Jingwu and Han Xu

"Bad luck?"

Bai Xiaowen looked at Han Xu with some confusion.

"Yes, the management of the Jingwu Guild actually refused to renew Old Han's contract! If I hadn't happened to see the text message, I wouldn't have known. Old Han, that taciturn guy, didn't utter a word about such a big thing," Chen Guowei said.

Han Xu frowned and glanced at Chen Guowei: "Stop talking."

Chen Guowei shrugged.

Bai Xiaowen frowned as well. "Han Xu, if you still consider us friends, then tell us the truth and we can work together to find a solution."

Bai Xiaowen sensed that things were not so simple.

Han Xu is no ordinary Awakener. Not only is he an Elite Class, but he's also a rare tank-type Awakener with talent skills that perfectly match his class role. He would be highly valued in many guilds! The Jingwu Guild isn't some powerful clan. Why would they not cherish an Awakener with such potential, but instead try to drive him away? Are they out of their minds?

Bai Xiaowen vaguely guessed some of the reasons, but still needed Han Xu to confirm them in person.

Surrounded by several people, Han Xu lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Okay."

A moment of silence followed.

"Speak up, Old Han," Chen Guowei couldn't wait any longer.

"I'm wondering where to begin..." Han Xu said in a muffled voice.

Everyone: "..."

"Let's start from two months ago... It was at the end of last semester when Hou Liangjie, the HR manager in charge of contract signings at the guild, approached me..."

Han Xu organized his thoughts. "Supervisor Hou told me he hoped I would graduate early..."

"This means they're signing a contract in advance? That's great!" Chen Guowei said.

Generally speaking, awakened individuals who graduate early are all outstanding and are highly sought-after combatants for guilds. They receive considerable attention and are offered more generous contracts.

It's like an NBA game from another timeline, where many players join the draft before finishing college, and some even skipped college altogether, like the Flying Man and the Little Emperor...

Signing a contract in advance and joining a guild will allow you to receive more training. If the guild allocates resources to focus on your development, your progress will definitely be faster than in university.

Han Xu shook his head and said, "I can't make it into the main team, I can only make it into the second team."

"A second-tier team?" Xiang Hui raised an eyebrow. "The Jingwu Guild has a second-tier team?"

"They're basically the reserve team," Han Xu said.

Bai Xiaowen responded with an "Oh," and said, "That's a bit bullying."

In the league, each guild can apply to send multiple Awakened teams to participate. Generally, the teams are divided into main teams (first-tier) and second-tier teams according to their strength level. There are even third and fourth-tier teams, which are for large guilds with more than enough members.

However, the league's ranking of guilds is never based on the total performance of all teams under a guild, but only on the ranking of the team with the best performance.

For example, guilds A and B both participated in the B-League. Guild A had two teams, which finished the season in third and fifth place, respectively. Guild B, on the other hand, only had one team, which finished in second place.

In the final ranking of guild strength, Guild B will definitely be ahead of Guild A.

As for those guilds with two teams, both performing well, they'll definitely complain about unfairness. What to do? It's simple: split up and reorganize yourselves. If you're capable, join forces to create an invincible five-man team. That's how the league rules are—play it or don't.

Resources are limited, and many guilds highly value their main first-tier teams, providing them with excellent support. As for second-tier teams? Well, that's another story.

Of course, it's normal for powerful guilds to offer better treatment to their second-tier teams than many smaller guilds' main teams. However, it's also important to know that such powerful guilds are extremely rare, and the main teams of these powerful guilds receive exceptionally good treatment.

As for the Jingwu Guild, it clearly lacks the foundation of a major guild. It only has one team registered in the B-League, and as for the second-tier team... they are basically just some substitutes who occasionally serve as sparring partners for the first team.

Jingwu Guild is to allocate its main resources to the main team, then it's easy to imagine how little resources will be left for the substitutes.

To put it bluntly, Han Xu would be better off staying with the Jinghai University Team and participating in the CUAA league instead of joining the second-tier substitute team of the Jingwu Guild —the top-ranked teams in the College Students League receive considerable recognition and rewards.

With Bai Xiaowen leading the team this year, Han Xu, an honest man, has a good idea of how the final results will be. This is the closest Jinghai University has ever come to the top four, or even the championship. Letting Han Xu graduate early at this crucial moment would not be good for Han Xu, nor for the Jinghai University Team.

"So I refused," Han Xu said.

"No problem, bro," Chen Guowei said.

