Battle Through the Heavens: Harmony of Flame and Shadow

Two and a half years later.

The soft light shone through the window onto the young boy's handsome face, with sharp eyes and elegant eyebrows, red lips, and white teeth. Jiang Yun opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and awakened from his cultivation.

"Eight-star Grand Dou Master now," Jiang Yun sensed that the cyclone in his dantian had completely solidified into crystal form and revealed a smile, then fell into deep thought.

"I've stayed in the outer courtyard for three years and have read all the books there. There's no reason to stay longer; it's time to head to the inner courtyard."

A year ago, Jiang Yun was a nine-star Dou Practitioner, and with his methods, it wasn't hard to get a spot in the inner courtyard. But a nine-star Dou Practitioner's strength wouldn't count for much in the inner courtyard.

Although Zi Yan was strong, Jiang Yun couldn't always hide behind her, could he? Moreover, there were still some books in the outer courtyard he hadn't finished reading, so Jiang Yun postponed his entry into the inner courtyard for a year.

With these thoughts, Jiang Yun walked out of the room and looked at the tightly closed door of Zi Yan's room, knowing she must have gone off somewhere again.

Over these two and a half years, Jiang Yun, with Zi Yan's "vast" supply of medicinal herbs, had managed to concoct five-tier pills and become a fifth-tier alchemist. As for the pill formulas? Well, thanks to the selfless teachers of the Alchemy Division. During these two and a half years, many elders conducted alchemy sessions for everyone, and Jiang Yun took the opportunity to gather many pill formulas.

However, most formulas were for pills below the fourth tier, until one time changed everything, which was his greatest harvest.

Jiang Yun remembered that one day, Elder Huo from the inner courtyard suddenly visited the Alchemy Division of the outer courtyard, solving problems for the students, and even personally concocted a 'Breakthrough King Pill,' a fifth-tier pill used for breaking through into the Dou Wang realm.

Jiang Yun had doubts about Elder Huo's visit, but upon seeing the surge of spiritual energy in the elder, he understood the reason.

It was due to the soul cultivation method he had left behind.

That piece of iron was eventually discovered by the academy. When the outer courtyard couldn't decipher it, Hu Gan took it to the inner courtyard, where it finally ended up in Elder Huo's hands.

The rest was simple. Elder Huo obtained the soul cultivation method and broke through to become a sixth-tier alchemist half a year later. To show his gratitude, he lectured in the outer courtyard for three days.

One could only say it's the cycle of cause and effect. If Jiang Yun hadn't left that soul cultivation method, Elder Huo wouldn't have broken through to the sixth tier in such a short time and wouldn't have lectured in the outer courtyard, allowing Jiang Yun to obtain that fifth-tier pill formula.

With Jiang Yun's feeding, Zi Yan lived quite comfortably, her cultivation improving rapidly. Now, she had reached the late stage of a fifth-tier magical beast, equivalent to a seven-star Dou Wang in human terms. With the physique of a Taixu Ancient Dragon, she could fight even against human Dou Huangs.

Now, Jiang Yun felt very assured of Zi Yan's safety when she ventured into the Magical Beast Forest!

"Knock Knock Knock—"

"Come in—"

A deep voice called. Jiang Yun pushed the door open and saw a middle-aged man writing at a desk. Hearing the noise, the man raised his head and looked at Jiang Yun with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"Student, who are you?"

In response to his inquiry, Jiang Yun calmly replied, "Teacher, I'm Jiang Yun from Class Three of the Yellow Tier!"

"Class Three of the Yellow Tier? That's my class. I don't think I have you in my class, do I?" Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Wu En became even more puzzled, carefully scanning Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun was almost ten years old and had grown to a height of one and a half meters, already taller than Zi Yan, which had made Zi Yan sulk for a long time before becoming even more eager to grow up.

"Three years ago, Vice Principal Hu Gan…" Seeing Wu En's expression, Jiang Yun wasn't surprised. After all, he and Zi Yan hadn't attended a single class in three years, representing the model bad students.

"Oh, it's you!" Hearing Jiang Yun mention Hu Gan, Wu En suddenly remembered, finally recalling this little genius he had met once.

When Jiang Yun was admitted, it was Hu Gan who personally arranged it, so Wu En naturally knew of this little prodigy. However, over the past three years, neither Jiang Yun nor Zi Yan had attended a single class. Unexpectedly, three years later, he would show up in front of him.

"Yes, Teacher Wu, Zi Yan and I want to sign up for the inner courtyard selection three days from now!" Seeing that Wu En finally remembered him, Jiang Yun nodded, apparently unaware of how inappropriate his behavior over the past years had been.

"You?" Wu En was momentarily stunned by Jiang Yun's request. Although he couldn't gauge Jiang Yun's current cultivation, he knew the boy had met the admission requirements three years ago with at least eight segments of Dou Qi, making him a prodigy for his age.

He must have reached the Dou Master level by now, adequate to vie for a spot in the inner courtyard.

Still, Jiang Yun was so young. At his age, Wu En had been struggling with Dou Qi cultivation, leaving him momentarily bewildered.

"Not possible?" Seeing Wu En's reaction, Jiang Yun frowned and asked curiously.

"It's possible!" Wu En nodded, his curiosity piqued as he asked, "Jiang Yun, can you tell me your current cultivation level?"

"You'll find out when the time comes!" Jiang Yun replied with a mysterious smile, indicating he was finished here.

Watching Jiang Yun depart, Wu En's heart suddenly raced with excitement. He had a hunch that this time around, his class would gain two spots for the inner courtyard, a huge accomplishment.

To earn such merit effortlessly, was there any greater joy?

Catching himself, Wu En quickly wrote down the two names, Jiang Yun and Zi Yan, in the registration book, then chuckled at the sight of those names.

He could almost see the day when he would be promoted to the Xuan Tier instructor!

Three days flew by.

In the morning, Jiang Yun freshened up, taking Zi Yan along and heading toward the inner courtyard selection area from their residence.

Along the way, Jiang Yun noticed many young men and women in Canaan Academy uniforms walking the same path, all with eager and excited expressions on their faces.

The inner courtyard!

That was the true core of Canaan Academy. All who came here were geniuses from various places, and who wouldn't want to enter the inner courtyard and become a prominent figure there?

Even the first-year students, clearly not strong enough to participate yet, were highly interested in the annual inner courtyard selection. After all, it was closely related to their future, and who knew if they might be among the participants in a few years?

This was their first time watching the inner courtyard selection. Though their strength wasn't sufficient to join, they could still gain insights and witness the prowess of geniuses from various places. Thus, their faces brimmed with anticipation for the upcoming event.

(End of Chapter)