Referee, Get Back to the Referee's Seat

The Galahad College Cup was held as scheduled.

This is the annual school anniversary event. As we mentioned earlier, the Best Moon God Cup is a competition that holds a status almost equivalent to the World Cup for people in the underground world.

The Sage's Cup is exclusively for Balason and is a celebratory event of the Magic Academy. While the number of events is reduced compared to the Moon God Cup, it still has a different theme each year, just like the Moon God Cup.

Just like last year when the BOSS organized a C√B loser-first-come-second tournament, the same applies to the Sage's Cup. The theme naturally becomes a loser-first-come-second poverty alleviation tournament.

The Moon God Cup provides direct policy support to the region where the champion is located, and the team members receive generous bonuses.

For Galahad students, the Philosopher's Cup awards scholarships and credits, but beyond that, their seating arrangement is what matters most.

Once you can make a name for yourself in the Sage's Cup, much like a youth training tournament for professional sports clubs, and gain the attention of influential figures and connections with wealthy families, you'll receive more resources, making your future path much easier.

Xue Ming and Hasben had a few rounds of debate at the stadium about "graduating" from their apprenticeships. The result was obvious—

--In seven matches, from unarmed to armed combat, Hasben won one and Gunsmith won six.

The red-haired young man bowed to the teacher to express his gratitude, his face filled with complex emotions, and hurried towards his classroom to attend extra lessons.

Tang Ning followed behind the gunsmith teacher at the opportune moment and asked in a low voice.

"Teacher, why did you lose to him?"

Xue Ming: "If I said I couldn't beat him..."

Tang Ning: "Hahahaha"

Xue Ming pursed his lips and put his arm around Robert Tang Ning as they headed towards the students' area.

"You always have to give people hope, otherwise how will Hasben become stronger?"

Tang Ning followed beside the teacher with her head down, looking puzzled.

Xue Ming explained, "Hasben has never suffered a defeat. He's more talented than you, both in terms of elemental quality and combat instinct. If I were to crush his fighting spirit all at once, showing no mercy and extinguishing all his hopes of victory, he, a centurion with a hundred victories, would question the meaning of life with such humiliation."

Tang Ning is a Black Stone man; he simply doesn't care about such minor negative emotions.

"So that's your reason for beating me 11-0?"

Xue Ming: "You're different, Robert —you have a very strong heart."

Tang Ning: "So that's your reason for beating me 11-0?"

Xue Ming: "Could you do me a favor? Go back to the club and bring me my stick. I might need it."

Tang Ning: "So this is it."

Xue Ming interrupted, "Two hours. I'm asking you to see Masha. Two hours."

Tang Ning was about to break free from his teacher's grip. Like an Alaskan Malamute with its feet on the ground, he would run towards the intercity rail transit station as soon as his teacher let go.

Xue Ming, holding this lively student, went to the seventh-grade group and handed his business card to Director Simmons.

"Don't rush, sign your name first."

Tang Ning leaned on the table, looked through all the competition items, and then greeted Director Simmons politely. Finally, he slowly signed his name.

Xue Ming then led the students away, and once they reached a less crowded area, they went to ask Tang Ning.

"You don't seem too keen?"

Tang Ning raised his arm, and as he clenched his fist, a dark, spiritual entity seeped out from his skin.

"I've already evolved—there's no need for me to participate in this kind of children's competition."

Xue Ming: "Aren't you a child?"

"Teacher, you're only five years older than me." Tang Ning felt wronged. "In Galahad, very few of my classmates have psionic abilities, let alone pupae—there aren't even many nymphs. What's the point of competing? If you want me to participate in this Sage's Cup, you don't need to compete with anyone else in the same grade; just give me the scholarship directly."

Xue Ming: "Pretty arrogant, huh? You don't want the money?"

"Do I look like someone who's short of money, teacher? I just want to be like you." Tang Ning started to say, but immediately lowered her voice. "Do I look like someone who's short of money? I just want to be like you."

Xue Ming didn't understand what she was saying.

"Translate, translate."

Tang Ning immediately said, "I don't like to show off, Ming Ge. I came to Galahad to learn real skills. The Arcane Library and the mentors are all great, but the Philosopher's Cup—"

"--You know what kind of tournament that is. If I actually achieve something and someone brings me jobs, asking me to call and hand out flyers every few days, I'll just find it annoying."

