After the greetings, Wu Qingqing pulled out her phone and angled the screen toward Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
On the screen, a glimmer flashed, and a cartoonish boy appeared. "This is Mo Tianyi, from Mount Mang High," she introduced.
Zhang Yu was startled. *Whoa, a 2D avatar person?*
The boy nodded to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen. "Hello, you two. I'm Mo Tianyi. I've checked the surroundings — we can talk freely here."
Zhang Yu studied the phone screen curiously. "Where are you right now?"
Mo Tianyi smiled slightly. "I'm in the Spirit Realm. But the Spirit Realm is connected to the network, so I can reach you."
Then his expression turned serious. "Zhang Yu, I need to ask you something. Has Starfire True Person taken you on as a disciple?"
Zhang Yu was about to speak when Bai Zhenzhen stepped forward, shielding him. "He hasn't. I told him about the traps of being a Golden Core disciple and made him turn Starfire down."
Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen in surprise, unsure why she'd say that. But trusting Ah Zhen, he said nothing, just listened quietly.
Hearing this, disappointment flickered across both Wu Qingqing's face and Mo Tianyi's on the screen.
Wu Qingqing couldn't help blurting out: "How could you let Zhang Yu pass up this chance? To get into the Top Ten, Starfire True Person is definitely a powerful ally."
Bai Zhenzhen scoffed. "Some old geezer kicked out of a big sect, with half his cultivation carved away. If he gets divorced and his daughter fleeces him, he might be begging people to apprentice under him at a bridge underpass. How much is even left for us to squeeze? Becoming his pack mule wouldn't do half as well as my daily part-time gig."
"You—" Mo Tianyi sighed. He should've known better than to suggest Bai Zhenzhen go to that art exhibition. Otherwise Zhang Yu might've actually become a Golden Core disciple, and the odds of a poor kid cracking the Top Ten would've ticked up another notch.
Bai Zhenzhen continued: "I came to you today to let you meet Zhang Yu. He's a bit worse than me, sure, but he's also a rare genius — and now he's on the student council's radar too."
Mo Tianyi's feed refreshed as he pulled himself together. He smiled. "I've heard of Zhang Yu's talents. Perfect — this competition is a chance to see them for ourselves."
"That's it?" Bai Zhenzhen said, annoyed. "How about some real cash investment?"
Mo Tianyi said helplessly: "We're all poor. Resources are limited. You know all our focus is on the Boss — we don't have much in hand. This is a little token of appreciation from me. Don't think it's too little..."
With that, he transferred her 2,000 yuan.
Zhang Yu watched the scene. *Well, well. So Ah Zhen dragged me here to beg for money today.* But it looked like this "anti-rich alliance" was dirt poor, barely able to give anything.
Bai Zhenzhen frowned at the transfer notification. "Only 2,000?"
She knew who they meant by "the Boss" — the poor genius with the best grades, the best talent, the best odds, the one everyone believed was most likely to break through the ceiling and enter a Top Ten school. That poor genius had earned these poor students' trust, getting them to scrimp and save and pour all their resources into him. They all hoped that if this genius got into a top university and joined a great sect, he'd carry everyone up with him and slowly pry open the net sprawled over Songyang City.
Even dragging Bai Zhenzhen to that art exhibition last time — in her eyes — probably wasn't really to help her, but in hopes that if she became a Golden Core disciple, she'd use that status to help the Boss.
Bai Zhenzhen said: "Didn't we agree to watch each other's backs, to share a common fate? You talk one thing and do another? I've paid my dues for nothing?"
Mo Tianyi shook his head with a bitter smile. Compared to the 2,000 yuan dues Bai Zhenzhen paid, this Boss had taken tens of thousands from the pot, easy. If Bai Zhenzhen weren't genuinely gifted — if they didn't think she could pull a lot of attention away from the Boss in the future — they'd never have invested this much.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Wu Qingqing smiled. "Don't be hasty, Zhenzhen. The Boss is at a critical moment. None of us have much to spare. Mo Tianyi handles the money, but he needs the senior members' approval before he can spend any."
"How about this — Zhang Yu's so talented. If he just gets a good ranking this competition, Mo Tianyi and the seniors can wire you the money with a clear conscience."
After some back and forth, Bai Zhenzhen grabbed Zhang Yu and left the stand.
Watching them leave, Wu Qingqing sighed. "Zhenzhen only ever comes to us for money. She treats us like an ATM."
Mo Tianyi said: "When it comes to getting into the Top Ten, her conviction is the strongest of all of us. That's why she's so relentless about money."
Mo Tianyi could tell clearly: Bai Zhenzhen was never counting on the Boss getter into the Top Ten to protect them. She wanted to get in herself.
Mo Tianyi: "I just didn't expect her to bring Zhang Yu along to ask for money this time."
Speaking of Zhang Yu, Wu Qingqing praised: "Up 70 points in a month. Zhang Yu really is impressive. Worth our investment."
