220: Change the rules - Challenge

The night was deep, and the meeting hall of the Outer Academy of Jia Nan Academy was brightly lit.

Over a dozen old men with profound auras sat around the long table; some were frowning deeply, some stroked their beards in contemplation, and others simply closed their eyes to rest, appearing indifferent to the matter at hand.

Meanwhile, in the main seat, Dean Lei Tian of the Outer Academy was rubbing his temples, looking at the list in his hand with a headache: Jiang Donghua, Peak Dou Ling, Alchemy Department student, defeated Half-step Dou Ling Liu Hanshuang in one move today, advancing to the top fifty.

"Everyone, shouldn't we discuss how to arrange tomorrow's ranking battle?"

Lei Tian sighed, put down the list, and looked around at everyone.

Silence.

Several elders looked at each other, none willing to speak first.

Finally, Elder Yan of the Hall of Enforcement broke the silence with a cold snort.

"How else can we arrange it? Follow the old rules: draw lots for duels, winners advance, losers are eliminated, until the top five are decided!"

"Old Yan, your method is inappropriate."

A white-haired elder shook his head.

"That kid Jiang Donghua is already a Peak Dou Ling. The strongest of the other students are only newly advanced Dou Ling or one or two stars. How can they fight him? Are we supposed to watch him defeat all the Outer Academy geniuses one by one?"

"So what?"

Elder Yan glared.

"If their strength is lacking, who is there to blame?"

"That's not the way to look at it."

Another elder frowned.

"The original intention of the selection competition is to motivate the students. If it's a completely one-sided crushing defeat, it will instead damage the confidence of the others."

Lei Tian listened to the arguments, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

Indeed, Jiang Donghua's strength had already surpassed the average level of the Outer Academy Students, even exceeding the expectations for the selection competition!

"How about we do something special?"

A chubby elder suddenly spoke with a smile.

"Hmm?"

Everyone looked at him in unison.

The Fat Elder rubbed his hands, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes.

"Since Jiang Donghua is so strong, why don't we increase the difficulty for him?"

"What do you mean?"

Lei Tian raised an eyebrow.

"A challenge tournament!"

The Fat Elder slapped the table.

"Let the other students challenge him freely, with the winner taking his rank. And Jiang Donghua is directly designated as the defender of the ring, automatically placed first? If others want to compete, let him withstand the continuous challenges from everyone else!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the meeting hall instantly fell silent.

A few seconds later, Elder Yan suddenly slapped his thigh.

"Brilliant! This way, we can both test Jiang Donghua's true strength and give the other students a fair chance to compete!"

"Not bad."

The white-haired elder also nodded.

"If he can withstand the challenges from everyone, then no one can object to him taking first place!"

Lei Tian pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"What do you all think?"

"Agreed!"

"Let's do it this way!"

"Heh heh, this old fellow wants to see just how monstrous this kid is!"

The elders expressed their opinions one after another, their eyes shining with anticipation.

Seeing this, Lei Tian finally showed a hint of a smile.

"Alright, then it is settled. Tomorrow, we will initiate the challenge tournament model. Jiang Donghua will be the primary ring master, and the remaining students may challenge him freely. The winner will replace his rank!"

With the decision made, the elders left the meeting hall in small groups.

Elder Yan and the Fat Elder walked side-by-side, conversing in low voices.

"Old Yan, how many trump cards do you think that kid Jiang Donghua is hiding?"

The Fat Elder asked, narrowing his eyes.

Elder Yan let out a cold snort.

"It doesn't matter how many he's hiding; we'll find out tomorrow when he's tested!"

"Heh heh, I'm quite looking forward to it."

The Fat Elder rubbed his hands.

"Peak Dou Ling! That level of talent would be considered top-tier even in the Inner Academy, wouldn't it?"

"Hmph, none of those monsters in the Inner Academy are simple."

Elder Yan said lightly.

"However, if he can truly withstand the challenges from everyone, then he is definitely worth focusing on cultivating."

"Indeed!"

The Fat Elder sighed with emotion.

"Unfortunately, Mo Xuan, that old fellow, probably won't be able to keep him."

"Mo Xuan?"

Elder Yan frowned.

"What happened to him?"

The Fat Elder lowered his voice.

"I heard he is about to break through to become a Sixth-Rank Alchemist."

"What?!"

Elder Yan's pupils contracted.

"Sixth-Rank?! Doesn't that mean—!"

"Central Plains..."

The Fat Elder uttered two words full of meaning.

Elder Yan was silent for a moment, finally shaking his head.

"Forget it, these are not matters we can interfere with."

The two stopped talking, their figures gradually disappearing into the night.

However, the dormitory area of the Outer Academy of Jia Nan Academy was brightly lit and noisy.

"Damn it! Peak Dou Ling?! What the hell is the point of fighting now!"

A student who had just barely squeezed into the top fifty fiercely kicked his bed frame, his face livid.

Earlier that day, he had been celebrating drawing a good lot, only to hear this terrible news tonight.

"I heard that Fatty Wang from the Alchemy Department took thirty thousand gold coins just to reveal the information, and it was only one sentence: 'Elder Mo Xuan personally confirmed that Jiang Donghua is a Peak Dou Ling'!"

The person next to him gritted his teeth.

"Thirty thousand gold coins! All we bought was despair!"

"That can't be true, right? How old is he? Even those monsters in the Inner Academy didn't reach Peak Dou Ling while they were students at the Outer Academy of Jia Nan Academy!"

Someone was still unconvinced, his voice trembling.

"Heh, who is Elder Mo Xuan? A Fifth-Grade Alchemist! Would he joke about something like this?"

Another person sneered.

"Do you think the elders are so bored they would make up false information just to scare us?"

The dormitory fell into dead silence, broken only by the sound of people swallowing.

Peak Dou Ling!

These four words were like a mountain, suffocating everyone present.

The scene of Jiang Donghua defeating Half-step Dou Ling Liu Hanshuang in one move earlier that day was still vivid. Thinking about it now, he probably hadn't even used thirty percent of his strength!

"I'm finished, finished! I just managed to squeeze into the top fifty. If I draw him tomorrow!"

Someone cried out, clutching his head.

"I'll just forfeit directly. It saves me the embarrassment of being swatted away by him!"

"Forfeit? You think forfeiting is the end of it?"

Another person sneered.

"Don't you know how huge the difference in resource allocation is for the top five in the selection competition? If we let him crush his way up, none of us will even get a sip of soup!"

"What should we do then? Can we really gang up and surround him?"

Someone lowered his voice, his eyes flickering.

"Heh, you try it?"

The person next to him scoffed.

"Continuous challenges? With the Dou Qi reserves of a Peak Dou Ling, he could exhaust you to death!"

That night, countless students in the top fifty tossed and turned sleeplessly, some frantically recalling Jiang Donghua's past battle records, trying to find a weakness.

However, when the first ray of sunlight fell at dawn, an even more explosive piece of news spread throughout the entire Outer Academy.

"The selection competition rules have changed! Jiang Donghua is directly designated as the primary ring master, and the remaining students may challenge him freely!"

Instantly, the entire Outer Academy erupted!

"What?! A challenge tournament?!"

"Continuous challenges?! Is this meant to screw us over, or screw over Jiang Donghua?!"

"Damn it, now we don't even have the hope of avoiding him by drawing lots!"

Some looked ashen, some rubbed their fists in anticipation, and others had cold eyes, sneering softly.

"So what if he's a Peak Dou Ling? No matter how strong a person is, he can't withstand continuous challenges from dozens of people!"

"After all, it's not like there aren't other students who have stepped into the Dou Ling realm."