Chapter 49: Top Ten!

At the magic competition venue.

In the area occupied by Ziyun High School.

Le Mulan's forehead was covered in dense beads of sweat.

By this moment, she had completed her fourth mana oscillation. That mass of repeatedly ravaged mana seemed to have transformed into a hazy white mist, floating and sinking within her dantian, becoming increasingly difficult to control.

"Three more... just three more and I'll succeed."

...

Song Hailong's breathing grew increasingly heavy.

A vast surge of mana, like layers of white clouds, rose from his dantian and gradually formed a vortex.

"The final mana oscillation."

"As expected, in the end, the winner is still me..."

Boom!

Boom!

A sudden roar erupted from the distance.

Song Hailong's expression changed abruptly.

Had someone actually beaten him to it?

No... that wasn't it... He quickly realized something, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes: "It's two people? Two people were actually faster than me?"

In the distance, Xiong Bufan pressed his palms together. Wisps of mana, resembling white cloud vapor, surged from his claws and coalesced into a mass. It made him look as if he were clutching a lively cloud, though the cloud quickly began to dissipate, clearly lacking endurance.

But he didn't look at that; instead, he turned his head toward the direction where the roaring sound originated.

"Only one step slower than me? Is it from Bailong High or Ziyun High?"

Xiong Bufan watched the white gas soaring into the sky, condensing into an unyielding pillar of cloud, and a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes: "What the hell? It's just a competition; everyone is aiming for speed. Why did he train his protective astral qi so well?"

"That's such a show-off move!"

In the competition arena of Songyang High School.

Zhang Yu held his palms open. Streams of white airflow surged wildly from his palms, drifting straight toward the sky like rising white signal smoke, attracting more and more attention in an instant.

After Zhang Yu had used his maximum speed to clumsily force through a single iteration of the "Infinite Cloud Hand" technique—and naturally failed to convert any astral qi from it—he felt that he had mastered the technique.

With a single thought, his qi followed his intent. Streams of mana completed seven consecutive oscillations, transforming into vigorous astral qi that erupted from his palms, ultimately creating the scene before them.

Watching this, Teacher Yan clenched her fist in excitement, then quickly pulled out her phone and began snapping a flurry of photos toward Zhang Yu's direction.

Teacher Yan thought to herself: *Is Zhang Yu's talent for mana control really this astonishing? It seems the previous mana exams failed to reflect this at all.*

Recalling Zhang Yu's mana improvements during this period, she sighed inwardly, thinking that it was likely this very improvement in mana control that had greatly enhanced his breathing efficiency.

Watching this scene, Bai Zhenzhen also showed a look of moved emotion, feeling a sense of parental comfort: "The child has grown up."

A moment later, the results for the third stage of the magic competition surfaced one after another.

Xiong Bufan of Red Tower High took first place.

Zhang Yu of Songyang High took second place.

Song Hailong followed closely behind in third.

Le Mulan of Ziyun High was pushed down to fourth.

As the third stage gradually concluded, the total scores for the magic competition were released for each student.

The many students looked at the final total rankings with varying expressions.

1st Place: Song Hailong, Bailong High, Total Score: 290 2nd Place: Le Mulan, Ziyun High, Total Score: 287 3rd Place: Xiong Bufan, Red Tower High, Total Score: 285

The three prestigious schools still monopolized the top three rankings, maintaining a massive gap between themselves and all other contestants.

But at this moment, at least the eyes of the vast majority of students in the arena were not on the top three, but were concentrated on the fourth-place finisher.

4th Place: Zhang Yu, Songyang High, Total Score: 273

Although Songyang High was also a key school, appearing in the top ten amidst the names of the three prestigious schools felt incredibly jarring.

It was as if a crack had been forcibly torn through a dense, impenetrable wall of dark clouds.

"Fourth place... how much was the prize money again?"

Looking at the final rankings, the corners of Zhang Yu's mouth couldn't help but curl upward. He was already contemplating how much the prize for fourth place would be.

He was very satisfied with this ranking.

After all, while he was confident that he would eventually surpass these opponents, in terms of current actual strength, he truly was temporarily inferior to the top students of the three prestigious schools.

He still needed more time to develop.

To have squeezed into fourth place on this trip, he had to marvel that it was a manifestation of A-Zhen, combined with Yu's filial piety, and most importantly, his own perseverance.

Qian Shen stared fixedly at Zhang Yu. He remembered clearly that Zhang Yu's monthly exam score was clearly 620—six points lower than his own.

Yet, an existence with a score of 620 was actually ranked alongside the high-tier, high-caste, ultimate monsters from the three prestigious schools who scored above 650?!

"It's happening again... it was like this at the art exhibition too. This Zhang Yu always manages to perform beyond what his scores suggest he is capable of."

He held his head, his eyes still full of disbelief: "It's as if the six-subject 700-point evaluation system can no longer perfectly express the extent of his evolution."

"This man..." Qian Shen stared intensely at Zhang Yu, and a thought suddenly surged in his mind that even surprised himself.

"This man, who cannot be perfectly expressed by scores... in the future, he might trigger another reform of the high school scoring system, making this evaluation system even more perfect."

At this moment, He Dayou, standing nearby, glanced at the head-clutching, muttering Qian Shen and thought: *What kind of madness is this idiot having now?*

He turned his head to look at Zhang Yu, unable to suppress the surging emotions in his heart.

Envy, jealousy... it was impossible not to feel these emotions, especially since everything happening before him was happening to the poor person he looked down upon most.

