Chapter 74

"That's right." Xu Jintang looked at her and continued, "I asked Teacher Zhuang before if we could participate in the Ability User Competition. Her answer was that unless we could guarantee that we wouldn't reveal our identity as members of the experimental class, in other words, as long as we could hide our identities while participating, there was room for negotiation."

Xue Zhongqi became somewhat interested, "Then how do we conceal our identities?"

Xu Jintang pointed to the projection screen behind him, where a ghost mask was displayed.

"Wearing a mask to cover your face will hide your identity, won't it?"

Yan Yuting raised his hand, "But if we use our special abilities in battle, our identities will still be easy to guess."

Xu Jintang smiled slightly, crossing his arms in front of him. "Who said we have to use superpowers to fight? We just learned how to use magical artifacts and runes to enhance our combat power. We can use this competition to practice our use of magical artifacts and runes."

"That's a good idea." Song Tianqi stroked his chin repeatedly, a hint of interest rising in his heart.

Xue Zhongqi continued, "But we don't have any money. Where are we going to buy suitable magic weapons and inscriptions? Besides, isn't the purpose of participating in the Ability User Competition to make money? It's a vicious cycle."

"We'll have to discuss this with Teacher Zhuang," Xu Jintang said with a smile.

"My plan is to first persuade Teacher Zhuang to agree to let us participate in the Ability User Competition, and then take the opportunity to ask the military academy to allocate funds to subsidize part of the money for purchasing magical artifacts and inscriptions. After our team wins the championship prize, we will repay the military academy with this money."

"This way, we'll have the money, and we can also participate in the competition to practice using magic weapons and inscriptions. It's a win-win situation."

The group exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Yan Yuting spoke first, "I think it's a good idea."

That afternoon, Xu Jintang found Zhuang Silin and explained his plans in detail.

After listening, Zhuang Silin looked up with a smile, "You've got a good plan. The military academy pays for it, you get all the benefits, and even if you don't win the championship prize, it's not a complete loss, right?"

Xu Jintang replied with a smile, "I've been so bothered by their lack of money these past few days that I came up with this idea. Teacher Zhuang, we don't need much, just 500,000 per person. If we win the championship prize, we'll definitely return the 500,000 in full."

Zhuang Silin adjusted her posture, placing her hands crossed on her knees. "This amount of money is indeed nothing to a military academy. But are you sure you can win the prize money for the Ability User Competition?"

Xu Jintang spoke frankly, "Actually, I'm not very confident, but if I don't even participate in the competition, then I definitely won't have any chance at all."

Zhuang Silin pondered for a moment, "I'll discuss this with the other leaders. If they all agree, I'll transfer the money to you as soon as possible."

Xu Jintang's eyes lit up.

I knew Teacher Zhuang was generous.

Thank you, teacher!

Back at the villa dormitory, Xu Jintang relayed the message to everyone.

Yan Yuting tentatively asked, "What are the chances that the military academy leaders will agree to our plan?"

Xu Jintang poured a glass of water. "About 90%."

"So tall." Xue Zhongqi looked over with great interest. "Looks like we're about to become rich overnight."

Xu Jintang dared to speak out because he had calculated that compared to improving the strength of the five of them, this amount of money was nothing to the military academy.

Two days later, news of Zhuang Silin arrived, along with a grant of 2.6 million Star Coins.

[The 50 star coins per person are from the military academy's allocation, and the extra 100,000 star coins are from my personal donation. The military academy leadership's attitude is that since you've participated, give it your all and compete well. As long as you don't expose the experimental class plan, you can do whatever you want.]

Xu Jintang read the message aloud verbatim.

After hearing this, Yan Yuting and the other three exchanged excited glances.

"They actually agreed! Leikedasi really has plenty of money," Yan Yuting exclaimed.

Song Tianqi had already started planning how to spend the money. "I have to get a weapon with the coolest stats! And I'll socket all the buff runes into it."

Jiang Shiyi remained calm.

She looked up at Xu Jintang, "Winning the Ability User Competition won't be easy."

Xu Jintang nodded, "It's all about participation, and judging from what Teacher Zhuang said, the military academy leaders probably don't want to put too much pressure on us."

In the final week before the registration deadline for the Ability User Competition, Xu Jintang and his four teammates filled out their team information and managed to register for the competition at the last minute.

Later, when Wu Jinghong heard that Xu Jintang and his four friends were going to participate in the Ability User Competition, she became interested and offered to be their mentor.

In the afternoon, the sun slowly set.

Wu Jinghong stood at the front of the conference room and explained in detail the details of the Ability User Competition: "The Ability User Competition is held every year. It is the second largest event after the Military Academy League, and it receives a lot of attention. Moreover, every match is broadcast live to the public, so the five of you must wear masks at all times to ensure that your identities are not exposed."

