Battle Through the Heaven: Purple Heaven

As Xiao Yu and the others entered the tent, they spotted the trio seated calmly at the table, sipping tea with an air of nonchalance. The strange glances from those around made Xiao Yu momentarily speechless.

Is this guy here to take the test or to visit friends?

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. He dashed over, pulled up a chair, and grinned. "Heh, Brother Bai, quick, pour me a cup!"

Seeing his eagerness, Xiao Bai chuckled, took out a cup, and poured him some tea.

"Haha, that's the stuff!" Xiao Yan took a sip, slumping back in the chair with a satisfied squint. Standing out in the scorching sun earlier was so dumb!

"Jade, those are the people you brought, right?" A few women in the tent spotted Xiao Yu and crowded around, giggling and chatting before asking.

"They're my clansmen," Xiao Yu said with a touch of exasperation. Her gaze flicked to a male figure approaching hurriedly, and her expression shifted. Her brows furrowed, then smoothed as she stepped to Xiao Bai's side. Tugging his sleeve, she put on a shy, pleading look. "Pour me a cup, pretty please?"

The women who'd been teasing her stared, dumbfounded, at this bashful Xiao Yu, exchanging incredulous glances.

Xiao Bai felt goosebumps rise. Isn't she supposed to be pestering Xiao Yan?

Then he sensed two sharp gazes from either side—Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian. This is completely undeserved!

"Xiao Yu, long time no see!" A young man in gray-white robes approached the table, greeting her. He was fairly handsome, but his smile carried a hint of insincerity.

Xiao Yu turned her head, still clutching Xiao Bai's sleeve, and glanced at him. "Luo Bu, huh? Been a while."

Hearing the name, Xiao Bai raised an eyebrow. In the original story, this guy was a minor antagonist, barely memorable. Of all names, why Luo Bu? The last Luo Bu I met got blasted to ashes by a bolt of lightning.

"Heh," the young man nodded, his smile stiff. His eyes flicked to Xiao Yu's hand on Xiao Bai's sleeve, a fleeting glint of cold jealousy flashing through them.

"These folks are here for the test, right?"

When Xiao Yu nodded, he pulled a fist-sized crystal ball from his robe and waved it. "The other testing crystals were taken to the front channels, but Instructor Ruo Lin gave me this one. Let them try it."

Xiao Yu hesitated, then nodded. "The crystal's simple," she explained. "Reach eighth-stage Dou Zhi Qi, and it lights up. That means you've passed the initial test."

"Let me see!" Xiao Yan snatched the crystal from Luo Bu's hand.

Caught off guard, Luo Bu stared at his empty hand, a flare of anger crossing his face. He held back, sneering inwardly. I'll deal with this punk after the test.

Xiao Yan examined the crystal, channeling a wisp of Dou Qi. The ball instantly glowed brightly.

"Hey, it works! Come on, everyone, give it a touch—let's go through the motions!" He grinned, waving the crystal like he was running the show.

The group rolled their eyes but took turns touching it.

Once everyone had tested, Xiao Yan handed the crystal back to Luo Bu. "Heh, thanks, buddy!"

Luo Bu took it, his mouth twitching at Xiao Yan's words. Fury simmered within him, but he forced a smile, pointing to the nervous newcomers sweating under the sun outside. "Congratulations on passing the initial test. Now, please wait outside in the sun for half an hour."

"Luo Bu, what's that supposed to mean?" Xiao Yu's brows shot up, her voice icy.

"It's the rules," Luo Bu said smugly. "Since they tested under me, they follow my orders."

"Bullshit! They clearly tested under me!" Xiao Yan jumped up, retorting.

The tent fell silent. He's… not wrong.

The crowd stifled laughs as Luo Bu, who'd been acting high and mighty, turned livid, unable to respond.

"Yo, Brother Luo Bu, trouble over here? Need a hand?" A group of grinning young men swaggered in from outside.

"These new students are getting cockier every year. Big attitude, small skills!"

"Exactly. Newbies these days are too full of themselves. Gotta knock them down a peg before they join—helps them adjust to academy life. It's our love for them, really!"

"They need to learn respect for their seniors. Otherwise, they'll get burned later and blame us!"

