The long spear remained still before Ling Bai, who, observing the slight stiffness on his face, smiled with quiet satisfaction. Gently tilting his head and lifting his gaze to Xiao Yan, he scanned the scene—seeing Su Xiao lying down not far from him, and the three senior inner-courtyard students fallen nearby. The satisfaction on his lips gradually faded, and a subtle coldness, along with growing envy, began to surface in his eyes. By nature proud and accustomed to being admired, he deeply disliked the feeling of being steadily outpaced and overshadowed. In the outer courtyard, he had once been the undisputed star, revered and celebrated by all students. But now, with Xiao Yan's emergence, that status had crumbled completely. As a result, the relatively narrow-minded man found himself with not a single favorable impression of Xiao Yan. Though he had gained numerous benefits by following Xiao Yan throughout this journey, he firmly believed that it was merely a matter of mutual needs—Xiao Yan simply sought to leverage his strength to secure sufficient fire resources from the other inner-courtyard seniors to fulfill his own ambitions. In Bai Shan's eyes, he had never truly regarded Xiao Yan as his captain. This had always been just a mutually beneficial transaction. "Yet, the greatest winner of this transaction remains him..." Bai Shan glanced at the fresh-faced newcomers and saw in their eyes genuine admiration and reverence for Xiao Yan—clear evidence of the respect and support they now held for him, earned through his boldness in challenging the senior teams. "These fools have completely forgotten that, without us, could Xiao Yan have accomplished all this alone?" Bit her teeth firmly, Bai Shan's long-suppressed rage burst forth from within. As his anger grew stronger, his gaze suddenly grew cold. He tightened his grip on the long spear, stepped forward slightly, and then drove it horizontally across, swiftly and powerfully striking the already defeated and defenseless Ling Bai square in the chest. Instantly, Ling Bai's face flushed red, spitting out a mouthful of blood, retreating several steps before finally collapsing to his knees, his head snapping up with blazing fury. "What are you looking at? Unconvinced?" Seeing Ling Bai's furious expression, Bai Shan sneered, taking another step forward, just as he was about to unleash more of his wrath, the black silhouette before him suddenly shifted, and Xiao Yan's low voice rang out: "He has already given up. Why do you need to intervene? To injure someone with no defense—what glory is that?" "Hmph." Xiao Yan's obstruction caused Bai Shan's grip on his long spear to tremble slightly. Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his rising anger, gave a sharp hum, and then turned, charging into the fray between the freshmen and seniors, his long spear slicing through the air with a hissing sound, moving like a majestic silver serpent. With a slightly furrowed brow, Xiao Yan glanced at Bai Shan's departure and then at Wu Hao, whose battle had also drawn to a close. Only when he saw Wu Hao firmly in control of the situation did Xiao Yan turn to Ling Bai, who was now flushed with rage. With a wave of his hand, he tossed a vial of healing medicine toward him. With a reach of his hand, he grasped the blue glow and upon inspection, found it to be a pale blue fire crystal card, bearing the number eighty-six—quite the highest he had seen in recent times. Holding the card, Xiang Yan did not return it with the dignity of a sage, for it was a shared victory of their team, not merely his own. Thus, he merely bowed slightly to Ling Bai as a gesture of thanks. "Your companion isn't very impressive. Tell him that today's strike I'll return." Leaning against the tree trunk, Ling Bai spoke calmly. "I'm sorry," Xiang Yan sighed. Indeed, Bai Shan had gone a bit too far. While it was understandable to criticize him if he'd been struck during combat, he had instead delivered a heavy blow after Ling Bai had already surrendered and withdrawn all defenses—something that fell short of proper etiquette. "Though you have defeated our three teams with the strength of the new recruits, you cannot possibly return to the Inner Courtyard fully equipped." Lin Bai's gaze remained fixed on the battlefield between Wu Hao and Xiu Yan, where, after a hard-pressed clash, Xiu Yan had already begun to show signs of exhaustion. "I know there are still two more所谓的 'Black and White Gate Dangers'." Xiao Yan shrugged. "It seems you're quite informed." Lin Bai raised an eyebrow slightly, showing mild surprise at Xiao Yan's words. "What I mentioned earlier was no empty boast. This so-called 'Fire Hunt Competition' was specifically established by the Inner Courtyard, as many new students arrive with great pride. To help the seniors gradually temper that new energy, the Inner Courtyard created this competition—requiring the seniors to hunt down and defeat the new students in the forest. How difficult, then, could it be to force your way through?" "I just want to make sure we don't get completely wiped out as we enter the inner courtyard. As for the tactics the seniors claim to use—those that dull the fresh energy of the new students—well, they're quite effective at sparking resistance. Perhaps the seniors themselves have experienced such treatment before, and