December 2, 2024
Zhang Yu stared at his phone, which displayed an electronic agreement.
The content of the agreement was simple: it granted the top ten participants of the current mana competition the right to use the Infinite Cloud Hands technique, with the condition that they would not disseminate or profit from it in any way.
Bai Zhenzhen stood beside Zhang Yu, tilting her head as she read the agreement.
She complained, "How stingy! Xianyun Group is such a big company, yet they’re so tight-fisted with their sponsorship? Only the top ten get the usage rights? Shouldn’t they just give it to everyone?"
Zhang Yu shook his head dismissively.
"If they gave it to everyone, wouldn’t that be unfair to the students who performed well in the competition?"
"In my opinion, even ten people is too many. I feel like anyone ranked below fourth place didn’t really grasp the essence of the test questions."
Bai Zhenzhen shot Zhang Yu a sideways glance.
What the hell…
Listen to this guy! Unfair to the top performers? Those below fourth place didn’t understand the questions? Is this even human speech? Zhang Yu, have you forgotten how you criticized the modern immortal cultivation education system just a month ago? Where did that backbone of yours go?
Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu’s ugly expression with disappointment.
*Yu! My Yu is dead.
What stands before me now is just a soulless husk controlled by grades!*
"Haha, Ah Zhen, the prize money just came in," Zhang Yu said, looking at the notification on his phone.
He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.
The fourth-place prize in the mana competition was a hefty 20,000 yuan, boosting his savings to over 63,000 yuan.
Zhang Yu slapped Bai Zhenzhen on the shoulder and declared, "Ah Zhen, I’ll treat you to a meal when we get back to school."
"Good kid!" Bai Zhenzhen beamed.
"I knew you had a good heart. You’d never forget your roots."
Soon, students from various schools began to disperse.
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen followed the crowd from Songyang High School out of the venue.
Just then, a dark figure fell from the top of the stadium.
"Is that…" Zhang Yu’s eyes narrowed.
"A person?"
Someone’s jumping off the building?
Before Zhang Yu could fully process what was happening, someone had already taken action.
On any ordinary day, the jumper might have already hit the ground with a sickening thud.
But today, the venue was packed with high school students, teachers, coaches, referees, and judges—especially many from Hongta High School.
As the saying goes, protecting the campus environment is everyone’s responsibility.
The moment the figure began to fall, several bursts of qi shot out, forming a cushion-like barrier that caught the jumper mid-air.
Liang Qin, who had closed his eyes and prepared for death, didn’t feel the expected pain.
Instead, he felt as if he had landed on a warm, soft bed.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself gently lowered to the ground by a swirling mass of qi.
"Why did you save me?!" Liang Qin cried out in anguish, feeling no joy at being rescued.
During the mana competition, he had placed several bets and lost all his money.
His father had even called to demand repayment of a debt, which had driven him to make the desperate decision to jump.
The teacher who saved him showed no joy either, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone, "Jumping is prohibited on school grounds."
"I’ve already called the police. A specialist will discuss the compensation details with you…"
Hearing this, Liang Qin’s eyes filled with despair.
He quickly defended himself, "I didn’t mean to jump! I just slipped…"
The teacher replied coldly, "Slipped? So it was an accidental jump? That still costs money."
Liang Qin was furious, but remembering the teacher’s earlier display of qi, he suppressed his anger.
When I get the chance, I’ll find another place to jump.
Calming down, Liang Qin began to consider his next jumping spot.
Schools, hospitals, malls, residential areas… all of them would charge him for the trouble.
This damn world doesn’t even have a free place to jump!
Meanwhile, the students from Songyang High School were almost out of the campus.
Unlike the other students, Zhang Yu wasn’t particularly shocked by the jumper.
He just felt that the person wrapped in qi looked somewhat familiar.
…
Songyang High School.
Cafeteria.
Bai Zhenzhen popped a chicken leg into her mouth, crunching through the bone and meat in a few bites.
In front of her was a table full of chicken, duck, fish, and meat dishes, costing Zhang Yu over 400 yuan.
Even with their current cultivation level and physical strength, this feast was enough to satisfy them.
"Ah, the school’s pre-made dishes still taste the best. You can tell they’re fresh out of the freezer," Bai Zhenzhen said after taking a bite.
"The boxed meals from Hongta High tasted off. Who knows how much synthetic food they added."
Though Zhang Yu was enjoying the meal too, he had memories of better food from his past life.
He said, "Ah Zhen, when I have more money, I’ll treat you to something even better."
Bai Zhenzhen asked, "You mean the health-boosting meals on the second floor?"
Zhang Yu understood that for most students at Songyang High—no, for most high schoolers in Songyang City—better food meant food that could enhance their cultivation and boost their grades.
As for the taste itself… that was secondary, or something most students couldn’t afford to pursue.
