The morning sun casted elegant rays across the academy. The clan elders, representatives, merchants and other spectators sprawled into the competitors’ stand without delay. Up on the VIP stands, the clan elders were engaged in furious, whispered debates. A Mid Stage Spirit Beast Realm cultivator emerging from obscurity had completely thrown off all their calculations for the Grand Academy Competition.

"The second round concluded yesterday, Lets begin with the Semi-finale," Luo Zhen’s voice boomed across the academy grounds. He gestured toward the wall behind the VIP stand, where the names shimmered with a brilliant, golden light.

The Semi-Final Battles:

First Match: Lin Yuan vs. Xiao Lanxue

Second Match: Gu Shiyan vs. Chen Ming

"The rules remain the same!" Luo Zhen announced, his eyes darting over the four disciples. "A test of strength, precision, and beast taming control. Without further delay, let the first match of the third round begin! Lin Yuan and Xiao Lanxue, step onto the arena!"

Lin Yuan opened his eyes slowly. The gleamy, leaf-green essence pool within his aperture swirled elegantly as he stood up, dusting off his simple robes. He walked toward the center of the battle stage with steady, sluggish steps, his posture perfectly embodying the tranquil posture of the Silent Wanderer.

From the opposite side, Xiao Lanxue stepped onto the stage. Her white robes billowed gently around her, and her expression remained a mask of chilling cold. She knows that Lin Yuan was a Mid Stage Spirit Beast Realm disciple, her eyes showed no fear. They are filled with only a sharp focus. As she took her stance, her snow-white beast essence flicked to its peak, instantly covering her side of the arena in a thick, shimmering layer of frost.

"I know you are strong, Lin Yuan," Xiao Lanxue said softly, her voice like cracking ice. "But the Xiao Clan does not surrender without a fight. My ice will test your limits, you arrogant prick"

"Prick? Hahaha..." Lin Yuan let out a calm, soothing smile.

"An honorable mindset," Lin Yuan replied politely, his voice relaxed. "Show me the full extent of your beast power, Lady Lanxue."

"Begin!" Luo Zhen shouted, dropping his arm and leaping back into the air.

Xiao Lanxue’s hands moved in a dazzling blur of motion. She didn’t hesitate, knowing that against a Mid Stage cultivator, any delay was fatal. "Hundred Glacial Pillars!"

RUMBLE!

With a flash of bright light, her fifteen-foot-long Ice-Serpent’s silhouette manifested beside her. The creature roared, slamming its tail into the ground. Instantly, dozens of massive, jagged pillars of solid blue ice erupted from the stone floor, plunging toward Lin Yuan from all directions to trap him within the frozen pillars of.strength. The sheer cold was so intense that the moisture in the air began to freeze into tiny wavering crystals.

Lin Yuan stood in the center of the surrounding ice storm, completely sturdy. He didn’t even manifest his green essence barrier this time. He relied purely on the efficient precision fighting from his past experiences in his world(Noir’s world).

As the first three ice pillars slammed toward him, Lin Yuan tilted his body by a fraction of an inch, allowing the jagged pillars to graze past his shoulders. He moved like a ghost through the gaps, his steps graceful and perfectly timed. Every single pillar that looked to crush him for sure, missed its mark, failing to touch even his robes.

’She is controlling the battlefield efficiently,’ Lin Yuan analyzed internally as he casually stepped around another massive spire of ice. ’But she is focusing too much on trapping my body, rather than targeting my balance. As the Silent Wanderer said: "Chasing the shadow of a wight is a waste of thy breath. Slay the sire, and his shadow dieth eke!"’

Realizing her pillars weren’t even slowing him down, Xiao Lanxue’s eyes narrowed. "Bind him!" she commanded.

The Ice-Serpent slithered through the stage with sheer speed, its massive, freezing swirls sweeping across the floor like a whip to lock Lin Yuan’s legs.

Lin Yuan waited until the last second. Just as the serpent’s icy scales were about to touch his legs, a faint ripple of leaf-green essence burst out from his feet. He gathered a tiny, shimmering pulse of beast essence, piercing into the serpent silhouette.

Bang!

The silhouette’s head violently slammed into the stone floor, ruining its trajectory. The massive creature slid past Lin Yuan awkwardly, its balance shattered. As Lanxue was only a Baby Beast Realm cultivator, the manifestation is still weak.

Before Xiao Lanxue could react, Lin Yuan vanished. He appeared in front of her, moving so fast that her eyes couldn’t even track his silhouette. He simply extended two fingers, coated in a calm but shimmering leaf-green light, and lightly tapped the center of her neck.

Thud!

The gentle tap blasted Xiao Lanxue backward, gouging deep trenches into the ground. Having exhausted all her beast essence in her previous attacks, her efforts had failed completely. She struggled to stand straight, pulling herself up slowly.

Xiao Lanxue stumbled back a step, gasping slightly as she realized she could no longer muster a single drop of her energy. She looked at Lin Yuan, her eyes wide with a profound sense of awe and defeat; he had bested her without the slightest effort.

She bowed her head gracefully. "I accept my defeat," she said, finally understanding the true depth of Lin Yuan’s power.

"The winner is Lin Yuan!" Elder Luo Zhen announced, his voice filled with admiration for the sheer elegance of the victory.

The crowd erupted into a roar of applause as Xiao Lanxue walked off the stage. Lin Yuan offered a pleasant nod to her before walking back to the competitors’ stand, his expression indifferent.

