"Hehe, then thank you, Elder Su!"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Xiao Ping dispelled the suction force in his palm and respectfully clasped his hands in a fist salute to Elder Su.
After glancing at Luo Hou behind him, Elder Su turned his gaze back to Xiao Yan and the others, his expression softening as he said, "As the winners of this year's 'Fire Energy Hunting Competition,' each of the five members of your team will receive twenty days of 'Fire Energy,' while Xiao Ping himself will receive an additional 'Azure Fire Crystal Card' plus fifty days of 'Fire Energy'!"
"Azure Flame Crystal Card?"
Upon hearing Elder Su's words, a murmur rippled across the hillside, and envious glances swept over Xiao Ping in the center of the scene.
"Azure Flame Crystal Card? What is that?"
Xiao Ping naturally knew something about this so-called Azure Fire Crystal Card, but the four people behind him, including Liang Zihua, were somewhat bewildered. They exchanged glances, all puzzled. Although this "Azure Fire Crystal Card" was only a reward for Xiao Ping, it didn't diminish their curiosity in the slightest.
"Hehe, in the inner courtyard, the fire crystal cards are divided into five colors from low to high: black, blue, cyan, red, and purple. The black crystal card in your hands is the lowest grade. This type of crystal card only qualifies you to cultivate on the first and second levels of the 'Heavenly Flame Refining Tower,' while the blue crystal card is for the third and fourth levels, and so on."
"To upgrade your Crystal Card, you need to pay 'Fire Energy' in the Inner Court. Generally, it takes 100 days of 'Fire Energy' to upgrade from a black Crystal Card to a blue Crystal Card, and 200 days to upgrade from a blue Crystal Card to a cyan Crystal Card. Now that you have received the 'Cyan Fire Crystal Card' reward, that's equivalent to saving 300 days of 'Fire Energy,' which is no small amount. Among the senior students in the Inner Court present, apart from Luo Hou who upgraded his blue Crystal Card to a cyan Fire Crystal Card just a week ago, most of the others are still using blue Crystal Cards."
Seeing the confusion on Liang Zihua's and the others' faces, Elder Su smiled and explained, though these words were mainly meant for Xiao Ping's ears.
"Three hundred days of 'fire energy'?"
Upon hearing this number, Liang Zihua and the others finally understood why the surrounding gazes were filled with envy. They had robbed the senior students of everything in the forest, and even with this reward, each of them only had seventy or eighty crystal cards. This also showed that obtaining "fire energy" within the inner courtyard was quite difficult.
Of course, for Xiao Ping, with his current wealth, three hundred Heavenly Fire Energy, while a bit much, wasn't unaffordable. After all, before the battle against the White Fiend Team, Xiao Ping already possessed over a thousand Heavenly Fire Energy.
After Elder Su finished explaining, a cyan crystal card appeared in his hand with a flick of his finger. He then sent the card flying towards Xiao Ping, where it hovered in front of him.
"The reward is already inside. Transfer the 'Fire Energy' from the Black Crystal Card to it, and then return the Black Crystal Card to me."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ping stretched out his hand, grabbed the cyan crystal card, placed it next to the black crystal card, and channeled his battle qi into it. After a moment, Xiao Ping handed the now empty black crystal card to Elder Su.
Elder Su took the black fire crystal card, nodded slightly, and said with a smile, "Alright, now that you've all passed the 'Fire Energy Hunting Competition,' come with me into the inner courtyard. As for the other freshmen, we'll send special mentors to meet them. Hehe, those little guys are really fortunate to have ended this nightmare early thanks to you."
After speaking, he turned around and slowly walked up the hillside towards a set of broken stone steps.
"Finally, we can enter the inner courtyard! It wasn't easy!"
Watching Elder Su's retreating figure, Xiao Ping let out a long sigh. He knew how much effort they had expended to enter the inner courtyard—first the selection competition, then the fire-energy hunting competition. The inner courtyard was indeed not as easy to enter as imagined. Of course, he didn't mean it was extremely difficult, but rather that the procedures were incredibly complicated.
Let's go.
Xiao Ping waved to Liang Zihua and the others, and led the way, following Elder Su up the steps under the watchful eyes of everyone on the hillside.
The gravel steps weren't very high; in just a minute or two, Xiao Ping and the others reached the last level. With a quick movement, they stood atop the hillside. A glance around revealed the scene before them, causing them to slowly inhale the slightly chilly air.
"Is this the inner courtyard?"
The low murmurs came from the mouths of Liang Zihua and the other three behind Xiao Ping.
Beyond the hillside lies an extremely large sunken basin. Judging from its shape, it looks as if a giant meteorite had crashed down from the sky and carved it out.
Within the basin, towering buildings stand in rows. Looking down from above, one can see shadowy figures, like fleas, constantly darting and leaping above the buildings. As the line of sight extends forward, one discovers that the basin is unusually large; even at the far end of the line of sight, one can only see towering buildings and lush greenery.
It's hard to imagine that such a wondrous place is hidden in the endless mountains behind Canaan Academy!
"Hehe, little guys."
Smiling at the shocked expressions on the faces of the new students, Elder Su clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Welcome to the core location of Canaan Academy: the Inner Court!"
There are many powerful individuals here.
A fanatical look appeared on Zhao Xing's face as he whispered, "Truly worthy of being our cultivation paradise!"
"Alright, now that the hunting competition is over, all freshmen, please come back to the inner courtyard with me. We'll settle you in first, and then you'll truly become members of the 'Inner Court.'"
