Phoenix Warrior of Full-Time Magister

Chapter 131 The Competition Begins

Because she had promised Mu Ningxue, Yunhua spent a lot of time identifying herbs over the next two days.

However, this kind of thing requires accumulation over time to improve. Even with the extra time provided by the illusionary space of the Feather of Crossing Dust, it won't improve much in just two days.

The night before participating in the Aoki Asks for Directions competition, Yunhua was looking at a herbal identification book in the illusion space, but Chiyuan, who was reading a comic book next to him, was bothering him.

Yunhua closed the book in her hand and said to Chiyuan, "Teacher Chiyuan, could you please be a little quiet? I have a competition tomorrow."

Chi Yuan said nonchalantly, "It's just a competition, kid. Life is full of setbacks. It's impossible for everything to go smoothly. One occasional failure is nothing to worry about."

Chi Yuan, who likes to call herself a teacher, does indeed have the same characteristics as a teacher: she is long-winded, often lecturing people, and she never stops talking.

If Chi Yuan continued talking like that, then Yun Hua would never be able to continue learning, so she quickly interrupted Chi Yuan.

"Of course I know that, but I did promise them, and it would be very embarrassing if I failed miserably."

Chi Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "If you really want to win, there is a way."

Upon hearing this, Yunhua's ears perked up immediately, and she quickly asked, "What method?"

Chi Yuan said unhurriedly, "Once you become a high-level mage, the Feather of Crossing Dust will have new functions. Although you haven't reached that level yet, if you're willing to pay a little price, you can still experience it temporarily."

"What functions does it have? What do I need to pay for it?"

Chi Yuan whispered in Yun Hua's ear, "Gibberish—crash—crash—"

"This—" Yunhua hesitated for a moment after hearing this, then said, "Shouldn't this be considered cheating?"

Chi Yuan disagreed, "This was done through his own ability, how can it be considered cheating?"

Yunhua: "————"

The Qinglian Pavilion's "Aoki Asks for Directions" competition was not held at the expo, but rather on a large rented floor outside. Contestants could enter by displaying the wooden plaques they had been given beforehand.

Yunhua arrived at the competition venue early in the morning. Zhao Manyan was still catching up on sleep in his room because he had partied with a beautiful woman all night. However, he was not interested in this competition in the first place, and even if he had time, he might not come.

Outside the building, Yunhua saw Mu Ningxue and the others.

Mu Ningxue looked the same as she had two days ago, while Mu Zhuoyun had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well for the past two days. It was unclear whether he was worried about the competition or about what Yunhua and Mu Ningxue had talked about a few days ago.

As for the bespectacled man, Yunhua didn't see him; he'd probably already gone inside.

Yunhua greeted them, and Mu Zhuoyun seemed to want to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

Mu Ningxue simply said, "Keep it up."

At the entrance to the competition room, Yunhua showed the staff the green wooden plaque in his hand, and they put it inside.

The competition venue was enormous, with three hundred tables, each with a computer. At the very front was a huge screen filled with names, including his own. The number of names matched the number of tables, exactly three hundred. Yunhua guessed that this was probably the list of participants.

Beside the screen, in front of the computer desks, there was a rectangular table with five elderly people with white hair sitting on it. They looked like the examiners, and they had their eyes closed at the moment.

The wooden signs were engraved with numbers, and Yunhua followed the numbers to the tables closest to the front.

After sitting down, Yunhua glanced around. Although she thought she had arrived early enough, the arena was already half full, and some people were still looking for seats.

Many of the participants were old acquaintances, and before the competition even started, they all spontaneously began chatting.

Yunhua didn't know anyone here, and no one came to him, so he was happy to have some peace and quiet.

However, Yunhua noticed that most of the people here were in their thirties, and many even had gray hair. Apart from Meng Hao, the youngest was in his twenties.

Although there is no age limit for this competition, it would be easy to make people laugh if word got out that an old man who has studied herbs for many years was competing against a young man. However, they still came without hesitation, which shows the influence of Qinglian Pavilion.

Yunhua could smell the medicinal fragrance on them, which meant they were often in contact with herbs or had studied medicine since childhood. Their understanding and knowledge of herbs must be deeply rooted and thoroughly mastered. If they were to meet them outside, ordinary people would inevitably respectfully call them herbal masters.

But now, they were all very solemn, each heading to their respective positions.

As the participants arrived one after another, the noise gradually subsided. Once everyone had arrived, the entire venue fell silent, and everyone nervously looked at the eight elderly men sitting at the table.

Almost the instant everyone looked at the eight elders, they all opened their eyes, their gazes calm as they swept over their surroundings.

"This exam will be conducted in two rounds. The first round will be primarily elimination-based, while the second round will select a single winner!"

"Only the top ten in the first round will be selected. The questions will appear on the computer in a moment. You need to silently list all the information you know about the question. Write as much as you can! If you make a mistake or omit any of the ten herbs, you will be eliminated immediately."

The three hundred people around him stood solemnly. Although it was Yunhua's first time participating in such an event, he did not feel too unfamiliar with it. In fact, he even had a faint sense of familiarity in his heart.

To him, this scene was clearly like a written exam. He had taken several such exams in his previous life when he was studying, and he was already used to this kind of exam setting.

Taking a deep breath, Yunhua saw that many of the candidates around him had turned on their computers, and their exam questions appeared in front of them, with different herbs displayed on the screen.

What these candidates need to do is write down the characteristics, cultivation, harvesting and other details of all the herbs they recognize.

Seeing that many people had already started, Yunhua immediately began answering the questions as well. He turned on his computer, gazed at the image of the herbs on it, and without hesitation, listed the names, habits, and other details of each herb on the computer.

Time passed slowly, and the entire arena was very quiet. The eight examiners were surveying their surroundings, and anyone who disrupted the examination would be severely punished.