Chapter 46: Purple Cloud Medicine

Chapter 46: Purple Cloud Medicine

A sharp, piercing sound of air friction echoed through the venue.

Zhang Yu raised his palm, which held the rapidly spinning Flying Sword, resembling a helicopter's rotor.

You’re the one! Spiral Shuriken!

In the next moment, he released a burst of mana, and the spinning Flying Sword, like a massive disc, swept from low to high, targeting the Signal Markers in the air.

...

When Han Xingye focused on the information above Zhang Yu’s head, he saw a long string of text.

Ascetic | Athletic Scholar | Extremely Poor from Songyang City | Loan Slave | Card Slave | ???

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

"Another Songyang High School student?"

"Where are they finding all these talents this year?"

The first few labels—Ascetic and Athletic Scholar—were easy to understand. They simply meant he was diligent in cultivation and excelled in sports.

The next three labels were also straightforward, summing up to one word: poor.

But the three question marks were what truly shocked Han Xingye.

"Question marks?"

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

While the Celestial Eye Talisman could reveal information, there were also countermeasures like Concealment and Disguise Talismans.

But how could a poor person afford such talismans?

Moreover, Han Xingye had never seen anyone who used Concealment or Disguise Talismans to deliberately create such a mysterious effect. Wasn’t that just telling everyone they were hiding something?

"These three question marks are so arrogant."

Arrogance and poverty, two words that shouldn’t go together, were now both felt from Zhang Yu.

This piqued Han Xingye’s curiosity about Zhang Yu’s performance.

Then he saw the Flying Sword spinning like a disc, rising into the air.

Han Xingye’s gaze sharpened as he watched the high-speed spinning Flying Sword create vortices, sweeping through the Signal Markers in the air. His face showed a hint of surprise.

Then he smiled. "Heh, it’s indeed easier to hit the Signal Markers this way. The disc shape can sweep through all the markers in a few swings, compensating for the lack of experience in controlling the Flying Sword."

80 points

Seeing this score, Han Xingye nodded slightly. But then he heard complaints from many students, accusing Zhang Yu of cheating and breaking the rules.

Han Xingye glanced around.

Not worth mentioning, rare, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning

Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, rare

Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, rare, not worth mentioning

Looking at the dissatisfied students, Han Xingye sneered to himself: "A bunch of fools."

"To make the Flying Sword spin like that while maintaining control and preventing it from flying out of control requires extremely precise mana control."

"The design of this mana-powered Flying Sword is straightforward. To make it spin like that, one must constantly adjust the mana input rhythm at every moment."

"This guy is using his strong mana control to make up for his lack of experience in operating the Flying Sword."

"80 points is not high; it’s actually low."

"The judges must have considered the relationship with the sponsors and didn’t want to encourage this approach."

Han Xingye glanced at Ziyun High School and Hongta High School. Sure enough, none of the students from the top three schools objected, clearly recognizing the difficulty involved.

In the subsequent matches, some tried Zhang Yu’s method but failed, sending their Flying Swords flying out of control.

Fortunately, the judges were on standby to prevent any injuries.

At this point, the many students who had initially opposed Zhang Yu began to realize that his spinning Flying Sword technique was not as simple as it seemed.

On his way back, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "The Flying Sword still doesn’t fully support this kind of operation. My mana control is capable of a faster rhythm, but the sword’s response frequency has reached its limit. Otherwise, the score could have been even higher."

Clearly, such high-speed spinning was not within the design parameters of the Flying Sword, which had not been created for this kind of use.

When Zhang Yu returned to the Songyang High School rest area, he immediately received praise from Teacher Yan.

"Zhang Yu, you did well. Using your mana control to compensate for the lack of Flying Sword experience, 80 points is actually too low."

"As for the complaints from those slackers from ordinary high schools, just ignore them."

Thinking about Zhang Yu’s performance, Teacher Yan felt secretly pleased. "If he performs well in the next two rounds, he might even make it into the top ten."

Only the top ten in the Mana Championship receive prizes and recognition, which can influence university interviews. The high schools take this very seriously.

Thinking of the possibility of Zhang Yu making it into the top ten, Teacher Yan’s spirits soared. "If he does, my year-end bonus will definitely increase."

She pointed to a student who had performed the worst. "Bai Zhenzhen, go get Zhang Yu a bottle of water. Zhang Yu, don’t be nervous in the next two rounds; just do your best."

Bai Zhenzhen’s eyes widened as she glanced at the smirking Zhang Yu, then reluctantly got up to fetch the water.

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

"Are you trying to kill me, Zhang Yu?"

She threw the water bottle at Zhang Yu’s head and plopped down, fuming. "Damn, I should have left before the competition started."

"What a load of crap, this Mana Championship. It’s all a rich man’s game."

"Feathers, you better make it into the top ten, or else I’ll—"

He Dayou, watching Zhang Yu’s score, felt a flicker of surprise. "His mana control is that strong? Good thing... good thing he’s just a poor guy."

Soon, the first round ended, and the host returned, chuckling. "Good medicine, choose Purple Cloud. Purple Cloud Medicine, suitable for all ages. One dose, and all your ailments will vanish. Thank you to Ziyun Corporation for co-sponsoring this Mana Championship."

