Battle Through the Heavens: Harmony of Flame and Shadow

"Such a strong aura!"

Making sure he hadn't seen wrong, Hu Qian spoke out in surprise. Seeing the First Elder with a composed look, he said joyfully, "First Elder, you've found a great talent!"

Looking at the happy Hu Qian, Su Qian smiled without speaking. Even he had barely discerned the extraordinary nature of Jiang Yun; it was no surprise that Hu Qian, a Dou Huang, couldn't detect the dense spatial force around Jiang Yun.

"However, keeping this little girl in the outer courtyard might be a waste of her talents." Although Zi Yan's talent was tempting, Hu Qian politely refused. The fierce aura around Zi Yan, strong enough to make even him uneasy, coupled with her Dou Ling peak strength without any trickery, would cause chaos if she was placed in the outer courtyard.

"I won't be separated from Xiao Yunzi!" Before Su Qian could speak, Zi Yan hugged Jiang Yun's arm and cried. If there were even a single tear, Jiang Yun might have believed her.

Su Qian gave Hu Qian a helpless look, silently saying, "You started this, now fix it."

Although Su Qian didn't say it outright, Hu Qian understood. He was in a bit of a bind.

After repeatedly promising Zi Yan that they wouldn't separate her from Jiang Yun, she finally calmed down.

At this point, Hu Qian began assessing Jiang Yun, who had remained composed throughout. When his soul force touched Jiang Yun, it was immediately blocked.

"Such strong soul force!"

Looking at Jiang Yun in awe, had he misjudged?

With a hint of admiration in his eyes, Hu Qian turned to see Su Qian's smiling yet mocking gaze. He realized the First Elder already knew and was just watching him make a fool of himself.

However, having an excellent student, he wouldn't mind more of such jokes.

"Your name is Jiang Yun?" Hu Qian looked at Jiang Yun kindly. The six-year-old Jiang Yun reminded him of his own granddaughter, who was about the same age and mischievous.

In Hu Qian's eyes, Hu Jia seemed very cute.

"Yes, Vice Dean!" Jiang Yun nodded in response to Hu Qian's question.

"Have you trained before?" Looking at the obedient Jiang Yun, Hu Qian's mood improved, and his expression became even kinder.

"Hmm, maybe... yes?" Faced with this question, Jiang Yun hesitated. Initially, he could firmly say he hadn't trained. However, recalling the fight with the Black Wind Pig and sensing the energy—which should be Dou Qi—he had absorbed, he now felt a weak flow of gas within himself.

"No worries, let's check then!"

In the Dou Qi stage, cultivation isn't visible; it's only detectable through special means. Hu Qian took out a crystal ball used for testing new students at Jia Nan Academy.

Seeing the crystal ball, Jiang Yun didn't hesitate and pressed his hand on it, curious about his current cultivation level in the Dou Qi continent.

Instantly, the crystal ball emitted a black and white glow, and the room heated up. The crystal ball transformed into a blazing fireball within moments.

"This is..."

"Sixth Stage Dou Qi?"

Staring in shock at the blazing crystal ball, Su Qian and Hu Qian, no longer calm, gaped at Jiang Yun in disbelief.

"Hmm?" Zi Yan frowned. Her intuition was terrifyingly sharp. Though unsure of Jiang Yun's performance, she felt uncomfortable from Su Qian and Hu Qian's gazes. She discreetly pulled Jiang Yun behind her, her small frame shielding him.

Jiang Yun also looked peculiarly at the black and white Dou Qi in his palm. What attribute was this? Fire?

'It seems the Holy Demonic Flame has influenced me over the years.'

"Such terrifying fire attribute talent!" Su Qian, recovering from the shock, remarked. Cultivators in the Dou Qi stage usually don't show elemental attributes until breaking through to Dou Zhe. For Jiang Yun to exhibit such a strong reaction from the crystal ball at this stage indicated an exceptionally high affinity with the fire attribute.

If Su Qian hadn't personally brought Jiang Yun back, he might have suspected Jiang Yun belonged to an ancient imperial clan like the Yan Clan.

"What a pity there's no wood attribute." Hu Qian sighed regretfully. With Jiang Yun's terrifying soul force, becoming an alchemist would be like adding wings to a tiger. Unfortunately!

"Be content!" Su Qian glared at Hu Qian fiercely. Having just found two peerless geniuses, what more did he want?

"Cough, cough..." Hu Qian, embarrassed by Su Qian's glare, realized he was indeed being a bit greedy.

"Xiao Yun, you're at the sixth stage of Dou Qi!" Zi Yan sized up Jiang Yun before disdainfully saying, "So weak!"

Jiang Yun was speechless. He's only six years old and had just incidentally absorbed some Dou Qi during a fight. His current state was already thanks to his tough meridians. Dou Qi is a volatile force, and in the Dou Qi stage, one can't take any elixirs, relying solely on talent to cultivate slowly. Even Yao Chen could only concoct medicinal fluids to aid in training.

For a six-year-old to reach the sixth stage of Dou Qi was terrifying. Jia Nan Academy's admission standard was merely the eighth stage of Dou Qi at eighteen.

"But don't worry; I'll protect you and never despise you!" Before Jiang Yun could speak, Zi Yan laughed, patting her chest and loudly declaring.

"Thank you!" Jiang Yun, seeing the carefree Zi Yan, could only accept it.

"This time, Jia Nan Academy has recruited two real monsters. I wonder if the 'geniuses' of the outer and inner courtyards are ready." Su Qian smiled at their interaction, stroking his beard with excitement.

"I don't know about the inner courtyard, but I'm afraid this year's outer courtyard freshmen will have a tough time." Hu Qian said maliciously, clearly an old scoundrel.

Su Qian paused, looking at the playful Zi Yan and Jiang Yun, silently mourning for this year's new students.

(End of Chapter)