"In that case, this rule is simply insane. The person who gets the badge has to expend a large amount of magic power to keep the badge until the last second. Who can do this?"
"The school management is well ahead of the curve compared to us students in this instance. "
"Isn't this a joke? How detestable!"
The surrounding students discussed this excitedly and soon discovered the illogical point in the rules.
Even so, most of the students were still looking forward to the competition.
Their goal wasn't to fight for the badges but to stay on the battlefield as far as possible to get a high ranking.
Just as everyone was arguing about how they should fight, the class monitor, Liang Rou, walked out from the crowd and said confidently, "Don't be demoralized, everyone. As long as we give it our all, we'll definitely get the ideal results. Let's work hard together!"
Looking at Liang Rou's pretentious expression, Bai Ze pursed his lips, hinting that he disagreed with her point of view.
However, Zhang Xian, who was not far away, was nodding his head solemnly at this moment, just like the bootlicker he was.
"Tsk, tsk. What sort of characters are these people?"
Wu Feng, who was standing next to Bai Ze, was somewhat displeased and criticized in a low voice.
As for why he didn't dare to say it out loud, it was because he couldn't defeat…
On the square, the students who heard Liang Rou's encouragement responded enthusiastically.
"Oh, our class monitor, Liang Rou, is indeed the best. I believe that you'll definitely get first place in the qualification competition."
"Yeah, class monitor, don't forget about us when the time comes. Give us more support."
"I heard that the Preordained Training Camp has many precious tools that are beneficial to cultivation. This time, class monitor Liang Rou is going to soar."
Everyone agreed that Liang Rou would definitely get a good result in the upcoming competition.
Liang Rou, who was being endorsed by the crowd, simply smiled and waved her hand. "You guys are too kind. It's already good enough for me to be in the top ten. After all, there's no lack of fourth ring experts like Lin Xi and Ling Quan in the school. I don't dare to think about being the champion. When the time comes, we can work together and help each other to fight for the top ten."
Liang Rou said with a big smile. Her expression was full of sincerity and was very convincing.
However, while she might be able to use this sort of trick to deceive the students who had a good relationship with her, in Bai Ze's eyes, Liang Rou's modesty was utterly hypocritical.
Soon, the school meeting ended about an hour later.
In order to give the students enough time to prepare, the classes in the afternoon were canceled.
As long as the students arrived at school at ten in the morning tomorrow, they would be eligible to take the exam.
With one command, the students dispersed. Some went to re-familiarize themselves with the school's terrain, while others made last-minute preparations to burn the midnight oil before the exam.
Compared to the students who were in a hurry, Bai Ze seemed a lot more composed.
He went back to class, put on his coat, and then walked to the back gate of the school unhurriedly.
Maplewood City's Numero Uno High School covered a large area. If it weren't for the rule that stated the ten badges would be hidden in the teaching block area, even if all 2,000 students searched until nightfall, it would still be impossible for them to find any traces of the badges.
After all, more than 60% of Numero Uno High School's area was covered in greenery.
The back gate of the school was surrounded by a large dense forest. There were also leisure spots such as pavilions and training facilities that very few people would visit.
If it weren't for the fact that Bai Ze's apartment building was closer to the back gate, he wouldn't have been here more than a few times a year.
However, just as he was about to leave the school premises, he saw a familiar figure in a pavilion not far away.
Just by looking at her back, he could tell that she was their class monitor, Zhang Xian's goddess, Liang Rou.
After all, besides her, no one else bothered to dress up to the nines to come to school every day.
At this moment, Liang Rou was sitting with an unfamiliar man, chatting and laughing.
Seeing this situation, Bai Ze immediately retreated and hid behind a tree.
Now that the mock exam was approaching, he didn't want to cause any trouble.
After he had adjusted his position, he began to observe carefully.
Liang Rou had already snuggled into the stranger's arms. As there were very few people here, the two of them didn't bother to hide their conversation at all.
"Little Rou, you're so close to me. Aren't you afraid that Zhang Xian guy will get jealous?"
The man stroked Liang Rou's hair and said in a calm voice.
"You're so annoying. Why are you bringing up that person? He's just a lackey who can be ordered around. How can he compare to you?"
Liang Rou's voice was charming. As she spoke, she rubbed her chest against the man's arm, putting her coquettishness on full display.
Bai Ze, who was hiding behind the tree, frowned.
Although Zhang Xian's ability was average, his family was well-off, and it was easy for him to find a girlfriend or wife. No matter what, he did not deserve to be toyed with by this kind of woman.
With a trace of anger rising in his heart, Bai Ze immediately whipped out his mobile phone and recorded a short video of the two flirting.
Then, he sent it to Zhang Xian through an anonymous email.
After the two of them had finished their performance under the surveillance cameras the last time, they added each other's contact information.
Bai Ze did not expect that his first time contacting Zhang Xian would be because of this matter.
However, at the end of the day, Zhang Xian was just an acquaintance he had a passable relationship. The reason he did this was because he didn't want to see the other guy being kept in the dark.
After doing this, he didn't pay much attention to it anymore, and straightaway left the school premises.
After walking out of the school gate, Bai Ze went to the store where he bought the magic crystals last time.
At this moment, he didn't have much money on him. After paying Jiang Qingyue 5,000 bucks, plus the 2,000 bucks he got from Zhang Xian this time, he couldn't even afford a decent bottle of potion.
However, considering that the mock exam was approaching, Bai Ze decided to buy some supplies to improve his strength before the competition began so as to achieve a top ten position to obtain a scholarship.
As he walked into the store, the customer service staff recognized him since he had been here twice.
Bai Ze strolled around the store for a long time, but in the end, he only had enough money to buy a bottle of blue spiritual power nourishment potion.
The effect of this potion was average, and it was only a few dozen milliliters. It was a very ordinary small blue bottle.
After weighing the pros and cons, Bai Ze still took the potion to the front desk to make payment.
However, at this moment, his gaze was attracted by the display cabinet at the side.
Inside the glass display cabinet, there was a box filled with ice.
There were three potions displayed on the silk cloth inside. They were only the size of ink bottles, but the medicinal liquid was very strange.
There was a mixture of solid and liquid inside the potion. It even had speckles of light, like a beautiful, alluring nebula.
"Excuse me, may I ask how much for this potion?"
Bai Ze immediately inquired out of curiosity, but his eyes were still staring at the potion.
The service staff standing next to him immediately gave an introduction. "Sir, this is the latest product of our potion store. It's called Ether Essence. It's exquisitely crafted by a seventh-grade pharmacist by refining it day and night."
"Its effect is to permanently increase immensely the magic power in the user's body and rapidly recover magic power and spiritual power in a short time. The price is 100,000 bucks."
When the service staff explained the effect, Bai Ze was so surprised that his jaw dropped slightly. He was shocked beyond words and was insanely tempted.
If he could consume one bottle, he might even be able to condense a second magic ring. However, when the service staff stated the price, the reality immediately doused his hopes with a bucket of cold water.
"It's really awesome. It's really expensive too."
After a long time, Bai Ze could only sigh in resignation.