Zhu Hongyuan lightly pushed off the ground with his feet, gracefully leaping onto the arena platform.
It had to be said that being among the top three in the school had its merits. At the very least, this effortless and elegant way of mounting the stage was not something ordinary students could match.
The students below burst into applause and cheers.
"So cool, Brother Zhu!"
"As expected of one of the school's top three. His style is so suave. I wonder if Ye Chen can defeat him."
"Hard to say. They're both at the sixth level of Qi Condensation. This is going to be quite a show!"
"..."
Lin Mo, occupying a prime viewing position, scrutinized the two on the stage, silently analyzing the situation.
In terms of raw power, both were at the sixth level of Qi Condensation.
However, Zhu Hongyuan was said to have reached this level during the summer break before senior year, while Ye Chen only reached it at the end of the first semester of senior year.
There was about a half-year gap between them.
Logically, Zhu Hongyuan should have the advantage.
But at the same Qi Condensation level, this advantage wasn't as significant as one might imagine.
When there wasn't a big difference in Qi levels, it came down to who had higher quality spells and better cultivation.
Although the school library had a collection of Qi Condensation spells covering various types, they were all basic, low-grade spells.
There weren't many spells suitable for arena battles, and in their daily spell exchanges, students mostly used the same few, recycled techniques.
If one had to name the most useful arena skill, the basic sword technique would undoubtedly be the first choice.
Most arena battles at the Qi Condensation stage were like novices pecking at each other.
Especially for students like them, whose spell cultivation wasn't very advanced.
Take Lin Mo's [Fire Control] and [Rain Summoning] skills on his status panel. With such low proficiency, they were only slightly better than a small flame or a water gun, with hardly any killing power.
If they actually hit the opponent, they might even give them a pleasurable hot and cold sensation. If the opponent then shouted, "That feels good, give me more!" wouldn't that be embarrassing?
In comparison, the basic sword technique was more practical. No matter how well it was cultivated, even wildly stabbing with a wooden sword had a chance of making the opponent cry out in pain.
Sure enough, Zhu Hongyuan drew a wooden long sword from his waist, performed a beautiful sword flourish in the air, and said to Ye Chen:
"I'll give you time to get a weapon. Don't make excuses when you lose."
Ye Chen looked at him with disdain, put his hands behind his back, and sneered:
"I need no weapon. You may strike."
What a cool line, I should remember that... Lin Mo thought to himself.
"Don't regret it!"
Zhu Hongyuan's face darkened. Then, holding the sword in his right hand and forming a sword finger with his left, he launched a simple thrust towards Ye Chen.
"Whoosh!"
A sound of wind-cutting echoed through the air.
This sword strike was clean and swift, with a speed far beyond that of ordinary students.
Many spectators below hadn't even reacted before the long sword was about to reach Ye Chen.
Faced with this fast and accurate strike, Ye Chen remained completely calm and shouted:
"Mystic ice becomes sword light, frost descends in all directions!"
A chilling force gathered at his fingertips. Then, using his finger as a sword, he thrust towards Zhu Hongyuan's wooden sword.
"Crack!"
In the instant of contact, Zhu Hongyuan's wooden sword shattered. His body was involuntarily sent flying backwards, crashing heavily off the arena and onto the stone slabs by the roadside.
"Pffft!"
A mouthful of blood spurted from Zhu Hongyuan's mouth.
Defeated in one move?
The surrounding students' faces showed expressions of disbelief.
Zhu Hongyuan was even more so. Clutching his painful chest with one hand, he lay on the ground looking up at Ye Chen on the stage, his eyes full of incredulity.
Both at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, he hadn't expected to be defeated so miserably.
Ye Chen looked down at him from above and said, "You lost! Don't forget to transfer your cultivation time to me tomorrow."
As his words fell, a burst of cheers erupted from the crowd.
"Great! Brother Ye is awesome!"
"He took down one of the school's top three in one move? That's too fierce!"
"Top three? The top three have a new member now!"
"You can't say that. The celestial exam looks at scores, not arena battles."
"Who cares about that? Winning means he's awesome!"
"Although he won, Zhu Hongyuan coughed up blood. Wasn't that a bit too harsh?"
"It does seem a bit much, but winning means he's awesome!"
"..."
Amidst the clamor of the crowd, Zhu Hongyuan, with a gloomy expression, was carried away by his classmates.
