Washing His Face

Jiang Ran's control was simply too strong.

The strength of his soul far exceeded the limit, beyond anything any early-stage Qi Refining cultivator could match.

Even ten moving halos posed no challenge to him.

And so, he made this attempt.

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

Fire against fire, water against water.

Elemental restraint could maximize a spell's power.

But what would happen if spells of the same element were used instead?

"Now..." Jiang Ran's eyes lit up slightly.

"Burst!"

He quietly altered the flow of spiritual energy within the spells. The multicolored spells that had entered the halos instantly exploded, and every halo shattered along with them!

"That's right. Spells of the same element can also suppress each other." Jiang Ran lowered his hands, countless insights surfacing in his mind.

"The five elements' cycle of generation and restraint is not absolute. Spell construction and the level of power can both affect the outcome..."

Whether he could place in the Spell Tournament was not particularly important to Jiang Ran.

Learning something and improving himself would make this trip worthwhile.

Including Jiang Ran himself, no one knew that the big shots on the viewing platform had already erupted into an uproar.

"You said this kid came from Pingjiang?" A teacher from Mingzhu Group spoke with obvious disbelief.

"Absolutely true. Pingjiang No. 1 High School's roster is right here. His name is Jiang Ran."

"Unbelievable... He achieved Spirit Communion at Qi Refinement Level Two. He is absolutely a genius!" Director Liang Wenjun declared firmly.

"A genius like this cannot be allowed to go unnoticed."

"Xiao Wu, register him immediately and transfer him to Mingzhu!"

"No... put him in the Elite Class!"

"Wait, wait..." Guo Renwu, the principal of Pearl High School, was sweating profusely.

"Elder Liang, this child has a Low-Grade Spirit Root."

"A Low-Grade Spirit Root? So what if it's a Low-Grade Spirit Root?" Director Liang waved a hand. "At worst, we'll give him a student loan and replace it with a Superior Spirit Root."

"Elder Liang, his family is officially impoverished..."

"An impoverished household?" Director Liang froze slightly. He had not heard that term in many years.

After a long while, Secretary Wu behind him cautiously spoke up.

"Sir, should we proceed with the transfer?"

"Mm..." Liang Wenjun coughed. "This boy comes from Pingjiang. He should naturally be cultivated by Pingjiang."

"We'll discuss this matter later."

Discuss it later.

Those two words denied Jiang Ran every bit of attention he had received.

Jiang Ran's performance had indeed been dazzling, but that was all. There were simply too many geniuses in this world.

Liang Wenjun was one of Pearl Education Group's directors, undoubtedly an influential figure. Someone like him could have changed Jiang Ran's fate with a single sentence and provided him with endless support.

Unfortunately, the most important thing to Pearl Education Group was not education, but the group.

Capital was realistic. The talent Jiang Ran had displayed was still not enough to make those people invest in him unconditionally.

An impoverished household meant no resources, no connections, nothing. Everything would have to be provided by Mingzhu Group, and the return on that investment was far too low.

Back at the arena.

The results of the third round had already been announced.

Thousands more people had been eliminated, leaving only three or four hundred contestants in the arena.

"Go, Jiang Ran! You're the best!" Tao Dapeng shouted from afar.

Da Peng was more excited than anyone. The more capable his good brother was, the prouder he felt.

By the numbers, the three or four hundred students still on the field would all receive a "Silver Award" in the spell competition.

The Silver Award did not carry as much weight as the Gold Award, but for high school students, it was already an extremely meaningful trophy.

Pingjiang No. 1 High School had sent five hundred students to compete. Aside from Jiang Ran, Tao Dapeng, and a few others who had been specially recommended by their spell teachers—

Almost every other student had been among the top five hundred in their grade at Pingjiang No. 1 High School.

The facts proved that high cultivation and good grades did not necessarily mean one's spell proficiency would be superior to others'.

Among the few hundred contestants remaining, three were from Pingjiang No. 1 High School.

