After getting back to Pearl Institute, I debated whether to use my remaining three weeks in the Three Step Tower immediately or save it for later. However, since getting into the top 10 of the rankings of each School in the Main Campus offers a week in the Three Step Tower per month, I decided it was worthwhile to use it as soon as possible.
It's been three weeks and I've managed to get my original cultivation back and then some: 3rd tier Light Nebula, 3rd tier Water Nebula, and 2nd tier Shadow Nebula. The drop in cultivation efficiency petered out at a flat 20x speed, which, coupled with my Soul-grade Nebula Magic Tool, was enough to raise each Element by a tier in one week plus some progress to another Element.
I'm currently walking to the small arena reserved for Light School ranking battles in the Main Campus. I suspect foul play by Dean Xiao: he placed me at rank 100, not so high that others might be afraid of challenging me, but not so low that others won't bother challenging me.
The challenge system is peculiar. A week before each monthly ranking battle that lasts a few days, each student submits a slip indicating the single rank they'd like to challenge. I chose rank 1, but I'll have to hope the number of students who chose 100 is not unreasonable: each person must fight every person that challenges them, one after the other, and they only earn the right to fight their desired student after facing off against all the challengers beneath them.
My worry is not ungrounded; I'm met with stares and looks of ridicule as soon as I walk into the stands of the arena. The rank 103 person is currently facing a challenger, so it appears his time slot has extended into mine. I don't mind, of course, since I can just meditate here in the stands.
Fifteen minutes later, he is defeated, moving down to rank 104 while his challenger takes his place.
"Yang Jianyu, rank 100, come to the platform and face your opponents. Your first challenger: Li Yaqi, rank 356."
[Uh oh.]
It's not a good sign that people from that low are seeking my spot. Since I'm facing them in the order they turned in their challenge slips, there may even be lower ranked people I'll be up against, meaning I'll have to get through dozens of challenges just to keep my current rank.
The Light School Dean, Wu Chenglong, announces the start of our battle. She probes me with an Illuminate: Blindness, but it hardly affects me even with my eyes open.
A feature of Elemental Spirits is that they confer resistance to any same-element attacks, and it increases the greater the gap in quality between our Spirits. Clearly, her Light Spirit is inferior to mine.
I'm not in the mood to be merciful nor play around. I nock an arrow and fire it at her thigh, staining the arrow red with her blood. She screams in pain, and I close the distance to chop the back of her neck, knocking her out. Small wonder she's rank 356.
My next opponent, a short man of rank 223, tries to zigzag chaotically so I'll miss my shots. His ability to throw my guesses off are sorely lacking, as I land an arrow on his shin after a single whiff.
After this repeats a few more times, my challengers are beginning to look nervous. I haven't used a single spell, nor have I allowed my opponents to align their stars. Fighting Mages has become trivially easy after obtaining a godly bow and refining my shooting skills.
Disliking the idea of experiencing an arrow through their legs, several just forfeit as soon as Wu Chenglong signals us to begin.
Finally, he announces the last challenger. He's Chen Haoran of rank 116, the highest yet. As soon as the Light Dean commences the match, he summons Magic Armor and starts constructing a Light Star Pattern. I experimentally fire arrows, and it seems he placed far too much faith in his equipment: the projectiles slice through his armor like it isn't even there and eviscerate his right leg. As usual, I walk up to his crumpled body and render him unconscious with a chop to his neck.
There are no longer any gazes of derision in the stands, only solemn respect. I'm not immature enough to brag, so I simply leave the arena after asking Wu Chenglong when I should return for my challenge.
…
…
I come back to the arena two days later. It turns out I was the only one to challenge the rank 1 holder: a hulking tower of muscles over 200 cm tall with a square jaw and bald head, carrying a sturdy staff taller than him on his back. Apparently, he's proven himself to be worthy of the position and stronger than any other Light major here.
"Little boy, hiding behind that bow won't work on me. Your flimsy arrows lack the force necessary to reach my skin."
He immediately constructs an Earth Star Pattern after covering himself in Magic Armor. Seriously, why does everyone think they've completely countered me after putting on some shitty protection?
