As the ice-cold word was emitted from Luo Hou’s mouth, the entire mountain slope of rocks suddenly became silent. From the ready to fight atmosphere, everyone understood clearly in their hearts that it was likely that today’s matter would not end nicely. An intense big fight was inevitable.

Xiao Yan’s gaze stared intently at Luo Hou’s face. A long while later, he nodded slightly. That voice of his had also become much more cold, “Since Senior Luo Hou is unwilling to let us pass, then we can only offend you.”

Xiao Yan’s hands slowly held the hilt of the Heavy Xuan Ruler. He immediately and abruptly drew it. A black shadow cut through the air and an intense wind swept away some of the rock fragments in front of him. The ruler was pointed sideways toward the ground. Green-colored Dou Qi surged out from within Xiao Yan’s body. Since the matter had already progressed to such a point, they had reached the stage where they could not give up because of any unforeseen change in events. Hence, they were left with no choice but to fight!

Following Xiao Yan’s action, Dou Qi also began to swiftly swarm out from the bodies of Xun Er and the two others that stood beside him. Waves of powerful force repeatedly rippled out. Their forces locked on Luo Hou, who stood in the middle, from far away. In order to defeat the enemy, one must first defeat their king. The most troublesome person in this ‘White Demon Group’ was this Luo Hou. As long as they defeated him, they need not be worried about the others.

“I will block Xiao Yan and the three others. Ye Hao, the four of you stop those new students. Do not spread out when you fight. Although there are many new students, they don’t know how to cooperate. As long as you firmly hold yourselves together, and rely on the merging of your four synergetic Dou Qis, you have quite a high chance of victory.” A faint, white-colored cold air repeatedly seeped from Luo Hou’s body. His gaze glanced at Xiao Yan and the three others before turning to a member of the ‘White Demon Group’ and spoke. His cold sharp eyes could see the weakness of the new students with a single glance.

“Yes!” Hearing this, those four members of the ‘White Demon Group’ replied with deep voices. The Dou Qi in their bodies surged, and threads of cold air began to be released from their bodies. From the looks of it, it appeared that all the members of this ‘White Demon Group’ practiced ice affinity Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan was visibly affected as he eyed the cold air around those four people. The strength that was unleashed from the collaboration of Dou Qi of the same affinity would be able to increase significantly. Viewing from this point, the overall strength of the ‘White Demon Group’ was significantly stronger than the ‘Black Demon Group’ lead by Sha Tie. No wonder they were the people who guarded the final checkpoint.

“This Luo Hou actually dares to face four opponents by himself. If this person was not wildly arrogant, then it means that he had some trump cards and hidden strength.” Xiao Yan’s spoke to Xun Er and the other two softly as this thoughts lingered for awhile in his heart, “We do not need to warm up in this battle. Hence, you all don’t need to hold anything back. Try your best to defeat him. Don’t waste even a second or there might be some unforeseen events if we delay any longer.

“Yes.”

The three of them nodded slightly. The Dou Qi in their bodies was like a turbulent flood as it swiftly passed through the Qi Paths in their bodies. A feeling of being filled with strength spread over the bodies of the three of them. In that condition, all they needed was to move a little, the surging Dou Qi would follow their will, and unleash thundering attacks.

Following the Dou Qi of both parties permeating all over their bodies, the tense atmosphere faintly became even sharper.

All the older students on the mountain slope remained quiet. Currently, the ‘White Demon Group’ was the final hurdle in this ‘Fire Energy Hunting Competition.’ If even they were unable to block the attacks of the new students, Xiao Yan’s group would perhaps break the curse that the ‘Fire Energy Hunting Competition’ was the most bitter period for a new student before entering the Inner Academy.

“Can Xiao Yan’s group defeat the ‘White Demon Group?’” From one corner of the mountain slopes, Su Xiao watched the two sides giving a tit for a tat below, and could not help but whisper to Sha Tie who sat beside him.

“No matter what happens, they do have a chance and that’s it. I can’t really say much about the others. After all, regardless of whether we are discussing individual strength or the strength of the group, the ‘White Demon Group’ is much stronger than the ‘Black Demon Group’. Xiao Yan and the others were able to defeat us, but they may not gain the advantage when facing the ‘White Demon Group’...” Sha Tie shook his head. He was similarly unclear about the end result and could only give Su Xiao a vague reply.

