The Shangjing Yang Family

After Yage, Bai Xingzhi, who had fused with the Ninth-grade Demon Spirit Six-winged Phantom Python, was also fiercely pursued by numerous clubs.

In the end, the boy joined the "AK" Club, an established S-Class Club and one of the Alliance's top ten clubs. Though it could not compare with a powerhouse like Juxing, they had shown great sincerity. Without much further consideration, Bai Xingzhi joined them.

Not long afterward, a boy stood before the Demon Mirror, and for a moment, the crowd did not recognize him.

"Ye Qiu!"

Only Lin Feng and a handful of others recognized him.

Perhaps because the Thorn Demon Dragon possession state had been too dangerous, Ye Qiu had returned to human form and changed into clean clothes. His expression was stern, confident, and composed.

"Thorn Demon Dragon!"

"It's him!"

When the Thorn Demon Dragon's figure appeared in the Demon Mirror, the onlookers erupted into shouts, nearly going mad as they pressed forward. Had a large number of police officers not hurriedly stepped in to maintain order, chaos would have broken out.

"Ye Qiu, sixteen years old, a third-year student at Jiangcheng First Middle School. Body Cultivation Ninth Stage. Has refined the Earth Ranking 46th Thorn Demon Dragon..."

Though the fans were frenzied, after his information was recorded, Ye Qiu's turn was orderly and even somewhat quiet compared to the mad scramble among clubs for Yage and Bai Xingzhi.

Of course, no one thought this meant he lacked value. Faced with such an unparalleled genius, even A-Class Clubs did not dare speak rashly, afraid of making fools of themselves.

Only S-Class Clubs and above could take part in the competition, and seven S-Class Clubs offered terms.

Juxing Club was among them.

Zhang Ling, who had been aloof toward Yage, completely changed her manner. Her attitude was warm and sincere.

However, the highest offer came from a club named "Thunder": a ten-year contract worth 3 billion New Dollars, with an eighty-twenty split.

Ye Qiu would take eighty percent, the club twenty.

"They've gone mad! Three billion New Dollars, and an eighty-twenty split too..."

Gao Hai's face was full of envy and jealousy. Even lying around for a year would earn 300 million. This was the true pinnacle of life!

"Three billion New Dollars actually isn't that much. Ye Qiu might not agree."

Lin Feng was not surprised in the slightest.

The Thorn Demon Dragon Ye Qiu had refined alone was worth more than 3 billion New Dollars, let alone under a contract spanning ten years.

A ten-year contract was the maximum signing term stipulated by the Glory Alliance. Its purpose was to protect Glory players, ensuring they retained the right to choose and would not be bound forever to one club by a single contract. Of course, after ten years, the original club retained priority renewal rights. Even if the player did not wish to renew, the club would still receive a considerable transfer fee.

In Lin Feng's view, compared with the 3 billion salary, the percentage split showed far more sincerity.

One could imagine that once Ye Qiu truly matured in the future, the advertising benefits and commercial revenue he could generate would likely form a colossal market worth tens of billions.

Compared to Juxing, this Thunder Club had vision and courage.

After eighty-three years of development, the Glory Alliance had become the world's grandest competition and industry chain.

The Huaxia Glory Alliance alone had registered tens of thousands of clubs, which were divided into five levels: S, A, B, C, and D. S-Class was the highest, while D-Class was the lowest.

Thunder Club was an old S-Class Club with a long history. Though it could not compare to a powerhouse like Juxing, it was still one of the Glory Alliance's top ten clubs. Three years ago, it had even placed fourth in the Huaxia Glory War. The people of River City were no strangers to this club, because its headquarters was located in River City.

It was River City's local club. Naturally, among River City residents, Thunder Club was more popular than Juxing Club.

Everyone hoped that Ye Qiu would join Thunder Club.

Thunder Club's representative was a white-haired old man. Since he dared make such an offer, he had clearly investigated and studied Ye Qiu beforehand.

