Chapter 46: Purple Cloud Medicine

A sharp, ear-piercing sound of air friction rang through the arena.

Zhang Yu held his palm high, upon which sat a flying sword spinning at high speed, much like a helicopter propeller.

"I choose you! Rasen Shuriken!"

In the next instant, with a burst of his mana, the rotating flying sword expanded like a massive disc, sweeping from low to high across the signal flags suspended in mid-air.

...

Cultivator (Expand Details)

As Han Xingye’s attention shifted to the expanded text above Zhang Yu’s head, he saw a long string of words.

Cultivator | Sports Scholar | Songyang City Extreme Poverty Population | Debt Slave | Credit Card Slave |???

After seeing that string of evaluations through the Heavenly Eye Talisman, Han Xingye was shocked for the second time today.

"Songyang High School again?"

"Where are they recruiting talent from this year?"

The preceding terms, "Cultivator" and "Sports Scholar," were easy to understand—nothing more than someone who practiced with great discipline and possessed excellent athletic ability.

The next three evaluations were also easy to grasp; they could be summarized in two words: poor.

But it was those final three question marks that truly shocked Han Xingye.

"Question marks?"

"Is it a Concealment Talisman? A Disguise Talisman?"

Since the Heavenly Eye Talisman could investigate one's background, there were naturally counter-measures like Concealment or Disguise Talismans.

But first, how could a person in such poverty afford talismans?

Second, Han Xingye had never seen anyone use a Concealment or Disguise Talisman only to intentionally produce an effect like "???". Wasn't that basically telling everyone exactly what they were hiding?

"These three question marks are quite arrogant."

"Arrogant" and "poor"—two words that shouldn't belong together—were both felt by Han Xingye simultaneously from Zhang Yu's head.

Curiosity piqued, he began to observe Zhang Yu's performance.

Then, he saw the flying sword spinning and soaring into the sky like a disc.

Han Xingye’s gaze sharpened. Watching the high-speed spinning sword create successive vortices and sweep through the floating signal flags like a full moon, a look of astonishment crossed his face.

Then, he chuckled. "Heh, that certainly makes it easier to hit the flags. By using a disc shape, he can sweep through all the flags in just a few moves, compensating for his lack of experience in flying sword maneuvering."

80 Points.

As Han Xingye nodded slightly at this score, he heard many students erupting in dissatisfaction, complaining that Zhang Yu was cheating or violating the rules.

Han Xingye scanned the crowd.

*Insignificant, rare, insignificant, insignificant...* *Insignificant, insignificant, insignificant, rare...* *Insignificant, insignificant, rare, insignificant...*

Looking at the disgruntled students, Han Xingye curled his lip and thought to himself, "A bunch of fools."

"To make a flying sword spin like that while maintaining control without it spiraling out of control, one needs incredibly precise mana control."

"The design of this mana-driven flying sword is meant for straight paths. To make it spin like that, one must constantly change the rhythm of mana input at every single moment."

"This kid is using powerful mana control to make up for his lack of practical flying sword experience."

"80 points isn't just low; it's actually too low."

"The judges probably considered the relationship with the sponsors and didn't want to encourage this method."

Han Xingye glanced at Ziyun High School and Hongta High School. Sure enough, not a single student from the three elite schools stood up to protest; clearly, they could all see the difficulty involved.

In the subsequent rounds, some attempted to mimic Zhang Yu's method, but they all failed, sending their flying swords spiraling wildly out of control.

Fortunately, the referees were on hand to prevent any casualties.

By this time, the students who had originally protested began to realize that Zhang Yu's spinning maneuver was anything but simple.

On his way back, Zhang Yu was lamenting to himself, "This flying sword still doesn't quite support this kind of operation. My mana could clearly increase the rhythm, but the scabbard's command reception frequency has already hit its limit. Otherwise, the score could have been higher."

Clearly, such high-speed rotation had not yet reached the limit of the mana control Zhang Yu had developed through the Level 10 Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method, but it had reached the design limit of the flying sword itself. After all, the sword wasn't designed for such use.

