Battle Through the Heavens

Xiao Yan walked to the sixth level of the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.’ He eyed the space in the tower that was more open when compared to the previous few levels. He could not help but quietly sigh in his heart, “With this kind of environment and treatment, it is indeed worthy of being a place that only the top experts from the Inner Academy have the qualifications to enter.”

The space of the sixth level was quite large. The rock walls in the tower were dark-pink in color. Threads of strange heat were seeping out from within, causing one’s entire body to feel a relaxed warm feeling. This place may be spacious, but there were so few people that it was pathetic. Xiao Yan glanced over it. This large place merely had a few countable human figures standing within it. Compared to the situation above where there was a sea of people, there was undoubtedly a difference that was as vast as that of the Heavens and the Earth.

The conditions to enter the sixth level were extremely harsh. Even some of the experts on the ‘Strong Ranking’ did not possess that kind of qualification. Therefore, it was within reason that there were very few people present.

Xiao Yan’s gaze merely gave this place a rough glance before he ceased hesitating and walked to the deep region of the sixth level.

Xiao Yan naturally adopted a plan to undertake a retreat by coming to the sixth level of the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower’ at this moment. The approaching ‘Strong Ranking’ Grand Competition had also caused him to feel a little anxious. It might have been because of the pain and fury caused by the change in the condition of his clan that allowed his aura to reach the peak of a one star Dou Ling. In addition, he was lucky to break through to a two star Dou Ling in the three days of closely packed intense fights, he still felt a quite a great pressure to enter the top ten of the ‘Strong Ranking’ grand competition within this strength. After all, the current top ten of the ‘Strong Ranking’ were all at the peak of the Dou Ling class. Lin Xiuya, Yan Hao, Liu Qing, and the others had even managed to touch a little of the barrier to the Dou Wang class. Such strength was sufficient to contend with the leaders of some factions within the ‘Black-Corner Region’. How could an ordinary ‘Strong Ranking’ expert pose even the slightest threat to them?

There was nearly twenty more days until the beginning of the ‘Strong Ranking’ Grand Competition. Xiao Yan’s plan was to try to raise his strength as much as possible during these twenty days, increasing his chances of entering the top ten by a little.

The place within the Inner Academy that could enable one to increase one’s strength was naturally the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower’. Adding this to the extra qualification that Xiao Yan currently had, this sixth level was naturally the best choice!

……

Xiao Yan walked slowly into the deeper regions. Along the way, Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised to find that the training rooms on this sixth level were much more exquisite than those of the fifth level while the number of rooms was actually reduced by over half. Xiao Yan mused a little with regards to this only to come to a sudden understanding. There were not many students in each batch who had the qualifications to enter this place to train. Hence, there was no need for many training rooms.

Xiao Yan gradually entered the area of the sixth level. This place was quite a large resting ground. There were around a couple dozen human figures there. All of these people had extraordinary auras. Powerful breaths spread out from their bodies and surrounded this resting place. Clearly, the strength of these people could at the very least be ranked within the top thirty of the ‘Strong Ranking’.

Some private conversations suddenly sounded quietly the moment that Xiao Yan stepped into the resting area. Numerous gazes that appeared calm, but contained sharp glints shot out. Finally, they stopped on Xiao Yan who had just entered the place. They were immediately startled as soft uncertain voices sounded.

“Two star Dou Ling? Since when can someone with this kind of strength enter the sixth level? Has the Inner Academy lowered the criteria?”

Some people as expected began to ask such questions. Although Xiao Yan had quite a great reputation within the Inner Academy, every single person who could stand here had a prominent reputation within the Inner Academy. Perhaps they had heard of the name Xiao Yan, but there were very few of them who had seen him. After all, with their character of being crazy over training, they would seldom go and pay attention to matters that were not very related to them. Hence, they felt a little uncertain and surprise when they saw that Xiao Yan could actually enter the sixth level with the strength of a two star Dou Ling.

“Xiao Yan?” Of course, it was not as though everyone did not recognize Xiao Yan. Not long after Xiao Yan appeared, a surprising but familiar voice sounded. Lin Yan’s figure immediately appeared in Xiao Yan’s sight.

Xiao Yan smiled when faced with Lin Yan. He gave a careless greeting, “It is really unexpected that you are also here.”

“Looks like you really have quite a great amount of special privilege in this Inner Academy. You are actually able to step into the sixth level with just the strength of a two star Dou Ling. I wonder how many would be envious.” Lin Yan smiled as he spoke.

Xiao Yan smiled, but did not express any remarks because of this.

“Little fellow, I heard that you actually took on fifteen challengers and did not even lose to one of them? What a lucky fellow. You should pray and give thanks that those truly strong fellows are all training bitterly during this period of time. Otherwise, from the grand manner in which you built your fighting stage, you would definitely have had some fellows that are difficult to deal with go to tear down your stage.” Lin Yan was unconcerned about Xiao Yan’s silence as he patted the latter’s back and spoke. Although Lin Yan had been training within the ‘Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower’ during this period of time, he still heard some rumors about what happened.

“Ai, I’m indeed a little lucky. However, I was only thinking of putting an end to the unceasing number of challengers. After all, I also need to train, right?” Xiao Yan laughed softly.

