Chapter 32: Fire Energy Hunting Competition
"Alright, enough rambling. Although you've passed the trials and earned admission to the Inner Court, it's not over yet..." Elder Su smiled and raised his hand, revealing a handful of jet-black chips. He tossed them casually, and the chips shot out, hovering before everyone as if possessed of eyes. Seeing this, everyone reached out and grasped them. As
they grasped the chips, Xiao Ling and the others felt a strange heat emanating from them. Looking closely, they discovered a transparent mirrored surface above the chips, upon which was printed a large red number: "Five"!
This was Xiao Ling's first time handling a physical object, and after examining it carefully, he could not discern the underlying principle.
"What does this mean?" Gazing at the red words, everyone was puzzled. Looking up, they were surprised to see the group of young men standing behind the middle-aged man. Their eyes were fixed on the black chips in their hands, their gazes brimming with undisguised greed.
"Some things are difficult to explain. You'll understand later, but for now, you only need to know one thing: take good care of the chips in your hands, as if they were your lives. Once you enter the inner courtyard, you'll understand how important they are to you! Of course, if you look at the looks in these guys' eyes, you might understand a little more." Elder Su smiled, pointing at the young men.
"Next, you need to enter the forest and successfully reach the inner courtyard at its end." Elder Su's finger still lingered on the group of young people as he spoke calmly, "As you traverse this forest, be careful of them. According to the rules of the inner courtyard, they can attack you as they please."
"Remember, the words on the chip in your hand are extremely tempting to them. Therefore, besides killing, they will use all means to obtain the 'fire energy' on your chip... This word will become very familiar and endearing to you. Now, you must avoid them or defeat them. As long as you avoid being caught and successfully reach the inner courtyard, you will receive the final reward. The earlier you arrive, the greater the reward."
Elder Su's finger suddenly moved towards the dark forest behind him. "We in the inner courtyard call this forest heist the 'Fire Energy Hunting Competition'..."
"Now, I declare this year's 'Fire Energy Hunting Competition' officially open! Classmates, begin your escape!"
Upon hearing the official start of the Fire Energy Hunting Competition, Xiao Ling and his companions rose, exchanged a glance, and rushed into the forest, intending to wait for their prey near the finish line.
The senior students, observing this, didn't intervene, believing they were planning to form a group and quickly pass through. They had just heard that several of these individuals were high-ranking Grand Masters, so why not leave them to bully the weaker students?
In the dense forest, scattered sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating the leaf-strewn ground with specks of light, creating a dreamy atmosphere.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed through the quiet forest, approaching from afar. A moment later, six figures slowly emerged.
Once they fully emerged, it became clear they were Xiao Ling and Lin Xiuya.
After running for a while, they spotted the end of the forest not far away.
Seeing this, they stopped rushing forward and began to linger at the edge of the forest, waiting for the old students to arrive.
A moment later, five old students in white clothes approached, clearly intending to wait at the forest exit to capture the new fire energy.
As his soul sense expanded, Xiao Ling spotted the white-clad figures and muttered to himself, "Looks like this is the strongest White Evil Team! Since they've arrived, let's just eliminate them."
Using his skill "Disguise" to conceal his presence, Xiao Ling didn't rush forward alone. Instead, he gathered everyone around him. When the White Evil Team members relaxed their guard, Xiao Ling shouted, "Action!"
Hearing a noise from the darkness, the five White Evil Team members, still unaware, were looking around when they saw balls of fire rain down from the sky towards them. The scorching heat instantly ignited the surrounding trees. It was Xiao Ling who was using the low-level Earth-level Dou Skill, Fiery Meteor. While this area-of-effect attack wasn't very concentrated, it was effective in blocking movement and clearing out minor enemies.
Several fireballs struck the White Evil Team members, but thanks to their timely activation of Dou Qi Armor, they weren't seriously injured. The captain, in particular, had conjured a shield in front of him, clearly possessing Dou Ling cultivation to perform such a feat.
The five members of the White Evil Team adjusted briefly and maintained their formation. Seeing Xiao Ling and the others charging towards them, the captain, Lu Jin, whose cultivation had reached the Dou Ling level, spoke in a haughty tone, "You freshmen actually dared to attack our strongest White Evil Team! You're truly overestimating yourselves! Who are you? Why don't you quickly identify yourself?"
Seeing this man so disregard them, Xiao Ling and the others flared up. Young people, who's afraid of who?
Xiao Ling declared, "How shameless! Challenge me! Those defeated by me don't deserve to know my name."
He then whispered to the others, "Lin Xiuya and I will quickly dispatch that Dou Ling. Xun'er, go find the one with Wood-attributed Dou Qi and buy us a little time."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Xiao Xun'er confidently declared, "Don't worry, Brother Xiao Ling. Xun'er won't let us down."
Xiao Ling extended his hand, and a spear materialized. Using his swift and powerful fighting technique, he charged in front of Lu Jin and unleashed a sweeping blow.
Seeing a great Dou Shi dare to challenge him in a duel, Lu Jin was furious. He planned to finish him off with a single blow, slapping the spear with his palm, intending to send it flying. However, when the spear collided with him, he realized the immense force and took two steps back. Before he could regain his balance, Xiao Ling stepped forward and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying. While the damage wasn't great, the attack was already under control.
Seeing this opportunity, Lin Xiuya, standing nearby, unleashed his Earth-rank Intermediate Dou Skill, "Wild Wind Breath Slash." He appeared behind Lu Jin as if teleporting, his sword slashing horizontally several times, creating a crack in his Dou Qi armor. Then, he slashed vertically, sending him plummeting downwards. The ground around him cracked like a spiderweb, demonstrating the terrifying power of this move.
While Lu Jin was still recovering, Xiao Ling approached him and unleashed the Red Flame Seal, a high-level Xuan-level fighting technique he had learned the day before. He struck his abdomen with a palm strike, sending a surge of flaming energy into his body, blocking the flow of his Dou Qi.
Lu Jin, recovering his senses, felt his Dou Qi unable to mobilize before he could even register what had happened.
Seeing Xiao Ling and Lin Xiuya before him, he realized he had been ambushed and angrily exclaimed, "Didn't you say we're in for a one-on-one fight? Why are you calling for help?"
He rolled his eyes at the man, but Xiao Ling ignored him and dove into the surrounding battlefield. Lin Xiuya did the same.
Before long, the five members of the White Evil Team were defeated, their Dou Qi sealed, and surrounded.
Seeing this, Lu Jin, though unhappy, had no choice but to say, "We've lost. You can leave this forest."
Xiao Ling scoffed and said, "Are you an idiot? I've come here looking for a fight for nothing. Hurry and take out the Fire Crystal Cards from your storage ring, or I'll show you what cruelty is."
Gazing at that handsome, smiling face, Lu Jin felt a chill run through his heart. This guy was truly terrifying. Feeling the coldness in Xiao Ling's words, Lu Jin, though extremely reluctant, dared not delay. With a bitter expression, he pulled out a pale cyan crystal card from his storage ring and handed it to Xiao Ling.
Xiao Ling then turned his gaze to the other four members and said in a stern tone, "Hurry and take them out too."
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Seeing their captain hand over his Fire Crystal Card, the others followed suit and handed it to Xiao Ling.
Xiao Ling gathered several cards in his hands and began to divide the spoils before the others, leaving the White Evil Team members heartbroken.
After deducting the guaranteed "seven days" from each card, Xiao Ling returned the Fire Crystal Card to the Baisha team members, unsealed it, and left with his friends to search for the next batch of prey.
(End of this chapter)