As soon as Zhang Yu returned to the Songyang High School resting area, he immediately received praise from Teacher Yan.

"Zhang Yu, you did very well. Using mana control to compensate for the sword's operational shortcomings... even 80 points is too low."

"As for the complaints from those slackers at the ordinary high schools, treat them like thin air. Don't take them to heart."

Thinking of Zhang Yu's performance, Teacher Yan felt a surge of secret joy. "If he can encounter projects better suited to his strengths in the next two rounds, maybe he can squeeze into the top ten?"

Only those in the top ten of the total competition score received prize money, official rankings, and advantages during university interviews. The high school's level of investment in such students would be vastly different.

The thought that if Zhang Yu actually made the top ten, her year-end bonus would surely increase, made Teacher Yan's mood instantly jubilant.

She casually pointed to the student with the worst score and said, "Bai Zhenzhen, go get Zhang Yu a bottle of water. Zhang Yu, don't be nervous for the next two rounds. Just perform at your normal level..."

Bai Zhenzhen's eyes widened. She shot a glance at the smirking Zhang Yu beside her and could only stand up helplessly to run to the organizers for water.

"Wait, Ah Zhen, let me take a photo first."

"You're going to die, Zhang Yu!"

Slamming the water bottle against Zhang Yu's head, Bai Zhenzhen sat down huffily, thinking to herself, "Dammit, I should have left before the competition started."

"What kind of bullshit magic competition is this? It's just a game for the rich."

"Yu-zi, you'd better make the top ten, otherwise I'll..."

Not far away, He Dayou looked at Zhang Yu's score, a flash of surprise crossing his mind. "His mana control is actually this powerful? Good... good that he's a pauper."

Shortly after, the first round concluded completely. The host stepped onto the stage again, saying with a smile, "Fine pills! Choose Ziyun! Ziyun All-Heart, All-Age pills—take one sip and ten thousand illnesses vanish! Our thanks to the Ziyun Company for co-sponsoring this magic competition."

"All first-aid medicines for the second round will be sponsored by the Ziyun Company..."

As he spoke, the host began announcing the rules for the second round.

This round tested the ability to neutralize specialized mana.

Specifically, after detection patches were applied to the contestants, the judges would inject a stream of specialized mana into them. The goal was to see how long it took for the contestant to neutralize it; the shorter the time, the higher the score.

If it exceeded ten minutes, or if a contestant felt they could no longer endure it, they could immediately take the "Mana-Dissolving Medicine" sponsored by Ziyun Company to eliminate the specialized mana in their bodies.

Furthermore, Ziyun Company had set up temporary medicinal stalls all around the venue, selling various medicines that contestants might need.

The reason Ziyun Company was selling medicine here was because there was another rule for this round.

Medicine consumption was permitted.

Zhang Yu was stunned.

*Holy crap! Are you people even human? To earn sponsorship fees from Ziyun, you're actually encouraging the use of drugs in a competition?*

At the same time, Zhang Yu saw his classmates from Songyang High School beginning to pull things out.

Painkillers, sedatives, focus enhancers... looking at their "triple threat" kit, Zhang Yu realized these guys were well-prepared.

Beside him, Teacher Yan asked concernedly, "Zhang Yu, did you bring medicine?"

"Remember to take it before we start."

Taking medicine during a competition... to Teacher Yan, this was perfectly normal.

Afraid of pain or itching? Chew a painkiller. Lacking willpower? Drink a sedative. Afraid of losing focus during cultivation? Take a bottle of focus enhancer...

In short... if you want to be vigorous on the field, you can't stop the medicine off the field.

That was competition.

Competition meant taking medicine!

Magic competitions had always been a favorite category for pharmaceutical companies to sponsor, so typically at least one round allowed contestants to take medicine, provided it was within the list provided by the organizers. This was also what the referees and Soul-Cultivator assistants would be supervising and checking.

Thus, taking medicine was part of the competition; it was even seen as a demonstration of a high school's depth and resources.

