Chapter 13: New Student Martial Arts Competition

Upon hearing this, Jianchen's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "Big Brother, is a third-stage demon core really that valuable?" Although Jianchen knew about demon cores, he was very confused about their prices.

"Of course, a third-stage demon core can be sold for a hundred purple crystal coins. I've been at the academy for four years, and I've never used a third-stage demon core. At most, I've only used a second-stage demon core, and that cost me fifty purple crystal coins." As he said this, Changyang Hu's face showed a hint of pain.

Jianchen quickly calculated in his mind and decided that he must do his best to obtain the third-stage demon core at tomorrow's new student martial arts competition. Although Jianchen had never used a third-stage demon core, he knew that one could absorb the energy within the demon core to cultivate, and the speed was much faster than absorbing the elemental energy of heaven and earth. Once he had this third-stage demon core, he believed he could quickly reach the tenth level of Holy Power.

As the sky gradually darkened, Jianchen and Changyang Hu went to the school cafeteria for dinner. Afterward, they parted ways and each returned to their dormitory.

Back in the dormitory, Jianchen closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed, just about to start cultivating when a knock on the door suddenly came. Hearing the knock, Jianchen looked at the door in confusion, got up, and opened it.

Outside the door stood a woman in her thirties, wearing a light green dress. Although she was not breathtakingly beautiful, she was quite pretty. Her dark green hair hung loosely over her shoulders, giving her a graceful appearance.

"Is there something you need?" Jianchen asked, looking at the woman in confusion.

"You are a new student who just entered Kagas Academy, right? The academy is holding a new student martial arts competition tomorrow, and all new students must participate. Remember not to be absent," the woman said coldly, her gaze indifferent.

"Um, I understand. Is there anything else?" Jianchen replied.

"No!" She turned and left, heading to the next room, apparently to notify the other students one by one.

Jianchen closed the door and returned to the bed, sitting cross-legged and quickly entering a state of cultivation.

The next morning, after finishing his night's cultivation, Jianchen left his room alone and, following his memory, went to the cafeteria. He took his breakfast and found an empty table to eat. Since it was still early, there were not many people in the cafeteria, and there were plenty of empty seats.

After eating breakfast, Jianchen headed directly to the central playground of the school, where the new student martial arts competition was being held.

On the way, Jianchen noticed that many students, like him, were heading to the central playground. Since the older students were all wearing the school uniform, Jianchen could easily tell that most of them were new students, with only a few older students, perhaps because some of the older students were not interested in the new student martial arts competition.

As Jianchen approached the playground, he could see from a distance that five arenas, each with a diameter of about thirty meters, had been set up on the playground. Many people were already gathered around the arenas.

Jianchen came to a large tree about a hundred meters from the arena. When he was about five meters from the tree, he suddenly rushed forward, then used his feet to push off the tree trunk, easily leaping onto a branch about five meters high. He sat leisurely on the branch, enjoying the coolness. It was still early, and the competition had not yet started, so Jianchen was not in a hurry to go over. It would just be a waste of time to stand in the sun.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was time for the competition to begin. By then, about a thousand students had gathered around the arena, most of them new students, with only a few older students in school uniforms.

However, from the clothes of the new students, Jianchen could tell that more than ninety percent of them were from commoner families. They wore simple clothes made of rough cloth, and some even had several patches. This was not only because the number of commoners in the Garsen Kingdom was much larger than that of the nobles, but also because children from poor areas were generally more hardworking and diligent in cultivating Holy Power than those from large families. Therefore, most of the students who entered Kagas Academy were from commoner families.

In addition, the youngest of the new students were around sixteen or seventeen years old, and some were even ten years old. After all, it was rare for someone to reach the eighth level of Holy Power at the age of fifteen like Jianchen. So, among the new students this year, Jianchen was probably the youngest. Despite this, Jianchen's physical development far exceeded that of ordinary people. Although he was only fifteen, he looked more like a boy of sixteen or seventeen.

Jianchen leaped down from the five-meter-high branch, landing lightly on the ground, and walked toward the arena. When he reached the outer edge of the crowd, he did not push his way in but stood quietly outside. A martial arts competition among children did not interest him much. He was only participating in the new student martial arts competition for the third-stage demon core.

