While in Battle Through the Heavens, one can pre-appoint oneself as an emperor.

The griffin team landed, and all the trainees jumped off their backs, looking around at the mountain stream, which was unremarkable except for its tranquility.

"Where is this? Could the inner courtyard be nearby?"

"How stupid! Didn't the vice dean say that he would take us to a place, and then someone would come to greet us and lead us into the inner courtyard? This place is obviously the handover point."

The trainees whispered among themselves.

Hu Qian, who descended from the sky, glanced at the group of anxious students, his smile slightly strange.

Without saying a word, under everyone's gaze, Hu Qian took about ten steps forward, then stopped, waved his hand, and a powerful energy suddenly shot out from his hand, striking the space in front of him.

Under the impact of this energy, the once calm space suddenly rippled.

These ripples surged rapidly, and finally, a huge silver gate, seven or eight zhang tall, appeared out of thin air!

Upon seeing this, many students were taken aback, never expecting that such a seemingly ordinary place would conceal such a hidden secret.

The silver gate opened slowly with a crisp sound, revealing a dense forest beyond, seemingly no different from the forest seen on the way there.

"Thank you for your hard work on the journey, Elders. You can take the griffin back to the outer courtyard first. All students, follow me."

After giving instructions to the three escorting elders, Hu Qian waved his hand and took the lead into the silver gate.

Dozens of trainees followed closely behind.

If they were to discover such a spatial portal alone, they might be cautious, but here, with the vice dean leading the way, no one would feel any danger.

After passing through the silver gate, everyone felt their vision blur for a moment before they were on solid ground.

Looking ahead, two elderly men and several middle-aged men appeared at the entrance of the forest in front of the group of students.

In addition, there were about twenty senior students from the inner courtyard standing behind them. All of them wore a badge with a tower-like pattern on their chests, making it easy to identify them.

"Hehe, old man Hu, you're still as punctual as ever. It's so convenient having you escort the new students. This year's new students... wait, why is there one more?"

One of the two old men, seeing the large group of people entering, greeted Hu Qian with a smile. His sharp eyes swept over the crowd, and he was slightly surprised when he noticed that the number was not right.

Normally, there are only fifty spots available for each inner court selection competition.

Of course, this does not mean that there are only fifty new students in the inner academy each year.

Besides selection from the external academy, there are other channels to enter the internal academy.

Take, for example, the Department of Pharmacy in the Foreign Languages ​​Department.

The requirements for those students to enter the inner academy are different from those for regular students.

"Haha, plans can't keep up with changes. This year, when the freshmen enrolled, there was a rather special case. It would be a waste for him to waste his time in the Foreign Languages ​​Department, so I made an exception and let him participate in the selection competition. At the same time, I also added an extra spot."

Upon hearing the other party mention this matter, Hu Qian's smile became even brighter.

As he spoke, Hu Qian turned around and waved to Chen Xiao and the other four. After they came to his side, he pointed to the two old men and introduced them.

"This is Elder Su Qian, and this is Elder Qin. They are both very important figures in the Inner Court. If you need anything in the Inner Court, just ask them. They will definitely be helpful. These five little guys are the top five in this year's selection competition. Their strength is quite good."

The last sentence was clearly addressed to Elders Su and Qin.

Hu Qian spoke modestly, but the smile on his face revealed his immense pride.

As the vice dean of the School of Foreign Languages, he naturally felt honored to have produced such outstanding students.

It's especially gratifying to show one's face in front of these familiar old guys.

Upon hearing this, the two elders became slightly more serious and carefully examined the top five from the selection competition.

When their eyes fell on Chen Xiao, there was an unconcealable surprise in each of their eyes.

He is not yet thirteen years old.

Huqian continued to increase its bets.

Su Qian and Elder Qin let out a soft hiss, their shock rising even higher.

Even with their extensive experience, this was the first time they had ever seen a four-star Dou Ling who was just over twelve years old!

As for Zi Yan…

The elders of the inner court all knew that her true form was a magical beast, but they didn't know exactly what kind of magical beast it was.

"That's truly astonishing. Old Man Hu, your decision is correct. Keeping such a genius in the outer courtyard is simply misleading the younger generation," Elder Su Qian nodded in praise.

Hu Qian smiled smugly, then belatedly suppressed his laughter.

"What does that old man mean? Does he think my outer academy isn't qualified to teach a few geniuses?"

"I didn't say that, it's just that you know the situation inside the inner courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Hu Qian slightly pursed his lips and stopped arguing.

He knew perfectly well how important that thing in the inner courtyard was.

Canaan College has become a well-known institution in the mainland, and even young men and women from Central China often come to study there.

That thing deserves at least 40% credit for the fact that the company has developed to its current state!

"Alright, leave the rest to me."

After speaking to Hu Qian, Elder Su Qian faced the new students.

"Although you have all passed the selection competition and qualified to enter the inner academy, this is not the end of the story if you want to enter the inner academy..."

Su Qian smiled and raised his hand. A handful of pitch-black chips appeared in his hand. He threw them casually, and the chips shot out. Under the control of his subtle fighting spirit, they hovered in front of everyone, including Chen Xiao.

The students all grasped the chip and immediately felt a strange heat emanating from it. Looking down, they saw a transparent mirror on the chip, with a large red number printed on it.

"five!"

Looking at the red number, dozens of trainees were puzzled, not understanding its meaning.

Chen Xiao did know its use.

Fire energy points are the hard currency in the inner courtyard!

Looking up into the distance, they could see the group of senior students staring intently at the chips in their hands, their covetousness undisguised.

"Some things can't be explained in a few words. Once you've seen them and used them once, you'll understand. You don't need to ask anything now. Just remember one thing."

"That means you should treat the chips in your hands as if they were your own lives, and you will understand their importance once you enter the inner courtyard! If you don't believe me, just look at the eyes of these guys behind you, and you'll get a sense of it."

Elder Su Qian chuckled.

Upon hearing this, the students immediately put away the chips.

They could tell that Su Qian wasn't joking.

"Next, all you have to do is enter the forest, then pass through it, and reach the end of the forest. The inner courtyard you've been longing for is there!"

Elder Su Qian pointed to the group of senior students behind him and continued, "When you are traversing this forest, remember to be very careful of them. According to the rules of the inner courtyard, they can attack you at will in this forest. In other words, they can attack you and use any means other than killing to plunder the fire energy on your chips."

"What you need to do is try your best to avoid them or defeat them. As long as you are not caught by them and successfully reach the inner courtyard, you will receive the final reward. The sooner you arrive, the richer the reward will be."

"By the way, there are still some older groups like this in the forest."

As a final reminder, Elder Su Qian suddenly moved his finger toward the dark forest behind him.

"Our inner courtyard calls this struggle for control of the forest the 'Fire Energy Hunting Competition'!"

"Now, I declare..."

"The Fire Energy Hunting Competition has officially begun! Little ones, start your escape!"