Thinking of this, a trace of regret even welled up in He Dayou's heart.

"In the end, he's just a pauper."

"It's fine... he's just a pauper."

...

Inside the Ziyun High School rest area.

The competition coach looked at Le Mulan, Lian Tianji, and the others before suddenly speaking: "What do you think about if we try to recruit that Zhang Yu?"

Clearly, after seeing Zhang Yu's performance, the coach wanted to naturalize him.

Lian Tianji said from the side, "Although Zhang Yu doesn't have the Ziyun High lineage, his performance was indeed excellent. I also think it would be good to pull him over."

The so-called "lack of lineage" was a popular hierarchy of contempt within Ziyun High.

It generally referred to one's background in Ziyun Nursery, Ziyun Kindergarten, Ziyun Primary, or Ziyun Junior High.

From left to right, the more Ziyun degrees one possessed, the "purer" their lineage was considered to be.

Le Mulan asked from the side, "Where were his first and second degrees from?"

"I actually did ask him that once," Lian Tianji replied, mentioning Zhang Yu's former primary and junior high schools.

An uncontrollable look of disdain immediately appeared on Le Mulan's face; the "smell of poverty" from those two schools was too strong.

Seeing the change in Le Mulan's expression, Lian Tianji knew there was no chance. He thought to himself: *Then the next time I meet Zhang Yu, it will likely be to compete in a martial arts competition.*

At this thought, a hint of anticipation surfaced in his heart.

...

In front of the restroom.

As soon as Zhang Yu stepped out, he was blocked by a man. The newcomer was Han Xingye, the competition coach from Bailong High.

"Zhang Yu, come to Bailong High." Han Xingye reached out a hand toward Zhang Yu. "With talent like yours, it's a waste to stay at Songyang."

"Although you performed well in this competition, in the future, you will only drift further and further away from us."

Han Xingye was telling the truth.

While most of the most outstanding students in Songyang City were carved up by the three prestigious schools, over time... some would always be left behind in other key schools or even ordinary high schools.

Han Xingye had seen a few students from other high schools who performed exceptionally well in magic competitions during their first year.

But he had never seen a student from another high school perform excellently in magic competitions during their second or third year.

"If you come to Bailong High, I will definitely help you apply for a contract with excellent terms."

Zhang Yu suddenly asked, "If I go to Bailong High, can I get into the Top Ten Universities?"

Han Xingye froze slightly, seemingly caught off guard by the question.

The honest answer was, of course, no. If Zhang Yu went to Bailong High, he would merely become an investment project for the school.

Forget the Top Ten; they were poaching him so he wouldn't participate in the remaining competitions of his first year. After all, these achievements—which were related to Gaokao scores and university interviews—were "gold-plating" projects for the wealthy; they shouldn't be occupied by the poor.

As for university, he would certainly be able to get into a decent university in the future, but it would never be one of the Top Ten.

After all, the conditions at Bailong High were certainly better than at Songyang High, and Zhang Yu would have better development there.

It was just that the slots for the Top Ten... were never intended for the poor.

Just then, Teacher Yan walked over and stepped in front of Zhang Yu, looking at Han Xingye with a guarded expression: "Teacher Han, what are you saying to my student?"

Regardless of whether Zhang Yu was rich or poor, as long as he achieved rankings, it was a testament to her teaching.

Han Xingye gave a helpless smile. They were all coaches who brought students to competitions every year, so he and Teacher Yan were somewhat acquainted.

Caught poaching a student, Han Xingye felt a bit awkward and immediately said to Zhang Yu, "Regardless, it's better than you staying at Songyang High... that, right?"

Teacher Yan was enraged by this.

What "that"? Don't think that just because you didn't say it, I can't guess the insulting words you have for Songyang High!

However, considering the gap between her school and Bailong High, Teacher Yan was actually afraid he might continue to state facts she couldn't refute. She had to interrupt: "Enough. If you have something to discuss, you can talk to me. Please do not harass our students."

Watching Teacher Yan and Zhang Yu walk away, Han Xingye shrugged and thought to himself: *If he is truly clear-headed, he should choose this side.*

*Even if he still can't get into the Top Ten.*

...

"Did you see that?"

"Fourth place! Zhang Yu took fourth place in the total score! Do you realize what fourth place means?"

"Just tell me how much money you plan to invest."

Listening to the noise coming from Bai Zhenzhen's end, Mo Tianyi said helplessly, "Zhenzhen, you don't need to be so excited, I can see it..."

Bai Zhenzhen: "Then hurry up and send the money! Your boss wasn't even this amazing in his first year, was he?"

Mo Tianyi: "The boss has certainly held competition rankings before..."

After a bit of back-and-forth, Mo Tianyi concluded: "Zhang Yu's results are indeed very excellent."

"I admit I gave you guys too little money before."

"I will discuss the situation with the boss and the other seniors and try my best to secure more investment for you."

Bai Zhenzhen was already aware of this and urged, "Just remember to approve the money quickly."

After disconnecting, Mo Tianyi looked at Zhang Yu's fourth-place ranking on the screen. His chest, which should have long since cooled, seemed to warm slightly.

"A truly beautiful performance."

"To be able to break through the suppression of so many wealthy people and reach this rank."

"A pity, it's too late..."

A trace of helplessness and gloom flashed through Mo Tianyi's heart: *If it could have been two years earlier, I would have definitely chosen you.*

On the other side, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself: *Held a ranking in a martial arts competition? I'll have to see exactly which one you are.*