Elder Su's gaze lingered on Xiao Ping and the others, and he slowly said, "Believe me, as long as you can persevere here, when you get out, you will feel that everything you've done was worthwhile for your progress."
Hearing Elder Su's words, Liang Zihua and the others nodded slightly. From those senior students, they could already see how great the benefits of cultivating in this inner courtyard would be!
"Go! Everyone, follow!"
With a wave of his hand, Elder Su's figure transformed into a blurry shadow and sped towards the huge basin. Immediately afterward, Xiao Ping and his group of five also moved swiftly, swooping down the hillside like locusts in flight. Instantly, excited howls echoed through the sky, lingering for a long time.
...
"Crunch"
A wooden door was slowly pushed open, and a ray of sunlight spread in through the crack, eventually forming a thin beam of light on the ground.
As the wooden door was fully pushed open, light rapidly flooded in, and several figures, their lengths stretched by the sunlight, entered. An elderly man, leading the group, glanced over the spacious pavilion and smiled, saying, "Xiao Ping, this will be your residence from now on."
"From now on, the four of you will belong to the inner court."
Elder Su pondered for a moment and said, "By the way, let me remind you that in this inner courtyard, unless you are extremely powerful, it won't be easy for you to get by alone. Due to the environment, the senior students in the inner courtyard have also divided up their own territories. You will probably encounter these things soon."
"There are these things in the inner courtyard?"
Liang Zihua frowned slightly and asked, "Don't you all forbid it?"
"Heh, why ban it? This kind of competitiveness is exactly what our inner academy needs. If we don't want to be bullied, then the only way is to work hard to improve our own strength."
Elder Su said calmly, "Otherwise, there's no point in talking about the strong ruling the world. It will always be the dominant theme of this world. We don't want the inner courtyard to become a carefree ivory tower, because such an environment cannot produce true strong individuals."
Hearing Elder Su's explanation, Liang Zihua could only purse his lips. Xiao Ping and the young man with the big sword, Zhao Xing, nodded in agreement. They had both experienced real training and knew very well what kind of environment could give birth to a true powerhouse.
"So, the reason we put you all together was to form a team. During the hunting competition, you must have realized just how powerful a team can be, right? Okay, let's leave aside that oddball, Xiao Ping."
Elder Su had originally intended to teach the five of them the principles of teamwork, but after remembering Xiao Ping's freakish nature, he abandoned the idea. "Xiao Ping can't protect the four of you forever. So, from today onwards, the four of you shouldn't rely too much on Xiao Ping. The Fire Energy Hunting Competition is fine, but in your life in the inner courtyard, you'll often need to work together. Aside from some freaks, normally, one person's strength, no matter what, can't compare to that of a team."
"knew"
After hearing Elder Su's teachings, Liang Zihua and the other three exchanged glances and nodded slightly, saying, "From now on, the four of us will be inseparable team partners!"
"Hehe, it would be best if you could do that."
Seeing the four of them seamlessly coalesce into a team, Elder Su nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, it's getting late. Tidy up your rooms and get some rest for the night. Starting tomorrow, you're free to explore the inner courtyard at your leisure; I'm sure you won't be disappointed."
"Aren't there any cultivation courses?" Liang Zihua asked hurriedly upon hearing this.
"The inner academy doesn't need that kind of thing. As long as you have enough 'fire energy,' you can enter the 'Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower' and cultivate there. It's more effective than any course. Oh, right, I almost forgot, the academy organizes students to enter the 'Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower' once a week. If we're talking about courses, then this should count, right?"
Elder Su chuckled and said, "In addition, there are places like the 'Battle Skill Hall' and the 'Cultivation Technique Pavilion' in the inner courtyard. If you want to obtain cultivation techniques or battle skills, you can go there to take a look. Of course, this is on the premise that you have enough 'Fire Energy' to exchange for them. Compared with the outer courtyard, the inner courtyard is actually more free."
"If you feel you don't have enough 'Fire Energy' and are itching to play, you can go to the arena to earn 'Fire Energy.' Of course, the prerequisite is that you must have enough strength; otherwise, you'll only lose everything."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Liang Zihua and the other three couldn't help but look at Xiao Ping again. With Xiao Ping's monstrous strength, earning fire energy shouldn't be too difficult for him, right?
"Cough cough!"
Seeing that Liang Zihua and the other three were turning their gazes towards him, Elder Su coughed lightly a few times and said in a deep voice, "Didn't I tell you before? Don't rely too much on Xiao Ping. If you want to earn fire energy, you'd better work hard on your own! Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to break through the Great Dou Master level in your lifetime."
Seeing this, Liang Zihua and the other three could only swallow hard and turn their attention back to Xiao Ping. Xiao Ping couldn't help but chuckle softly at their reaction, "Alright, alright, if you really need fire energy, just tell me."
Hearing Xiao Ping speak, Liang Zihua and the other three finally breathed a long sigh of relief. After all, their strength was practically at the bottom of the entire inner courtyard. In the previous fire energy hunting competition, if it weren't for Xiao Ping protecting them, they would have been robbed of everything, leaving them with nothing, just like the other freshmen.
"If there are no problems, you can rest now. If you need anything, you can come and find me."
Elder Su waved to the four of them, then turned and walked towards the door, disappearing from Xiao Yan and the others' sight.
Watching Elder Su leave, Xiao Ping clapped his hands and smiled at Liang Zihua and the other three, saying, "Let's tidy up the rooms. From now on, this place may have to be our long-term base."
"Um"
Liang Zihua and the other three nodded with smiles, then dispersed to find their own rooms.
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