Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

Xiao Fan shook his head and said to the two of them, "I don't know the specifics either. I guessed it from his usual actions. It seems that the Soul Palace is looking for something from the Xiao family. I suspect that they may think it is on the patriarch, so they secretly kidnapped him."

Everything was perfectly explained by Xiao Fan, who then looked at Xiao Yan. "This is also why I told you that the clan leader's disappearance might be related to the Soul Hall. After I discovered that he planned to take action against the Xiao family, I contacted Han Jue and asked him to go to Wutan City, but we still couldn't stop him."

"Senior brother, it's alright, you've done your best." Seeing Xiao Fan's self-reproachful expression, Xiao Yan comforted him. He then took out a fragment, on which a point of light was flashing. "This is what the Grand Elder told me. The point of light on it is still lit, which means that Father is still alive. Now it seems that he has just been taken away and imprisoned by the Soul Hall."

Xiao Fan nodded upon hearing this. "In that case, you can rest assured for now. In any case, the most important thing now is to improve our own strength."

When the two came out, Instructor Ruolin and Xiao Yu had already left. Looking at Xiao Xun'er, who was eagerly waiting, Xiao Fan smiled, patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, and said with a wink, "Alright, don't think about it so much now. Go keep Xun'er company. I won't leave the door open for you tonight."

Hearing Xiao Fan's teasing, Xiao Xun'er blushed slightly, but did not run away.

Xiao Yan scratched his head and, under Xiao Fan's teasing gaze, followed Xiao Xun'er away, intending to first send her back to her own courtyard so they could have a chat.

After leaving, Xiao Yan remembered that he had forgotten to tell Xiao Fan what Yun Yun had asked him to say, and he hadn't thought to ask about their relationship. He thought about it and decided to talk to his senior brother about it the next day. Then he took Xun'er's hand and walked away.

Chapter 105 Battle against Lu Mu

The next day, the group arrived at the training ground early.

Yesterday, half of the candidates were eliminated, leaving 174 people today. If nothing unexpected happens, the 50 spots for the inner academy should be finalized today.

Not long after Xiao Fan and the others arrived, they saw Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er walking towards them hand in hand from afar. Remembering that Xiao Yan had left with Xiao Xun'er the night before, Xiao Fan smiled at the two and called out loudly to Xiao Yan, "Hey, Xiao Yan, where did you run off to last night? Why didn't you come back to me?"

Hearing Xiao Fan's words, Xiao Yu and the others also focused their attention on Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er.

"No...no way, Xun'er, you two?" Instructor Ruolin stared at the two of them with her beautiful eyes and said in shock.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xun'er's cheeks visibly flushed red, even her delicate earlobes turning a vibrant crimson. She hurriedly waved her hands, saying, "No, no." Inwardly, however, she felt ashamed, thinking that if Ling Ying hadn't coughed last night, things might have turned out very differently...

Xiao Yan noticed Xiao Xun'er's shyness and squeezed her small hand to comfort her. He then said to everyone, "No way, Senior Brother, what nonsense are you talking about?" Under the strange gazes of everyone, he pulled Xiao Xun'er to sit down.

The group teased the two of them from time to time, and before long, it was time for the competition to begin.

Vice Dean Hu Qian once again explained the rules on stage. The rules were not much different from yesterday's: two people would compete against each other, and the winners would be determined in the end. Since there were 174 people, after determining the 87 winners, the final 50 people would be selected again through a draw and challenge.

Xiao Fan's gaze swept across the stands and quickly spotted four elderly men sitting in the best vantage point on the opposite side. One of them was Hu Qian, whom he already knew. Xiao Fan didn't recognize the other three, but based on his information, one of them should be Elder Huo, the head of the Alchemy Department at Canaan Academy.

Just as Xiao Fan was observing them, the group seemed to notice him and turned their gazes in his direction. A sharp pain shot through their eyes, Xiao Fan's pupils contracted sharply, and a flame flashed deep within his eyes. He then subtly looked away.

Seeing Xiao Fan's performance, the others had mixed feelings. Hu Qian said to them, "These are the specially invited students who just joined recently."

