At the same time, five teams dressed in white were seated on a pile of rocks, and in other parts of the area, there were many onlookers.
"I heard the new students in this year's Fire Energy Hunting Competition are incredibly arrogant. Some even dared to snatch Fire Energy from the older students."
"Their team has already defeated several older student squads. The Black Fiends Team went in too; I wonder if they've crossed paths yet."
The surrounding onlookers chattered and laughed as they discussed the competition. New students actually putting up resistance was something that hadn't been heard of in a long time, and it drew the attention of many Inner Academy students.
On a high platform beside the pile of rocks were six or seven figures, with Elder Su and Elder Qing—whom Xiao Tian had seen at the main gate—seated in front.
"The Black Fiends Team has been defeated."
Elder Su's voice drifted out slowly. It wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in everyone's ears.
Whether the onlookers or the five-person team dressed in white, everyone was stunned by this sudden news. Were the new students already that strong?
"Elder Su, was it done by that rebellious team?" The fair-skinned youth sitting at the front of the white-clad team opened his eyes, a trace of solemnity on his face, and asked.
"No, they were instantly wiped out and defeated by one person. The kind where they had no chance of resisting at all."
Hearing Elder Su's words, the fair-skinned youth shot straight to his feet, his former indifference completely gone.
The others were equally shaken by the news.
A new student. One person. Instant kill. And they were older students!
Every single word made sense on its own, but when you put them all together, it just didn't compute.
The two Elders paid them no more attention. Elder Qing quietly asked Elder Su, "I can't see through that Xiao Tian's strength, but he definitely has Dou Ling strength. He instantly took down Sha Tie, who's at peak Great Dou Master, which means his strength must have reached the Dou Ling level—and not the kind that just broke through recently either."
"Then is there even any need for this competition to continue?"
Elder Su pondered for a moment, his brows tightly furrowing. "That kid and that team already know about the White Fiends Team's existence. Stopping the competition now is definitely not an option—it would only make the new students think the older students are cowards."
"It must be that crafty old Hu Gan's doing; he didn't tell us information this important."
"What's more, there's no need to stop it. If Xiao Tian's strength is high, then that's his good fortune—it's not our place to deprive him of it. The current older students have developed an arrogance that makes them look down on everyone else. It's high time they learned that there's always someone better out there."
"At any rate, no one will die in the competition, and that Xiao Tian kid is quite restrained in his actions. I'll report Xiao Tian's situation to the Grand Elder as well."
Elder Qing nodded silently, agreeing with Elder Su's reasoning.
Hu Gan: Me?? I don't even know what his cultivation is either! I wrote in the report that he instantly took down the former top three of the Outer Academy and more, but you all just didn't take it seriously.
…
Xiao Tian and Xun'er arrived at a large tree. The two sat on a branch, quietly listening to each other's heartbeats.
During this time, Xiao Tian had encountered an older student team led by someone named Leng Bai and gained a substantial amount of Fire Energy.
He'd also helped several new student teams recover their Fire Energy.
The two had no idea that the outside world had already exploded because of them. Some Inner Academy students who heard the news were rushing over in droves. If an Elder hadn't finally stepped in to stop it, probably half the Inner Academy would have shown up to watch the spectacle.
Xiao Tian allocated a portion of the Fire Energy from the Black Fiends Team and Leng Bai's team to Xun'er. He'd originally wanted to give her half, but Xun'er absolutely refused.
"Brother Tian, what should we do next?"
"The other teams are pretty poor. Let's leave them for Xiao Yan."
Xiao Tian thought for a moment. The other eight teams were not only hard to find but also quite broke when it came to Fire Energy. Since he'd already eaten the meat, he ought to at least leave some soup for his beloved little brother.
Right now, he was holding a huge sum of wealth, more than many Inner Academy students could ever hope to have.
"Our remaining target is the other team at the end, the White Fiends Team. They're the strongest team and probably have even more Fire Energy."
Xiao Tian toyed with the crystal card in his hand, his gaze falling on the three-digit number displayed on it, smiling with deep satisfaction.
"Brother Tian, you're staring at your black crystal card and smiling so lewdly."
Xun'er watched his expression and couldn't help but grumble.
Then she thought to herself: But this Brother Tian looks even more charming like this, even more… exciting.
Xiao Tian heard Xun'er's words and suddenly remembered something. He sat upright immediately.
"Xun'er, repeat what you just said."
Xun'er repeated the sentence as requested.
"Black crystal card… crystal card… oh, crap."
Xiao Tian finally remembered what it was. Luo Hou, the captain of the White Fiends Team, had exchanged his blue crystal card for a cyan crystal card some time ago. That guy was now completely, utterly broke.
"What's wrong, Brother Tian?"
Xun'er watched Xiao Tian's expression shift repeatedly and asked, puzzled.
Xiao Tian didn't hide it and gave her a brief explanation.
"Well, that's bad luck. Guess we'll just have to earn a little less, then."
…
Somewhere deep in the forest.
After two days of operations, Xiao Yan and the others had rescued more new students. Eventually, they defeated the two strongest older student teams—aside from the Black and White Fiends—that had come to encircle the new students.
After obtaining valuable information and dividing the Fire Energy, the Black Fiends Team, who had been lurking like a mantis stalking a cicada, finally appeared before Xiao Yan and his group.
Bai Shan used his cousin's name to abandon everyone and flee the battlefield, right under the furious glares of Xiao Yan and the other new students.
After Xiao Yan and the others fought tooth and nail to defeat the Black Fiends Team, they prepared to reap the rewards of their hard labor.
"How do all of you together only have this little Fire Energy?"
Xiao Yan and the others stared at the crystal cards of the five Black Fiends Team members, their faces filling with black lines of disbelief.
There were only pitifully tiny numbers on the cards. During the time after their defeat at Xiao Tian's hands, the Black Fiends Team had indeed plundered quite a bit of Fire Energy again. But compared to the Fire Energy of earlier, older student teams like Su Xiao's, it was still a huge chunk less.
"It was like this… and then like that…"
The Black Fiends Team could only helplessly explain that their Fire Energy had long since been taken.
"You guys, of all the people to provoke, you just had to provoke Brother Tian."
Xiao Yan shook his head as he took their remaining Fire Energy, then tossed the crystal cards back into their hands.
Xiao Yan distributed all the Fire Energy. The new students who'd had theirs stolen not only got it back but even gained two days' worth of Fire Energy each.
From Sha Tie, Xiao Yan also learned all about the White Fiends Team.
"Now that we've defeated the Black Fiends Team, the only remaining hurdle is the White Fiends Team waiting for us at the end. This is also the greatest challenge left."
"If we win, you can carry the Fire Energy on you into the Inner Academy. If we lose, then it'll just be a gift to the White Fiends Team."
Xiao Yan turned and looked at the new student teams gathered before him.
"We've only got one shot, so let's go all out and fight them! There are so many of us, and only five of them!"
The new students clutched their crystal cards, which they'd recovered and even managed to add a little to. Naturally, they were unwilling to hand them over this easily. Especially after hearing about just how important Fire Energy was, they were even more reluctant.
"Since no one wants to give up, let's gather all our strength and take them on."
"I'll also help treat your injuries so you can face them in the best condition possible."
Xiao Yan had already planned to refine a batch of healing medicine for them.
He spent that entire night refining those medicines.