Chapter 153: Xiao Yuan Makes His Move
"Ah, that guy's punches are really fierce. He even broke through Xue Beng's 'Wave Stacking' attack with ease. I think his strength must be above a Three-Star Da Dou Shi."
On the high platform, a red-clothed girl with a devilish figure and mischievous eyes looked in surprise at Xue Beng, who had just been cleanly and decisively defeated.
"Indeed, very fierce punches. And he even knows how to solidify his energy in certain spots to enhance both offense and defense. That requires a highly refined control over Dou Qi. On that point, he's on par with you," said the elderly man beside her with a slight nod, a trace of astonishment in his voice.
"Hehe, now you see what kind of taste Xun'er has, don't you? That little guy is no ordinary student. I think even you or Bai Shan might not necessarily beat him in a fight." The elder glanced at the slender figure in the arena with a meaningful look.
"Oh?" At his words, the red-clothed girl's willow-like eyebrows arched, and she chuckled. "Then I really want to spar with him. If I win, I'll make him give up Xun'er to me."
"You… you little brat! So many outstanding men chase after you and you ignore them. But now you want to mess with Xun'er? You really want to disgrace me, don't you?" The elder was furious at her words, whispering angrily.
"What's so great about those stinky men? If not for this face, who would bother chasing me?" The girl scoffed, stroking her elven-like, mischievous face with contempt.
Then her eyes swirled with cunning light, and she said with a deeper meaning, "But if Xiao Yuan is truly more beautiful than Xun'er, then I wouldn't mind chasing him a little."
Hearing this, the elder's face darkened further.
Everyone in the Academy knew Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yu were a couple. And yet this girl insisted on butting in?
Faced with such a lawless girl, the elder was absolutely furious, but helpless. He could only flick his sleeves and return his gaze to the arena.
In the square, Xiao Yan glanced at the defeated Xue Beng lying by the edge of the arena before turning to the judge's seat and smiling. "May I consider this match won?"
"Haha, of course," replied a gray-robed elder on the judge's bench with a knowing smile and nod.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan bowed slightly, then, under countless gazes, flew up to the area where Class Two of the Yellow Rank was seated.
"Sorry I'm late..."
Facing the beautiful girl who stood tall before him, that face long etched deep into his heart over the past two years, Xiao Yan ignored the many burning gazes around them and rubbed the back of his head apologetically.
Xun'er raised her delicate face and stared at that clean-cut visage—no longer youthful and naive, but now mature and resolute. Suddenly, a breathtaking smile lit her face. What she did next left the entire crowd stunned.
The girl, who had never shown the slightest affection to any man at the Academy, opened her arms and threw herself into the warm embrace she had missed for more than two years, breathing in his familiar scent.
Seeing the light-cyan figure leap into Xiao Yan's arms, the entire arena fell into stunned silence. In the midst of it, one could almost hear countless hearts breaking with a crack.
Ruo Lin and Xiao Yu, beside Xun'er, were equally shocked. They had never expected the always-composed and aloof girl to act so boldly in public. After a long moment, their faces relaxed into doting smiles.
Crack!
Just as that sound of something truly shattering echoed out, everyone's gaze shifted once more—to a figure suddenly hurled off the high platform, crashing toward the ground.
At first, everyone focused on the falling figure. Then someone with sharp eyes cried out in shock—it was Bai Shan, one of the top three seeded candidates for the selection tournament!
Immediately, all eyes turned back to where Bai Shan had been standing moments earlier—only to see another white-robed figure slowly lowering a hand with long, slender, jade-like fingers.
As they looked upward and caught sight of his unfamiliar face, a collective gasp rang out.
"So handsome?"
"What a beautiful man!"
"Hmph, just average!"
"Tch, what's so great about being a little good-looking?"
"Yu'er, isn't that your Xiao Yuan?" asked Xue Ni, tugging on Xiao Yu's sleeve uncertainly.
After two years of growth, Xiao Yuan had clearly matured. The training he'd undergone lent him a refined aura that made him even more captivating than before.
"Yes... it's him!" Xiao Yu's eyes glistened with tears, her voice slightly trembling.
Up on the platform, feeling the crowd's gaze converge on him, Xiao Yuan gave a gentle smile and nodded politely. Then, turning toward Xiao Yu, he formed a heart shape with his index finger and thumb.
If it had been anyone else, Xiao Yu might have thought it was cheesy. But from Xiao Yuan, it felt utterly charming.
If only she had wings, she might have flown into his arms right then and there—just like Xun'er had done moments ago.
On the other side, the red-clothed girl had been shocked by Xun'er's uncharacteristic behavior upon reuniting with Xiao Yan. Her brows were furrowed in frustration. Had the elder beside her not held her back, she might have rushed in to split up the couple.
Even so, she continued to struggle, trying to pull Xun'er out of Xiao Yan's arms.
But the moment she laid eyes on Xiao Yuan's face, she froze. Her apricot eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and she was utterly stunned.
She had thought Xun'er was the pinnacle of beauty—but this man was even more beautiful?
Could this be Xiao Yuan?
A glint of mischief flashed in Hu Jia's eyes as she pondered.
Any man capable of captivating even Hu Jia naturally drew the attention of everyone. Even the Academy elders had to admit—the boy truly had a striking face.
As for Bai Shan's fate? No one even cared at that moment!
Only Vice Principal Hu Qian of Jia Nan Academy came to his senses and quickly moved to catch Bai Shan mid-fall.
Upon catching him, Hu Qian realized Bai Shan was as cold as a human-shaped block of ice, shivering uncontrollably—his usual graceful white robes now looking more like those of a beggar freezing on a street corner.
