C-level? D-level Contract

"Enough."

"His martial arts technique improved quickly. It must be related to his Spiritual Power, but most importantly, it was his aptitude for spear techniques." Zhong Cheng, dressed in a black suit, spoke with barely concealed excitement.

"He had only just turned seventeen... He was vastly different from those who only entered the Blue Star Youth Ranking when they were nearly nineteen."

"So young, yet his spear technique was already at such a high level."

"Under normal circumstances, his spear technique had a great chance of breaking through to the Fourth Stage in the future." Zhong Cheng drew a deep breath. "His Spiritual Power is extraordinarily strong. Once his body grows stronger, it will probably soon surpass Level 20."

"Hall Master Song, the two greatest hurdles to becoming a Source Martialist will not be problems for Li Yuan in the future." Zhong Cheng looked toward Song Yi.

As an Official Member of the Starry Sky Martial Hall, Zhong Cheng was very familiar with how the Martial Hall operated.

He knew very well that the value invested before and after the Martial Hall signed Probationary Members in advance was at least tens of millions of Blue Star Coin.

Perhaps even more.

Would they pay such a huge price merely to cultivate a First-Order Martialist with physical fitness in the teens?

It simply was not worth it.

The purpose of early contracts and focused cultivation was only one—cultivating Source Martialists.

Song Yi herself was a Source Martialist.

It was precisely because of her formidable strength that Song Yi could firmly hold the position of deputy hall master at the Guanshan District Branch.

"To become a Source Martialist, there are three major hurdles." Song Yi smiled faintly. "For most people, the most difficult is Spiritual Power. After all, Spiritual Power can basically only depend on talent."

Zhong Cheng could not help nodding.

If one's physical fitness was insufficient, it could be improved with external resources. There were all kinds of treasures; theoretically, as long as one had enough money, anyone could meet a martialist's physical fitness requirements.

Martial Arts Technique depended heavily on aptitude, but with guidance from a famous teacher, improvement could also come quickly.

Spiritual Power? Treasures capable of enhancing Spiritual Power were unimaginably expensive. Even Source Martialists did not dare imagine them, so it basically came down to talent.

And now.

In Zhong Cheng and Song Yi's eyes, Li Yuan was precisely the sort of person blessed with extraordinary Spiritual Power talent.

Combined with his spear technique level.

He was very much worth cultivating!

"Should we contact him this week?" Zhong Cheng asked. "Have him come to the Martial Hall?"

"That would be too hasty." Song Yi shook her head.

Zhong Cheng froze, growing anxious.

She had been the one to tell him to contact Li Changzhou immediately, yet now she was saying it was too hasty?

"I told you to contact him immediately because I was afraid the Martial Arts Hall or Starfire Martial Hall would spot something and beat us to it." Song Yi picked up the coffee beside her and gently stirred it. "But now, it is basically confirmed that no one has contacted him."

"Li Yuan is still a child. He might agree in a rush of blood, but his uncle Li Changzhou is no fool."

"If we approach them now, they will definitely demand better contract terms."

"So let him hang for a few days first."

"Once they understand that we are the only ones interested, negotiations will naturally become easier." Song Yi smiled.

"Drive down the price?" Zhong Cheng frowned slightly.

Driving down the price was not a good choice.

After all, martialists themselves represented force, and force was the source of all power.

If they drove down the price when signing an early contract, once the other party became powerful, it would be easy to suffer a backlash.

"First, drive down the price." Song Yi smiled faintly, then uttered another three words. "Then raise it."

"Create a difference in treatment."

"Only then can we demonstrate how much the Starry Sky Martial Hall values talent, and make Li Yuan feel grateful." Song Yi smiled. "Besides, I will leave this contract matter to you."

"At most, I will grant you authority for a C-level Contract. Do not disappoint me."

"Thank you, Hall Master Song." Zhong Cheng nodded repeatedly. "I will definitely handle this properly."

It was after nine in the evening when Li Yuan finished training and took an unmanned electric car home from school.

His aunt had been sitting on the sofa waiting for him.

"Aunt!" Li Yuan called out.

"You're back? Drink the high-energy milk first. It's on the table; I made it a little while ago," his aunt said.

"Alright." Li Yuan nodded.

Other than eating at home on Sundays, he basically ate all three meals at school from Monday through Saturday.

His aunt was always worried that his evening training would consume too much energy, so every night she calculated the time and prepared him a cup of high-energy milk.

Picking up the cup from the dining table, Li Yuan went to sit in the living room.

"Aunt, the two months' living expenses Uncle gave me last time, along with the money I received today, should last me until February. You don't need to give me any more for now," Li Yuan said proactively as he drank his milk.

"Alright." Chen Hui smiled as she watched Li Yuan gulp down the milk.

She had always been very satisfied with Li Yuan.

He was obedient and sensible. At times, the maturity he displayed did not resemble that of a teenager at all, and he had always put her at ease.

As he grew older, Li Yuan had gradually begun to display remarkable talent in martial arts.

What had always worried Chen Hui before was that she and her husband could not provide Li Yuan with enough financial support.

This time, Li Yuan had earned two bonuses through his own efforts, which eased her worries somewhat.

"Your uncle sent me a message," Chen Hui said. "The Starry Sky Martial Hall intends to sign you early. What do you think?"