One of the elders said upon hearing this, "He seems quite good. His battle aura just now seemed to contain strong fire attribute power. I wonder if he is an alchemist."

Hearing this, Hu Qian smiled and said, "Yesterday he used the power of a strange fire. Judging from the shape of the flame, it should be the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, which is ranked nineteenth on the Strange Fire Ranking. Moreover, he was also using the academy's alchemy room recently, so his alchemy level should be quite high." He then turned to the old man on the far right and said, "Old man Huo, if you are interested, you can recruit him into the alchemy department."

The old man on the far right, known as Old Man Fire, nodded, scrutinizing Xiao Fan. "Hmm, to have achieved so much at eighteen, he's a promising talent. If he's interested in joining the Alchemy Department, I certainly wouldn't mind having another excellent disciple."

Beside Xiao Fan, seemingly noticing his gaze, Instructor Ruolin explained the identities of the four to Xiao Fan and Xiao Yan.

"The Alchemy Department..." Xiao Yan murmured to himself. He had already grasped the status of alchemists, and now, hearing about the Alchemy Department at Canaan Academy, he was naturally very curious. Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Fan and asked curiously, "Senior Brother, how is your alchemy skill now?" In Xiao Yan's opinion, Xiao Fan was stronger than him, but with Elder Yao's guidance in alchemy, he should be able to surpass his senior brother.

Seeing the expression on Xiao Yan's face, Xiao Fan knew what Xiao Yan was thinking and gave him a mysterious smile. "Sigh, my alchemy skills aren't very good right now." Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan seemed to feel that it wasn't good for his senior brother, so he patted Xiao Fan's shoulder to comfort him, "It's okay, senior brother, wait until later..." Before he could finish speaking, he heard the rest of Xiao Fan's sentence.

"At present, I can only barely refine fifth-grade pills."

Xiao Yan: ......

Listen, can you hear what people are saying?

The hand on Xiao Fan's shoulder tightened its grip. Seeing Xiao Yan's dejected look, Xiao Fan smiled at him and said, "Oh dear, it's because of my special physique. Junior brother, your achievements have already surpassed those of other people your age."

Hearing Xiao Fan's words, Xiao Yan thought about it and realized that, apart from Xiao Fan, he seemed to be far ahead of other people his age. Thinking of this, his mood improved slightly.

Amidst the laughter and chatter of the crowd, Xiao Yan's name was finally heard again.

"In the thirty-eighth round, Xiao Yan from Class 2 of the Yellow Rank will face off against Lu Mu from the Alchemy Department."

As the referee's voice fell, the crowd's gaze once again turned to Xiao Yan, who was about to appear. After all, Xue Beng's strength was not considered strong in Canaan Academy, while Lu Mu was among the top ten even among the outer academy students.

"Go, Brother Xiao Yan!" Xun'er smiled playfully at Xiao Yan from the side.

Xiao Yu also said to Xiao Yan, "Go for it, you brat! Give that annoying guy a good beating!"

"I try my best."

With a faint smile, Xiao Yan lightly touched the ground with his toes and floated down onto the arena. After Xiao Yan stepped onto the stage, a blue figure leaped out from the surrounding stands, pushed off a pillar outside the arena, and landed not far from Xiao Yan.

"Xiao Yan, right? You're Yu'er's cousin?" Lu Mu looked at Xiao Yan with a smile, then waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you, otherwise Yu'er will get angry and I'll be in trouble."

As Xiao Fan had expected, because of Xiao Yu, their fight didn't last long before it turned into a contest of fire control. Xiao Yan also revealed his Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, which caused the alchemy students to gasp in surprise.

After all, I witnessed the strange fire just yesterday, and now I'm seeing it on another cultivator today.

Even the old man with the fire in the stands looked at Xiao Yan with curiosity. "This Xiao Yan actually possesses a different kind of fire?" Although different kinds of fire are not unique, it is still very rare for two people to possess the same kind of fire at the same time.

In the end, Xiao Yan defeated Lu Mu with his exquisite control over the flames. Even though he lost the match, Lu Mu still smiled at Xiao Yan. After all, he planned to pursue Xiao Yu, so it was no secret that he wanted to build good relationships with the people around Xiao Yu.