"The emergency medicines for the next round will also be provided by Ziyun Corporation..."

As he spoke, the host announced the rules for the second round.

This round tested the ability to neutralize special mana.

The process involved attaching detection patches to the contestants, then having the judges inject a dose of special mana. The contestants would then have to neutralize it as quickly as possible. The shorter the time, the higher the score.

If it took more than ten minutes or if the contestant felt they couldn’t handle it, they could immediately take a Mana Neutralizer provided by Ziyun Corporation to eliminate the special mana.

Additionally, Ziyun Corporation had set up temporary stalls around the venue to sell various medicines the contestants might need.

Ziyun Corporation sold these medicines because this round had an additional rule.

Medication was allowed.

Zhang Yu was shocked.

Damn! Are you guys even human? Encouraging the use of medication in a competition just to earn sponsorship from Ziyun Corporation?

Meanwhile, Zhang Yu saw his classmates from Songyang High School start to pull out their supplies.

Painkillers, sedatives, focus serums... Seeing the trio they pulled out, Zhang Yu realized they were well-prepared.

Teacher Yan, concerned, asked, "Zhang Yu, did you bring any medication?"

"Remember to take it before the round starts."

Taking medication during competitions was considered normal by Teacher Yan.

If you were afraid of pain or itching, take a painkiller. If your willpower was weak, take a sedative. If you were afraid of losing focus, take a focus serum.

In short, to perform at your best in the competition, you needed to keep taking medication.

This was the nature of competitions.

Competitions were all about taking medication!

The Mana Championship was one of the favorite events for pharmaceutical companies to sponsor, so at least one round usually allowed the use of medication, as long as it was within the approved list. The judges and soul cultivator assistants would supervise and check this.

So, taking medication was part of the competition, even reflecting the depth of a high school’s resources.

Seeing Zhang Yu’s bewildered expression, Teacher Yan sighed and opened her bag. "Look at you, you didn’t even bring medication for the competition?"

"Fortunately, I have a spare set."

She pulled out various bottles and vials, pouring out a few doses for Zhang Yu.

"Damn! I can’t take medication, can I?"

The original Zhang Yu had damaged his body from excessive medication, a memory that made Zhang Yu wary of taking random drugs. He mostly took Neural Fillers to reduce sleep.

With his outstanding talent and massive debt, he had no plans to take unnecessary medication.

Although he wasn’t sure if his current body could handle random medication, he wasn’t willing to take the risk.

"To take these drugs just for a competition? I’m afraid I’ll use up the lifespan I gained from cultivation."

But feeling Teacher Yan’s concerned gaze, he could only nod awkwardly, thinking, "I’ll pretend to take them in the bathroom later."

Meanwhile, the entire venue had turned into a medication showcase.

In the Ziyun High School rest area, Lian Tianji swallowed a handful of pills, then drank a large gulp of water to wash them down.

The competition coach, seeing his gradually reddening and purple face, nodded. "Good, you’re in the competition state."

He then pulled out a wooden box.

As the box opened, ten syringes emitting a faint purple glow appeared.

The coach said, "These are Meridian-Widening Injections from the Purple Cloud Laboratory. They can temporarily widen your meridians through the bloodstream, increasing your efficiency in the next round."

"One injection per person, no fighting over them."

After watching each student get their injection, he encouraged them, "Everyone, do your best. Our total score is close to Bailong High School’s. We need to catch up in this round!"

Roar!

The students, who had just taken their medication and received their injections, felt their fighting spirit surge, and they let out a deafening roar.

In the Hongta High School rest area, the coach was holding a Beastsoul Panda Hybrid student and digging through a bag of animal medication. "Bufan, take another handful. We’re at the bottom among the top three schools. If we don’t improve in the second round, my bonus is gone."

Crimson Panda Student Xiong Bufan extended his paw and gave him the middle finger. "Enough!"

"Don’t feed me anymore!"

"Ugh... damn... don’t feed me anymore!"

In the Bailong High School rest area, Song Hailong grabbed a handful of pills and swallowed them, then looked toward the Ziyun High School rest area.

Hearing the roars from Ziyun High School, he coldly snorted. "I’ll crush your fighting spirit in a moment."

At the same time, competition coach Han Xingye walked over with an insulated box and said, "This is a special Soulheal Injection prepared by the school. Inject it into your dantian before the round starts. Come and get it."

As the box opened, a cold mist emerged, revealing rows of fluorescent syringes.

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

The other students followed, taking the syringes in the order of the numbers on their chests and injecting them into their dantian.

Students from other schools watched enviously. "Is that a Soulheal Injection? It’s concentrated with spiritual currents and can rapidly restore mana. They must be preparing to replenish mana while neutralizing it during the competition."

Some students were jealous. "One injection of Soulheal into the dantian, and my fate is in my hands, not the heavens. Sigh... I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to afford a Soulheal Injection in my life."

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from a corner of the venue.

A student, foaming at the mouth and convulsing, was carried out, causing a stir.

Some students sighed, "Overdose?"

A teacher dismissed it. "There’s no such thing as an overdose, only insufficient drug tolerance. More practice is needed!"

Another teacher clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. "Ignore the distractions and focus on the competition!"

As the preparations were completed, the second round officially began.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end