Chapter 176: Fury
In the brightly lit room, the atmosphere faintly carried a whiff of gunpowder. Inside, more than ten people either sat or stood scattered around, each of them showing some degree of anger on their faces.
"Boss, that Xiao Yuan really doesn't know what's good for him! He actually dared to beat Fu Ao and the others into that state. If we don't retaliate, how can our Bai Gang continue to hold its ground in the Inner Academy?"
A man in the room couldn't help but slap the table, shouting angrily.
"Exactly, boss. We can't let everyone take a beating for nothing."
As soon as he finished speaking, the rest of the people in the room immediately echoed in agreement.
At the head of the room sat a man reclining lazily in a chair, his hand supporting his chin. His face bore a slight resemblance to Bai Shan, but he appeared more mature and sinister. This was likely Bai Cheng, the leader of Bai Gang and Bai Shan's cousin—ranked 34th on the Strong Ranking.
Bai Cheng ignored the agitated crowd and focused his gaze on a figure to his left. That figure was entirely wrapped in bandages. Such a pitiful appearance naturally evoked sympathy.
"Fu Ao, how's your injury?" Bai Cheng frowned slightly and asked upon seeing Fu Ao's miserable condition.
At his question, the room suddenly fell quieter, and all eyes turned to Fu Ao.
"No serious internal injuries, but I'll need at least four or five days of rest to recover," came the slightly muffled voice from within the bundle of bandages that was Fu Ao.
"What's that Xiao Yuan's strength like?" Bai Cheng nodded slightly, eyes narrowing with a cold tone.
"His actual strength is only around five or six-star Da Dou Shi, but he seems to be able to use a secret technique to forcibly raise his power to Dou Ling level. Also, the flame he uses is extremely domineering and powerful. Even when I used both Dou Techniques and condensed Dou Qi weapons together, they were all completely suppressed by his flame. Moreover, the techniques and cultivation methods he uses are of very high grade—probably top-tier even among advanced Xuan level techniques!"
A flash of resentment passed through Fu Ao's eyes, his voice thick with anger.
"Boss, I only lost this time because I didn't know what I was dealing with. Next time, I definitely won't lose again!" Fu Ao said stubbornly.
"Still not ashamed?" Bai Cheng's expression darkened as he slammed the table, the loud sound silencing everyone in the room.
"One man took down half our faction. If I had been in closed-door training for a few more days, would Bai Gang have been disbanded by the time I came out?"
He berated furiously.
"Enough. You guys stay and heal up. The rest of you who can still move—come with me. I want to see for myself who this Xiao Yuan really is, who dared to take down half my Bai Gang on his own!"
Fu Ao's spirits lifted at those words, though his wounds still throbbed too much for him to feel truly excited. He simply trembled slightly to show his joy.
The rest of Bai Gang gave a loud response and followed Bai Cheng toward the freshman gathering area.
Boom!
A surge of powerful energy burst from Xiao Yuan's body. Five colors of Dou Qi—green, red, yellow, white, and black—swirled around him. Although the black one was the deepest in color, it was slightly weaker than the others.
This was because the Black Water Qi Palace had not yet been strengthened, so the Dou Qi within lacked certain qualities compared to those from the other, already-enhanced palaces.
Nonetheless, the Dou Ling-level aura clearly showed that Xiao Yuan's strength had taken another leap.
Based on his estimates, if he used both secret techniques to boost his strength, he could reach the level of a six-star Dou Ling. If he really fought, even if he couldn't match the top ten on the Strong Ranking, neither Bai Gang with its strongest at six-star Dou Ling nor the similarly leveled Yao Gang would pose a threat to him anymore.
"Phew!"
Xiao Yuan exhaled deeply, then ended his training, pulling his Fire Crystal Card from the stone platform and preparing to leave.
Next time he came to the Qi Refining Tower, he'd head to the fourth level. The third level was no longer enough for him!
However, when he opened the door to the training room, he was stunned.
Standing outside was an elderly man in dark elder's robes, his aura deep and unfathomable. Seeing Xiao Yuan, the man offered a kind smile.
"Greetings, Great Elder!"
Xiao Yuan quickly recovered and saluted.
"Sharp eyes."
Su Qian raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled.
"Your strength seems far more than what you usually show."
He continued, speaking with deeper meaning.
"Yes, Great Elder. I've hidden some of my strength. Walking in the Black-Corner Region without a trump card isn't safe, and it became a habit."
Xiao Yuan answered calmly, using a pre-prepared excuse.
"Hmm, thoughtful indeed. If I hadn't sensed your breakthrough just now, even I wouldn't have detected any trace of hidden strength."
The Great Elder chuckled as he led the way.
"Yes, I had a special opportunity," Xiao Yuan responded vaguely.
"Very well. Keep training. The Inner Academy might need your help in the future."
Su Qian nodded slightly, then gradually faded away and vanished.
Watching Su Qian's ghostly departure, Xiao Yuan shook his head helplessly. Before a true powerhouse, hiding anything was impossible!
Still, the elder seemed to have a favorable opinion of him.
Was it because of the Heavenly Flame? Or...
Xiao Yuan touched his brow, and a flicker of black lightning flashed faintly.
Either way, it was good news!
He sighed internally, then suddenly realized something was off. Looking around, he was surprised to find that during just that short chat, he had somehow ended up on the first floor.
Was this the power of a Dou Zong?
Xiao Yuan was dazed for a moment, then walked out of the Heaven-Burning Qi Refining Tower.
