Watching the dozens of students dart into the dense forest, Grand Elder Su Qian waited another four or five minutes before finally waving slightly at the twenty or so older students, indicating they could now act.
Seeing this, the group of older students beamed with joy and scrambled into the forest behind, afraid of having their prey snatched by others.
The older students willing to lower themselves to participate in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition mostly shared two common characteristics.
One was poverty.
The second was that within the Inner Academy, their strength and status were both unremarkable.
Even the Black White Twin Devils Team guarding the end of the forest, those two Dou Ling powerhouses, were not outstanding among the Dou Ling level in the Inner Academy; they belonged to the very ordinary type.
Otherwise, there were many ways to earn fire energy in the Inner Academy, and the stronger one was, the easier it was. There would be no need to target this group of new students, which not only drew criticism but also easily created enemies.
"You go too, and keep a close eye on things," Su Qian said to the few middle-aged men behind him.
Although he had already reminded them not to cause any deaths.
But when conflicts truly arose, a group of hot-blooded young people could easily get carried away and lose their minds.
Therefore, it was very necessary to have a few supervisors who could oversee the overall situation.
The few middle-aged men nodded slightly and immediately headed into the forest.
With that, only Grand Elder Su Qian, that Qin Elder, and the Outer Academy Vice Principal Hu Qian remained in the field.
"What's that kid's background?"
Su Qian looked at Hu Qian and asked.
Jia Nan Academy didn't particularly care about a student's identity, but it didn't completely ignore it either.
"Don't worry, he's clean. He's from a small empire called Jiama. His background is considered extremely ordinary among this batch of students. Compared to him, this kid surnamed Cao is more worth paying attention to. He comes from a refining family in the Central State, although it's a side branch, and he hasn't revealed his Alchemist identity in recent years."
Saying this, Hu Qian took out a stack of documents from his Storage Ring. The information of all fifty-one people was in it.
Including names, realms, and Dou Qi attributes.
As well as where the recruitment team had recruited them, or if they had come because of the academy's reputation.
Su Qian took the documents and put them into his Storage Ring.
He knew very well how attractive a Heavenly Flame was to an Alchemist. Therefore, even if he didn't want to speculate on the students' motives, he had to be cautious.
The Fallen Heart Flame was simply too important to Jia Nan Academy.
"I'll keep an eye on it. Are you going straight back to the Outer Academy now, or will you watch the hunting competition?"
"No rush, I'll watch for a bit before going back."
Exchanging glances, the three old men all showed smiles of enjoying the spectacle.
Immediately, Hu Qian and Qin Elder unfolded their Dou Qi wings and soared into the sky. Grand Elder Su Qian was even more unrestrained, rising into the air and walking on nothingness, his leisurely appearance making Hu Qian extremely envious.
A Dou Zong powerhouse and a peak Dou Huang, seemingly only a small step apart, yet the gap between them was like a chasm.
At the same time, this was also a watershed for powerhouses on the continent.
...
In the dense forest.
The dozens of new students entered the forest and scattered and fled with great tacit understanding.
Before encountering the older students' plundering, they still held onto hope, thinking that with smaller targets, they wouldn't be easily caught and might be able to sneak through the forest.
Therefore, except for a very small number of those with very good relationships, most people chose to go alone.
The top five were also like this.
Chen Xiao readily accepted this result. Only those with comparable strength or their own strengths could be called true teammates.
Otherwise, they would only be a burden.
He had no responsibility to drag fifty new students forward with a heavy load. At this moment, he only wanted to pass through this forest as quickly as possible and enter the Inner Academy.
Therefore, after setting off alone, Chen Xiao unfolded his Purple Cloud Wings and flew directly towards the depths of the forest, not even having the idea of plundering the twenty or so older students in reverse.
Because this group of older students were already poor ghosts, not much oil could be squeezed out of them, and it wasn't worth wasting time.
In contrast, the Black White Twin Devils Team that he would inevitably face at the end of the forest, those two Dou Ling powerhouses, were his target. Perhaps he could make a small profit.
And the real big prize was the reward mentioned by Su Qian.
The earlier one arrived, the richer the reward!
With that sentence, Chen Xiao had to break the record for the fastest completion no matter what.
This forest was very vast. Chen Xiao flew with his Purple Cloud Wings for a full ten minutes without seeing the end.
He did notice that in the sky behind, three figures were approaching rapidly. Their relaxed and leisurely appearance was much more refreshing than his own use of the Purple Cloud Wings.
Recognizing the identities of the three, Chen Xiao slightly slowed down.
However, after the three noticed his movement, they also slowed down, always maintaining a certain distance.
This state continued until they approached the end of the forest and saw the two teams of older students waiting below, and it was not broken.
"Captain, a new student is here."
Under a giant tree, five old students dressed in identical black tight-fitting clothes were lying around basking in the sun, looking like five ink-black shadows from a distance.
Hearing the light footsteps, one of the old students turned his head to look, rubbed his eyes, and then said,
"You're seeing things, aren't you? What time is it? It's hard to say if the new students have even gone ten li into this forest. How could it be..."
A tall young man lying in the middle casually responded, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly sat up.
As Chen Xiao got closer, he had already sensed this unfamiliar aura.
"You're a new student?"