At only fifteen, Ye Qiu had reached the Body Cultivation Ninth Stage, and now he was only one step away from becoming a Martial Artist. His martial talent was outstanding, and he had fused with the Earth Ranking 46th Thorn Demon Dragon. He was a genius in both soul and martial arts, making him well worth the investment.

"You may consider it. As long as you join Thunder, once you reach the strength of a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist, the position of Main Combatant will be yours."

Seeing that Ye Qiu had not expressed his stance for so long, the old man looked somewhat hesitant. He made a phone call, spoke a few words, then offered new terms.

The moment those words were spoken, the onlookers collectively sucked in a breath.

Joining the Thunder Team!

Not the reserve team, but the main team.

Anyone who joined the main team would certainly receive the club's full support. A team of up to a thousand people would plan their development direction and the route for their Demon Spirit's upgrades and evolution. This was treatment money could not buy.

Moreover, every member of a Glory Team ranked in the top ten earned advertising endorsements starting at hundreds of millions of New Dollars. Thus, for Glory players with true strength and fame, money was merely a number.

The terms offered by Thunder Club were undeniably tempting. After the offer was made, not a single club had the courage to continue competing.

Even Juxing Club was no exception.

Zhang Ling of Juxing Club had initially wanted to compete. A genius like Ye Qiu was something one could encounter only by chance; missing him would be a lifelong regret.

It could be said that ten Yages could not compare to one Ye Qiu.

Just moments ago, after learning that an unparalleled genius like Ye Qiu had appeared in River City, the headquarters had already dispatched people who were hurrying toward River City. The other clubs had done the same. Zhang Ling had just put down the phone and was preparing to make a new offer when the words of Thunder Club's representative stunned her.

As a powerhouse, Juxing naturally possessed the foundation of a powerhouse.

Money was naturally not a problem.

Juxing Club could offer the same price, or even more than Thunder Club. It could also let Ye Qiu join the Juxing Team. With Ye Qiu's talent, that was not much of an issue.

But they did not dare directly grant him the position of Main Combatant.

In her eyes, Thunder Club had clearly gone mad.

The Thorn Demon Dragon Ye Qiu had refined was a Demon Spirit with formidable offensive power. Coupled with the spell damage innate to dragon-type Demon Spirits, if nothing unexpected happened, Ye Qiu's future career direction would most likely be that of a Battle Mage.

The Battle of Glory was fought in teams of five.

If a Battle Mage served as the Main Combatant, he would become the soul of the team. The composition of the team and its fighting methods would largely be based on the Main Combatant's talents and abilities. In other words, in order to obtain Ye Qiu, Thunder Club had to begin paving the way now for his future entry into the Thunder Team.

Though Ye Qiu was still far from becoming a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist, this was extremely unfair to many Glory players who had already signed with Thunder and regarded entering the main team as their ultimate goal. It might even provoke fierce backlash from them.

Every position on the main team was determined by strength. If positions were directly assigned in advance, what meaning was there in remaining at the club for those who knew they had no place, or whose abilities could not coordinate with Ye Qiu's?

Therefore, even if a position truly had been decided in advance, the club would not say so openly. This was taboo. It would unsettle the team's morale and directly affect its results.

To obtain Ye Qiu, Thunder Team had clearly cast all caution to the wind.

Zhang Ling clearly did not possess such courage, nor did she believe Juxing Club would.

Talent represented potential, not absolute combat power. No one could say what the future would bring.

Yet to everyone's surprise, even with such a promise, Ye Qiu showed no excitement. Though he appeared somewhat tempted, he was hesitating.

"I'll still need to consider it. Thank you for your confidence in me."

In the end, Ye Qiu replied politely. He did not join any club and left under the cover of numerous teachers from First Middle School.

"He still won't agree to terms like that? Is he crazy?"

"Exactly. If he joins Thunder Club, a specialized team will make a training plan for him. No matter what, it's better than cultivating on his own."

"What do you know? I heard Ye Qiu is the young master of Ye Corporation. He obviously isn't short on money. He has confidence in himself and is certain he can secure a better contract later."