Su Xiao could only helplessly smile when faced with this vague reply. He turned his head and threw his gaze to the imposingly sharp face near the messy rock piles.

The atmosphere of the messy rocky area, where all the gazes had gathered, was becoming increasingly tense. Everyone’s expressions slowly became solemn. The Dou Qi glow on the surface was extended and contracted, much like the feelings of everyone at the moment, having difficulty calming down.

“Ka...”

A gentle breeze blew past. A rock fragment from the mountain suddenly rolled down and heavily crashed into a rock on another spot. Immediately, it was crushed into pieces.

The sudden clear sound was undoubtedly like throwing a stone into the calm surface of a lake. Immediately, an enormous wave would rise and roll. The dozens of different colored Dou Qis surged out from the messy rocky ground. The hue was beautiful because of the multiple colors. The wildly flowing Dou Qi directly caused the pressure in the area to soar. Some tall and straight green grass bent their bodies from the pressure caused by these Dou Qi.

“Fight!”

As the forces surged, two simultaneous cries were emitted from Xiao Yan and Luo Hou’s mouth without any prior planning. As these two voices sounded, the tense atmosphere suddenly broke!

As the human figures flashed, the low roar, that contained a fiery fighting intent, reverberated without disappearing on the battlefield.

At the moment that the cry sounded, Xiao Yan’s hand suddenly tightened on the hilt of the ruler. His feet violently stomped against the ground and a green-colored energy exploded under his feet. The pressure caused by turbulent energy undulations directly turned Xiao Yan’s body into a black shadow as it shot into the middle of the rocky ground where Luo Hou was standing.

When Xiao Yan’s body moved, Xun Er and the other two behind him followed closely. The gap between the four of them was maintained within a one meter radius. At this distance, the four of them could join hands anytime and anywhere to handle a sharp attack that came from any direction.

“Charge!”

Behind Xiao Yan’s four man group, there was a large group of new students roaring loudly as they charged over. Although their formation was scattered, their force was the strongest one present due to them having so many people.

The expressions on the faces of the four members from the ‘White Demon Group’ were indifferent. They did not feel the slightest fear because of the large numbers and strong imposing manner of Xiao Yan’s group. Their hands shook and four white-colored metal rods, which were five feet long, flashed and appeared. A low cry was emitted as the four people borrowed the force of the metal rods touching the ground to shoot forward. They swiftly shot past Xiao Yan’s four man group. Finally, the four metal rod danced wildly, like the rotating wind, and finally stopped all the remaining dozens of new students behind.

Xiao Yan did not turn his head around when he heard the whirring wind sound behind him. His gaze stared intently at Luo Hou, whose body was standing straight atop a piece of rock. Xiao Yan gripped the heavy ruler in his hand and immediately used his strength to hack downward. A sharp, green-colored Dou Qi glow immediately exploded out from the ruler.

Releasing Dou Qi into one’s surroundings. This was an attacking method representative of a Da Dou Shi. This was similar to a long range attack by a practitioner.

After the green-colored Dou Qi glow appeared, Xun Er and the two others also released three powerful glows. Four glows cut through the obstructions of the air as they carried a violent wind and smashed toward Luo Hou.

Luo Hou’s face was indifferent as he eyed the four turbulent Dou Qi projectiles being shot over. His hands trembled a little and a ten foot long cold metal rod, which appeared to be molded from cold ice, flashed and appeared. His hands held the body of the long rod tightly and the tip of the rod pierced out explosively. Immediately, one could see images of the rod repeatedly and continuously appearing in midair. Each rod image solidly smashed into the four glows. After this was repeated for a couple of times, the four glows, which contained powerful forces, were actually scattered forcefully by him. This strength was something that people really marveled at.

“He is indeed worthy of being a strong Dou Ling. What a sharp attack.”

This attack of Luo Hou caused Xiao Yan’s expression to change slightly. Looking just at this action of defusing these four glows, the strength of this Luo Hou was much stronger than the Junior Sect Leader of the Blood Sect which Xiao Yan had killed back in the ‘Black Corner Region.’ Of course, part of the reason here was that the Qi Method which that Junior Sect Leader used to raise his strength was too much of a cheap trick. Hence, it resulted in the Dou Qi within the latter’s body being superficial. If he were to really fight with someone, that fellow’s strength was at the very most at the peak of the Da Dou Shi class.

