During today’s Mana Cultivation class, the students of the advanced class were sitting cross-legged in the quiet room, performing their qi-cultivation methods.

Cameras positioned in front monitored the students’ every move, meticulously recording any slight unusual behavior, such as opening their eyes, scratching themselves, fidgeting, or wiggling their hips.

All this data was uniformly recorded as the “distraction rate.”

The class with the highest distraction rate each week would be publicly criticized school-wide.

The advanced class students paid little attention to this, as they were guaranteed to be first in any assessment anyway.

Conversely, the student with the lowest distraction rate each week would not only receive public commendation but also a 500-yuan reward and one hour of free rental access to a Heavenly Spirit Root.

This got the advanced class students to perk up.

When Zhang Yu first learned about the existence of this “distraction rate,” he mused that if such a thing had existed in his previous life, students would surely have cursed the school as utterly foolish.

But this world was different. The advanced class students, like bulls in heat, fixated on the daily distraction rate, and the entire class was filled with an intense competitive atmosphere.

At that moment, with the sound of a bell, everyone quietly cultivating in the quiet room stopped and looked towards the large screen at the front, eagerly awaiting the distraction rate data for this class.

No. 1 Zhang Yu: Distraction Rate 0, Mana 8.3
No. 2 Bai Zhenzhen: Distraction Rate 0.03, Mana 11.2
No. 3 Qian Shen: Distraction Rate 0.12, Mana 11.1

Observing the distraction rate rankings, the students in the classroom remained silent, but a subtle ripple of surprise could be felt spreading through their eyes and expressions.

The instructor for the Mana Cultivation class on the platform was a female teacher named Yan, who wore her hair in a bun and had black-rimmed glasses.

At that moment, Teacher Yan looked at the results on the large screen and said, “To the few students whose distraction rate exceeded 0.3, I won’t call out your names today.”

“It’s already been three months since school started. How many times have I told you to focus your mind and harmonize your qi?”

“With such a high distraction rate, how can your cultivation efficiency compare to others?”

“Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day to cultivate; you don’t have more time than others. If your cultivation efficiency is low, falling behind even a little each day, after three years of high school, your mana difference could be 10, 20, or even 30 points.”

“And how many times have I said this? Students who can’t reduce their distraction rate can come to my office to buy tranquilizers. Yesterday afternoon, I sat in my office for three hours, and not a single person came to ask me… Do you all think you have no problems at all?!”

After a round of criticism, Teacher Yan then smiled faintly and, looking at the top few names on the screen, said, “Of course, there are also students who performed exceptionally well.”

“I’d like to specifically commend the three students with the lowest distraction rates, especially Zhang Yu, who has maintained a distraction rate of 0 for four consecutive days. Compared to before, this is a qualitative leap.”

“Furthermore, his mana has increased by a full 0.5 points in the past three days, which indicates he must have put in significant effort outside of class. Either he rented a Spirit Root or a high-spirit cultivation room, right, Zhang Yu?”

All the students immediately turned their gaze towards him.

Zhang Yu, however, still had his eyes tightly shut, appearing neither fully asleep nor awake, and continued to quietly circulate his Heavenly Cycle Qi-Gathering method.

Teacher Yan praised, “You see, this is the attitude of a true top student. They don’t stop even after class, seizing every minute and second to cultivate and grow stronger.”

Zhao Tianxing looked at Zhang Yu, who was still diligently cultivating, and found himself increasingly unable to understand his classmate. ‘He’s clearly such a diligent person,’ he thought, ‘so why does he slack off during P.E. class and refuse to take his injections?’

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu, whose eyes were still tightly closed, and thought to herself, ‘Aside from eating and using the restroom, Yu Zi has been cultivating non-stop these past few days, even while walking. To be so diligent… Could it be he’s being pressured by those 700,000 yuan debt collection calls?’

On the platform, Teacher Yan continued, “Of course, there’s no such thing as a free lunch on the path of cultivation; you get what you pay for. You won’t get far without investing money. Recently, there have been open slots for renting Heavenly Spirit Roots at school, so interested students can come talk to me.”

However, before Teacher Yan left, one thing she said caught Zhang Yu’s attention.

“Oh, by the way, the city’s Mana Competition is starting next month. Essentially, all high schools in the city will participate in the first-year group. The first-place prize money is 100,000 yuan…”

“Since registration for the competition is next Friday, the school plans to select the top ten mana-level students from the first year to participate in the competition by next Friday…”

That evening, in the cafeteria.

Zhou Tianyi had to rush to his cram school early today, leaving only Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen at the table.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable with Bai Zhenzhen’s constant scrutiny, Zhang Yu spoke up, “Ah Zhen, I know I’m quite handsome, standing out like a crane among chickens in this study-focused Songyang High School, but you don’t have to stare so intently, do you?”

Bai Zhenzhen asked, “Did you say you also want to enter the Mana Competition?”

“Too bad, Ah Zhen,” Zhang Yu shook his head and said, “If you, the peerless genius ranked first in the grade, weren’t my friend, you’d be challenging me right now, then getting repeatedly humiliated by my astonishing performance in the arena, and finally, your eyes would be wide with shock.”