Lin Mo's face also showed a hint of surprise. He hadn't expected the "protagonist" to be so formidable!
Moreover, that finger-as-sword technique just now was clearly not the basic sword technique taught in school.
Its power was immense. Could it be a mid-grade first-tier spell?
He silently speculated.
The selling price of a mid-grade first-tier spell outside would be at least 5 low-grade spirit stones.
Converted to ordinary currency, that's over a million!
So rich?
Lin Mo looked suspiciously at Ye Chen on the stage. The latter's family background was, as he himself had said, ordinary, even less well-off than Lin Mo's family who sold peaches.
For an average working-class family, it would take decades to save up that much money, so buying it seemed unrealistic.
That left only one explanation: 'Isn't it reasonable for the protagonist to have some fortuitous encounters?'
Very reasonable... Lin Mo couldn't argue with this highly convincing reason.
"Ye Chen is too strong. That was Zhu Hongyuan, and he took him down in one move!"
Passing students praised him like this.
Lin Mo shook his head. Rather than saying Ye Chen was strong, it was more accurate to say that the effect of "fortune" was incredibly powerful.
Thinking back to when Ye Chen first transferred into Class 10 of the third year, he had average aptitude, ordinary looks and personality, and was among the most unremarkable in their ordinary class.
Now he had reversed his fortunes to become a campus celebrity, even defeating the higher-ranked second-generation cultivator Zhu Hongyuan in one move.
Of course, one couldn't rule out Ye Chen's diligent cultivation, but how many in this school didn't work hard at cultivation?
Even Zhang Dahai, who always thought about going home to inherit the family business, spent over ten hours a day in meditation. Other students were even more intense.
Studying at Nanshan No. 4 High School, you couldn't even claim to be from No. 4 if you didn't have hemorrhoids.
So, all things considered, the key to Ye Chen's reversal of fortune still lay in the two words "good fortune."
As Lin Mo walked towards the third teaching building, he couldn't help but sigh:
"This protagonist template is too enviable. When will I be able to obtain such good fortune?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the system's prompt sounded in his ear:
[Ding! Accumulated merit has reached 1000 points, condensing Fortune Value: 1]
Lin Mo froze in place, his mouth slightly agape.
Huh?
He was stunned for a moment, then quickly opened the system interface. Sure enough, below the merit value, a new line had appeared:
[Fortune Value]: 1
"..."
He was momentarily speechless.
Wait, merit value can actually condense into fortune value?
If that's the case, doesn't that mean I can also become a child of fortune?
Then another question arose:
How much fortune value does one need to become a child of fortune?
Lin Mo's mind instinctively conjured up an image of Ye Chen.
The only known child of fortune at Nanshan No. 4 High School was Ye Chen.
If it were three years ago, when Ye Chen had just transferred in and his personality was still mild, he might have been able to tell himself the answer.
However, since obtaining the title of [Child of Fortune], his personality had changed dramatically.
He gradually transformed from his former gentleness to arrogance and insolence. In class, he acted as if he were looking down on everyone from the top of his head, and was dismissive when others tried to communicate with him.
Lin Mo recalled the last time he spoke with him, which was a year ago.
At that time, he had only asked him a question about spells, but was met with sarcasm and ridicule, ending with Ye Chen dropping the line "Summer insects cannot discuss ice" before walking away in a very pretentious manner.
Since then, Lin Mo never again tried to warm up to that ice-cold attitude.
"He'd tell me when hell freezes over!"
He shook his head.
After some thought, he took out his phone and sent a message to their homeroom teacher, Old Li:
"Teacher Li, I want to know how much fortune value is needed to become a child of fortune?"
Old Li's reply came quickly:
"Stop daydreaming! Hurry up and finish your meal. Come to my office after evening self-study to copy the essentials of the Qi Condensation Technique!"
Oh, Old Li doesn't know either... Lin Mo thought to himself.
Given Old Li's personality, if he knew the answer, he would have boasted about it.
If he didn't, then he definitely didn't know.
Forget it!
Lin Mo didn't dwell on the question of fortune value any longer. Being able to condense fortune was a good thing in itself.
It wasn't until he walked into the first-floor hall of the third teaching building that he suddenly realized something:
Does this mean I also have the potential to become a "protagonist"?