Qi Ming, Zhang Jingjing, and Jiang Ran.

By the final stage of the Spell Tournament, many high schools had already been completely wiped out.

The fact that Pingjiang No. 1 High School still had three students remaining was already proof of the school's strength.

"He actually made it to the finals..."

"No way. Did he use some backdoor connection?"

"How is that possible? I got eliminated even at Qi Refinement Level Three. How did he get through at Qi Refinement Level Two?"

A sharp rebuke suddenly rang out from the crowd.

The one who spoke was not Tao Dapeng, but Cheng Qian, the class monitor of Class Three.

"Have you said enough?" Cheng Qian's expression was stern.

"Jiang Ran is a student of our No. 1 High School. He represents our school's honor. You're standing here spouting nonsense—if you have the ability, why don't you go up there and compete?"

Everyone was left speechless.

Tao Dapeng's eyes widened. He had never expected the class monitor, who was usually so unsmiling, to take the initiative to defend Jiang Ran.

"Jiang Ran has improved greatly recently. Everyone has seen it." Cheng Qian deliberately—or perhaps not—glanced at Tao Dapeng.

"Keep watching. I believe Jiang Ran is no worse than anyone else."

Inside the target range, the Mingzhu Group teachers had finished explaining the rules for the final round.

It was very simple. The final round would be the most direct.

—Spell duels!

Spell duels, a true practical combat competition.

The students would be paired off and engage in offense-and-defense battles according to the draw. The rule was that only spell power would be compared; close-range weapon combat was forbidden.

A Spell Tournament was, after all, a Spell Tournament. What it tested was spell proficiency.

With the match about to begin, Zhang Jingjing gave Jiang Ran beside her a complicated look.

Poor grades, thoughtless, reckless confessions, selling his spirit root... That had been Zhang Jingjing's impression of Jiang Ran in the past.

But recently, Jiang Ran seemed to have changed completely.

He cultivated diligently, his grades improved, his teachers praised him, and now he had even reached the final round of the Spell Tournament.

It was almost unbelievable that a student who had ranked near the bottom at Pingjiang No. 1 High School just a few months ago could change so much.

In Zhang Jingjing's eyes... this was surely the best example of self-improvement and the heavens rewarding diligence.

"Good luck..."

Qi Ming remained expressionless as he turned his head slightly and met Jiang Ran's gaze.

Neither of them thought much of it. Both assumed Zhang Jingjing was encouraging the other.

The match began soon after.

Jiang Ran's opponent was a student from Huachuan High School in the eastern region, with Qi Refinement Level Three cultivation.

If it was only Qi Refinement Level Three cultivation, Jiang Ran had nothing to fear.

But now, he was trembling a little, wondering whether he should apply to withdraw—or simply surrender outright.

It was not that he lacked confidence in his own strength.

He had simply suddenly realized that he seemed to be rather unbalanced in his studies.

Damn it... I never learned any defensive spells! Jiang Ran felt rather embarrassed.

He was given no more time to hesitate.

The teacher announced the start of the match, and the student from Huachuan High School had already launched a blazing mass of fire.

"Forget it..." Jiang Ran sighed.

He completed the Torrent Technique in an instant, raising his hand and firing a fierce stream of water.

The Torrent Technique had a nice name, but in reality, it was just a column of water—at most, the flow was somewhat more violent.

Relying on his Qi Refinement Level Three cultivation, the Huachuan High School student paid no attention to Jiang Ran's attack at all, a disdainful smile appearing on his face.

Fire spells were inherently highly destructive. Jiang Ran was defending instead of attacking—he was simply courting death.

But what he never expected was...

The water column collided with the flames and instantly scattered them.

Its remaining force did not diminish. It struck him squarely in the face, drenching his entire body with a loud splash.

"My apologies." Jiang Ran curled his lips.

Professor Cao had said that one should use the least spiritual energy to unleash the greatest power.

Now he had done it. Qi Nourishment Perfection had brought him ultimate control over spiritual energy.