Battle Through the Heavens: Top Talent

Chapter 14 The Powerful Xiao Yun!

The next day, the inner court selection competition officially began!

As a major event of Canaan Academy, the so-called Inner Academy Selection Competition naturally attracts a lot of attention. Moreover, the most popular figures in the Outer Academy will all show up and participate in the Inner Academy Selection Competition, which is undoubtedly a great attraction for male and female students who regard these people as their idols and objects of their affection.

Therefore, even though Canaan Academy had made preparations in advance and provided the largest square in the academy as the venue, it was still packed with enthusiastic students. Countless Canaan students pushed and shoved to get into the seats in the square. As far as the eye could see, there was a sea of ​​black heads and a cacophony of noise that seemed to reach the sky.

This massive plaza is circular in shape, and above the center of the plaza are four enormous light screens facing all directions, capable of displaying the battle taking place on-site in real time.

The stone steps continued upwards, forming a huge arena. Even the students sitting on the furthest steps could clearly see what was happening in the center of the plaza.

Four arenas were set up in the square.

The participants were divided into four groups: A, B, C, and D, with each group's participants fighting on their respective arenas.

Xiao Yun, who had arrived at the square early with Elder Huo, was propping his head up with his hand, watching the battle on the arena with boredom.

There were a total of 300 participants, most of whom were below the Great Dou Master level, with less than 20 being above the Great Dou Master level.

The selection competition is an elimination-style competition held before the main competition. Generally speaking, Canaan Academy will not allow two students at the Great Battle Master level to meet early on, but will try to stagger them to ensure that they can pass the selection competition smoothly.

Therefore, in Xiao Yun's view, there was no one among his opponents today who was worth his attention. They were all Dou Shi level players, and there was no challenge at all.

"Xiao Yun from Class 4 of the Profound Rank, versus Yan Li from Class 1 of the Profound Rank!"

Xiao Yun watched for an unknown amount of time, almost falling asleep, until finally the referee called him to the field.

As the judges' voices faded, the noisy square suddenly quieted down, and countless eyes turned to the seats of Class 4 of the Profound Rank.

In the past two years, the name Xiao Yun has been firmly remembered by the students and even the instructors of Canaan Academy.

After all, he entered Canaan Academy at the age of seven, became an apprentice of Elder Huo, broke through to the Dou Shi level in less than a year, went to Peace Town to join the law enforcement team, and during his time in the law enforcement team, he had many instances of killing powerful Dou Shi. It would be difficult for such a prodigy not to be remembered.

What's even more terrifying is that Xiao Yun is not even ten years old yet! He is already a third-grade alchemist, and his future achievements are immeasurable.

Therefore, when they heard the name Xiao Yun, they all turned their attention to Class 4 of the Profound Rank, wanting to catch a glimpse of Xiao Yun's talent.

However, they were destined to be disappointed, because Xiao Yun did not follow his class's group at all, but instead went to the seats of the college leaders.

Faced with countless gazes directed at him, Xu Ning couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. His hands clenched tightly as he scanned his surroundings, cursing inwardly:

"Why are you all looking at me? That brat Xiao Yun isn't even here."

"call out!"

Just as Xu Ning and the others were searching for Xiao Yun, he leisurely got up from the elders' seat and lightly landed on the arena.

"Is this Xiao Yun? He's so young? Could he be a freshman like me?" In the stands, many freshmen looked puzzled. They didn't know Xiao Yun's true situation and thought he was just a freshman who was there for the fun.

"What do you know? Junior Brother Xiao Yun is the pride of our Foreign Languages ​​Department. Countless people regard him as their idol. With his current strength, I estimate that even most of the instructors in the academy cannot defeat him." Hearing the freshmen questioning Xiao Yun, many senior students glared angrily, especially the female students, who would not allow anyone to slander their Xiao Yun.

……

Ignoring the cheers around him, Xiao Yun quietly watched the young man walk up from the other side of the arena.

"Hello, Junior Xiao Yun. Although there's a significant gap between us, I still want to give it my all in this match. Please give it your all and show me the difference between us!"

As soon as Yan Ligang stepped onto the stage, he issued a challenge to Xiao Yun. The look of fearlessness on his face made the referee's blood boil.

