Battle Through the Heavens

Two figures were facing each other on the enormous open ground. The hands of the two of them were respectively shrouded by a deep blue and purple-colored flame. As the flames rose, they carried a high temperature that caused the space around the two of them to become a little twisted and illusionary.

The viewing gallery was completely silent as they watched the two different colored flames on the hands of the two of them. It was only a long while later before there was someone who released an exclamation of disbelief.

“Why can that Xiao Yan summon out an essence flame? Isn’t that something that can be only done by an alchemist or a strong person of the Dou Wang class and above?”

“Don’t tell me that this fellow is also an alchemist?”

“Purple colored flames, how beautiful…”

Numerous shocked sighs or doubtful voices repeatedly sounded on the viewing gallery around the open ground.

“Why does this brat also have this kind of flame?” Xiao Yu was also startled when she saw the change in situation within the arena. A moment later, she suddenly muttered, “That’s right, back then before he left, I heard that this fellow had a mysterious alchemist teacher. From the looks of it now, he should also be an alchemist? No wonder he can summon out an essence flame similar to Lu Mu’s.”

Xun Er, standing by the side, whose gaze had been staring at the arena, nodded slightly. According to Ling Ying’s report, she clearly knew in her heart that if Xiao Yan were to display all the trump cards which he currently held, it was likely that hardly any strong person of the same class within this academy would be able to defeat him. That Lu Mu may be considered a talented strong person who was hard to come by but he still did not possess too much of a threat from Xiao Yan’s point of view. The current Xiao Yan was far from that useless young man in the Xiao clan back then, who endured looks of disdain and ridicule. Currently, the training talent he had would cause anyone to feel shocked!

On the other side of the viewing gallery, Bai Shan’s expression had become a little darker and more solemn after Xiao Yan had summoned out the purple-colored flame. He also did not expect that the latter would actually possess such a powerful hidden card.

“Hee hee, Big Brother Bai Shan, you need not be worried. Even if that fellow has that kind of flame similar to Lu Mu, it does not mean that he is a match for you. Didn’t that Lu Mu back then lose to you despite having that Blue Crystal Flame of his?” As Bai Shan’s expression became slightly gloomy, a laughter that contained some flattery was emitted from his side. Bai Shan turned his head over to take a look. It was actually the few students from his class who usually followed him around. Bai Shan’s face did not display any joy at these fawning words, which he liked. He merely nodded his head and said faintly, “The Blue Crystal Flame of Lu Mu’s does indeed cause people to be afraid. Back then, I also relied on some luck when I defeated him. However, I wonder if his Blue Crystal Flame or that purple-colored flame is stronger.”

“Regardless of whoever wins, they would only face the prospect of being eliminated when they meet Big Brother Bai Shan. When that time comes, Junior Xun Er would naturally know how outstanding Big Brother Bai Shan is. Her seemingly indifferent but haughty character would definitely not allow her to walk together with a failure. By then, Big Brother’s wish would be fulfilled.”

The corner of Bai Shan’s mouth was lifted. No one got tired of hearing nice words. Moreover, the current him liked it the most when other people belittled Xiao Yan in front of him.

“Xiao Yan, I hope that you can defeat Lu Mu. Otherwise, won’t it be less fun for me? I will utterly defeat you in front of Xun Er. I want to let you have no face to appear in front of Xun Er again!” A clear, cold laughter sounded in his heart. The smile on Bai Shan’s face gradually turned warm. His hands hugged the front of his chest as he faintly watched the arena.

On the other side, that red-clothed young lady was similarly slightly shocked because of the Purple Flame which Xiao Yan had created. However, she quickly recovered. She quietly whispered to herself before throwing her focus into the arena. Compared to those fights earlier today, it was likely that this competition between Xiao Yan and Lu Mu would undoubtedly be the most interesting one. The haughty and arrogant her did not deny this point.

“Old Huo, how is it? Can you see what the origin of that Purple Flame of Xiao Yan’s is?” The Deputy Headmaster seated in the chair in the middle smiled as he eyed the old man of few words seated on his left.

“Seeing the thing which he had eaten earlier, I think it should be a medicinal pill or Yaowan that contained the seed of a wild flame. It is really unexpected that he could actually think of this method. However, this thing may appear easy to use but it is extremely difficult to control. There might be some difficulty if Xiao Yan wants to rely on this to contend with Lu Mu’s Blue Crystal Flame.” The old man called Old Huo mused for a moment before speaking slowly.

Although most of the information regarding Xiao Yan was known to the upper echelons of the Jia Nan Academy, they merely stopped at the rough record, etc. They did not know much about details similar to what kind of flames Xiao Yan possessed, or the finer details. Even though Jia Nan Academy had an information network that left one speechless, it could, after all, not find out everything that happened within the Jia Ma Empire, which was located tens of thousands of kilometers away. Due to them being pressed for time, the sources of information regarding Xiao Yan were mostly some information that their subordinates in their information network had gathered from the ordinary people of the empire. Moreover, there were many things about Xiao Yan which had not spread in that kind of place and in it’s place were baseless assertions that spread. Therefore, even the upper echelon of the Jia Ma Empire, which had obtained some information about Xiao Yan, were unaware just what kind of stage Xiao Yan’s control over the flame had reached.

