Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

So it's quite normal to get some attention.

Besides, because of the alchemy competition, Xiao Fan felt that although not everyone in the academy knew him, most of the students should have seen him before. So, Xiao Fan initially just regarded this person as someone who recognized his identity.

Even after so much time has passed, his gaze still occasionally drifts towards him. Although Xiao Fan doesn't mind, with Yue Yao by his side, this man's behavior is somewhat inappropriate.

Seemingly realizing that Xiao Fan had seen him, the gray-clad youth cupped his hands in greeting to Xiao Fan from a distance, then jogged over to Xiao Fan and his companion.

"you know me?"

Xiao Fan looked at the young man in front of him and asked curiously.

The young man looked young, probably around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, but his strength was completely exposed under Xiao Fan's golden gaze.

Nine-Star Grand Dou Master!

Moreover, judging from that somewhat weak aura, he seems to be not far from breaking through to the Dou Ling realm.

Xiao Fan's interest in this person grew significantly.

"Hehe, I have naturally heard of Junior Brother Xiao Fan's talent."

The young man in gray smiled at Xiao Fan, then nodded to Yue Yao beside Xiao Fan before looking away and returning his gaze to Xiao Fan.

The process was incredibly natural, neither making Yueyao feel neglected nor being overly rude; the balance was perfectly maintained, causing a hint of surprise to flash in Xiao Fan's eyes.

"I am He Feng, and I have long heard of Junior Brother Xiao Fan. Whether it was his great battle against Bai Cheng or his refining of a fifth-grade pill in front of everyone, those were major events that caused a sensation in the inner academy."

He Feng smiled and said to Xiao Fan, "Junior Brother Xiao Fan, is this your first time in the arena?"

“How come you see?”

Xiao Fan tilted his head to look at He Feng, not taking his flattery to heart. However, this arena was not like the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower, where there was a test for first-time visitors.

Moreover, given the sheer size of the arena, Xiao Fan didn't believe He Feng could keep track of the students entering the arena at all times.

"hey-hey."

Hearing Xiao Fan's words, He Feng smiled faintly, and then said with a mysterious air, "Although my strength is not the strongest in the academy, when it comes to the control of information in the academy, even Lin Xiuya and the others are not as good as me."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing He Feng's words, Xiao Fan's interest in him increased significantly.

Judging from He Feng's behavior, he doesn't seem like the type to exaggerate, so what he said is most likely true.

Xiao Fan became curious; how could someone so knowledgeable about the inner court be so little known?

"Then I wonder why Senior He Feng contacted me?"

"Don't be so formal. If Junior Brother Xiao Fan doesn't mind, you can just call me He Feng."

He Feng smiled faintly, then said to Xiao Fan, "I've just heard a lot about Junior Brother Xiao Fan and wanted to make friends with him."

"Alright, since that's the case, I won't be shy anymore."

Xiao Fan looked at He Feng, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. He stopped calling him "senior" and started addressing him by his name instead.

"Since this is your first time in the arena, how about I give you a brief introduction?"

Seeing that Xiao Fan did not refuse, He Feng pointed to the competition platform below and said to Xiao Fan and the others, "These ten competition platforms below are where the students usually spar. They may seem to be the same at first glance, but if you look closely, there are subtle differences."

At this point, He Feng didn't speak, but looked at Xiao Fan with curiosity.

Xiao Fan raised an eyebrow and released his soul power, immediately discovering the mystery within.

"That stone platform in the center?"

“That’s right.” He Feng was somewhat surprised that Xiao Fan had discovered it so quickly. He pointed to the stone platform in the middle and said, “Although there are quite a few students who challenge each other in the arena on weekdays, everyone has tacitly preserved that stone platform in the center.”

What could be the reason for this?

Xiao Fan looked at the stone platform in the center, which appeared to be a bit darker in color, and a hint of curiosity flashed in his eyes.

Sitting next to Xiao Fan, Yue Yao also showed a hint of doubt on her face. After all, apart from those who have been in the arena for many years, others might not know these things so clearly. This shows that even if He Feng's words were somewhat exaggerated, his information was indeed well-informed.

“That’s right.” He Feng smiled faintly, then said, “Speaking of which, this is also related to the inner courtyard’s ranking list.”

"Top Ranking?"

Xiao Fan was somewhat puzzled, then suddenly realized. "This arena is specifically reserved for those challenging the top-ranked players?"

He Feng nodded and said with a smile, "Just like your battle with Bai Cheng last time, if we follow the general rules of the inner academy, battles involving students who are ranked on the strong list are basically conducted in the arena through a challenge match."

"On the one hand, both sides want to build up their popularity, and on the other hand, they want to prove their strength. After all, the challenger wants to show his fangs, and the challenged wants to make an example of someone."

Xiao Fan nodded in agreement upon hearing this. After all, most of the students on the ranking list were focused on their training. If they were challenged every few days, would they even be able to continue training?

So this arena can also be seen as helping them filter out a group of weaker players.

"Not only because of this, on the other hand, if it involves a challenge from a top-ranked expert, in addition to the loser having their fire energy stripped away, one-tenth of the bet in the arena will also end up in the winner's pocket."