"We move immediately to the second match of the semi-finals!" Luo Zhen’s voice boomed again, the murmurs lingering across the academy grounds came to halt. The wall shimmered with the next pair of names. "The next match is Gu Shiyan and Chen Ming!"

The atmosphere in the academy grounds was heavy and suffocating instantly. Gu Shiyan stood up from his seat, a cruel, vicious smile lingering on his lips. His pale green essence shimmered around him like a coil of Serpent. He walked onto the stage with an arrogant gaze, his eyes locked onto Chen Ming like a predator staring at its prey.

Chen Ming stepped forward, his face a mask of biting determination. His pale green essence shot out from his aperture faintly like a silhouette, a sharp, piercing gale of wind swirling around his body. Both competitors were at the Spirit Beast Realm Lower Stage, making this a true clash of disciples with the same strong stage among the academy.

"Chen Ming," Gu Shiyan sneered, his face gleaming with pride and sly. "I’ve been waiting to put you in your place. The Chen family has been arrogant for too long, pretending to be masters of this city. Today, I’m going to show everyone how pathetic you truly are."

"Save your arrogant ass, Gu Shiyan," Chen Ming replied coldly, his voice steady. "Your cruelty in the previous round showed your true nature. You are nothing but a tyrant who relies on fear. Today, that ends."

"Begin!" Luo Zhen shouted, dropping his arm.

"Humph ~" Chen Ming murmured, immediately concentrating his beast essence in his aperture. With a shimmering green light, his magnificent Falcon silhouette soared into the sky, its golden eyes locking onto Gu Shiyan. "Wind Storm!"

The falcon silhouette beat its shimmering green wings, unleashing a roaring swirl of pressurized wind blades that tore through the air and gouged the stone tiles as it raced toward Gu Shiyan.

"Hahaha! Pathetic!" Gu Shiyan laughed maniacally. He clapped his hands together, his pale green fire essence rumbling outward. "Raging Fire!"

With a horrific roar, his magma-drooling Fire-Serpent’s silhouette appeared. It opened its massive fangs, unleashing a whirlpool of toxic, crimson and green fire that slammed into the Chen Ming’s wind hurricane.

BOOM!

The collision of wind and fire created a massive backlash of hot air that rattled the stadium walls. But while Chen Ming was focusing on maintaining his wind hurricane balance, Gu Shiyan’s eyes gleamed with malice. With his command, the Fire-Serpent silhouette suddenly split its attack, using the cover of the thick, hot smoke to slither low under the gale.

Before Chen Ming could adjust his vision, the massive Fire-Serpent silhouette erupted from the smoke beneath him. Its tail slammed into Chen Ming’s ribs with sheer force.

Crack!

Chen Ming let out a muffled scream of pain as some of his chest ribs rattled. The sheer force of the blow lifted him off his feet and sent him crashing into the stone floor, tumbling across the battle stage.

"Ming!" Chen Wenshu shouted from the viewers’ stands, his hands clenching his fists in terror.

Chen Ming groaned, struggling to push himself up, his breathing ragged. But Gu Shiyan was already standing over him, his face twisted in pure, sadistic joy.

"Look at you," Gu Shiyan mocked loudly, his voice echoing across the silent battle stage so every single spectator could hear his insults. He deliberately raised his leg and stomped onto Chen Ming’s wounded shoulder, twisting his foot into the flesh. "Is this the great genius of the Chen family? You are so incredibly weak, Chen Ming. You’re nothing but a dog groveling in the dirt."

"Ahhhh!" Chen Ming gritted his teeth, tears of pain and humiliation forcing their way into his eyes as he tried to push Shiyan’s leg off him, but the burning fire beast essence shot through his wound was paralyzing his muscles.

"Your family is a joke, and your cultivation is a waste of resources," Gu Shiyan continued, laughing loudly as he looked up at the terrified Chen family in the stands. "You thought you were a spirit beast realm master? You can’t even stand up before me. You are a weak, pathetic loser who doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air like me, bastard!"

With a cruel grin, Gu Shiyan concentrated a burst of the beast essence into his leg, rushing it against Chen Ming’s chest.

BOOM!

The impact sent Chen Ming sliding across the battle stage again, his robes scorched, his chest bleeding and severely burned. The battle stage filled with a faint lingering smell of scorched meat. He lay still, unconscious and gravely wounded, his falcon silhouette vanishing back into the thin air.

The battle stage was dead silent, the sheer humiliation and brutality of the act leaving a sickening weight over the crowd. Luo Zhen strolled onto the stage, his face terrified and grim. He looked at the unconscious Chen Ming, then at Gu Shiyan, who was laughing arrogantly with his arms crossed.

"The competitor Chen Ming is unable to continue!" Luo Zhen announced, his voice tight. "The winner, advancing to the grand finals... Gu Shiyan of the Gu Clan!"

Gu Shiyan turned his head slowly toward the waiting benches, his eyes locking onto Lin Yuan. He raised a finger, pointing it straight at Lin Yuan’s face, his voice dripping with foxy anticipation.

"Next is you, turtle brat," Gu Shiyan sneered maliciously. "I’m going to break your shell and make you crawl just like him."

Lin Yuan stood up slowly from his seat. He didn’t look at Gu Shiyan; instead, his gaze followed the medical disciples who were carefully lifting Chen Ming onto a stretcher. Lin Yuan maintained a calm posture, but inside, he seemed dark and cold.

He looked back at Gu Shiyan, a faint, sharp smirk appearing on his face.

’Enjoy your laughter while you can, trash,’ Lin Yuan thought, his eyes shimmering with a predatory light. ’Because in the final round... I am going to tear your guts apart.’