87: The dark horse of the two-star great fighter? 【Thank you for another boring day.

The griffins flew in the sky, and the forest below rapidly receded.

From time to time, Demonic Beasts would fly out and approach the griffin flock.

Before the Demonic Beasts could get close, the accompanying Elders and Hu Qian took action.

Dou Qi surged, and powerful energy, like lightning, streaked across the sky, killing the Demonic Beasts and raising large clouds of blood mist.

For a moment, blood rained down.

After a long while.

The griffin flock slowed down and descended.

The surrounding greenery was gone, replaced by a bottomless mountain gorge.

At Hu Qian's command, all the griffins landed at the bottom of the gorge.

"Aren't we going to the Inner Academy?"

"What's going on?"

"Could it be that the Inner Academy is actually underground?"

All the students dismounted from the griffins, landed on the ground, and then looked around in confusion.

"The Inner Academy is not that easy to enter," Hu Qian said with a faint smile, scanning the crowd.

Once everyone was quiet, he walked about ten steps in one direction and struck out with his palm.

A majestic Dou Qi energy surged out, shooting towards the Void Realm ahead.

The space there rippled, like a calm water surface into which a stone had been thrown, and gradually, a pale silver gate, seven or eight zhang tall, materialized out of thin air.

The gate opened, revealing the forest scene behind it.

"Everyone, follow along."

Hu Qian left a remark, then was the first to step through the pale silver gate, and the other students quickly followed.

At the forest entrance stood two Elders, along with several middle-aged men and more than a dozen youths.

Hu Qian went up and had a conversation with the two.

"Is there danger in the forest? Are those people here to pick us up?" Leng Bai's gaze swept over those people.

Lin Xiu said, "There is indeed danger in the forest, but the danger isn't Demonic Beasts; it's those people."

"What do you mean?" Leng Bai's gaze, filled with surprise, shifted to Lin Xiu beside him.

"We'll talk about it later," Lin Xiu shook his head slightly, his gaze examining the youths.

These shouldn't be elites. Their aura was stronger than his current batch, but not by much. Most of their strength seemed to be around Four or Five-Star Dou Master, with a few at Six or Seven-Star.

Leng Bai was a bit displeased. Who speaks in riddles? He wanted to ask.

At this moment, Su Xiao whispered a few explanations, and Xiu Yan also chimed in with a couple of sentences.

It was clear that both of them also knew some inside information.

Upon learning that they were opponents, Leng Bai immediately became serious. Noticing the gaze sweeping over from the other side, he stared back without backing down.

"Lin Xiu, come here."

Suddenly, seeing Hu Qian beckon, Lin Xiu was startled for a moment, then ran over.

"He is Lin Xiu, this year's biggest dark horse in the Outer Academy, and also a troublemaker. In this Inner Courtyard Selection Competition, he is considered the strongest among the top five."

Hu Qian first explained to the two Elders.

The two examined Lin Xiu, then looked at Hu Qian with questioning gazes, "A Two-Star Great Fighter?"

This is this year's biggest dark horse in the Outer Academy?

Has the Outer Academy's standard dropped so much this year?

Considering that the Fire Energy Hunting Competition would pit them against the Inner Academy's older students, Lin Xiu intentionally released a portion of his strength today, creating the illusion of a Breakthrough.

"Hehe, you'll know later. This kid has a very strong personality."

Hu Qian did not explain. Facts were more useful than any words. He then looked at Lin Xiu, "These two are Elder Zhao and Elder Li from the Inner Academy. If you encounter any problems in the Inner Academy in the future, you can seek their guidance."

After speaking, Hu Qian then loudly introduced the identities of the two Elders to the other students.

"Hello, Elder Zhao. Hello, Elder Li."

Lin Xiu had also heard their tone just now, but he felt no particular emotion.

Next, they would face eight teams of older students and two Black White Bosses, so it was better to keep a low profile.

"Hu Qian said you're a troublemaker. I'm telling you, the Inner Academy has no shortage of troublemakers.

