On the bus.
Since the mage competitions for the third, second, and first years of high school were held at different times, the bus rented by Songyang High School only had the participants from Zhang Yu's grade.
He Dayou glanced in Zhang Yu's direction, his eyes thoughtful as he considered the effort Zhang Yu had put in recently.
With Zhang Yu's mana level reaching 15.4, he had already secured the top spot in their grade.
However, He Dayou couldn't help but feel a bit dismissive, thinking that Zhang Yu must have spent all his time boosting his mana level.
"Is it just for the mage competition?" He Dayou wondered.
"But the competition isn't just about who has the highest mana."
He Dayou believed that if his family had been willing to spend more money, he could have easily been the top student in terms of mana level.
This was why, at Songyang High, the wealthy students only started to pull ahead of the poorer ones in their second year.
Their family experience had taught them that the first year was all about building a solid foundation.
Overemphasizing mana levels too early could lead to poor control, which might take a long time to correct.
He Dayou sighed inwardly.
"In the mage competition, mana level is just the basic requirement. What really determines the ranking is control over mana..."
He couldn't help but feel a bit resigned.
"At the end of the day, unless it's a sports competition—which is Songyang's strong suit—we're just here to make up the numbers, to be the background for the freaks from the top three schools."
On the other side of the bus.
Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen, who was resting with her eyes closed, and asked, "So, can you tell me now who we're going to meet?"
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes at him and pulled out her phone, typing a message: *There are ears around.
Let's chat on the phone.*
Zhang Yu quickly typed back, "So, who exactly are we meeting at this competition?"
Bai Zhenzhen replied, "Poor students from other schools."
Zhang Yu's eyes lit up.
"You mean... there are poor students from other schools who think like us?"
Bai Zhenzhen: "Yes."
Zhang Yu asked curiously, "Which school?"
Bai Zhenzhen sent a female symbol followed by a tilde (~).
Zhang Yu was surprised.
"A black girl?" He was taken aback.
Could there really be black people in Kunxu?
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes again, not understanding what Zhang Yu meant by "black girl."
She typed back, "I mean girls from a girls' school, and soul cultivators."
Hearing this, Zhang Yu immediately understood.
Of course, who would undergo a sex change or abandon their physical body just to get into high school? Mangshan High School and Sacred Maiden Academy were natural havens for the poor.
The top students there were undoubtedly from poor families.
After working so hard to graduate with excellent grades, how could they not want to break through and get into a top university?
Wait a minute.
Zhang Yu suddenly asked, "Can soul cultivators even participate in the competition?"
Bai Zhenzhen shook her head.
"They're probably not here to compete. They're likely here to assist the judges, report on the event, and maybe watch."
...
The bus slowly pulled into a high school.
This was the venue for the mage competition—Red Pagoda High School, one of the top three schools in Songyang City.
The students from Songyang High followed their teacher, Mr. Yan, into an indoor sports arena, where they saw many students already waiting.
The colorful and varied school uniforms showed that they came from different high schools across Songyang City.
As the Songyang High group entered the arena, countless eyes turned toward them.
Someone thought, "Songyang is here too? Another strong school."
Another observed them closely, thinking, "Their aura is so strong. Is this what top students from a key high school are like?"
Yet another thought with a hint of schadenfreude, "So what if they're from a key high school? They're still here to be our supporting cast."
When they reached their assigned preparation area, Mr. Yan began reminding everyone of the key points to pay attention to during the competition.
"There are three events today. Be mindful of your mana distribution. Don't get nervous. Treat it like a regular practice..."
After Mr. Yan dismissed everyone to rest or use the restroom, Qian Shen hurriedly went to check the list of participants.
He pulled out his phone, cross-referencing the names on the list with their scores.
"Bai Long High, Song Hailong, last monthly exam score: 682."
"Zi Yun High, Le Mulang, last monthly exam score: 678."
"Yikes..."
The more Qian Shen looked, the more he gasped.
"These are all monsters."
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu was pulling Bai Zhenzhen toward the restroom when he suddenly felt a heavy pressure in the air.
The spiritual energy... it was stirring! It was like jumping from shallow water into the deep end.
The two of them turned their heads simultaneously toward the source of the pressure.
They saw a group of students in white uniforms slowly entering the arena.
Each of their white uniforms had a different number, ranging from 1 to 10.
Zhang Yu was puzzled.
"What's this? The Ten Blades?"
What he didn't know was that this was Bai Long High's unique uniform.
The numbers on their clothes represented their rankings after each monthly exam.
The numbers 1 to 10 on these ten students indicated that they were the top ten in their grade.