Hu Qian quickly began infusing his own Dou Qi into Bai Shan to treat him.
But as his Dou Qi entered Bai Shan's meridians, he was shocked to find that even his own energy was sluggish.
?
Hu Qian frowned, puzzled.
Even he hadn't noticed Xiao Yuan's strike beforehand. And to freeze all of Bai Shan's meridians like this—Xiao Yuan's power was close to that of a Dou Ling expert!
How could that be possible?
Two years ago, Xiao Yuan was merely a Dou Shi. To become a Dou Ling in two years was almost unbelievable. Unless… he had a powerful master guiding him. In that case, even if he hadn't come to Jia Nan Academy, it wouldn't have been a loss.
Still...
Suppressing his doubts, Hu Qian increased the amount of Dou Qi he was injecting, pushing out the cold from Bai Shan's body.
At first, everything proceeded smoothly.
But moments later, Hu Qian's face suddenly changed!
He sensed that all the expelled black cold energy had gathered at key acupuncture points connecting Bai Shan's meridians. Inside the ice, a scorching energy flowed like a small fish. If forced out, it would explode—destroying Bai Shan's meridians!
Immediately, he carried Bai Shan in front of Xiao Yuan and said in a low voice, "You must be Xiao Yuan? Can you remove the cold energy from Bai Shan's body?"
"Student Xiao Yuan, may I ask who you are?" Xiao Yuan did not answer directly but instead bowed elegantly and replied unhurriedly.
"Hu Qian, Vice Principal of Jia Nan Academy."
"Oh, so you're Vice Principal Hu Qian. A pleasure!" Xiao Yuan bowed again but said nothing about helping Bai Shan.
By this point, Bai Shan's condition had improved somewhat under Hu Qian's treatment. Though still pale, he had stopped shivering. But he forced a scowl onto his face and said stiffly, "You attacked me for no reason—violating Academy rules. Even if you don't help me, do you think you can escape punishment?"
???
The crowd looked at him strangely. Xiao Yuan's looks had already outshone Bai Shan's so thoroughly that people were starting to see Bai Shan as a cheap imitation.
Now he was making it worse. Was he trying to remind everyone that he'd been taken down in one hit?
Everyone admitted: even a surprise attack couldn't incapacitate someone unless the attacker was far stronger.
Besides, even Vice Principal Hu Qian had politely asked Xiao Yuan for help—a clear sign that Xiao Yuan's strength surpassed Bai Shan's.
Hearing Bai Shan's accusation, Xiao Yuan nodded as if suddenly enlightened. He turned to Hu Qian and said:
"Oh, is that so? Vice Principal, I heard Bai Shan injured my girlfriend, Xiao Yu. I got angry and gave him a light push. I didn't expect him to fall down so easily! I didn't think he was that weak.
If you really must punish me, then go ahead and expel me. I'm just some trash young master from a small family—no powerful backing. No need to hold back.
But by the way, on my way here, a few people tried to gang up on my cousin Xiao Ning. Maybe you should expel them too? They didn't hesitate to attack a fellow student and said blood must be spilled. I'm guessing our Academy really encourages this kind of violence? I must not understand the rules. Care to explain?"
At these words, Hu Qian felt a headache coming on.
Truthfully, the Academy did encourage some competition. But Xiao Yuan's move did break the rules—he had hit too hard.
Still, expelling him? That wouldn't be right either.
Talents like him—even if a bit unruly—were worth nurturing.
"Hehe, no need to go that far. With your strength, there's no need to stoop to Bai Shan's level. I won't trouble you over this small matter. Just withdraw your energy from his body."
Hu Qian smiled kindly and spoke softly.
"Thank you, Vice Principal!"
Xiao Yuan nodded obediently, then waved toward Bai Shan's chest.
In the next moment, a flush spread over Bai Shan's face. He spat out a mouthful of blood, which froze into dark red ice flowers in midair before falling.
At the same time, streams of black cold air left his body and entered Xiao Yuan's hand like sentient creatures.
Hu Qian, sensing the intense heat within the cold energy, felt a twitch at the corner of his eye.
If he wasn't mistaken, that scorching trace within the chill… might be some kind of flame—possibly even a Heavenly Flame!
That faint aura of danger made his heart tremble.
Xiao Yuan's strength could likely rank among the best even within the Inner Academy!
Wait, why did Bai Shan just pass out?
Hu Qian glanced down at Bai Shan, then at Xiao Yuan.
"Too weak," Xiao Yuan said with a shrug.
This was a new trick he'd developed from a manual left by Hai Bodong—an insight into ice-type Dou Qi cultivation.
It was essentially a modified version of the Mystic Ice Mirror—another application of the Ice Coffin technique. Though the movement and energy patterns were close to the Profound Rank low-tier Ice Palm, his version included a hint of Yin Fire from the Dual Flame.
The move had to be used at close range, and only if the target wasn't guarding.
If used too lightly, it couldn't break defenses. Too heavily, and the target might die.
As things stood, even without his justifications, Hu Qian wouldn't punish him severely. Had he killed Bai Shan, that might be another story.
Either way, Bai Shan was now out of the Inner Academy Selection Tournament.
His meridians, frozen by Xiao Yuan's ice-type Dou Qi and then washed by Hu Qian's energy, could no longer withstand high-intensity Dou Qi. At most, he'd be able to use basic Profound Rank low-tier skills—making him easy prey even for peak Dou Shi students.
Hopefully, they'd still see him around in the Inner Academy—not for bullying, but maybe to spar with his cousin Bai Cheng, who had some real strength.
(END CHAPTER)
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