This also predestined the heartfelt shock that they had felt today!

On the arena, Lu Mu also slowly recovered from the shock that the purple-colored flame above Xiao Yan’s hand had given him. He looked deeply once at the black-robed young man as he asked with a smile, “I didn’t expect to meet someone of the same occupation. I think that you should also be an alchemist, right?”

Xiao Yan nodded slightly without denying it.

“Although I don’t know your exact tier as an alchemist, I think that it should at least be around tier two. This kind of talent is really shocking.” Lu Mu sighed gently. The blue-colored flame in his hand immediately drifted slowly as he stared intently at the flame. A moment later, a surging combat intent seeped out of his body.

“Xiao Yan use your entire strength. Let me see exactly what extent you have reached with the fire that you specialize in!” Lu Mu inhaled a deep breath of air. He abruptly lifted his head and let out a stern cry. A fiery combat intent filled his eyes. As an alchemist, he could be unconcerned with losing to other people in terms of Dou Qi. However, he had an arrogance that belonged to him when it came to playing with fire!

As the stern cry fell, the blue-colored flame in Lu Mu’s palm suddenly surged explosively. Finally, it turned into two blue-colored circular fire arcs. The fire arcs circled around Lu Mu’s body like two blue snakes that possessed intelligence. They swam up and down, protecting him in their midst.

Xiao Yan’s ten fingers intersected each other. He immediately pulled them apart. Between the ten fingers, ten tiny purple colored flame were like tiny whips that coiled around each other. They agiley linked into a long whip, where the purple colored flame was rising from. The long whip shook and was lashed at the ground. A charred, black trace immediately appeared on the hard rock surface.

The two people in the arena appeared to be performing their extremely beautiful flame controlling ability. Countless number of people exclaimed from the viewing gallery. Some of the girls even could not resist forming stars in their eyes. This kind of pretty and elegant fighting method caused their hearts to have limitless yearnings toward this noble occupation known as alchemists.

Shock flashed across Lu Mu’s face when he saw the extremely long flame whip in Xiao Yan’s hand. The flame control ability of the other party was a little beyond his expectations. However, if it was only just to this point, it was still within the limit which he could handle.

Lu Mu’s feet moved slightly. The heels of his feet were slightly raised and suddenly stomped downward an instant later. His body appeared to have transformed into a blue shadow that directly shot explosively toward Xiao Yan.

“Chi!” Xiao Yan’s hand moved when he saw Lu Mu charging directly at him from the front. The long Purple Flame whip immediately turned into a vague, purple shadow that burst out. When the high temperature cut past the sky, it carried a strange sound, like hot oil meeting icy snow.

The attacking speed of the long Purple Flame whip was extremely quick. However, just as it was about to reach Lu Mu’s body, those two blue-colored fire arcs, which shrouded the surface of his body, suddenly increased their speed. They collided heavily with the Purple Flame whip. In an instant, countless sparks exploded out from the two colored flames.

The sparks continued for an instant when the blue shadow shot out once again. Xiao Yan’s long Purple Flame whip was actually completely blocked by Lu Mu’s fire arcs!

Lu Mu’s toes pushed and he shot into the region three meters from Xiao Yan’s body. The corner of his mouth was curled and his hands opened and close. Blue-colored flames suddenly materialized and in a sudden and immediate manner, began spiraling upward. It formed a spiraling, conical flame, only the size of a palm in an extremely short amount of time!

“Hee hee, Xiao Yan, this is an alchemist attacking skill that is unique to our Alchemist Department. Using fire to turn into Qi. The force that erupts from it would not be any weaker than Dou Skills! In the Alchemist Department, we call this ‘Pill Flame Skill’!” The conical swirling flame emitted a humming sound from within Lu Mu’s palm. Lu Mu parted his mouth and smiled. His palm suddenly smashed toward Xiao Yan’s chest.

The tip of the conical flame was directly pointed at Xiao Yan. The sharp portion of the peak created a circular, blue-colored line of wind due to the high speed rotation, turning it into a swirl that appeared at the tip of the flame.

“‘Pill Flame skill’? The Alchemist Department here does indeed has some skill. It actually allows the alchemist to use a flame in this manner! No wonder even teacher gave such high praises for Jia Nan Academy. It does indeed has some outstanding places!” Xiao Yan clearly sensed the terrifying energy contained in the conical flame that was shooting explosively toward him. A shock flashed across his heart. Moving with his thoughts, the purple-colored flame whip in his hand instantly shrunk into a cluster of purple-colored flames.The flames wiggled swiftly and under Xiao Yan’s abnormally great Spiritual Strength, the purple-colored flame cluster was divided into two in the blink of an eye. A large portion of it was forcefully constructed into a purple-colored flame curtain, while the other small portion was quietly rolled down along Xiao Yan’s hand. Finally, it fell onto the ground like a dead snake without anyone noticing.

