Harsh or Free? [Seeking Follow-ups!]

After leaving the reception room, Ren Ze saw a young woman with a lovely figure, dressed in a purple training uniform, waiting for him.

"My name is Jiang Fang. You're Ren Ze, right? For the next five years at the Elite Training Camp, you'll train under me."

As she approached, the woman in purple spoke to Ren Ze. She looked delicate, yet she gave off the impression of a blade!

"Hello, Instructor Jiang. I'm Ren Ze."

"Come with me."

As the two passed the Black Dragon sculpture outside, Jiang Fang saw that Ren Ze had not been affected by the Black Dragon's imposing aura at all. She could not help but smile. "Your mental will is quite good. No wonder you're a genius specially admitted to the Elite Training Camp."

The Elite Training Camp recruited new students every March. It was already the end of September, yet Ren Ze had still managed to enter the camp—and had even been directly assigned by Dojo headquarters to the group she supervised.

This made Jiang Fang extremely curious about the young man named Ren Ze.

"Do you see the names on the Black Dragon? That's the camp's monthly student points ranking."

"Right now, the entire Elite Training Camp has a total of 182 students, all of them the most outstanding geniuses from around the world. Every month, they're ranked according to their combat power points, from highest to lowest!"

"Ren Ze, you'll have to work hard from now on and try to rank as high as possible. The higher your rank, the more benefits you'll receive!"

"Instructor Jiang, what benefits are there?"

Ren Ze looked at the names carved onto the scales of the towering black dragon. He truly could not remember the specific reward details.

Jiang Fang smiled at Ren Ze and said, "There are plenty. Every year, the major powers on Earth are willing to spend tens of billions of Earth credits just to send their geniuses to the Elite Training Camp. Why do you think that is?"

"Our Limit Dojo has Hong, the strongest man on Earth, as our Dojo Master. That means the greatest treasures—including miraculous items excavated from ancient civilization ruins—are naturally most abundant in the Limit Dojo!"

"There are many things in this camp beyond anything you could imagine."

Jiang Fang's eyes shone brightly. When she mentioned Hong's name, her eyes were filled with even greater admiration.

"Did you think that simply entering the Elite Training Camp would let you enjoy all those benefits for free?"

"What a joke! Competition in the Elite Training Camp is far more intense than anywhere else. Your ranking determines the benefits you students can enjoy!"

"The higher your rank, the more worthy you are of cultivation, and the more resources you can claim!"

Jiang Fang continued, "You'll learn exactly what benefits come with a high rank, along with many of the rules, later on. Come, I'll take you to complete the formalities first."

Ren Ze was speechless. After all that talk, she had said basically nothing...

After crossing the plaza and passing around the enormous Black Dragon sculpture, they truly entered the interior of the Elite Training Camp.

It was called a training camp, but it was actually a magnificent complex of ancient Chinese-style architecture.

There were all kinds of precious flowers and trees, little bridges over flowing water, and aside from several main halls, elegant pavilions and towers stood throughout the grounds. From time to time, they could see young men and women in loose training uniforms entering and leaving the buildings.

There were people of every ethnicity.

At the very center of the camp stood a massive nine-story pagoda-like building.

"That's the Nine-Layered Tower. It's where all the students study and train. Some special training rooms are there as well," Jiang Fang introduced.

Each floor of the Nine-Layered Tower was roughly ten meters high. Although it had only nine floors, it was comparable to an ordinary twenty-story building.

The tower looked very classical from the outside, but its interior was not classical at all. It was highly technological, and the floors were made entirely of hard alloy.

As Ren Ze followed Jiang Fang through the building, quite a few people looked at him.

Those who knew Jiang Fang called out loudly, "Instructor Jiang, who's this? I haven't seen him before."

"Isn't it not time for new recruitment yet? Why is there a new student now?"

Jiang Fang casually answered the students' questions, ignoring the discussions behind them.

Others greeted Ren Ze as well. A sturdy young man asked with a smile, "Brother, are you Chinese?"

Ren Ze smiled and nodded. "Yes, Chinese."

"Keep it up! With you joining, we Chinese have one more student here."

The young man shouted with a grin.

"So what!"

A young man with Western features beside him snorted coldly. "Even with one more person, what does it matter? He's just a rookie who just joined."

Ignoring the slightly provocative look in the man's eyes, Ren Ze followed Jiang Fang to the second floor and entered an office.

The room's decor and furnishings were exceptionally elegant. After Jiang Fang had Ren Ze sit down, she took out a printed contract from the desk and placed it on the table before him.