"And then?" Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment and said, "That alone shouldn't be enough to make the Jingwu Guild refuse to renew your contract, right? Han Xu, stop beating around the bush, tell us what happened next... Actually, I can guess a little bit about it."

Han Xu glanced at Bai Xiaowen: "After I refused, Manager Hou was very angry. He asked me if I had ulterior motives and wanted to join another guild."

"He should have been more specific back then. What did he mean by 'other guilds'?" Bai Xiaowen's hands didn't stop moving. "He was just talking about our Super God Guild."

Han Xu nodded slightly.

"Hey, that doesn't make sense. Why is that guy surnamed Hou talking about you like that?" Chen Guowei said indignantly.

Bai Xiaowen said calmly, "There are indeed many reasons. Just like last time, when Fu Hong instigated Qiao Qi to cause trouble at the Super God Guild's potion shop, wasn't Old Han there too? In some people's eyes, my relationship with Old Han is indeed quite close. Given Fu Hong's relationship with the Jingwu Guild, this matter may have already reached the ears of the Jingwu Guild's personnel department."

Chen Guowei scratched his head. He seemed to remember that during the incident where the pharmacy was disrupted by the flamboyant young man Qiao Qi, it was he who instigated Han Xu and his group to storm the Super God Potion Shop to support Bai Xiaowen...

Han Xu said, "Actually, that matter was just a minor one. At the Dead Spirit Lake, you lent me 30,000 Psionic Points to buy a gold weapon... Manager Hou also knows about this, and that's his main reason."

"Personal relationships between Awakened members shouldn't affect guild decisions, right?" Xiang Hui frowned and said. "Even guilds with distant relationships have members who get along well with each other."

"No, because of my relationship with Shu Yi, in the eyes of outsiders I might not be as simple as an ordinary member of the Super God Guild."

Bai Xiaowen shook his head and said, "From the perspective of the Jingwu Guild's management, Old Han's close relationship with me means that I might be able to recruit him into the Super God Guild. In that case, the resources the Jingwu Guild has invested in Old Han's development would be a huge loss. As the head of the personnel department, Hou Liangjie must ensure that the contract he signs doesn't become a ticking time bomb."

The management of the Jingwu Guild demanded that Han Xu graduate early, presumably because they didn't want Han Xu to continue hanging out with Bai Xiaowen.

The opposing team would rather let Han Xu suffer a loss and be sidelined in the Jingwu Guild's reserve team for a period of time than let Han Xu follow Bai Xiaowen to achieve a top ranking in CUAA and gain both fame and fortune. It has to be said that this is somewhat excessive.

Of course, it's clear that the other party values Han Xu highly. After all, he's Elite Tier tank-type character with talent and ability, someone who can be developed into a pillar of the team, or at the very least, a top-tier blue-collar worker.

But nurturing someone means investing resources, so naturally the other party is cautious. If they run away, all the resources invested will be wasted, resulting in a complete loss of both money and people...

Ling Feng of the Super God Guild was in a similar situation. The Super God Guild subsequently declined, and Ling Feng's departure, even if not the main reason, was certainly a significant one. With this precedent, how could the Jingwu Guild not be careful?

"And then?" Chen Guowei asked.

"I told Supervisor Hou I had no ulterior motives," Han Xu shook his head, "But then Supervisor Hou made a suggestion that I found very difficult to accept..."

"What suggestion is it? Old Han, you're really good at keeping us in suspense," Chen Guowei complained.

Han Xu sighed, "He told me to publicly declare that I'm cutting ties with the captain."

"Are you brain-dead?!" Chen Guowei yelled. "He's not your father, why is he meddling so much... Ouch!"

Xiang Hui kicked Chen Guowei: "Actually, this suggestion isn't hard to understand; it's just asking you to choose sides. As long as you fall out with Lao Bai, you definitely won't be poached by the Super God Guild in the future."

Awakened individuals have a high level of public recognition, which makes them very concerned about their public image. Once they make a public statement, they generally won't go back on their word. Nobody likes someone who goes back on their word or changes their allegiance frequently.

"This doesn't sound like a suggestion, it sounds more like an ultimatum..." Bai Xiaowen smiled. "I understand. Old Han definitely won't agree, no wonder he was refused the contract change."

Han Xu is like an old ox plowing the field. He usually appears taciturn, gentle, and harmless, but his personality is as stubborn and inflexible as an ox.