Ye Qiu's refusal took many people by surprise, but some supported him, and arguments even began to break out.

Such happy troubles naturally meant nothing to Lin Feng and the others. After watching the excitement, the three returned to the area assigned to Jiangxin Middle School.

Along the way, Gao Hai kept expressing his envy and jealousy of Ye Qiu, wondering why he had not joined Thunder Club. Then he congratulated Yage and said admiringly, "Yage, besides school, you'll have to train at Juxing Club from now on. We'll have even less time to hang out together."

"Probably not."

Yage had been somewhat quiet along the way. Though she had refined the Eighth-Rank Charm Butterfly, she did not seem as happy as imagined. She occasionally responded, but most of the time she kept her head slightly lowered, lost in thought.

Gao Hai clearly sensed that there was something wrong between Lin Feng and Yage, so he gradually spoke less.

When they returned to the school's area, Yage enjoyed everyone's focused attention.

At Jiangxin Middle School, Yage was one of the three school beauties, and there were quite a few people secretly in love with her. In the past, whenever they saw Yage, they would not hide their affection. Yet now, they only dared sneak glances at her.

Having fused with the Eighth-Rank Bewitching Butterfly, Yage's future was already beyond their reach. In three months, she would enter one of the Nine Elite Joint Schools, perhaps even a Hero Academy, and become someone from a different world.

"Mhm. An Eighth-Rank Bewitching Butterfly. Work hard."

Jiangxin Middle School's vice principal was a fat middle-aged man. He looked Yage over and encouraged her.

For a key middle school, Demon Spirit Masters were precious resources, but only those who refined high-grade Demon Spirits were worth focused cultivation. Around a hundred thousand students had participated in today's Awakening Day, yet fewer than sixty had truly refined Eighth-Rank Demon Spirits or higher. Yage was one of them. With such talent, she naturally deserved special attention.

Furthermore, the Bewitching Butterfly was rare. This Mental-type Demon Spirit was even more precious than flying Demon Spirits.

If she worked hard enough, Yage should be able to enter one of the Three Hero Academies. The school would have completed another target, and another shining achievement would be added to his record.

"Thank you, Principal Wang. I'll work hard," Yage said gratefully.

For an ordinary student like her, it was usually difficult even to see the vice principal, let alone receive his encouragement. Yet she remained composed, showing no overwhelming delight at his praise.

Yage knew that from today onward, her status would undergo an enormous change. Her future was bright.

Her only regret...

At that thought, Yage glanced at Lin Feng, something unusual in her eyes.

Lin Feng had black hair and black eyes, handsome features, and a dignified bearing. Though his expression seemed somewhat cold, he carried an austere aura. His martial arts talent might not have reached the level of a genius, but it was still considered excellent.

In their third year, his combat strength ranked within the top two hundred, while his academic results ranked in the five hundreds. For poor students like them, with no family or financial conglomerate backing them, such rankings were extremely difficult to achieve.

Hardworking and handsome.

It had to be said that he was a boy very popular with girls.

As far as Yage knew, many girls at school liked him and had written him love letters.

But they did not know one of Lin Feng's secrets.

Only she knew that secret.

Having grown up together since childhood, Yage knew that Lin Feng's surname had not originally been Lin, but Yang. He had only taken his mother's surname at the age of six.

Though he was merely a commoner, he came from a prestigious family. He was a direct descendant of the Upper Capital Glory Clan, the Yang Family.

Though he was only an Illegitimate Child unacknowledged by the family, as long as he displayed talent, it was not impossible for him to return to the family in the future. Beyond the feelings nurtured by growing up together as childhood sweethearts, this was also why she had silently remained by his side all these years.

But now, none of that was possible anymore.

Unable to refine a Demon Spirit and lacking the talent of a Demon Spirit Master, Lin Feng was destined to receive no attention from the Upper Capital Yang Family based on his martial talent alone. Wanting to return to the family was likely no more than a fantasy born in the sky.

Yage had once admired and adored Lin Feng, but at this moment, that feeling of admiration had already begun to slowly fade.