Competition

Zhang Zhi saw that it was already late and that his own affairs had been more or less settled, so he spoke up to take his leave. "Your Excellency, there's nothing else I need to deal with here. If you have no further instructions, I'll take my leave."

Li Qianjun picked up a sheet of paper from beside him and handed it over. "There's nothing else on my end. You can head back first. This paper lists the academy's rewards for your Trial Tower achievement. Take a look, but don't take it with you. They'll be issued to you later under the name of a Special Enrollment Student subsidy. Just keep it in mind."

Zhang Zhi accepted the paper and glanced at it. There were only two lines written on it: one hundred Academic Credits per month, and one Promotion Slot for a cultivator from a Medium Small World every year.

He had heard a little about Academic Credits. Class Advisor Liu had mentioned them that morning. They could be exchanged for all kinds of cards at the Card Exchange Point operated by the academy.

He understood somewhat less about the Promotion Slot listed as the second reward.

But there was only one slot every year. It should be something good, right?

After respectfully placing the paper on the table beside him, Zhang Zhi rose to take his leave and departed from Li Residence.

Li Qianjun watched Zhang Zhi's departing back, deep in thought.

On the way home, Zhang Zhi guessed that Li Qianjun had probably already deduced that his Small World might possess a World Trait. He simply hadn't pointed it out.

After returning to where he lived, he realized that he had quite a lot to do the next day. First, he had to go to the library to look up information related to Small World advancement and World Traits.

After that, he had to go to class. He had agreed to it with Class Advisor Liu that morning, so it was impossible for him to fail to show up two days in a row. Class Advisor Liu really would blow her top.

He still held that exceptionally student-minded advisor in great respect.

Finally, he had to wait for the person whom Li Qianjun was sending to deliver the materials. He still had no idea when that person would arrive the next day.

At that thought, Zhang Zhi sighed. I'd better wash up and go to bed early.

But the day's experiences had left him far too excited. This Secondary Education School really was different from Primary Education. He tossed and turned until the sky began to lighten before finally drifting off.

Early the next morning, Zhang Zhi was jolted awake by a visitor.

When he reached the door and looked outside, he saw that it was the person Li Qianjun had instructed the previous day to deliver the materials.

That person had hurried over first thing in the morning, but he hadn't brought the materials. Instead, he had brought a message: his Club President wanted Zhang Zhi to go to the Student Activity Center himself, where the Club President would give him the materials.

When Zhang Zhi heard the message, he was so angry that he nearly laughed.

Was this one of those brainless supporting characters who showed up to provoke the protagonist in a novel?

Did that Club President think I threatened his position and want to give me a show of force?

Then he thought better of it. Li Qianjun was, after all, a Great Power with hopes of becoming the Realm Lord of a Middle Thousand World. Any club connected to him was bound to be controlled by members of his family.

Could someone brainless really secure the position of managing a club at Seven Dragons Academy?

A thought surfaced in his mind. If he were an ordinary fourteen-year-old genius who had risen from the bottom, been recognized by a benefactor, and was full of youthful confidence, what would he do if someone gave him this kind of show of force?

He had originally planned to go to the library to look up information after getting out of bed. But after frowning and pondering for a while, he rose and headed toward the subway station.

He wanted to meet that Club President and see what exactly he was up to.

After leaving the subway station, he reached the Student Activity Center after walking only a short distance.

The Student Activity Center consisted of Nine Nine-Story Buildings. It was where all academy-approved groups, clubs, teams, and similar organizations held their activities. Zhang Zhi's first impression was that there were a lot of people. It seemed as if the students from the entire academy were gathered there.

The entire first floor of the Student Activity Center, along with the plazas surrounding it, was filled with students exchanging goods—in other words, trading.

That was right. They were all stalls set up by academy students. At a glance, they were packed together as densely as a swarm, with at least a thousand of them. Including the people browsing the stalls, saying there were over ten thousand people would actually be an understatement.

Numerous clubs at the Student Activity Center were recruiting new members, so Zhang Zhi pretended to be a newcomer and went around asking at their recruitment booths.

It wasn't entirely an act. He really was a new student.

The various clubs offered decent benefits. Compared with those available to ordinary students, they were not even inferior to the academy's subsidies.

A large amount of information, including basic knowledge about the Trial Tower, was also part of the benefits.

Of course, the information in question definitely wasn't limited to what could be found in the library. It also included many secrets each club had acquired over the years. Any club that had managed to survive until now naturally had some real tricks up its sleeve.

However, this agreement was not so easy to sign. The obligations stipulated by each club varied widely, but they all had one thing in common: the service period specified in the agreements often started at ten years.

Even if you were admitted to the Higher World Education Academy, you still had to return and fulfill the agreement.

For ordinary World Lords without much ambition, this agreement was fairly decent. But to any ambitious World Lord, it was a shackle.

It was like being certain you could succeed in starting a business, only lacking a tiny bit of startup capital, when someone came to tell you, "I'm willing to provide the startup capital, but first you have to work for my company for ten years."

Would you be willing? Unless you were forced into it, not many ambitious people would agree.

After asking around at the recruitment booths of several clubs, Zhang Zhi roughly guessed why that person had done this.

He wanted to recruit Zhang Zhi into his club—or rather, he wanted to achieve some goal of his by recruiting Zhang Zhi into the club.

If Zhang Zhi had been angered that morning and run straight to Li Qianjun to complain, it would not have had much of an impact on him.

He could claim that his original intention had been to secure more benefits for his family. He wouldn't receive much criticism; he might even leave a good impression on the family's higher-ups.

But what about Zhang Zhi? If he felt aggrieved simply because he had to obtain the materials through the club, no one could blame them for calling him fussy. Put more harshly, calling him "incompetent" wouldn't be too excessive either.

If Zhang Zhi had been an ordinary genius born at the bottom, a fourteen-year-old who had caught Li Qianjun's eye, he might truly have fallen into the trap.

If he had a good temper and didn't get angry, then once he came to collect the materials, they could say, "Look, everyone else has to join the club before they can obtain these materials. You were specially recruited by Your Excellency Li Qianjun, and you've also taken our club's materials. It isn't unreasonable for you to join our club, right?"

Once Zhang Zhi joined the club, he would naturally become that Club President's subordinate. The members of his family, including Your Excellency Li Qianjun, would all say that he had handled the matter well.

He would receive praise while eliminating a competitor in the bud. Killing two birds with one stone. For this person to devise such a sharp method against Zhang Zhi in such a short time, he really had some ability.

That Club President might truly have been worried that Zhang Zhi would compete with him for favor. His methods, however, were far more sophisticated than those of ordinary people.

People who come from families like that really do have dark hearts!