Chapter 101: Striving for First Place

“I’ll buy five Quicksand Talismans.”

“These Golden Light Talismans are good too; I can keep five of them ready.”

“Wind Blade Talismans, Wind Bind Talismans, and Wind Speed Talismans can even be used in combination. That’s good, I’ll buy five of those too.”

“I can also prepare two sets of Fireball Talismans, Great Fireball Talismans, and Fire Dragon Talismans.”

Deciding to buy on the spot, Chen Mobai opened the Xianmen website and purchased many popular combat talismans from several highly-ranked talisman stores.

Finally, he bought 10 Water Sword Talismans in one go—talismans he had put in his shopping cart when he was poor but had never dared to order.

Considering that his Ice Art required water, he also bought 5 Water Storage Talismans.

This talisman was invented by a genius from Xianmen. Although it was only a low-grade first-tier item, it could store 1 cubic meter of water, making it an essential talisman for wilderness exploration and excavation of ancient ruins.

After completing the order, Chen Mobai saw that only a little over three thousand merit points remained in his bank account and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

He felt that no matter how many merit points he had, it was never enough to spend. This feeling intensified the richer he became.

“Alright, everyone, take this match-up table and go prepare well.” At that moment, He Jingshan distributed a stack of pre-printed and folded match-up tables to each student, then left the classroom.

Chen Mobai took a copy handed to him by Song Zheng, who sat in front of him, put it in his bag, and stood up, ready to leave.

“Hey.” Unexpectedly, Xu Yuan walked over.

“Is something wrong?” Chen Mobai tilted his head, looking at the guy blocking the doorway.

He wondered if this guy was going to challenge him, the number one student. If so, how many moves should it take to defeat him later?

“Qiao Xingwen, that guy, joined the army with me. I fought him three times and only won two.”

As soon as the theme for the combat entrance exam was announced, many immediately realized that military training was the best way to improve.

While Xu Yuan and Shi Yuanqing could go to the army for training, other high school seniors in Danxia City naturally had other channels to get in.

Chen Mobai’s opponent, Qiao Xingwen, was one of them.

“Thank you for the reminder.” After hearing Xu Yuan’s serious words, Chen Mobai was a bit surprised, but he still nodded in thanks.

“Classmate Chen Mobai, may I ask you something?” Just then, Shi Jingjing, who was sitting in her seat, suddenly raised her hand and called out.

“Yes? Please ask.”

“Has your personal profile not been updated?” Shi Jingjing asked a question that greatly surprised Chen Mobai.

“What do you mean by that?” Chen Mobai was a bit confused, but Shi Jingjing took out her phone and opened a website in front of him.

It was the Odds Website.

“This combat competition in Danxia City has attracted many gamblers to place bets. They’ve collected information on all the students participating in the Daoist Academy combat competition.”

“I was bored these past few days, so I looked through everyone’s information and found that your cultivation level is still listed as only Qi Refinement Stage Six.”

“I also checked the match-up table. Basically, during the arrangement, the first few rounds avoided internal conflict between high-level students. This condition was likely set intentionally by the higher-ups to ensure the final rounds were exciting enough.”

“You are considered to be at Qi Refinement Stage Six, which is the lowest cultivation level among those participating in this competition. Therefore, during the automatic arrangement, you were matched with Qiao Xingwen, with the aim of ensuring the progression of that Qi Refinement Stage Seven genius.”

After hearing Shi Jingjing’s words, the Qi Refinement Stage Six students in the class, including Mo Simin, couldn’t help but lower their heads in shame.

Chen Mobai opened his personal panel on his phone. It had been updated; he was indeed at Qi Refinement Stage Seven.

“So you haven’t sent it to your homeroom teacher?” Shi Jingjing asked again.

Chen Mobai thought about it and realized it was true. Because the time between his breakthrough from Qi Refinement Stage Five to Six, and then from Six to Seven, was too short, he had never sent the updated personal panel to Chai Deyun, his homeroom teacher, to avoid being questioned.

Student grades in every school are public, so the Odds Website likely obtained this information.

“I see.” After hearing Shi Jingjing’s explanation, Chen Mobai suddenly understood.

It was because of this reason that a match between two Qi Refinement Stage Seven cultivators appeared in the first round.

Aside from the two of them, in all other 139 matches, late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were paired against mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.

“You know, you could have easily advanced to the second round, but now you might be eliminated in the first round,” Shi Jingjing said, shaking her finger at Chen Mobai with a look of regret.

“Thanks for the heads-up.” Chen Mobai didn’t say much more, only thanking her.

At that moment, many people in the classroom had already gathered around Shi Jingjing, asking her for the Odds Website address.

“You can only look; you can’t place any bets, or you’ll be disqualified from the entrance exam,” Shi Jingjing immediately warned. This instantly dampened Chen Mobai’s spirits, as he had originally intended to bet on himself to win.

However, he still asked for the website address and added Shi Jingjing as a friend.

This classmate’s way of thinking was a bit unusual, and he thought they might be able to contact each other more in the future.

After leaving school, Chen Mobai went to the alchemy room that Qing Nü had rented.

“Here!” Qing Nü handed Chen Mobai a plastic box half-filled with high-grade first-tier Qi Replenishing Spirit Water. He opened it and counted, finding there were surprisingly 22 tubes.

“I used four sets of herbs, and there’s still a pool of medicinal liquid being extracted. It can be mixed with spirit essence the day after tomorrow, which should yield about 7 more tubes.”

“You’ve worked hard.” Chen Mobai thanked Qing Nü.

For high-grade first-tier Qi Replenishing Spirit Water, one pool of medicinal liquid could yield a maximum of ten tubes. Qing Nü had not rested at all during the ten days Chen Mobai was fighting the demonic beasts, and he could sense that she was slightly fatigued.

“It’s fine. I should also thank you for providing the medicinal ingredients; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to break through my cultivation level.”

“Oh? You’ve cultivated divine sense!” Chen Mobai hadn't checked Qing Nü’s cultivation, but to break through to Qi Refinement Stage Seven, one first needed to cultivate divine sense.

“Yes, I grasped divine sense after waking up this morning. My spiritual power isn’t sufficient yet, so I’m still at Qi Refinement Stage Six.”

“Congratulations! Take two sets of Qi Replenishing Spirit Water ingredients and mix some mid-grade first-tier ones for your own use. Consider it a gift from me.”

Qing Nü shook her head upon hearing this. “I’m already very satisfied that you provide me with medicinal ingredients to practice with and improve my alchemy skills. Besides, I’m going to Jumang Daoist Academy next semester, which is where a fifth-tier spirit vein is located. There’ll be no shortage of spiritual energy there, so there’s no need to waste your ingredients.”

Chen Mobai found Qing Nü’s words very reasonable and said no more.

However, using Qing Nü’s breakthrough as an excuse, the two went to eat grilled fish again.

This time, he hadn’t brought any fish from the Heavenly River Realm, so the taste was ordinary, but they still enjoyed their meal.

As they finished eating and were about to part ways, Qing Nü suddenly clenched her right hand into a fist, raised it, and said to Chen Mobai, “Good luck with the entrance exam.”

“Alright, I’ll strive to get first place and go to Jumang Daoist Academy with you.”