At this moment, Dongfang Fenghuang had almost completely lost her magic power and was unable to cast any lethal magic. She managed to release a few small arcs of electricity, but they were not enough to threaten Chen Nan.
Chen Nan pulled her forcefully into his arms. He didn't want to be trampled on and fall to the ground. Accompanied by Dongfang Fenghuang's scream and the gasps of the crowd, the two of them fell downwards together. Chen Nan freed his right hand and slammed his palms into the ground to stop the fall.
Finally, the two landed. Chen Nan, holding Dongfang Fenghuang, rolled seven or eight meters on the ground to dissipate the enormous impact.
The entire training ground fell silent. Everyone was stunned, never expecting such an outcome. After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted in a chorus of angry shouts.
"Release Miss Dongfang."
"Let go, you scumbag!"
...
Although Chen Nan was holding a stunningly beautiful woman in his arms, he felt no emotion whatsoever. He leaped up and lifted Dongfang Fenghuang up at the same time, showing her no mercy whatsoever. Ignoring Dongfang Fenghuang's angry curses and screams, he twisted her arms behind her back.
Kevin rushed over and said, "Brother Chen, you've already won, why don't you release Phoenix right now?"
Chen Nan said, "Wait a minute." He turned around and shouted to the crowd outside the arena, "I defeated the representative you elected. From now on, we will keep to ourselves."
Dongfang Fenghuang was both ashamed and angry, her resentment reaching its peak. When Chen Nan let go, she was about to pounce on him and fight back, but Kevin grabbed her. Then the little princess and several girls quickly ran over and forcibly dragged her away.
"You scoundrel, I'm not done with you yet..." Dongfang Fenghuang screamed as she left.
Everyone outside the arena glared at Chen Nan, their eyes filled with hostility. Chen Nan waved his hand and laughed, "Hehe, I won. From now on, there will be no more grudges between us."
...
A chorus of insults erupted from the sidelines, followed by a deluge of tomatoes, eggs, and other projectiles raining down on him.
The blond, handsome Kevin stepped forward and shouted, "Everyone, please calm down. We magic students can afford to lose. Let's not give others cause for criticism."
The agitated students gradually calmed down, but everyone's gaze towards Chen Nan was filled with hostility, making Chen Nan feel a chill run down his spine.
At this moment, a sprightly old man in blue robes walked into the arena. He exuded a powerful aura, clearly a master. The old man looked at Chen Nan without any kindness. After giving Chen Nan a cold glance, he shouted loudly to the outside of the arena, "Now that the duel is over, everyone, disperse quickly."
The crowd outside the arena held the old man in some awe, and most people were about to disperse after hearing his words. But just then, Chen Nan shouted, "So it's you! You old codger Dongfang, I challenge you to a duel!"
As soon as the old man in blue opened his mouth, Chen Nan recognized his voice. It was the old man from the East who had given him a severe beating in the woods outside the city that day.
The crowd outside the arena erupted in uproar. They thought that Chen Nan had flirted with the old man's granddaughter and had just defeated Dongfang Fenghuang in a very intimate manner, so he should be avoiding the old man now. They never expected that he would actually propose a duel with the old man.
The old man said in a low voice, "That brat dared to bully my granddaughter again. I'll teach him a lesson sooner or later."
In Chen Nan's mind, the old man from the East was practically synonymous with the despicable vice dean. Upon hearing this, he quickly picked up the hidden weapons on the ground and threw them all at the old man.
The old man waved his right hand lightly, and a hazy blue light appeared in front of him. All the hidden weapons disappeared into the light as if they had been thrown into the sea. Then he waved both hands, and with a series of crashing sounds, all the throwing knives and hidden arrows were broken into pieces and turned into a pile of scrap metal that fell to the ground.
Chen Nan was shocked. The old man was able to shatter the refined iron with his protective true energy. He was no match for such a master.
"You brat, I won't make things difficult for you today. Get out of here now, but don't let me run into you again, or I'll beat you up every time I see you."
Chen Nan was extremely frustrated. His mortal enemy was right in front of him, but he couldn't beat the despicable old man and was even being threatened by him. He was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly laughed and said, "That night, old man Dongfang actually... hahaha..." He laughed loudly and walked off the field.
The old man from the East was taken aback at first, but then he suddenly understood what was going on. He was so angry that the veins on his forehead throbbed and his snow-white beard trembled.
"You shameless bastard, just you wait, I'll break your stinking hand sooner or later." He suppressed his anger and watched Chen Nan leave.
As Chen Nan passed by Kevin, he whispered, "Thank you!"
"You don't need to thank me; we'll have to fight sooner or later."
As Chen Nan walked through the crowd, his heart pounded with fear, terrified that some reckless person might suddenly attack him, thus drawing the ire of the crowd. He breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the training ground.
"Congratulations on your great victory, you scoundrel! The Dragon-Capturing Hand is truly extraordinary." Long Wu walked over from a distance, beaming with pride.
