Strive for First

"Buy 5 Quicksand Talisman."

"This Golden Light Talisman is also good; we can prepare five of them."

"Wind Blade Talisman, Wind Binding Talisman, and Wind Speed Talisman can actually be activated in combination. Not bad, I'll buy five of them."

"Fireball Talisman, Great Fireball Talisman, and Fire Dragon Talisman are also good to have two sets."

On a whim, Chen Mobai opened the Immortal Sect Network and purchased a number of very common combat Talisman from several of the top-ranked Talisman shops.

Finally, he bought 10 "Water Sword Talisman" that he had put in his shopping cart when he was broke but had been reluctant to order.

Considering that he needed water to cast his Ice Spell, he also bought 5 "Water Storage Talisman".

This Talisman was invented by a genius of the Immortal Sect. Although it is only Grade 1 Low Rank, it can store 1 cubic meter of water. It is an indispensable Talisman for exploring the wilderness and excavating ancient ruins.

After placing the order, Chen Mobai saw that he only had a little over three thousand Merit Points points left in his bank card, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

It feels like no matter how many Merit Points I do, it's never enough to cover my expenses.

The more money you have, the more you feel this way.

"Alright, everyone take this match schedule and go back to prepare."

At this moment, He Jingshan distributed a stack of pre-printed and folded matchmaking charts to each student and then left the classroom.

Chen Mobai took the card handed to him by Song Zheng, who sat in front of him, put it in his bag, and got up to leave.

"Hello."

But then Xu Yuan walked over.

"What's up?"

Chen Mobai tilted his head, looking at the guy blocking the doorway.

He wondered if this guy was going to challenge him for the top spot, and at what point should he defeat him when they made their move? "Qiao Xingwen joined the army with me. I fought him three times and only won two."

As soon as the entrance exam theme for the Spell Duel was announced, many people immediately thought that military training was the best way to improve.

If Xu Yuan He and Shi Yuanqing were able to go to the army for training, the other senior high school students in Vermilion Cloud City would naturally have other ways to get in as well.

Qiao Xingwen was one of Chen Mobai's rivals.

"Thank you for reminding me."

After hearing Xu Yuan's solemn words, Chen Mobai was a little surprised, but he still nodded and thanked him.

"Chen Mobai, may I ask you something?"

Just then, Shi Jingjing, who was sitting in her seat, suddenly raised her hand and shouted.

"Hmm? May I ask?"

"Has your personal profile information not been updated in a long time?"

Shi Jingjing asked a question that surprised Chen Mobai.

"What do you mean by that?"

Chen Mobai was a little confused, but Shi Jingjing took out her phone and opened a website in front of him.

[Betting Odds Network]

"This Spell Duel in Vermilion Cloud City attracted many gamblers who placed bets, and they collected information on all the students who participated in the Spell Duel at the Daoist Academy."

"I've been bored these past few days, so I went through everyone's information and found that your cultivation level is still marked as Qi Cultivation Level 6."

"I checked the match schedule again. Basically, the arrangement of the first few rounds avoided infighting between students of higher levels. It must have been a deliberate condition set up by the higher-ups to make the last few rounds more exciting."

"You are considered to be at the Qi Cultivation Level 6, which is the lowest level to participate in this Spell Duel. Therefore, during the automatic ranking, you were assigned to Qiao Xingwen, with the aim of ensuring that he, a genius at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, is promoted."

After hearing Shi Jingjing's words, all the students in the class, including Mo Simin, who were at the Qi Cultivation Level 6, couldn't help but lower their heads in shame.

Chen Mobai opened his personal panel on his phone.

It's been updated; it's now at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer.

"Then you didn't send it to the homeroom teacher, did you?"

Shi Jingjing asked again.

Chen Mobai thought about it and realized it was true. The time between his breakthrough from the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer Refining to the Qi Cultivation Level 6, and then from the Qi Cultivation Level 6 to the seventh level, was too short. So, to avoid being questioned by his homeroom teacher, he had never sent the updated personal panel to Chai Deyun.

The grades of students at every school are publicly available, Betting Odds Network must have found this information.

"I see."

After listening to Shi Jingjing's advice, Chen Mobai suddenly understood.

It was precisely because of this reason that a duel between two Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer occurred in the first round.

Apart from those two, the other 139 matches were all between Late Qi Cultivation and mid-stage Qi Refining.

"You could have easily made it to the second round, but now you might be eliminated in the first round."

Shi Jingjing shook her finger at Chen Mobai, looking regretful.

"Thank you for reminding me."

Chen Mobai didn't say much, he just thanked her.

At this moment, many people in the classroom had gathered around Shi Jingjing, asking her for the website address of the Betting Odds Network.

"You can only look, you can't place bets, or you'll be disqualified from the entrance exam."

Shi Jingjing immediately reminded him, which instantly dampened Chen Mobai's enthusiasm, who had originally planned to bet on himself to win.

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

This student's way of thinking is a bit unconventional; perhaps we can keep in touch more in the future.

After leaving school, Chen Mobai arrived at the Alchemy Room rented by Qing Nü.

"Give!"

Plastic Box half-full of first-grade Qi Replenishing Spirit Water was handed to Chen Mobai by Qing Nü. He opened it and counted the contents; there were 22 vials.

"Four portions of medicinal herbs have been used, and there is still one pool of medicinal liquid being extracted. It can be mixed with Spirit Essence the day after tomorrow, and there should be about 7 more tubes."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Chen Mobai thanked Qing Nü.

A single pool of top-grade Qi- Qi Replenishing Spirit Water can only be mixed into ten tubes. During the ten days that Qing Nü fought against the Demon Beast, she did not rest at all, and Chen Mobai could sense that she was slightly tired.

"It's alright. I owe it all to the medicinal herbs you provided; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to break through my cultivation level."

"Huh? You've mastered Spiritual Sense!"

Chen Mobai did not investigate Qing Nü's cultivation level, but to break through to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, one must first cultivate Spiritual Sense.

"Yes, I grasped the Spiritual Sense after waking up this morning, but my spiritual power is not enough, so I am still at the Qi Cultivation Level 6."

"Congratulations! Take two portions of Qi Replenishing Spirit Water ingredients and mix them with some mid-grade first-tier herbs 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 can provide me with medicinal herbs to practice and improve my alchemy skills. Besides, I'll be going to the Goumang Dao Academy next semester, which is located in Fifth Tier Spiritual Vein. There's no shortage of spiritual energy there, so there's no need for me to waste your medicinal herbs."

Chen Mobai listened to Qing Nü's words and felt that they made a lot of Possessing the Dao, so he didn't say anything more.

However, under the pretext of celebrating Qing Nü's breakthrough, the two went out for a meal of grilled fish.

He didn't bring any seafood from the Sky River Realm this time, so the taste was just average, but the two of them still enjoyed their meal.

When they finished eating and were about to part, Qing Nü suddenly clenched her right fist, raised it, and said something to Chen Mobai.

Good luck on your entrance exam.

"Okay, I'll try my best to get first place in the exam so I can go to the Goumang Dao Academy with you."