Two human figures were facing each other from a distance within the spacious arena. One was black, the other was white. They appeared extremely eye-catching in this pale-gray arena.

“It is actually Xiao Yan and Bai Cheng? These two fellows are colliding again...”

“Hee hee, this is going to be a good show. I heard that after being defeated by Xiao Yan’s hands the last time around, Bai Cheng had been telling others that it was because Xiao Yan had consumed the ‘Dragon Strength Pill’. Now that they have met in this kind of competition that doesn’t allow the consumption of medicinal pills, I wonder if he can come back from his previous loss?”

“I think that it will be very difficult. Xiao Yan even defeated Cheng Nan when he put up his fighting stage last time. He is a six or seven star elite Dou Ling with strength that is not any weaker than Bai Cheng...”

The extremely crowded viewing gallery immediately emitted quite a number of private conversations as they eyed the two people standing opposite each other. Most of the people in the Inner Academy recognized these two people who had once erupted in an intense fight. The battle in the fighting arena last time had established Xiao Yan’s position on the ‘Strong Ranking’. However, the loser Bai Sheng had his reputation diminished by quite a bit. It was said that enemies frequently cross each other’s path, and now that they had met once again it seemed that that saying carried some weight.

Xiao Yan was unmoved by the private conversations that had sparked up around him. He rotated his hand slightly and his large Heavy Xuan Ruler flashed and appeared. With a random swing, a powerful force formed under his body, blowing some of the dust on the ground until it spread in all directions.

Bai Cheng watched Xiao Yan in a dark and cold manner. When he saw that the latter had taken out his weapon, Bai Cheng also took out a long pale-yellow spear. The body of the spear shook and vibrated in an extremely swift manner. Immediately, blurry flower-like shadows formed from the spear, annihilating anything in their path. Although there was faint fear deep within his heart, this fear disappeared with the wind at this moment. Currently, he could only defeat Xiao Yan in order for all the glory that belonged to him in the past to return. The ranking on the ‘Strong Ranking’ he had lost would also return to him.

“I must... defeat this bastard! At all costs!” Bai Cheng grit his teeth. His eyes became much darker and colder. He had already decided that he would use any means for this match. All those whatever rules about not delivering a fatal blow could go to hell. The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit. As long as he won, all the rumors would automatically cease!

Xiao Yan glanced at the volatile face of Bai Cheng which eventually solidified into a dark and solemn look. After which, Xiao Yan threw his gaze toward the judges’ seats.

Su Qian slowly stood up when he sensed Xiao Yan’s gaze looking over. As he stood up, the noise in the stadium automatically receded. Su Qian gaze looked in all directions. Without saying anything unnecessary, he said, “The fourth match, Begin!”

The moment his voice sounded, the gazes in the stadium that were focusing on the two of them became boiling hot. This match was perhaps the most interesting one among the first few matches of this season’s ‘Strong Ranking’ Grand Competition.

Of course, it was not only the surrounding gazes that changed. Xiao Yan and Bai Cheng in the arena had also unleashed a ferocious aura at this moment. A green and a yellow-colored Dou Qi surged out from the respective bodies of the two, wrapping around both of them. The two pressuring atmospheres that were created from the powerful Dou Qi spreading out, caused some of the students who were a little closer to the fighting stage to breath in a sluggish manner.

“They are indeed worthy of being experts on the ‘Strong Ranking’. It is not just one level higher than the few matches earlier.” The surrounding students quietly praised in their hearts as they sensed the spreading pressuring force.

Xiao Yan twisted his neck slightly. Waves of powerful Dou Qi swiftly flowed within his Qi Paths, providing every part of his body with an unceasing strength. His hand held the Heavy Xuan Ruler tightly as green-colored Dou Qi lingered over it. Occasionally, there would be an extremely faint green-colored flame seedling rising up. Each time that this wisp of flame sprang up, the surrounding air would temporarily distort. One would not be able to sense it unless one had very sharp eyes.

The two of them raised their heads, and four eyes made contact in the arena. Sparks shot everywhere since each pair of eyes contained some icy coldness.

“*Cough*.”

As four pairs of eyes focused tightly on each other, an extremely tense atmosphere spread out from their auras. This continued for nearly one to two minutes before a cough sounded outside of the arena. Finally, it turned into the straw that broke the camel’s back, completely detonating this extremely tense atmosphere!

“Chi!”

The two human figures who were covered by powerful Dou Qi almost shot out simultaneously like arrows the instant the cough sounded. Due to their extremely fast speed, it resulted in many people outside the arena only being able to see two blurry shadows explosively shooting forward. Finally, they appeared like meteorites. They each carried an incomparably strong rushing force as they violently collided in the middle of the arena, appearing extremely shocking to the eye!

“Ding!”

The two vague human figures passed each other in the middle of the arena. The sharp long spear pierced out in a lightning-like manner. However, it was easily blocked by the black ruler that was thick like a shield. Sparks immediately flew in all directions. A tiny circular energy ripple spread out at the point of contact.

The moment the figures crossed each other, an expressionless Xiao Yan viciously whirled the heavy ruler in his hand in a reflexive manner. The powerful wind that was carried on the heavy ruler tore through the air. A sharp rushing wind sound caused the eardrums of everyone to feel a piercing pain.

“Ding, ding, ding!”

As the heavy ruler was swung, Bai Cheng forcefully twisted his body. The long spear in his hand explosively pierced out over ten times in a short moment. Each spear landed on a spot on the heavy ruler. That clear sound almost agglomerated into a tone that was extremely orderly. Compared to last time, Bai Cheng this time around... appeared a little stronger.

Countless people in the viewing gallery outside the arena displayed surprised expressions as they eyed the flashing human figures in the arena. With their eyesight, most could only see sparks shooting in all directions and human figures that reached their destinations in a flash while the weapons of the two collided.

