Chapter 285 Establishing Authority, Only to Be Blocked?

Spatial attribute.

It ranked among the top even among many special attributes.

Eerie and unpredictable, making it impossible to guard against.

Beast Tamers who possessed such beasts.

Often had numerous methods and were extremely difficult to deal with.

That Lin Xinmu could step into Amethyst Tier 3 at this age and be ranked on the provincial capital heavenly rankings was definitely not an empty reputation.

However.

Seriousness aside, facing the other party's blatant contempt and implicit belittlement, Jiang Yun merely curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a calm yet slightly sharp smile.

He raised his head.

His gaze calmly met Lin Xinmu's slightly condescending look from the high platform.

His voice was clear, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Senior Lin flatters me."

He started with a polite remark, then shifted his tone; while still calm, the meaning behind his words made the hearts of the entire audience skip a beat.

"As for the Realm... Senior Lin is absolutely right. Gold Rank Four, in terms of spiritual power foundation and Physical Body strength, indeed has a fundamental gap compared to the Amethyst Rank. I am well aware of this."

He paused.

His gaze swept over the high-spirited Little Fire on his shoulder.

His voice suddenly gained a hint of indescribable confidence and certainty.

"However, I believe that this Amethyst Realm... is not out of reach for me. On the day I truly step into Amethyst..."

At this point.

Jiang Yun suddenly looked directly at Lin Xinmu.

His eyes became sharp.

Word by word.

He spoke clearly.

"I will definitely seek out Senior Lin personally to exchange pointers and learn."

These words were spoken politely.

Even carrying the humble posture of a junior asking a Senior for guidance.

But immediately after.

The curve of Jiang Yun's lips seemed to widen slightly.

He added in a tone that sounded like casual small talk.

"Only at that time... I hope Senior Lin can give me more pointers, and not be like Senior Chu Yunfei and Senior Feng Qianyuan just now..."

He intentionally paused.

Under the gaze of the entire audience, who suddenly held their breath.

He softly uttered the second half of the sentence.

"...and be invited off the stage in a single move by this good-for-nothing little fellow of mine."

"If that were the case..."

"...it would be far too boring, don't you think, Senior?"

Boom!!!

These words were like a clap of thunder.

Exploding once again in the Colosseum!

Leaving everyone dumbfounded!

"My god! What... what is he saying?!"

"Is our Sacred Student implying ridicule... or even provoking Lin Xinmu?!"

"Crazy! This is absolutely insane! That's Amethyst Tier 3! A Prodigy of the heavenly rankings! He's not someone the likes of Chu Yunfei, Feng Qianyuan, or even those Prodigies on the earth ranking can compare to!"

"Arrogant! So arrogant! This temperament of the Sacred Student... I love it!"

"This is a blatant provocation! Although spoken euphemistically, the meaning couldn't be clearer!"

"He actually dares to say such things to an Amethyst Rank Senior on the heavenly rankings?!"

Countless gazes shifted frantically between Jiang Yun and Lin Xinmu; everyone was stunned by Jiang Yun's bold, almost arrogant response.

The previous worry about Lin Xinmu's Realm suppression and the subtle atmosphere of Jiang Yun potentially suffering a setback were instantly dissipated by these tit-for-tat, even subtly counter-attacking words, replaced by extreme excitement and exhilaration!

Gold Rank Four.

Publicly ridiculing an Amethyst Tier 3 Prodigy of the heavenly rankings.

Saying he might also be insta-killed in one move?

This was no longer just confidence!

This was simply... lawless dominance!

On the high platform.

The condescending scrutiny and playful smile on Lin Xinmu's face visibly froze for a moment when Jiang Yun uttered the second half of his sentence.

He never expected Jiang Yun to be so arrogant!

That he would dare to provoke him, an Amethyst Rank, like this!

This was unexpected.

A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes.

Followed by an even deeper interest.

And a hint of coldness arising from being offended.

But to everyone's surprise.

Lin Xinmu did not get angry.

Instead, he tilted his head back and gave a light chuckle.

"Haha... Good, very good."

He sat up straight again.

The scrutiny in his gaze grew stronger.

The way he looked at Jiang Yun.

Held a bit less pure contempt.

And a bit more seriousness, truly viewing the other as a potential opponent.

"Junior Jiang Yun, you have ambition, and even more... courage."

He said slowly.

"I, Lin Xinmu, will wait and see."

He shifted the topic.