This thought flashed in his heart and swiftly disappeared as Xiao Yan’s expression became serious. The heavy ruler in his hand let out a ‘chi’ sound as it cut through the air, transforming into a black shadow that carried a depressing sound. His body moved up and down like a half leap as he viciously hacked at Luo Hou.

“Chi...”

Behind Xiao Yan, an energy palm that contained some gold-colored flames, a long green-colored whip, and a blood-colored heavy sword, also carried their own powerful force as they formed a fan like shape, completely surrounding the area around Luo Hou.

Seeing the concentrated attack of Xiao Yan’s four men group below, some of the expressions of the older students on the mountain slope involuntarily changed. This was because they clearly understood in their hearts that if it were them who was receiving the attack, they would likely be defeated the moment of contact.

“These four people are indeed very strong. Especially that black-robed young man...” Some of the hearts of the older students could not resist emitting a sigh. After personally witnessing the attack of these new students, they finally understood why the older students, who had participated in this year’s ‘Fire Energy Hunting Competition,’ had been so miserably defeated. Only at this moment did they come to a sudden understanding. It was not that the strength of the older students participating in the ‘Fire Energy Hunting Competition’ was weak, but rather the strength of this year’s new students was too strong.

At the moment, this thought was swiftly spinning in the hearts of everyone on the mountain slope, Luo Hou, who had been quietly standing in the battleground without moving, finally made a move. His hands held the cold metal rod tightly. Treads of mist-like cold air spread out from the rod as a cold deep cry sounded.

“Circular Cold Spinning Rod!”

As Luo Hou’s cry sounded, the cold air, in the form of a mist, shrouding the cold metal rod immediately rolled and rose. A mysterious arc was formed from the rotation. Immediately, the cold air formed a circular shaped ice shield under the quick rotations of the cold air, completely wrapping Luo Hou’s body within it.

“Bang, bang!”

Four ferocious attacks suddenly landed from above on the ice shield that was formed from the fast rotating metal rod. Immediately, a deep muffled sound resounded throughout the entire messy rocky area.

Powerful forces followed the ice shield and spread downward before they were finally skillfully discharged onto a rock. The rock was immediately cracked, forming numerous crack lines before it exploded into rock fragments with a ‘bang’.

“Get lost!”

Luo Hou’s body was bent slightly as a cold cry was emitted from his mouth. The fast spinning cold metal rod suddenly paused. Immediately, the tip of the rod swiftly pierced forward, once again forming afterimages that filled the sky. It viciously struck the weapons of Xiao Yan’s four man group. The force that suddenly erupted directly shook the four of them until they hurriedly pulled back two steps.

Fighting against four people by himself, yet not showing any signs of losing. The gap between a strong Dou Ling and a Da Dou Shi was indeed difficult to measure.

“*Roar*, nice. Show those arrogant new students what skill really looks like!” Seeing that the initial attack of Xiao Yan’s four men group failed, cheers immediately sounded on the mountain slope.

Xiao Yan’s body somersaulted through the air before immediately landing on a rock. He lifted his head to watch the cold and indifferent Luo Hou before slowly exhaling a breath. The other party’s strength was even stronger than he had expected. Moreover, adding this to the fact that a rod specialized in defense, it would likely be very difficult to defeat him within a short time even if the four of them were to join hands.

“What should we do?”

Xun Er and the other two had similarly withdrawn to his side with frowns on their faces. The tortoise-like defense of the other party caused them to feel like a tiger eating a hedgehog, having no place to start.

Xiao Yan glanced at the chaotic battle circle behind him. He immediately knit his eyebrows tightly together. The strength of the four members of the ‘White Demon Group’ similarly exceeded his expectations. The four metal rods danced like four metal shields. When the attack of an ordinary new student landed on it, not only was it ineffective but it would also be reflected back by the strange force contained on it.

Hence, within less than five minutes after this fight had begun, there were no less than five new students lying on the ground after their bodies had become weak from having the metal rod touching them. From the looks of it, it appeared that there would be a new student who lost their combat ability around every one minute or so.

