Mana class. The Elite Class sat cross-legged in a silent chamber, each student cycling their breathing technique. Cameras watched from above. Every movement was tracked — every blink, every scratch, every shifted hip, every opened eye.
The system aggregated these into a single metric: Distraction Rate.
The class with the highest weekly Distraction Rate received a school-wide public reprimand. The Elite Class never worried about that. They were always first.
The student with the lowest Distraction Rate received five hundred yuan and one free hour of Celestial Spirit Root access. That prize made the Elite Class very, very motivated.
*In my last life,* Zhang Yu thought, *this system would've been demolished by student protests. Here, they compete for it like dogs fighting over bones.*
A bell chimed. Eyes opened. Everyone stared at the front screen.
**1st — Zhang Yu — Distraction Rate: 0% — Mana: 8.3** **2nd — Bai Zhenzhen — Distraction Rate: 0.03% — Mana: 11.2** **3rd — Qian Shen — Distraction Rate: 0.12% — Mana: 11.1**
Silence. But Zhang Yu could feel it — the ripple of surprise spreading through the room like a stone dropped in still water.
The instructor, Teacher Yan, stood at the front. Severe bun. Black-framed glasses. The kind of woman who smiled with her mouth but never her eyes.
"Several of you have Distraction Rates above 0.3%. I won't name you today."
"It's been three months. How many times have I said — still your mind, merge your breath with stillness? Your breathing efficiency suffers. You each have twenty-four hours in a day. No more, no less. Fall behind by a fraction each day, and in three years your mana deficit could be ten points. Twenty. Thirty."
She paused.
"I've also said this: those who can't control their Distraction Rate should come to my office for focus enhancers. I sat there for three hours yesterday. Not one student came. Do you all believe you have no problems?"
The class shifted uncomfortably.
Then her expression softened — marginally.
"But some of you are doing well." She looked at the screen. "The top three. Particularly Zhang Yu. Four consecutive days at zero percent. A qualitative transformation from before."
"His mana also rose 0.5 points in three days. That means he's putting in serious work outside class. Rented a Spirit Root? High-energy cultivation room? Right, Zhang Yu?"
Every pair of eyes in the room turned toward him.
Zhang Yu didn't open his eyes. He sat there, apparently still meditating, the Heavenly Circuit Qi Gathering Method humming through his body.
"Look at him," Teacher Yan said. "Class isn't even over and he's still going. This is what a true top student looks like."
Zhao Tianxing watched from across the room, increasingly confused. *He's this dedicated. This disciplined. Why won't he take his injections in PE class?*
Bai Zhenzhen glanced at Zhang Yu's motionless form. *This guy hasn't stopped cultivating except to eat and excrete for days. Is the 700,000 debt collection calls finally breaking him?*
Teacher Yan continued. "Of course, the Immortal Path costs money. Nothing is free. If you want to go far, you need to invest. The school has Celestial Spirit Root rental slots available. Interested students can find me after class."
Then she mentioned something that seized Zhang Yu's full attention.
"Also. The city Mana Competition begins next month. All Songyang high schools participate. First prize: one hundred thousand yuan."
"Registration opens next Friday. The school will send our top ten first-years by mana ranking."
---
That evening. Cafeteria.
Zhou Tianyi had already left for Cram School. Only Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen remained at the table.
She kept staring at him. Left. Right. Studying his face.
"Zhenzhen. I know I'm handsome. I know I stand out in this school like a crane among chickens. But you don't need to stare."
"You want to enter the Mana Competition?"
"Unfortunately, yes." He shook his head. "If we weren't friends, this would be the moment you mocked me, I shocked everyone with my performance on the field, and your pupils dilated thirty levels."
"Zhang Yu. This is a city-wide mana competition."
Bai Zhenzhen's expression darkened with theatrical gravity. "Every high school in Songyang sends its best, richest, most mana-drenched students. Hordes of trust-fund monsters."
"An ordinary person like you walks in there? What happens?" She painted the picture with relish. "You get humiliated by endless waves of rich kids. You become a stepping stone. Songyang High's clown. School reputation dragged through the dirt."
"I can already see it — you crushed under some mutant prodigy's foot, your cultivator's resolve shattered, lying there like a dead dog."
"Relax. It's a mana contest, not a cage fight. Losing isn't shameful."
"First prize is one hundred thousand yuan. Even top ten gets ten thousand."
Bai Zhenzhen watched his face — the naked greed, the calculating gleam in his eye. *He's lost it. The debt collectors have driven him insane. He actually thinks he can compete.*
Zhang Yu was broke. The thirteen thousand from Xianyun had evaporated — ten thousand to loans, fifteen hundred for rent, leaving him with barely two thousand.
"You need to reach the top ten in mana ranking first," Bai Zhenzhen said. "You're what, sixteenth? How much more do you need to borrow?"
Zhang Yu did the math. Mana 8.3. Rank 16. Rank 10 sat at 9.5. But everyone would improve. He needed at least 10.0 to be safe.
*Eight days. Mana from 8.3 to 10.0. That's 1.7 points. Over 0.2 per day.*
*Can I do it?*
Absolutely. Easily. His 4th-level breathing technique had already pushed him 0.5 points in three days. As it kept leveling up, the gains would accelerate.
*The max skill level in Qi Refining is 10. A Level 4 breathing technique is already beyond what most freshmen reach in their entire first year. And I'll keep pushing — 8, 9, 10. Levels most students don't hit in three years.*
*In eight days, I'll make it.*
His spirit surged. Then he noticed Bai Zhenzhen's chopsticks darting toward his bowl.
"Bold!" He snapped his chopsticks up to block.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
She disarmed him in three strikes and plucked several pieces of meat from his plate.
*That movement pattern...*
"High School Basic Sword Technique? You already learned it? And adapted it for chopsticks?"
She chewed, barely suppressing a smile. "Is it hard? Doesn't everyone have hands?"
*She got me again.*
She ate the stolen meat, then pushed her tray toward him. Half her meal — untouched, neatly separated. She'd planned this. She always planned this.
"Here. Extra portion."
Zhang Yu pulled the tray over. "Zhenzhen. Don't worry about my pride or face. Given our relationship, you could just wire me money directly."
"I'm leaving for Cram School. Eat slowly."
She walked away. Zhang Yu ate. The food was warm and filling and it made the math easier to bear.
---
Outside the cafeteria, a tall figure stood in the corridor. Over three hundred pounds of muscle. Eyes fixed on the cafeteria doors.
When Zhang Yu emerged, Zhao Tianxing followed.
Zhang Yu crossed the street into a stationery shop. Zhao Tianxing's mind raced. *Is this where he buys his supply?*
---
*New terms: Distraction Rate (走神率) — metric tracking student focus during meditation. Mana Competition (法赛) — city-wide high school mana contest. Celestial Spirit Root (天灵根) — premium cultivation enhancement equipment. Spirit Root (灵根) — cultivation aid. Teacher Yan (严老师) — Mana class instructor.*