Battle Through the Heavens

The atmosphere was solidified and quiet in this spacious, empty ground. One by one, numerous gazes stared at the unmoving Fu Ao who lay dozens of meters away. There was a shock that was difficult to hide within their gazes.

This was a three star elite Dou Ling. With Fu Ao’s strength, he could enter the top seventy, even if placed within the entire Inner Academy. Now, however, he was defeated by a new student who had just arrived in the Inner Academy no more than five days ago. Moreover, this defeat… was actually miserable to such an extent. They thought of how Fu Ao was still acting triumphantly just ten minutes ago only to end up currently lying not far away like a dead dog. This comical scene really caused everyone watching from around him to feel a bizarre feeling.

“*Cough*, *cough*, *cough*…”

An intense coughing sound suddenly sounded in the empty ground, breaking the quiet atmosphere

The heavy ruler in Xiao Yan’s hand made contact with the ground. One of his knees was involuntarily placed on the ground. Some paleness appeared on his delicate and handsome face. Dense amounts of cold sweat repeatedly seeped out from his forehead. Looking from his hurried breathing, it was clear that this victory was not without a price.

“Xiao Yan ge-ge, are you alright?” A figure flashed and appeared at Xiao Yan’s side. Her delicate hand looped around Xiao Yan’s waist. That green-clothed young lady could not help but speak with heartache as she eyed the pale white face belonging to Xiao Yan.

“I’m fine. It is just the backlash for forcefully raising my strength,” Xiao Yan lifted his body up with great difficulty as he clenched his teeth and shook his head. The ‘Sky Fire Three Mysterious Change’ may allow him to raise his strength for a short period of time, but the damage that the wild energy caused within his body was also quite extreme. If it was not because Xiao Yan was an alchemist and he had Yao Lao, an extremely experienced Alchemist Grandmaster helping him from within, it was likely that even he wouldn’t dare to use this technique carelessly. Even though this was the case, his body would feel terrible pain every time he used it.

Xiao Yan’s hand rested on Xun Er’s delicate shoulder. His eyes coldly glanced at Fu Ao, who lay some distance away. Originally, this fellow would not lose so miserably, However, he underestimated the extent at which a ‘Heavenly Flame’ restrained water affinity Dou Qi. It was likely that Xiao Yan would also not dare to fight head on against that powerful attack which combined Dou Skill and a Dou Qi agglomerated object had it been an element which was not suppressed by the ‘Heavenly Flame.’

However, regardless of whether there was the element of luck in this fight, Xiao Yan had obtained victory. This was already sufficient!

Xiao Yan took a medicinal pill for healing internal injuries from his storage ring and stuffed it into his mouth. Only then did he turn his head and throw his gaze toward Bai Shan’s group.

Seeing Xiao Yan’s sharp, knife-like gaze being thrown over, the group of people from the ‘White Gang,’ including Bai Shan, could not resist taking two steps back. Their faces were filled with vigilance as they watched Xiao Yan.

“Fu Ao has lost. Take him away. Remember your promise to us. There are quite a number of witnesses present. If you want to go back on your word, this ‘White Gang’ of yours will be completely discredited.” Xiao Yan did not adopt any overly stimulating action and merely spoke in a cold voice.

“This fool thinks so highly of himself. He thinks no one can beat him just because he is a three star Dou Ling. Now, not only did he lose, he also left Xiao Yan and Pan’s Gate half a year to develop. After half a year, it is likely that Older Cousin will have to personally come here if they want to remove ‘Pan’s Gate’!” Bai Shan gnashed his teeth and cursed angrily in his heart as he eyed Fu Ao, lying not far away like a dead dog.

“Let’s go!” Bai Shan’s entire body felt uncomfortable as he was stared at by Xiao Yan’s stark, cold gaze. A moment later, he finally waved his hand as he cried out with a depressed and extremely unwilling tone.

Once he said this, he took the lead in turning around and swiftly walked out of the new students’ residency. Behind him, a few ‘White Gang’ members hurriedly followed. Two people stepped out and grabbed Fu Ao as they passed by him along the way.

Seeing the group of people disappearing from the edge of their sight in a miserable looking manner, those members of ‘Pan’s Gate,’ whose nerves were tense, finally sighed in relief. However, this time, they did not let out any cheers. They exchanged glances with one another and saw an urgentness in each other’s eyes. What they saw, was an urgentness for their strength to increase.

Although they had only just entered the Inner Academy a couple days ago, they were truly able to sense the importance that strength had in the Inner Academy. Previously, they could all be considered among the best in the Outer Academy. However, now they were the most ordinary members within the Inner Academy. In order to be able to not receive a humiliation like the one today, they must raise their strength as quickly as possible. They clearly understood in their hearts that it was impossible to completely rely on Xiao Yan and the others to bear all the matters within this Inner Academy. As members of ‘Pan’s Gate,’ they also needed to contribute!

“Everyone, the show’s over. Please take your leave.” Xiao Yan cupped his hands and smiled at the surrounding older students who were watching as he spoke.

Hearing Xiao Yan’s guest expelling order, those observers around also cupped their hands toward Xiao Yan in an extremely polite manner. After which, they walked out in small groups, repeatedly engaging in private conversations along the way. It was likely that they were discussing the fight that had concluded earlier.

“Ke ke, Xiao Yan ge-ge, I’m afraid that very soon, the matter of you defeating Fu Ao will spread throughout the Inner Academy.” Xun Er smiled lovingly as she supported Xiao Yan.