The group closed in on Xiao Yan, surrounding him with mocking, sinister stares.

Some of them had been humbled as new students themselves. Now, finally in a position to dish it out, they found today's newcomers too docile—unsatisfying. But this hothead? Perfect for some fun.

Xiao Yan eyed their uniforms, noting the gold stars. All Dou Zhe, weaker than me, but there's a lot of them.

Frowning, he glanced through the crowd at Xiao Bai, who was leisurely sipping tea, watching the show. That jerk! No loyalty! His brother's about to get jumped, and he's chilling with tea? Choke on it!

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Yan exhaled slowly, his gaze locking onto Luo Bu with cold determination. If this turns into a fight, I'm taking this instigator down hard.

"I'd love to know," a calm voice cut through the tension, "are these so-called rules Jia Nan Academy's… or just yours?"

"Ha, another one! Brother Luo Bu, your new students are feisty today!" A youth with two stars on his chest smirked, eyeing the white-haired young man surrounded by stunning women, jealousy flickering in his gaze. "Kid, listen up. Doesn't matter whose rules they are—you follow them because you're weak. Got it?"

"Got it. Might makes right, yeah?" Xiao Bai nodded, as if enlightened.

The youth grinned, pleased—until his face froze. His hair stood on end, and with a thud, he collapsed, twitching and foaming at the mouth.

The crowd gasped, then turned to Xiao Bai, who sat calmly, sipping his tea as if nothing had happened.

They had a guess, and it shook them.

No one saw how the black-and-white-haired youth struck, which only made him seem more enigmatic and terrifying.

"Ge Ci! Ge Ci!" Luo Bu crouched, shaking the fallen youth. Finding him unconscious, he glared at Xiao Bai, fear and anger warring in his voice. "You… you…"

"You can join him," Xiao Bai said, glancing at him lightly.

Before Luo Bu could react, he collapsed, twitching just like Ge Ci, his eyes wide with terror.

The seniors surrounding Xiao Yan paled, their gazes on Xiao Bai filled with dread.

Xiao Bai's eyes swept the room, and everyone lowered their heads, avoiding his gaze.

"Like making others stand in the sun, huh? Then go stand out there yourselves. And remember—this is my rule."

No sooner had he spoken than the seniors scrambled into the blazing sun, standing obediently, terrified of ending up like the two on the ground.

"Little Yan, drag those two out to sunbathe too."

"You got it!" Xiao Yan chirped, grabbing one in each hand and tossing them in front of the seniors, who flinched at the sight.

The remaining academy students in the tent were stunned. They'd never seen Jia Nan Academy seniors treated like this—taken down and still punished while unconscious!

The new students outside, standing beside the humbled seniors, smirked with satisfaction. So smug when they bullied us, but now they're no different!

"Xiao Bai… isn't this a bit much?" Xiao Yu, no longer daring to hold his sleeve, let go, swallowing hard as she stammered.

"Too much?" Xiao Bai chuckled lightly, unconcerned. "If we were the weaker side today, our fate wouldn't be much better. They should be glad they're Jia Nan Academy students. Otherwise… heh."

That final "heh" sent a chill through the crowd, silencing them.

Most were first-year outer court students, many unblooded, merely flexing their slight edge over new students.

"Teacher, Brother Bai's getting weirder. What was that move?" Xiao Yan asked Yao Lao in his mind, eyes wide. I didn't even see how those two went down!

"Look where they were standing."

Xiao Yan glanced at the ground, spotting two faint, charred footprints.

"Your Brother Bai has an earth-attribute lightning that moves through the ground like a fish in water, striking silently," Yao Lao explained.

"It can do that?" Xiao Yan's jaw dropped. "If you can't fly, isn't that impossible to defend against?"

"Heh, if they couldn't fly, you think someone of his strength would need to ambush?" Yao Lao rolled his eyes. That kid was just too lazy to move today.

"Heh, true!" Xiao Yan scratched his head, realizing he'd instinctively wondered how to counter it.

As the tent fell quiet, a gentle voice sounded from outside. "What are you all standing out here for?"

"Huh? Is that Luo Bu and Ge Ci? What happened to them?"

"Quick, bring them inside!"

Moments later, a woman in green hurried into the tent, followed by a few students carrying the unconscious pair. They kept their heads down, avoiding the white-haired figure.

