Chapter 44: Flying Sword

Zhang Yu could tell at a glance that the flying swords on the field were completely different from the children's flying swords his original self had bought before; they were clearly not things one could just play around with casually.

Facing the dissatisfied murmurs from the crowd, the host finished the advertisement script with an unchanging expression and began announcing the rules for the first round.

The flying swords floating on the field at this moment were products of "Nine Heavens Flying Swords," a manufacturer of civilian-grade mana flying swords.

They claimed that no knowledge of sword-kinesis techniques was required, nor were there any requirements for Daoist heart levels; one could control the flying swords solely through variations in mana output, testing one's ability to manipulate the swords using mana.

The scabbard of these flying swords acted like a remote control and a mana transmitter; by varying the frequency, type, and magnitude of the mana input, one could control the sword.

The specific content of this round was to have the participating students use the flying swords to strike signal plates hovering in mid-air. The faster the speed and the more accurate the force, the higher the score.

The total score for this round, like the second and third rounds to follow, was 100 points.

The final ranking of this magic competition would be determined by the sum of the scores from all three rounds.

As the operating manuals for the flying swords were distributed, the students were given half an hour of study time.

Behind the Bailong High School team, a middle-aged man in sportswear smiled slightly and said, "So it's still a test of mana control? At least it's not too ridiculous; I thought we'd have to learn sword-kinesis on the spot."

This was Bailong High School's competition coach, named Han Xingye.

Unlike Songyang High School, where magic class teachers acted as competition instructors, Bailong High School had various teachers specifically dedicated to competitions.

Hearing Han Xingye speak, Song Hailong, who was standing nearby, stroked his towering long hair and said casually, "This is the first competition for our class."

"Coach, help me keep an eye out for any noteworthy opponents, especially see how the caliber of this year's Ziyun and Hongta batches is looking."

As Bailong, Ziyun, and Hongta High Schools were the three strongest high schools in Songyang City, if nothing unexpected happened, many of the rivals they would be competing against for the next three years should be present on the field right now.

Han Xingye followed Song Hailong's suggestion readily.

Aside from Song Hailong's excellent grades, it was naturally due to his status as an absolute man of wealth.

This favored child from a great family in Songyang City was a descendant whose KPIs ranked at the top of the family; he could be called the ace son of the Song family's current generation.

Han Xingye nodded, his fingertips sliding repeatedly across his Talisman Book. In the next moment, accompanied by a burst of mana output, he activated the Heaven's Eye Talisman.

This Heaven's Eye Talisman was used to request the Great Deity of Heavenly Knowledge and Myriad Questions from the Department of Ten Thousand People to evaluate the people seen by the eye.

This evaluation aggregated comprehensive and somewhat blurred data on a person, ranging from bank deposits and personal assets to school grades, job performance, and family relationships.

If one found the blurriness unsatisfactory and wanted something more meticulous and detailed, they would need a higher level of faith and to spend more money.

In short, the efficacy of the Heaven's Eye Talisman was simple: the more detailed, the more expensive; the more blurred, the cheaper.

As Han Xingye scanned the entire field, he naturally did not dare to look at detailed evaluations; he was afraid a single glance would bankrupt him. One had to know that such things had happened in the history of Kunxu.

Once the Heaven's Eye Talisman was activated, a flurry of golden light particles converged into Han Xingye's eyes.

As he looked across the venue, different evaluations appeared above the heads of individuals.

*Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning...*

*Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, bankrupt gambler, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning...*

*Not worth mentioning, Jade-like Skin and Bone (Expand Details), not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning...*

"Hmm?"

Han Xingye's gaze shifted as he noticed a girl from Ziyun High School had actually jumped onto the spectator stands.

"Is that Le Mulan from Ziyun? Why did she climb up there? Is she looking at the competition signal plates?"

As he looked closely, the evaluation above her head immediately expanded.

*Jade-like Skin and Bone | Pill Addict | High Caste | Ziyun Loyalist | Aloof Flower*

Being a long-time user of the Heaven's Eye Talisman, although it looked complex at first glance, Han Xingye could roughly guess the meaning after thinking about the blurred evaluations for a moment.