"Well, if you've said all that, then I'll grant your wish."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yun took out the Crimson Blood Spear from his storage ring, twirled the spear with both hands, and performed a few spear flourishes. He had originally just wanted to play around with him, but since he had made such a request, he decided to finish the fight quickly.

"Ready? Let the match begin!"

With the referee's command, Xiao Yun's figure transformed into a fiery red streak of light, instantly spanning most of the arena, and arrived in front of Yan Li like lightning.

"Bang!"

With a sweeping motion, fiery red battle aura adhered to the spear shaft, condensing into a fire dragon. With a single sweep of the dragon's tail, Yan Li was swept off the stage.

He gripped the spear and spun around, a fiery dragon emerging from the spearhead before dissipating into sparks in the air.

"You flatter me, senior!" Looking at Yan Li, who was sitting on the ground and still in a daze, Xiao Yun clasped his hands in a fist and smiled.

"The match is over. Xiao Yun from Class 4 of the Mystic Rank has emerged victorious!"

It wasn't until Xiao Yun stepped off the stage that the referee came to his senses and hurriedly announced the result of the match. The surrounding audience erupted in even louder cheers, celebrating Xiao Yun's victory.

"You brat, you're really strong. I remember Yan Li was an eight-star Dou Shi, which is considered mid-level among the contestants. You took him down with just one shot. It seems you're going to take the lead in this year's Inner Academy Selection Tournament."

In the seats of Class 4 of the Profound Rank, Xu Ning laughed and patted Xiao Yun on the shoulder, very satisfied with his performance just now.

"I just benefited from being fast, it's not as exaggerated as you say, mentor." Xiao Yun responded modestly and sat down in the seat next to Xu Ning.

"Alright, you're good at everything, but you're too modest and lack any edge. I checked your match schedule, and you're not scheduled for today. Go back and get some rest. Tomorrow and the day after, your opponents will likely be at the Great Dou Master level. Don't let yourself get caught out. Getting into the Inner Academy isn't an easy task." Xu Ning waved his hand, telling Xiao Yun to go back and prepare for the battle the day after tomorrow.

……

The following day marked the second day of the Inner Court Selection Competition.

In yesterday's selection competition, half of the 300 contestants were eliminated. Of the remaining 150, the top 50 will be decided in the next round.

Only the top fifty students are qualified to enter the inner courtyard.

The square was still packed with people, and Xiao Yun's arrival caused even more gasps from the crowd.

After yesterday's decisive battle, almost everyone in the outer academy now recognizes Xiao Yun's strength. Many students at the Great Dou Master level consider Xiao Yun their strongest rival and hope they won't encounter him too soon.

As a middle-aged referee slowly walked onto the square, a deafening cheer erupted from the stands.

The cheers gradually subsided as the referee pressed down with his hand. The middle-aged referee looked around and, seeing that the crowd had finally quieted down, said, "Students, after yesterday's selection and elimination, there are only 150 contestants left out of the original 300. At this rate, we should be able to determine the 50 qualified candidates for the inner academy today."

"Alright, the selection competition is about to begin. All contestants whose names are called, please come up on stage as soon as possible. If you fail to do so within the allotted time, you will be considered to have forfeited."

After the middle-aged referee finished explaining the rules of the selection competition, he slowly retreated to the referee's stand to the side, and at the same time, two names were announced from the referee's stand.

"Xiao Yun, Class Four of the Mystic Rank!"

"Fang Wen, Class One of the Mystic Rank!"

A frustrated curse came from the stands of Class 1 of the Xuan Rank group in the stands surrounding the square.

"Damn it, why are we facing Xiao Yun again? Is he targeting my Xuan-rank Class 1 specifically?" The instructor of Xuan-rank Class 1 was very unhappy. Out of 300 contestants, his class had encountered Xiao Yun twice. Their luck was unbelievable.

"Fang Wen, it's okay. If you can't beat them, just conserve your fighting spirit. You can still fight your way out of the loser's bracket."

Seeing Fang Wen's grim expression, the instructor comforted him. Fang Wen was one of only three Great Dou Masters in his class. Even if he lost to Xiao Yun, as long as he didn't expend too much Dou Qi, he still had a good chance of making it into the top fifty.

"Mentor, I understand. If I can't win, I'll admit defeat." Fang Wen stood up, swiftly descended from the stands, and landed steadily on the arena.