"Little brother, why are you here again? Some people just misunderstood and thought I was trying to make a move on you, but little did they know it was you who had been eyeing me all along!"
"Pah, pah, pah, stop being disgusting. Hurry up and write down the secret of the Dragon Capturing Hand for your brother, and then send it to the Divine Wind Academy, or you know what will happen."
Looking at the elegant yet handsome, noble yet extravagantly beautiful woman before him, Chen Nan nodded helplessly and said, "Alright."
Long Wu smiled brightly and said, "If you dare to be perfunctory with me, don't regret it later." After saying that, she left with light steps.
Watching her gradually disappear into the distance, Chen Nan muttered to himself, "You'll have to wait a hundred years." He strode out of the academy.
The battle between Chen Nan and Dongfang Fenghuang was indeed incredibly exciting, captivating everyone watching. However, after the match, all the students who had watched were extremely disappointed, especially the magic students, who were utterly dejected. They never expected that the scoundrel they so vehemently hated would ultimately emerge victorious, which was a significant blow to them.
Although the great battle was over, its influence did not stop. News of this exciting battle quickly spread to every corner of the academy, and everyone learned that the infamous scoundrel was a master. Those students with profound cultivation secretly regarded him as a potential rival.
However, the turmoil did not end there. Shenfeng Academy was renowned throughout the continent, and various forces highly valued the academy's outstanding students. They often used money and beauty to recruit those talents who were useful to them. Many forces had planted "insiders" in the academy, and some had already taken notice of Chen Nan.
Although Chen Nan defeated Dongfang Fenghuang and temporarily escaped the pursuit of everyone, he did not feel the joy of a great victory. He knew that things would not end there, Dongfang Fenghuang would definitely not let it go, and the old man Dongfang, whom he deeply hated, would not let him off the hook either.
He was exhausted after the battle and didn't recover until the afternoon. Lying in bed, he muttered to himself, "The cunning vice-dean, the despicable old man from the East, the relentless Eastern Phoenix, the troublesome Long Wu, and the incredibly annoying little devil—these people all come from Shenfeng Academy. Am I incompatible with this academy? How did I end up offending so many headaches?"
Whenever Chen Nan thought of the vice dean and Old Man Dongfang, he felt extremely depressed. Judging from Old Man Dongfang's cultivation level, he could infer the vice dean's strength. At present, he was no match for either of them.
"These two old men are incredibly powerful, and yet they're so despicable! Especially that old man from the East, who even threatened to teach me a lesson—he's utterly hateful!"
The vice-dean swindled him out of 50,000 gold coins, and the old man from the East beat him up outside the city. Whenever he thought of these things, Chen Nan felt like he was going crazy. Finally, he made up his mind to go to Shenfeng Academy that night and cause a ruckus.
He felt that what the old monster had said that day made a lot of sense. There were many experts in Shenfeng Academy. He might have been discovered by the experts inside when he sneaked into the academy at night the last two times. This time, he decided to sneak in from the most remote cemetery in the academy.
After careful consideration, he began to prepare for the night's operation. He disguised himself and went out to buy sixty catties of chili powder.
In the stillness of the night, the stars twinkled.
Carrying a large bag of chili powder, Chen Nan leaped over the wall of the inn and darted through the streets like lightning, arriving at Shenfeng Academy in the blink of an eye. However, this time he didn't fly in directly, but instead circled the academy, arriving at its northeast corner. This was also the northeast corner of the City of Sin, where the sound of the city's moat flowing could be clearly heard.
Chen Nan leaped onto the high wall and then jumped down.
Inside was a cemetery, with eerie phosphorescent lights and a ghostly atmosphere that sent chills down one's spine. In front of the cemetery was a dense forest, which stretched out in the distance as a large shadow, giving off a similarly sinister and oppressive feeling.
Chen Nan walked out of the cemetery and through the dense forest. Although he was skilled and daring, he still felt a chill.
Beyond the woodland, two low hills were connected, stretching for three miles. He crossed the hills and arrived at his destination. At the foot of the hills, there were many huge caves, and many enormous creatures were either crawling inside the caves or lying outside them.
These large creatures are the mounts of the dragon knights within the Divine Wind Academy. There are earth dragons, flying dragons, wyverns, and even giant dragons. Every few days, these dragons are taken by their masters to the nearby deep mountains to feed, and they usually reside there.
Chen Nan's target was these dragons. He knew he was no match for the vice dean and the old man from the East, so he set his sights on these big guys. He laughed as he imagined the scene of dozens of dragons going berserk together.
He dared not approach those colossal creatures. He climbed the cliff above the cave and cautiously peered down. By the dim starlight, he could see more than thirty dragons crouching outside the cave. Among them, three giant dragons, as large as small mountains, stood out. He guessed that there were more dragons than that, and that there might be one or two more inside those huge caves, which gave him a glimpse into the strength of the Divine Wind Academy.