"Take a look. If there are no issues, sign your name at the end."

Jiang Fang said, "Headquarters sent this to me today. In all my years, this is the first time I've seen someone receive a recruitment contract from Dojo headquarters as soon as they enter the training camp."

"The terms in this contract were personally drafted by the Dojo Master, so not a single clause can be changed."

"Ren Ze, once you enter the training camp, as long as you aren't eliminated, your future is destined to be brilliant!"

"Many factions around the world will surely try to recruit you, but I want to remind you that as the number one power in the world, our Limit Dojo can offer you things money simply cannot buy."

Ren Ze nodded and picked up the contract on the table.

This was the Limit Dojo's official recruitment contract. Unlike ordinary contracts—like the one Ren Ze had previously signed with the dojo, which merely indicated that he belonged to the Limit Dojo—it came with no salary. If he wanted to make money, he had to earn it himself by killing monsters, and there were not many requirements either.

But this one was different. It came with both authority and benefits! But likewise, it came with responsibilities!

"Annual operational funds: 5 billion Huaxia Currency?"

On the first page, Ren Ze saw the operational funds offered by the Limit Dojo. This was essentially an annual salary.

That amount was not particularly high. Last month, he had earned more than that hunting monsters in the Wilderness Zone.

At the Limit Dojo, salaries were based on status. The contract also listed the operational funds allocated to each rank. Even an Inspector, the highest-ranking among war gods, only received 10 billion a year.

However, those who joined the Limit Dojo generally did not do it for money!

Sure enough, when he flipped to the last page, his eyes lit up.

"Before January 1, 2057, if battle power amplitude reaches 12, receive a full set of Series 9 combat uniform and weapons, a complete set of any secret manual, and one portion of Dragon Blood valued at 80 billion."

"Before April 1, 2057, if battle power amplitude reaches 12, receive a full set of Series 9 combat uniform and weapons, and one portion of jade marrow valued at 30 billion."

"Before October 1, 2057, if battle power amplitude reaches 16, receive a full set of SS-grade combat uniform and weapons, one portion of Dragon Blood valued at 80 billion, three complete sets of secret manuals, and one set of the ancient civilization relic, the 'Black God Set.'"

There were three reward clauses in total, each imposing requirements on both time and strength. Every reward was tempting.

Among them, the ancient civilization relic, the Black God Set, especially made him salivate.

This was an essential life-saving divine artifact in the early stages. It could even be used all the way to the Stellar level.

After watching Ren Ze finish reading the contract, Jiang Fang smiled and said, "The headmaster truly thinks very highly of you!"

"You should know that a battle power amplitude of 1 to 2 is considered low-tier. Most students who have just entered the Elite Training Camp are at this level."

"A battle power amplitude of 2 to 4 is mid-tier. Veteran students in the Elite Training Camp who have trained for a year or so can generally reach this level."

"A battle power amplitude of 4 to 8 is high-tier. They can be considered qualified students of the Elite Training Camp. Every one of them can rival an ordinary war god-level martial artist."

"A battle power amplitude of 8 to 16 is excellent. This is the standard for 'outstanding students' in the training camp. Those who reach 12 or above can consistently rank among the top twenty students every month."

"A battle power amplitude above 16 is exceptional! It is also called 'superior.' Even Hong and Thunder God would compete to take such people as disciples. The world's major powers and organizations would all be willing to pay enormous prices to recruit them. They are figures of truly peerless brilliance."

"Even in the Elite Training Camp, it is often difficult for even one such person to appear in five whole years."

"As for how battle power amplitude is calculated, you can check the student handbook later."

Hearing Jiang Fang's explanation, Ren Ze silently grumbled to himself, The time requirements are even stricter than the limitations in Luo Feng's contract from the original work. Hong really thinks highly of me... Though the first two rewards are practically being handed to me for free, I'm definitely getting that Black God Set and Dragon Blood from the third one!

Given the strength he had displayed, this contract was not harsh at all. If anything, it was practically a giveaway.

After all, asking someone with perfect-level movement technique, who had learned the first four layers of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade in less than four months, to consolidate his strength within three months and perform normally in the Trial Tower to reach an amplitude of 12, then learn the fifth layer within a year to reach an amplitude of 16—no one would consider that harsh.

"Well? Do you dare sign it?"

Seeing Ren Ze deep in thought, Jiang Fang could not help smiling as she provoked him.

"Mm, I'll sign. Why wouldn't I dare? I'll just give it my all!"

Ren Ze nodded and immediately signed the contract.