now they're eager to return the favor. Still, this tradition of passing it down from one generation to the next is becoming unsustainable. Even if we don't resist this time, future freshmen will surely form teams to protest." Xiao Yan spoke slowly, his gaze fixed on Wu Hao, who had finally managed to shake the stone platform with a single palm strike, forcing it to retreat several steps. In his mind, he knew the battle's outcome was already decided. Leng Bai remained silent, fully aware that the seniors' participation in the Fire Energy Hunt wasn't solely driven by their desire to secure Fire Energy—many of them were also there to ease lingering anxieties and shadows from the past. "Alright, the battle has come to an end." "Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan directed his gaze toward the chaotic battlefield. With Xun'er, Hugua, and Baishan joining the fray, the several senior inner-courtyard students who had been stubbornly holding their ground finally could no longer maintain the stalemate. After inflicting wounds on several freshmen with determined resistance, they were completely subdued. "Ah, what a heavy loss... These seniors truly possess strong capabilities. The inner courtyard is indeed an excellent place for honing one's skills," Xiao Yan remarked, scanning the now spacious field. With a sigh of resignation, he shook his head. Originally numbering nearly forty freshmen, only about fifteen remained standing after defeating twelve well-coordinated seniors. The rest lay motionless on the ground, gasping for breath due to injuries, temporarily losing their combat effectiveness. As the last senior student collapsed, a wave of cheers erupted across the empty ground, interwoven with cries of pain. The十余 freshmen who still stood could not help but feel their hearts surge with excitement, bursting into hearty laughter. What had once been a tense atmosphere now filled with a warm sense of joy. Looking at Xuanyi, Huojia, and Wu Hao approaching, Xiao Yan smiled and asked. The three nodded. Xuanyi and Huojia were fine, but Wu Hao was slightly out of breath, clearly having been greatly drained by the intense, direct combat against Xiuyan earlier. Xiao Yan lightly tapped his naga ring, and a small jade bottle appeared, tilted slightly, and poured out three round, well-shaped Qi-restoring pills, which he handed to the three of them. "Take these to quickly restore your Qi," he said. Xuanyi smiled and accepted the pills without hesitation, immediately swallowing them. Huojia and Wu Hao paused slightly before taking them, then quietly said, "Thank you." With a casual smile, Xiao Yan looked up at the bustling ground, and finally let out a long, relieved breath. The three teams were now fully resolved. All that remained was for them to rest for one day, after which they would be ready to face the so-called Black and White Gate of Peril. … "Hm, indeed, he has some real talent—quite genuinely managed to absorb those three first-year teams in one go." On the canopy of a vast forest, two elders slowly opened their eyes, locked gazes, and both nodded in quiet admiration, smiling slightly. "That young man named Xiao Yan seems quite capable. Having defeated Su Xiao so swiftly, even considering the unique effectiveness of his sonic technique, his clean, unrelenting attacks and sharp instincts are truly impressive. Even among the senior first-years, not many possess such precision and composure." One elder remarked. "Hm, yes. Perhaps after the hunting competition concludes, we should have Huo Qian send over some updates on this young talent. I believe his potential is substantial—after further training within the inner academy, he might well make it into the top ten of the 'Strong List'." The other elder nodded in agreement, smiling. "Agreed." The elder who had spoken earlier nodded slightly, stretched lazily, and said, "However, the good fortune of these newcomers is about to come to an end. This year's black-and-white gate calamities have been particularly successful in drawing fire energy from the arena—quite a few strong contenders. Hm?" As the words were still hanging in the air, a subtle change passed over the elder's face, and a surprised exclamation escaped him. He turned his head and locked eyes with the other elder, marveling, "These five energies...? Remarkable! I never thought that while two rivals fiercely competed, a third would emerge to reap the benefits—no wonder they've been thriving in the arena. Truly clever strategies!" "Just as Xiao Yan had finished speaking, a faint, unfamiliar laugh suddenly erupted from deep within the forest without any prior warning, gradually resonating through the air above the open space, causing everyone to stiffen in place. 'Hmph. This year's new students truly stand out—they've managed to defeat all eight of the senior teams. Well, that's fine. Then, the fire energy you've gathered, we'll take as well.' The cheerful expression on the face instantly froze. A hint of coldness flickered in Xiao Yan's eyes as he slowly raised his gaze, directing it toward a section of the forest. There, the leaves suddenly trembled, and then five figures surged forward, each radiating a fierce, wild aura, like five humanoid beasts leaping onto the tree trunks, now gazing down upon the gathered crowd with commanding presence."