Chapter 45: Purple Cloud Supplements
A sharp, piercing shriek of friction cut through the air of the stadium.
Zhang Yu’s palm was held high, and upon it rested the flying sword, spinning at an incredible speed like the rotor of a helicopter.
I choose you! Spiral shuriken!
The next moment, he expelled a breath of magic power, and the spinning flying sword shot out like a colossal disc, sweeping from low to high toward the signal plates hanging in midair.
…
Ascetic (expand details)
As Han Xingye’s attention focused on the expanded text above Zhang Yu’s head, he saw a long string of words.
Ascetic / Athlete / Extremely Impoverished Resident of Songyang City / Debt-Slave / Card-Slave / ???
After seeing the string of evaluations above Zhang Yu’s head through the Heaven’s Eye Talisman, Han Xingye was stunned for the second time that day.
“Songyang High School again?”
“Where in the world did they recruit their talent this year?”
The preceding “Ascetic” and “Athlete” were easy enough to understand. It simply meant he was diligent and self-disciplined in his training, as well as being athletically gifted.
The following three evaluations were also simple to grasp, summing up to just two words: poor man.
But it was the final three question marks that truly shocked Han Xingye.
“Question marks?”
“A concealment talisman? A disguise talisman?”
If there was a Heaven’s Eye Talisman that could inspect one’s status, there were naturally countermeasures to balance it, such as concealment or disguise talismans.
But firstly, how could such a poor person afford to use talismans?
And secondly, Han Xingye had never seen anyone use a concealment or disguise talisman only to deliberately create this “???” effect; wasn’t that just blatantly advertising that you were hiding something?
“These three question marks… how arrogant.”
Arrogance and poverty, two words that should not belong together, were what Han Xingye simultaneously perceived from the text above Zhang Yu’s head.
Thus, he grew curious about Zhang Yu’s performance.
Then, he saw it—the flying sword that spun to life and soared into the sky like a disc.
Han Xingye’s gaze sharpened as he watched the rapidly spinning flying sword stir up cyclones of air, sweeping through the signal plates like a full moon, a trace of astonishment crossing his face.
Then he began to laugh.
“Heh, that certainly is an easier way to hit the signal plates. By turning it into a disc, he can sweep through all of them in just a few passes, compensating for his lack of experience in sword manipulation.”
80 points
Han Xingye was nodding slightly at the score when he heard numerous students cry out in protest, complaining that Zhang Yu had cheated or violated the rules.
Han Xingye’s eyes swept over them.
Not worth mentioning, rare, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning…
Looking at the disgruntled students, Han Xingye curled his lip and thought, A bunch of fools.
To make a flying sword spin like that while maintaining control, preventing it from flying off and crashing wildly, requires incredibly fine magic power control.
This magic flying sword was designed for straight-line trajectories. To make it rotate like that, he would have had to constantly alter the rhythm of his magic power input every single instant.
That kid used his formidable magic power control to make up for his lack of experience in sword handling.
Eighty points isn’t high at all; if anything, it’s too low.
The judges probably took the sponsors into account and didn’t want to encourage this kind of technique.
Han Xingye glanced over at Purple Cloud High and Red Pagoda High. Sure enough, not a single student from the three great schools voiced any opposition. It was clear they could all see the difficulty involved.
In the subsequent matches, some competitors tried to imitate Zhang Yu’s method, but every one of them failed, sending their flying swords careening off course.
Thankfully, the referees were watching closely, preventing any injuries.
At this point, the many students who had initially protested gradually came to realize that Zhang Yu’s spinning sword technique was anything but simple.
On his way back, Zhang Yu lamented internally, This flying sword really isn’t built for this kind of maneuver. My magic power could have pushed the tempo even faster, but the sheath’s command reception frequency was at its limit. Otherwise, my score could have been higher.
Evidently, the high-speed rotation was still well within the limits of the magic power control he had honed through the tenth level of the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method, but it had reached the design limits of the flying sword itself, which had never been intended for such use.