"That depends on the Starry Sky Martial Hall's terms." Li Yuan set down his empty cup and thought for a moment. "However, if the Martial Arts Hall is willing to specially recruit me, I would still rather take that path."

"Right."

"Special recruitment would be best." Chen Hui was quite satisfied. "Special recruitment is equivalent to reserving an admission slot at one of the Five Great Prestigious Schools. They even guarantee job placement after graduation. You might even directly enter the City Martial Arts Bureau."

As a middle school teacher, Chen Hui understood special recruitment quite well, and she most hoped Li Yuan would take that route.

In her view, state special recruitment not only guaranteed job placement, but as long as he did not enter the military system, it would also be much safer.

But if he signed with a Martial Hall, the future would be hard to predict.

Martial Hall members charged into battle at the forefront of the Star Realm Battlefield. Their casualty rate was not the slightest bit lower than that of military martialists.

"Mm-hm, I'll listen to you, Aunt." Li Yuan smiled. He understood her concerns.

Li Yuan himself had also given it thought.

Each of the Three Martial Halls gathered vast numbers of martialists and formed the most powerful martialist groups, something even the state could not match.

In terms of martial arts cultivation, choosing a Martial Hall would lead to faster progress, but it was often more dangerous.

Yet taking the Martial Arts Hall's special recruitment route meant obtaining an official post, which would be best for his family in the future.

With state resources cultivating him, his martial arts progress would not be slow either.

Li Yuan had been full of anticipation.

Yet what followed completely exceeded his expectations.

Aside from the Starry Sky Martial Hall contacting his uncle Li Changzhou once on the second day after he entered the Blue Star Youth Ranking.

After that, there was no more news.

Not only did the Starry Sky Martial Hall fall silent, the Martial Arts Hall and Starfire Martial Hall showed not even a trace of movement. No one came looking for him... Day after day passed.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had gone by.

Time had reached mid-October.

Even with Li Yuan's steady temperament, after waiting so long, he was somewhat confused.

At noon that day, his uncle Li Changzhou called him.

"Xiao Yuan."

"Your Uncle Zhong sent me another message today. He feels a little embarrassed about why there has been no news for so many days. He is responsible for contracts in the Martial Hall." In the video projection, Li Changzhou spoke solemnly. "He very much wants to sign you."

"Mm." Li Yuan nodded faintly.

There was no doubt that Zhong Cheng and his uncle Li Changzhou had been friends for many years.

"But he said frankly that your issue lies with your Martial Arts Spirituality. Thus, the application he submitted upward was held up during the second review, and the Martial Hall's upper management is now discussing it." Li Changzhou looked at Li Yuan. "But the results should come out within the next couple of days."

"The result will come out in the next couple of days? Because of Martial Arts Spirituality?" Li Yuan listened in silence.

Was it Martial Arts Spirituality again?

"Don't lose heart either. Your Uncle Zhong also said that he will do everything he can to fight for it." Li Changzhou said, "We may have been too optimistic about this. Even if it does not work out, do not be disappointed."

"Do not slack off in your training either," Li Changzhou instructed.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I don't cultivate martial arts just for an early contract from the Starry Sky Martial Hall." Li Yuan smiled. "When the time comes, even if they want to sign me, I may not necessarily agree."

The video call ended.

The smile vanished from Li Yuan's face.

He stood inside the 4011 Martial Arts Room.

"Martial Arts Spirituality?"

"Because I have not awakened it, the Martial Arts Hall and Starfire Martial Hall will not even give me a chance?"

"Perhaps without Uncle Zhong, the Starry Sky Martial Hall would not have offered even the slightest hope." Li Yuan clenched his long spear, silent within. "Without a suitable Advanced Cultivation Method, is there no hope of becoming a powerful martialist?"

Neither Li Yuan nor Li Changzhou had considered that the Starry Sky Martial Hall had done this deliberately.

After all, compared with Starfire Martial Hall and the Martial Arts Hall, those two sides had not sent even the slightest word.

"Hiss!"

Li Yuan suddenly thrust out with his spear. Terrifying force erupted, nearly leaving an afterimage. Immediately after, one spear shadow after another shifted and changed, bursting through the air with piercing shrieks.

Suddenly, two notifications flashed across Li Yuan's field of vision.

[Your spear technique realm has increased from Third Stage 56% to Third Stage 57%]

[Your life level has increased from level 6.8 to level 6.9]

The next day, close to ten at night.

Li Yuan was in his room when he suddenly received a video call.

"Uncle Zhong?" Li Yuan's eyes brightened slightly.

He answered it.

Buzz~ A middle-aged man dressed in casual home clothes immediately appeared in the projection, looking very energetic.

"Uncle Zhong." Li Yuan smiled.

"Xiao Yuan." Zhong Cheng said with a chuckle, "Calling you so late did not disturb you, did it?"

"No."

"Good, then." Zhong Cheng wore a smile, though he seemed somewhat emotional. "I have good news for you. Your contract application has passed the meeting. It is a D-level Contract."

"It passed?" Li Yuan's eyes brightened. "Thank you, Uncle Zhong."

He had already prepared himself for it not to pass.

"No need to thank me. You are outstanding because of your own abilities."

"Come to the Martial Hall at nine on Sunday morning. We will discuss the specific terms." Zhong Cheng smiled. "No problem with that, right?"

"No problem."

(End of Chapter)