“This is also good. At the very least, it should be able to frighten those factions that have some ill intentions toward our ‘Pan’s Gate.’” Xiao Yan sighed again. He raised his head and eyed those members of the ‘Pan’s Gate’, who were looking at him fervently. He slowly said, “Everyone, I think now all of you understand just how important strength is within this Inner Academy, right?”

“Yes!” The dozens of new students nodded uniformly.

“Without strength, we can only be bullied by people who block our entrance! Do you all want to endure what happened today a second time?” Xiao Yan questioned in a deep voice.

“No!” A flush suddenly swarmed onto the faces of all the new students. The blood in their hearts boiled as they roared.

“From tomorrow on, the members of ‘Pan’s Gate’ will begin to enter the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower’ to train. By relying on Fu Ao’s defeat today, there should not be any other factions coming to find trouble with us for a short period of time. Hence, we must raise our strength as quickly as possible during this period of time!” Xiao Yan’s voice was low as he spoke.

“Moreover, by defeating Fu Ao today, we have undoubtedly given the ‘White Gang’ a ruthless slap to the face. Hence, they will definitely not let this matter rest. Due to their promise, they will perhaps not attack us during this half a year’s time. However, once half a year has passed, the ‘White Gang’ will definitely show up!”

“In order for us to be able to resist the ‘White Gang’ in half a year’s time, the matter of raising your strength is extremely urgent!”

All the members of the ‘Pan’s Gate’ had flushed faces as they nodded heavily after hearing Xiao Yan’s cry!

“Alright. everyone can disperse for today. Gather here tomorrow. We will collectively enter the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower!’” Xiao Yan waved his hand. He immediately turned his body and walked toward the small pavilion home. Just as he was about to enter the door, his footsteps suddenly paused as he whispered to Xun Er beside him, “That’s right, call Atai over here. I have some questions to ask him.”

“Yes.” Xun Er nodded slightly, turned her body and left.

……

“How much do you know about the ‘White Gang?’”

Xiao Yan, Xun Er, Wu Hao, and Hu Jia were all seated on chairs in the hall. Atai was also seated on a seat toward the left side. Xiao Yan’s question was obviously directed at him.

“The leader of the ‘White Gang’ is called Bai Cheng, the older cousin of Bai Shan. He is very strong with a strength around that of a six star Dou Ling. It is said that he is also an expert on the ‘Strong Ranking.’ He is also considered to be a person with a prominent reputation within the Inner Academy.” Atai thought for a moment before he spoke slowly.

“A six star Dou Ling? An expert on the ‘Strong Ranking’? What is his rank?” Xiao Yan frowned slightly as his finger gently tapped on the surface of the table. He had already displayed the ‘Sky Fire Three Mysterious Change’ when he fought with Fu Ao, this three star Dou Ling. Moreover, he had relied on the advantage of the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ in order to luckily defeat the latter. If he were to meet a six star Dou Ling, there would be a gap of a whole class. His chances of victory… unless he used the ‘Flame Splitting Tsunami’ or… a large scale ‘Angry Buddha Lotus Flame,’ his chances of victory would basically be nil.

“Thirty four.”

Atai replied honestly. His understanding of the Inner Academy somewhat exceeded Xiao Yan’s expectations.

“A six star Dou Ling is only ranked thirty four… this ‘Strong Ranking’ of the Inner Academy does indeed have quite a lot of golden content.” Xun Er held a warm teacup as she spoke with a smile touching the corner of her mouth.

“Yes. It is indeed very challenging.” Wu Hao nodded with a smile. A wild and heated fighting spirit filled his face.

Xiao Yan crossed his ten fingers, leaned his body on the back of the chair, and sighed, “What about the other members of the ‘White Gang?’ What is their strength like?”

“Other than Bai Cheng, the ‘White Gang’ has three more elite Dou Ling. One of them is Fu Ao whom you fought with today. The fighting strength of the other two is perhaps a little stronger than Fu Ao, but their levels are all around that of three star Dou Lings.” Atai sighed, “There are in total thirty-four other members. Thirteen of them are strong Da Dou Shi. The remaining are mostly around the peak Dou Shi class. If they gain the opportunity, they may directly advance to the Da Dou Shi class.”

“Four Dou Ling, thirteen Da Dou Shi and the rest are at the peak of the Dou Shi class…” Xiao Yan sighed and muttered, “This ‘White Gang’ is indeed quite strong… troublesome.”

“They are indeed quite strong. This ‘White Gang’ may not be considered a top notch faction within the Inner Academy, but there are not many people who would openly provoke them.” Atai laughed bitterly, “If it was in the past, a faction of the level that the ‘White Gang’ is in would usually not find trouble with a new student faction. This time around, it is likely due to Bai Shan that they came and find us.”

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. Bai Shan and him had long since been in conflict. Now that the former had entered the Inner Academy and had strength that he could borrow, it was natural that he would come and find trouble with Xiao Yan. Putting it this way, ‘Pan’s Gate’ can be considered to have been implicated by him.

“Do everything like I have said earlier. From tomorrow on, the members of ‘Pan’s Gate’ will enter the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower’ to train. We need to raise our strength in the shortest amount of time.” Xiao Yan mused for a moment before raising his head and asking, “Everyone has sufficient ‘Fire Energy’ in their hands, no?”

“Ke ke, thanks to Chief, the ‘Fire Energy’ which we had obtained from the Hunting Competition is sufficient for us to train for one month in the tower.” Atai smiled and nodded his head.

“Yes, that’s good…” Xiao Yan nodded and let out a gentle breath of air. He softly muttered, “Hopefully, there will not be any other unexpected troubles occurring. The current ‘Pan’s Gate’ is really too weak. It really is troublesome for us to establish a foothold in this Inner Academy.”