The moment Zhang Yu returned to the Songyang High School rest area, he was immediately met with praise from Teacher Yan.
“Zhang Yu, you did very well. Using magic power control to compensate for your lack of sword handling skills—that score of eighty was too low.”
“As for the complaints from those underachievers from ordinary high schools, just treat them like air. Don’t pay them any mind.”
Teacher Yan thought about Zhang Yu’s score, inwardly delighted.
If the next two rounds have events that play more to his strengths, could he perhaps squeeze into the top ten?
Only the top ten in the Magic Power Competition’s overall score would receive prize money and an official ranking, something that would be useful in university interviews. The high school’s valuation of such an achievement would be completely different.
The thought of her year-end bonus increasing if Zhang Yu actually managed to break into the top ten sent Teacher Yan’s spirits soaring.
She casually pointed to the student with the lowest score from this round and said, “Bai Zhenzhen, go get a bottle of water for Zhang Yu. 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 snickering Zhang Yu beside her and could only stand up reluctantly to go fetch water from the organizers.
“Wait, Zhen, let me take a picture.”
“You wanna die, Zhang Yu?”
Bai Zhenzhen hurled the water bottle at his head and sat down in a huff.
Damn it all, I should have just left before the competition started.
What a load of crap, this Magic Power Competition. It’s just a game for rich people.
You’d better make it into the top ten, Yu-boy, or else I’ll…
Not far away, He Dayou looked at Zhang Yu’s score, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
His magic power control is that incredible? Good thing… good thing he’s a poor ghost.
Soon after, the first event concluded completely. The host returned to the stage, smiling broadly as he announced, “For good boosters, choose Purple Cloud. Wholehearted, for all ages, Purple Cloud Supplements. One dose cures all ills. We thank the Purple Cloud Company for their joint sponsorship of this Magic Power Competition.”
“All first-aid drugs for the upcoming second round will be sponsored by the Purple Cloud Company…”
As he spoke, the host began to announce the rules for the second event.
This round would test the ability to neutralize specialized magic power.
The process involved attaching sensor patches to the competitors, after which a judge would inject a stream of specialized magic power. The competitor would then be timed on how long it took them to neutralize it; the shorter the time, the higher the score.
If more than ten minutes passed, or if a competitor felt they could not endure it, they could immediately take a magic suppressant sponsored by the Purple Cloud Company to eliminate the specialized magic power from their system.
In addition, the Purple Cloud Company had set up temporary stalls all around the venue, selling various drugs that the competitors might need.
The reason the Purple Cloud Company was selling drugs here was because of another rule for this second round.
In this round, taking drugs was permitted.
Zhang Yu was stunned.
What the hell! Are you people even human? You’re encouraging drug use in a competition just to earn sponsorship money from the Purple Cloud Company?
At the same time, Zhang Yu saw his classmates from Songyang High School begin to pull out their own supplies.
Painkillers, tranquilizers, focus enhancers… watching them take out their three-piece sets, Zhang Yu suddenly realized they had come prepared.
Beside him, Teacher Yan asked with concern, “Zhang Yu, did you bring your drugs?”
“Remember to take them before it starts.”
Taking drugs during a competition… this seemed perfectly normal to Teacher Yan.
Afraid of pain and itching, chew a painkiller. Lacking willpower, drink a tranquilizer. Worried about losing focus while circulating your technique, down a bottle of focus enhancer…
In short… to be a dragon on the field, you had to stay drugged off the field.
This was competition.
To compete was to take drugs!
Magic power competitions had always been a favorite sponsorship target for pharmaceutical companies, so there was usually at least one round where competitors were allowed to use drugs, as long as they were on the organizer’s approved list. This was something the referees and soul cultivator assistants would be supervising and inspecting.
Therefore, taking drugs was a part of the competition, even a reflection of a high school’s resources.
Seeing Zhang Yu’s dumbfounded expression, Teacher Yan sighed and opened her bag.
“Look at you, coming to a competition without even preparing your drugs?”
“Good thing I brought a spare set.”
