In a small clearing deep within the dense forest, ten figures darted through the trees, locked in fierce combat. Every few seconds, one of the younger fighters would be struck down, coughing up blood before collapsing unconscious. Within just seven or eight minutes, five of the clearly less experienced students were lying flat on the ground—groaning, unconscious, or both.
The other five, clearly veterans, casually stooped over them, fishing around in their clothes like pickpockets at a market.
Moments later, each emerged with a glossy black crystal card in hand.
"Heh, come on, junior brothers," one of the black-clad upperclassmen chuckled, inspecting his newly gained loot. "If you'd just handed over your Fire Energy Cards like good little boys, you could've avoided the beatdown. But nooo, you had to be stubborn."
He waved a card, now glowing with the addition of three fire energy points, and added with a grin, "Don't give me that look. We went through the same thing last year. Got ambushed, got robbed. So this year, we're just passing on the tradition. Fair game, yeah? If you ever want revenge, feel free to challenge us later—assuming you've got enough fire energy to back it up."
"Cut the chatter, Lin Qi," one of his companions said impatiently. "Why waste time lecturing fresh meat? We've got more prey to catch. The more we collect, the less we'll owe when we get back to the Inner Court."
Just as they were about to leave, a calm voice drifted down from above.
"No need to look for more targets, seniors. We're right here."
The older students froze, whipping their heads upward. Standing nonchalantly on a tree branch was a childlike figure with a bright smile on his face. Around the clearing, four more figures emerged on surrounding branches, forming a pentagonal formation that neatly boxed the older students in.
"Power levels average around Two-Star Dou Grandmaster," the boy said, sweeping his gaze across them. "You four, each pick a target. Keep it quick and clean. We don't want to alert other teams."
With just a brief pulse of soul force, Xiao Yun had already assessed the enemy's strength.
The older students' faces went pale. The supposed prey—freshmen who should've been hiding like frightened rabbits—had revealed themselves openly. Worse, this kid had accurately assessed their cultivation levels with a single glance. That was anything but normal.
"Yes, Captain," the four teammates nodded. In the next breath, their auras surged forth with explosive force. Brilliant Dou Qi armor in various colors shimmered around them as they leapt down like lightning bolts, each locking onto an opponent.
"Damn it! Why are these freshmen so strong? Their auras are almost on par with ours… and that scary one hasn't even moved yet!" Lin Qi cursed, watching his teammates clash with the newcomers. Swallowing hard, he conjured his Dou Qi armor and began focusing energy into his palm, clearly preparing a big move.
"Oh? You're not planning to hand over your Fire Energy Card peacefully?" Xiao Yun said lightly, watching him from above. "Guess I'll have to do it the hard way."
He didn't bother drawing a weapon. Just standing there, he began channeling Dou Qi through his body, his aura rising sharply.
Whoosh!
"Die!" Lin Qi couldn't take the pressure any longer. With a roar, he hurled a green energy sphere from his palm. It streaked toward Xiao Yun with a deafening whine, smashing through the tree branch—and seemingly through Xiao Yun himself—before exploding in midair, creating rippling waves of energy.
Lin Qi stared at the result, stunned. A gaping hole had appeared in Xiao Yun's chest. Through it, he could see the clear blue sky on the other side.
"Did… Did I kill him?"
"You sure you're not seeing things, senior?" a voice purred right beside his ear.
Lin Qi's eyes went wide. A short, shadowy figure had appeared out of nowhere in front of him. Before he could react, a fist wrapped in dense Dou Qi came flying toward his chest, so fast it left a sonic boom in its wake.
"What power…!" Lin Qi panicked, praying that his Dou Qi armor could hold.
It didn't.
The moment the punch connected, he felt as if his heart had stopped. A loud crack echoed as his armor shattered like brittle glass. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was launched backwards, slamming into a tree with a sickening thud.
His vision swam. His head felt like it had been used for target practice. Looking down, he saw his precious Dou Qi armor crumbling away.
Before he could so much as groan, he heard more dull thuds—like sacks of potatoes hitting the ground.
His four teammates, bloodied and bruised, had landed beside him in equally miserable heaps.
"Come on, seniors," Xiao Yun said with a disarming smile, strolling casually over to them. "No need to huddle like frightened kittens. Just hand over your cards like good boys."
The seniors flinched at his words. Trembling, they slowly raised their heads, eyes full of fear.
"W-Why do you even want our Fire Energy Cards?" one of them asked weakly.
"To do exactly what you were doing with them, of course," Xiao Yun replied. "Or would you rather I just helped myself?"
With a casual flick, he stabbed his flaming red spear into the ground—right next to Lin Qi's head. The spear crackled with sharp, hot energy, slicing the air so close to Lin Qi's face that it left a red mark across his cheek.
Lin Qi swallowed so hard it sounded like a rock going down a drain. With shaking hands, he pulled a pale blue crystal card from his storage ring and passed it over.
Xiao Yun accepted it with a pleasant smile. When he glanced at the energy count—fifty—his grin widened.
"Wow, you've been busy, haven't you, senior? Shame it's all mine now." He chuckled. "Looks like the prey turned the tables on the hunter today."
Lin Qi's face darkened like someone had smeared charcoal on it.
"Boss, we hit the jackpot!" Fang Wen and the others laughed as they looted the remaining four. "These guys were loaded. Way more than what we got last time!"
Elsewhere in the clearing, five battered and bruised freshmen were lying on the ground, eyes wide in disbelief as they watched the scene unfold.
It finally dawned on them: Xiao Yun and his crew had just robbed the upperclassmen.
"Serves them right!" one of the injured freshmen cheered, watching their tormentors get wrecked and robbed in turn. The bruises hurt a little less now, and their spirits lifted considerably.
Funny how misery feels lighter when someone else has it worse.
Xiao Yun strolled over to the freshmen.
"You guys okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, just some flesh wounds," one replied quickly. "Those seniors didn't go too hard."
"Good. From here, you should head straight for the edge of the forest. You've already been looted once, so no one else will bother you now."
He paused, then added seriously, "But don't get complacent. Even if you make it to the forest's edge, there's still the strongest team guarding the checkpoint. They're not going to let anyone through without a fight."
"So I suggest you all gather there and wait. Once we're done taking out the other senior teams, we'll regroup and break through together."
With that, he handed over a few bottles of healing pills, then turned and left with his team, not bothering to see if the others would actually listen.
He'd said what needed saying.
Whether they heeded his words or not—that wasn't his concern.