At this moment, that spiraling conical flame also finally carried a sharp wind splitting sound as it violently smashed into the flame curtain. An intense explosion immediately appeared. It carried a circle of two colored flame waves that erupted and surged out from the center of the arena. An instant later, the heat wave swept through the entire stadium. Those students in the surrounding viewing galleries could not resist turning their heads sideways to avoid the hot air that had suddenly appeared.

Within the arena where the flame wave exploded out, a blue figure suddenly shot back explosively. After his feet slid on the ground for a couple of meters, he finally raised his head and watched the spot where the flame wave had gradually disappeared. A moment later, the flame wave had completely disappeared, but he did not see a human figure within it.

Lu Mu was slightly startled when he saw this scene. He looked all around him when he suddenly realized that his arms and legs had a slight searing feeling. As he hurriedly lowered his head, his eyes shrunk, realizing that his hands and feet had unknowingly been entangled by two purple-colored chains!

The two fire chains revolved around Lu Mu’s hands and legs, much like two small snakes, while emitting a faint heat.

“Don’t move. Otherwise, these fire chains will explode. Should that happen, you would not be able to keep your hands and legs.” A faint voice suddenly sounded from behind Lu Mu, causing Lu Mu, who had just wanted to resist, to stiffen his entire body.

Lu Mu turned his head with some difficulty. He looked at Xiao Yan, who had unknowingly appeared behind him, and realized that the current him has his right palm slightly opened. Following the movement of his finger, Lu Mu could clearly sense that the temperature of the fire chains that bound his hands and legs had already gradually leaped.

“This fellow… is actually… actually able to control the flame in such an exquisite manner!” Lu Mu eyed Xiao Yan, who was around ten meters from him, but was actually still able to control the flame which had left his body. Shock flashed across Lu Mu’s eyes. This kind of distance was something that not even an ordinary tier four alchemist could achieve!

Xiao Yan stood over ten meters away from Lu Mu on the arena while the latter was standing in the same spot with his entire body stiffened. There were a few chains formed by purple-colored flames on his body, which were slowly roaming over him, much like a rope which trapped him within and caused him to be afraid of making the slightest struggle.

In the surrounding viewing gallery, those students, who had just turned their heads away due to the wave of hot air, once again threw their gaze into the arena. However, they coincidentally ended up seeing this strange scene causing astonishment to immediately surface on their faces.

There were only a few countable people in the viewing gallery who had clearly seen how Lu Mu was defeated. Even Bai Shan and the others failed to discover. Therefore, his face was currently completely covered with shock.

“Good brat. Dividing the flame into two. One of them was used to defend and attract Lu Mu’s attention while the other was lying hidden underground, creating a trap and waiting for Lu Mu to step onto it. Although the trap was hidden quite coarsely, this was during combat and there was also the cover of flames. Who would spend a great effort to observe their feet. This kind of doing two things simultaneously requires quite a great amount of Spiritual Strength to complete. This Xiao Yan is worthy of being someone who became the champion of the Jia Ma Empire’s Alchemist Grand Meeting.” The Old Huo, in the middle viewing gallery, slowly exhaled. His face was filled with amazement.

“I have lost…” Lu Mu did not dare move his body. A long while later, he merely sighed, turned his head toward Xiao Yan and bitterly said.

Xiao Yan smiled when he heard this. He clapped his hands softly and the purple-colored flame surrounding Lu Mu’s body immediately transformed into nothingness. Xiao Yan’s unintentionally revealing this caused Lu Mu to laugh bitterly once again.

“This Alchemist Department’s ‘Pill Flame Skill’ is also very strong. If I had not used the Dou Qi to agglomerate a small part of the Dou Qi Armor in front of my chest earlier, I would not have been able to block Lu Mu’s Spiraling Conical Flame with just the Purple Flame curtain. Looks like if I have the chance in the future, I should study the ‘Pill Flame Skills’. Should I be able to practice it, there would be some additional tactics when I fight with others in the future.” Xiao Yan lowered his head and eyed his black robe, where a hole had been burned while muttering in his heart.

“This match is won by Xiao Yan of the Huang Class – Second Class!” A clear voice from the judge’s seats was once again emitted.

“Boom!”

As the voice of the judge fell, a cheer that came from all direction immediately sounded. The fight between two alchemists today was an eye opener for them!

The name Xiao Yan, would perhaps begin to spread within the entire academy from this moment on. Only until this moment did those doubts about Xun Er’s judgement begin to completely disappear. No matter how one put it, a person who not only had an outstanding training talent in terms of Dou Qi but also had a great gift in terms of refining medicine, was someone that one could hardly find, even if placed in the entire Outer Academy!

The Xiao Yan today had truly become famous after one battle!