For high schoolers, flavor was a luxury.
Zhang Yu didn’t explain further, simply saying, "You’ll understand when I have the money."
Then, Zhang Yu recalled the events of the competition and asked curiously, "Ah Zhen, how did you figure out that set of moves you used in the final round?"
Bai Zhenzhen replied casually, "Didn’t you see the six moves in the cultivation diagram?"
Zhang Yu was stunned.
"There were six?"
"Yeah," Bai Zhenzhen said, thinking back.
"Wasn’t it obvious at a glance?"
Is she for real? Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen, still unable to understand how she could see it so easily.
It seemed even students ranked 100+ had their strengths.
Bai Zhenzhen sighed, "I was desperate, so I tried using external techniques to assist with the mana flow."
"Turns out it didn’t work."
Thinking about her struggles during the competition, Bai Zhenzhen resolved to improve her mana control.
Looking at Zhang Yu, who had shone during the competition, she felt even more frustrated.
"Starting tomorrow, I’m going to take extra classes!"
I, Bai Zhenzhen, will never fall behind anyone!
Bai Zhenzhen asked, "Are you going to Teacher Yan’s extra classes?"
Before they parted ways earlier, Teacher Yan had approached Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, telling them he would use their competition results to apply for funding to start a mana competition tutoring class.
He encouraged them to sign up.
Zhang Yu nodded.
"Of course I’ll join."
Although he had achieved fourth place in the competition, Zhang Yu had also realized his limitations.
If he hadn’t grasped the Infinite Cloud Hands technique from Bai Zhenzhen at the last moment, he might not have made it into the top ten.
He wanted to improve his control over mana so that in future competitions, he wouldn’t have to rely on luck to win.
Besides, with the school’s funding, Teacher Yan’s tutoring class might even offer benefits like flying swords and cultivation techniques, which made Zhang Yu look forward to it.
Seeing Zhang Yu nod, Bai Zhenzhen smiled.
"Alright, we’ll go find Old Yan together."
…
After returning home, Zhang Yu didn’t practice the Desolate Bull Soul-Calming Technique to improve his Dao heart as he usually did.
Instead, he focused on the Infinite Cloud Hands technique, which he had recently mastered.
He decided to take this opportunity to level up the Infinite Cloud Hands.
He thought that since the technique only had six moves, it might level up faster than his other skills.
Maybe he could even reach level 10 in one night.
So Zhang Yu headed to the abandoned building.
Entering the building felt like coming home.
He had spent countless nights here practicing martial arts.
It was quiet, and he could train without worrying about disturbing anyone.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had already paid rent for his apartment and the abandoned building had no electricity or water, he might have moved a bed in and lived there for free.
In a bare, dusty hall, Zhang Yu focused his mind.
Mana surged from his dantian, passing through seven layers of vibration before transforming into wisps of cloud-like qi that flowed from his palms.
Having already reached level 1 in the Infinite Cloud Hands, the speed and quality of his mana conversion into martial qi far surpassed that of any competitor he had faced earlier.
Feeling the cloud-like qi enveloping his hands, Zhang Yu thought, Formless Cloud Qi?
After signing the electronic agreement, Zhang Yu had gained access to the Infinite Cloud Hands technique and its electronic manual.
The true name of this martial qi was written in the manual: Formless Cloud Qi.
Resembling white clouds, it could be both hard and soft, excelling at redirecting force and using an opponent’s strength against them.
It was a versatile martial qi, useful for both offense and defense.
Zhang Yu began practicing the six external moves of the Infinite Cloud Hands.
He threw a punch forward, and the white Formless Cloud Qi surged with immense power, like a battering ram, accompanied by a roaring sound.
This was one of the aggressive moves of the Infinite Cloud Hands, designed to break through an opponent’s defenses.
Next, Zhang Yu shifted his hands, and the white Formless Cloud Qi swirled around him like layers of clouds, soft and elastic.
This was a defensive move, capable of deflecting an opponent’s attacks and even reflecting some of the force back.
In just a short time, Zhang Yu had gone through all six moves of the Infinite Cloud Hands and started over again.
The technique had so few moves—only six—that Zhang Yu completed ten repetitions in just over ten minutes.
Infinite Cloud Hands Level 1 (0/10) → Level 2 (0/20)
As the Infinite Cloud Hands leveled up, Zhang Yu felt as if he had practiced the technique countless times in an instant.
His ability to refine Formless Cloud Qi, control it, and apply the six external moves all improved significantly.
Zhang Yu looked at his hands.
Originally, the Formless Cloud Qi surrounding his hands would release wisps of white smoke-like qi that drifted upward, resembling smoke signals rising into the sky.
This was the form he had displayed during the competition.
But now, with the Infinite Cloud Hands at level 2, the upward-drifting qi had diminished, showing that his control over the technique had improved.
(End of Chapter)