Quickly calling his companions up, Du Tao asked with a suspicious look.
He could feel that this overly handsome young man was a Dou Ling, and his strength was very high, so high that he couldn't even sense the other party's specific realm.
This kind of situation, he had only experienced before with those old students on the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking.
But which of those figures wasn't at least three small realms higher than him?
And now, a young man who might be a new student made him feel this kind of pressure here. How could he not be suspicious?
Chen Xiao nodded, cupped his fists, and smiled, "I am indeed a new student. When I came in, I heard the Grand Elder say that in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition, new students and old students can snatch from each other. So, I would like to ask the five seniors to hand over your crystal cards. Let's prioritize peace."
Hearing this, the Black Devil Team, led by Du Tao, felt a strange sensation.
How can you say such arrogant words so politely?
"Impossible! There has never been such a precedent. If you want to snatch our fire crystal cards back, then let's fight!"
Du Tao decisively shook his head. Surrendering without a fight was impossible.
He was snatched from when he was a new student, and now that he's an old student, he's still being snatched from. Wouldn't that mean he became an old student for nothing?
With a low shout, Du Tao took out a bronze greatbow over a meter long from his storage ring, condensed Dou Qi into an arrow, and shot out a sharp arrow without hesitation.
This was actually a rare archer!
Chen Xiao's Dou Qi circulated within his body, ice-blue Dou Qi surged, and he reached out and swiped the space in front of him, condensing a smooth ice mirror.
"Ice Mirror!"
Chirp!
The sharp arrow shot onto the ice mirror, continuously making sizzling sounds.
However, other than creating a pile of ice shards on the ground, it was completely ineffective.
Chen Xiao raised his hand and flicked away the arrow whose power was almost exhausted. He lightly shook his right hand, and an ice spear appeared.
"Since the seniors are being unreasonable, then I can only offend you."
With a light laugh, Chen Xiao stepped on the ground and shot out at extreme speed. The four Da Dou Shi of the Black Devil Team didn't even put up much resistance before being sent flying by a single spear thrust.
Although Captain Du Tao was also a Dou Ling, he was only a one-star, and there was still a big gap between him and Chen Xiao, who had reached the peak of four-star Dou Ling.
When he quickly retreated, wanting to draw his bow and shoot again, Chen Xiao was already close.
*Bang!*
The ice spear sent the longbow flying, and the tip of the spear pointed directly at his glabella.
The chilling coldness made the captain of the Black Devil Team dare not move an inch.
Bullying the weak with strength was this simple!
"May I ask, junior, your surname?"
After a few seconds, Du Tao showed a bitter smile and took out his fire crystal card from his storage ring and handed it over.
If you lose, you have to admit it. Hesitating will only lead to more unnecessary beatings.
He had learned this lesson deeply back in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition when he first entered the Inner Academy.
"Chen."
Chen Xiao took the fire crystal card, tried it out a bit, and knew how to use it. Looking at the number forty-seven on it, he thought for a moment and then swiped away forty-five.
It wasn't because he was kind, but simply because he remembered the unwritten rule of the Fire Energy Hunting Competition: no matter how the old students and new students snatched from each other, they had to leave two points of fire energy for the other party.
Throwing the fire crystal card to Du Tao, Chen Xiao held the spear and walked towards the other four members of the Black Devil Team.
Soon, after some operations, the number on Chen Xiao's fire crystal card became eighty-nine.
This also included his original five points.
Looking at the not-so-good number on the fire crystal card, Chen Xiao frowned slightly.
As expected, the old students who came to participate in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition were really poor.
A Black Devil Team couldn't even gather a hundred, let alone those ordinary old student teams.
"If we had ample fire energy, we wouldn't have signed up for this hunting competition either."
Feeling Chen Xiao's dissatisfaction, Du Tao said with a bitter face. Then, he thoughtfully pointed Chen Xiao in a direction.
"There's a White Devil Team ahead. I know their captain, Fu Jun. His strength is only slightly stronger than mine. He just broke through to two-star Dou Ling. A few days ago, he hooked up with an Alchemist from the Medicine Gang. That woman directly gave him a large sum of fire energy. His current wealth is probably comparable to the total of all our old students in this forest. If he hadn't been unable to cancel after signing up, he probably wouldn't have come today."
"Do you have a grudge against him?"
"No enmity, but seeing him earn Fire Energy makes me feel worse than losing Fire Energy myself."
Hearing this answer, Chen Xiao couldn't help but chuckle.
He didn't linger there, immediately waving his hand and leaving.
A few minutes later.
In an open area filled with scattered rocks at the edge of the forest, Chen Xiao bent down and took the blue fire crystal card handed to him by the white-clothed youth with a bruised face.
Looking at the number on it, two hundred and sixteen!
"The Black Devil Team captain was right, your strength isn't much different from his, but your net worth is quite substantial. Thank you."
With a light laugh, Chen Xiao skillfully transferred the Fire Energy, leaving only two points for the other party.
Of course, the White Devil Team members couldn't be let off either.
After Chen Xiao finished dealing with them, the number on his fire crystal card reached an astonishing three hundred and forty-five!
The previous small change in the Library Pavilion's harvest, the other two Earth Rank Dou Skills and cultivation methods were changed to High Profound~
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