"A high-quality, wealthy individual with a special constitution, highly responsive to pills, excellent grades, fiercely loyal to Ziyun High School, and a complex background."

"Pills? Constitution?"

Han Xingye pondered this, sent the keywords to Song Hailong, and then continued looking at the others present.

While he was busy "male-gazing" at the students on the field, the competition officially began.

The venue was divided into eighteen sub-arenas. Groups of 18 contestants were randomly drawn to take the field, controlling their flying swords to shoot at the signal plates in the air within their respective arenas.

In Han Xingye's eyes, students from ordinary high schools, all marked as "not worth mentioning," took the field. They were like green recruits, clumsily operating their flying swords; hitting one or two signal plates was considered good, and the judges would only award them 10 or 20 points.

"It seems they've never played with flying swords before?"

Han Xingye knew that although this round was nominally a test of mana control, there was a massive difference between having played with flying swords and not.

Particularly regarding the control of space, distance, aim, and speed—even if a first-timer had strong mana control, they would likely struggle to get a high score.

But for students from the three prestigious schools, playing with flying swords was nothing rare.

For instance, the ten students from Bailong High School participating this time had at least four or five flying swords at home.

In fact, as far as he knew, Song Hailong's family possessed an entire sword repository with hundreds of flying swords, and he had played with them countless times.

Meanwhile, aside from the "not worth mentioning" labels, students marked with "Rare" or "Elite" evaluations began to appear under the vision of Han Xingye's Heaven's Eye Talisman.

Han Xingye knew these were typically the top students from various ordinary high schools or the elite students from key high schools.

"Getting 30 or 40 points would be quite impressive."

"Their mana control is poor to begin with, and they haven't played with flying swords. If the quality of Nine Heavens Flying Swords wasn't so good, they probably wouldn't hit a single signal plate."

Thinking of this, Han Xingye felt a sudden urge to consider whether he should buy a Nine Heavens mana flying sword.

Just then, his gaze flickered, and amidst the crowd of "not worth mentioning," "Rare," and "Elite" evaluations, he finally spotted a different evaluation.

*Pure Score Slave*

Han Xingye looked at the person's uniform; it seemed to be a student from Songyang High School.

In the arena, Qian Shen took a deep breath and slowly gripped the scabbard of the flying sword before him.

In the next moment, as he channeled a burst of mana into it, the sword inside the scabbard shot out with a *whoosh*.

The flying sword was entirely blade, lacking a hilt, and rose into the sky like a streak of cold light, shooting toward the signal plates in mid-air.

Although he hadn't played much, Qian Shen had tried his grandfather's mana flying swords a few times.

Following the tips taught by his tutor, he slowly injected mana into the scabbard, controlling the flying sword to hit the signal plates one after another by varying the rhythm of the mana input.

*72 points.*

Seeing his result for this round, Qian Shen breathed a small sigh of relief: "Not bad, should be enough to hold my own."

On the other side, Han Xingye glanced at the score of 72 and shook his head inwardly: "Sigh, Songyang High School is an old-brand key school, yet the students' level is getting worse with every generation."

"Ultimately, it's because they are stuck in their ways. They are unwilling to learn advanced experiences from other schools—like Ziyun High School's score-caste system or our school's low-score slavery system. Their teaching methods have never innovated; how can they keep up with the changing times..."

Just as Han Xingye was thinking this, he saw another contestant with a special evaluation appear.

In his eyes, Lian Tianji from Ziyun High School walked onto the field with the words "Son of Heavenly Diligence" above his head. With a flick of his arm, he shot out his flying sword, scoring 90 points with a series of *swish-swish-swish* sounds.

"It seems to be that Lian Tianji, the one in this Ziyun batch who most closely matches the Heavenly Diligence Mental Method."

As more and more contestants took turns appearing, Han Xingye's eyes darted around, seeing more and more special students.

A "Son of a School Director" from Songyang High School had just appeared, scoring 78 points.

Ziyun High School's "Jade-like Skin and Bone," Le Mulan, appeared and immediately smashed the current high score with a 95, drawing gasps from the crowd.

While Han Xingye was looking around, a woman suddenly caught his attention.

*Sword Addict (Expand Details)*

"Oh? A student from Songyang High School?"