Also, all troublemakers become well-behaved before entering the Inner Academy, do you believe me?" Elder Zhao stroked his long beard as he spoke.

"This student has always been well-behaved in front of Elders. You can ask the Dean," Lin Xiu smiled.

"You're implying something, kid. Interesting. I hope you still have this attitude next time we meet."

Elder Zhao's smile did not fade.

"You can go back."

Hu Qian motioned for Lin Xiu to return to the team.

Next, Elder Zhao faced the students and briefly gave a few words of encouragement, then used the more than a dozen young people behind him to introduce how great the benefits of entering the Inner Academy were.

Then, he waved his hand, throwing out a large handful of black crystal shards, which accurately landed in each person's hand.

There was a number "five" on them.

"Is this Fire Energy? They want to steal this thing?" Leng Bai, having heard Su Xiao and Xiu Yan's explanations, had gained some understanding.

After all, only a minority knew about the Inner Academy's information. Upon seeing the black crystal shards and the numbers on them, the Outer Academy students began to whisper.

"Quiet!"

Elder Zhao's voice was like a booming bell, instantly silencing everyone. "Some things cannot be explained in a few words, but rest assured, you will understand once you enter the Inner Academy.

From now on, you only need to remember one thing: protect the crystal shards in your hands!"

Elder Zhao's patience was clearly not very good. Unwilling to waste words, after a few brief sentences, he sent everyone into the forest.

Everyone was heading for the Inner Academy, and upon learning that the end of the forest was the Inner Academy, they rushed into it.

Lin Xiu also called out to Su Xiao, Leng Bai, and others, and together they walked into the forest.

"Hu Qian, the students were all present just now, so I couldn't say it directly, but the overall strength of this batch of students is really too poor, much worse than the previous batch," Elder Li said.

He pointed to the dozen or so youths beside him, "These are all from the end of last year, and their current strength is basically on par with this batch's top five."

Saying this, he sighed, "This year's Fire Energy Hunting Competition will be completely devoid of fun."

"Elder, we will definitely play with them well," a student immediately said.

Hu Qian looked at that student, who was only a Four-Star Great Fighter, and couldn't help but shake his head, "You people, don't think that just because you've been in the Inner Academy for a year, you've taken off. Be careful not to play with them and end up being played instead."

The other students were displeased at these words.

"Hurry up and get lost! If you keep making noise, your Fire Energy will be deducted. After a half-hour rest, you can begin your hunt."

Elder Zhao glared, scaring the youths away, and then snorted, "They take advantage and still act smug. If their strength is lower, isn't it better to snatch more Fire Energy?"

"I always feel that something unexpected will happen in this year's Fire Energy Hunting Competition," Hu Qian felt that Lin Xiu was not the type to willingly suffer a loss.

Elder Zhao asked, "Just because of that Two-Star Great Fighter?"

"When Lin Xiu was a One-Star Great Fighter, he once defeated Xiu Yan. Don't underestimate him," Hu Qian reminded him.

"Really? Xiu Yan's strength in the Enforcement Team is not weak; he could have directly entered the Inner Academy originally."

Hearing this, Elder Li was startled.

Although the dozen or so youths beside him just now were all on par with Xiu Yan in Realm, or even surpassed him, if it came to an actual fight, probably few could beat Xiu Yan.

And Xiu Yan actually lost to that Two-Star Great Fighter?

"Of course it's true." Hu Qian knew that the other party was merely shocked, not suspicious. "In my opinion, only the top five from the previous batch, namely Chai Yan, Gu Zheng, and a few others, can truly hold Lin Xiu and his group."

These two were both among the top five in the previous Inner Courtyard Selection Competition, and their strength in the Outer Academy at that time was already Five-Star Great Fighter.

"Not 'probably,' but 'definitely.'"

Elder Zhao shook his head slightly and explained, "Chai Yan broke through to Nine-Star Great Dou Shi a few days ago. The strength of the team he leads this time is only slightly inferior to the Black Fiends Team."

"Nine-Star Great Dou Shi? That is something to look forward to," Hu Qian paused, then slowly nodded.