```
"Su Yuan, do you dare to fight me in a match?"
As soon as Chen Jiujun said this, the large Practical Combat Hall suddenly quieted down a bit, and all eyes turned towards them. A class of students were dumbfounded, even the martial arts instructor was taken aback.
Chen Jiujun challenging Su Yuan?
The next moment, everyone became excited.
"Damn, Chen Jiujun wants to challenge Su Yuan!"
"The special enrollment talent from Shuzhou, first in the joint trial!"
"This is going to be good!"
"Su Yuan won't chicken out and not accept, will he?"
"How could he? Su Yuan isn't afraid of that self-important Chen Jiujun!"
"He's from Guangchuan City himself, yet he looks down on other Guangchuan students. Now that Su Yuan has appeared, it's perfect, let's teach him a lesson!"
...
Su Yuan turned his head and looked at Chen Jiujun calmly, "Are you sure?"
Su Yuan could tell that Chen Jiujun was a very arrogant and conceited person. Such a person would find it difficult to accept being surpassed by someone else.
However, Su Yuan hadn't expected Chen Jiujun would challenge him in such a public manner.
Have you thought about the consequences of failing?
Chen Jiujun said resolutely, "Of course!"
Su Yuan sighed inwardly, If you insist on seeking abuse, then you can't blame me for striking you down.
"Then bring it on, it just so happens, I wanted to try out the blade."
Su Yuan turned around to face Chen Jiujun, his silver pupils seemingly void of warmth.
Under Su Yuan's gaze, Chen Jiujun inexplicably felt his heart tighten. The other man was merely standing there casually holding a blade, but he felt an overwhelming sensation he couldn't match.
But immediately after, Chen Jiujun felt a rush of embarrassment and annoyance.
Damn, was he actually being suppressed by the aura of a peer?!
Chen Jiujun quickly retreated to create distance, and at the same time, he opened his hands, and amid the flickering light, a long black metallic staff with delicate silver lines appeared in his open hands.
A reward from the trials, a green Star Device, the Thunder Drawing Staff!
When using Thunder Skills, it would receive an extra power boost.
Just by the look of it, the Thunder Drawing Staff seemed to be at least two grades higher than the Dragon Armor Blade in Su Yuan's hand—it looked rather out of the ordinary.
Chen Jiujun held the staff with both hands, his eyes full of caution, but he saw Su Yuan still standing casually in place, which only irritated him further.
Magicians are not skilled in close combat, and any warrior knows that in battle, they should close the distance with a magician as soon as possible. Yet Su Yuan stood still, clearly not taking him seriously.
"You're courting death!"
Chen Jiujun shouted lowly, a large amount of Star Power transformed into Thunder Element surged onto the Thunder Drawing Staff. Amidst the leaping silver lightning, Chen Jiujun brandished his staff and pointed it at Su Yuan.
"Lightning Beam!"
The dazzling silver lightning, after being amplified by the Thunder Drawing Staff, burst forth rapidly towards the distant Su Yuan.
However, a wild wind kicked up under Su Yuan's feet, and the rapid Lightning Beam was unexpectedly blown aside by the stirring gale, "Boom!" It exploded behind Su Yuan, kicking up a cloud of dust!
Even though the Lightning Beam was amplified by the Thunder Drawing Staff, how could it penetrate the evasive power of the Transformation Realm Wind Walk used by Su Yuan, who was at the Master Grade level?
A flash of silver light glinted in Su Yuan's eyes, and he disappeared from the spot in the blink of an eye.
Instant Movement!
Chen Jiujun had long wanted to battle Su Yuan and was already prepared for Su Yuan's Instant Movement.
Seeing Su Yuan use Instant Movement, Chen Jiujun was startled but not thrown into disarray and promptly activated the Twin Thunder Body that he had been charging up.
Around him, electricity danced as two Thunder Snakes wrapped around Chen Jiujun's body, greatly increasing his Agility with the Twin Thunder Body's boost.
Chen Jiujun knew well that since Su Yuan had vanished from in front of him, he could only have teleported behind or above him. Without looking back, he turned into a flash of White Thunder and leapt forward.
But at that moment, an irresistible, horrifying gravity suddenly descended upon him!
"Ugh!"
Chen Jiujun grunted, completely caught off guard, he kneeled on the ground with one knee piercing the surface.
Is this… Elemental Magnetism Pressure?!
Extracted from the Earth Origin Beast Star Core? How is that possible, how could he be so lucky!
Chen Jiujun was utterly astonished, struggling to support his other knee, his handsome face filled with disbelief!
"You still don't understand the gap between us."
Su Yuan's voice came from the side, the cold blade of the Dragon Armor Blade lightly touched Chen Jiujun's cheek.
"You've lost."
```
After saying this, Su Yuan put away the Dragon Armor Blade, and with a thought, he dispelled the Elemental Magnetism Pressure that had enveloped Chen Jiu Jun, then turned and left the Practical Combat Hall without looking back.
The hall fell into silence; a battle that everyone thought would be a fierce confrontation had ended just as it had begun?
The crowd watched dumbfounded as Su Yuan walked out of the Practical Combat Hall, slowly coming back to their senses.
