Chapter 13

During the day, Jiang Luo had drawn a whole stack of Suppressive Talismans.

Thanks to the hand speed he'd honed in design school, and thanks to that mysterious 'qi'—whatever it was.

It meant he could now bury Chi You in Yellow Talismans as if scattering money.

He could practically beat Chi You to death with the sheer volume.

Jiang Luo watched the increasingly ferocious, sinister mist leisurely, a smile curling his thin lips. With his uninjured hand, he pressed a Spirit Paper against the neck of the humanoid mist, then drove his knee—also plastered with a talisman—hard into the mist's abdomen.

Chi You grunted.

Bent at the waist, a few strands of black hair slipping like silk from his shoulder, Jiang Luo asked softly, "Teacher, did that feel good?"

The Black Mist congealed for a few seconds. Then The Evil Spirit suddenly laughed.

His laughter grew louder, verging on madness, chilling and horrifying to hear.

Jiang Luo listened calmly. He slapped another talisman onto the evil spirit and whispered, "I'll make you feel good all night."

…

When Lu You woke up groggily, he found people in the class group chat calling him down for breakfast.

He arrived at the restaurant, surprised to find all seven of his classmates sitting together eating breakfast noisily. "How come you're all up so early?"

"Jiang Luo bought breakfast and woke us up," Ge Zhu replied happily, slurping soy milk. He was always one to worship the moneyed, and with Jiang Luo buying the meal, his mouth was full of praise. "Hurry up, Jiang Luo bought all this for us first thing. Jiang Luo, you're really too good. Blessings be upon you. Having you as my classmate is truly a blessing."

Lu You scratched his head, walked over and sat down, giving Jiang Luo a puzzled look. "What made you suddenly want to buy us breakfast?"

He looked down and jumped. "What happened to your hand?"

Jiang Luo's right arm was wrapped in a fresh plaster cast.

Jiang Luo, beaming and in excellent spirits, said, "Last night when you were all drunk, I was helping you to your rooms. Someone fell right on top of me and dislocated my arm."

The ones who'd been drunk last night froze, their eyes darting nervously to Jiang Luo as if asking, who was that idiot?

Jiang Luo's gaze swept the circle, slowly settling on Kuang Zheng, who was growing increasingly stiff.

He still hadn't figured out the Yin-Yang Ring on his wrist, and this was the perfect excuse to get Kuang Zheng to take a look for him. Sorry, you'll have to carry this black pot, Artifact Master.

Sweat slowly beaded on Kuang Zheng's forehead. His mountain-like frame fidgeted uncomfortably. Sensing Jiang Luo's gaze, Kuang Zheng stammered, "I'm sorry."

He rarely drank, so he'd never known what he was like after alcohol.

But all his classmates were tall and slender. It seemed the only one who could have dislocated Jiang Luo's arm by falling on him was himself.

Kuang Zheng was deeply remorseful, his hands clenching and unclenching. He apologized again, softly, "It's all my fault…"

Jiang Luo suddenly felt like he was bullying a good person. After years navigating society, he'd rarely met anyone as straightforward as Kuang Zheng. But his skin was thick enough, his heart black enough. His expression didn't change. "It's fine. You were drunk, it wasn't intentional."

The more he said this, the more guilty Kuang Zheng felt. "I'm sorry. I'll take care of you."

"You can ask me to do anything," Kuang Zheng said. "And I'll cover the medical bills too."

Jiang Luo waved magnanimously. "It's fine, I still have my left hand."

Kuang Zheng fell silent, but his expression showed a clear determination to care for Jiang Luo.

Wenren Lian sighed. "Of all things, why did it have to be your right hand?"

Jiang Luo was right-handed; he wrote Spirit Papers and did everything with his right. Hearing this, he sneered inwardly.

Wasn't it because Chi You had been slapped with seven Spirit Papers, had all his Puppets wrecked, and got angry?

"The Yunnan Competition is in a month," Ye Xun said. "That's enough time for your hand to heal."