After the students set the two down, the woman examined them, her delicate brows furrowing. A soft, water-blue energy glowed in her hand, soothing their chaotic Dou Qi and injuries.

Under her care, the two soon stirred, blinking in confusion. When their eyes landed on Xiao Bai, their pupils shrank, fear flickering as they looked away.

"You alright?" the woman asked gently.

"Thank you, Instructor Ruo Lin," they said, standing and nodding gratefully.

"Good. Now, tell me what happened," Ruo Lin said, puzzled. They looked like they'd been struck by lightning, but the damage wasn't severe.

"Uh…" Their eyes darted to Xiao Bai, hesitant.

Ruo Lin followed their gaze to the calm, white-haired youth and knew he was involved.

"Young man, care to explain?" she asked, approaching with a warm smile, her eyes kind.

"They got heatstroke," Xiao Bai said, his tone leisurely.

Ruo Lin's smile twitched, itching to swat him. Heatstroke? Couldn't come up with a better excuse? She shot him a playful glare.

Xiao Bai's brow twitched. This woman embodies "gentle as water" to a tee.

"Instructor Ruo Lin, I missed you so much!" Xiao Yu rushed forward, wrapping her arms around the woman's slender waist and whispering in her ear.

"Heh, looks like I've struck gold this time!" Ruo Lin chuckled, her eyes sparkling as she glanced at Xiao Bai.

Releasing Xiao Yu, she called the new students inside and sat gracefully at the head of the tent, pulling out paper and a pen. "Congratulations, everyone, on passing the preliminary test and stepping into Jia Nan Academy. However, the academy needs to assess your potential, so I need your exact strength."

"Under twenty years old: eighth-stage Dou Zhi Qi is F-rank; ninth-stage, E-rank; one-star Dou Zhe, D-rank; two-star, C-rank, and so on, up to S-rank for five-star Dou Zhe."

"Heh, an S-rank potential student? In the last decade, I've only met one—that little enchantress who's made quite a name for herself at the academy!" Her eyes flicked to Xiao Bai.

Recruits are all under twenty. From Xiao Yu's description, I can't quite pin down this guy's strength.

"Let's start from the left. Name, rank, age," she said, pen poised.

"Hei Yan, eighth-stage Dou Zhi Qi, nineteen!"

"F-rank!"

"Ke Li, eighth-stage Dou Zhi Qi, eighteen!"

"F-rank!"

The reports continued until it reached the Xiao Clan group at the table. All eyes in the tent turned to the white-haired figure idly toying with his tea set.

Xiao Bai leisurely sipped his tea, then, under the crowd's exasperated stares, spoke slowly. "Xiao Bai, ninth-stage Dou Zhi Qi, eighteen."

The tent, filled with whispers, fell dead silent.

In the corner, Luo Bu and Ge Ci's faces twitched. Eighteen… pfft, ninth-stage Dou Zhi Qi?

The crowd was at a loss for words. A ninth-stage Dou Zhi Qi could knock out a two-star and a four-star Dou Zhe without lifting a finger?

Ruo Lin's eager expression darkened. I was hoping for someone beyond S-rank, and you tell me E-rank?

She'd checked the two's injuries—she wasn't buying it. "Next," she said through gritted teeth, unable to force him to reveal his true strength.

"Xiao Xun Er, ninth-stage Dou Zhi Qi, sixteen."

"Xiao Yi Xian, ninth-stage Dou Zhi Qi, seventeen."

"Xun Er, Xian Er, you…" Xiao Bai blinked, stunned. These two pulled a fast one on me!

"Heh, a family all neat and tidy—how nice!" Xun Er whispered in his ear with a smirk.

"…" Xiao Bai was speechless.

"Brother Bai, should I say ninth-stage too?" Xiao Yan leaned in, grinning mischievously.

"Scram!" Xiao Bai shot him a look. You want to be neat and tidy too?

"Haha!" Xiao Yan laughed, unfazed. He was just teasing, knowing he'd need to request a leave later. I wouldn't dare fake it, but saying ninth-stage for fun sounds tempting.

Clearing his throat, he announced, "Xiao Yan, six-star Dou Zhe, seventeen!"