"I want to be like you, specifically like the gunsmith. I would be very satisfied if you could teach me how to be a person and how to do things. Especially when you first met Hasben and told him to follow your rules, I saw it all clearly from the connecting passage of the snack shop. I admire you very much and want to have that kind of rock-solid, unwavering strength."

"All in all."

Xue Ming interrupted, "Then listen to me first, go and compete."

"But..." Tang Ning wanted to say something more.

Xue Ming looked up at the student who was taller than her.

"If you're not even willing to face the storms, how can you become a rock on the beach?"

Tang Ning was jolted awake by those words.

" —Xue Ming continued."

"I want you to participate, not to show off, nor to just go through the motions for a scholarship. Have you really researched the theme of the Sage's Cup tournament?"

"Uh," Tang Ning pursed her lips, her throat dry and unable to speak.

Xue Ming reached out and tapped Tang Ning's head with his index finger.

"This year's Moon God Cup theme is [Survival] -- the Sage's Cup also focuses on survival in its competition format. Although the Magic Academy competition will definitely be decided by psychic magic, Tang Ning, I hope you can take this matter seriously."

"I never underestimate any opponent, whether they seem strong or weak, and I want you to do the same. Enjoy this match. This is a very rare opportunity."

Xue Ming spoke very cautiously and in a very, very serious tone.

"You are a passenger, which gives you an advantage over Galahad's classmates. Your brilliance stone, your staff, and the path you must take—these things will allow you to transform faster than them. The reason this opportunity for sparring is so rare is because our future missions will be unpredictable, leaving no time for practice."

Then, Xue Ming recounted his growth path to Tang Ning in great detail.

"When I face psionicists outside of school, during official missions, the outcome is usually a life-or-death struggle; there's no such thing as friendly sparring or competition. My only good friend who accompanies me in training and cultivation is Meteor. Fortunately, he's strong enough that I still find it difficult to subdue him head-on. Such an opponent is a priceless treasure."

"Tang Ning, you must cherish this opportunity. Cherish every chance to practice. When two martial artists from the mortal world decide a victory based on their physical bodies and elemental properties, there is always an element of randomness involved—how dare you say that you are absolutely certain of victory in a duel between psionic warriors?"

Tang Ning blushed and finally swallowed all her shame.

"Okay, teacher."

Xue Ming then asked, "I asked you to register for seventh grade, and you said it was like bullying weaklings—do you think that's a disgrace to you?"

Tang Ning: "A little."

Xue Ming sighed.

He was both amused and exasperated, completely baffled by what the Black Stone Man was thinking.

"What if you encounter a weak but vicious thug in the future? Will you still look down on them and let them go? After all, you don't kill the nameless or bully the weak, do you?"

Tang Ning quickly explained, "It's different."

"What's different?" Xue Ming's eyes were sharp and cold as ice. "If you show contempt for your opponent in a fight on the ring, you'll definitely bring that bad habit into your life."

"I won't say anymore! I won't say anymore!" Tang Ning pleaded repeatedly, "I'll participate! I'll participate!"

Xue Ming pointed at the student's nose, his eyes practically snarling. "Prepare for the competition seriously, study your opponents, and play with style!"

"Okay, okay!" Tang Ning disappeared in a flash. Less than a minute later, he returned the way he came. "Teacher, there are two more things I'd like to ask you."

Xue Ming: "Speak plainly."

Tang Ning: "Why? Why didn't you tell Hasben about the Big Sister's situation and explain it to Hasben?"

Xue Ming took a card out of his suit's inner pocket.

"--This is Hasben's sextant data card. He still has Canaanite life forms inside him, and his Madness Index is extremely high. I don't want to agitate him. It wouldn't be good if it caused the child to develop some problems and become a second Lawrence Madison."

Tang Ning: "I understand."

Xue Ming: "Is there one more thing?"

Tang Ning: "Has the BOSS given you any new mission instructions?"

Xue Ming rolled her eyes--

He took out his crew card from his pocket.

Tang Ning looked over and lowered her head.

Then Xue Ming suddenly pulled out the small pieces of paper from the card holder. Like magic playing cards, these scattered cards transformed into a strip of paper more than a meter long, like ramen noodles.

