A Timely Encounter?

Li Qingshan stood before the chunks of flesh, bloody longsword in hand, waiting quietly.

The corpses of the three Feral Beasts from before had already vanished, turning into statues at the edge of the platform.

But You Qingya was different.

Li Qingshan had not forgotten that disgusting tentacled monster.

Yet the red light did not appear for a long while. The chunks of flesh and the blood on the ground rapidly faded away, disappearing as a humanoid statue appeared at the platform's edge.

"No transformation?" Li Qingshan frowned, considering two possibilities.

The first was that the transformation involved the power of an Evil God and had not been recorded by the Martial Arts Space.

The second was that the transformation ability was not limitless either. He had chopped You Qingya's head into several pieces just now, so she had been unable to transform.

"To the Martial Arts Space, an Evil God is just another monster. There's no reason it couldn't record it."

Li Qingshan personally leaned toward the second possibility. Verifying it was simple enough. With a thought, You Qingya appeared once more.

"Sorry, but I'll have to kill you one more time."

Li Qingshan grinned and swung his longsword.

Before long, severed limbs crashed to the ground. An intact torso lay sprawled on the floor, while a faint bloody glow emerged from the mangled corpse.

"As expected, I guessed right."

Li Qingshan stood with his blade in hand, calmly watching the tentacled monster take shape.

A moment later, ashes scattered through the air, and the humanoid statue returned to the platform's edge.

Li Qingshan tossed aside the Thunder-Pattern Blade and spread his limbs.

"Time to test how proficiency grows after The Stars Are Calling reaches mastery."

The Martial Arts Space ignored physical exhaustion.

Li Qingshan did not pause for even a moment, practicing over and over again.

Only after a full seven hours did he finally stop.

[The Stars Are Calling 1/3000 (Mastery) → The Stars Are Calling 2/3000 (Mastery)]

Li Qingshan looked at the panel and calculated silently.

"I practiced once in reality and seven times in the space. Eight practice sessions in total for one point of proficiency!"

"It really does double!"

Having reached his conclusion, Li Qingshan was not particularly surprised.

At the beginner stage, one practice session gave one point of proficiency. At the proficient stage, it took two sessions for one point. At the mastery stage, it took four.

Now, it took eight sessions for one point. That meant if he cultivated nonstop in the Martial Arts Space for twenty-four hours—

He could gain three points of proficiency per day. Reaching 3,000 proficiency would take 1,000 days, nearly three years.

"Luckily, I'm well-funded now. Even with another year added for rest, it'll still be enough."

Li Qingshan glanced at the [Available Time] section, looking relaxed.

With the 1:10 time flow, reality would only need a little over half a year for him to grind The Stars Are Calling to perfection.

That was the Fifth Realm, something even Wan Keshan had never mentioned!

"Maybe I can ask Teacher Wan in class tomorrow."

As a genius who had "comprehended" the Fourth Realm, it was perfectly reasonable for him to look ahead to the Fifth Realm.

The following morning, on Bus No. 72.

Since it was the weekend, the bus was not crowded. Most of the passengers were elderly men and women heading out to buy groceries.

The old people who had been chatting leisurely gradually fell silent, their gazes turning toward a corner in the back.

A young man sat there, speaking into his Communicator.

Making calls was not strange. What was strange was that in the mere ten-plus minutes since the young man had boarded, he had answered and hung up more than twenty calls.

"Are young people these days really that busy?"

"I see he's carrying a blade. Maybe he's a Martial Arts Class student..."

"Could be. He keeps talking about signing contracts. Maybe he's a third-year Martial Arts Class student?"

"Definitely. Years ago, Old Wang next door had a grandson. The boy did well enough to stay in the Martial Arts Class until his third year, and all sorts of companies chased him to sign a contract every day. Not long after, the whole family moved to Wuyi City to enjoy the good life."

Once the topic began, the old people naturally started gossiping.

In the corner—

"Manager Lin, thank you for your company's kind offer, but I really have no plans to sign a contract."

Li Qingshan forced a smile. Without waiting for the other party's response, he decisively ended the call.