His tone returned to that superior, evaluative flavor.

"However, Junior also needs to understand that in the Dao of Beast Taming, while talent and resources are important, the beast's own potential, attributes, and growth are the foundation. Without a sufficiently powerful beast to carry them, even with heaven-reaching Aptitude and vast resources, it is nothing more than a castle in the air, a reflection of the moon in the water."

These words of his.

Seemed like a lecture but actually subtly pointed toward Jiang Yun's beast, Little Fire.

To many listeners.

It seemed he was saying Jiang Yun's beast's potential might be limited, and whether it could keep up with Jiang Yun's pace to step into higher levels in the future remained an unknown.

If one could not encounter a beast with powerful Aptitude.

No matter how good the resources and talent, they would be wasted.

Lin Xinmu stood up.

His brocade robe fluttered without wind.

A faint pressure belonging to an Amethyst Rank Expert naturally emanated, causing the crowd near that area to feel a tremor in their hearts.

"I hope when you and your beast truly step into the Amethyst Rank, you can still maintain this kind of sharpness."

He looked down at Jiang Yun.

His tone was flat but carried invisible pressure.

"At that time, if you truly wish to fight..."

"I, Lin Xinmu, am available at any time."

As his voice fell.

The space beside him suddenly rippled like water.

Zhi!!!

A crisp, ethereal cry echoed, not from reality, but seemingly from a layer of space.

Immediately after.

In the air beside Lin Xinmu, streaks of silver, crack-like fine light marks appeared out of thin air, quickly intertwining and spreading to construct an irregular polygonal light gate outline about the height of a person.

The interior of the light gate was not pitch black but flowed with a hazy, nebula-like silver mist, deep and mysterious, emitting strong spatial fluctuations.

Then.

A small creature, about the length of an arm, stepped elegantly out of the silver mist.

It was covered in soft, silver-gray short fur that seemed woven from moonlight and shadows. Its body was sleek like a marten, and a fluffy long tail was almost as long as its body, with a touch of nimble silver light at the tip.

Most striking were its eyes, like two perfectly cut void gems, displaying a deep purple color within which tiny starlight seemed to rotate, being born and extinguished.

Its four paws stepped on the air.

And under its feet, imperceptible spatial ripples naturally emanated.

This was exactly Lin Xinmu's beast!

Void Shadow Mink!

After it appeared.

It did not look at the crowd below.

It just gave its master a lazy glance.

Then, with its starlit purple eyes, it cast a casual glance toward Little Fire on Jiang Yun's shoulder.

Just this casual glance!

A strong look of vigilance suddenly erupted in Little Fire's dragon eyes.

It keenly perceived an extremely special and threatening aura.

That was power involving space.

It ignored conventional defenses and was eerie and unpredictable.

The Void Shadow Mink seemed to have no interest in Little Fire; it quickly turned its head back, raised a front paw, and lightly swiped at the air in front of it.

Chi-la!

A clearer and more stable silver spatial rift was instantly torn open, its edges flowing with profound runes. Inside was an even more stable, mirror-like passage scene, where one could vaguely see an elegant courtyard at the other end.

Lin Xinmu said no more.

He cast one last meaningful look at Jiang Yun and stepped into the spatial rift.

The Void Shadow Mink followed closely behind.

It turned into a silver-gray stream of light and entered.

The silver rift closed rapidly like a zipper.

The spatial fluctuations subsided as if they had never appeared.

On the high platform.

It was already empty.

Only the extremely cool scene of spatial traversal and the heart-palpitating spatial lingering charm in the air remained, deeply imprinted in everyone's eyes and hearts.

"Spa... spatial rift? He just left?!"

"So handsome! So cool!"

"That's Senior Lin Xinmu's beast? Spatial attribute! Too domineering!"

"Coming and going without a trace—is this the style of the Spatial attribute? Love it, love it!"

"Hiss... when that beast looked over just now, I felt my hair stand on end even from this far away!"

"Senior Lin's last look... I feel like things won't end so simply!"

"Nonsense! The Sacred Student invited him like that; when the Sacred Student reaches Amethyst, there will definitely be a world-shaking battle!"

The entire audience was once again shocked by this supernatural spatial technique; exclamations and praises were endless. The rarity and power of the Spatial attribute were fully displayed at this moment, also indirectly confirming Lin Xinmu's profound foundation as a Prodigy of the heavenly rankings.

Jiang Yun gazed at the spot where Lin Xinmu had vanished.

