Negotiations and a C-Rank Contract

Abyssal Martial Arts Hall, one of the three top Martial Arts Hall branches in Tianhai City.

The building featured a streamlined design, like a blue battleship about to set sail.

The central office floor had an elegant environment, decorated entirely in shades of blue, as though one had arrived at the sea.

The spacious floor was divided into dozens of office areas.

In the central area, more than a dozen employees in blue-and-white work uniforms bustled about continuously.

Dozens of projection screens floated in the air, with vast amounts of data flowing across them.

"Cheng Minghui from Tianhai No. 3 High School has been assessed as a C-Rank genius. Send someone to discuss the contract with him tomorrow!"

"Zou Jun from Tianhai No. 8 High School, D-Rank Contract."

Ding Liang, the deputy supervisor of the contract department, reviewed the materials submitted by his subordinates before reaching a final decision.

"Lin Qi, C-Rank Contract, with B-Rank potential?"

"Hm?"

Ding Liang frowned as he looked at the projected information.

"Xiao Jiang!"

He called out, and the youthful man at a nearby desk hurried over.

"Did you review this file?" Deputy Manager Ding asked with a frown.

"Yes, Manager."

"I carefully analyzed Lin Qi's information. He has grown rapidly and has great talent."

"Don't be fooled by his Tianhai Monthly Exam ranking of only 288th. He's ranked fiftieth on the Red Rankings, so he has tremendous potential. I think we should take a chance and offer him a B-Rank Contract," Xiao Jiang said after a serious analysis.

Deputy Manager Ding did not answer. Instead, he carefully examined the information.

Every Martial Arts Hall gathered extremely detailed information on students from every major school.

After reading it all, his more than ten years of experience told him that this student, Lin Qi, was a genius.

"Good!"

"He's worth taking a chance on. He has B-Rank potential. I'll go see Manager Gu now," Ding Liang said.

At Abyssal Martial Arts Hall, he did not have the authority to directly approve B-Rank Contracts and above.

The manager's office was luxurious, its backdrop simulated as a sunlit beach.

On the beach, a woman with exquisite makeup reclined in an ergonomic chair, looking perfectly at ease. When she saw Ding Liang, she asked unhurriedly,

"Deputy Manager Ding, what is it?"

"Manager Gu, there's a file that needs your review. I've already emailed it to you."

"This is a genius worthy of a B-Rank Contract. His name is Lin Qi..."

As Ding Liang launched into an endless introduction, Manager Gu projected the file and leisurely took a sip of Coffee as she read.

Once Ding Liang had finished, he looked at Manager Gu expectantly.

Manager Gu spoke leisurely.

"I've read the information, but I don't think Lin Qi is worth a B-Rank Contract."

Ding Liang's heart immediately sank when he heard that.

"Why?"

"My uncle said that Arena records in the Red Realm can be used as a reference, but they can't be fully trusted."

"The key is still school evaluations. Those are the most genuine and reliable data. Although Lin Qi has decent talent, a C-Rank Contract is enough."

"A B-Rank Contract? He isn't qualified for one yet," Manager Gu explained casually.

"All right, is there anything else?"

Ding Liang had originally wanted to argue, but seeing Manager Gu's expression, he sighed. "No."

He turned and left. After walking out of the office, he thought to himself,

If I were the manager, I would definitely give Lin Qi a B-Rank Contract. Too bad I'm not.

The position that should have been mine was also taken by this Manager Gu, who was parachuted in from nowhere.

"Ugh..." Ding Liang sighed and continued working.

Inside the office, Manager Gu shook her head and muttered to herself, "Old Ding has really gone senile. Lin Qi looks like he has improved a lot, but that's because his starting point was low and he had plenty of room for improvement."

"That gave everyone the wrong impression. In truth, giving him a C-Rank Contract is already quite good."

"What if I give him a B-Rank Contract and make a mistake? The responsibility would all fall on me. I don't want to take responsibility."

"If I don't do anything, I can't do anything wrong. Being a manager is so comfortable, so why should I push myself?"

Red Sky Martial Arts Hall office floor.

