260: Already a Fighting King

Although the Inner Academy's arena never lacked passion and fierce battles on normal days, it was impossible for it to be like today, where the stands were packed shoulder-to-shoulder, the deafening clamor nearly shaking the dome loose.

Almost every available student in the Inner Academy gathered here, just to catch a glimpse of the madman, Jiang Donghua, who dared to simultaneously challenge twenty-two strong ranking list experts.

In one section of the crowd, a group of Senior Students with formidable auras clustered together, their expressions far more complex compared to the excited spectators around them.

Leading them was Chen Ming, who had been defeated by Jiang Donghua three days prior and was ranked twenty-fifth on the strong ranking list.

He brought his entire faction, both to observe Jiang Donghua's true strength and perhaps to find a sliver of solace or an answer for his defeat that day.

However, when Jiang Donghua's figure appeared silently like a phantom in the center of the arena, calmly facing the arrogant gazes of Xie Ying and Absolute Han, Chen Ming's brows involuntarily furrowed tightly.

An indescribable, extremely bizarre feeling welled up in his heart.

He subconsciously turned his head, lowering his voice to ask the teammates beside him who had helped him execute the Flood Dragon Overturning the Sea Array against Jiang Donghua that day.

"Do you guys feel like this fellow's aura is a bit off?"

Hearing this, those teammates immediately focused their minds, carefully sensing the figure in the blue shirt in the arena.

The few of them were all skilled four or five-star Dou Lings; although their soul perception was not as acute as an Alchemist's, it far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Upon careful sensing, the expressions of the several people changed slightly almost simultaneously, and deep shock, doubt, and confusion appeared in their eyes!

"Captain, now that you mention it, it really doesn't feel the same as it did three days ago!"

One teammate spoke hesitantly, his tone filled with uncertainty.

Another teammate blinked hard, as if questioning whether his own perception was faulty.

"Three days ago, although we couldn't defeat him, we could at least clearly sense the majestic Dou Qi dormant within him, like a primordial giant beast—vast, tyrannical, and extremely oppressive! It was like facing a volcano about to erupt; you knew the danger, but you could at least perceive its existence and power level."

"But now, I can barely sense any powerful Dou Qi fluctuations within him!"

He paused, his voice carrying a trace of unbelievable bewilderment.

"Exactly!"

The third teammate interjected, his face full of confusion.

"If three days ago we could clearly tell that the person standing before us was an extremely powerful top expert, now we can only feel that there is just a person standing there!"

An ordinary person, seemingly without any cultivation at all!

This enormous difference in perception did not lead to contempt, but rather a deeper, chilling sense of eeriness and unease!

What did this mean?

Chen Ming's brows furrowed even deeper. A thought that even he found utterly ridiculous uncontrollably popped up, and he almost muttered the question aloud.

"What does this imply? Did he break through to Dou Wang?"

Only the legendary Dou Wang Expert could completely internalize his aura, returning to true simplicity and merging with the surrounding environment, making it impossible for those with lower cultivation to accurately gauge his depth!

But as soon as this thought arose, it was fiercely rejected deep down by Chen Ming himself and the teammates beside him.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

A teammate shook his head with a laugh, as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

"Captain, how could the Dou Wang realm be so easy to break through? That is an insurmountable chasm that countless Peak Dou Ling experts spend their entire lives trying to cross! How old is he?"

"Exactly! Three days ago he was still a Nine-Star Dou Ling; although formidable, the step to Dou Wang seems like a fine line, but is actually impossibly distant!"

"It requires immense energy accumulation and a profound understanding of space! How could he possibly break through in three days?"

Another teammate also laughed in agreement, finding the idea too fantastical.

"Haha, he probably used some special technique or treasure to conceal his aura, right? Trying to be mysterious and scare Senior Xie Ying and Senior Absolute Han?"

Yet another person tried to offer a reasonable explanation.

The group couldn't help but laugh softly, using their laughter to dispel the subtle panic arising from their inability to comprehend the situation.

They would rather believe it was some kind of trick than accept that someone could complete the heaven-shaking transformation from Dou Ling to Dou Wang in three days.

For such a sensational event in the Inner Academy, how could the Inner Academy Elders be absent from the special seats—the highest and best vantage point in the arena stands?

Several figures with profound auras had quietly taken their seats at some point. Their appearance did not cause much commotion, but all the students who noticed them instinctively quieted down and cast glances of reverence.

Ordinary strong ranking list student fights might only attract one or two Duty Elders to maintain order and serve as judges.

But today, even Great Elder, who was usually elusive, personally attended and sat upon the main seat!

This undoubtedly highlighted the high level of concern the academy's upper echelon had for this event.

Great Elder's gaze calmly swept across the entire venue, finally landing like a sharp hawk on the indifferent figure in the blue shirt standing in the center of the arena—Jiang Donghua.

However, just as his gaze touched the seemingly ordinary aura surrounding Jiang Donghua.

The corner of this Great Elder's eye, whose cultivation was unfathomably deep, twitched slightly on his usually placid face, revealing a trace of surprise that was extremely faint yet genuinely present.

With his powerful soul perception and realm, which far surpassed everyone present, what he saw was far clearer and more profound than what Chen Ming and the others perceived!

Chen Ming and his companions only felt that Jiang Donghua's aura was internalized like an ordinary person's, but Great Elder could see that it was not merely simple concealment or emptiness.

Instead, it was a state of perfect harmony, a subtle resonance with the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy, a supreme realm where Dou Qi was highly condensed, its essence contained internally, and had returned to true simplicity!

He nodded slightly and spoke softly with a hint of undisguised emotion, in a voice so faint that only the few Elders beside him could hear it.

"He actually succeeded in breaking through to the Dou Wang realm in just these few days!"

"What? Dou Wang?!"

"How is that possible?!"

The faces of the surrounding Duty Elders changed drastically upon hearing this. They couldn't help but exclaim softly, all incredulously trying to sense Jiang Donghua in the arena once more.

The cultivation of these few men was also at the Dou Wang level; they were the backbone of the Inner Academy's management, but the youngest among them looked to be in his forties.

They had painstakingly cultivated for decades to achieve their current status, yet how old was that youth in the arena?

He had only been admitted to the academy for a few days?

Yet he had stepped into the realm they had spent half their lives reaching?!

The impact of this comparison left their minds reeling, unable to compose themselves.

Great Elder took in the shock of the Elders. He sighed softly, his tone full of complex meaning, containing both amazement and a hint of understanding.

"What a monstrosity!"

Only now did he truly understand what Jiang Donghua was relying on behind his seemingly arrogant actions.

"No wonder he had the resolve to challenge so many people simultaneously."

Great Elder's gaze deepened.

"With the realm of a newly advanced Dou Wang, coupled with his suspected Earth-Tier cultivation method and that strange flame, taking on this level of consecutive battles will likely be effortless for him."

Dou Wang and Dou Ling represent a fundamental difference—it is the beginning of Dou Qi Transformation Wings and the initial mastery over the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy.

Quantity holds little significance in the face of absolute qualitative change.

Unless they are experts who have also reached the Dou Wang level, no matter how many Dou Lings surround and attack him, for a true Dou Wang, it is merely a difference in the degree of trouble.

Great Elder's words struck the hearts of the Duty Elders like a heavy hammer, plunging them back into silence.

Their gazes toward Jiang Donghua had completely changed, shifting from looking at a highly gifted junior to looking at a true expert who could stand as their equal, or even one whose potential far surpassed their own!