The arena erupted.
In the spectator stands of Group B, everyone finally snapped out of their daze and began to cheer wildly, celebrating Xiao Yun's hard-fought victory.
As word spread like wildfire, one of the older students—who had participated in the recent Energy Hunt—stood up and pointed at the exhausted young man on stage. With a knowing grin, he declared:
"That's him! The freak I told you about! Xiao Yun—the guy who brought four complete rookies into the Energy Hunt and still managed to rob us veterans blind!"
Gasps and exclamations rippled through the crowd.
"You're serious? That was him? No wonder he looked familiar! Wasn't there a guy near the Qi Refining Tower the other day selling antidotes that actually cured fire poison? I heard he made them himself. And isn't his mentor the Head of the Alchemy Division?"
"Wait, what?! So you're telling me this guy is not only crazy talented, but also an alchemist with a powerful backer? Damn, how is one person allowed to be this lucky?"
Voices chattered non-stop, and the more people uncovered about Xiao Yun's background, the more they stared in disbelief.
Seven years old—enrolled in the academy. Same year—accepted as a personal disciple by a top-tier alchemist. By eight—already broke through to Dou Master-level and went on a year-and-a-half solo stint with the Enforcement Squad, returning as a six-star Grandmaster, the highest ranking among outer students. At the same time, passed the alchemist certification and earned a third-tier badge.
After returning, he dominated the entrance trial for the inner academy, then brazenly robbed older students in the Energy Hunt, breaking long-standing tradition. Not long after joining the inner circle, he even concocted a pill that could purge fire poison—something even veteran alchemists struggled with.
The students listening to the intel agent gawked in open-mouthed awe. Were they really living in the same world as Xiao Yun?
While they were still struggling to form their first energy vortex, this kid was already soloing mid-tier Spirit-level opponents.
The name "Xiao Yun" now echoed across the arena. It wouldn't be long before his name spread through the entire inner academy like wildfire.
—
On the stage, Xiao Yun stood oblivious to all the commotion.
His muscles trembled, his vision blurred. If not for his spear propping him up, he would've collapsed long ago. That match had drained everything—mind, body, and spirit. Even his eyelids felt heavier than lead. Right now, all he wanted in the world was a bed and about three days of uninterrupted sleep.
Seeing his sorry state, the referee quickly rushed over to support him and said gently, "There's a medical wing in the arena. You've burned through all your strength. I'll take you there now."
"Thanks," Xiao Yun mumbled. And with that, he went limp, collapsing into the referee's arms, already deep in slumber.
The referee pulled out a small jade-like communicator and muttered into it:
"Medical wing, we've got a code double-drain on Platform B, Xuanwu Arena. Both contestants need treatment. Suspend matches here for now."
Without waiting for a reply, he reached out, grabbed one kid under each arm like sacks of rice, and casually walked them off toward the infirmary.
—
The medical room was stark, white, and spotless. Xiao Yun lay on a simple bed, not knowing how long he'd been out before slowly blinking his eyes open.
"Man… That was the best sleep I've had in ages."
Ever since he started cultivating seriously, sleep had become a luxury. Most of his nights were spent meditating and refining energy instead of actually sleeping. This was the first time in what felt like forever he'd slept until his body decided it was done.
He sat up, stretched, and glanced around.
The room was small, with no furniture except the bed and his blood-red spear leaning in the corner. The walls were almost blindingly clean.
"Right… I remember now. The referee said he'd take me to the medical ward. So this is the place, huh?"
He shook his head to clear the fog, slowly piecing together the events after the battle.
"Yup… fighting really is the fastest way to grow stronger. No wonder all the big shots say that hiding in your room to train doesn't cut it."
During combat, his internal energy ran wild, circulating faster and more fiercely than it ever did in peaceful meditation. His whole body was pushed to its limit, drawing in energy from the world around him like a sponge. No wonder so many breakthroughs happened on the battlefield—it was like a pressure cooker for power.
Stretching once more, he stepped off the bed, walked into the hallway, and spotted a desk at the far end. A middle-aged man in a white coat sat there, scribbling something with intense focus.
"That must be the check-out counter," Xiao Yun guessed. "This isn't my first hospital, after all."
He made his way over and stood in front of the man.
"Excuse me, sir. Is this where I check out?"
The man glanced up briefly before immediately looking back down and flipping through some files.
"Yeah, what's your number? The same one on your entry badge."
"Platform B, Xuanwu Arena, number seventy-eight."
"Seventy-eight… seventy-eight… Ah, here we go."
He pulled out a slip from a folder.
"Mental fatigue, severe energy depletion. Took one recovery pill, one calming pill. Stayed one night... Right, that'll be five fire credits. Go ahead and swipe."
As he spoke, he flicked his wrist, and a handheld payment device popped out like a conjuring trick.
Xiao Yun stared at the machine, then at the man.
"Five credits? For two basic pills and a glorified nap? This place is daylight robbery."
—
Leaving the medical wing, Xiao Yun still grumbled to himself about the bill. That was nearly a week's worth of energy credits for a couple of knock-off pills and a mattress.
But outside, the arena was still buzzing with excitement. He didn't bother stopping—his energy, refined by fire trials and real combat, was now solid and steady. He was ready to prepare for his breakthrough into the Spirit realm.
A short while later, he returned to his private residence.
Inside, Fang Wen sat comfortably in the main hall, a stack of papers in his hands.
"Boss! You're back! Here's the sales report from our pill business over the last few days. Want to take a look?"
Xiao Yun raised an eyebrow, took the papers, and skimmed through them. Everything looked fine.
"Did you manage to recruit any new alchemists? I'm planning to go into seclusion soon, so I won't be making pills for a while."
"Yep, got a few, just like you wanted. Though, they're… a bit prideful, you know?"
Xiao Yun chuckled and rubbed his chin.
"Prideful, huh? Here's what you do—set up a bonus system. Best pill success rate each week gets twenty extra fire credits and more materials. Worst one still gets paid, but they'll get fewer and fewer resources."
Fang Wen's eyes lit up.
"Oh, I like that. Let them fight it out a little. I'll handle it."
"Good. From now on, I'm counting on you to manage the sect's affairs. I've got bigger fish to fry, so the day-to-day stuff is all yours."
After confirming a few more details with Fang Wen, Xiao Yun took out a black card and retrieved 300 fire credits. He was heading for the resource depot.
Time to trade for some high-end ingredients—he had pills to make, and his next breakthrough wasn't going to wait around.