"Clear!"

After explaining the precautions, Wu Jinghong got to the main point. "Now, let's talk about the competition format and related rules of this Ability User Competition."

Chapter 74

"The Ability User Competition restricts participants to eighteen years of age or younger. This means that during the competition, you will encounter many opponents who are older than you. They have cultivated for a longer period and their mental strength levels will be higher. This is currently the biggest disadvantage for you."

"But since the five of you will be using magic weapons and runes throughout the battle, there's plenty of a way to make up for it, so there's no need to worry too much."

Xu Jintang raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, I heard that those five people from the Silver Light Military Academy are also going to participate in the Ability User Competition?"

Wu Jinghong nodded, "That's right, the Ability User Competition is a great opportunity for training. Every year, many military academy students participate. Besides Silver Light Military Academy, I heard that students from the Mechanical Technology Military Academy will also participate. If you plan to rely solely on magical artifacts and inscriptions in combat, then they will be your greatest enemies."

At this moment, Xue Zhongqi suddenly spoke up, "Teacher, I might also have to participate in the Inscription Master Competition in between. Will these two competitions conflict?"

"No. Both competitions are organized by the same party, and the timing of the two competitions was specifically split up to prevent people from wanting to participate in both."

Xue Zhongqi nodded, "That's fine then, I'm all set."

These words also reminded Xu Jintang that she still needed to find time to participate in the Inscription Master Competition.

She leaned back in her chair and sighed softly, rubbing her temples.

Wu Jinghong then explained the competition format for the Ability User Competition.

It sounds complicated, involving elimination rounds, 1v1 elimination matches, and 5v5 team battles, etc.

After the meeting, Xu Jintang transferred the military academy's funds into the accounts of the four individuals, "500,000 star coins each, and the remaining 100,000 as group expenses; if that's not enough, we'll divide it up further."

Holding the communicator after receiving the money, Song Tianqi took a deep, ecstatic breath, "Is this the taste of money? It's so delicious."

Yan Yuting looked at him with a sneer, quickly took a step to the side, and then fell into deep thought, "I need to think about what inscriptions I should buy."

Xu Jintang ignored them and went straight back to her room. She closed the door and began studying a new explosive inscription she had recently discovered.

When explosive inscriptions are attached to weapons or magical artifacts, they will cause corresponding explosive damage.

Her ruby hidden blades have a tracking effect, which can guarantee the accuracy of the hit, but the damage is actually not very high.

If this kind of explosive inscription were added, the effect should be quite good.

With this in mind, Xu Jintang quickly logged into the Inscriptionist Association's intranet and began searching for tutorials related to the Explosion Inscription.

A week flew by.

The registration period for the Ability User Competition has officially ended.

The hashtag # Ability User Competition # surged to the top of the Star Network trending search list.

Many Star Network users who are following the Ability User Competition have left comments and remarks:

[To be honest, I'm tired of watching the same few teams play every day. I hope there will be more dark horse newcomers this season, so I can get excited again.]

[I heard that Silver Light Military Academy is also participating this year. They seem to be quite strong. I wonder if they have a chance to make it into the top ten.]

[Silver Light Military Academy? Don't even mention it. They challenged Leikedasi the other day and suffered a crushing defeat. I've given up on them.]

[Unfortunately, Leikedasi students don't usually participate in these kinds of competitions; we'll have to wait for the Military Academy League to see their true strength.]

Inside the villa dormitory at this moment.

Xu Jintang distributed the ghost face masks to everyone, and casually asked, "Teacher Wu said we need to come up with a team name and slogan, do you have any suggestions?"

"Let's call them the Sure Victory Team." Song Tianqi fiddled with the ghost mask in his hand, probably without even thinking before coming up with the name.

Yan Yuting quickly pushed him away, "This name is too rustic. We need to come up with something more sophisticated and classy."

Xue Zhongqi and suggested, "How about calling We Are All Rich Team '? That sounds pretty expensive, doesn't it?"

"..."

Xu Jintang waved his hand, "You shut up too."

Finally, Jiang Shiyi asked, "The Mask Squad?"

Xu Jintang and Yan Yuting both turned to look at them, exchanged a glance, and nodded in agreement. "That's acceptable."

"Great! Then let's call ourselves the Mask Squad!" Song Tianqi quickly changed his name, tossing the ghost mask in his hand into the air to celebrate.

Xu Jintang then asked, "So, how do we decide on a slogan?"

Song Tianqi, quick-witted, raised a finger and proposed again. "Mask Mask, invincible!"

"..."

Xu Jintang looked at the others with a sense of resignation, "What are your thoughts?"

Xue Zhongqi shrugged, "I really can't think of that."

Jiang Shiyi also shook her head, "I didn't expect that."