I break his focus and force him to stop aligning his stars by shining Gleamstrike directly into his eyes, though it doesn't send him reeling in pain. He must have a high quality Spirit-grade Light Spirit just like me.
At this point, I'm already within melee range; the platform isn't large at all, so our initial distance from each other was minimal. He senses the threat and casts Earth Wave: Shifting to move himself away, but I'm right with him after summoning Blood Tabi. I crack the platform with each of my stomps, and I send my leg flying at his chestplate. It misses as he barely leans back in time, but I pivot and continue the angular momentum, slamming my other Blood Tabi boot into his head. The colliding sturdy objects release a shockwave of sound that sends dust flying everywhere, and it leaves him dizzy and glassy-eyed. Apparently, his thick skull couldn't completely protect his brain from sloshing around in his cranium due to the violent impact of my boots on his armored head.
Yet another disappointing opponent that underestimated me and is now paying for it. I shove his body so that his face isn't on the ground, and I knock him unconscious with multiple incredibly hard kicks to the head with my Blood Tabi boots: it only just expires after that.
"Y-Yang Jianyu wins! He is now the number 1 ranker of our Light School."
I pay no attention to the audience's murmurs, choosing to walk outside after receiving my week paper for the Three Step Tower.
…
…
On the way to my apartment, I receive a call.
"Hello? Yang Jianyu here."
"Hey! It's Tang Yue. I really need your help. Can you meet me in the location I'll text you, in the south outskirts of Shanghai?"
"... Sure."
…
…
A disheveled Tang Yue in a hoodie and sweatpants greets me in an alley.
"What happened? Why do you need me?"
"It's a long story. Hangzhou City has a guardian, my god: the Black Totem Snake."
"Hold on. Your god?"
"Yes. He's the being we worship, and he protects us in return."
"Who is we? And why are you worshiping it? It just sounds like a magical beast…"
"He is no mere beast, but a Totem Beast. We are the Black Totem Snake tribe that resides in Hangzhou City."
"Oh. A living Totem Beast? Weren't they relics of the past?"
"We're wasting time. Let me cut to the chase: he's in trouble. I'm not sure if you've heard, but recently there's been a plague in Hangzhou City afflicting dozens of people, and it may be thousands in a few days, and far more after that. The officials believe it's the Black Totem Snake's venom that's the source of the plague, and they went after him."
I immediately laugh, "How are they planning to take him down? Any random Totem Beast is beyond the wherewithal of most Super Mages to handle."
"They chose this timing because every 10 years, he undergoes ecdysis, where he's in the process of shedding his outermost layer of skin, and he's far weaker during this time period. They don't dare to trouble him at any other time."
"Are you sure he's not the source of the plague? A big snake would be my first bet: there's countless incidents of strong snake venom causing everything from minor fevers to life-threatening symptoms. Is he venomous?"
"Big isn't sufficient to describe him: he's nearly 1000 meters long, and his eyes alone are 20 meters wide. And yes, he's venomous, but he's the protector of the city, and has never done anything to harm it."
"This is a lot to take in. A living Totem Beast, one over a kilometer long at that. One that's the guardian of the city, the god of your tribe. Suppose I trust you, and by extension trust him. What next? Why call me of all people?"
"I have him in this totem orb here, and within it is a space capable of holding him. During his ecdysis, he's sensitive to nearby life forms that might pose a threat, so I've been using him to avoid all Advanced Magicians the Enforcement Union sends after us, but I've had to deal with groups of Intermediate Mages, and I'm afraid my mana will run out before I get him to a safe location."
"And you need me to help fight off these Mages? I'm just an Intermediate Mage too, why not ask a trustworthy Advanced Mage?"
"The only Advanced Mage he trusts is me, since I'm his guardian. You're merely an Intermediate Mage, so he allows you near him, but he won't let me get close to any other Advanced Mage. And I asked you because I know you're able to crush others at your level like nothing."
"... Fine. Where is our destination?"
"Some humongous caves a few dozen kilometers south of Shanghai."
"Then let's move while we talk. I have several queries." We begin jogging south.