"Everyone, please be quiet!"

Suddenly, a very loud voice rang out, echoing across the entire playground. Hearing this voice, the students, who had been chatting, immediately fell silent, and the playground became completely quiet.

Then, a middle-aged man in white martial attire walked onto the central arena. He had an ordinary appearance, but his eyes were sharp and piercing, making it hard for anyone to look directly at him.

The middle-aged man looked around and smiled kindly, saying in a gentle tone, "Students, I am Bai En, the vice-principal of Kagas Academy. I will personally preside over today's new student martial arts competition. As for the rules of the competition, I believe everyone has seen them on the notice board at the school gate, so I won't repeat them. The prizes for this year's new student martial arts competition are the same as in previous years. The first-place winner, the Newcomer King, will receive a third-stage demon core as a reward. The second-place winner will receive a second-stage demon core, and the third-place winner will also receive a third-stage demon core. In addition, all students who make it to the top fifty will receive one purple crystal coin as a reward."

When they heard about the last reward, all the new students in commoner clothes cheered loudly. For families like theirs, daily expenses were minimal, and they lived on simple food. One gold coin was enough to support a family of three for a month, and one purple crystal coin was equivalent to a hundred gold coins, enough to support a family of three for nearly ten years. Although demon cores were more valuable, they did not dare to hope for them, as there were only three slots for demon cores, while there were fifty slots for purple crystal coins.

At this moment, almost all the students from poorer families felt their blood boil, and they all secretly vowed to do their best to enter the top fifty for the sake of one purple crystal coin.

Seeing the expressions on the faces of these commoner students, some of the noble students looked disdainful. One purple crystal coin was a significant amount for commoners, but it was nothing to children from noble families. Jianchen himself had about fifty purple crystal coins.

The new student martial arts competition began quickly. The students drew lots themselves, and the lots were placed in a large tube covered with paper, making it impossible to see the numbers inside.

There were two large jars for the lots. One jar was for students who had reached the eighth level of Holy Power, and the other was for students who had reached the ninth level of Holy Power. This arrangement avoided matches between eighth-level and ninth-level students, as the outcome of such matches would be almost certain.

Although the minimum admission standard for Kagas Academy was the eighth level of Holy Power, each year, there were also new students with some talent in cultivation or those cultivated with rare treasures by noble families. Therefore, almost every year, there were new students who had reached the ninth level of Holy Power.

The drawing of lots proceeded quickly, and soon it was Jianchen's turn. Looking at the few remaining lots in the jar, Jianchen casually drew one and opened the seal at a distance. It read, "Arena 3, Number 64."

Seeing this number, Jianchen knew that his opponent would be the one who drew "Arena 3, Number 136," as the opponents were determined by the sum of the numbers on the lots adding up to two hundred.

After drawing the lots, all the students silently went to their respective arenas. Jianchen also went to Arena 3.

The first round of the competition was completed in half a day. Since his opponent was just a child who knew no martial techniques, Jianchen easily advanced to the second round.

After lunch, the new student martial arts competition continued. This time, the number of participants was halved, with about five hundred students remaining.

The second round was the same as the first, determined by drawing lots. With half the participants, the second round took only four hours to complete. After the second round, only 256 students remained, a number that allowed for a smooth draw without any awkward situations.

The third round of the draw was immediately conducted, and the matches began right after. The third round ended in the evening, with 128 students advancing, including Jianchen.

After leaving the arena, it was almost dark. Jianchen patted his protesting stomach and shook his head helplessly. In his previous life, he could go days without eating without feeling hungry, but now, missing just one of the three meals a day made him feel hungry, which he found quite frustrating.

Jianchen quickly went to the school cafeteria, took his food, and found an empty seat in the hall to start eating. Although the food was simple and could not compare to the meals at Changyang Manor, Jianchen still enjoyed it.

Since the new student martial arts competition had just ended, the cafeteria was still quite crowded, with many people. Soon after Jianchen sat down, all the seats were taken, and some people could not find a place to sit. Although Jianchen was sitting alone at a table, no one dared to sit with him, as they were all children from commoner families and did not dare to sit with a noble student dressed in fine clothes.