Han Xu viewed Bai Xiaowen as a friend, a personal relationship. He viewed the Jingwu Guild as a subordinate unit, an official business. For the Jingwu Guild's management to insist on interfering in Han Xu's private life, forcing him to sever ties with a friend—someone who had helped him—naturally caused Han Xu great resentment and even resistance. It was perfectly normal for the two to break off their relationship.

Chen Guowei said, "I see. It's better not to sign with this kind of guild! Old Han, don't be discouraged. With your abilities, you can have plenty of guilds that want to exist!"

Han Xu remained silent.

Bai Xiaowen finally finished crafting a potion. It was a Flash Fox Potion, a Tier 1, Level 9 agility- Enhancement Potion, theoretically increasing agility by 5 points. As for its purity, judging by that intoxicating green color, it was undoubtedly a perfect product of over 95%.

After carefully Sealing the medicine, Bai Xiaowen washed her hands and left the small dark room.

"Han Xu, although it's not the right time to say this, I still hope you can join the Super God Guild."

Bai Xiaowen said, "From this incident, you can see that the management of the Jingwu Guild is incompetent, narrow-minded, and has almost no trust in you. Even if they are willing to compromise and stop forcing you to break off relations with me, this matter will always be a thorn in their side."

"Under such circumstances, the Jingwu Guild cannot possibly train you without reservation."

"Moreover, judging from the current state of the Jingwu Guild, their main team is performing very well and is competing for a place in the Class-A League. Their main tank is an Elite Class with a level 8 rating, and he's not even thirty years old yet, so he's far from retiring. If you went to the Jingwu Guild, there wouldn't be a place for you for the next seven or eight years."

"The Super God Guild is different. Yes, I admit we're at the bottom of the league, but it's precisely under these circumstances that we need to strengthen our key positions..."

Bai Xiaowen kept a close eye on Han Xu's expression as he spoke eloquently, using his persuasive skills, which he used on people from the Spirit Realm, on Han Xu.

Han Xu's expression showed some hesitation.

Xiang Hui sighed, "Old Bai, you're really good at poaching people! I was even thinking of inviting Old Han to join our Radiance Guild... Now that you've said that, how am I supposed to compete? No way, you're practically breaking the rules."

Xiang Hui was just saying that; the Radiance Guild didn't have much of an advantage either, mainly because Han Xu wasn't in their main team.

The saying goes, "Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox." Many awakened players would rather be a main force member in a small guild than a substitute in a medium-sized or larger guild that is not yet fully developed. Although the Radiance Guild is slightly stronger than the Jingwu Guild, it is still not A-rank Guild, hence the description of it as "not yet fully developed."

Chen Guowei tugged at Han Xu: "What are you hesitating for, Old Han... Hurry up and join! With Lao Bai as the captain, we'll be winning every day without lifting a finger!"

At this point, Chen Guowei winked at Bai Xiaowen again. "Old Bai, can I join your Super God Guild?"

Bai Xiaowen rolled her eyes. "You should cancel your current guild contract first!"

Chen Guowei yelled, "I can't get a refund! The penalty for breach of contract alone will bankrupt me!"

"Then fulfill your contract. By your senior year, it should be expiring soon," Bai Xiaowen said with a smile.

Chen Guowei said dejectedly, "Sigh, the template is so bad, there's no human rights involved. If I had Old Han's potential, plenty of guilds would be willing to pay my breach of contract fees..."

"It's good that you know..." Xiang Hui patted Chen Guowei on the shoulder.

After Chen Guowei's interruption, Han Xu had made up his mind.

"Captain, I'm very grateful that you're willing to introduce me to the guild at this time. However, I still want to make things clear to Manager Hou and the others... After all, the Jingwu Guild was the first guild I signed with after becoming an Awakened, and it helped me a lot in getting started on my Awakened journey, so... I hope you can understand me."

Han Xu clearly felt somewhat guilty for not living up to Bai Xiaowen's hospitality—he had actually spoken so much clearly, which was quite different from his usual concise speaking style.

"Of course I understand," Bai Xiaowen said calmly. "Old Han, let me ask you one question... If the Jingwu Guild agrees to exchange contracts with you, but the new contract is quite harsh and offers no guarantees... would you compromise because of your commitment to sticking with one side?"

Han Xu shook his head and said without hesitation, "No. Respect is mutual."

A scholar will die for one who understands him; an awakened person will be loyal to a guild that values them. If a guild doesn't value them and the contract they offer doesn't match their worth, then what's the point of dying for them? Bai Xiaowen understood Han Xu's seemingly contradictory mindset quite well.