"How certain are you that the Black Totem Snake did not cause the plague?"
She bites her lip. "I have no evidence, but I just know he wouldn't do something like that! He's protected Hangzhou City for so long; it doesn't make any sense for him to start killing people now."
I frown. "That's a terrible defense. No wonder they chose to go after him. Tang Yue, he's a magical beast. If at some point in the future he decides to kill people, you'll always be blind to it because you believe he wouldn't do it. You should have focused on how he could have killed, instead of why. Speaking of which, how many people have died from the plague? Have you isolated the cause of its spreading?"
"Two about a week ago, and there's dozens more infected now. And no, we have no idea how it spreads. The officials say it doesn't spread at all, and it's the result of the Black Totem Snake's venom affecting the general populace."
"Wait, that doesn't make any logical sense if it's an airborne pathogen or transmitted via touching infected locations; there would be far more dead in the following week than zero and far more infected than a few dozen. Is there any evidence the people infected have sexual relationships with one another?"
"No."
"Then it is not spread by humans. There's a source that infects the people in the city. It can't be water, because then so many more would have it. Nor food. Ah, there might be infected animals that bit the people currently inflicted with plague. That would explain the low incidence rate. Unless the Black Totem Snake is the infected animal. Tang Yue, if the snake wanted to give individuals the plague, how would he go about doing it? Could he even do it?"
"... There's been no precedent, but I think he can control how potent his venom is. The City Counsel believes his venom can cause that plague at a low concentration."
"But that's simply irrational and unfeasible. He'd have to find these random people and infect them while ensuring no one around them gets the disease. It'd be much easier to spray a huge cloud of plague-causing venom, but clearly that hasn't happened or the case would be shut and closed. It's far likelier that there's some disease-ridden rats or other filthy animal that is uncommon enough to cause a low number of incidents."
She joyfully gazes at me. "Can you come back with me to Hangzhou to argue the snake's case once we hide him in the caves? I'm too emotional when it comes to him; you'll do a better job defending him."
"Sure."
In the meantime, however, we'll have to deal with stray fleas from the Enforcement Union while we escape.
…
…
I try to persuade Tang Yue not to stay at White Town overnight, but she's adamant on taking a shower. I begrudgingly agree.
The next day, we're meandering in the grassland to the White Mountain Caves, when several vines rapidly grow into a trap right in front of us. I react in time, tackling Tang Yue to the side.
[There's a Plant Magician around here somewhere, though this is his natural domain. It'll be hard to find him.]
I slice through another two sharp vines coming at us. Tang Yue isn't burning the field because it'll draw others' attention, but she instead splits into two shadow clones, and she signals me to use Shadow Evade: Flight to also dissolve into shadow.
She passes off one of her clones as me while I listen and look for anything indicating the Plant Mage's presence. He had to have gotten here somehow.
Indeed, there's some bent grass, which I follow to find a female intern of the Enforcement Union casting dark green Star Patterns and Paths, far more skillfully than even Mui Nujiao. Her perception is outstanding enough to notice me casting Shadow Nails: Imprison, but she can't avoid the single nail I toss at her. She's now transfixed in place.
We continue running, but after a little while, I spot a man wearing Magic Wings and three interns on the back of a Razor-Feathered Sparrow, which looks to be an Advancing Warrior, one of the strongest existences under the Commander level.
At the same time, we say, "You handle the guy with Magic Wings, I'll take out the others."
Tang Yue smiles. "I only recently reached the Advanced level, and I need Star Atlases to cast Advanced spells. However, one or two should be enough to take out those three and that flying beast, so I'll rely on you to remove the other guy from the equation."
Star Atlases are pieces of paper inscribed with formation knowledge that I'm unaware of, but they function to align a Mage's stars for them so that a Magician won't have to wait months after advancing before finally being able to cast a spell.
There's lots of fields of magic that I did not devote my time to: formations, alchemy, Magic Equipment design and forging, etc. I've found it more worthwhile to read up on a myriad of demonic creatures, ensure my language skills are up to par by reading foreign texts on their magical beasts, study survival knowledge (like edible plants, medicinal herbs, etc), and practice my combat skills. The other fields can be handled by specialists when I'm safe in the city, but the information I have keeps me safe in the wilderness.
