Generous Terms

Ordinary martial artists only became eligible to choose whether to formally join the Military, the HR Underground Alliance, the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, or another such faction after passing the Martial Artist Combat Assessment.

Although there was no explicit written rule, this was an unwritten rule that all the factions tacitly accepted!

After all, in today's society, martial artists were the scarcest resource. If any faction ignored the rules and fought for them without restraint, it would inevitably provoke conflict between factions, and bloodshed would naturally follow.

That went against the very purpose of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and the Thunder Martial Arts Hall's hard work in training their students!

After all, the dojos worked tirelessly to train these students so that more martial artists would stand up and take up arms against the monsters in the Wilderness Zone, not turn their weapons on their own comrades.

And so, with the tacit approval of the two giants, the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, this unwritten rule had come to be.

But this only applied to ordinary martial artists!

When it came to the monstrous talents who appeared only once or twice a year—or sometimes not for several years at a time—the various factions weren't nearly so accommodating.

They fought for them!

They offered all kinds of generous resources and lavish terms!

Even when facing a giant like the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, they wouldn't back down an inch. If one side offered five hundred thousand, the other would offer a million, then two million. Snatching even one was worth it!

The HR Underground Alliance, especially, was loaded with money. It was a common tactic for them to spend lavishly, using money and resources to overwhelm newly emerged martial arts prodigies until they obediently signed a contract.

Of course, this sort of competition was already considered quite mild.

In the darkest years, countless prodigious martial artists had died amid open and covert struggles for their allegiance!

Therefore, with the tacit approval of all the factions, every newly certified martial artist was now free to choose which faction to join only after completing the Martial Artist Combat Assessment.

It was precisely because of this environment that Luo Zhe hadn't understood what Tong Yang meant at first.

This reading comprehension question was way over my head!

Seeing Luo Zhe's reaction, Tong Yang immediately explained, "A genius like you, who gained nearly five thousand kilograms of punching power during your very first Genetic Origin Energy cultivation session, and made astonishing progress in both speed and neural response tests, might not appear even once every few years among the more than two hundred million people in Jiangnan City."

"When a genius martial artist like you takes the Martial Artist Combat Assessment, your results will naturally attract the attention of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, the Underground Alliance's various families, and other factions. They'll come invite you to join, of course. You might even be dazzled by all the generous terms they offer."

Only then did Luo Zhe understand. That made sense. If he were a senior dojo official and came across a monster like this, someone who appeared only once or twice every few years among Jiangnan City's two hundred million people, wouldn't every faction fight over him?

"So I'm just trying to get in early and snap you up before they do. You came up through our Extreme Martial Arts Hall, after all. If the Thunder Martial Arts Hall across the way snatches you, wouldn't that be embarrassing for me?"

As he spoke, Tong Yang couldn't help laughing.

Luo Zhe understood. He had heard a little about the rivalry between the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, the two great dojos in the world.

"But don't worry. The terms we offer at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall are definitely the most generous.

"Ordinary martial artists who join the dojo receive a villa and one million Huaxia Currency in startup funds. Don't underestimate money, Luo Zhe. A martial artist's battle gear, weapons, Blade Technique Manuals, and even some firearms all cost a lot. And if you want to invite powerful experts to train you in person, that costs a fortune too."

Luo Zhe nodded to show that he understood.

In this world, whether you were an ordinary person or a martial artist, you could never escape fame, fortune, and power.

As the saying went, "Money isn't everything, but without it, you can do nothing."

Most things in the world could be solved with money. If they couldn't, then you simply didn't have enough!

Tong Yang continued, "For a genius martial artist like you, we offer a villa and twenty million in startup funds! At the same time, the Extreme Martial Arts Hall will give you a Guidance Technique, a Blade Technique Manual, and a Movement Technique Manual for free. As long as the three together cost less than fifty million, you get them at no charge. You'll have to cover anything above fifty million yourself."

Luo Zhe blinked.

What?!

The Extreme Martial Arts Hall really was loaded!

Ordinary martial artists got only one million in startup funds, while he was effectively getting close to seventy million! After all, a martial artist's most important assets were the Guidance Technique, Blade Technique Manual, and Movement Technique Manual, followed by weapons and battle gear.

"Actually, even though we say the Guidance Technique, Blade Technique Manual, and Movement Technique Manual can cost up to fifty million combined, buying them elsewhere would probably cost about twice as much as buying them from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall."

Tong Yang smiled. "Martial artists in our Extreme Martial Arts Hall get an internal discount when they buy certain manuals from us! Of course, the rank of the manual you can buy depends on your dojo contribution points. Without contribution points, you can't buy a manual no matter how much money you have. But since this is your first purchase, the free gift doesn't require any contribution points."

Luo Zhe understood. It seemed the Extreme Martial Arts Hall offered exceptionally generous terms to talented martial artists. The other factions probably couldn't offer much more.

"The terms my Extreme Martial Arts Hall offers talented martial artists are the same for everyone. When you go out to hunt monsters, you can get help from your comrades in different places. What's more, our Chief Hall Master, Hong—the world's strongest man—sometimes personally trains truly outstanding individuals."

Having lived in this era for so many years, Luo Zhe knew how renowned Hong, the Chief Hall Master of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, was!

And Tong Yang deliberately dropped another bombshell!

"I'm also preparing to submit an application to headquarters for a Special Training Contract on your behalf. If it's approved, you'll be able to go to Hongning Base City, where our Extreme Martial Arts Hall headquarters are located, and attend a special training program at the Basic Training Camp. If you do well, you might even get the chance to join the Elite Training Camp, where elite War God instructors personally train the students!"

"What do you think? Want to consider it?"

Damn!

Hearing that, Luo Zhe's eyes practically turned red!

Forget everything else. The benefits already on offer, along with the possibility of getting that Special Training Contract approved, were enough to make Luo Zhe decide to join the Extreme Martial Arts Hall!

"Hall Master, I agree to join the Extreme Martial Arts Hall." Luo Zhe nodded to Tong Yang as he spoke.

At that, Tong Yang's smile widened. He rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a phone, and softly said, "Supervisor Zhuge."

The call went through, and Tong Yang turned to explain to Luo Zhe:

"Although I could let you join the Extreme Martial Arts Hall directly, we still have to follow the dojo's procedures. Otherwise, those guys from the Thunder Martial Arts Hall might find something to use against us."

A moment after the call connected—

A figure appeared on the phone screen.

"Tong Yang, what made you think of calling me today? Have you made up your mind?"

The middle-aged man in a traditional Chinese tunic on the phone screen was thin, with a hooked nose and warm amusement in his eyes. He had a somewhat delicate, almost feminine air about him.

Tong Yang shook his head, turned the phone screen toward Luo Zhe, then replied, "This is a new talent from my Jiangdu District, Luo Zhe."

Turning to Luo Zhe, he said, "Come on, Luo Zhe. Say hello. This is Supervisor Zhuge Tao from the Jiangnan Base City branch of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall."