Chapter 159: Before the Grand Tournament (Please Subscribe, Fifth Update)

“My cultivation has reached Four-Star Douhuang, how exhilarating!” Xiao Xie felt the surge of his power and laughed in delight. With the energy from seven bottles of Earthcore Tempering Milk raising him to Four-Star Douhuang, this was hardly surprising. The true reason, however, was the crumbling jade in his possession—bottlenecks for him seemed not to exist at all. Without it, he would have, at best, reached the peak of Three-Star Douhuang, stuck between the ranks of Three and Four Stars.

Feeling the vigorous Dou Qi coursing within, Xiao Xie closed his eyes and began to cultivate in earnest. Although he had already broken through to Four-Star Douhuang, it was wise to consolidate his foundation.

Five days later would mark the beginning of the Inner Academy’s Mighty Ranking Tournament. As the event approached, nearly every conversation within the academy revolved around this most explosive and elite of competitions, reserved solely for those on the Mighty Ranking.

To make it into the top fifty was to join the apex of the Inner Academy. Naturally, battles between such giants were a spectacle, drawing immense attention. Although only those on the ranking could participate, this hardly dampened the fervor and anticipation among the rest of the students.

As news spread like wildfire, the atmosphere in the academy reached heights of excitement not seen for years. After all, to make it into the top ten meant qualifying as an Elder candidate. With such a special status, one could act with impunity in the academy. Elders and students were worlds apart; countless people vied desperately to take that step, but the harsh requirements often left them disheartened.

Of course, the Elder’s position was so coveted not simply for the authority it granted over students, but more importantly, because only Elders could enter the lower levels of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.

Xiao Xie, Little Fairy Doctor, and Qinglin were an exception. As special recruits, they possessed violet fire crystal cards, allowing them access to the lower tower. However, Little Fairy Doctor and Qinglin's strengths were insufficient. Little Fairy Doctor, now at Eight-Star Douling, could only train on the eighth level; Qinglin, at Five-Star Great Dou Practitioner, was restricted to the third. Only Xiao Xie, with his sufficient cultivation, could enter the tenth level. Ordinary students enjoyed no such privileges.

The benefits to cultivation speed offered by the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower had long been proven. Thus, the inaccessibility of the deepest levels left everyone yearning. Training there could dramatically shorten the time required to reach the Douhuang realm. Of course, only those with exceptional talent could hope to ascend—reaching Douhuang was no simple feat, even with the tower’s aid.

Thus, anyone with even a hint of strength harbored a burning desire for a spot in the top ten. That position and the privileges accompanying it were enough to crown them true powerhouses.

Furthermore, with the tournament’s entry requirements, the academy was swept up in a frenzy of challenges. Those who usually buried themselves in quiet cultivation now erupted in spectacular fashion. The Inner Academy was gripped by an unprecedented storm of activity, and in this feverish wave, one dark horse after another emerged to everyone’s amazement.

With so many dark horses, fierce contention for places on the Mighty Ranking was inevitable. In just a few days, the top twenty remained largely stable, but the lower thirty changed daily, with previously unknown students rising forcefully and drawing countless exclamations.

“Look, the Poison Fairy is on stage!”

“Wow, she’s ranked seventh on the Mighty Ranking now!”

“The Poison Fairy always defeats her opponents in a single move. She’s only ranked seventh because the top six rarely stay in the academy. When she faced the previous number seven, she finished the fight with one attack. I bet even if she faced the legendary number one, she wouldn’t fare much worse!”

As the surrounding students discussed excitedly, Little Fairy Doctor, dressed in a white gown, slowly raised her right hand. A crimson butterfly appeared in her palm. She parted her red lips and spoke softly, “Butterfly Dance.”

The red butterfly flicked its wings, transforming into a streak of crimson that shot toward her male opponent. His strength was at Seven-Star Douling, enough for the top ten, but perhaps due to his reclusive cultivation, he hadn’t been on the ranking before. With the tournament looming, he had finally emerged.

Unfortunately, his luck was poor—he had met Little Fairy Doctor. Facing the incoming butterfly, he stabbed out with his long sword, splitting it in two.

Seeing this, Little Fairy Doctor’s lips curled into a faint smile—the outcome was already decided. She turned and walked off the stage.

The split red butterfly transformed into two smaller butterflies, which landed on the male student’s body before he could react. The instant they touched him, they slipped through his clothes and turned into a red mist, burrowing into his skin.

“Aaagh!” The student screamed, foaming at the mouth, collapsing to the ground in convulsions.

“Every time I see the Poison Fairy in action, it’s so beautiful. But the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it becomes,” sighed one of the male students below the stage.

“Sister Xian’er, you’re amazing!” Qinglin exclaimed happily, clutching Little Fairy Doctor’s hand.

“Not bad, you’re growing ever more proficient with your poison Dou Qi,” Xiao Xie praised with a smile.

“This new butterfly technique I developed seems quite effective,” Little Fairy Doctor replied with a gentle smile.

This butterfly-shaped poison Dou Qi was a technique of her own creation, following her earlier bird-shaped poison Dou Qi. She called it Butterfly Dance. The red butterfly was the weakest, merely rendering opponents incapable of resistance. The darker the color, the stronger the poison; the black butterfly was the deadliest among the monochrome variants.

But the most lethal of all was the Rainbow Butterfly, a composite poison Dou Qi formed by consuming various toxins of different properties. The Rainbow Butterfly was so potent that a single one could kill a seventh-rank magical beast—provided it hit its target.

Her avian poison Dou Qi exploded on contact, releasing a wide cloud of poison gas. The butterfly technique, however, was much harder to deal with. Unless the poison butterflies were destroyed completely, they would multiply with each attack, just as they had now—one butterfly split into two, making them even harder to evade.

Little Fairy Doctor’s strongest technique at present was the Poison Dragon Technique; she could now unleash a massive dragon of venom, ten meters long and as thick as a barrel—her most formidable means in battle.

“Sister Xian’er, Young Master, it’s my turn now.” Qinglin released Little Fairy Doctor’s hand and, after greeting the two, skipped cheerfully up onto the stage.

“The Serpent Maiden is here, too!”

Some students below had already recognized Qinglin. Poison Fairy was Little Fairy Doctor’s title; Serpent Maiden was Qinglin’s, for she always summoned her Twin-Headed Fire Spirit Snake in battle. No one complained of unfairness—it was her own ability to tame such a beast. If one were to disallow that, what about the other top contenders who wielded powerful weapons? Would they be forbidden, too?

Besides, in a real battle, who expects the enemy to fight fair? The Inner Academy’s Mighty Ranking Tournament was to select the ten strongest, not to play games. The top ten were all seasoned veterans of real combat. Anyone who made it this far wasn’t naive; they understood the true harshness of battle.

Since following Qinglin, the Twin-Headed Fire Spirit Snake’s strength had steadily grown. After she began training in the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, it joined her there as well. Now, the snake’s power was comparable to a One-Star Dou Wang. Once Qinglin summoned it, the fight ended swiftly.