Although they lost the match, Lu Mu and Xiao Yan became even closer. After all, they were both interested in each other's methods of controlling flames and had goodwill towards each other. Through this sparring match, they even agreed to discuss each other's techniques after the next match.

After their match ended, Xiao Yan returned to the stands. The way people looked at him had changed. He had proven himself with his strength, and no one dared to underestimate him anymore. Looking at Xiao Xun'er, who was quietly waiting for him, Xiao Yan walked over and sat down beside her, quietly taking her small hand from below.

Seemingly surprised by Xiao Yan's boldness, Xiao Xun'er blushed. She then shifted her gaze to the stands, diverting her attention.

The following rounds of the competition were quite simple. Then, as soon as the referee's voice fell, the noisy environment instantly quieted down, and even Xiao Fan couldn't help but look at him.

"Yan Cheng from Class One of the Mysterious Rank, facing off against Wu Hao from the Enforcement Team."

Chapter 106 Enforcement Team Wu Hao

Wu Hao is very famous in the outer courtyard of Canaan College.

As a member of the enforcement team, his blood-red battle aura imbued him with a terrifying killing intent. Ordinary students would feel uneasy even in his presence.

It's hard to say who is the strongest among the outer students of Canaan Academy, but if we're talking about who has experienced the most life-and-death battles, then it's definitely Wu Hao.

Having spent years accompanying the law enforcement team on patrol, Wu Hao has experienced far more life-and-death battles than the average person. He is also accustomed to seeing life and death, unlike the other trainees who are like flowers in a greenhouse and have not yet experienced the trials of life and death.

Upon hearing that Wu Hao would be playing in this match, the entire audience looked at him with curiosity.

After all, although Wu Hao was very famous in the academy, because he was often away on missions, not many students had come into contact with him, and they were all curious about this legendary student.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a trembling student walked onto the stands, but everyone could see his nervousness from his constant glancing around. Just as everyone was still searching for Wu Hao, a figure shrouded in a blood-red robe suddenly appeared opposite the young man.

Looking at his bright red robes, everyone felt as if the scent of blood was emanating from him.

"This guy probably just came back from a mission again. He's covered in blood and looks just like the guys from the Black Corner Region..." Hu Jia frowned as she looked at Wu Hao in the arena and said in a low voice.

"So strong!" On the stands, Xiao Yan's pupils constricted sharply when he saw Wu Hao appear. This was a formidable opponent. He then turned to look at Xiao Fan and found him still calm. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking how monstrous his senior brother truly was.

Even the usually composed Bai Shan couldn't help but sit up straight upon seeing Wu Hao. Before Xiao Fan appeared in the academy, his greatest rival wasn't the fearsome little demoness, but this bloodthirsty man who constantly fought on the edge of life and death. The two had clashed openly and covertly at least ten times, but he had never gained the upper hand.

Although Bai Shan was defeated by Xiao Fan, he believed it was merely due to his own carelessness. He was confident he could turn the tide if given another chance. After all, his long-standing pride wouldn't allow him to admit that a newcomer had surpassed him.

"Such a strong stench of blood. Is Wu Tianlang trying to turn Wu Hao into a killing machine?" An old man in a yellow robe on the stands frowned when he saw Wu Hao appear, and his voice was barely audible. "If this continues, Wu Hao will eventually become a madman who only knows how to kill."

"Probably not. Although Wu Tianlang is ruthless, he treats Wu Hao as his own son. Just from the fact that he let him participate in the inner court selection competition, it's clear that he wants him to enter the inner court and curb his killing intent." Hu Qian shook his head and said softly.

Upon hearing this, the old man in yellow nodded slightly and said no more.

"The competition begins!"

With the referee's whistle, the two players on the field remained motionless. Wu Hao's opponent dared not take the initiative because of his fearsome reputation, while Wu Hao stared at him coldly.

"If he can't even take the initiative, there's no surprise in this match." Looking at Yan Cheng's performance on the field, Xiao Fan shook his head, his tone slightly disappointed.

