Inside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, first floor, high-level cultivation chamber—
"Just a tiny sliver of Heartfall Flame—barely more than a spark—and it's already refined my Dou Qi to this extent? I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying the full flame must be..."
Xiao Yun sat cross-legged on a black stone platform, Dou Qi roaring through his meridians like a wild river. It surged from the qi vortex in his core, followed the precise paths of his cultivation technique, and finally flowed through an invisible flicker of flame nestled deep within his body. As it passed through the flame, the Dou Qi burned violently, forcing out wisps of grey mist.
These grey impurities were leftovers from the vast amount of natural energy Xiao Yun had absorbed during his recent lightning-body-tempering session. While the lightning had already refined most of the energy to an impressive purity, the Heartfall Flame was simply on another level—it still managed to burn out even more impurities with ease.
But Xiao Yun wasn't just using the flame to purify his Dou Qi. He wanted to solidify his cultivation foundation too. His recent breakthrough had been a bit too fast for comfort. And as any wise cultivator knows: if the foundation isn't solid, even the tallest tower will eventually collapse.
Refined stream after refined stream of Dou Qi flowed back into his vortex. The crystal core in the center of the vortex gleamed ever brighter with each return cycle…
And just like that, the cultivation continued until the next day. When the tolling bell echoed through the tower, Xiao Yun finally opened his eyes.
"Peak Nine-Star Dou Gran. Not bad. Finally, my foundation feels rock-solid."
Though his actual level hadn't risen much, Xiao Yun was still visibly pleased. For alchemists, quantity of Dou Qi was never the issue—quality was everything.
He stepped out of the cultivation room. Though he would've loved to continue, academy rules were rules. With nothing else pressing to do, he wandered through the inner court.
"Boss! Go smash that fat pig Zhao Rongxing!"
A sudden roar of cheering interrupted his stroll. Xiao Yun looked up, surprised to find himself standing before the Inner Court Arena.
The Arena was the liveliest part of the inner court—by far. Thanks to the chaotic nature of the surrounding Blackhorn Region, the academy's atmosphere was similarly fierce. Students didn't hesitate to resolve conflicts with fists, and the Arena was the go-to battleground for such...friendly disagreements.
More than that, the academy encouraged students to fight. With enticing rewards like Fire Energy tokens on the line, it was the perfect system: settle your scores, sharpen your skills, and get rewarded for it. What's not to love?
The result? Every student that graduated from the inner court could fight like a war god. Life-or-death battle? They'd sooner grin than flinch.
Every day, the Arena was packed. The roar of the crowd could be heard from hundreds of meters away.
"Well, since I'm here…"
Xiao Yun smiled. Ever since his intense fight with Xu Feng, he'd developed quite the taste for full-throttle combat. Not only did it improve his mastery of techniques, it made his Dou Qi more condensed. And honestly, he just liked the feeling of going all out without restraint.
No sooner had he thought it than he was moving. He strode toward the enormous Arena building without hesitation.
"Spectator or contestant?"
At the entrance sat a tired-looking middle-aged man in a mentor's robe. He didn't even look up from the desk as he asked in a bored tone.
"Hello, sir. I'm here to fight."
"To fight, huh? You're not going to wet your pants, are you, kid?" The man finally looked up, raising a suspicious brow at Xiao Yun's young appearance. With a resigned sigh, he dug around in his spatial ring for a quill and form. "Name. Rank. Grudge match or open challenge?"
Xiao Yun, watching the man's expression, could practically see the lifeless soul behind his skin—the look of someone long since broken by paperwork. Just as the man's fingers twitched, clearly on the verge of physically removing Xiao Yun out of sheer boredom, Xiao Yun quickly responded:
"Xiao Yun. Nine-Star Dou Grandmaster. Open challenge."
The man jotted this down, scribbled something on a card, and handed it over. "Xuanwu Arena, Group B. Your number's on the back. Someone will call you when it's your turn. And listen closely—whoever your opponent is, you have to fight. If you chicken out, seven days of Fire Energy gone. Poof. Gone."
With that, he dropped his head back onto the desk and resumed pretending he didn't exist.
Xiao Yun glanced at the card: Number 78.
"Wow, there really are a lot of people here…"
He tucked the card away and headed into the Arena.