With that, Teacher Yan pulled out various bottles and jars from her bag, pouring out a few doses and handing them to Zhang Yu.
Facing Teacher Yan’s loving and concerned gaze, Zhang Yu had no choice but to accept the drugs.
Crap! This body can’t take drugs, can it?
The original Zhang Yu had ruined his health by taking drugs, and the memory terrified the current Zhang Yu into never touching them, at most using some neural fillers to reduce his need for sleep.
Coupled with his own astonishing talent and massive debt, he never had any intention of carelessly taking drugs.
Although he wasn’t sure if his current body would have problems with these substances, he certainly had no intention of taking the risk.
Taking all these drugs for a mere competition… I’m afraid the life I gain from cultivation won’t be enough to offset the cost.
But feeling Teacher Yan’s expectant gaze on him, he could only force a smile and nod, thinking, I’ll just pretend to take them in the bathroom later.
Meanwhile, the entire stadium had transformed into a drug exhibition.
In the Purple Cloud High School rest area, Lian Tianji abruptly tossed a large handful of pills into his mouth, followed by a big gulp of water to wash them all down.
The coach beside him watched as his face gradually turned reddish-purple and nodded.
“Good. You’re entering your competition state.”
After speaking, he took out a wooden box from his bag.
As the box opened, ten syringes glowing with a faint purple light were revealed to everyone.
The coach announced, “This is the Meridian Expansion Injection from the Purple Cloud Labs. It will temporarily widen your body’s meridians as it circulates through your blood, accelerating your technique circulation efficiency in a moment.”
“One shot per person, no fighting over them.”
After watching each student administer their injection, he rallied them, “Everyone must hold out until the very end. Our total score isn’t far behind White Dragon High. We must catch up in this round!”
“ROAR!”
Having just taken their drugs and injections, the students felt an infinite fighting spirit surge within them and let out a deafening roar.
In the Red Pagoda High School rest area.
The coach was holding a panda-like demon-kin student, scooping up handfuls from a nearby bag of veterinary drugs.
“Bufan, have some more. We’re at the bottom of the three great schools right now. If the second round goes like this too, my year-end bonus is finished.”
The little panda, Xiong Bufan, raised a paw and gave him the middle finger.
“Enough!”
“Stop feeding me!”
“Mmph… you bastard… stop feeding me!”
On the other side, in the White Dragon High School rest area.
Song Hailong swallowed a large handful of drugs, then looked toward the Purple Cloud High School section in the distance.
Hearing the roars coming from their direction, he snorted coldly.
“In a little while, I will personally crush all of your fighting spirit.”
At that moment, Coach Han Xingye walked over carrying a thermos.
“This is the Spirit Recovery Needle, specially prepared for you by the school,” he said to the group. “Inject it into your dantian. Hurry up and get one.”
As the thermos opened, a wave of cold air washed over them, revealing two rows of fluorescent syringes.
Song Hailong grinned, and as the student with the number 1 printed on his uniform, he was the first to pick one up.
The other students around them followed suit according to the numbers on their chests, taking the syringes from the thermos and plunging the needles into their dantian.
Students from other schools watched this scene with immense envy.
“Is that the Spirit Recovery Needle? It’s concentrated spiritual energy essence that can rapidly restore magic power. Are they planning to replenish their magic power while simultaneously neutralizing the specialized magic power during the event?”
Another student’s face was full of jealousy. “A Spirit Recovery Needle to the dantian, my fate is mine and not for the heavens to decide. Sigh… I wonder if I’ll ever be able to afford one in my lifetime.”
Just then, a commotion erupted from a corner of the stadium.
A student, foaming at the mouth and convulsing, was carried out, sparking a wave of discussion.
One student lamented, “An overdose?”
A teacher scoffed, “There’s no such thing as an overdose, only insufficient drug resistance. They still need more training!”
Another teacher clapped his hands, urging, “Stop minding other people’s business! Focus on the competition!”
As everyone’s preparations gradually concluded, the second event officially began.