But what Zhang Yu did know was that the source of the spiritual disturbance came from the leader of this group—a giant of a man, standing at two and a half meters tall, with long, spiky hair.
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, the giant grinned sheepishly and rubbed his spiky hair.
"Sorry, everyone. Just got a new Heavenly Spirit Root. Still getting used to it. I'll try to control it..."
With a low shout from him, the pressure in the air gradually subsided, returning to normal.
Bai Zhenzhen watched this scene and muttered, "Showing off right from the start. What a terrible rich kid."
But thinking about how she would likely lose to these people in the competition, Bai Zhenzhen couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
After all the tutoring and practice over the past few days, she had come to realize that her talent for mana control was far inferior to Zhang Yu's.
This competition was destined to be a mere cameo for her.
On the other side, Qian Shen looked at the uniforms of the Bai Long High students and immediately recalled the scores he had just checked.
Matching the numbers on their uniforms, he thought, "That giant must be Song Hailong, the top student of Bai Long High this year. A monster with 682 points. He's probably a super species that's already reproductively isolated from us."
He Dayou glanced in Song Hailong's direction and raised an eyebrow.
"What a show-off. But bringing a Heavenly Spirit Root to the competition? His mana must be prone to sudden surges, making it hard to control, right?"
Not long after Bai Long High arrived, a loud whooshing sound came from outside the arena, and a massive flying ship descended above the venue.
The sight of it made the students from ordinary high schools gasp, feeling as if a wave of wealth had just swept over them.
A group of students in purple uniforms disembarked from the ship.
Among them, Zhang Yu recognized one—Lian Tianji, who had also participated in the art exhibition.
After the event, Zhang Yu had exchanged contact information with him and often saw him in the top three of the daily step count rankings.
Lian Tianji seemed to notice Zhang Yu as well and waved at him with a smile.
He then turned to the girl beside him, said something, and pointed in Zhang Yu's direction.
The girl, who had an icy demeanor, nodded slightly toward Zhang Yu from a distance.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, "She looks like a real ice queen, not a fake one like Ah Zhen."
Qian Shen also looked at the Zi Yun High team, searching online for a photo of Le Mulang and comparing it.
His eyes eventually settled on the cold-faced girl next to Lian Tianji.
"That must be Le Mulang from Zi Yun High. A high-caste existence with 678 points. To her, anyone below 650 is probably no better than dirt."
Shortly after the arrivals of Bai Long High and Zi Yun High, the host school, Red Pagoda High, finally made their appearance.
But when Zhang Yu saw the most conspicuous member of their team, he couldn't help but exclaim, "A monster?"
Bai Zhenzhen immediately jumped to the side, pointing at Zhang Yu.
"Hey! Watch your language. That's a demon-descendant from Songyang City."
The student, though wearing a uniform, had bright red fur, a thick tail, and a round face—completely resembling a red panda.
Zhang Yu looked at the red panda-like student and felt a weak aura emanating from him.
He asked curiously, "But how did this little red panda get into Red Pagoda High? Surely not just with a pure smile?"
Though the red panda's smile did seem genuine, Zhang Yu was sure there had to be something special about him to get into a key high school and participate in the competition.
Bai Zhenzhen shrugged beside him.
"Demon-descendants from Songyang City usually have strong physical abilities, but looking at him... I feel like I could take down three of him with one punch."
"Then he must have a special talent in mana?"
As they chatted, the two of them headed to separate restrooms.
After finishing up, Zhang Yu was dragged around by Bai Zhenzhen, following a message on her phone to a viewing platform on the second floor of the arena.
There, two girls were already waiting.
One of them, Zhang Yu recognized—Wu Qingqing from Sacred Maiden Academy, who had also participated in the art exhibition.
Zhang Yu's gaze shifted to the other girl, thinking, "Then this must be another top student from Sacred Maiden Academy?"
"Hey, long time no see," Wu Qingqing greeted Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
The girl behind her, however, seemed completely oblivious to the outside world, holding a book in one hand and clutching Wu Qingqing's sleeve with the other as she followed along.
It was as if Wu Qingqing could lead her straight into a truck, and she would still be quietly reading her book.
"These two are Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu, the poor geniuses from Songyang High," Wu Qingqing introduced.
She then pushed the book-reading girl forward and said, "This is Ye Xianyun, the top first-year student at Sacred Maiden Academy."
She added proudly, "She's also the only girl in our advanced class who hasn't had surgery."
Zhang Yu: "Wait, what are you so proud of?"
Ye Xianyun looked up, nodded silently at the two, and then went back to reading her book.
(End of Chapter)