Spell Tournament

The person in charge from Pearl High School was onstage explaining the competition rules.

Today was the final day of the Spell Tournament, and the practical combat competition was about to begin.

"Jiang Ran, what's wrong with you?" Tao Dapeng handed him a cup of ice water.

"It's nothing..." Jiang Ran shook his head, trying to ease his exhaustion. In truth, he had barely slept at all last night. "Just a little insomnia. It's no big deal."

He took the water Tao Dapeng offered and gulped down a large mouthful, hoping to wake himself up.

"Insomnia?" Tao Dapeng curled his lip. "Never experienced it. No idea what it feels like."

Just then, Jiang Ran could not hold it in and spat out a mouthful of water.

—Pfft...

"Tao Dapeng, what did you give me to drink?" Jiang Ran glared at him.

There was clearly something wrong with the taste of this water!

"Huh?" Tao Dapeng froze for a moment and scratched the back of his head.

Then he pointed at a water dispenser not far away. "It's just water from the direct drinking machine."

"I heard Pearl Middle School developed a special water-element spell. The water it draws in can be drunk directly."

"Spell water..." Jiang Ran looked over from afar, and understanding dawned on him.

"No wonder it tastes so awful!"

Normally, water condensed through spells could not be consumed directly.

On one hand, spell water carried all kinds of additional properties. On the other, it gradually dissipated over time. This was especially true of low-level spells cast by low-level Qi Refining cultivators... once the spiritual power sustaining them was gone, they would completely vanish within a few breaths. Drinking it was the same as not drinking anything.

The fact that Pearl Middle School had developed a spell specifically for drinking water also proved the superiority of higher institutions. Combat was not the only path; diversified development was the proper road for cultivators today.

"All students, please proceed to the range in an orderly manner and take your positions. The first round of competition will begin shortly!"

Jiang Ran and Tao Dapeng stopped chatting and entered the range inside the spell hall along with the crowd.

The range's full name was the Spell Experiment Training Range.

The interior was enormous. Even with tens of thousands of students flooding in, it did not seem crowded.

A large number of targets stood in rows at the center of the range. They were neither metal nor wood, and looked like they were made from some peculiar stone.

Each student found their position. Once the teachers leading the teams finished taking attendance, the competition officially began.

With a soft click, Jiang Ran was surprised to discover that the ground beneath his feet seemed to be changing, while the students around him slowly blurred.

It was a formation. The formation had fused perfectly with the stone pillars, creating some sort of illusion.

"Please use appropriate spells to knock down the targets."

"Countdown... 3, 2, 1, begin!"

The words had barely faded from his ears.

A stone pillar swiftly emerged, a blue ring of light flashing at its top.

"Blue?" Jiang Ran immediately understood.

Blue represented water. Naturally, earth-element spells were best for countering it.

He completed a Stone Shattering Technique at top speed, and pale yellow ripples struck the ring with precision.

The blue ring instantly shattered, and he cleared the first stage.

The ring's defenses were not strong. He had only used around thirty percent of his strength in that spell.

After waiting for a moment, the ring atop the stone pillar changed into a red circle.

Jiang Ran raised his hand and blasted it with a Water Ball Technique. The red ring shattered in response.

Then came the same steps: rings of various colors, smashing them one after another.

"That's it?" Jiang Ran was a little surprised.

Had the Spell Tournament been talked up too much? It did not seem difficult at all...

What he did not know was that the rings only appeared for three breaths.

If a ring could not be shattered within three breaths, it would automatically be judged a failure.

Jiang Ran's talent for spells had never been poor. Now that he had reached Qi Nourishment Perfection, casting five-element spells came as naturally as moving his fingers.

Among students his age, being able to complete a spell formula within two breaths was already considered extremely impressive.

But for Jiang Ran, any of the basic five-element spells he currently knew took no more than one breath to cast.

Each person had ten rings and ten chances.

The first practical combat competition ended quickly. The illusion vanished, revealing many dejected faces around him.

"Those who hit six or more out of ten rings will advance to the next round."

"All other students, please leave in an orderly manner..."

Jiang Ran looked up and discovered that more than half the students were heading out.

The Spell Tournament was far stricter than he had imagined.

"Ran, let's go." Tao Dapeng waved at him.

He subconsciously assumed Jiang Ran was just like him, merely here to "broaden his horizons," and would be eliminated in the first round.

"No, you go on by yourself." Jiang Ran spread his hands and put on a helpless expression.

Only then did Tao Dapeng react. He looked at the green indicator before Jiang Ran.

"Damn... you're this good at spells too?"

Tao Dapeng's way of thinking had yet to change. Jiang Ran was no longer the failing student he used to be; now, he possessed a high-grade spiritual root beyond the reach of ordinary people.

The brothers-in-arms who had once shared the same hardships would surely soar ever higher together from now on.

Jiang Ran swept his gaze around and roughly estimated that no more than half the students had advanced to the second round.

With tens of thousands competing, one round of target shooting had eliminated every contestant merely there to make up the numbers.

The competition continued, and the second round began soon after.

It was still the same scene, still the same rings.

The difference was that this time, the rings did not remain atop the stone pillars. They shot outward instead...

—Moving targets!

Jiang Ran watched for another moment, then casually fired off a spell.

It was still too easy. His control over spells had nearly reached one hundred percent; his advantage there was even greater than his casting speed.

Without any surprise, he hit all ten rings for a perfect score.

The target-shooting competition was highly efficient. Within ten minutes, the winners and losers had been decided.

The second round ended quickly. Everyone who hit seven rings or fewer failed and left, leaving only several thousand students in the range.

Out of tens of thousands of contestants, only several thousand remained. The competition was undoubtedly brutal.

Every student left now could cast spells quickly and possessed formidable spell control even while casting at high speed.

Without question, these people would also be the strongest contenders in the upcoming college entrance examinations.

The illusion reappeared, and the third round began.

This time, things went completely mad.

Once the countdown ended, four rings shot out in succession from the front, back, left, and right.

White, red, yellow, green... every ring was a different color!

Jiang Ran finally turned serious. He worked both hands at once, rapidly forming spell formulas.

Water Ball Technique, Fireball Technique, Stone Shattering Technique, Torrent Technique...

With the limited spiritual power of Qi Refinement Level Two, he had to knock down rings of different attributes in the shortest possible time.

—This was the true standard of the Spell Tournament!

Spells of every color flew through the range, and the students below watched with their hearts racing.

At this very moment, behind the podium, the outstanding performances of certain students also drew the attention of the higher-ranking cultivators.

A male student wearing Pearl Middle School's uniform used his hand as a blade, sweeping out a semicircular white blade of light.

Rings of every color shattered. With just one spell, he destroyed every ring and became the first contestant to complete the competition.

"Golden Blade Breaks Ten Thousand Techniques, strength overcomes ten thousand methods... not bad!"

"Old Guo, your Pearl Middle School has always been reassuring as ever." The elderly man who spoke wore a smile.

He was Liang Wenjun, an executive director of Pearl Education Group and a representative of the Jade Pivot Immortal Sect.

The Old Guo being addressed was Guo Renwu, the principal of Pearl High School.

"Hm... which school is this child from?"

The image on the water screen shifted to Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran was trying something new, rapidly firing off several spells from his hands.

The Fireball Technique struck the red ring, the Stone Shattering Technique struck the yellow ring, and the Water Ball Technique struck the blue ring...

Using fire against fire, water against water.