Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

Upon hearing the number announced by Bonatian, two figures in the competition area stood up from their seats and walked towards the ring.

One of them had an unusually stiff body and walked very slowly.

"The first one to go on stage is Wu Tianchuan, who is ranked ninth, and the other one is ranked twenty-eighth." Ling Moyan couldn't help but say a few words when he saw Guan Xun's probing gaze.

One is ninth and the other is twenty-eighth; their strengths are vastly different. No wonder the latter's body was so stiff. The outcome was already decided before they even stepped onto the stage.

Guan Xun nodded casually, leaning against the railing, and the gazes of the spectators became lazy.

The outcome of the match was a foregone conclusion; Wu Tianchuan, who came in ninth, won.

"Cousin, be careful when you fight Li Xun later." Jian Rou couldn't stand their conversation and insisted on pulling Ling Moyan along.

“You two seem to have a deep-seated hatred,” Guan Xun interjected, contrary to her wishes.

"What's it to you? Why are you interrupting?" Jian Rou frowned and said sternly.

"Just some minor grudges," Ling Moyan shook his head and smiled. "Junior sister is quite curious about my affairs."

“Cousin! What’s that little grudge? They almost killed you.” Jian Rou shouted, pouting.

Upon hearing this, Ling Moyan frowned. He had indeed been harmed by them in the Illusion Forest. Everyone saw that only he and the young master of the Li family were present, but only he knew that there was another person present.

It was a girl dressed in tattered clothes who almost killed him. It was that girl's kick that caused him to lose his life. He sent people to look for her afterward, but there was no news at all.

That girl... not only kicked him, but also stole his jade pendant and his demon beast...

That's too cruel, too ruthless.

Just thinking about this made Ling Moyan feel a sharp pain in his chest, and he subconsciously reached out to cover it.

Seeing this, Jian Rou was just about to ask about his physical condition when Bona Tian called out the number for him to play again.

It was Ling Moyan fighting against Li Xun.

Compared to battles between students with lower rankings, the surrounding crowd preferred to watch a clash between true powerhouses. From the moment the two stepped onto the stage, a cacophony of excited shouts erupted around them.

On the stage, powerful spiritual energies clashed, erupting in deep, resounding explosions. As figures flashed by, crisp crackling sounds and sparks flew, each attack unleashing its full power, showing no mercy to the other.

Such hatred leaves no room for sentimentality.

Guan Xun used his divine sense to explore the two people's levels and found that Ling Moyan's level was higher than Li Xun's, which was completely opposite to the ranking on the leaderboard.

In the clash between the metal and fire attributes, Ling Moyan's fire attribute clearly had the upper hand.

Judging from the look of astonishment on Li Xun's face, he clearly did not expect that his strength was actually inferior to that of his opponent.

"I didn't expect you to be hiding your strength." Li Xun wiped his mouth with his fingertip and said coldly, "You deliberately didn't make it onto the rankings to lower my guard?"

"Whether I make the list or not, I'm still stronger than you."

Ling Moyan spoke calmly, already launching a powerful attack in one fell swoop. The scorching wind continued unabated, and clusters of tangible flames seemed to rise from the fiery red spiritual energy, drawing arcs in the air above the arena. It was not hard to see that his offensive was extremely fierce.

Even so, Li Xun didn't show much panic. After all, he was a person with some strength, and it was impossible for him to fall into a disadvantage so quickly.

The onlookers were all glued to the screen, not wanting to miss a single moment of this exciting match, and were all cheering enthusiastically.

Even in the waiting area, many trainees were watching intently.

Guan Xun simply nodded slightly, after all, different strengths lead to vastly different perspectives.

Is this the strength of the third-ranked student in the academy?

She couldn't help but feel a little bored. It seemed that one couldn't judge a person based on their ranking on the list. She figured the first and second place winners were probably about the same.

"Won!"

Suddenly, the people around him cheered. Guan Xun merely glanced lazily at the arena. Wasn't it obvious to everyone? Why were they so excited?

"Cousin! You won!" Jian Rou greeted Ling Moyan as he came off the stage, and rolled her eyes at Li Xun, who was standing on the stage wiping blood from the corner of his mouth and looking furious.

"Hmph." Ling Moyan snorted coldly. If it weren't for the academy's rule against seriously injuring people, he would have definitely crippled one of his hands today.

"The third match, number thirteen!"

It's Jian Rou.

As the teacher's voice faded, she lifted her skirt and walked up.

"How about that? Pretty impressive, huh?" Ling Moyan sat down next to Guan Xun and pointed to himself with his thumb.

Guan Xun ignored his smug look and changed the subject: "You go to the competition every year?"

"That's for sure."

"Is it a competition to catch monsters?" Guan Xun asked curiously.

Ling Moyan pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "It's not about catching them. The competition mainly depends on which academy gets the most crystal cores."

Crystal cores are formed from the bodies of demonic beasts. Any demonic beast that has reached a certain level has a chance to produce them, but these things are completely useless to cultivators.

Although they are rare, their value is like roadside weeds, worthless, so there are no transactions of crystal cores on the market.

Guan Xun raised an eyebrow. This competition was really interesting, much more fun than catching monsters.

"Want to go?" Ling Moyan looked at her with interest and smiled.

"The reward must be quite generous, right?"

If a freshman winner receives such a generous reward, then representing the academy in the competition and bringing great honor to the academy, the reward should be quite substantial.

Sure enough, Ling Moyan nodded, as if he was savoring something: "The rewards are different every year. In previous years, each person received 2 gold coins, three high-level spiritual weapons, and a three-month exemption from the cost of cultivating in the cultivation room."

Waiving three whole months of cultivation fees? Guan Xun clicked his tongue in amazement. The academy was so generous; this would save them a lot of gold coins.

She sighed and shook her head. How could someone not be tempted by the top two spots on the leaderboard? She'd only participated twice in all the previous years…

During their conversation, the competition had already gone through several rounds, and Jian Rou had been sitting to the side, dejected, for a long time.

She lost, and her chance to compete this year has been lost again.

……

"The thirteenth match, number eleven!"

After a long wait, Bona Tian finally picked up the number that belonged to Guan Xun and shouted it out loud.

"Finally, it's my turn..."

Guan Xun sighed softly, swayed, and stood up.

Ling Moyan crossed his arms behind his head, glanced at her with slightly raised eyes, and said in a frivolous tone, "Junior Sister Guan Xun, I have high hopes for you."

He paused for a moment, then added, "The reservations can't be cancelled."

Guan Xun knew that this was another jab at her for saying she was going to reserve a spot in the top three. She scoffed and was just about to turn around and go on stage when she heard the person behind her lower their voice.

"Be careful of Ye An. He's ruthless. The academy's rules don't hold him back much. If he can't beat someone, he'll just step down."

Guan Xun didn't turn around; he only paused slightly before continuing to walk towards the arena.

It seems that neither Ye An's appearance nor his appearance is pleasing to the eye.

"Cousin! Why are you so nice to her? She bullied me!" No sooner had Guan Xun left than Jian Rou's face darkened, her lips pouting in anger. "When I went on stage, why didn't you say you had high hopes for me?"

Seeing the people next to him start complaining again, Ling Moyan instantly felt a headache coming on.

After offering a few words of comfort, he couldn't be bothered with her anymore and turned his gaze to the white figure on the ring.

"Shh, the competition has begun."