He Feng looked at Xiao Fan and revealed more information.

Even Xiao Fan hadn't expected that 10% of the stakes in the arena's top-ranking challenges would end up in the winner's pocket.

It's no wonder that the challenges from these top-ranked experts are all tacitly agreed to take place in the arena.

Once the battle is won, not only will you gain more popularity and fame, but you will also receive a considerable amount of fire energy. No wonder no one has ever minded the existence of betting in this arena.

Xiao Fan looked at He Feng in front of him and was somewhat surprised by his identity.

Knowing so much about the arena, and being aware of the stakes involved in the battles that affect the interests of the top-ranked players, Xiao Fan didn't believe that this was a position that an ordinary person could possess.

Then Xiao Fan thought of the current Panmen. Panmen has basically monopolized the pill market. Doesn't a portion of the profits have to be handed over to the academy?

Xiao Fan guessed that there must be a force similar to Panmen behind this arena.

"In addition, most of the bets in the arena are arranged in advance, so there is a list of the participants for each day's competition in the arena, which can be considered as building momentum for them in advance."

As He Feng spoke, he took out a black token that looked like a warrant and handed it to Xiao Fan.

Xiao Fan took the token from He Feng. It felt cool to the touch, but the material of the token did not look simple. Without He Feng saying anything, Xiao Fan understood the purpose of the token.

A surge of fighting spirit was injected into the token, and pairs of names appeared on it. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that there were still about ten matches to be held today.

Xiao Fan searched through the list but didn't find Wu Hao's name, so it seemed he hadn't participated in the competition today.

Xiao Fan wanted to return the token to He Feng, but He Feng refused, saying that he wanted to make friends with Xiao Fan and should give him something in return. Xiao Fan gladly accepted it and then took out a bottle of pills and handed it to He Feng.

"This is a kind of pill similar to the Ice-Clearing Pill. It not only has the effect of suppressing fire poison, but also keeps people awake and can cure all poisons."

He Feng did not refuse, accepted the jade bottle from Xiao Fan, and then made an excuse to leave.

Xiao Fan watched He Feng's departing figure, shook his head, put the token in his storage ring, and then watched the competition in the arena with Yue Yao, chatting and laughing.

When there are outsiders around, Yueyao always behaves very quietly and never interrupts Xiao Fan's conversations. Only when they are alone does she reveal her girlish playfulness.

Although their initial intention was to witness Wu Hao's arena career, Xiao Fan and Yue Yao decided to experience the arena atmosphere before leaving, since they were already there.

Chapter 200 Challenge

Inside the Panmen courtyard.

The tightly closed door of the alchemy room creaked open, and Xiao Yan walked out, looking somewhat tired, his furrowed brows relaxing.

Xiao Fan happened to be looking this way, and seeing Xiao Yan's expression, he asked with a smile, "How was it? Did you fail again?"

Xiao Yan feigned indifference as he pushed Xiao Fan away, raised his head with an air of nonchalance, and said indifferently, "It's just a mere pill, how difficult could it be?"

"Oh, is it so?"

Xiao Fan looked at Xiao Yan with a half-smile, his tone full of mockery.

"Who was it that came out of the alchemy room looking disheveled yesterday?"

"Cough cough..."

When Xiao Fan brought up his embarrassing past, Xiao Yan coughed twice and changed the subject.

He hadn't expected that the pill Lin Yan needed this time would be so complicated, and he failed twice in total.

The first attempt to control the temperature of the flame failed because one of the medicinal herbs was not properly heated.

After resting and reflecting, Xiao Yan threw himself into the second refining process.

Unexpectedly, during the second refining process, everything went smoothly and the pill was almost condensed. However, at the last moment, the originally balanced medicinal properties within the pill suddenly became unbalanced, leading to the failure of the second refining.

The key point is that the second time, when Xiao Yan had already formed the hand seals during the condensation of the pill, the power of the pill exploded directly, leaving Xiao Yan covered in dust and dirt.

Fortunately, only Xiao Fan and a few others were in the courtyard at the time; the other members of the Panmen were not there, so they did not see Xiao Yan's disheveled state.

Because of this, Xiao Fan, Hu Jia, and others have been making fun of Xiao Yan about this for the past two days.

Just when Xiao Yan thought he would have to pay out of his own pocket to refine the pills, after all, he had agreed with Lin Yan that even if all three sets of medicinal materials failed, he would still give him the finished pills.

Fortunately, this third attempt was successful without any unexpected incidents, allowing Xiao Yan to successfully refine it.

Because Zi Yan didn't stay here, Lin Yan moved back to his old room these past few days.

Xiao Yan handed the pills to Lin Yan and smiled faintly: "I have fulfilled my mission! It's just a pity that there are no leftover medicinal herbs to return to Senior Lin Yan."

"Hahaha."

Seeing Xiao Yan's regretful expression, Lin Yan laughed loudly, "It's alright. I can take this opportunity to witness the disheveled state of a fifth-grade alchemist. I think it's already a great deal."

Upon hearing Lin Yan mention this, Xiao Yan's expression froze, and he then walked past Xiao Fan expressionlessly.

......