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 upcoming event was the practical combat competition.

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

"I'm fine..." Jiang Ran shook his head to ease his fatigue. In truth, he had barely slept last night. "Just a little insomnia. It's nothing."

He took the water Da Peng handed him and gulped down a large mouthful, hoping to wake himself up.

"Insomnia?" Tao Dapeng curled his lip. "Never experienced it. Don't know what it feels like."

Just then, Jiang Ran couldn't hold it in and sprayed out the mouthful of water.

—Pfft...

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

The water clearly tasted wrong!

"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 suddenly understood.

"No wonder it tastes so awful!"

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

On one hand, spell water carried various additional properties. On the other, it gradually dissipated over time, especially low-tier spells cast by low-level Qi Refining cultivators... Once they lost spiritual power support, they would completely vanish within a few breaths. Drinking it was no different from drinking nothing.

Pearl Middle School's ability to develop a spell specifically for drinking water also demonstrated the advantages of higher education institutions. Combat was not the only path; diversified development was the proper route for cultivators today.

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

Jiang Ran and Tao Dapeng stopped chatting and followed the crowd into the training range inside the spell hall.

The so-called training range was actually called the Spell Experiment Training Range in full.

The space inside was enormous. Even after tens of thousands of students flooded in, it did not seem crowded.

A large number of targets were arranged in the center of the range. They were neither metal nor wood and appeared to be made from some peculiar kind of stone.

After every student found their position and the leading teachers completed attendance, the competition officially began.

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

It was an array formation. The array and stone pillars had combined perfectly to create a kind of illusion.

"Please use an appropriate spell to knock down the target point."

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

The words had barely faded from his ears.

A stone pillar quickly appeared, with a blue halo flashing at its top.

"Blue?" Jiang Ran immediately understood.

Blue represented water. Naturally, the best counter was an earth-element spell.

He completed a Stone Shattering Technique as quickly as possible, and pale yellow ripples struck the halo with precision.

The blue halo shattered instantly, and he had passed the first stage.

The halo's defensive ability was not strong. He had used only around thirty percent of his strength on that spell.

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

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

After that came the same process: halos of various colors, shattering fire jars.

That's it? Jiang Ran was somewhat surprised.

Wasn't the so-called Spell Tournament being exaggerated a little? It did not seem difficult at all...

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

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

Jiang Ran's talent for spells had never been bad. Now that he had reached Qi Nourishment Perfection, casting five-element spells came even more naturally to him.

For other students his age, being able to complete a hand seal within two breaths was already extremely impressive.

But for Jiang Ran, none of the basic five-element spells he currently knew required more than one breath to cast.

Each person had ten halos and ten chances.

The first practical combat competition ended quickly. The illusion vanished, and many disappointed faces appeared around him.

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

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

When Jiang Ran looked up, he found that more than half the students were heading out.

The Spell Tournament seemed far stricter than he had imagined.

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

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

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

Only then did Tao Dapeng realize what was happening and look at the green indicator before Jiang Ran.

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

Da Peng's mindset had not yet changed. Jiang Ran was no longer the failing student he had once been. Now, he possessed a high-grade spiritual root that ordinary people could hardly hope to attain.

The former pair of struggling brothers should soar ever higher together from now on.

Jiang Ran looked around and roughly estimated that at most half had advanced to the second round.

Among tens of thousands of competitors, one round of target shooting had eliminated every mediocre participant.

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

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

The difference was that this time, the halos did not remain atop the stone pillars. Instead, they shot outward...

—Moving targets!

Jiang Ran took another look and casually cast a spell.

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

Without any surprises, he hit all ten halos for a perfect score.

The target-shooting competition was highly efficient, with the winners decided within ten minutes.

The second round ended quickly. Everyone with seven or fewer hits failed and left the field, leaving only several thousand students behind.

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

Every student remaining now could cast spells quickly and possessed extremely strong spell control even while casting rapidly.

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

The illusion reappeared, and the third round began.

This time, things went completely crazy.

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

White, red, yellow, green... The halos were all different colors!

Jiang Ran finally grew serious. His hands moved simultaneously as he rapidly formed hand seals.

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

His limited spiritual power at Qi Refinement Level Two had to knock down halos of different attributes in the shortest possible time.

—This was the Spell Tournament's true level!

Spells of every color flew through the training range, leaving the students below watching with excitement and longing.

At that moment, behind the podium, the outstanding performances of certain students also drew the attention of high-level cultivators.

A male student wearing the Pearl Middle School uniform used his hand like a blade and swept out a semicircular white blade of light.

Halos of every color shattered. He used only one spell to destroy them all, becoming the first contestant to complete the competition.

"Golden Blade Breaks Ten Thousand Techniques, one force conquers ten techniques... Not bad!"

"Old Guo, your Pearl Middle School is as 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 he addressed was Guo Renwu, the principal of Pearl High School.

"Hmm... Which school is this child from?"

The image on the water screen shifted to Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran was trying something new, rapidly casting multiple 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.