Regardless, I affirm Tang Yue's suggestion, charging at the guy with Magic Wings, who laughs at me while casting a Fiery Fist: Exploding Heavens incredibly quickly. Having seen the spell's trajectory, I evade its 10 meter wide area of effect. He looks amused and casts Fiery Fist: Groundbreak as he mocks me.
"I, Dongfang Ming, have an Innate Talent for aligning my Fire stars twice as fast. How can someone as destitute as you possibly defeat me?"
The ground in a 10 meter radius around me suddenly explosively alights with blue flames, requiring me to use Rabbit Feet to escape. I can smell the back of my clothes slightly char. That was close.
I start drawing back arrows and firing them. He appears disdainful at first because his Magic Wings will allow him to dodge most ranged projectiles, but when one sinks into his right thigh, he screams in agony.
In response, I land another three debilitating hits, and he loses all control due to the pain and collapses onto the ground unconscious.
Tang Yue is still dealing with the others, who all pulled out Magic Equipment to defend themselves from her onslaught. They're already looking disheveled while Tang Yue is in pristine condition, so I help her finish them off by firing arrows into the injured Razor-Feathered Sparrow, which lacks the strength to dodge even if it felt them coming. It crashes, and we fire Shadow Nails at them all to immobilize them.
We leave them behind and finally arrive at the caves. They're incredibly large, running underneath the enormous mountain range to form a cave system wide enough to shelter the Black Totem Snake with plenty of space to spare.
His rumbles fill the air as he drenches me with his red tongue the length of a city block. Tang Yue laughs, "He's thanking you for protecting him."
I smile. "Elder Snake, I'll head back to Hangzhou City with Tang Yue and clear your name."
[Am I imagining things or did he just grin?]
…
…
We surrender ourselves, and the Enforcement Union brings us to the quarantine zone. Hundreds of beds are filed neatly across the area, each containing a patient with blisters all over their arms and face. Their skin is incredibly dry, and they continually ask for water, but it doesn't relieve the pain they experience constantly as the blisters pop, releasing unknown brown liquids.
[Wait, what? I've seen this before…]
They take us to Councilman Zhu Meng, in charge of the Threat-Elimination Strategy that targeted the Black Totem Snake. He says with a grim laugh, "How nice of you two! If it were possible, I would execute you right on the spot! Perhaps I should bring you two on a tour around the area, so you can understand how much of a mistake you've made after witnessing how this whole place has turned into hell!"
I sharply reply, "That's contingent on the Black Totem Snake actually being the source of this 'plague'. This is highly unlikely; if he wanted to hurt the residents of the city, he could do that with vastly more efficient methods, like simply crushing you all with his overwhelming strength. One explanation for why he isn't the source is the method of attack: there's simply better ways to kill people if that's his intention."
He glares at me. "What does a shitty brat like you know? If there's even a chance that the cursed snake is the source, we should kill it to preserve the lives of the civilians! What if it's just murdering fewer people so that we don't suspect it and go after it?"
"Councilman, your logic is not sound. It requires the snake to be an unintelligent madman that would pull such a maneuver at the precise time that its ecdysis is underway. Mass murder when you're vulnerable and the highest suspect is irrational, and the snake is certainly capable of rational thought. I initially thought the plague was caused by a bunch of disease-ridden rats in the households of a few dozen people, but the numbers here surprised me. It's too much for such a theory, but far too few for a contagious disease. We have some of the snake's blood with us; I'm certain it won't be the cure. Perhaps it will help a little bit because the snake's poisonous and venomous qualities can provide medicinal effects to alleviate symptoms of lots of afflictions. Before continuing action against the snake, you should investigate the blood and verify my story. It'll take at most a day if competent scientists work on it."
While he considers my request, I offer another piece of information. "I've seen symptoms like this on myself before, when I was in the wilderness and got bit by poisonous rats. They're not exactly the same, but perhaps there's a similar species nearby."
His face lights up in recognition. "You're talking about the Malicious Epidemic Rats? Such a species is indeed east of the city."
