On the bus.
Since the Mana Competition was held at different times for seniors, juniors, and freshmen, the bus Songyang High School had rented carried only their year's contestants.
He Dayou looked toward Zhang Yu, thinking about how hard the guy had been grinding lately. Something was on his mind.
Zhang Yu's mana had hit 15.4, making him the top scorer of his grade. But He Dayou couldn't help dismissing it — the guy had probably dumped every waking moment into raising mana.
"He's doing this for the competition?"
"The Mana Competition isn't just about who has more mana."
He Dayou figured that if he hadn't been so focused on building a solid foundation — making his mana control effortless — his family could've easily thrown enough money at the problem to make him first in the grade. That was why, at Songyang High School, the rich kids only really pulled away from the poor ones in their second year. Their families' experience taught them to focus on fundamentals in the first year.
Chasing raw mana numbers too hard could leave you with terrible control, and you might never recover.
*In a Mana Competition, mana level is just the baseline. What really decides the ranking is control...*
He sighed inwardly. *In the end, unless it's a sports competition — those, Songyang's good at — the Mana Competition is just us going through the motions. Background noise for the freaks from the three elite schools.*
On the other side of the bus.
Zhang Yu watched Bai Zhenzhen, who had her eyes closed resting. "So? Can you tell me who we're meeting now?"
Bai Zhenzhen shot him a look, pulled out her phone, and angled it toward him.
Zhang Yu saw a line of text on the screen: **Ears on the bus. Chat on phone.**
He quickly typed: "So who are you bringing me to meet at this competition?"
Bai Zhenzhen: "Poor kids from other schools."
Zhang Yu's eyes flickered. "You mean... there are poor students at other schools thinking the same way we are?"
Bai Zhenzhen: "Yes."
Zhang Yu: "Which school?"
Bai Zhenzhen sent a female symbol ☥ and then a ☻~.
Zhang Yu blinked, surprised. "A female black person?"
He wondered if Kunxu actually had Bl—wait, no. Did they have Black people here?
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes, having no idea what he meant by "female black person." She typed back: "I meant girls' school students and Soul Cultivators."
Hearing that, Zhang Yu got it immediately.
Right. How many rich people would get a sex-change operation just to get into high school — or abandon their physical bodies entirely?
Mount Mang High School and the Holy Maiden's Academy were natural fortresses of the poor. The top students there had to be poor too. After busting their asses to graduate with stellar grades, how could they not want to break through the ceiling and get into a top university?
Wait.
Zhang Yu typed: "Soul Cultivators can compete?"
Bai Zhenzhen shook her head. "They're probably not competing. They're here to assist the judges, cover the event, maybe be audience."
---
The bus rolled slowly into a high school campus.
This was Red Tower High School — one of Songyang City's three elite schools and the venue for today's competition.
The Songyang High School group followed Teacher Yan into an indoor gymnasium. Students were already waiting inside, wearing all sorts of colorful uniforms from different high schools across Songyang.
The moment Songyang's team stepped in, countless eyes swept toward them.
Someone sighed: "Songyang's here too? Another powerhouse school."
Someone studied them carefully: *Their aura is intense. So this is what key-school students feel like?*
And someone thought gleefully: *Key school or not, you're still here to be background noise with the rest of us.*
Once they reached the designated prep area, Teacher Yan started reminding everyone about the key points.
"Three events today. Watch your mana distribution. Don't be nervous — treat it like a normal practice session..."
After Teacher Yan dismissed them to rest and use the bathroom, Qian Shen rushed over to check the contestant list. Phone in hand, he cross-referenced names and started looking up scores.
"White Dragon High School — Song Hailong. Last monthly exam: 682."
"Purple Cloud High School — Yue Mulan. Last monthly exam: 678."
"Shiiit..."
The more he checked, the sharper his intake of breath. "Each one's a monster."
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu was dragging Bai Zhenzhen to the bathroom when he suddenly felt a heavy pressure in the air.
The Spiritual Machine was stirring!
It was like jumping from the shallow end straight into the deep sea.
They both spun around to look at the source of the pressure.
A group in white uniforms was walking slowly into the gym. Each uniform bore a different number, from 1 to 10.
Zhang Yu was confused. "What's this? The Ten Blades just walked in?"
He didn't know this was White Dragon High School's signature uniform — each person's clothes displayed a number. After every monthly exam, the numbers on their chests and backs updated to show their rank. Those ten digits 1 through 10 represented the top ten students of their grade.
But Zhang Yu could tell that the source of the Spiritual Machine disturbance was the one leading the group.
