Chapter 41: The Conspiracy and the Start of the Magic Power Competition
When Zhang Yu saw the complex circulation diagram, he was initially a little startled.
But once he actually tried it, he realized—wasn’t this much simpler than the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method he practiced daily?
Compared to the full-body magic power circulation established by the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method, this current route for converting magic power into sharp sword qi was just too simple.
After all, Zhang Yu had already raised his magic power circulation from the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method all the way to level 10, having practiced it a countless number of times.
Practicing this now… was as effortless as a college student schooling kids in a mental math competition.
So when he began to follow the circulation diagram in the projection, guiding his magic power to his right arm, a brief attempt was all it took to feel a sharp aura gush from his fingertips.
This sharp aura couldn’t even be called sword qi, and its power was hardly greater than a utility knife, but Zhang Yu still felt a thrill of excitement.
“Zhen, look! I did it!”
Ugh, Zhang Yu! So cringe!
Teacher Yan immediately looked over, asking in surprise, “Have you learned this before?”
After seeing Zhang Yu shake his head, she remarked with feeling, “It seems you have a real talent for this.”
Having noticed Zhang Yu’s aptitude, Teacher Yan taught with even greater diligence.
She then taught several basic magic power conversion routes—such as heating, cooling, and generating electricity—and watching Zhang Yu master them all in a short time, she nodded repeatedly, full of praise.
“That’s all I’ll be teaching you today. Go home and practice diligently.”
“Don’t forget, same time tomorrow and the day after, I’ll give you two more supplementary lessons.”
“I’ll teach you how to dispel magic power then, as well as magic power intrusion.”
Watching Zhang Yu’s departing figure, Teacher Yan thought to herself, You’d better crush all eight of those kids who didn’t show up for tutoring in the Magic Power Competition.
As for actually placing in the Magic Power Competition? Making it into the top ten? Winning prize money and bonus points for university interviews…
Teacher Yan had never even considered it.
If it were a sports competition, Songyang High School would have a fighting chance.
Although a competition was just a competition and the college entrance exams were what truly mattered, Songyang High School had, after all, produced a city-wide sports champion and had always been a sports powerhouse.
But in any competition outside of athletics, it was almost always the playground of the three great schools. Their only rivals were each other, and even a key high school like Songyang City’s rarely got a look in.
In Teacher Yan’s most optimistic estimation, Zhang Yu would become the best performer among Songyang High School’s ten contestants, making those students who skipped tutoring regret it bitterly and rush to pay her for lessons after the competition ended.
Meanwhile, after leaving the classroom, Zhang Yu found a message on his phone from Zhou Chechen, agreeing to let him continue to honor the loan contract and make his monthly repayments.
After all, Zhou Chechen had previously bought his seven-hundred-thousand-yuan debt, becoming Zhang Yu’s new creditor, but as a gesture of goodwill, he had said Zhang Yu was in no hurry to pay him back each month.
Zhang Yu had discussed the repayments with Zhou Chechen over the phone several times in the last few days; Zhou Chechen had refused a few times but finally agreed to his request, stating that he understood the feeling of not wanting to be in debt.
He agreed?
With a wince of financial pain, Zhang Yu paid this month’s 15,000-yuan loan installment. Though it hurt, he didn’t want to give them a handle on him that could be forcibly acted upon at any time, just as Bai Zhenzhen had warned.
Especially if these wealthy people found out he wanted to break through their blockade and get into one of the Ten Greats, an overdue loan would become a massive vulnerability.
After that 15,000, plus the 3,000 for tutoring, Zhang Yu’s savings had dropped to just over 43,000.
“Sigh, this money disappears so fast.”
“I hope I can earn a good bit from this Magic Power Competition.”
…
Elsewhere.
Just as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were leaving the model class’s classroom to head to Teacher Yan’s for tutoring.
Liang Qin, having just returned from the restroom, walked back in and frowned at Zhang Yu’s empty seat.
After searching the entire floor and finding no trace of Zhang Yu, he couldn’t help but curse inwardly, “He was just in the classroom a moment ago. Where did he run off to?”
“Is this guy avoiding me on purpose?”
“So what if he got lucky and became a Golden Core disciple? Does he have to be so snooty?”
“If you hadn’t become one, you wouldn’t be much stronger than me…”
Fuming, Liang Qin walked out of the building and received a phone call.
Listening to the question on the other end, he answered vaguely, “Yeah, he already went home.”
“Nothing happened all day.”
“Ever since becoming a Golden Core disciple, he’s had a real attitude, always on guard against his classmates like they’re thieves, as if he’s terrified someone will discover the secret to his improvement.”
“I know, I’ll keep an eye on him. Just don’t forget to send the money.”
After hanging up, Liang Qin looked absent-minded for a moment, but a smile spread across his face when the text message confirming the transfer arrived.
The reason for this was simple: he had been especially short on money lately.
Most people at Songyang High School, students and teachers alike, were short on money.
But Liang Qin was even more desperate for cash than the average poor person.
His family’s financial situation had originally been decent. They didn’t live downtown, but not in the distant suburbs either, residing instead in an apartment on the edge of the city’s ring district.
His mother was a homemaker and his father a junior office worker; though supporting his education was a strain, they never had to worry about food or drink.
Things changed a month after he started at Songyang High School.
