"Elder Liu, why are you doing this?"
At the entrance of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower, Han Yue raised her slender hand and pointed at Xiao Ping, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground cultivating. She looked at Elder Liu with some doubt and asked, "Isn't there another freshman?"
In response to Han Yue's question, Elder Liu shook his head and smiled, "Wait a minute, girl. When you first entered the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, how long did you endure the scorching heat of the heart fire?"
With a slight frown, Han Yue pondered for a moment and said, "Seventeen minutes, and that's only because someone warned me before I entered the tower."
"Upon first entering the 'Heavenly Flame Refining Tower,' one can actually assess their potential. During the initial exposure to the scorching Heart Flame, since none of the new students know how to dissipate it, the longer one endures, the stronger their resistance to the Heart Flame becomes. This is extremely beneficial for future training within the tower. Of course, nothing is absolute, and this isn't absolutely precise, but it can serve as a general guideline."
Elder Liu smiled and said, "This little fellow seems to have lasted for almost eight minutes now, right? Hmm, that's already quite a good result."
"Elder Liu wants to test their limits?"
"Hmm, let's try. If I'm not mistaken, this young man sitting cross-legged on the ground should be Xiao Ping, the little guy who single-handedly defeated all the senior students and the Black and White Fiends in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition. Recently, we old guys have been talking about him quite often."
Elder Liu glanced at Xiao Ping, who seemed to be cultivating, and said with a smile, "This is the first time in the long history of Canaan Academy that someone has been able to break that unwritten rule and even win the title of Rookie King."
"Is he Xiao Ping?"
Upon hearing Elder Liu's words, not only did the surrounding senior students gasp in surprise, but even the usually aloof Han Yue's beautiful eyes flashed with astonishment.
Elder Liu smiled and nodded, his gaze fixed on Xiao Ping, his hands tucked into his sleeves, waiting for him to reach his limit.
The waiting time wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. Elder Liu, worried about delaying Han Yue's cultivation, smiled and said to her, "Yue'er, if you have something to do, go down the tower first. I'll manage here."
"It's alright, I'm also curious to see how long this freshman, who hasn't even entered the inner academy yet but already has quite a reputation, can hold out."
Han Yue shook her head slightly, her cool eyes sweeping over Xiao Ping. She had heard quite a bit about this year's freshmen these past few days. To be able to single-handedly defeat all the senior teams in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition was something that seemed unprecedented in recent years. Therefore, she was somewhat interested in this renowned but never-before-seen rookie king.
Of course, she wasn't the only one interested. After Elder Liu revealed Xiao Ping's identity, the senior students who had originally planned to leave also stopped in their tracks, casting their gazes, filled with various emotions, onto Xiao Ping. They, too, wanted to see if this guy possessed the rumored strength.
As time slowly passed, the astonishment in the eyes of the onlookers grew stronger, for Xiao Ping had already lasted for fourteen minutes, and from the surface, there was no trace of the fiery redness of his body, clearly indicating that he had not yet reached his limit.
"Indeed, it's excellent."
Elder Liu stroked his beard, nodded with a smile, and his eyes showed a hint of admiration.
Time continued to pass, but at the sixteen-minute mark, Xiao Ping's body suddenly trembled slightly. Seeing this, the surrounding students knew that Xiao Ping was probably reaching his limit. However, before Elder Liu could react, they were surprised to see Xiao Ping, who was supposedly at his limit, stretch and yawn. Then, under everyone's gaze, he slowly stood up.
"Well..."
Seeing this little guy, a head taller than himself, silently and automatically awaken from the torment of inner fire, Elder Liu's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open, completely speechless. In fact, not only Elder Liu, but all the senior students around, including Han Yue, were utterly shocked.
"You, you're Xiao Ping?"
Swallowing hard, Elder Liu couldn't help but ask first. To be honest, he was starting to wonder if he had mistaken someone for someone else. Maybe it was that mischievous senior student from the inner courtyard, deliberately playing a trick on him.
"Yes, this is Xiao Ping. What's up? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Xiao Ping, who was originally engrossed in cultivation, had to end his cultivation prematurely due to the gradual weakening of his inner fire. It seems that he will have to go inside the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower to maintain the stability of his inner fire.
"Tsk tsk, to actually recover from the first heart-fire scorching pain on your own, Xiao Ping, you're the first person to do so in all these years, breaking the academy's record."
Upon hearing Xiao Ping's answer, Elder Liu was slightly taken aback, then sighed, "Truly worthy of being called the Rising Star!"
"Who are you?"
Looking at the old man holding a broom in front of him, Xiao Ping asked with some confusion.
"Hehe, I am the guardian elder of the first level of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower. You can call me Elder Liu."
Elder Liu spoke with a smile, his words completely devoid of the harsh reprimands he usually showed to other senior students. The very treatment Xiao Ping received caused the surrounding senior students to murmur amongst themselves.
It's important to understand that within the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower and even the entire Inner Court, elders hold extremely high positions. Here, no student dares to disobey their orders, except for a few exceptional individuals. These outstanding students may have the opportunity to become elders of equal rank. Even elders within the Inner Court must plan for the future and cultivate relationships with strong individuals within their own faction.
After all, the elders in the inner courtyard were not entirely from the same faction. Conflicts were inevitable in any place, perhaps for power, perhaps for profit, perhaps for other things.
"Come, come, Xiao Ping, let me introduce you to someone."
Elder Liu's gaze swept across the ancient tower, then he pulled Xiao Ping by the hand and led her towards a woman in a silver robe. Judging from her appearance, she was none other than Han Yue, who was qualified to cultivate on the sixth level of the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower. At the same time, he also reprimanded the senior students who were watching, "What are you all still doing here? Why don't you go cultivate? If you have enough time to cultivate, I can help you move over."
Upon hearing Elder Liu's shout, the surrounding students hurriedly shook their heads and quickly dashed off in different directions within the ancient tower, fearing that if they were too late, the elder would indeed take away the good spots they had worked so hard to obtain.
Seeing those senior students who had been so smug with the new students now as obedient as lambs in Elder Liu's hands, Xiao Ping couldn't help but find it amusing. However, despite the amusement, he also felt a greater respect for Elder Liu. If he didn't hold real power in the inner courtyard, these arrogant senior students would never have been so docile.
"Heh, these brats are all so arrogant. If you're not strict with them, they'll completely ignore you."
After dismissing the surrounding crowd, Elder Liu smiled and spoke to Xiao Ping, then approached the woman in the silver dress and introduced her to Xiao Ping.
"This is Han Yue. She's been in the inner academy for two years now, so she's your senior. Hehe, her strength is extraordinary. She's also built a force called 'Moon Spirit' within the inner academy, and it's quite powerful. In this inner academy full of strong individuals, few forces dare to provoke her."
"oh"
Xiao Ping glanced at the woman named Han Yue in front of him, then simply smiled and nodded, saying, "Greetings, Senior Han Yue."
"Hello"
In response to Xiao Ping's greeting, Han Yue, amidst Elder Liu's astonished gaze, smiled and extended her delicate, jade-like hand.
Elder Liu was extremely familiar with Han Yue's personality. This woman, who had always been extremely fastidious about cleanliness, was quite averse to physical contact with men. Even when fighting, she would use her battle aura to completely envelop herself. Such extreme fastidiousness was indeed quite baffling.
But now, Han Yue took the initiative to extend her hand and shake hands with the other person, which greatly surprised Elder Liu.
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