A giant of a man, two and a half meters tall, built like a titan, with a shock of wild hair standing straight up.
Seeing everyone staring at him, the giant grinned sheepishly, rubbing his hair. "Sorry, everyone. I just got a new Heaven Spiritual Root — not used to it yet. I'll try to keep it under control..."
He let out a low grunt, and the pressure in the air slowly subsided, returning to normal.
Bai Zhenzhen watched the scene, speechless. "Flaunting his wealth the second he walks in. Despicable rich asshole."
But thinking about how she'd probably lose to these people in the coming events, she felt a wave of helplessness. After all those days of cramming and practice, she'd confirmed one thing: her talent in pure mana control was nowhere near Zhang Yu's. She was just here to fill a slot.
Nearby, Qian Shen stared at White Dragon High's uniforms, matching faces to the scores he'd just looked up.
"Song Hailong," he muttered to himself. "White Dragon High's standard-bearer. A 682-point ultimate monster. Probably a species that's already achieved reproductive isolation from the rest of us."
He Dayou raised an eyebrow at Song Hailong. "Show-off. But bringing a Heaven Spiritual Root to a competition? His mana's bound to surge — he should have a hell of a time controlling it."
Not long after White Dragon High's arrival, the air outside the gym suddenly screamed with rushing wind. A massive flying boat hovered over the venue.
At the sight, the poor kids from ordinary high schools gasped for breath — a wave of wealth-scent had just swept through.
A group of students in purple uniforms descended from the flying boat. Zhang Yu recognized one of them — Lian Tianji, who'd been at the art exhibition with him. They'd exchanged contacts afterward, and Zhang Yu often saw him in the top three of the daily step-count rankings.
Lian Tianji seemed to spot Zhang Yu too, smiled, and waved. Then he said something to the girl beside him and pointed in Zhang Yu's direction.
The girl looked like ice itself. She followed Lian Tianji's gesture, gave Zhang Yu a distant nod.
*That's what a real ice-cold beauty looks like,* Zhang Yu thought. *Not a fake like Ah Zhen.*
Qian Shen was also eyeing the Purple Cloud High team, searching for photos of Le Mulan online and comparing. He finally locked onto the cold girl beside Lian Tianji.
"That must be Yue Mulan from Purple Cloud High," he whispered. "A 678-point high-caste existence. Any living thing below 650 points is probably indistinguishable from dirt in her eyes."
Soon after White Dragon and Purple Cloud arrived, the host school's team — Red Tower High — finally showed up, fashionably late.
But when Zhang Yu spotted the most eye-catching member of their group, he blurted out in surprise: "A monster?"
Bai Zhenzhen immediately hopped aside, pointing at Zhang Yu. "Hey hey hey! Watch your language. They're Songyang citizens of demonic heritage."
The student was wearing a school uniform, but the red oily fur, the bushy tail, the round little face — it was unmistakably a red panda.
Zhang Yu stared at the student who looked exactly like a red panda. A very weak vibe washed over him.
"How the hell did a red panda get into Red Tower High? It can't be on pure charm, can it?"
Even though the red panda did have a pure, innocent smile, Zhang Yu was sure the kid had to have some special talent to get into a key school and join the competition.
Bai Zhenzhen shrugged beside him. "Demonic-heritage citizens are usually talented in physical strength, but look at him... I feel like I could knock out three of him with one punch."
"So he must have a talent for mana, then?"
Chatting away, they split into different bathrooms.
After finishing up, Bai Zhenzhen dragged Zhang Yu around until, following her phone messages, they arrived at a viewing platform on the second floor.
Two girls were already waiting. Zhang Yu recognized one — Wu Qingqing from the Holy Maiden's Academy, who'd also been at the art exhibition.
His gaze shifted to the other girl. *Another Holy Maiden's big shot?*
"Hey, long time no see!" Wu Qingqing came over to greet Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. The girl behind her seemed oblivious to the outside world — one hand held a book she was reading, the other pinched Wu Qingqing's clothes as she followed along.
It was like if Wu Qingqing led her straight into oncoming traffic, she'd still just follow, reading her book.
"These two are Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu — poor geniuses from Songyang High."
After the introductions, Wu Qingqing pushed the reading girl forward. "This is Ye Xianyun, our Holy Maiden's Academy's top freshman."
She added proudly: "And she's the only girl in our elite class who hasn't had the surgery."
Zhang Yu: ...What exactly are you proud of?
Ye Xianyun looked up, nodded silently to both of them, then went right back to her book.