“Bai Cheng appears to have become much stronger compared to the last time they fought.” Lin Xiuya eyed the intense fight in the arena from the high platform before suddenly knitting his brows and speaking his thoughts.

“He is indeed much stronger. This time around, it doesn’t appear that he has eaten any medicinal pill. Instead it seems like... he broke through a level.” Yan Hao replied in a deep voice.

“It looks like he had actually obtained some benefits from being defeated by Xiao Yan the last time.” Han Yue’s delicate hand held a thread of long silver-colored hair as she faintly spoke.

“It is but a little improvement. Defeat has already caused a shadow to form in his heart. If he is really able to defeat Xiao Yan this time around, not only will he eliminate this shadow, but his strength might also soar greatly in the future. If he still loses, it is likely that he will forever halt at the Dou Ling class.” Lin Xiuya predicted calmly.

“That seems to be a little difficult.” An extremely faint smile surfaced on Han Yue’s cool face. Her pretty eyes looked at the black shadow in the arena which was just like a maggot in a tarsal bone. She said, “In just two short months, Xiao Yan has become a three star Dou Ling. This speed could be called number one in the entire Inner Academy. Moreover, his movement speed... it is likely he is the first among anyone below the Dou Wang class.”

Lin Xiuya spread his hands. Back then, he had witnessed Xiao Yan’s speed, so he did not think that Han Yue’s words were empty. In terms of speed, even he would likely be unable to contend with Xiao Yan unless he displayed the extremely powerful Dou Qi wings.

A few thoughts also rolled over Xiao Yan’s heart in the arena while the few people were conversing. As the person who had personally exchanged blows with Bai Cheng before, he clearly sensed how powerful that fellow was now. However, the latter could not be considered much of a threat to him. Back then, Xiao Yan, who had just advanced to the Dou Ling class, had relied on the ‘Skyfire Three Mysterious Change’ in order to have the qualification to collide head on with Bai Cheng. Now that he had already advanced to a three star Dou Ling, his strength had soared greatly. Moreover, by borrowing the special effect of the ‘Flame Mantra’ Qi Method, he would not lose out even if he were to fight head on with an ordinary five star Dou Ling. Adding this to his physically strengthened body and the ‘Three Thousand Lightning Movement’, the current Xiao Yan was already able to entangle and fight with Bai Cheng without using the ‘Skyfire Three Mysterious Change’.

“No wonder you have some confidence. You have actually broken through one level. However, it is insufficient to just rely on this.” A cold smile lifted on the corner of Xiao Yan’s mouth. His mind suddenly focused, focusing all his attention on the ruler. The feeling of the scene where the tree waves surged in an overwhelming fashion repeatedly flashed in his mind like he was back in the deep mountains. As he sank into this profoundness, the heavy ruler in his hand also abruptly pierced out. A couple of ruler shadows took shape in the air before its trajectory suddenly changed. The originally heavy, bulky ruler was actually just like an ordinary spear in Xiao Yan’s hand at this moment. Its degree of agility was actually no weaker than the long spear in Bai Cheng’s hand. As the heavy ruler danced, it faintly possessed a repeated lingering attack. As it twined around, Bai Cheng’s long spear did not have the opportunity to snake its way out.

“Huh?”

The moment Xiao Yan’s ruler technique changed, a couple of exclamations suddenly sounded from the high platform and the judges’ seats. Each of their faces were filled with surprise. Of course, it was little wonder that they would reveal these expressions because of this scene. Compared to Xiao Yan’s earlier attack, which used big motions and completely relied on the method of using one blow to break ten others, this current ruler technique truly carried some skill. Moreover, this skill was extremely profound.

As Xiao Yan’s opponent, Bai Cheng sensed the change in Xiao Yan’s ruler technique the clearest. His expression immediately became much uglier. In the comparison between the two, the only thing that Bai Cheng could beat Xiao Yan in was his personal strength and the use of his tricky and sophisticated spear technique. However, the former was almost completely offset under Xiao Yan’s abnormally strong Qi Method while the ruler technique that Xiao Yan currently displayed was not the least bit weaker than his spear technique. The two combined appeared to be pushing for an overwhelming victory in Xiao Yan’s favor!

Bai Cheng’s eyes widened angrily. There was a faint savageness hidden deep within his eyes. The long spear in his hand was just like a poison serpent that had been cornered, leaping randomly in all directions. However, it was ultimately tightly adhered to by that heavy bulky ruler, and could not shake the latter off no matter how he drew the spear. To use a spear technique to its full potential required some distance. Now that Xiao Yan had displayed his technique, the attack from the long spear had basically lost half of its sharpness.

Bai Cheng was entangled with Xiao Yan for another few minutes. His eyes gradually reddened and the ferociousness in his eyes suddenly protruded out. He cried out sharply in his heart, “I’ll go all out!”

As the cry sounded, Bai Cheng’s hand abruptly struck the spear handle. The long spear shot out, shooting toward Xiao Yan’s heart. This attack was merciless. If Xiao Yan were to be unluckily struck by it, it was likely that he would be killed on the spot.

Xiao Yan’s expression was dark and cold. He shook his arm and the heavy ruler rotated back, appearing in front of him in an instant and blocking that long spear. The strength that was contained in the spear caused Xiao Yan to swiftly take two steps back.

Xiao Yan stabilized his footing and raised his head. He was surprised to discover that the expression of the current Bai Cheng had turned into a strange blood-red color.

Bai Cheng gave a savage smile to Xiao Yan. His voice was so thick that it appeared to have been transmitted from deep under ground, causing one’s hair to stand erect.

“Don’t think that only you know a secret technique to raise your strength!”

“Today, I will completely cripple you, you Little Bastard!”