The gap between the classes was thoroughly displayed in this battle circle. Nearly over forty Dou Shi class new students were actually unable to do anything against four Da Dou Shi class older students, This kind of great disparity caused people to be unable to help but sigh emotionally.

This fight had only just begun but the situation had already begun to shift away from expectations. This caused Xiao Yan’s expression to be a little ugly.

“Those new students are indeed a plate of scattered sand. This year, if it were not for Xiao Yan, who had an extremely great gathering ability, it is likely that they would be like the previous years, being robbed by the older students until they had nothing.” On the mountain slope, Sha Tie eyed the dozens of people fighting against four people. Not only did the former group not have any success, but they were instead repeatedly losing more students. Sha Tie could not help but shake his head and give voice to his thoughts.

“Yes.”

Su Xiao and the others beside him nodded. The overall strength of this year’s new students was not much stronger than previous years. However, in the previous years, a person like Xiao Yan, who had the courage and resolution to gather all the new students, did not appear. However, even if that were the case, just an incomplete group of people did not have adequate strength to fight against the ‘White Demon Group’, the strongest tiger blocking their path.

“This battle cannot be dragged out for too long. The longer it is dragged, the more disadvantageous it is for Xiao Yan’s group. Seeing the performance of those new students, it was clear that it was impossible for them to surround and defeat the ‘White Demon Group.’ Instead, if it continues like this, in at most twenty minutes or so, they will be completely finished off. At that time, once the members of the ‘White Demon Group’ free up their hands, Xiao Yan’s group will have no opportunities to turn things around.” Sha Tie helplessly said. Although he thought highly of that strange, green-colored flame that Xiao Yan used, regardless of how that flame suppressed Luo Hou ice affinity Dou Qi, the superb rod techniques the latter used was still able to block them. It appeared that it was a little too early for him to be gloating earlier.

During the time that Sha Tie and the others were discussing the situation that Xiao Yan’s group faced, Xiao Yan had similarly discovered this point. He let out a long sigh and said, “Looks like we cannot delay any longer.”

“Chi!”

Xiao Yan inserted the heavy ruler violently into the crack line of the rock. He turned his head toward Xun Er and the two others before saying in a deep voice, “Delay him. Buy me some time!”

Once he said these words, Xiao Yan flicked his finger. A purple-colored Yaowan shot into his mouth. He chewed slightly and immediately spat out a cluster of purple flames in front of everyone’s gazes. The flame landed in his palm.

TL: Danwan/Yaowan - pill shape items that have no medicinal effect and can be potentially dangerous to consume.

Seeing that Xiao Yan had actually spat out a cluster of purple-colored essence flame, the mountain slope immediately went into an uproar. Sha Tie and the others, who originally felt regretful at the disadvantage Xiao Yan’s group was facing also had stunned expressions. They did not expect that other than the green-colored flame, Xiao Yan actually had another purple-colored flame...

Elder Su and Elder Qing on the rock platform also raised their eyebrows in shock at this moment.

Xiao Yan ignored the noise from the entire place. He tightly held the purple-colored flame with his left hand while he slowly raised his right hand. His finger twisted a little and the elegant green-colored flame once again let out a throbbing sound, and turned into a cluster of green flames, which stopped above his right hand.

Following the appearance of the green-colored flame, the temperature of this region suddenly rose.

The two colored flames, that were soaring shined onto those stunned faces, causing the scene to appear especially comical.

“This... This is...”

The expressions of Elder Su and Elder Qing, who were leisurely leaning against the backs of their chairs on the rock platform, suddenly changed the instant that the green-colored flame appeared. Their bodies suddenly straightened and their eyes stared intently at the elegant green flame. A moment later, they exchanged glances with one another and saw shock in each other’s gazes. “Heavenly Flame?”

Their knowledge was naturally far from what Sha Tie and the rest could compare with. Hence, the moment that the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ appeared, the two of them were able to recognize the exact details of it.

“This damned Hu Jia. He actually did not even tell us about such important information. What a muddle-headed old man...” The shock in their eyes still remained as Elder Su and Elder Qing muttered to each other.

Luo Hou eyes stared intently at the two colored flames in Xiao Yan’s hands. His usual cold and indifferent expression finally became extremely solemn. As he practiced ice affinity Dou Qi, he was extremely sensitive to the change in temperature. The moment the green-colored flame appeared, he was basically shocked to discover that the ice-cold Dou Qi in his body had actually become sluggish!