“Your position is indeed quite troublesome. I have stayed in this position for a year, but have not even received a single challenge.” Lin Yan smiled and spoke in a somewhat gloating manner.

Xiao Yan helplessly shook his head. He raised it and swept his gaze once across the resting area. Perhaps it was because Lin Yan had shouted at him earlier but there were quite a number of gazes that were looking at him with a little less surprise. It appeared that they may not be very familiar with Xiao Yan’s appearance, but they were unfamiliar with this name.

Although there was a little surprise, Xiao Yan ended up feeling that there seemed to be quite a number of people who seemed interested in his appearance.

“The people here are all those people difficult to deal with that I have told you about. You should quietly be a little more careful. You can call me if there is anyone who comes and finds trouble with you. I have also been training here during this period of time and have not fought with anyone for a long time. My bones are itching every day. It would not be bad if I am able to warm up just before the ‘Grand Competition’.” Lin Yan’s gaze looked all around him. He quietly increased his volume and basically allowed everyone present to hear his words.

The lips of some people twitched slightly at Lin Yan’s words. However, the little interest that had appeared in their eyes for Xiao Yan withdrew a little. No matter how one put it, Lin Yan was a top expert ranked in the top ten of the ‘Strong Ranking’. There were hardly any people who dared to offend him even in this sixth level.

“Thank you very much.” Xiao Yan patted Lin Xiao’s back gently. He appeared to have understood the latter’s actions very clearly and immediately let out a soft smile of gratitude as he spoke.

“Hee hee, if your bones are itchy, you can go and find big brother Liu Qing to play. He is also coincidentally training here.” Lin Yan carelessly waved his hands and was about to speak when a somewhat dark and gentle male’s voice suddenly sounded in the area. Lin Yan’s face sunk a little as he turned his head and threw his eyes toward a certain spot of the resting area. He said with a cold smile, “I wondered who it was. It is actually ‘Beauty’ Yao. Don’t keep using Liu Qing to talk about things everyday. If I were to meet him in the Grand Competition, I, Lin Yan, will just strike without caring. If you have the guts, you can come and play by yourself. I will accompany you anytime.”

Xiao Yan’s gaze followed Lin Yan’s sight and looked over, only to see three human figures slowly appearing. The first was a man with pale-red robes who had a somewhat female-like face. His brows carried a few hints of femininity. Moreover, the faces of these people had become much darker and solemn at this moment due to Lin Yan’s words.

“This fellow is called Yao Sheng. He is from Lin Qing’s gang. He has some feelings for Liu Fei. Last time around, he had wanted to come and find trouble with you after hearing the conflict between you and Liu Fei. However, he was temporarily stopped by Liu Qing. Don’t underestimate this fellow. Although he looks somewhat like a sissy, his strength is quite great, ranking seventeenth on the ‘Strong Ranking’. His strength is even stronger than Bai Cheng. Now, I think that he should be around a seven star Dou Ling.” Lin Yan tilted his head and spoke with a smile to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. By being able to be ranked seventeenth on the ‘Strong Ranking’, people had sufficient cause to not underestimate this man who spoke in a somewhat feminine manner. From the looks of his words earlier, it was clear that he could not be considered as friendly toward him. It was likely that most of his feelings were that of enmity. However, Xiao Yan was not too worried because of this. Although the other party was strong, he did not cause Xiao Yan to feel even a little afraid. If he really wanted to spar and fight, the former could just attack directly. A seven star Dou Ling was insufficient to cause Xiao Yan to be badly battered given the latter’s current ability and triumph cards.

“You can be arrogant now. Big brother Liu Qing will get you to shut your noisy mouth in the Grand Competition.” Yao Sheng, who had the greatest hatred toward people who ridiculed him as a beauty, spoke in a dark voice while wearing a green face. His dark and cold gaze immediately turned to Xiao Yan beside Liu Qing as he coldly said, “Don’t think that it is sufficient for you to dominate the Inner Academy by defeating some unqualified chickens and dogs. If not for big brother Liu Qing asking us to not cause unnecessary trouble during this period of time, it is likely that you would lose all your face in front of all the students in the academy. How can you act in such a grand fashion?”

Xiao Yan spread his hands and smiled as he said, “If you think you have the ability, you can come and issue a challenge anytime. Being noisy now does not explain the gold content of this seventeenth rank on the ‘Strong Ranking’.”

“Ha ha, well said. Afraid my foot.” Lin Yan laughed out loud by the side.

Yao Sheng’s eyes gradually became darker and colder. His expression had also become uglier after being publicly provoked by a new student who had entered the ‘Strong Ranking’ for less than a couple of dozen days. His gaze was like a poisonous snake as it stared intently at Xiao Yan. He immediately took a slow step forward. A powerful aura abruptly surged out explosively and instantly swept the entire area.

“It’s just as well. I already promised Fei-er to properly teach you bastard a lesson a long time ago. Consider yourself unlucky that I have met you today.” Yao Sheng’s dark voice reverberated within the sixth level. The threads of killing intent that were contained within caused the surrounding fiery hot atmosphere to be quietly reduced a little.

The corner of Xiao Yan’s mouth was also lifted into a thick smile. He took a heavy step forward. Threads of tiny crack lines quietly spread out on the tough rock.

“I will accompany you!”