As he stepped outside, warm sunlight bathed him. After spending five full days inside the tower, he had the sudden urge to lie on the ground and not move. Covering his face with his hand, he squinted at the blue sky and took a deep breath of fresh air. Training inside the tower certainly brought quick results, but the gloomy atmosphere was seriously stifling.
Although the Inner Academy tried to ease this with soft lighting, in the end, a tower was still a tower. No matter how bright it was, to a person, it still felt like a cage. Only out here, under the open sky, could one feel truly free.
"No wonder the Inner Academy strictly discourages students from staying inside too long. It really does warp your mind."
Muttering to himself, Xiao Yuan finally began walking slowly toward the Lionheart Society's territory.
"I haven't come out in five days. I wonder how they've been. Hopefully, nothing happened…"
As he thought this, his pace unconsciously quickened.
Half an hour later, the freshman housing area came into view. A quick glance around didn't reveal anything wrong, and he finally relaxed, slowing his steps.
Strolling leisurely into the area, Xiao Yuan suddenly stopped and frowned as he spotted four students at the gate. His eyes scanned their chests and saw matching emblems—dark red with a roaring lion carved into them.
"They've already made the faction emblem? Efficient!"
Seeing the lion badge and their familiar faces, Xiao Yuan nodded slightly and walked forward confidently.
At that moment, the four students at the gate spotted him. They froze, then ran over excitedly, calling out:
"President, you're back!"
"Mm. No one caused trouble these past few days, right?"
Xiao Yuan asked with a smile.
"No. A lot of senior students found out you're our president, so they've been pretty respectful!" a youth replied with a grin.
"Heh, interesting. What's all this about?"
Xiao Yuan nodded, then asked.
"It's a rule set by Senior Xiao Yan. Now, our Lionheart Society has its own guard team. Four people take shifts daily to guard the housing area, and ten more are always on standby inside in case of emergencies. The rest were sent out to scout and get familiar with the Inner Academy layout."
The youth signaled for the other three to stay at the gate, then began leading the way while excitedly detailing all the changes in Lionheart over the past four or five days.
Xiao Yuan listened quietly, secretly impressed. Xiao Yan had grown—it wasn't just empty talk. Wait, no... this probably had Xun'er's touch all over it!
When the two arrived at the small pavilion, the youth stopped and smiled.
"Hehe, President, you can go in. I've got to get back to my post. Senior Xiao Yu and Senior Xun'er said that if we complete three full days of guard duty without incident, we get a day's worth of Fire Energy. Everyone's fighting to do this job now, haha."
Seeing the eager and proud look on his face, Xiao Yuan smiled and nodded, though he felt more pressure.
Even though they'd grabbed some Fire Energy from Bai Gang, Yao Gang, and Qingshan, it clearly wasn't enough!
In fact, even Xiao Yuan himself was running low on Fire Energy.
At his current training rate, his remaining Fire Energy wouldn't last two months in the tower. He was about to go broke!
"Alright, go back to your duties."
Waving him off with a smile, Xiao Yuan pushed open the door and entered the pavilion.
There, in a red dress, Xiao Yu was sitting at the table, writing something.
Smiling, Xiao Yuan walked over and covered her eyes from behind.
"You little vixen, can't you behave?"
Xiao Yu had just scolded, but then realized the hand was slightly larger than Hu Jia's. She quickly reacted and said joyfully, "Xiao Yuan? You're back?"
Xiao Yuan smiled and said, "Looks like you've grown closer to Hu Jia these days."
"We three sisters have always gotten along well, okay? And you've got some nerve! You sent us off to the tower and promised to handle the faction stuff—when we came back, you'd only picked a name and vanished! If Hu Jia hadn't asked the elders, I would've gone in there to drag you out!"
Xiao Yu rolled her eyes and complained.
"Hehe, such small matters are best left to Ah Tai and the others. Trusting your subordinates is part of being a good leader."
Xiao Yuan said cheerfully.
"Hmph. Then why don't you write the detailed rules for the society?"
Xiao Yu pointed at the blank paper filled with listed rules, her chin lifting.
"Hmm, I think you've done a great job," Xiao Yuan said, stroking his chin and scanning the page.
"Tch!"
Xiao Yu pouted.
Muah.
"Hey! What are you doing!"
Xiao Yu held her cheek, glaring at him.
"Sister Xiao Yu worked hard, so I'm rewarding you!" Xiao Yuan laughed.
"??? Are you sure you're not just rewarding yourself?"
Xiao Yu looked at him, half amused, half annoyed.
"Can't I?" Xiao Yuan asked seriously.
"No!" she shook her head, then smirked and whispered, "If it's a reward, let me give it to you."
——
A passionate kiss between Xiao Yu and Xiao Yuan is omitted here—imagine it yourselves.
——
"Whew, I almost slipped up. Good thing Xiao Yan and the others aren't here."
Xiao Yuan said with a laugh.
Xiao Yu softly replied, "Xiao Yan and Xun'er went to buy herbs. Hu Jia is at the Dou Technique Pavilion checking for a high-grade technique that suits her. Wu Hao went to the arena—it's been two days, but don't worry. Our people from Lionheart are there too. If anything happens, they'll report back."
Knock knock knock!
The sound of knocking suddenly rang out.
"Come in."
Xiao Yuan frowned, adjusted his and Xiao Yu's clothes, and said in a muffled voice.
As the door opened, the voice of the young guide from earlier followed:
"President, people from Bai Gang are here!"
(END CHAPTER)
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