Chapter 117: The Purple Fire Crystal Card (Fourth Update—Subscription Requested)

“Hiss...” The two elders gasped in unison upon hearing Hu Qian’s words. Elder Qing turned to Hu Qian and asked, “Where did you find these three prodigies?”

“They’re all from the Jia Ma Empire and came over together during this recruitment.” Hu Qian smiled. Seeing the shock written all over the elders’ faces, he mused inwardly, “Now you can finally understand how I felt earlier.”

“From the Jia Ma Empire, are they? Looks like I’ll have to visit that empire someday. Who knows, I might find a few gifted disciples myself,” Elder Su joked.

Elder Qing nodded with a smile as well. Their reactions were understandable. Qing Lin and Little Doctor Immortal alone were already rare talents, but Xiao Xie—sixteen years old, already a one-star Douhuang, and even a fifth-tier alchemist—his talent would be considered top-tier even across the entire Dou Qi continent.

“All right, you three, come over here! You don’t need to participate in the remaining contests.” Elder Su addressed Xiao Xie and his two companions, producing three purple crystal cards and handing them out.

As soon as they received the cards, the trio felt a strange warmth seeping from them. Lowering their heads for a closer look, they noticed a transparent mirror set into the card, upon which was emblazoned a large red number: “One Hundred!”

“Elder Su, what are these things?” Qing Lin examined the purple crystal card in her hand and looked up to ask.

“These are Fire Crystal Cards, which you’ll need once you enter the academy. Within the Inner Academy, Fire Crystal Cards come in five ranks from lowest to highest: black, blue, green, red, and purple. The black cards are the most basic, granting access only to the first and second levels of the ‘Skyburning Qi Refining Tower.’ Blue cards allow entry to the third and fourth levels, and so on,” Elder Su explained with a smile.

“Elder Su, what is the ‘Skyburning Qi Refining Tower’?” Little Doctor Immortal asked upon hearing the name.

“There’s a tower buried deep underground in the Inner Academy called the ‘Skyburning Qi Refining Tower.’ Training inside it yields twice the results with half the effort, and the deeper you go, the faster your cultivation progresses. However, to enter the tower, you must pay with ‘Fire Energy’ stored in your Fire Crystal Card. Fire Energy is measured in days. The cards you hold will permit you to train in the tower for a hundred days,” Elder Su elaborated.

Qing Lin thought for a moment before asking, “What if we run out of Fire Energy?”

Elder Su, far from annoyed, patiently replied, “Inside the Inner Academy, you can earn Fire Energy in a variety of ways—sweeping the tower, copying scrolls, and so on. But these methods yield little. That’s why powerful students often hunt magical beasts and exchange magic cores for energy, or they challenge others in duels. If both sides agree, they may compete in the arena, and the winner takes a portion of the loser’s Fire Energy. There are many ways to earn Fire Energy, but they all have one prerequisite: you must be strong enough. Otherwise, not only will you fail to earn energy, you might lose everything you have.”

It was precisely because of the extraordinary talents of Qing Lin and Little Doctor Immortal that Elder Su was this patient with his explanations; otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered.

Elder Qing glanced at Xiao Xie and added, “There’s another way to earn Fire Energy: making it onto the Inner Academy’s ‘Strength Ranking.’ As the name suggests, it’s a list that measures strength, and it’s the most prestigious ranking in the Inner Academy, with only fifty places. If you make it onto the list, you’ll receive a monthly reward from the academy, the amount based on your rank—the higher, the greater the reward. This is the most comfortable way to gain Fire Energy, because as long as your name stays on the list, you can spend your days training in the Skyburning Qi Refining Tower without worrying about running out of energy.”

“That sounds great!” Qing Lin exchanged a smile with Little Doctor Immortal. Both had already decided to fight their way onto the Strength Ranking once they entered the Inner Academy.

Xiao Xie looked up and saw that Elder Su, Elder Qing, and all the young people behind them were staring with bright, envious eyes at the purple crystal cards in his hand. But none dared make a move, for they had all heard of Xiao Xie’s strength—he was a Douhuang, after all!

After finishing his explanation to Qing Lin and Little Doctor Immortal, Elder Su turned to the fifty students brought by Hu Qian and said with a smile, “All right, enough talk. Although you’ve passed the selection and earned the right to enter the Inner Academy, that’s not the end.”

With that, he raised his hand, producing a handful of jet-black crystal cards. With a casual flick, the cards shot out and hovered in front of each of the fifty students as if guided by invisible eyes.

Their Fire Crystal Cards were the lowest black rank, containing only five points of Fire Energy—showing the difference in treatment compared to Xiao Xie and his companions.

Having heard Elder Su’s explanation earlier, these students understood the cards’ purpose and quickly put them away. Though they envied the purple cards, no one felt it was unfair. Geniuses deserved better treatment; that was a universal truth.

Before entering Canaan Academy, each of them had been a prodigy in their own region, so they understood this principle well.

“Next, you’ll enter the forest and make your way to the Inner Academy at the far end,” Elder Su said, pointing to the group of older students behind him. “But be careful of them. According to academy rules, they can attack you at will in this forest—meaning, they’re allowed to assault you.”

“Remember, the number on your crystal card is a huge temptation for them. So, by any means short of killing, they’ll try to take the Fire Energy from your cards. Your job is to avoid them or defeat them. As long as you’re not caught and reach the Inner Academy, you’ll receive a final reward—the earlier you arrive, the richer the prize.”

Elder Su’s finger swung sharply toward the shadowy forest. “We call this forest trial the ‘Fire Energy Hunt’! I now declare this year’s hunt officially begun. Students, start your escape!”

No sooner had Elder Su finished than the fifty students dashed into the forest. The older students waited ten minutes, then followed suit.

“We’ll go ahead and wait for them at the front,” Elder Su said to Xiao Xie and his companions.

This so-called ‘Fire Energy Hunt’ was, in fact, a hazing ritual for newcomers by the academy’s older students—a tradition the academy encouraged to temper the new blood. But Xiao Xie was not allowed to participate; otherwise, it would become a case of a new student bullying the seniors, not the other way around.

After nodding in agreement, Xiao Xie and his friends said their goodbyes to Hu Qian and left with the two elders.

...

Half a day later, Xiao Xie and the elders awaited the newcomers atop a hillside. Perhaps provoked by the sight of the purple crystal cards, the older students had been especially “enthusiastic” with the new students—each newcomer had been robbed several times. If not for the academy’s rule that at least two points of Fire Energy must be left to each, their cards would’ve been totally emptied.

Once all the newcomers had arrived, Elder Su led Xiao Xie and the others to the top of the hill.

Beyond the slope lay a vast, sunken basin, as if a giant meteor had crashed down from the heavens and gouged it out.

Within the basin stood towering structures. From their vantage point, they could see black figures flitting and leaping across the rooftops like fleas. The view stretched onward, revealing a basin so enormous that even the farthest edge was lost among the lofty buildings and verdant greenery.

“Heh, little ones, welcome to the core of Canaan Academy: the Inner Academy!” Elder Su clapped his hands and smiled at the newcomers’ awestruck faces.

“All right. Since the hunt is over, all newcomers follow me to the Inner Academy. First, we’ll get you settled in. Then, you’ll officially become members of the Inner Academy. Believe me—if you persevere here, when you finally leave, you’ll find all your hard work has been worthwhile.” Elder Su said gently to the new students.