Bai Zhenzhen shook her head, “Yu Zi, you want to enter the city-wide Mana Competition.”

“That competition brings together all high schools in Songyang City, sending their most excellent, most powerful, and wealthiest students to compete. It’s a gathering of countless ridiculously rich people.”

Bai Zhenzhen said with a sigh of emotion, “What do you think would happen if an ordinary person like you entered?”

Her eyes seemed to pierce through to a bleak future, and she said with a sorrowful expression, “You’d be repeatedly humiliated by countless powerhouses, become a stepping stone for the rich, the clown of Songyang High School, and the school’s reputation would plummet to dust!”

“It’s too tragic! I can already see you being brutally trampled underfoot by the prodigies from other high schools, your cultivation heart shattered, like a dead dog.”

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes, “Don’t be so dramatic. The Mana Competition isn’t a fighting arena; there’s no shame in losing.”

“Besides, first place gets 100,000 yuan.”

“Even being in the top ten gets you 10,000 yuan!”

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu’s greedy expression, thinking that Yu Zi was indeed being driven to desperation by the debt collection company, so much so that he was deluded enough to try entering the competition.

Zhang Yu was indeed in financial straits. Although he had just earned 13,000 yuan from Xianyun Company a few days ago, he immediately used 10,000 to repay a loan and another 1,500 for rent, leaving him with just over 2,000 yuan.

“If you want to compete, you should first figure out how to raise your mana level to the top ten in the grade. You’re only ranked 16th now, aren’t you? How much more money would you need to borrow to break into the top ten?”

Zhang Yu quickly calculated in his mind.

His current mana level was 8.3, ranking him 16th in the grade.

The student currently ranked tenth had a mana level of 9.5.

So, to surpass that person, Zhang Yu would have to raise his mana level to 9.5 before next Friday…

‘No, wait, I need to consider that everyone else will also be improving.’

‘To be safe, it would be best to raise my mana level to 10.0 before next Friday.’

‘There are eight days until next Friday. In eight days, to increase mana from 8.3 to 10.0, that’s a full 1.7 points?’

‘That means improving by more than 0.2 each day… Is that possible?’

Absolutely! Easily possible!

In the eyes of other teachers and classmates, Zhang Yu’s rapid improvement over the past few days must have been achieved by investing heavily and renting high-quality Spirit Roots and cultivation grounds.

But Zhang Yu knew it all stemmed from his astonishing potential and extreme self-discipline.

His Level 4 Heavenly Cycle Qi-Gathering method alone allowed him to increase his mana by as much as 0.5 in just 3 days. He believed that as his Heavenly Cycle Qi-Gathering method continued to level up, his mana increase would also become increasingly rapid.

‘After all, in the Qi Refinement stage, the maximum skill level is only Level 10.’

‘A Level 4 cultivation method, for most first-year high school students, is impossible to achieve within the first semester.’

‘And if I continue cultivating, I might be able to raise my Heavenly Cycle Qi-Gathering method all the way to Level 8, Level 9, or even Level 10 in a short time. That’s a level many people might not even reach after three years of high school.’

As he thought this and was steeling his resolve, he suddenly noticed Bai Zhenzhen’s chopsticks reaching into his bowl.

“How dare you!” Zhang Yu exclaimed, raising his chopsticks to block her.

With a series of clanging sounds, his chopsticks were easily disarmed by Bai Zhenzhen.

Feeling a sense of familiarity in Bai Zhenzhen’s movements, Zhang Yu exclaimed in surprise, “Basic High School Swordsmanship? You’ve already learned it? And adapted it for chopsticks?”

Quickly picking up a few pieces of meat from Zhang Yu’s bowl, Bai Zhenzhen chuckled, “Is that difficult, Yu Zi? Isn’t it easy for anyone with hands?”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, ‘Damn it, she’s showing off again.’

Mixing the stolen meat with her own rice, Bai Zhenzhen quickly took a few more bites and said in surprise, “I didn’t expect the pork ribs from the 5-yuan meal to be quite tasty. I’ll get one next time too.”

Patting her slightly bulging belly, Bai Zhenzhen let out a burp and said, “Ugh, any more and it’ll affect my cram school lesson.”

With that, she pushed her tray towards Zhang Yu, “Extra food for you, Yu Zi.”

Looking at the neatly arranged, untouched half-portion of ‘leftovers’ Bai Zhenzhen had left, Zhang Yu understood that she had purposely left it for him.

It seemed that, having learned of Zhang Yu’s financial difficulties, Bai Zhenzhen had often been ‘feeding’ him during dinner recently.

Zhang Yu took the tray, and while eating, said, “Ah Zhen, you don’t need to worry about my pride or saving face or anything like that. Given our relationship, it’s fine if you just send me money directly.”

Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes, “I need to go to cram school now. Take your time eating.”

Outside the cafeteria.

A tall figure stood in a nearby corridor, his eyes fixed intently on the cafeteria entrance.

A moment later, when Zhang Yu emerged from the cafeteria entrance, the tall figure’s spirits lifted, and he immediately followed.

Following Zhang Yu out of the school gates, and seeing him enter the stationery store across the street, Zhao Tianxing’s eyes flickered, and he thought to himself, “Could this be where Zhang Yu gets his supplies?”