Reborn as the Candle Dragon, I became the strongest academy guardian beast.

Upon hearing the sound, the Vermilion Bird on Xu Liyue's shoulder immediately raised a small tuft of downy feathers on its head, warily facing the direction from which the sound came, its wings slightly spread, revealing a defensive posture.

Xu Liyue also looked in the direction of the sound.

Three figures walked out of the canyon entrance, all wearing the same school uniform of White Tiger Academy.

The leader was a short, chubby boy with freckles all over his face and an ugly appearance.

"We just saw something strange happening in the canyon from the outside—flames shooting into the sky! Some kind of treasure must have been born. That treasure should be with you now, right?"

The fat man's tiny, beady eyes swept over Xu Liyue twice, revealing an undisguised greed in them:

"If you know what's good for you, hand over your things right now. I might let you go since you're a girl, otherwise..."

The fat man grinned lewdly and gestured to the two people beside him.

The two immediately understood and surrounded Xu Liyue from the left and right.

Xu Liyue noticed that all three of them had bulging bags hanging from their waists, which vaguely contained a large number of spiritual herbs, rare materials, and other items.

Besides hunting ferocious beasts, the inheritances, treasures, and resources obtained in the secret realm will be converted into corresponding points by the bracelet according to their quality.

Clearly, after entering the secret realm, these students from White Tiger Academy did not honestly grind monsters to accumulate points. Instead, they took advantage of their numbers to target lone individuals, stealing their hard-earned rewards and reaping the benefits.

Xu Liyue sneered, her voice as cold as frost: "The White Tiger Academy's actions are as despicable as ever."

"If you won't listen to reason, you'll have to suffer the consequences!" The fat man's face darkened completely. "Since you won't give it to us, don't blame us for being impolite! Guys, let's do it!"

The three of them suddenly sprang into action, revealing their respective martial spirits.

Xu Liyue remained calm, only lowering her head to whisper to the Vermilion Bird on her shoulder, "Little Red, I'm leaving you here."

"Chirp!"

A clear and lovely chirping sound rang out.

The next second, scorching flames swept in, turning the entire canyon a blinding crimson in an instant.

"What...what is this?!"

The three of them stared wide-eyed in shock, gazing at the scene in disbelief.

They never imagined that this tiny bird, no bigger than the palm of their hand, would possess such terrifying power.

The three hurriedly released their soul power in an attempt to resist the flames, but it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; they were utterly helpless.

"boom!"

The sea of ​​fire engulfed them in an instant.

Moments later, the flames dissipated.

Three figures, their bodies charred black, fell straight to the ground, completely unconscious.

A white teleportation array glowed from their bodies.

"Well done, Xiao Hong."

Xu Liyue stepped forward and took all the bags from the three of them before they were teleported out of the secret realm.

Harvest 10 Blue Silver Grass plants and earn 800 points.

[Collect 1 Earth Fire Crystal Core, gain 5000 points]

[Harvested a large quantity of black iron ore, earning 2000 points]

【…】

Total points earned: 23500

……

Beyond the Green Mountain Secret Realm.

[First Place: Azure Dragon Academy]

Total points: 78200

Second Place: White Tiger Academy

Total points: 61210

Third Place: Suzaku Academy

Total points: 53860

[Fourth Place: Xuanwu Academy]

Total points: 51390

Fifth Place: Meteor Martial Arts School

Total points: 35470

【…】

Just then, the points that had been slowly increasing for each school suddenly changed.

[Azure Dragon Academy Points Earned: 23500!]

[First Place: Azure Dragon Academy]

Total points: 101700

"Twenty-three thousand points! Twenty-three thousand points added at once? What did Azure Dragon Academy do?"

"This... even killing a fear-level ferocious beast isn't enough!"

Amidst the murmurs and discussions among the crowd.

Han Xiao's face turned extremely ugly.

Although White Tiger Academy was behind, the gap wasn't too large, and they still had a chance to catch up.

With those 20,000 points, the gap between the two schools widened immediately.

100,000 points!

What exactly happened in the secret realm?

How could Qinglong Academy suddenly gain so many points!

Han Xiao turned to Zhou Guoliang, his voice filled with anger: "Director Zhou, I suspect that Qinglong Academy used unfair means to obtain points in the secret realm, and there is a high possibility that they cheated!"

Zhou Guoliang frowned, glanced at Han Xiao, and said in a steady tone, "Principal Han, the points system on the bracelet is monitored in real time by the Education Bureau's martial arts formation, and the data is directly synchronized, so there is no possibility of cheating."

He paused, then gave Han Xiao a meaningful look: "If you have any objections to Qinglong Academy's results, you can submit an appeal after the tournament. But for now, please watch the competition quietly."

"Principal Han, I know you're in a hurry, but please don't rush." ​​Zheng Yuanshan couldn't help but smile.

"You!" Han Xiao's face turned pale and then red, and his gaze toward Zheng Yuanshan was almost spitting fire.

Just then, Zhou Guoliang looked over.

Han Xiao opened his mouth, but in the end he had to suppress his anger and swallow his anger back.

It seemed to sense Han Xiao's emotions.

The white tiger beside him bristled, its tiger eyes fixed on the direction of the Azure Dragon Academy, and let out a low roar.

"Shut up."

Su Chen looked down at the white tiger with his golden vertical pupils, his eyes filled with even more chill.

That muscular physique looks delicious.

Su Chen had long been annoyed by this beast that was always baring its teeth.

Now, his desire to eat tiger meat is even stronger.

……

The secret realm of Qingshan.

"Yellow River Swordplay!"

Kong Bowen let out a low shout, and a surge of sword energy slashed forward.

The sword energy pierced through the head of a leopard, blood splattered, and the leopard's corpse fell to the ground.

[Defeat the Elite Level 6 Ferocious Beast - Shadow-Patterned Leopard, earning 600 points!]

Kong Bowen put away his Gentleman's Sword and glanced at the points bracelet on his wrist.

8250 points.

Kong Bowen let out a breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Compared to students from other schools, this achievement is already quite remarkable.

But Kong Bowen knew in his heart that the points he had earned were far less than those of Lin Fan and the others.

After all, the teacher's students were all incredibly talented...

He can only try harder to avoid being left too far behind.

"Next one."

Just as Kong Bowen was about to go find the next ferocious beast, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure flashing through the woods in the distance.

"Chu Yunfeng!"

Kong Bowen was slightly taken aback.

"Brother Kong!"

Hearing the sound, Chu Yunfeng turned his head to look.

Upon seeing Kong Bowen, a look of surprise and delight appeared on his face.