Xiao Yan nodded. No matter what kind of opponent he encountered, if he didn't even have the desire to fight, how could he win? Perhaps Wu Hao was indeed infamous, but if Yan Cheng did his best, even if he still failed, he could at least cause Wu Hao some trouble.

Seemingly to verify what the two had said, Yan Cheng was attacked by Wu Hao, and in just two moves, Wu Hao's blood-red greatsword was already held against Yan Cheng's neck.

Sensing the bloody smell emanating from Wu Hao, Yan Cheng's expression changed drastically, even though he knew it was just a competition. He hurriedly shouted, "I concede!"

Yan Cheng's defeat caused an uproar in the surrounding stands. Although everyone knew that Yan Cheng could not win, no one expected that Yan Cheng, a five-star Dou Shi, could not even last two moves against Wu Hao. It reminded people of the scene where Xiao Yan punched Xue Beng away.

“Wu Hao is quite similar to you.” Xiao Fan looked at Xiao Yan and said with a smile. “Your Xuan Heavy Ruler and his Blood-Red Greatsword are both heavy weapons, yet you are both quite fast. You are both very skilled in both strength and speed.”

“This is a formidable opponent!” Xiao Yan didn’t refute this. “If it weren’t for my two years of arduous training, I probably wouldn’t be able to catch up with these freaks.” If it weren’t for the training he received in the Jia Ma Empire over the past two years, Xiao Yan wouldn’t have reached his current level. Now that he saw a genius like Wu Hao, he naturally felt a surge of excitement. After all, in the past two years, he had mostly been in contact with older generation powerhouses, and the only one his age was Nalan Yanran from the Yunlan Sect.

With the end of the three-year agreement, Nalan Yanran has been removed from Xiao Yan's heart and can no longer cause any ripples.

The referee on the field saw that the competition was over and hurriedly announced Wu Hao's victory, fearing that if he had delayed for even a second, Yan Cheng would have turned into a corpse. After all, the strong blood aura emanating from Wu Hao was too oppressive. Even some of the academy's instructors probably didn't have as many lives on their hands as Wu Hao.

Despite his victory, Wu Hao did not leave the field. Instead, his indifferent eyes carefully searched the stands before finally settling on the position of Class 2 of the Yellow Class.

Xiao Fan smirked, nudged Xiao Yan with his elbow, and said with a smile, "Hey, your rival is here again?" He then glanced at Xun'er beside Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow, a smile spreading across his face as he looked at Wu Hao in the arena. "I expected this."

Wu Hao's gaze was fixed on the location of Xiao Yan and Xiao Fan. He glanced at Xiao Yan sitting next to Xiao Xun'er, and then fixed it on Xiao Fan.

"So you are Xiao Fan?"

"Do you dare to come down and fight?"

Xiao Fan's mischievous smile vanished abruptly. He glanced innocently at Xiao Yan beside him, then pointed incredulously at himself and said to Wu Hao, "Me? Are you sure it's me?"

Wu Hao frowned. "What's wrong, you're scared?"

Xiao Fan waved his hand, "It's not a matter of daring or not." He then pointed at Xiao Yan. "Shouldn't you be challenging Xiao Yan for Xun'er's sake? Why are you challenging me?" Xiao Yan and Xun'er rolled their eyes at his words.

Upon hearing this, Wu Hao's tone remained unchanged, but anyone could detect the arrogance in it. "I heard you defeated that kid Bai Shan. I'd like to see just how good you are!"

Bai Shan, standing in a corner of the stands, was inexplicably targeted. He gritted his teeth but remained silent. "Fight! It would be best if you both were severely injured!"

Hearing Wu Hao's words, Xiao Fan shrugged, "No way!" He wasn't interested in putting in any more effort for something that wouldn't bring him any benefit. Now that he realized months of cultivation were less effective than a single system task, Xiao Fan had finally understood. He had been too narrow-minded before. He'd finally transmigrated to a world he liked; why bother cultivating? He could just do tasks and relax.

Seemingly not expecting Xiao Fan to refuse so decisively, Wu Hao's aura faltered, and he inexplicably fell into a daze.

"Alright, the competition is over, hurry up and get down. If you want to challenge, you'll have plenty of opportunities later!" The referee, seeing the tension between the two, quickly advised them.