Seeing Zhang Yu's bewildered expression, Teacher Yan helplessly opened her bag. "Look at you, you didn't even prepare medicine for a competition?"

"Luckily, I brought some spares."

As she spoke, Teacher Yan pulled out various bottles and jars from her bag, pouring several doses in front of Zhang Yu.

Looking at Teacher Yan's loving and concerned gaze, Zhang Yu could only helplessly accept the medicine.

*Crap! My body can't handle medicine, can it?*

The original owner of this body had ruined his health by taking medicine. This memory terrified Zhang Yu, making him never dare to take medicine recklessly, at most only using some nerve fillers to supplement sleep.

Coupled with his own incredible talent and massive debts, he had never intended to take random drugs.

While he didn't know if his current body could handle it, he certainly wasn't going to take the risk.

*Taking all this just for a competition... I'm afraid the lifespan I lose will be more than the lifespan I gain from cultivation.*

But feeling Teacher Yan's watchful eyes, he could only nod with an awkward smile, thinking to himself, *I'll just go to the bathroom later and pretend to take it.*

Meanwhile, the entire venue had turned into a medicinal exhibition.

In the Ziyun High School resting area, Lian Tian swallowed a large handful of pills and followed it with a huge gulp of water, washing everything down.

The competition coach beside him looked at his gradually reddening and purpling face and nodded. "Good, you've entered the competition state."

After saying that, he pulled a wooden box from his bag.

As the box opened, ten syringes emitting a faint purple light floated before them.

The coach spoke: "These are Vein-Expanding Injections taken from the Ziyun Laboratory. They can temporarily widen your meridians through blood circulation, accelerating your cultivation efficiency during the round."

"One needle per person. Don't fight over them."

After watching the students each take their injection, he encouraged them, "Everyone must hold on until the end! Our total score isn't far behind Bailong High School. We must catch up in this round!"

"ROAR!"

The crowd, having just finished their medicine and injections, felt an infinite surge of fighting spirit and let out a deafening, thunderous roar.

In the Hongta High School resting area.

The competition coach was holding a panda-like demon-descendant student, scooping handfuls of animal medicine from the side. "Bufan, take another handful. We're currently at the bottom among the three elite schools. If we're like this in the second round, my year-end bonus is gone."

The little panda, Xiong Bufan, extended a paw toward him and gave him the middle finger. "Enough!"

"Stop feeding me!"

"Mmph mmph... you damn... stop feeding me!"

On the other side, in the Bailong High School resting area.

Song Hailong swallowed a large handful of medicine and then looked toward the Ziyun High School area in the distance.

Hearing the roars coming from Ziyun, he snorted coldly. "In a moment, I will be the one to crush all your fighting spirit."

At the same time, the competition coach, Han Xingye, walked over carrying a thermal box and said to the group, "These are Kangling Needles specially prepared by the school. Aim them at your Dantian and inject. Come and get them quickly."

As the thermal box opened, a gust of cold air hit them, revealing two rows of fluorescent syringes.

Song Hailong grinned. Wearing the number 1 on his uniform, he was the first to grab a syringe.

The other students nearby followed the order of the numbers on their chests, taking the syringes from the box and injecting them into their Dantian positions.

Students from other schools watched this scene with intense envy. "Are those Kangling Needles? They are concentrated with spiritual essence and can rapidly restore internal mana. Are they preparing to replenish mana while neutralizing it during the competition?"

Other students were filled with jealousy. "One Kangling needle into the Dantian, and my fate is in my own hands, not heaven... Sigh... I don't know if I'll ever be able to afford a Kangling needle in my lifetime."

Just then, a commotion broke out from a corner of the arena.

A student foaming at the mouth and convulsing was carried out, sparking a wave of discussion.

One student lamented, "An overdose?"

A teacher said disdainfully, "It's not an overdose; it's just insufficient drug resistance. You still need to train!"

Another teacher clapped his hands, urging, "Stop meddling in other people's business! Focus on the competition!"

As everyone's preparations were completed, the second round officially began.