At the Law Tournament site.
Within the area allocated to Purple Cloud High.
Sweat beaded densely across Le Mulan’s forehead.
She had just completed her fourth Mana Shock. The repeatedly battered mana now resembled a thick, misty fog, hovering and sinking within her dantian, unstable and increasingly difficult to control.
"Three more... Just three more times and it'll be done."
Song Hailong's breathing grew heavier.
A vast surge of mana, like layer upon layer of white clouds, rose from his dantian, slowly condensing into a vortex.
"The final Mana Shock."
A thunderous roar suddenly echoed from afar.
Song Hailong’s expression shifted dramatically.
Someone had beaten him to it?
No… not just one… Realization dawned quickly, and surprise flickered in his eyes: “Two people? There are actually two people ahead of me?!”
In the distance, Xiong Bufan brought his palms together. Wisps of mana like white clouds streamed out from his hands, forming a clump that made it look as if he were holding a lively ball of cloud—only, it began to dissipate quickly, clearly unsustainable.
But he wasn’t looking at that. Instead, he turned his head toward the direction of the roaring noise.
“Just a split-second slower than me? From White Dragon High or Purple Cloud High?”
Xiong Bufan stared at the pillar of white vapor surging skyward, solid and unmoving like a column of cloud. Astonishment flashed in his eyes. “What the hell? This is just a tournament, and the whole point is to be fast. Why the hell would anyone refine their Protective Qi Barrier to such perfection?”
“This guy’s just showing off way too hard!”
At the competition grounds of Songyang High.
Zhang Yu spread both palms, and streams of white airflow burst forth from his hands, drifting straight upward like white signal smoke piercing the heavens. In the blink of an eye, it had drawn more and more attention.
After hurriedly grinding through Limitless Cloud Hands in one go—without managing to produce even a trace of Qi Barrier—Zhang Yu nevertheless felt he had mastered the technique.
The moment he willed it, the qi moved as commanded. His mana completed seven consecutive shocks in a single breath, transforming into surging Qi Barrier that sprayed from his palms, resulting in the spectacle before them.
Watching this, Ms. Yan clenched her fist in excitement, then hurriedly pulled out her phone, frantically snapping photos in Zhang Yu’s direction.
She thought to herself, “Zhang Yu’s talent for mana control is this terrifying? It seems the previous mana exam completely failed to reflect that.”
Recalling his recent leaps in mana strength, she suspected it was this improvement that had significantly enhanced his breathing efficiency.
Bai Zhenzhen also looked on, visibly moved, heart swelling with comfort. “The child has grown up.”
Moments later, the results of the third round of the Law Tournament were released.
Xiong Bufan of Red Tower High—first place.
Zhang Yu of Songyang High—second place.
Le Mulan of Purple Cloud High was pushed down to fourth.
And with the third round wrapping up, the students’ total scores for the Law Tournament were announced one after another.
Expressions varied as the students stared at the final rankings.
First: Song Hailong, White Dragon High, 290 points
Second: Le Mulan, Purple Cloud High, 287 points
Third: Xiong Bufan, Red Tower High, 285 points
The top three were still dominated by the Big Three elite schools, and the gap between them and the rest remained enormous.
Yet at that moment, most eyes in the crowd were not focused on the top three—but rather the fourth-place name.
Fourth: Zhang Yu, Songyang High, 273 points
Songyang High, while still a key high school, looked glaringly out of place among the Big Three names in the top ten.
It was like a narrow tear forced open in an otherwise seamless storm cloud.
“Fourth place... What’s the prize money again?”
Looking at the final rankings, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but let a smile tug at his lips, already wondering about the prize money for placing fourth.
He was very satisfied with the result.
After all, while he was confident he would eventually surpass these opponents—
In terms of current raw power, he truly was still behind those academic monsters from the Big Three.
He still needed more time to grow.
Making it to fourth this time, he had to give thanks to Ah-Zhen’s blessings, the Feathered Tome’s filial power, and—above all—his own relentless grind.
Qian Shen stared daggers at Zhang Yu. He remembered clearly that Zhang Yu had scored 620 on the monthly exam—six points lower than himself.
And yet here this 620-point underachiever was, standing shoulder to shoulder with monsters scoring over 650 from the Big Three?!
“It’s happening again… Just like at the art exhibit. Zhang Yu always performs beyond what his scores say he should be capable of.”
Clutching his head, eyes wide in disbelief, he muttered, “It’s like even a six-subject, 700-point scoring system can’t fully capture his evolution anymore.”
Qian Shen’s eyes were locked on Zhang Yu, and a strange thought rose unbidden in his heart.
“This man who can’t be accurately measured by grades alone—he might actually trigger another reform of the high school evaluation system someday, making it more complete.”
Meanwhile, He Dayou glanced at Qian Shen mumbling to himself with his head in his hands and silently cursed, “What’s this idiot muttering about now?”
Then he turned his gaze toward Zhang Yu, unable to suppress the stormy emotions in his chest.
Jealousy, envy… It was impossible not to feel them, especially when all of this was happening to the poor kid he had always looked down on.
At that moment, He Dayou even felt a tinge of regret.
“He’s still just a broke nobody.”
“But it’s fine… He’s still just a broke nobody.”