The moment he stepped inside, the noise hit him like a tidal wave. The place was packed. It was almost as crowded as the inner court entrance exams had been. Black sea of heads. Deafening crowd. Boiling energy.
All around the vast Arena were large battle stages. On each one, blurry figures were already locked in high-speed, high-intensity combat.
Following the directions on his card, Xiao Yun soon found his assigned stage. It happened to be unoccupied at the moment, so he climbed up, flashing his card, and stood waiting for his opponent.
As soon as he stepped onto the stage, students nearby began to murmur.
"Who's this kid?"
"New face. Looks tiny."
"Freshman, maybe?"
Xiao Yun was young, and not many people in the inner court recognized him.
"You're my opponent?"
A voice growled from the other end of the stage.
A tall, brawny man stepped up, easily in his mid-twenties. Even under his robes, his muscles bulged like coiled steel. He looked less like a man and more like a walking mountain beast.
"Wait, isn't that Shi Yan? The guy with the 'Violent Bear' nickname?" someone in the stands shouted. "He's close to breaking through to the Dou Spirit level! Four straight wins in the Arena! That kid's gonna get pulverized!"
Xiao Yun's face didn't so much as twitch. He simply turned to the referee and gave a calm nod, ready to begin.
"Battle… start!"
With that, the referee vanished off the stage.
Whoosh!
In the very next instant, Xiao Yun disappeared—then reappeared right in front of Shi Yan, his body a lightning bolt. His arm snapped forward, red-hot Dou Qi wrapping his fist like molten steel, and he swung.
To his credit, Shi Yan didn't underestimate Xiao Yun just because he looked small. His earthy yellow Dou Qi surged, and he also punched forward—going for a head-on clash.
BOOM!
Their fists collided with a thunderous crack.
And then—Shi Yan's eyes bulged.
He had miscalculated. Horribly. The strength behind Xiao Yun's punch was monstrous, completely inconsistent with his small frame. The next second, his massive body flew off the stage like a sack of bricks.
Silence.
The entire section of the stands watching this stage went dead quiet, as if someone had hit the mute button. Mouths hung open as they stared at Xiao Yun, the "tiny freshman" who had just KO'd the Violent Bear in one punch.
"…Number 78, victory!"
The referee finally regained his senses and jumped back onto the stage, loudly announcing the result.
And then, the crowd exploded.
Cheers erupted from the stands, chanting Xiao Yun's number like a rising tide.
"Number 78! Will you continue with a win streak?"
Xiao Yun blinked. "Win streak? What's that mean?"
The referee chuckled. "Simple. If you win, you can choose to keep going—fight again immediately. Each match gets harder, but the rewards get better. Normally, the winner just gets whatever Fire Energy the loser wagered. But if you enter a win streak, the academy itself chips in bonus rewards. Three wins gets you an extra ten days' worth of Fire Energy. And it goes up from there. The current record? Twenty-five straight wins. Held by the top-ranked student."
Xiao Yun's eyes lit up. "I see. Well then—yes, I'll keep going."
The last fight had ended too fast. He hadn't even gotten to enjoy it.
"Group B arena: win streak initiated!" the referee shouted. "Please wait a moment for the next opponent."
Excitement buzzed through the crowd like static. Very few people chose win streaks—it was just too exhausting. The Arena matched opponents by rank, so you'd almost always be fighting someone just as strong as you. After one tough battle, most people had no energy left for a second, let alone five or ten more.
Moments later, Xiao Yun's next opponent arrived—another Nine-Star Dou Grandmaster, clearly an inner court veteran.
This time, the fight lasted a little longer. But not much. Xiao Yun spotted an opening and kicked the poor guy straight off the stage.
Match after match followed. All his opponents were strong Nine-Star Dou Grandmasters, but Xiao Yun made quick work of them. The crowd cheered, but he began to feel... bored.
Where were the real fights?
Just when he was starting to wonder whether any Dou Spirit-level students were going to show up today—
Match five began.
His next opponent stepped up—a towering man nearly two meters tall, built like a fortress. His face was sharp and chiseled, hair wild and draped casually over his shoulders. Just standing there, he radiated pressure.
Xiao Yun's eyes lit up.
Now we're talking.