"Manager Sun, things are progressing smoothly so far. One genius has successfully signed an A-Rank Contract, nine geniuses from various schools have decided to sign B-Rank Contracts, and the rest are still considering."

Manager Sun nodded as he listened to his subordinate's excited report.

"Very good. Keep up the good work!"

"Our next priority targets are geniuses for C-Rank and D-Rank Contracts."

"Every file must be checked carefully, especially those geniuses who have advanced to Star Rank. Try not to miss a single genius."

"Manager, there are three geniuses here that I can't judge accurately. I need your assessment."

The subordinate projected three files, representing three geniuses.

Director Sun quickly swept his eyes over the three files and immediately made a decision.

"Give these two C-Rank Contracts. As for the last one, Lin Qi, I need to ask the Vice Hall Master. I can't be sure either."

"The Vice Hall Master will be back in a few days. I need to hear his opinion."

"Understood!" The subordinate nodded.

At Black Radiance Martial Arts Hall, the manager of the contract department in charge of signings was a middle-aged man with a Beer belly.

Faced with the file sent by his subordinate, he took one look and quickly made his judgment.

"Lin Qi... just give him a C-Rank Contract. Another one of these geniuses. They're such a headache. A few of them appear every year."

"The defining characteristic of this kind of genius is that at some point during their senior year, they suddenly make huge progress."

"It gives people the illusion that they're geniuses, but the vast majority will end up mediocre."

"Nine out of ten are fake, and only one is real. Unfortunately, I no longer dare to gamble."

"Our Black Radiance Martial Arts Hall has been burned too many times. There were three the year before last and four last year. My bonuses always get deducted because of them."

"Hmph, these so-called geniuses are scammers who specialize in deceiving people into offering contracts."

"This time, let Red Sky and Abyssal deal with him. Black Radiance won't get involved this time," the manager muttered to himself.

That day, at Tianhai No. 2 Middle School.

"Beep!"

The phones of Lin Qi, Jiang Tao, and Chen Zichuan, who had just walked out of the office, rang almost one after another.

[Your Industrial and Commercial Card ending in xxx has received 800,000 Xia Guo Bi!]

Lin Qi smiled as he looked at the 800,000 Xia Guo Bi deposited into his account.

Although he had not received the Special Class Genius Loan, he was already very satisfied.

He now had more than one million Xia Guo Bi on him.

"Haha, that's another two million Xia Guo Bi. I'm not in a hurry to sign a Martial Arts Hall contract either." Jiang Tao smiled as well.

Chen Zichuan beside him was also very happy.

While eating lunch, Lin Qi operated his phone as he ate and transferred 300,000 Xia Guo Bi to his Old Mom, Fang Huiyi, through WeiXin.

He told her to use it to repay the loans.

Fang Huiyi messaged Lin Qi to tell him that she, Old Dad, and Uncle Fang Zhe had discussed it.

She would first use the money Lin Qi transferred to repay the loans. Old Dad, Lin Zhen, would use the money he earned to repay his own loans.

They would first pay off the family's loans, then gradually repay Uncle's family without affecting Lin Qi's own cultivation.

"Whew..."

Lin Qi took a sip of soup and felt relieved. His family's life was beginning to get back on track.

Things would only get better from here on.

"Bzz bzz!!"

His phone vibrated. Someone had added him as a WeiXin friend, with the note: [Abyssal Martial Arts Hall] · Dongfang Qi.

Someone from Abyssal Martial Arts Hall? Could they be looking to discuss a contract with me?

Lin Qi tapped accept and began chatting with Dongfang Qi.

As he had guessed, she was indeed representing Abyssal Martial Arts Hall to discuss a contract with him.

Ten minutes later.

At a Coffee shop outside Tianhai No. 2 Middle School, inside a small private room.

A Beautiful Woman wearing a black women's suit, her curvy figure accentuated beneath it, smiled in greeting.

"Hello, Lin Qi."

She took a document from her bag to prove her identity.

Lin Qi opened his phone, entered the Official Website, and found Dongfang Qi's information. Only after confirming that she was not a scammer did he nod and begin speaking with her.

"Lin Qi, after our assessment, Abyssal Martial Arts Hall thinks very highly of you and wishes to sign you and invest in you," Dongfang Qi said directly.