Chapter 48: Top Ten!

At the magic competition venue, in the area where Ziyun High School was located, Luo Mulan's forehead was beaded with dense sweat. She had just completed her fourth mana oscillation. The mana, having been repeatedly agitated, now resembled a swirling, hazy white mist, rising and falling erratically within her Dantian, becoming increasingly difficult to control.

"Three more times, and I'll succeed."

Song Hailong's breathing grew heavier. A vast surge of mana, like layers of white clouds, rose from his Dantian, gradually forming a vortex.

"The final mana oscillation. As expected, I'm still the one who will win..."

Suddenly, a roaring sound echoed from a distance. Song Hailong's expression changed instantly. Had someone actually finished before him? No... that wasn't it... He quickly realized something, surprise flashing in his eyes: "It's two people. Two people were faster than me?"

In the distance, Xiong Bufan pressed his palms together. Wisps of white, cloud-like mana surged from his hands, coalescing into a ball, making it seem as if he was holding a lively cloud. However, this cloud quickly began to dissipate, clearly not meant to last. But he paid no attention to his own creation. Instead, he turned his head towards the direction of the roaring sound.

"Only one step slower than me? Is that someone from White Dragon High, or Ziyun High?" Xiong Bufan gazed at the soaring white energy, which solidified into a persistent column like a cloud pillar, a look of surprise in his eyes. "What's going on? It's just a competition, and it's about speed. Everyone's aiming for speed. Why did he bother cultivating this protective energy field so perfectly? This is just showing off too much!"

At Songyang High School's competition area, Zhang Yu spread his palms, and torrents of white energy surged from them, spiraling straight upwards like a towering white smoke signal. In an instant, it drew the attention of more and more people. After Zhang Yu quickly and haphazardly practiced the 'Wuji Cloud Hand' technique once, and, as expected, failed to manifest any protective energy, he suddenly felt that he had mastered the cultivation method. With a mere thought, the energy flowed as his will directed, and mana completed seven consecutive oscillations, transforming into a vigorous protective energy field that surged from his palms, ultimately creating the spectacle before them.

Witnessing this, Teacher Yan excitedly clenched her fist, then quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a series of photos in Zhang Yu's direction. Teacher Yan thought to herself, "Zhang Yu's talent for mana control is astonishing! It seems the previous mana exams completely failed to reflect this." Recalling Zhang Yu's recent mana improvements, she secretly sighed, realizing that this very aspect of his development likely significantly boosted his meditation efficiency.

Bai Zhenzhen, watching the scene, also showed a touched expression, comforting herself with an aged sigh, "The child has grown up."

Moments later, the results for the third round of the magic competition began to appear. Xiong Bufan of Hongta High School ranked first. Zhang Yu of Songyang High School ranked second. Song Hailong followed closely, taking third place. Luo Mulan of Ziyun High School was pushed to fourth place.

As the third round gradually concluded, the overall scores for each student in the magic competition were also revealed. Many students looked at the final overall rankings, their expressions varying.

First Place: Song Hailong, White Dragon High School, Total Score 290Second Place: Luo Mulan, Ziyun High School, Total Score 287Third Place: Xiong Bufan, Hongta High School, Total Score 285

The three prestigious schools still monopolized the top three overall rankings, creating a significant gap with all subsequent contestants. However, at this moment, the gaze of most students in the venue was not on the top three, but rather on the fourth-place contender.

Fourth Place: Zhang Yu, Songyang High School, Total Score 273

Although Songyang High School was also a key high school, its appearance in the top ten, surrounded by the names of the three prestigious schools, felt remarkably abrupt. It was as if a gap had been forcibly torn open within an otherwise impenetrable dark cloud.

"Fourth place, what's the prize money for that?" Zhang Yu looked at the final rankings, his lips curling into an uncontrollable smile as he began to ponder the prize money for fourth place in the magic competition. He was already very satisfied with this ranking. After all, while he was confident he would eventually surpass these rivals, when it came to his true strength at this moment, he was indeed temporarily not as capable as the top students from those three prestigious schools. He still needed more time to develop. To be able to secure fourth place this time, he had to credit A-Zhen's divine intervention, coupled with Feather Book's filial piety, and, of course, most importantly, his own relentless perseverance.

Qian Shen stared intently at Zhang Yu, vividly recalling that Zhang Yu's monthly exam score had been a mere 620, six points lower than his own. "But how could someone with a score of 620 be ranked alongside those high-achievers, high-caste individuals, and ultimate monsters from the three major high schools, all of whom scored over 650 in the magic competition?! It's like this again... It was the same last time at the art exhibition. This Zhang Yu always performs beyond what his scores suggest he's capable of." He clutched his head, his eyes still wide with disbelief. "It's almost as if the 700-point evaluation system for six subjects can no longer perfectly express his level of evolution. This man..." Qian Shen stared fixedly at Zhang Yu, a sudden thought, surprising even himself, surging in his mind. "This man, who cannot be perfectly evaluated by scores, might, in the future, spark another reform of the high school grading system, making this evaluation system even more perfect."

At that moment, He Dayou glanced at Qian Shen, who was clutching his head and muttering to himself, and thought inwardly, "What's this fool raving about now?" He turned his head, unable to suppress the turbulent emotions in his eyes as he looked at Zhang Yu. Envy, jealousy... it was impossible not to feel these emotions, especially since all of this was happening to a poor person he most despised. At this thought, a hint of regret even welled up in He Dayou's heart. "He's just a pauper, after all. And perhaps it's for the best... that he's just a pauper."

