High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2558: Chapter 779: Zheng Qing’s Second Round

Sure, here is the translation based on your requirements:

Zheng Qing’s magic performance was very successful.

When the Silent Birds sang the spell ’Calm Thinking’, and a touch of light blue calming spell light blossomed on the magic stage, the young wizards by Crescent Lake couldn’t help but express their admiration.

Even atop Centimeter Mountain, the elders of various families and guests from the Outer Domain reduced their dissatisfaction towards the warlock’s earlier reckless appearance on stage, their attitudes became somewhat milder.

The beauty of magic always transcends others, resonating deeply within the hearts of wizards.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

One firework after another rose in sequence from the judges’ seats.

Ten, ten, ten...

Ten judges, nine of them gave Zheng Qing a full score of ten, leaving only the last judge, who delayed giving a score, attracting the attention of elders on Centimeter Mountain and youngsters by the lake.

Until the noise gradually rose, the last judge reluctantly picked up the feather pen on his table.

Bang!

A big red firework bloomed in mid-air, the glaring ’zero score’ caused an uproar by Crescent Lake, and even atop Centimeter Mountain, many family elders furrowed their brows.

Each judge has their preferences, and biases in scoring are unavoidable, which is why Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt arranges ten judges together to score, aiming for fairness and justice as much as possible.

But when everyone else gives full marks, someone dares to defy convention and awards zero — this isn’t something that can be explained by ’bias’.

Even a score of three or five?

The elders on Centimeter Mountain maintained their dignity and did not interfere rashly, but the young wizards by Crescent Lake had fewer scruples, and public opinion boiled over like a pot of boiling water.

However, as a secret yet blatant message spread quickly, like dousing cold water on the boiling pot, the surrounding noise suddenly stopped, and many people recalled the identity of the warlock on stage, their originally one-sided attitude subtly shifting.

”The judge who gave you a zero is from the Qingqiu Su Family.”

Tushan Chujiu rose from her large tail chair, stretched gracefully, and explained with a sly smile, winking at her opponent.

Any confusion in Zheng Qing’s mind instantly vanished.

Oh, from Qingqiu, huh.

That makes sense.

He carefully glanced at the judges’ seats, grateful that the Qingqiu judge only gave him zero, rather than rushing onto the magic stage with a massive eighteen-meter machete to chop him up.

”But ninety is still quite high, among the top scores today for all the young wizards performing magic, just a bit lower than my highest score...”

Tushan Chujiu gestured the small gap with her two fingers, yet her tone carried a sense of rightful pride: ”Of course, I was also targeted by the Qingqiu judge, she only gave me a three...”

Zheng Qing remembered Tushan Chujiu’s magic performance scored ninety-one.

If both of them excluded the Qingqiu judge’s scores, then he should be the highest score overall.

The witch opposite also realized this, her fluffy white tails gently swayed in the mountain wind, her tone carrying a hint of appreciation: ”To have Su Councilor bear your child, you must indeed be extraordinary... Since the magic performance ended, you can start your challenge.”

Only then did Zheng Qing remember, he had taken the stage as the ’challenger’.

”Need to prepare anything?” Tushan Chujiu spoke excessively and generously, seemingly reveling in her strong position facing Zheng Qing.

The warlock thought about it, gauging the distance between him and her, silently stepping back two steps. Choosing an appropriate position is crucial when dueling unfamiliar wizards.

After a brief pause, he stepped back two more steps.

Then retreated a third time.

With the law book yet unopened, he had already ’retreated three miles’, provoking a chorus of boos from Crescent Lake. Even Tushan Chujiu opposite revealed a hint of disappointment, secretly pondering that if the warlock was too weak, what meaning would defeating him hold?

Casually, she flicked her fingers.

A fireball suddenly appeared in the void, shooting towards Zheng Qing.

This served as an opening greeting.

A slightly sharp chirp sounded on the warlock, and soon, a light blue bird emerged from his sleeve, soaring, singing a melodious spell and bravely confronted the blazing fireball.

Tushan Chujiu instantly recognized the ’transformation talisman’ the warlock had just used, meaning that the boy on the opposite side had cast a transformation spell on another talisman in a short time?

Her face showed a hint of interest.

Whoosh!

The blazing fireball collided with the light blue orb, resounding with a muffled explosion, the orange-red light twisted in the heated air, stirring a barely visible heatwave, ruffling flowing robes and blurring the figures of young male and female wizards on the magic stage.

...

...

”Quickly tell your little lover to give up!”

The pink-robed witch who had greeted Jiang Yu by the lake earlier suddenly appeared beside Jiang Yu again, forcibly linking arms with her, looking worried: ”The sister from Tushan isn’t joking... If he gets hurt, it’ll be embarrassing for everyone.”

Jiang Yu’s face was rigid, remaining silent.

She naturally knew Zheng Qing had other aces up his sleeve, but arguing with this girl beside her about ’Alpha’s Augustus was severely injured by Zheng Qing’ would validate the ’little lover’ designation, right?

She didn’t bring Zheng Qing to Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt for those words.

...

...

”I recall Zheng Qing is quite proficient in using the charm gun, right?”

Zhao Qiao, Captain of the Jiuyou Academy Hunting Team, despite not interacting much with Zheng Qing, knew quite a bit about this renowned public-funded student: ”I remember he once shot Sepulano with a charm gun into a severe injury... Why doesn’t he use it now?”

As he spoke, he also observed the witch on the magic stage’s other side, adding: ”For a witch of agile descent like Under the Moon, the charm gun is actually a very reliable weapon.”

”Especially since the opponent is from the Tushan family, and the space on the magic stage is very limited.”

Zhan Yuchen interjected to analyze: ”Zheng Qing could easily throw out several large-scale ’There is a fox soothing’, controlling Tushan Chujiu’s movement speed... then directly target her.”

”Could it be fear of breaking the rules?”

Deng Xiaojian stroked his chin, speculated: ”I recall from the hearing, Zheng Qing submitted information showing the charm bullets he used were rather special, perhaps those charm bullets weren’t personally wrapped by him, so can’t be casually...”

”None of those reasons are relevant.”

Uncle Zhang Zhi finally spoke, interrupting his companions’ discussion. As Zhang Ji Xin’s elder brother, he naturally knew more than anyone else, hence had a vague understanding of the young man’s mentality on stage, his tone carried a hint of emotion: ”Tushan Chujiu considers herself proud... but why would she think someone who dared to apply for early graduation as a second-year student, who won a Merlin Gold Medal, and led an officially registered hunting team in two years would lack his own pride?”