"Great! I suggest you order your men to capture some of them and see if anything in their blood, saliva, or venom resembles the agent causing the disease in the patients. Just in case, you can test the snake's blood to assure yourself it isn't the cause; it might confer a little resistance, but I am almost certain it won't offer a cure."
"Young man, I'll have your head if you're lying to me. But if you're telling the truth, I'll reward you greatly."
"All I ask is that you do your best to save the civilians."
For a moment, I imagined him to be the one orchestrating the plan against the Black Totem Snake, but after seeing his genuine pain and anger for the diseased patients, I wrote off that suspicion and decided to inform him of my analysis. Luckily, he's willing to listen, and shouts orders to his generals and scientists.
I head back to Tang Yue and explain what I said, and she enthusiastically hugs me. "Thank you… the Black Totem Snake is like family to me, and you've almost cleared his name. I don't know how to express my gratitude."
"You don't need to. Didn't you help my class without asking for anything in return when we were still Basic Mages, unable to defend ourselves?"
…
…
The next day, when I visit the quarantine zone again, Zhu Meng approaches me and slightly bows.
"I have been pursuing the wrong target this entire time. The snake was not responsible for the plague; Councilman Luo Mian had been manufacturing faulty blood serums from the Malicious Epidemic Rats' blood and ordered his goons to dump them into random people's throats as they slept."
"How obscene," I hiss. "Did you capture him?"
"A lot happened yesterday. After I gave the order to the army to catch the rats and informed them of the possibility that those creatures were responsible for the symptoms on the patients, a young man named Wang Xiaojun realized that he had gotten identical symptoms when the rats bit him, and his Heavenly Eagle went to a nearby mountain filled with dangerous flying beasts to bring back Red Falcon Herbs that subsequently healed him. He informed his superiors, and they all sent their Heavenly Eagles to retrieve those herbs; our scientists were quickly able to extract the medicinal properties and cure everyone.
"Someone else in the military was aware of trucks transporting mutated blood serums, and he captured the drivers, who said they worked for Councilman Luo Mian. In a fury, I found him and beat him to a pulp, detaining him. He confessed to everything. You and Wang Xiaojun will be awarded the title of Hangzhou's Protector. He refused any rewards we offered him, and I'm here to ask you if you want anything."
"If you know people that can give votes for the World College Tournament, I'd like some of those to be selected as a member of our country's team."
He hesitates. "Is your strength up to par?"
"I defeated the number one ranker of the Light School in Pearl Institute's Main Campus. Oh, without using a single spell. Just the bow I carry around. Those interns of the Enforcement Union you sent and that Advancing Warrior, I sniped them all with a bow and evaded their spells, again without using any spells. It necessarily takes a Mage at the peak of the Intermediate level just to force me to align any stars, and that still depends on the Mage's Elements and combat prowess."
"Any Advanced Magician could accomplish those feats, though I admit not without using spells."
"Do you really think Advanced Mages will stand a chance once I reach their stage and improve my physique, allowing me to evade with greater ease and fire faster arrows? You know what, save the votes. I'll display my strength over the next few months. You decide whether to vote for me."
"Seems fair. Alright, I'll see your progress in a few months and judge how to proceed accordingly."
…
…
A few days later at Pearl Institute, Mui Nujiao knocks on my door in the apartment. I open to see Tang Yue behind her, carrying a full set of black armor.
"Jianyu! The big guy and I wanted to give you this: it's made from the highest quality of the scales he… ahem. Anyway, it's really high quality Magic Armor and even confers resistance to poison. Of course, you pretty much saved his life by clearing his name: I have no doubt they would have tracked him down eventually even after we hid him as best we could. We only did that to delay while we attempted to show he wasn't a threat, and while I was useless on that front, you solved everything! This is just to express our gratitude, it doesn't at all equal what you did for us."
Mui Nujiao leaves, apparently displeased for some reason. I accept the black armor.
"I appreciate it, and you don't need to feel like you owe me anything. Is that how friends treat each other?"
A smile appears on her face. "No. No, it isn't."