Perhaps it was the heavy academic pressure, or his gradually falling grades, or the oppression from one top student after another, or maybe it was the blatant or unintentional flaunting of wealth by the rich students, the extreme strictness of the teachers…
Liang Qin himself didn’t know why, but despite having been a top student from elementary through middle school, he suddenly began to lose focus in his high school classes.
He would get halfway through his breathing exercises before he couldn’t resist opening his eyes to scroll through his phone.
During body tempering, he always felt weak and listless.
When studying talismans, he couldn’t help but space out.
He… seemed to be growing sick of school.
And what were the consequences of being sick of school at Songyang High?
The mere thought was suffocating, which only made his condition worse.
It was then that a second-year student he had met by chance introduced him to a way to relax and vent his stress.
The student said, “Go have some fun on this platform.”
Liang Qin hesitated. “Is this for gambling with magic power?”
The other student laughed nonchalantly. “A little gambling is just for fun. If you win, you can relax for a few days and take a break. If you lose, just think of it as putting some pressure on yourself to study harder.”
He clapped Liang Qin’s shoulder and advised, “I had trouble adjusting when I was a first-year too. I just went on here to have a little fun and relax.”
“You don’t need to be scared. For geniuses like us who got into this high school, our willpower is beyond that of ordinary people.”
“As long as you control yourself and don’t get addicted, a little relaxation is harmless. You might even earn some extra magic power…”
Thinking of his self-discipline throughout the years, Liang Qin ultimately couldn’t resist giving it a try.
It was a platform where you could deposit money, place bets, and win magic power.
If you won, you could obtain magic power cultivated by others through a Host Spiritual Root.
If you lost, you either had to help others cultivate magic power through a Host Spiritual Root or pay off the debt with money.
The first bet, Liang Qin lost.
The second, he lost again.
Just when he thought he was going to lose all his money and that such platforms were indeed unreliable, he won 0.3 magic power on his third bet.
To this day, he could still remember the excitement of that moment.
He still remembered the incredible rush of withdrawing the 0.3 magic power from the Host Spiritual Root delivered by the platform.
That feeling, the thrill of his magic power suddenly surging, was something he would never forget.
In the time that followed, he would occasionally place small bets on the platform.
At first, it was just as the upperclassman had said.
If he won, the magic power he gained would relieve the pressure of his magic power classes for several days, making life much easier.
And if he lost, he would work twice as hard to cultivate it back, feeling even more motivated.
“It’s true, as long as I can control myself, this platform is harmless…”
That was what Liang Qin thought two months into the school year.
But now, four months into the school year…
Regret! Regret! Regret!
Every time he thought about how he had secretly used his parents’ bank cards, about the mountain of debt he owed, Liang Qin would jolt awake from his dreams, staring at his bedroom door in terror, as if afraid someone would burst in the next moment to take his dantian, his organs, his very vital energy…
But at this moment, standing at the school gate and looking at the 500-yuans he had just received, Liang Qin’s hands started to itch again.
A moment later, watching the freshly acquired 500 melt away in an instant, Liang Qin was overcome with despair, once again sinking into a state of regret.
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
He comforted himself, “I’ll get more money for following Zhang Yu tomorrow.”
“Next time, I’ll stop the moment I’m up by 300.”
“As long as I use my absolute willpower to control my greed, I can pay back the debt little by little…”
Mulling over his grand plan to patch up his life, Liang Qin started on his way home.
…
In an office at Songyang High School.
Su Haifeng watched the man before him hang up the phone and said, “So you were the one who sent Liang Qin.”
“But that student has become a gambling addict. You can’t trust a word he says.”
The man opposite him smiled faintly.
“I’m just having him keep a bit of an eye on Zhang Yu. He was always just a spare piece, a way to make use of trash. I never expected him to find out anything significant.”
Su Haifeng shook his head.
“Zhang Yu has already spoken with the Student Council. It probably won’t be long before he signs a contract. Are you still not giving up?”
The other man replied coldly, “I was the one who got Zhang Yu in here. Although events have developed somewhat beyond my expectations, I won’t let go so easily.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already received word that Zhang Yu and the Student Council will sign the contract after the next monthly exam.”
“I will hurry up and take care of everything.”
…
In the days that followed, Zhang Yu happily cultivated the Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra, feeling fulfilled and satisfied as he felt his Dao heart level improve bit by bit.
Aside from that, his days were still filled with classes and studying.
He also practiced the techniques he learned from Ms. Yan from time to time in preparation for the Magic Power Competition.
More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the Magic Power Competition finally arrived.
Over those ten-plus days, thanks to his vigorous progress with the level 10 Desolate Ox Soul-Suppressing Mantra, Zhang Yu’s Dao heart level had risen to 2 (42%).
He felt that he would likely have a chance to raise his Dao heart level to 3 around the time of the next monthly exam.
His magic power had also grown steadily under the day-and-night breathing exercises of the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method, now reaching a level of 15.4.
Zhang Yu’s explosive growth in magic power once again astonished the students, but after noticing that his physical strength had barely changed, they could only surmise that he had poured all his energy into spiritual energy absorption and magic power refinement, guessing he must be preparing to go all out in the Magic Power Competition.
On this day, at the entrance of Songyang High School.
Ms. was leading Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, Qian Shen, He Dayou, and the others onto a bus, headed for the venue of the Songyang City First-Year Magic Power Competition.