Chapter 50: Infinite Cloud Hand

Zhang Yu looked at his phone, which was displaying an electronic agreement.

The content of the agreement was also very simple: it granted the top ten in this Spell Power Competition the right to use the Wuji Cloud Hand, with the stipulations that they would not disseminate it in any way and would not profit from its content, among other things.

Bai Zhenzhen stood beside Zhang Yu, tilting her head to look at the agreement, and complained, "So stingy. Xianyun Group is such a big company, why are they so stingy with their sponsorship? They only give the usage rights to the top ten in total score? Why not give a copy to everyone?"

Zhang Yu shook his head dismissively. "If they gave it to everyone, wouldn't that be unfair to the students who performed well in this competition?"

"In my opinion, even ten people might be too many. I feel that those ranked fourth or lower in total score don't really have a proper grasp of the exam questions this time."

Bai Zhenzhen cast a sidelong glance at Zhang Yu.

Damn it...

Listen to that. Unfair to the students with good scores? Those ranked fourth or lower don't have a proper grasp of the exam questions? Is that human speech? Zhang Yu, have you forgotten how you criticized the modern immortal cultivation education system a month ago? Where has your integrity gone?

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu's ugly face with disappointment.

Yu! My Yu is already dead. The person in front of me now is just a walking corpse controlled by scores!

"Haha, Zhen, the prize money has arrived." Zhang Yu looked at the deposit notification on his phone, feeling that his mouth was harder to suppress than an AK.

This time, fourth place in the Spell Competition awarded a full twenty thousand in cash, boosting his savings to over sixty-three thousand.

Zhang Yu slapped Bai Zhenzhen on the shoulder and waved his hand grandly. "Zhen, when we get back to school, I'll treat you to a meal."

"Good kid!" Bai Zhenzhen said cheerfully. "I knew you had roots and wouldn't forget your origins."

Soon, the various schools began to disperse.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen followed the crowd from Songyang High School out through the main gate of the venue.

Just then, a black silhouette fell from the top of the stadium.

"That's..." Zhang Yu's gaze shifted. "A person?"

Someone jumped off a building?

Just as Zhang Yu reacted, someone on the scene had already moved.

Actually, on an ordinary day, that jumper might have hit the ground with a splat.

But at this moment, there were too many high school students, teachers, coaches, referees, judges on the scene.

In particular, many of them belonged to Hongta High School.

As they say, everyone is responsible for maintaining the campus environment.

The moment the figure fell from above, several streams of Gang Qi roared in and, like cushions, caught the jumper.

Liang Qin, who had closed his eyes waiting for death, did not experience the imagined piercing pain; instead, he felt himself land on an extremely warm, large bed.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself gently lowered to the ground by a mass of Gang Qi.

"Why did you save me!"

Liang Qin looked at this scene in pain, feeling no joy at being rescued.

Just now while watching the Spell Competition, he had kept placing bets and finally lost all his money again, and even his father had called to ask about the debt collection, which led him to make the choice he had just made.

The teacher who saved him also showed no trace of joy on his face; he simply said matter-of-factly, "This school campus is a no-jumping-off-buildings zone."

"Your situation has been reported to the police. Someone will discuss the specific compensation with you..."

Hearing these words, a trace of despair flashed in Liang Qin's eyes, and he quickly defended himself, "I didn't mean to jump! I slipped..."

The other party said flatly, "Slipped? So it was an accidental jump? That still costs money."

Liang Qin was furious, but recalling the other party's Gang Qi just now, he could only suppress the anger in his heart.

"When I get a chance, I'll switch to another place to jump."

Calming down, Liang Qin began to think about his next jumping-off point: schools, hospitals, shopping malls, residential areas... they all required compensation.

"What a crappy world. It's even hard to find a place to jump off a building for free."

On the other side, Songyang High School was almost out of the campus.

Not only the other students, but even Zhang Yu wasn't that surprised by the jumper now; he just felt that the person wrapped in the mass of Gang Qi looked somewhat familiar.

……

Songyang High School.

Cafeteria.

Bai Zhenzhen popped a chicken leg into her mouth, and with a series of crisp crunching sounds, she swallowed it down, meat and bones alike.

And right now, in front of her, a whole table was covered with chicken, duck, fish, and meat, costing Zhang Yu over four hundred in total.

Even with Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen's current cultivation and physical strength, this was enough for a hearty meal.

"Ah, the school's pre-made food really hits the spot. One whiff and you can tell it has that fresh-out-of-the-freezer novelty."

After taking a bite, Bai Zhenzhen sighed, "That boxed lunch at Hongta High School tasted all wrong—who knows how much synthetic food they added."

Although Zhang Yu was also eating with gusto, he carried many memories of gourmet food from his previous life. Hearing this, he said, "Zhen, when I have money later, I'll treat you to something even better."

Bai Zhenzhen: "You mean the nourishing meals on the second floor?"

Zhang Yu understood that for most high school students at Songyang High School—no, for most high school students in the entire city of Songyang—better food meant food that could better enhance cultivation and improve exam scores.

As for the pursuit of flavor itself... that was secondary, or rather, something most Songyang high school students couldn't afford to pursue.

For high school students, flavor was a luxury. Zhang Yu didn't explain, simply saying, "When I have money, you'll find out."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu remembered what had happened in today's competition and asked curiously, "Zhen, how did you figure out that set of punches in your final match?"

