique and a Flying Dou Technique, plus a Secret Technique to temporarily boost his strength—with so many trump cards, Xiao Yan's combat power likely qualifies him to challenge the monsters in the Strong List Top Ten; whether he wins depends on the circumstances.

Xiao Yan smiled, his gaze turning to the green-clad girl beside him; in Xun Er's beautiful eyes, a faint smile and tenderness lingered.

"Was it you who emitted that Dragon Roar?"

A voice came from the entrance of the Guang Chang; though calm, its transmission, amplified by powerful Dou Qi, was louder than the applause in the arena.

The audience instinctively stopped clapping and turned in unison toward the entrance.

"That's Lin Xiuya, ranked second on the Strong List!"

"And third, Liu Qing! Fifth, Yan Hao! Sixth, Qin Zhen! Eighth, Qian Mo! Ninth, Lin Yan!"

"What's going on? Why have so many of the Strong List Top Ten, who are rarely seen, all shown up at once!"

"Oh right—Xiao Yan's sonic Dou Technique just now probably reached the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta!"

Liu Qing frowned; he saw his cousin on the field, and many of his Crack Mountain Gang members were there too—not in the spectator stands, but writhing in pain on the arena.

Only then did Liu Qing remember: a few days ago, his cousin had told him someone had provoked the Crack Mountain Gang, and Yao Sheng and Lei Na planned to retaliate.

"You're Xiao Yan?" Liu Qing was tall, dressed in a simple cloth robe, his face stern, eyebrows thick, and a black heavy spear, as long as his height, slung diagonally across his back; he walked slowly onto the Guang Chang.

From the moment this man appeared, the spotlight seemed to shift entirely to him—such piercing aura, in any place, would never be underestimated.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, his eyes calm and unruffled: "You're Liu Qing?"

"Big brother Liu Qing!" Amid their exchange, a graceful figure leapt down from the stands; Liu Fei called out sweetly to Liu Qing, then stood obediently behind him, though her glances toward Xiao Yan carried a hint of smugness.

She chattered away in Liu Qing's ear, listing Xiao Yan's faults.

As if Liu Qing's presence meant invincibility—in Liu Fei's mind, Xiao Yan's recent dominance meant nothing compared to even a fraction of Liu Qing's power.

Liu Qing glanced calmly at Liu Fei, then turned to Xiao Yan: "I understand Liu Fei's temperament somewhat, but as leader of the Crack Mountain Gang, since you defeated my members, I have no reason not to act."

Xiao Yan brushed dust from his sleeves: "I, Xiao Yan, accept."

Sometimes, matters have no right or wrong—only differing positions. Xiao Yan didn't blame Liu Qing for defending his gang; had he been in Liu Qing's place, he'd have done the same.

"Xiao Yan is under my protection—who dares touch him?"

A childish voice, clear and melodious, yet beneath it, even the domineering Liu Qing's expression changed; he turned toward the sound and saw Zi Yan, hands on hips, head held high, wearing a fierce expression.

Though she looked harmless, the faint menace in her eyes made those who met her gaze break into cold sweat.

"Heh, if it isn't Senior Zi Yan." Liu Qing couldn't help but smile, bowing slightly, then added: "I merely wish to spar with my junior—no other intent."

At the entrance, Lin Xiuya and the others all shrank back slightly; they had all challenged Zi Yan before—and ended up beaten badly, with no chance to fight back.

Lin Xiuya stepped forward and said: "Senior Zi Yan misunderstands—given Xiao Yan's strength, he'll surely make the Strong List Top Ten this year; when he meets Senior Liu Qing at the Strong List Conference, they can fight to their hearts' content. I believe that's what Senior Liu Qing means."

Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing had been opponents in last year's conference; Liu Qing lost by half a move and took third place—they were rivals turned allies.

Liu Qing nodded in agreement.

Zi Yan stopped beside Xiao Yan, pouted at him, and said: "If anyone bullies you, tell me—I'll handle it."

As she spoke, her large, dark, lively eyes swept the crowd; everyone she locked eyes with immediately shook their heads frantically, scalp tingling.