Xue Ming pulled the paper strips several times, putting them all back into the card.

"You think I can escape? This is all planned until 2030—I'm getting married next month, big brother! I call you Brother Tang Ning! Can you please stop pressuring me to go to work?"

As he said this, Xue Ming grabbed Tang Ning's beautiful champagne-colored blonde hair and started ruffling it.

"I finally got a break and came to Galahad to rest. Do you know how scared and nervous I was during the last mission?"

He counted them off one by one on his fingers.

"Just the psionicists who have awakened their Soul Might, plus Flavia and Duran, those two units who may or may not be traitors, Little Brotherhood four Red Flash Butterfly —I started from Eleventh District, carrying a Meteor that even the Iron Knight couldn't lift, and fought my way to Forty-Eight District. In the end, I still had two SCAR-H bullet tumble wounds on my stomach, and I passed out from poisoning."

"I'm terrified. Thinking back on all this, it's only been a little over six months. Tell me the truth, did the BOSS send you here, Robert? Tell me the truth, I'm not that battle maniac from Big Sister' —I just want to live a peaceful life, do you understand?"

Tang Ning nodded blankly.

Xue Ming continued, "So you came to ask me when I'm going on a mission—I guess you want to come with me."

Tang Ning nodded vigorously, "Take me with you, take me with you."

"Then bring me back the Sage's Cup." Xue Ming gritted her teeth, her eyes lifeless. "At least when you're on my teammate list, it makes me feel a little more at ease, okay?"

Robert Tang Ning finally got it, and without looking back, he ran to the dormitory in the annex building to prepare for the competition.

After tidying up the students--

--Xue Ming returned to the student affairs office and took out the bachelor's degree card given to him by Professor Wood Plark.

"Simmons, I'd like to participate. Are there any categories for bachelor's degree students or teachers?"

Upon hearing this, Simmons' expression was as if he were looking at a freak.

Are you crazy, gunsmith?

Xue Ming stated bluntly, "I didn't come here for the money, nor for fame. For the past six months, I've been teaching and giving classes. I haven't yet witnessed the power of magicians combining their wands and stones."

The magician of Balason, and most of the Lapis Lazuli Guards.

Their Magic Wand and stones—the Blue Stone People's specialty is the fusion of wand and stone.

Dean Lupin's research topic is also the fusion of a club and pyroxene.

If the staff is the spirit guide that Ming De gave to the passengers, then the radiant stone is the enhancement tool that the spirit elder gave to the passengers.

Using Magic Wand inlaid with diadem is a transcendent ability of Blue Stone Magicians. They can amplify the properties of the wand through the diadem and unleash astonishing power from their immature spiritual forms. It is another wondrous form of psychic magic besides the path of soul power transformation.

The club and the jewel stone are exclusive items for passengers. Students in Galahad must be at least sixteen years old and have officially completed their first journey in the station system to be eligible to obtain the club and the jewel stone.

Only when they obtained the Blue Stone and returned to Balason did they have the opportunity to study the magic of combining the staff and the stone.

In the past six months, Xue Ming has had very few encounters with Blue Stone People who possess Magic Wand. It would be wonderful if he could meet them in the Sage's Cup tournament and have a friendly spar.

"Gunsmith." Director Simmons grabbed the Sage's Cup poster from the registration desk and addressed the referee team at the arena. "You're the referee! Referee, get back to the referee's box!"

"Oh," Xue Ming, slightly disappointed, but still persistently asked, "Is there a referee team?"

Simmons twitched his beard in alarm.

Xue Ming immediately explained, "No. I didn't mean to hit you. I just wanted to see just how amazing the Blue Stone People's magic really is."

Simmons was skeptical, but eventually spoke to the gunsmith.

"If you really want to have a match with a magician, I can arrange it for you."

Xue Ming: "Thank you."

Simmons looked at him with disdain. "Don't you know you're the referee?"

Xue Ming: "The event organizer called me this morning, but I didn't answer."

Simmons: "Why didn't you answer?"

Xue Ming: "He's from the sorcery school. He threatened me before because I took his credits—I blocked him afterward."

Simmons: "Hahahaha!"

Xue Ming: "Simmons, tell me about this Philosopher's Cup."

