"Wang Mang, how did you provoke her? What's wrong with that Brute King?"
Mu Yun sprang out of the ruins, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. Although he reacted quickly, that was Zi Yan's full-force punch, and his Dou Qi attribute was water, neither high in offense nor defense. That punch instantly injured him.
"Can I say I was also an innocent victim?!"
Wang Mang gave a bitter laugh, then leaned weakly against a pillar and quietly explained, "You saw it yesterday. That slippery brat provoked the Brute King and made her quite angry. Last night, when she came, she also said that her opponent for tomorrow claimed to have a stomach ache and forfeited. She won without a fight."
"She had a belly full of anger with nowhere to vent, so she came directly to me, saying she didn't accept me as the number one on the Strong Rankings, and then we started fighting..."
Wang Mang briefly recounted Zi Yan's words. Mu Yun was so angry he directly punched and shattered the nearby wall. "If she's angry, she should go find that brat from yesterday! What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Given her temper right now, what do you think would happen if she went to find that brat? It's likely she'd accidentally kill him."
Wang Mang shook his head with a wry smile. "Forget it. Today, we were just unlucky. Although we took the fall for someone else, at least I know how strong the Brute King really is."
Wang Mang didn't actually have much of an issue with Zi Yan. As the number one on the Strong Rankings, he rarely had evenly matched opponents in the inner academy. Zi Yan's strength actually made him a little happy, and because of Zi Yan, he learned that his Tanzhong acupoint had a problem. He was actually quite grateful.
While Mu Yun's strength was good, his actions always carried a hint of deviousness. Even in direct confrontations, he used many tricks.
Wang Mang wasn't particularly keen on fighting someone like him, and Mu Yun's direct combat ability was indeed inferior to his.
"Do you think it counts—"
"Take this!"
Just as Mu Yun was about to speak, he and Wang Mang were attacked again. Zi Yan had practically beaten up all the top-ranked strong experts who came to watch the commotion, then turned back to them. At this point, how could they possibly take Zi Yan's punches again? Of course, they dodged as far as they could.
The commotion in the residential area grew louder, startling countless people who gathered. The top-ranked experts on the Strong Rankings scattered, some fleeing, some hiding, all in a disheveled state. No one had the mind to fight Zi Yan at this moment.
"Enough!"
An aged shout echoed through the area. Zi Yan paused upon hearing it, huffily stopping and retracting her fists.
"Zi Yan, what in the world are you doing in the middle of the night?"
The figure of Elder Su Qian appeared. Seeing the shattered walls and ruined courtyards, and no less than ten injured Strong Rankings experts, his old face turned completely dark.
Zi Yan held up her fist and said angrily, "I came to discuss the ownership of the Strong Rankings' number one spot with Wang Mang. These people were watching with ill intentions, so why can't I beat them up?!"
Elder Su Qian's face grew even darker. "The Strong Rankings tournament isn't over yet. What are you discussing with Wang Mang about being number one on the Strong Rankings? And even if you want to challenge the number one on the Strong Rankings, you should go to the arena to issue a challenge, not cause such chaos. What kind of proper conduct is this?"
Zi Yan said impatiently, "Oh, that's too much trouble. I'm too lazy to go. Isn't the inner academy all about whoever has the bigger fist gets to be on top? I don't care about all that!"
"You..."
Elder Su Qian puffed out his beard and glared in anger, but he had no words to refute, because what Zi Yan said was truly not wrong. The inner academy really was about that principle. In the end, he could only shout, "Alright, don't cause any more trouble tonight."
"Fine! I'll listen to you, Old Man Su. There's no one here who can fight."
Zi Yan looked utterly disinterested, even provoking the people in all directions as she left. Did they really think she didn't know about their strange whispers and gossip about her being the Brute King?
Although the commotion caused by Zi Yan ended, many in the inner academy remained sleepless that night. Among the many onlookers, a pair of eyes seemingly unintentionally scanned over the injured Strong Rankings experts, a strange smile playing on the lips.
The next day, amidst the anticipation of countless people, the second round of the Strong Rankings tournament began. As numerous spectators eagerly awaited, many participants arrived. Many noticed that several of the top-ranked experts on the Strong Rankings seemed... a little disheveled!
"Where's Lin Xiu Ya? Even though he doesn't have a match today, he shouldn't miss this grand event."
Lin Yan had cultivated all day yesterday and hadn't left his room. He came directly here this morning and wasn't entirely clear about what happened last night. He was quite surprised to see that Lin Xiu Ya hadn't arrived.
"Oh, him? He fled. Last night, he directly asked an elder for a long-term mission and ran out of the inner academy. He probably won't show his face for the next few months."
Yao Sheng covered his mouth to stifle a laugh, and with a chuckle, he recounted what happened last night to Lin Yan. After the reason for Zi Yan's challenge to Wang Mang spread, those who were beaten naturally wanted to find trouble with Lin Xiu Ya.
If it weren't for that brat making Zi Yan angry, they wouldn't have suffered that unprovoked disaster. And Lin Xiu Ya was even more clever.
He guessed last night that he would be found for trouble, so he immediately found an elder and asked for a long-term mission outside the inner academy, running away overnight and giving no one a chance to bother him.
"Everyone still needs to be careful. Brother Lin has left, but perhaps some people will come looking for trouble with our Qingshan Faction, especially those of us who entered the second round. We might encounter those who were beaten yesterday. When that happens, be extra vigilant!"
Yan Qingshan casually reminded the others, showing no sign that he was the mastermind behind everything. Both Zi Yan's opponent's stomach ache and Lin Xiu Ya's escape were arranged by him. But besides him and Zi Yan, even Xiao Yi Xian was unaware of this.
Yao Sheng, Lin Yan, and Liu Qing sobered up after hearing Yan Qingshan's words. They exchanged glances, nodded, and affirmed.
"After yesterday's eliminations, only twenty-five participants remain. A redraw is necessary."
On the judges' stand, Elder Su Qian's faint laughter echoed clearly in everyone's ears in the arena: "However, last night, Wu Fu came to me saying he had some physical issues and forfeited the second round. Therefore, there will only be twelve battles today."
Elder Su Qian's words caused a stir in the stands. Having physical problems at such a crucial time, that person's luck was just too bad!
Wu Fu was the opponent Elder Su Qian had originally planned for Zi Yan. Although it was decided by drawing lots, in reality, to ensure that several Dou King students wouldn't meet too early, their opponents had a general selection range, choosing the weakest ones as their second-round opponents.
Originally, this arrangement wouldn't have changed, but Zi Yan's behavior yesterday somewhat angered Elder Su Qian, so he removed Wu Fu, making Zi Yan have to fight another match instead of getting an easy win.