Mo Tianyi shook his head. "If he were rich, that performance would be enough to contend for a Top Ten spot. But unfortunately... he's poor."
He let out a sigh. "For a poor man to pry open the sky overhead, being good at monthly exams alone isn't nearly enough... not nearly enough..."
Behind Wu Qingqing, Ye Xianyun had been silently reading her book the whole time, as if nothing outside mattered to her.
---
On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen walked along, talking to Zhang Yu. "Yu Zi, once the competition starts, you better win me some face! At least the top ten — then I can hit them up for money without shame."
*Wait... you were pretty shameless just now asking for money directly.*
Zhang Yu thought about it, then voiced his confusion: "Poor kids united — besides watching each other's backs and pooling money, is there any other way to crack the Top Ten?"
In his view, a few poor students scrimping and saving, even if every one was a prodigy of immortal arts, breaking the rich kids' blockade with that alone... didn't seem realistic.
Bai Zhenzhen explained: "That's exactly what I'm trying to learn from them. From what I know, their Boss should be a sophomore at one of the three elite schools. I don't know how he did it, but he hasn't signed any contract with any school or the student council, hasn't been shut down by a joint strike, and he still has the right to take the college entrance exam. I want to know how he managed it."
"The only way, as far as I can tell, is to keep raising my standing with them, find the Boss, and get him to share the method."
Zhang Yu asked: "And how do you raise your standing?"
Bai Zhenzhen said matter-of-factly: "We're students. The way to raise your standing is exams! Competitions! Results! Whether you're poor or rich, it's the same: whoever performs better gets the investment. It's just this mana competition I'm terrible at. Guess it depends on how far you can climb."
Soon after they returned to Songyang's rest area, Zhang Yu's gaze snagged on someone up in the stands.
"Liang Qin?"
Seeing Liang Qin wave at him as if to cheer him on, Zhang Yu nodded back in greeting.
*What the hell? He followed me all the way to Red Tower High to watch me compete? Bro, are you okay? Now I can never turn my back on you again.*
Liang Qin, watching Zhang Yu from the rest area, curled the corner of his mouth. He pulled out his phone, opened a platform, and got ready to place a bet.
Gambling was, after all, an everyday form of entertainment beloved by Songyang's citizens. Liang Qin's usual platform had a deputy-mayor-endorsed flagship platform on it, and it had it all — almost everything gamblable in Songyang.
A quick search showed him all sorts of high-school competition events. He'd taken the day off to watch the match, of course, to shadow Zhang Yu and collect his pay. But seeing the Mana Competition made his fingers itch to bet.
Right then, Zhang Yu also spotted a promotional flyer drifting down.
"Competing is boring — bet on it instead. New users get a 100-yuan red packet..."
Zhang Yu felt a wave of exasperation. *A gambling ad, marketed right in the arena? Everyone gambles, huh? I'm the weird one for not joining in?*
Bai Zhenzhen saw it too, snatched the flyer, and stared at Zhang Yu. "Yu Zi, don't you touch this stuff."
Zhang Yu said: "I think I've got a real shot at top ten. If I gamble a bit..."
Bai Zhenzhen said sternly: "How much would you bet? And what if you lose?"
Zhang Yu said: "The odds of winning are high..."
Bai Zhenzhen pressed on: "Then winning's an even bigger problem. Your whole view of money would change, because once you've won, you'll always want to win again."
As a Songyang local, Bai Zhenzhen had seen too many people fall to gambling. Even in the news, she'd seen immortals lose everything.
She kept persuading: "I'm afraid you'll get used to relying on it and end up losing yourself. Yu Zi, you really can't touch it."
Her palm gave a light tremor, and the flyer burst into dust.
Zhang Yu took a deep breath, running his Wild Bull Soul-Suppressing Heart Art to suppress the distracting thoughts. "You're right, Ah Zhen. I got greedy. That's something I really shouldn't touch."
Zhang Yu understood the reasoning — he knew it all. It was just that the immense financial pressure had stirred a moment of greed in him just now.
Some time later, a burst of music sounded, and the Mana Competition officially began.
A fleet of Soul Cultivator-controlled drones flew out, delivering all the props the competition needed.
Gasps rose one after another as the contestants laid out the equipment on the field.
"A flying sword!"
"Are we doing sword-flight? The first round is this hard?? No past competition ever tested flying swords!"
"We're doomed — I've never used one!"
A host walked up to a flying sword hovering in midair. "Cold is the sword-light of the Nine Heavens, one sword shakes the Kunxu. Thanks to the Ultimate Slay Nine Heavens Flying Sword for co-sponsoring this competition!"
*What the hell!* Zhang Yu cursed inwardly. *The flying sword company sponsors, and you test flying swords in a mana competition? You have no shame. If the Pleasure Sect sponsored it, would you test dual cultivation? Go ahead, then — dare you?!*