“What is that flame? It can actually affect the flow of the Dou Qi in my body?”

On top of the solemness on Luo Hou’s face, there was an additional astonishment. His hands held the cold metal rod tightly as he used great effort to force his Dou Qi to flow, trying his best to get rid of that clogged feeling.

Seeing the two different colored flames in Xiao Yan’s hands, Xun Er and the other two understood his intentions. They nodded and the three of them immediately formed a triangle-shaped formation and explosively shot toward Luo Hou. Their Dou Qi surged wildly and they actually unleashed the Dou Qi in their bodies to the limit.

Luo Hou did not dare to slight the sharp attack of Xun Er’s three man team. Although he was extremely fearful of Xiao Yan behind them, he could only wave the cold metal rod in his hand at this moment and receive all of the attacks from the three of them. After which, he performed his fiercest counter attack, hoping to defeat the three of them in the shortest amount of time. At that time, the fighting strength of Xiao Yan, who had lost his companions, would be severely reduced.

Of course, his idea was good but Xun Er’s three man team was not like those ordinary new students. After a few days of collaborating against their enemies, they had already trained until there was an understanding in their cooperation. Although the three of them were unable to break through Luo Hou’s metal rod defense, even after working together, they were at least able to cause him to be unable to move his body to disturb Xiao Yan.

With Xun Er’s group delaying Luo Hou, Xiao Yan’s palms had already began to gradually make contact in front of everyone’s gazes. Seeing this action of his, the older students of the Inner Academy might not have felt anything, but the expressions of Elder Su and Elder Qing on the rock platform changed drastically. With their experience, they naturally clearly understood just what kind of immense force would be formed when such flames merged...

“This crazy fellow... should we act to stop him?” Elder Qing muttered. He immediately turned his head and asked Elder Su by his side.

Elder Su knit his brows tightly together. His eyes did not blink as he stared at Xiao Yan’s calm and quiet face. A moment later, he shook his head and said, “He seems to have some confidence...”

“How can this be? Even if one was an elite Dou Huang, one would not dare to do such a thing. Once he loses control and an explosion occurs, the destructive force released is more than frightening...” Elder Qing said in a deep voice.

“Let’s watch...” Elder Su’s gaze did not make the slightest movement. All he did was merely speak in a soft voice.

“You... ah...” Seeing this, Elder Qing could only helplessly sigh. The boundless Dou Qi in his body also began to circulate, ready to handle any sudden and unexpected situations. After all, there were many students here observing the fight.

Under the focus of all the gazes, the green-colored flame in Xiao Yan’s hand finally made contact with the purple-colored flame. Immediately, wisps of green and purple flame seedlings began to swiftly spread out from the point of contact. At the spot where the two made contact, the space seemed to be torn apart by the powerful strength until it began to fluctuate.

Xiao Yan’s expression was indifferent as he eyed the two different colored flames, which were intertwined with one another. He heavily clapped his hands together, appearing as though he had done this hundreds of times. Following a clear muffled sound, the two flames were forcefully merged into a cluster of a green and purple flame. Spiritual Strength swarmed out from his brow, maintaining it at a mysterious equilibrium.

The green-purple flame repeatedly appeared distorted and immediately began to swiftly shrink in Elder Su’s and Elder Qing’s shocked gazes. It finally came to a slow stop after it had shrunk to around the size of a fist. The flame moved slightly before finally slowly broke apart. An extremely beautiful green-purple fire lotus drifted in front of Xiao Yan.

“Xun Er, all of you move aside.”

The green-purple flame was suspended half an inch above Xiao Yan’s palm. His expression was a little pale as he commanded them softly.

As Xiao Yan’s words sounded. Xun Er and the two others, who were bitterly engaged in a stalemate with Luo Hou, immediately flashed and pull back. In a few leaps, they appeared behind Xiao Yan.

“It’s over...”

Xiao Yan lifted his head slowly and watched the horrified face of Luo Hou. A cold smile appeared on his pale face as he gently flicked the Fire Lotus out of his palm. The Fire Lotus immediately drew past the long empty air like a falling star. Under the focus of everyone’s eyes, it carried a beautiful green-purple trail as it shot explosively toward Luo Hou.