Jiang Luo smiled radiantly; the injured hand hadn't dampened his good mood. "I'm just along for the ride. I'll be watching your performance then."

Jiang Luo truly had no interest in this competition.

But after reading the promotional poster for the National Science Competition, he frowned deeply, his gaze fixed intently on the first prize.

It was a pearl.

Translucent in texture, with a cold, white mist seeming to emanate from within. It looked exactly like the pearl the funeral shop owner had held, the one Jiang Luo had been so fixated on.

Beside the pearl on the poster were only two lines.

【First Prize: Yuantian Pearl.】

【Effect: Enhances Spirit Essence.】

These two simple, even overly concise lines were enough to send shockwaves through the entire Xuanxue World.

What did 'enhances Spirit Essence' mean?

In this line of work, innate talent was paramount. Design still relied on inspiration, but beyond inspiration you could follow templates, study hundreds of design schemes and eventually produce one yourself. But in this field, if your talent wasn't enough, no amount of effort would get you anywhere.

Looking at this pearl, Jiang Luo couldn't help but think of the Forbidden Art the original owner had used to kill Chi You.

That Forbidden Art and this pearl's function were two sides of the same coin. The Forbidden Art could strip someone of their Spirit Essence, while this pearl could enhance it.

And it seemed there was more than one Yuantian Pearl.

Was there any connection between the pearl and the Forbidden Art that had lured the original owner?

This pearl preoccupied Jiang Luo greatly. But to get close to it, he'd have to survive the first two rounds of the competition. In the following days, apart from attending classes and training his left hand to write talismans, Jiang Luo spent all his time in the library.

He devoured every piece of knowledge, wanting to grow stronger as fast as possible.

Time flew, and a month later, when his classmates dragged him to the airport to board the plane, Jiang Luo realized it was already time for The Yunnan Competition.

Jiang Luo was pulled onto the plane in a daze. Kuang Zheng sat beside him to make it easier to look after him.

The cast on Jiang Luo's right arm had been removed that week. After nearly a month of disuse, his right hand felt inevitably clumsy. He was practicing writing with it when Kuang Zheng silently handed him a file of information on the Yin-Yang Ring.

This honest man had delivered meals, cleaned, and even refined Jiang Luo's Yin-Yang Ring for a full month without pause, doing all the hard work. Jiang Luo was starting to feel bad about bullying him.

But Kuang Zheng was stubborn. Once he decided he was at fault, he insisted on making amends. Even now, with the cast off, he hadn't left, wanting to make sure Jiang Luo's hand was truly healed.

Jiang Luo rubbed his nose, taking the file guiltily. Wenren Lian, who had boarded after them, walked over and patted Kuang Zheng's shoulder with a smile. "Big guy, swap seats with me?"

Wenren Lian wore a clean, sharp-looking denim dress today, with a head of big, wavy curls. A mix of chic and beauty, extremely captivating. Kuang Zheng glanced at him, silently stood up, and made way for Wenren Lian.

Wenren Lian said, "Thank you."

He elegantly sat down beside Jiang Luo. Glancing sideways, he saw Kuang Zheng still standing motionless in the aisle. Wenren Lian couldn't help but laugh. "If you don't want to swap, we can swap back."

A stiff expression appeared on Kuang Zheng's wheat-colored face. He shook his head and walked to Wenren Lian's seat.

Jiang Luo greeted Wenren Lian, who propped his chin on his hand and looked at Jiang Luo. "Jiang Luo, you've been pushing yourself hard this month."

Jiang Luo said modestly, "Not really."

"Your rate of progress has exceeded our imagination," Wenren Lian murmured. "You really seem…"

Jiang Luo didn't catch it. "Seem what?"

Wenren Lian smiled and shook his head, gesturing with his chin. "See what the big guy prepared for you."

Jiang Luo read through the file. The Yin-Yang Ring was a rare portable artifact that could both protect the body and ward off evil. But to use it, you needed to activate it.

As for how to activate it, even Kuang Zheng, the artifact master, didn't know.