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Then, it smoothed over.

“Space-attribute methods are indeed profound and unpredictable,”

he thought to himself.

“That Void Shadow Mink's control over space is quite sophisticated. It's not just for movement; its offense and defense are likely extremely bizarre as well. Lin Xinmu... is indeed a formidable opponent.”

However,

this gravity soon transformed into an even more soaring fighting spirit.

“Amethyst Tier 3, Heavenly Ranking...”

Jiang Yun's gaze was sharp.

“Very well. There's no need to wait until I step into the Amethyst Rank. Once Little Fire takes another step forward and enters High-tier Gold Rank, and his strength undergoes another transformation, I'll use you to test my edge! At that time, defeating you will not only justify my words today, but I can also directly seize a ticket to enter the provincial capital heavenly rankings from you!”

The Heavenly Ranking challenge

didn't necessarily have to start from the bottom.

If one could directly defeat a powerhouse on the ranking,

they could take over their rank!

Lin Xinmu!

He was undoubtedly an excellent target.

His mind made up,

Jiang Yun lingered no longer.

He composed himself and calmly scanned the area, especially the direction where those top prodigies of the Earth Ranking had been earlier; it was now empty.

Clearly,

during his verbal confrontation with Lin Xinmu,

after the other party had displayed his spatial beast and left the scene,

these prodigies had also quietly departed.

The opening of the Molten Fire Grotto Secret Realm was imminent now.

That was a newly opened Secret Realm.

There were bound to be many treasures and opportunities inside.

It was the key to their advancement to the Amethyst Rank.

There was no need to fight a bitter battle with this Heavenly Saint Student now; they needed to preserve their strength and hide their methods and trump cards to prepare for the Molten Cavern.

So, they didn't make a move.

They suppressed their Battle Intent and quietly left... “Since no one else is coming up to accept the challenge...”

Jiang Yun's voice rang out again,

suppressing the noise of the crowd.

“Then today's matters shall end here.”

His tone was flat,

yet it carried the finality of a closing gavel.

“What I said remains valid. below amethyst rank, if anyone is dissatisfied, they can challenge me at any time. But if there are any more instances of baseless blocking or noisy disturbances...”

He didn't finish his sentence, but that invisible prestige, combined with his achievements today, already made everyone understand the consequences.

After speaking,

Jiang Yun looked at no one else.

He turned around and, with calm and steady steps, walked straight down from the battle stage that was now a mess after successive battles.

Little Fire let out a soft cry

and turned into a streak of light, entering his Beast Taming Space to rest.

Jiang Yun's figure

passed through the crowd that automatically parted for him,

walking toward the exit of the Colosseum.

Thousands of gazes followed him as he left, filled with complex emotions: awe, worship, amazement, lamentation, regret, expectation... all intertwined.

“It... it just ended like that?”

“The Sacred Student is leaving?”

“Two battles: one insta-killing eighty-seventh on the earth ranking, one nearly insta-killing tenth on the earth ranking, forcing an Amethyst Prodigy to appear, and finally leaving dominantly...”

“This efficiency, this prestige... it's simply incredible!”

“The others in the top ten of the Earth Ranking, and even the top three... they really just watched?”

“Perhaps they were frightened by the Sacred Student's final strike, or... they have other plans?”

“Regardless, from today on, the Sacred Student's reputation for being invincible at the Gold Rank is completely established!”

“That's right! Who would dare say he's unqualified now? Blocking the door to challenge him? Don't make me laugh; ask yourself first if you can take that Black Dragon Flame!”

“Gold Rank Four... what a Prodigy! I've already started looking forward to the day he steps into Amethyst and challenges the Heavenly Ranking!”

After Jiang Yun's figure disappeared,

the discussion reached its peak.

Only then did the crowd, filled with lingering excitement and various discussions,

begin to gradually disperse.

It was foreseeable

that everything that happened in the Colosseum today would spread through the entire Sky Dome Academy at an astonishing speed, and even radiate to the entire provincial capital!

Heavenly Saint Student Jiang Yun!

True Dragon Beast!

Gold Rank Four defeating Rank Eight!

Instantly defeating the tenth on the earth ranking!

An Elder forced to save the day!

An Amethyst Prodigy appearing to set a challenge date... these keywords

were enough to ignite the nerves of everyone who heard them.

As the crowd dispersed,

those big figures of the academy who had been observing from the shadows or in the open also withdrew their gazes and Divine Sense.

