284: What inner court has a Dou Zong?

The surrounding students were indeed attracted by the sound breaking the air, and they looked over, their eyes filled with shock.

"Look quickly! It's Senior Student Qin Xiao!"

"He also broke through to Dou Wang?!"

"Dou Qi Transformation Wings! He really is a Dou Wang!"

However, the level of shock seemed far from Qin Xiao's expectation, as if what everyone saw was not an earth-shattering event.

But rather, something... hmm, worth being surprised about, yet seemingly within reason?

What confused him even more was the sound of the students' discussions, the content of which made his mind struggle to process.

One student sighed.

"Tsk tsk, another Dou Wang! Is our Inner Academy going against the heavens?!"

His companion next to him chimed in, his tone filled with envy, yet lacking much incredulity.

"Yeah, a few days ago it was that New Student Jiang Donghua, who is already a Dou Wang! I didn't expect the thunder fire asura to break through today too!"

Someone else interjected.

"More than that! Did you forget Senior Student Mu Chen from the Medicine Spirit Pavilion?"

"That is a Dou Zong! A true Dou Zong!"

"Sigh, are geniuses nowadays not even acting like people anymore? They're getting stronger one after another! How are ordinary students like us supposed to live?!"

These fragmented words drifted into Qin Xiao's ears, causing him, who had been prepared to receive universal attention, to instantly freeze in place, the proud smile on his face immediately solidifying.

Wait!

What is going on?!

New Students? Jiang Donghua? Dou Wang?!

That New Student who only recently arrived at the Inner Academy is already a Dou Wang?!

How is this possible!

Before he went into seclusion, although that New Students' leader was famous, his strength was at most at the Dou Ling Level, right?!

And Mu Chen?!

That Mu Chen who used to cook at the Medicine Spirit Pavilion, was critically ill, and whose cultivation had plummeted horribly?!

Dou Zong?!!

Qin Xiao felt as if he was experiencing auditory hallucinations due to his recent breakthrough, or perhaps he had been affected by fire poison from staying too long in the volcano, causing him to hear things.

He abruptly grabbed a Senior Student next to him—who was looking at him with an expression that said, 'Not bad, you broke through too'—his voice full of disbelief and urgency.

"What did you just say?! Say it again! Which New Student is a Dou Wang? What happened to Mu Chen?!"

The Senior Student was startled by Qin Xiao's agitated appearance, and seeing that he truly seemed unaware, he explained.

"Senior Student Qin Xiao, you just came out of seclusion, so you probably don't know yet? In the past few days, a major event happened in the Inner Academy!"

"That New Students' leader, Jiang Donghua, has long since become a Dou Wang Expert; his strength is unfathomable!"

"And Senior Student Mu Chen from the Medicine Spirit Pavilion, not only has his strange illness completely healed, but he also benefited from misfortune and directly leaped to become a Three-star Dou Zong! The Grand Elder personally confirmed it a few days ago!"

"So when everyone saw that you also broke through to Dou Wang, although it is very impressive, well, cough cough!"

The Senior Student paused, then gave an embarrassed smile.

"With Senior Student Mu Chen's brilliance preceding you, the impact isn't quite as strong."

Qin Xiao released his grip and stood rooted to the spot, feeling as if his entire being had been struck by a bolt of heavenly lightning, scorched outside and tender inside.

He had endured dozens of days of bitter secluded cultivation, experienced the torment of earth fire body tempering, and relied on great perseverance and talent to finally break through to the long-desired Dou Wang realm. He had thought he could return as a king, shock the entire assembly, and firmly hold the Inner Academy's top student seat.

Reality, however, gave him an incredibly absurd answer.

A New Student quietly became a Dou Wang?

A Senior Student who was half-dead before he went into seclusion directly ascended to become a Dou Zong, a level he needed to look up to?

His hard-earned breakthrough to Dou Wang, which would absolutely have been sensational news throughout the academy in normal times, now sounded like... just another thing?

Did he even manage to catch up to the first echelon?

"Has this world gone mad while I was in seclusion for these dozens of days?!"

Qin Xiao looked up at the sky, a thousand prairie magical beasts stampeding through his heart. The initial ecstasy of the breakthrough and his desire to show off were instantly replaced by a massive sense of bewilderment, absurdity, and faint disappointment.

He, the thunder fire asura, the first on the inner academy strong ranking list, now felt like a primitive man who had just emerged from the deep mountains and old forests, completely unable to keep up with the version update.

Qin Xiao stood still, only feeling the buzzing discussions in his ears, like an absurd dream.

He vigorously shook his head, trying to shake off the unrealistic information.

"Absurd! Utterly ridiculous!"

He cursed inwardly.

"It's possible, perhaps one chance in ten thousand, for a New Student to luckily break through to Dou Wang. But that Mu Chen?"

In his mind, the image of Mu Chen from a few years ago resurfaced: pale-faced, unstable aura, needing support to walk, and later, although he could move, he was clearly depleted of vitality.

"For someone who was tormented by a strange illness for years and whose cultivation plummeted all the way, a sudden recovery is already a miracle. Does he think he can leap to become a Dou Zong?"

"That is a Dou Zong! It's not cabbage!"

Qin Xiao showed a sneer on his face and muttered to himself.

"Hmph, if that were true, would you believe me if I said I was already a Dou Zun?"

Rumors, ultimately, cannot be trusted. Qin Xiao only trusted his own eyes and genuine strength!

"Seeing is believing! I will personally go to this Medicine Spirit Pavilion and see whether this Mu Chen truly became a Dou Zong, or if you people are just spreading false rumors and hyping him up!"

Thinking this, Qin Xiao no longer hesitated, nor did he bother showing off his Dou Qi wings. He took large strides, filled with stubborn disbelief, and quickly walked toward the Medicine Spirit Pavilion.

He wanted to see exactly what this Dou Zong Mu Chen looked like!

The closer he got to the Medicine Spirit Pavilion, the stranger the glances of the surrounding students became, seemingly carrying a hint of pity?

Or perhaps a meaning of waiting to watch a good show?

This only fueled Qin Xiao's anger, and he quickened his steps further.

Soon, the familiar courtyard, carrying the faint scent of herbs and food, appeared before his eyes.

The courtyard gate was open, no different from usual.

Qin Xiao took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and strode in quickly, his gaze sharp as lightning, instantly locking onto the figure in the center of the courtyard who was processing ingredients.

It was Mu Chen!

However, the instant their eyes met, Qin Xiao froze abruptly in place, as if a body-fixing spell had been cast upon him!

The disdain, doubt, and stubbornness on his face instantly solidified, then peeled away like shattered porcelain, leaving behind only extreme shock and bewilderment!

What did he see?

The sickly Mu Chen from his memory was currently rolling up his sleeves, skillfully processing the carcass of an enormous magical beast.

Even in death, the magical beast still emitted a heart-palpitating, fierce aura, clearly indicating an extremely high rank!

But none of that was the key!

The key was that Qin Xiao habitually released a thread of soul perception, intending to probe Mu Chen's current cultivation depth, but found nothing!

His perception was like a clay ox entering the sea; when it approached about a foot around Mu Chen's body, it vanished without a trace!

It wasn't blocked, but rather, it was as if nothing existed there, or perhaps, what existed was an abyss he simply could not comprehend or detect!