After finishing the file, Jiang Luo sighed. He lifted his right hand and shook it. The jade-and-wood-like bracelet on his wrist emitted a soft glow. It was beautiful, but if he didn't know how to use it, its beauty was less useful than a single Spirit Paper.

Wenren Lian asked, "Still don't know how to use it?"

Jiang Luo shook his head.

Wenren Lian thought for a moment. "Feng Li, the master from the Feng Clan, will also be attending this competition as a judge. You're a disciple of the Feng Clan. Do you want to go ask Feng Li?"

Jiang Luo sat up straight. "Feng Li is a judge?"

"For each competition, one person from each of the Six Great Families serves as a judge," Wenren Lian said with a meaningful, mocking smile. "Feng Li has never accepted an invitation to judge before, but this year he became a judge. However you think about it, this year's competition won't be easy."

Although Wenren Lian wasn't from the Six Great Families, his sources of information were extensive. If he said Feng Li would come, then Feng Li would definitely come.

Jiang Luo didn't want to see Feng Li. He rubbed his temples. "Let's talk about it when we get there."

In The Evil Spirit, Feng Li was preternaturally intelligent and cold-hearted. Just the fact that he was an accomplice in Chi You's revenge against the original owner made Jiang Luo reluctant to confront him rashly.

At three in the afternoon, the plane landed in Yunnan. In May, the Yunnan sky was azure, the clouds thick and white. Everywhere looked like a painting.

The staff picking them up were already waiting at the airport. They whisked them off to the Hotel.

The Baihua University team leader was Mr. Fang, who taught feng shui, amiable and easygoing. Before they even reached the Hotel, Jiang Luo saw many young university students on the road. At a time that wasn't summer vacation or a holiday, such a crowd of students could only be from the Natural Science and Social Research departments of various Schools.

Seeing this group of students out shopping, the staff member said mysteriously, "Mr. Fang, do you know how many people are competing this year?"

Mr. Fang asked curiously, "How many? Not less than a hundred, surely?"

The staff member said, "A full hundred and eighty people are competing this year! Besides the students from the Twelve Universities, many young disciples from the Six Great Families have come to fill the numbers. The previous two competitions didn't have anywhere near this many."

Mr. Fang chuckled. "They're all here for the prize."

The Xuanxue Class at Baihua University had eight students, and all eight had earned the full 20 credits to compete—a dazzling achievement. When Jiang Luo and the others got out of the car, hearing they were from Baihua University, many eyes turned on them, openly and covertly.

Jiang Luo stretched, his hair slightly longer than a month ago, now reaching the butterfly bones on his back. He'd napped on the plane, so his hair was a bit messy, but his complexion was rosy and energetic, dazzlingly bright.

He was used to being watched. Ignoring the gazes directed at him, he picked up his luggage and followed his companions upstairs.

Jiang Luo shared a room with Lu You. After putting away their luggage, Lu You ran to the window and pulled back the curtains. "So pretty!"

He proposed enthusiastically, "Jiang Luo, let's go try the local cross-bridge rice noodles?"

Jiang Luo bent to take off his clothes. "Okay, let me change first."

Lu You watched him change his shirt, marveling at how nice Jiang Luo's skin was—firm and pale, beautiful and sexy. When Jiang Luo started to take off his pants, Lu You inexplicably felt too embarrassed to look. He turned to the window and suddenly exclaimed, "Holy shit, Jiang Luo! Your Feng Clan people are here!"

Jiang Luo pulled up his pants, tidying his clothes as he walked to the window and looked down.

Several young people got out of a van. In the original owner's memory, these were the most talented of the Feng Clan's younger generation.

Jiang Luo pondered.

So many coming—the vast majority must be here for the Yuantian Pearl. Things that could improve Spirit Essence were exceedingly rare. With the opportunity laid out before them, few could resist.

Except for those with truly exceptional talent, who disdained using the Yuantian Pearl.

One last person got out of the van.

This man wore a black tang suit, his expression cold. His aura stood out from the crowd. The young students ahead made way for him, and he walked slowly into the Hotel.

It was precisely the protagonist gong from the original story, Feng Li.