Bai Zhenzhen said casually, "Isn't it just that the movement diagram shows six moves?"

Zhang Yu exclaimed, "Does it?"

"Of course it does." Bai Zhenzhen thought back and said, "Isn't that obvious at a glance?"

Cheating, huh? Zhang Yu looked at Zhen in front of him, still unable to understand how she could see that at a glance. It seemed that students ranked 100+ and below in the competition also had their merits.

After speaking, Bai Zhenzhen said with great reluctance, "I had no other choice, so I tried to see if I could use the external martial techniques to assist the mana circulation method."

"But it still didn't work."

Recalling how she had been trounced all the way in today's mana competition, Bai Zhenzhen made a firm decision to seriously work on her mana control from now on.

Then she looked up at Zhang Yu in front of her, thought of how he had stolen the spotlight in today's competition, and immediately felt even more upset.

!

"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to remedial classes!"

I, Bai Zhenzhen, will never be inferior to anyone in my life!

Bai Zhenzhen asked, "Are you going to Teacher Yan's remedial class?"

Before parting today, Teacher Yan had called Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen over and told them that based on their competition results, he would apply to the school for some funding to set up a remedial class for the mana competition. He told them to sign up when the time came.

Zhang Yu nodded in response and said, "Definitely going."

Although he had achieved a good result—fourth place—in today's competition, it also made Zhang Yu feel his own limitations.

If it hadn't been for his last-minute realization of the Wuji Cloud Hands from Bai Zhenzhen, he probably wouldn't have made it into the top ten in total score.

He hoped to become stronger in mana control, so that in future mana competitions, he wouldn't have to rely on luck to win.

Moreover, once the school allocated funding, Teacher Yan's competition remedial class might also come with perks like flying swords and cultivation techniques, which made Zhang Yu look forward to it.

Seeing Zhang Yu nod, Bai Zhenzhen's lips curled up. "Alright, then we'll go together to Old Yan's remedial class."

……

After returning home.

Zhang Yu did not practice the Wild Bull Soul-Calming Mind Technique as he usually did to improve his Dao heart.

After all, his current Feather Tome specialization had switched to the martial art of Wuji Cloud Hands.

So instead, he took the opportunity to continue leveling up this Wuji Cloud Hands.

He thought that since Wuji Cloud Hands only had six moves back and forth, maybe it would level up even faster than Disperse Hands—perhaps reaching level ten in a single night.

So Zhang Yu headed to the unfinished building again.

Arriving here, Zhang Yu felt as if he had returned home, after all, he had spent night after night here practicing martial arts.

It was quiet here, no fear of noise, so when training he could let loose and do as he pleased.

If it weren't for the fact that he had already paid the rent at home, and that this unfinished building had no internet, no electricity, and no water, he would have moved a bed over and just lived in this free, wonderful place.

He walked into a bare, gray hall.

With a single thought from Zhang Yu, streams of mana arose from his dantian, passed through seven levels of oscillation, and turned into clouds of mist that surged from his palms.

Because he had already cultivated the Wuji Cloud Hand to Level 1, the speed and quality of his conversion of mana into martial aura in one breath far surpassed any of the contestants on the field today.

Feeling the mist enveloping his hands, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Formless Cloud Aura?"

After signing the electronic agreement, Zhang Yu had obtained the right to use the Wuji Cloud Hand and the electronic manual.

The true name of this martial aura was also written in the manual.

Formless Cloud Aura, shaped like white clouds, can be both hard and soft; it is best at channeling force and borrowing momentum to counter an attack. It is a versatile martial aura that can attack and defend in battle.

Next, Zhang Yu began to practice the six external forms of the Wuji Cloud Hand.

He punched forward, and the white Formless Cloud Aura carried surging power, like a giant siege hammer, emitting a whistling sound.

This was the fierce, powerful move of the Wuji Cloud Hand, specifically used to break through enemies head-on.

Next, Zhang Yu moved his hands in a shifting motion, the white Formless Cloud Aura swirling around him like layers of mist, carrying a soft, elastic resilience.

This was the defensive move of the Wuji Cloud Hand. At this moment, the springy Formless Cloud Aura could not only deflect the force of an opponent's attack but even rebound part of the power.

In this way, Zhang Yu finished practicing the six forms of the Wuji Cloud Hand in a short while, then practiced them again from the beginning.

The forms of the Wuji Cloud Hand were far too few—only six—and Zhang Yu finished ten repetitions in just over ten minutes.

Wuji Cloud Hand Level 1 (0/10) → Level 2 (0/20)

As the Wuji Cloud Hand advanced to Level 2, Zhang Yu felt as if he had experienced countless repetitions in an instant. The process of refining mana into Formless Cloud Aura, the manipulation of the Formless Cloud Aura, and even the application of the six external forms all immediately made tremendous progress.

Zhang Yu looked at his hands.

The Formless Cloud Aura that had originally enveloped his hands would have wisps of white cloud-like aura drifting upward, like smoke signals shooting straight into the sky—this was also how it appeared on the arena.

But now, as the Wuji Cloud Hand advanced to Level 2, the wisps of aura drifting upward had decreased significantly, reflecting his improved control over this aura.