Chapter 63: Entering the Inner Courtyard

After defeating the Black and White Fiend Team, Chen Xiao encountered no further obstacles upon leaving the forest.

Just as he emerged from the far end of the forest, Great Elder Su Qian and the other two, who had been tailing him the entire time, materialized out of thin air.

"Congratulations, Chen Xiao. You've won this Fire Energy Hunting Contest, and you are undoubtedly the sole winner. Since Elder Hu didn't give me any advance notice, I didn't have time to arrange any truly challenging opponents for you. What a pity, though I certainly wouldn't mind if such a pleasant surprise happened every single year," Su Qian announced with a helpless smile as he stepped forward.

The three of them had watched Chen Xiao's entire path through the barrier.

The so-called Black and White Fiend Team had posed zero obstruction at all, completely shattered and scattered by a single sweep of his ice spear.

Chen Xiao nodded slightly, waiting quietly for what came next.

"As the sole winner of this Fire Energy Hunting Contest, you are entitled to... fifty days of fire energy. Furthermore, since you are the fastest person to cross this forest in all these years, I am rewarding you with an additional Cyan-Fire Crystal Card and another fifty days of fire energy."

"A Cyan-Fire Crystal Card?"

Chen Xiao knew that fire crystal cards came in different ranks.

Earlier, the captain of the Black Fiend Team had used a Black-Fire Crystal Card—utterly poor and broke—while the captain of the White Fiend Team had wielded a Blue-Fire Crystal Card, with a distinct difference between the two.

However, the specific details had slipped his mind.

"Within the Inner Academy, fire crystal cards are divided into five grades from lowest to highest: Black, Blue, Cyan, Crimson, and Purple. The black crystal card in your hand is the lowest-tier card, which only grants you the qualification to cultivate on the first and second floors of the Blazing Sky Qi Reticulating Tower. The blue crystal card grants access to the third and fourth floors, and so on down the line."

"If you want to upgrade your crystal card in the Inner Academy, you need to pay fire energy as a fee. Upgrading from a Black-Fire Crystal Card to a Blue-Fire Crystal Card costs one hundred days of fire energy, and upgrading from a Blue-Fire Crystal Card to a Cyan-Fire Crystal Card costs two hundred days, with the requirement increasing by a hundred for each subsequent tier."

Hearing the Great Elder's explanation, Chen Xiao instantly understood.

In other words, this Cyan-Fire Crystal Card alone was worth three hundred days of fire energy.

Combined with the one hundred days rewarded by Su Qian, that amounted to a staggering four hundred days of fire energy in total!

"I understand. Thank you, Great Elder."

"Heh, no need to thank me. You earned this with your own strength. Just transfer your fire energy over to the Cyan-Fire Crystal Card and return the black one to me."

Su Qian smiled as he retrieved a cyan crystal card from his storage ring and tossed it to Chen Xiao. A striking number, one hundred, was visible upon its surface.

Chen Xiao nodded in acknowledgment and quickly operated the transfer. Watching the number on the Cyan-Fire Crystal Card jump to four hundred and forty-five, he smiled with satisfaction.

"Very well. From this moment on, you are an official student of the Inner Academy. Let me lead you inside first," Su Qian said, taking back the Black-Fire Crystal Card returned by Chen Xiao.

"Aren't we going to wait for the other new students?"

"The Fire Energy Hunting Contest doesn't end that quickly. Some new students are remarkably good at hiding. It takes anywhere from two or three days to as long as five or six. Elder Qin and Old Hu are more than enough to monitor them there; I will show up when the time comes."

Hearing this, Chen Xiao said no more. He nodded and followed closely behind Su Qian, scaling the steps situated on the slope not far away.

The gravel staircase was quite long, but at the pace of the two, even a leisurely stroll took less than a minute.

Upon reaching the topmost tier, Chen Xiao hoisted himself up onto the hilltop. Gazing into the distance, the scenery that came into view caused him to involuntarily reveal an expression of astonishment.

Beyond the slope lay a tremendously vast sunken basin. Judging by its shape, it looked as though a gigantic meteorite had plummeted from the heavens, forcefully smashing it into existence.

Thinking of the Fallen Heart Flame, Chen Xiao couldn't help but wonder if the creation of this basin was related to it.

Within the sprawling basin, rows upon rows of towering structures stood densely packed together. Tiny black figures, resembling fleas when viewed from afar, continuously flickered and darted across the rooftops.

The scene bore an uncanny resemblance to the ninja academy he had dreamed of during his childhood in his past life...

"As you can see, that is the core domain of Canaan Academy: the Inner Academy!"

"Your strength far outstripped the others in the Outer Academy, but within this Inner Academy, there are no shortage of students far more formidable than you. Little fellow, are you ready to accept the challenges ahead?"

Seeing Chen Xiao momentarily lost in thought, Great Elder Su Qian nodded with satisfaction and clapped his hands.

Chen Xiao snapped out of it, a look of expectant eagerness rising on his face.

"The Outer Academy was mere bullying; it held no glory to speak of. Frankly, I rather hope the powerhouses in the Inner Academy are even more numerous!"

Playing chess against a poor opponent does little to improve one's game.

Moreover, after being surrounded by flattery and hearing pleasantries for too long, one inevitably gets sucked into the illusion.

In this regard, Xiao Yan of Wu Tan City served as a cautionary tale.

Although Canaan Academy practiced a wolf-eat-wolf philosophy of competition and encouraged strife, life-or-death duels were strictly forbidden. Cultivating here for a period of time before venturing out into the wider world was undoubtedly an excellent transition.

"Heh, you won't be disappointed. There is no end to cultivation. Always remember that there are mountains beyond mountains and men beyond men. Let's go. I'll get you settled in first, and you can slowly learn more about the Inner Academy after spending a few days here."

With those words, Su Qian's figure morphed into a blurred shadow, rushing swiftly toward the enormous basin.

Chen Xiao followed closely behind.

Inside the Inner Academy.

The freshman residential district.

Su Qian pushed open the front door of a small pavilion situated right at the center of the area. Sunlight poured in, dispelling the gloom within.

"The arrangements for each batch of newcomers are largely the same. The top five finishers of the selection tournament will be assigned to live together. Of course, if you have reasonable requests, the Inner Academy will respect them and make adjustments."

"Furthermore, this pavilion is merely your temporary residence. There are many student factions within the Inner Academy. Once they develop to a certain scale and have the capacity, they will rent out an entire sector to house their faction members, at which point you can also move out and live elsewhere."

Chen Xiao nodded softly, harboring no objections to the arrangement.

It was just a place to stay; simple or luxurious, it had no impact on cultivation.

Besides, this small pavilion was quite elegant in its own right.

"I understand. Thank you for the trouble, Great Elder."

"Since you have no objections, just pick a room, tidy it up, and settle in. In a few days, once the Fire Energy Hunting Contest concludes, I will bring the others over."

With that final remark, Elder Su Qian didn't linger. With a smile, he tucked his hands behind his back and walked away.

Chen Xiao ascended to the second floor and selected a room with the neatest and most appropriate furnishings.

It took him about half an hour to clean it thoroughly from top to inside, after which he retrieved his bedding and other essentials from his storage ring.

Once everything was arranged in a proper and orderly fashion, Chen Xiao finally took out a jade bottle containing a Earth Fire Lotus Seed from his storage ring.

He uncorked the bottle and placed it upon the desk.

This Earth Fire Lotus Seed could be used for fishing.

No—for catching a dragon!

Though it heavily relied on luck, volunteering the bait was at least a viable method.