Han Xingye looked at Bai Zhenzhen as she walked onto the field. He knew that people who could have their details "expanded" usually had complex backgrounds, representing impressive origins, strength, or talent, but he hadn't expected to see one among the students of Songyang High School.

His gaze narrowed slightly, and he saw a line of text expand above Bai Zhenzhen's head.

*Sword Addict | Fist Addict | Palm Addict | Blade Addict | Spear Addict | Pill Addict | Score Tyrant | Loan Slave | Card Slave | Anti-Magic Theory | Songyang Hater | She is very poor...*

Looking at the evaluation that one couldn't even finish reading in one breath, Han Xingye was deeply shocked.

He never thought he would feel shocked while looking at a student from Songyang High School, and the reason was simply that the person's composition was too complex, far beyond the norm.

However, in the next moment, his shock subsided slightly, simply because her score was 34.

"I don't know why the evaluation is so long, but judging by this score, this girl is not worth mentioning."

Soon, his attention was drawn away by Song Hailong.

Before this top player from Bailong High School took the field, he removed his towering long hair from his head.

Watching this, Zhang Yu was astonished: "Holy crap! Bald in high school?"

Bai Zhenzhen returned to the rest area with a face full of misfortune. Hearing Zhang Yu's surprise, she pointed out from the side, "That's not a wig; that's an external spiritual root."

"An external spiritual root?" Zhang Yu remembered that such a thing existed, but it was his first time seeing it in reality.

Bai Zhenzhen said enviously, "This isn't like those old-version spiritual roots in school. This kind of external spiritual root is plug-and-play, you can pull it out and swap it whenever you want. Yu-zi, remember this; this is the birthday gift I want most."

Zhang Yu patted Zhenzhen on the shoulder and comforted her, "I can't afford an external spiritual root, but I can satisfy your needs for baldness and wigs."

Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and continued to stare intently at the wig Song Hailong had placed on the chair, thinking about the possibility of swiping it.

But after looking at the surrounding students and teachers, she could only let out a long sigh.

Once Song Hailong took the field, feeling the mana in his body moving as easily as his own limbs, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Installing a spiritual root to increase mana and cause a sudden surge?

What a thought for a pauper.

Song Hailong's purpose for installing an external spiritual root was singular: to train his control over mana during the more turbulent process of breathing in spiritual energy and refining mana.

Only the weak would worry about an uncontrollable surge in mana caused by spiritual energy; for a powerhouse like him, this was the best training opportunity.

He gripped the scabbard with one hand, released a burst of mana from his palm, and the flying sword within shot out like lightning.

Below the stage, Han Xingye watched his student manipulate the flying sword like lightning, slashing through the field to hit 100 points in the blink of an eye, becoming the new high score. A look of pride appeared on his face.

"100 points, only because the total score is capped at 100."

"Given the sheer magnitude of Song Hailong's mana, the intensity of his mana control, and his proficiency with the flying sword, he was limited by the total score in this round."

On the other side, as Bai Zhenzhen returned to the rest area, Teacher Yan's gaze swept over her from time to time.

"Bai Zhenzhen only started practicing the competition content recently, right? Her progress is very fast. Is it talent? Or just a coincidence?"

However, in Teacher Yan's eyes, Bai Zhenzhen's talent for mana was ultimately inferior to Zhang Yu's.

A moment later, when Zhang Yu took the field, she also began to look forward to this student's performance.

In the arena, Zhang Yu gripped the scabbard lightly. As mana was injected bit by bit, he could feel the flying sword inside beginning to vibrate gently.

While waiting below, Zhang Yu had been thinking about how he could maximize his score.

His current situation was like having nimble hands without any disability, only for someone to run up and say: "Oh? Strong finger control? Then let me test you—operate this excavator to open a bottle cap and let's see how good your finger control actually is."

*Damn it, another unfair competition where the wealthy have an absolute advantage.*

Zhang Yu complained inwardly.

"This flying sword feels like a drone or an FPV racer. No matter how exquisite my mana control is, if I've never played with one, I won't be able to control it smoothly."

Thinking about having to maneuver this flying sword back and forth to hit those palm-sized signal plates in mid-air, Zhang Yu felt it would be extremely difficult.

"So, I can't play with traditional flying swords..."