"Insta-kill! Holy shit, Su Yuan just one-shotted Chen Jiu Jun!"
"I can hardly believe it, that's Chen Jiujun who was specially recruited by Wanzhou, not some random Joe!"
"What happened to Chen Jiujun just now, how did he suddenly stop moving?"
"I don't know... I won't talk much now, I have to rush to get this explosive news onto the forum, oh my god, the Guangchuan Middle School forum is going to explode today!"
"..."
The entire Practical Combat Hall burst into excitement as all the students discussed loudly with great enthusiasm.
Only Chen Jiujun still kneeled on the ground in a dejected manner, the words Su Yuan had said echoing in his mind.
You still don't understand the gap between us...
...
For Su Yuan, the incident with Chen Jiujun was merely a minor episode.
As Su Yuan stepped out of the Practical Combat Hall, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.
"Hello?"
"Su Yuan, it's me." From the other end of the line came the voice of Wang Haiping.
"Director Wang?" Su Yuan felt a ripple of emotion, could there be progress with the Demon Capital Academy?
"I'm calling this time to tell you two things.
First, the recommendation for Demon Capital Academy has been smoothly handled. This year, Demon Capital Academy hasn't recruited many people in the front, so they will have one last special recruitment in two months. My teacher has already submitted your name, and you'll just need to go there when the time comes."
Great!
Su Yuan's heart lifted with joy.
Wang Haiping's teacher really delivered, but why did Wang Haiping sound a bit off?
"However..."
Hearing this 'however,' Su Yuan inwardly said 'as expected', sensing that there must be an issue.
"However, my teacher told me privately that there are several very exceptional characters in this round of special recruitment, and in fact, this supplemental recruitment is mainly being conducted for one of them.
Although Demon Capital Academy has not specified exactly how many people will be specially recruited, in the presence of such strong competitors, if you don't perform well enough, it's easy to be passed over."
So it's almost certain for that super-prodigy, is that it...
Su Yuan's gaze turned contemplative, then he calmly responded, "Don't worry, Director, I'll give it my all."
Perhaps feeling that he had put too much pressure on Su Yuan, Wang Haiping chuckled, "There's another piece of good news. If you can seize the opportunity, it will greatly increase your chances of passing this special recruitment."
"Oh?" Su Yuan's eyes brightened, "Please tell me, Director."
"The Divine Tree in Qingye City's Secret Realm, the Heavenly Sweet Tree, is about to bloom again. This Divine Tree is a master-level plant type Star Beast that blooms once a year, with each bloom lasting only one day. After that, its blossoms will fly high into the sky and eventually transform into Heavenly Sweet Fruits that fall from the heavens.
Being a Master Grade plant type Star Beast, the Heavenly Sweet Tree can absorb all sorts of energies from the heavens and earth to convert into Star Power. The Heavenly Sweet Fruit that forms after its blooming is filled with its overflowing Star Power essence.
The Heavenly Sweet Tree in Qingye City is still young, only at Gold Level. Its Heavenly Sweet Fruit has limited energy and doesn't have much effect on Star Card Masters above the Bronze Level, but for a Star Apprentice, it's a very mild and substantial tonic.
Every time the Heavenly Sweet Tree blooms, there are always one or two people who manage to reach the Ninth Stage Limit by leveraging the Heavenly Sweet Fruit's energy. Occasionally, there's even a talented genius who manages to break through to the Bronze Level in one go!"
"Director Wang, you mean to say..." Wang Haiping had said so much, and Su Yuan clearly understood his implication.
"Since the Divine Tree Secret Realm is a secret of Qingye City, they have a slightly higher number of participant slots. I thickened my face and asked for one.
The blooming of the Heavenly Sweet Tree is roughly two weeks before the special recruitment of Demon Capital. That is, a month and a half from now.
At that time, you'll come with me to Qingye City to compete with others for the final qualification to enter the Divine Tree Secret Realm. If all goes well, breaking through to the Ninth Stage should not be a problem for you, and that in turn would give you a greater chance of passing Demon Capital Academy's special recruitment."
"Great! Thank you, Director Wang!" Su Yuan sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Although Wang Haiping made it sound effortless, it was obvious to anyone thinking with their feet that such an opportunity was not available to just anyone. After all, such precious resources are best with fewer people involved.
"Mhm, then you prepare well. There are only four spots to enter the secret realm.
Although to promote the development of Secondary and Tertiary Cities, Shuzhou City will not have anyone participating in the competition for entry into this year's Divine Tree Secret Realm. But Qingye City and other Secondary Cities under Shuzhou will have participants.
Every year, there are usually around twenty people competing for the spots, and it will be a fight."
"Alright, no problem."
After ending the call, Su Yuan's eyes revealed a contemplative expression.
He definitely had to get into the Divine Tree Secret Realm. Never mind four slots, even if there was just one, he was determined to secure it.
As for the special recruitment assessment at Demon Capital Academy, while only two months remained, if he could advance to the Ninth Stage, his chances would naturally increase significantly.
And regarding the several remarkable characters and that one student whom Demon Capital Academy was holding a special recruitment for, he wondered what kind of geniuses they were.
Su Yuan smiled, his heart filled with anticipation for the upcoming journey.