The two stood in front of the student registration desk and chatted idly.

"This year's competition theme, like the Moon God Cup, is [Survival] -- Gunsmith, do you watch the Moon God Cup?"

"I'm very busy and rarely watch these games."

"Then we should start with the history of the Best Moon God Cup?"

"No, just keep this [survival] brief. I have class this afternoon, and I need to call my fiancée tonight. She can't sleep without my remote kiss."

"Tsk"

"Don't be disgusted, don't you have a wife?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, let's get straight to the theme. This year's Sage's Cup will be held in six areas around Balason —the theme is [Survival], so the entire competition will revolve around wilderness ruins, testing psionic skills. Victory will be achieved by defeating your opponent in three aspects."

"Explain in detail."

"First, directly defeat your opponent by any means necessary, rendering them unconscious and unable to continue surviving on the playing field."

"Secondly, break the opponent's fighting spirit and force them to surrender on their own."

"Thirdly, follow the referee's instructions. If a contestant runs out of ammunition and supplies and cannot guarantee their own survival, they will be automatically disqualified."

Xue Ming was slightly surprised. "It's that simple? I thought you guys would come up with something more complicated, like making it a battle of psychic powers or something."

Simmons patiently explained, "Best Moon God Cup doesn't have this rule—first and foremost, we are human, and only then are we magicians. Because of the existence of White Lady's creations and the Universal Elixir, as long as no one dies and there's no intention to kill, the Moon God Cup won't impose any extra restrictions, and the same goes for the Philosopher's Cup."

So, once the theme is determined, the only thing left to decide the outcome of the competition is the venue.

Xue Ming: "What about the competition format?"

Simmons: "Five players per group, four on the court, one off the bench."

Xue Ming: "Are the rules the same for different grades?"

Simmons: "Those aged 16 and up are divided into the adult group. Adults need a club and a sapphire stone to be eligible to participate. Those under 16, even if they obtain a sapphire stone and a club in advance, are not allowed to bring them into the competition; they must enter the arena unarmed."

Xue Ming scratched his head. "Hasben still needs to borrow sticks and brilliance stones. This is going to be tough."

Hasben Madison has never worked for the BOSS, never seen a Spirit Elder, and has no Glowstone or club. Most of the soldiers in Guangling Zhixi are the same; they carry rifles as their primary weapon and throwing weapons as their secondary weapon when enforcing the law—unlike the passengers who need clubs and Glowstones to deal with special spiritual pressure environments.

Right at this moment, at this very instant, Meteor ran over to sign up for the competition. It was the eighth-grade group, the most competitive graduating group.

After asking about the things to pay attention to during the competition, Xue Ming and Liuxing left the student affairs office to discuss their wedding next month.

On the south side of the school building's annex, scarecrows stand beside layers of rolling wheat fields under a vast expanse of ultraviolet lights.

Further away, you can see the train slowly pulling into the Balason intercity rail station, and people rushing off, mostly scalpers coming to Bluestone City to snap up tickets for the Sage's Cup tournament.

The Great Beck Stadium is the main stage for the match. Twelve flags hang in front of the stands, representing the heroes of Galahad College's history who have become the various schools of thought that study psychic powers today.

Dean Lupin tested the microphone in front of the football field, but couldn't get rid of the static noise from the stage sound system.

"Ahem! Ahem! Um! Ladies and gentlemen! Look at me! I have something to announce!"

The old dean tilted his head, looked at the multimedia center filled with pulsating electronic music, and tapped it with his Magic Wand.

"You're the one who fucking disobeys!"

Really--

--The stories in fairy tales don't happen.

The multimedia center completely short-circuited and went out of service due to the powerful psionic shock.

This indirectly revealed two facts to Xue Ming, who was watching the ceremony at the rehearsal.

The first fact is that psychic powers can't repair electronic devices; they can't [I think] solve the problem instantly.

The second fact is that the name of the Great Beck Stadium comes from Baker, a berserker hero in Galahad history, who used magic to light his way through a cave. Beyond that, it has absolutely nothing to do with magic. It's clear that Dean Lupin is also a person with a rather bad temper. In his research on the fusion of staff and stone, he has consistently tried to amplify the power of psionic shocks, neglecting their functionality.