The cave ceiling wasn't all steep cliffs; he reached a relatively flat area and placed the bag of chili powder on the ground. Just as he was about to do something, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook, and Chen Nan almost fell off the mountain. Startled, he quickly grabbed the bag and jumped aside.
After regaining his footing, he looked at the spot where he had stood in surprise. It turned out that it was not flat ground at all, but a shallow pit, in which a small dragon lay, just filling the pit. It was called a small dragon in comparison to other dragons. The small dragon had wings, was about two zhang long, and its body was grayish-brown, similar in color to the surrounding rocks.
At this moment, Xiaolong raised his head from the pit and blinked his innocent big eyes at Chen Nan, looking extremely cute, as if he had been wronged by being stepped on.
"So it's a baby dragon. How cute! Fine, I won't scold you."
Chen Nan took out the pre-packaged chili powder from the bag and threw it downwards with both hands. Almost every packet of chili powder hit the head of a dragon.
Packets of chili powder burst open, sending powder flying everywhere. Dragon roars echoed from below. When several extra-large paper packets crashed into the three giant dragon heads, the enormous roar shook the sky, and the area below erupted in chaos.
At first, Xiaolong stared at Chen Nan with curiosity. Later, a strange light flashed in its eyes. When Chen Nan passed by it and tried to run away, it suddenly pounced on him and pinned him to the ground.
Just as Chen Nan was about to use his internal energy to shake it away, one of the little dragon's claws suddenly moved and pressed on several major acupoints on his back, rendering him unable to use his full power.
To other dragons, the little dragon was tiny, but to Chen Nan, it was a colossal creature. He was nearly crushed to the point of breaking his bones and tendons. If he hadn't managed to gather some internal energy at the last moment, he would have been crushed into a meat patty by the little dragon.
Chen Nan tried to struggle a few times, but couldn't get the little dragon to move an inch, so he stopped trying. He sighed inwardly at his bad luck, never expecting that this cute little dragon would suddenly attack.
The chili powder made it difficult for the dragons below to open their eyes, and their snot flowed freely. A dozen or so dragons flew into the sky, while the rest writhed on the ground. In the dead of night, dozens of dragons roared together, their roars earth-shattering and thunderous, piercing the sky and echoing throughout the city of sin, waking most of the inhabitants.
Chaos erupted within the Divine Wind Academy. Everyone awoke from their sleep, candlelight was lit, and the academy was illuminated. Many figures rushed toward the scene.
The dragon knights from the academy were the first to arrive, each one extremely anxious. Their mounts were all resting there, fearing that their dragons had met with misfortune.
"Oh my god, what's wrong? Why is my dragon constantly thrashing about?"
"Why is my dragon flying around in the sky?"
"Why are all the dragons roaring? Something's definitely wrong!"
...
More and more people gathered, and in the blink of an eye, several hundred people had gathered. Chen Nan was in a terrible predicament. He was pinned to the ground by Xiao Long and could not move an inch. If he were discovered, he would have no choice but to surrender.
"Smell this, what is it?"
"It tastes like chili powder."
"Look, it looks like each dragon has chili powder on its head."
"Damn it, someone must be deliberately causing trouble!"
"Oh my god, which bastard is playing this prank?"
"Quickly fetch some clean water to wash the dragon's eyes, otherwise it might harm the dragon if we wait any longer."
...
The hundreds of people who had rushed over quickly ran back. Some went to fetch water from wooden buckets, while others went to gather help. For a time, the Shenfeng Academy was in an uproar.
Chen Nan was extremely anxious. If he were captured by those enraged dragon knights, his fate was unimaginable. Just as he was feeling anxious, the little dragon suddenly moved. It twisted its chubby body and then wobbled to its feet. Chen Nan was overjoyed and "whoosh"ed as he emerged from under it.
He was both angry and furious at the strange little dragon. After it emerged, he wanted to unleash a few sword strikes on it, but the little dragon suddenly stretched out its head and rubbed against him affectionately. Looking at its big, blinking eyes, Chen Nan couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Fine, little one, you're so cute, I won't punish you."
He turned to leave, but Xiaolong staggered after him.
"You little rascal, you're so clingy. I don't have time to play with you."
There was no one else around, and Chen Nan wanted to take this opportunity to leave quickly, but Xiao Long clung to him and bit his sleeve.
"Baby Dragon, let go of your mouth, and we'll come back to play with you again next time."
Xiao Long let go of his mouth and suddenly stuck out his tongue and licked his face. Chen Nan was so angry that he almost fainted. Xiao Long's tongue was more than a meter long, and the saliva on it made him wet from head to toe.
"Damn it!" He jumped away quickly, then climbed up the mountain without looking back.
Not long after Chen Nan left, people began arriving one after another carrying buckets of water. The Divine Wind Academy was in chaos, destined to be a sleepless night.
Many people in the inn were awakened by the deafening dragon roar, but soon fell back into a deep sleep. After Chen Nan returned, he carefully washed himself from head to toe. Fortunately, the little dragon's saliva did not have any strange smell.