A moment after Fang Wen entered the arena, a fiery red figure flashed across the air above the plaza, lightly touching the pillars around the plaza with its toes before soaring into the air and leisurely landing on the arena.

After the fiery red figure appeared, a tsunami of cheers erupted from the surrounding stands. Although Fang Wen was also a powerful Great Dou Master, most people still favored Xiao Yun.

"Junior Brother Xiao Yun, may we only exchange one move?"

"Hmm?" Xiao Yun looked puzzled, staring at the young man opposite him.

"Although you are very strong, it will not be easy for you to defeat me. I don't want to exhaust my fighting spirit because of fighting you, and end up not even being able to make it out of the loser's bracket."

"So I think we should decide the outcome with one move, so we can both conserve our fighting spirit. What do you think of my suggestion?" Fang Wen blushed. Although he felt that his suggestion was a bit unfair to Xiao Yun, he still said it in order to enter the inner courtyard.

"Sure, that's perfect, I'd like to save time too." Xiao Yun nodded, confident he could defeat Fang Wen even in one move.

Once the contestants were ready, a middle-aged man on the judges' stand waved and announced loudly, "The competition begins!"

Upon hearing the referee's words, Xiao Yun looked up at Fang Wen opposite him. The light of the storage ring on his finger flashed, and a spear appeared. He gripped it tightly in his hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground. Fiery red battle qi slowly rose from his body, eventually enveloping Xiao Yun's entire body and forming a battle qi armor. A powerful aura spread out.

"Senior Fang, please."

Looking at Xiao Yun, who was fully armed, and feeling the powerful aura within him, Fang Wen was startled. He sensed that Xiao Yun possessed an invincible strength.

"Junior Brother Xiao Yun's talent is truly outstanding. He's more than ten years younger than me, yet his cultivation far surpasses mine," Fang Wen said with a wry smile. "But even so, standing on this stage, I will not admit defeat!"

A weaker aura than Xiao Yun's surged from Fang Wen's body, and azure battle qi covered his entire body, eventually forming a battle qi armor that enveloped him.

The two on the field had now shut themselves out of the outside noise, their fighting spirit surging within them, preparing their strongest attacks.

"Mysterious Dragon Turns Wood!" Of the two, Fang Wen finally couldn't hold back any longer. His fighting spirit surged, forming a blue wooden dragon on his body, which swooped down towards Xiao Yun.

"It's actually a mid-level Xuan-rank battle skill, Xuanlong Tuanmu. This brat, didn't I tell him to conserve his battle qi? He just used his strongest trump card right away." The Xuan-rank class instructor watching the two's match from the sidelines was unaware of the conversation between Xiao Yun and Fang Wen, and only assumed that Fang Wen was recklessly squandering his battle qi in order to be competitive.

"Wood Release, huh? Quite a troublemaker." A calm voice rang out from the arena. Xiao Yun gripped his spear tightly, and deep red battle aura burst forth from his body, enveloping him. In the eyes of the spectators, Xiao Yun on the field was like a god of war made of flames.

"Crimson Flame Palm!" Xiao Yun gathered all his fighting spirit into his hands, then channeled it through the spear shaft and into the spearhead. With a sudden swing of his spear, a giant flaming palm, as tall as a three-story building, appeared and flew towards the wooden dragon.

The collision between the giant hand and the wooden dragon reverberated through the air, sending out concentric circles of energy. The wooden dragon, like a small mudfish, was caught by the giant hand and crushed instantly. Even after crushing the wooden dragon, its power remained undiminished as it continued its advance towards Fang Wen.

Bang!

Fang Wen felt as if his battle qi armor was made of paper, easily blasted open by the giant hand.

At the same time, some fire energy exploded in front of Fang Wen, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood and fall off the stage like a kite with a broken string.

"Thank goodness, he held back, otherwise I might be dead."

As his body slumped off the stage, Fang Wen breathed a sigh of relief. When facing the giant fiery hand, he truly believed he was going to die. Now, although his injuries looked severe, they were actually just superficial wounds from the explosion. Most of the giant hand's power dissipated after destroying the battle aura armor on his body.

The next second, the middle-aged man on the referee's stand appeared next to Fang Wen, checked his physical condition, and found that he was not seriously injured. He looked at Xiao Yun with surprise.

"Such strong control! You didn't injure his vitals at such close range. You've won this match."

……

(End of this chapter)