In the Ziyun High School resting area, the competition coach looked at Luo Mulan, Lian Tianji, and the others before him, then suddenly spoke: "What do you all think about recruiting Zhang Yu?" Evidently, the coach wanted to bring Zhang Yu over after witnessing his performance.

Lian Tianji, standing nearby, said, "Although Zhang Yu doesn't have our Ziyun High School 'bloodline,' he certainly performed exceptionally well. I also think it would be good to bring him in." The term 'bloodline' referred to a popular pecking order within Ziyun High School. It generally referred to one's origins from Ziyun Nursery, Ziyun Kindergarten, Ziyun Primary School, and Ziyun Junior High. The more Ziyun educational qualifications one had, from left to right, the 'purer' their 'bloodline' was considered to be.

Luo Mulan, standing nearby, asked, "Where did he attend his primary and secondary schools?"

"I actually asked him about that," Lian Tianji replied, mentioning Zhang Yu's former primary and junior high schools. A flicker of unconcealed disdain immediately appeared on Luo Mulan's face; those two schools reeked too much of poverty.

Seeing Luo Mulan's change in expression, Lian Tianji knew it was a lost cause. He thought to himself, "Well, the next time I meet Zhang Yu, it will probably be to compete against him in the martial arts competition." A hint of anticipation even surfaced in his mind at this thought.

In front of the restroom, as soon as Zhang Yu emerged, he was stopped by a man. It was Han Xingye, the competition coach from White Dragon High School.

"Zhang Yu, come to White Dragon High School," Han Xingye said, extending a hand towards him. "It would be a pity for talent like yours to remain at Songyang. While you performed well in this competition, in the future, you'll only fall further and further behind us."

Han Xingye was speaking frankly. Although most of the top students in Songyang City were virtually all recruited by the three prestigious schools, over time... there were always some who ended up in other key high schools, or even regular high schools. Han Xingye had also seen several first-year students from other high schools who excelled in magic competitions. But he had never seen any second or third-year students from other high schools perform exceptionally well in magic competitions.

"If you come to White Dragon High School, I will definitely help you secure a contract with sufficiently good terms."

Zhang Yu suddenly asked, "If I go to White Dragon High School, can I get into one of the Top Ten universities?"

Han Xingye paused, clearly not expecting Zhang Yu to ask such a question, and was momentarily speechless. The true answer was, of course, no. Zhang Yu, even at White Dragon High School, would merely become an investment project for them. Forget the Top Ten. The purpose of poaching Zhang Yu was precisely to stop him from participating in the remaining first-year competitions, as these achievements, related to college entrance exam scores and university interviews, were all 'gilding projects' for the wealthy; the poor shouldn't be allowed to take up those spots. As for university, he would certainly be able to get into a decent one in the future, but definitely not one of the Top Ten. After all, White Dragon High School's conditions were certainly better than Songyang High School's, and Zhang Yu would also achieve better development there. However, spots in the Top Ten... were never meant for the poor.

Just then, Teacher Yan walked over, stepping in front of Zhang Yu and looking at Han Xingye with a wary expression. "Teacher Han, what are you saying to my student?" Regardless of whether Zhang Yu was rich or poor, for Teacher Yan, as long as he achieved a ranking, it was a testament to her teaching.

Han Xingye gave a helpless smile. They both brought students to competitions every year, so he and Teacher Yan were acquainted. Caught trying to poach another teacher's student, Han Xingye felt a bit awkward. He immediately said to Zhang Yu, "No matter what, it's better than you continuing to stay at Songyang High School... that, uh, you know?"

Teacher Yan bristled at his words. "What 'that, uh'?! Don't think I can't guess the insulting terms you're applying to Songyang High School just because you didn't say them aloud!" However, recalling the disparity between her own school and White Dragon High School, Teacher Yan truly feared that the other party might continue to state irrefutable facts. She had no choice but to interrupt: "Alright, Teacher, if you have something to discuss, you can talk to me. Please do not harass our student."

Watching Teacher Yan and Zhang Yu walk away, Han Xingye shrugged, thinking to himself, "If he's truly clear-headed, he should choose this path. Even if he still can't get into the Top Ten."

"Do you see that?!" a voice exclaimed. "Fourth place! Zhang Yu got fourth place overall! Do you know what fourth place means?! Just tell me how much you plan to invest."

Listening to the commotion coming from Bai Zhenzhen's end, Mo Tianyi said helplessly, "Zhenzhen, you don't need to be so excited, I can see it..."

"Then why aren't you sending the money quickly?!" Bai Zhenzhen retorted. "Your boss wasn't even this impressive when he was in his first year of high school, was he?"

"Our boss certainly achieved competition rankings too..." Mo Tianyi began.

After some back-and-forth, Mo Tianyi concluded: "Zhang Yu's results are indeed exceptional. I admit that the money I gave you before was too little. I'll discuss the situation with our boss and the other seniors, and do my best to secure more investment for you."

Bai Zhenzhen, already well aware of this, urged, "Just make sure to approve the funds quickly."

Disconnecting the call, Mo Tianyi looked at Zhang Yu's fourth-place ranking on the screen. His chest, which should have long since cooled, seemed to warm slightly. "Truly splendid work. To be able to break through the suppression of so many wealthy individuals and reach this rank... Too bad, it's too late..." A hint of helplessness and melancholy flashed through Mo Tianyi's mind: "If only it had been two years earlier, I would have definitely chosen you."

Meanwhile, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself, "Achieved rankings in martial arts competitions, you say? I'd like to see who you truly are."