…
…
Pearl Institute has 10 nomination slots for the World College Tournament. Every college in China has a few of these, and all students chosen will face off in another two preliminary rounds to determine the final team lineup.
There's Nomination Preliminaries at Pearl Institute to determine who takes those 10 slots. Random teams of 4 are chosen from everyone in the top 20 in each School's ranking. There's Fire, Water, Earth, Light, Wind, Lightning, Ice, Healing, Shadow, and Summon, so that's 50 teams of 4. Of course, there's other Elements, but they're far too rare in China to bother creating a School.
After the students finish the Nomination Preliminaries, the instructors and Deans choose the 10 most outstanding ones to nominate. This gives them a single vote for participating in the World College Tournament. They can go on to the two preliminary rounds facing students across the country to earn another three votes by attracting attention to their talents. High officials from every major power (renowned families, Magic Association, military, Hunter Union, etc) hold votes that they bestow upon any students they believe deserve to be on the team. Four votes, including the one earned at Pearl Institute, guarantee a spot on the team.
I'm not worried about anyone in the Nomination Preliminaries, nor do I care about who my teammates are. There isn't a single person in Pearl Institute who can face me, nor even a team of 4, since no one I know of has reached the Advanced level. Unless they're hoping to surprise everyone with an Advanced spell, which is counterproductive in terms of attracting attention from the higher-ups. I'm bored even thinking about the fights that begin in a few months, near the end of the school year.
Ever since acquiring the Chaotic Piercer, fighting Intermediate Mages has become a cakewalk: almost all of them lack the instincts to dodge the invisible projectiles. Putting up shields is the only way to deal with me, and at that point I just close in and demolish them in melee combat. Hardly any magic they cast can prevent that, only delay it, and their mana is limited. The real fights will be with the other country's teams, which I'm already looking forward to.
…
…
4 months have passed, and I've been in 4 matches already. Each one ended in less than a minute with arrows fired into my opponents' legs, and my teammates hardly had time to do anything.
Monthly visits to the Three Step Tower have bloomed each of my Nebulas to their absolute limits. I unlocked the 3rd tier Shadow Nails: Thorns, which fires a third nail. Three nails hitting a target will damage its soul on top of immobilizing it and freezing its thoughts. I haven't needed to use it, though, only the occasional Gleamstrike and defensive Light or Water spell.
Breaking into the Advanced level requires an incredibly strong source of energy, usually provided by Galaxy Veins that cost over 100 million yuan, the price of decent Magic Wings. My account only contains around 45 million, accumulated from missions with Lingling. Since I focused on meditation the past few months, I didn't go to the wilderness to hunt for Soul Essences, but I'm considering the possibility that I may have to.
Plus, I really need to replace my swords, which will be an even heftier sum if I want them to last a while: things that can hurt Commanders don't come cheap. Slicing through Lesser Warriors' bones means barely damaging the muscles of Advancing Warriors. Only my arrows are sharp enough to pierce through them easily.
As I'm lost in thought, I'm already walking up to the platform with my teammates to fight yet another 4 useless opponents.
I care so little about preparation that I answer a phone call while I walk up the steps into position. It's from Lingling. My lackadaisical attitude vanishes, as I sense there's foreboding news coming.
"Jianyu! The undead are stirring up chaos around the Ancient Capital, and the rescue team which Zhang Xiaohou had been a part of is lost!"
Everything within me shatters.
[Zhang Xiaohou? My friend of over 5 years? The innocent guy who couldn't imagine Bai Yang was a traitor? The brave boy that rose during the Bo City calamity to protect his classmates?]
He even spent all his savings on Soul Essences to help me recover from my demonized form when Zhan Kong told him what happened in Jinlin City. He might have gotten in serious trouble for telling a civilian classified information about the Shadow Beast, but he didn't even hesitate when I asked for his help. I visit him often; we laugh, eat, reminisce together. We've always got each other's backs.
And now he's missing, lost somewhere in the land of the undead surrounding Xi'an, the Ancient Capital.
If some malicious entity is causing the undead to become restless, resulting in Zhang Xiaohou's death…
I grow calmer, colder than I've ever been.
[There will be hell to pay.]