"You little girl, do you think I need your protection? This is just a small matter—I can handle it myself."

Amid everyone's gaze, Xiao Yan shook his head with a smile; though he knew Zi Yan was an extremely powerful beast, ranked first on the Strong List, her childish appearance made him never consider using her name to show off. Besides, what happened wasn't even true bullying—it now looked more like he was bullying them.

Liu Qing cleared his throat; since Zi Yan had intervened, he obviously couldn't say any more warning words.

Xiao Yan said: "Let this matter end here. At the Strong List Conference, I, Xiao Yan, will see just how strong last year's Top Ten really are."

Xiao Yan's gaze swept over the few people present—undoubtedly, these were the strongest students in the Inner Court right now.

As Liu Qing and Liu Fei had taken only a few steps, Xiao Yan suddenly remembered something, turned, and called to Xiao Mei behind him: "Xiao Mei."

Xiao Mei blinked, then walked over with a flourish, smiling sweetly: "Big brother Xiao Yan, what is it?"

"You saw Liu Fei, right? Acting superior because she has a powerful cousin and a bit of beauty—she'll eventually cause trouble." Xiao Yan spoke seriously.

Xiao Mei's words made Liu Fei, who had just taken two steps, freeze—she stared at Xiao Yan in shock: What does this have to do with me??

And Xiao Mei was stunned too: I don't even know her!

"Don't learn from her, alright? Even if we're strong, we mustn't bully the weak—if we offend someone we can't afford to offend, trouble will come." Xiao Yan spoke with the weight of a mentor, using Liu Fei as a negative example.

Imagine if one day Xiao Mei or a junior from the family was bullied—wouldn't Xiao Yan then act just like Liu Qing, stepping in to defend them?

"The same goes for Xiao Dian disciples—even if we grow strong, we must never bully the weak. We must cherish peace, develop together, and ensure Xiao Dian never loses its purity, its essence, its spirit. Understood?"

"Understood!" The Xiao Dian disciples shouted in unison.

Hearing Xiao Yan use her as a negative example, Liu Fei cursed: "You're using me as a negative example? Who do you think you are? You just beat Yao Sheng—do you think you can compare yourself to my cousin Liu Qing?!"

Seeing Liu Fei constantly mention "cousin," Xiao Mei fell into thought.

After Xiao Yan led the New Students to defeat the Senior Students' Alliance, all doubts about Xiao Hall vanished. Especially after Xiao Yan won ten thousand Fire Energy from the bet, every Inner Court student realized one thing: Xiao Hall possessed such resources, and sooner or later would stand alongside Wolf Fang, Crack Mountain Gang, and the Medicine Gang.

And Xiao Yan's name resounded throughout the Inner Court—no one was unaware of it.

However, Xiao Yan did not hoard the ten thousand Fire Energy; he gave each of the forty New Students who fought a hundred days' worth of Fire Energy, while Hu Jia, Wu Hao, Xiao Mei, Xiao Yu, and Xiao Ning each received four hundred days' worth—six thousand Fire Energy total.

Of the remaining four thousand Fire Energy, two thousand were kept for Xiao Hall's development, and Xiao Yan and Xun Er each received one thousand Fire Energy for their greatest contributions.

Although Xiao Yan now had another thousand Fire Energy, the deeper one went in the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta, the higher the Fire Energy consumption became.

Xiao Yan inquired with Zi Yan and learned that in the seventh level, Zi Yan's exclusive Room One required thirty Fire Energy per day!

Even though the academy granted free Fire Energy to each of the Strong List Top Ten once a month—Zi Yan received three hundred days' worth monthly—it still wasn't enough to sustain her daily training in Room One.

Time flew; since the faction battle, two months had passed in the blink of an eye.

Boom—one punch from Zi Yan sent Xiao Yan crashing from the Sky, leaving a massive crater.

"Kuang, your physical strength is insane—I can't beat you, I give up!" Xiao Yan lay in the crater, raising his hand in surrender.

(End of Chapter)