“This little fellow really refuses to suffer even the slightest loss.”

Dean Ming Jing shook his head with a smile.

“Even that boy Lin Xinmu was checkmated by him. His Heart-Nature, courage, and adaptability are all top-tier.”

The female voice in the mirror also seemed to carry a faint smile.

“He shows his sharp edge, yet knows when to stop, using the situation to establish his prestige. After today, no one at the Gold Rank in the academy will dare to lightly provoke him again. He can Cultivate in peace; his mind is quite good.”

Just as the two deans said,

Jiang Yun's high-profile establishment of prestige today

had effects far exceeding expectations.

First of all,

the greatest benefit was peace and quiet.

After this battle,

the name of Heavenly Saint Student was well-deserved.

There would no longer be any brainless nobodies coming to his door to challenge, question, or block him, saving him countless unnecessary troubles and energy consumption.

Heaven Pillar Peak

would become his quiet place for Cultivation.

Many troubles were gone.

Secondly,

his status was completely solidified.

Within the academy, strength was respected above all else.

He used his battle achievements to win the true respect and awe of all students and even some Elders.

In the future, when exercising his privileges as a Heavenly Saint Student or calling upon resources, the resistance and criticism he encountered would be minimized.

Furthermore,

his reputation skyrocketed.

This wasn't just within the academy;

it would spread to the ears of various Family forces in the provincial capital.

This would be an invisible help for him in obtaining resources, expanding his network, and even dealing with potential pressure from forces like the Feng Family in the future.

A Genius valued by the academy's top brass with Heaven-Defying combat power—anyone who wanted to move against him would have to think twice.

Finally,

and most importantly, it cleared the lowest-level obstacles for the task of breaking into the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking and built up his initial momentum.

Breaking into the provincial capital heavenly rankings top ten within a month

was an extremely arduous goal.

Now that he had established an invincible momentum at the Gold Rank within the academy, he had taken a solid first step, accumulating confidence and prestige... Walking out of the grand gates of the Colosseum,

the sky outside suddenly opened up.

Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly,

his mind quickly calculating.

“The prestige is established; in the short term, no trivial matters should disturb me. Next, I must sprint with all my might to prepare for the Heavenly Ranking challenge in a month.”

“The Sun-Level treasure promised by the Head Dean must be obtained! Although I don't know what it is, a Sun-Level treasure...”

“Now Little Fire and Little Skylark are in the Beast Taming Space, relying on their Heaven-Defying spatial characteristics and a large number of spirit crystals, their growth speed is already several times that of other beasts. But it's still not fast enough...”

“It would be great if I could get some treasures and resources like that magic core that can quickly improve strength and Realm.”

Thinking of this,

Jiang Yun immediately thought of the academy's Myriad Phenomena Treasury.

That was the resource storehouse accumulated by Sky Dome Academy over countless years.

There were bound to be many treasures and resources inside.

However, exchange required contribution points.

“It seems I need to find a way to get contribution points as soon as possible; perhaps I can take on some high-difficulty academy missions...”

While he was pondering,

a familiar, faintly fragrant figure was already quietly waiting under an ancient tree not far ahead.

It was Fox Immortal.

She seemed to have already predicted that Jiang Yun would come out from this gate

and was waiting here in advance.

Seeing Jiang Yun,

her eyes, which could enchant all living beings, shifted slightly as she looked him up and down. Her red lips parted, and her voice was lazy and pleasant.

“Done showing off your might?”

Seeing her,

a relaxed smile appeared on Jiang Yun's face.

He nodded.

“The effect was good. Let's go, back to Heaven Pillar Peak.”

Fox Immortal didn't say much.

She nodded slightly and moved with lotus steps, naturally walking to a position slightly behind Jiang Yun's side, like a following shadow, yet making it impossible to ignore her presence.

The two of them, one in front and one behind,

headed toward the direction of Heaven Pillar Peak.

After experiencing the noise and fierce battles in the Colosseum,

this quietness

actually made one's state of mind exceptionally peaceful.

However,

this quietness did not last long.

Just as they were about to turn into the stone path leading to Heaven Pillar Peak, at the fork in the road ahead, two figures abruptly turned out, happening to block the middle of the road and obstructing their way.

Moreover,

the people blocking the way were actually acquaintances... Jiang Yun's footsteps paused slightly.

He looked up,

and his gaze instantly became somewhat playful.