"Whew! These companies reacted way too fast, didn't they?"

Li Qingshan let out a long breath and lightly pinched the bridge of his nose.

From the time he woke up that morning until now, he had already taken more than thirty calls, all of them contract offers from various companies.

Some of those companies were local to Fallen Blossom City, while others came from several nearby cities.

Companies he had heard of and companies he had never heard of had all flocked to him.

"This can't go on, or they'll annoy me to death!"

Li Qingshan lowered his head and tapped his Communicator, directly enabling Do Not Disturb and rejecting all unfamiliar calls.

The Communicator's light screen unfolded, displaying dozens of new emails. They were all contracts sent by those companies from before.

Li Qingshan casually opened several and began looking through them.

The emails were largely the same.

Basically, they offered him around 50,000 a month in sponsorship during his time at school for martial arts cultivation.

The sponsorship would double with each year and continue until he graduated from the third year of the Martial Arts Class.

If he could go to the New Continent, it would rise to 500,000 per month.

The sponsorship seemed generous, but for martial arts cultivation, it was little more than a drop in the bucket.

The Intermediate Nutrient Solution he needed now cost 240,000 a month at one bottle per day.

Not to mention—

At their core, all these contracts were indenture agreements!

After graduation, he would have to work for the company for at least twenty years!

"You talk about sincerity, but your contracts treat me like a beast of burden?"

Li Qingshan's face darkened. He tapped his finger and deleted all the emails.

Then he leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

A moment later—

Bzz, bzz, bzz!

His wrist vibrated. Li Qingshan opened his eyes in confusion and looked at his Communicator.

"Manager Zhou?"

The light screen unfolded, revealing a bald middle-aged man with a broad smile. It was the HR manager from the Yinghai Flagship Store.

Li Qingshan spoke helplessly.

"Manager Zhou, don't tell me Yinghai wants to sign me too?"

Manager Zhou froze and asked nervously, "You haven't already signed with someone, have you?"

Li Qingshan shook his head.

"No. I don't plan to sign any contract."

"That's good!" Manager Zhou sighed in relief, his smile returning.

"Yinghai has always been committed to discovering outstanding talent and supporting their martial arts paths. We naturally can't overlook a genius like you."

Li Qingshan felt even more helpless and could only refuse again.

"Manager Zhou..."

"Don't rush to refuse. I've sent you the contract. Take a look first."

Manager Zhou interrupted confidently.

"Yinghai is a major chain brand. The terms we offer are absolutely beyond what those small companies can match."

The call ended, and a new email appeared on the light screen.

Li Qingshan casually opened it and swept his gaze across it.

"D-Class Investment Contract."

The terms in the contract were indeed much better than those offered by the previous companies. All the sponsorship amounts had basically doubled.

But that was all.

Li Qingshan quickly skimmed the final thirty-year employment term and tapped the × in the upper-right corner.

Investment was naturally for the sake of returns. Li Qingshan could understand that.

But understanding was one thing. There was no way he would sign this kind of indenture contract.

Li Qingshan opened his contacts, his finger pausing slightly over Manager Zhou's profile picture.

"It doesn't seem right to reject him immediately. I'll talk to him when I go to the store tonight."

Remembering Manager Zhou's confident smile just now, Li Qingshan gave up on calling him.

Rejecting him outright now would be no different from slapping him in the face.

Yinghai Flagship Store, general manager's office.

In the boss's chair sat a long-haired young man in casual clothes. His fingers tapped against the desk as his lazy gaze swept over the bald middle-aged man before him.

"Did you send the contract?"

"I did, I did."

Manager Zhou looked tense and answered cautiously.

A new official always had three fires to burn. The young man before him was Fu Wen, the general manager who had been transferred to Fallen Blossom City just three days ago.

More importantly, the person in charge of Yinghai's Martial Righteous Province region was also surnamed Fu.

"Good thing I came this time. Otherwise, you people would have let another talent slip through the cracks."

Fu Wen's tone gradually sharpened. The laziness in his eyes faded, replaced by a piercing glare.

Sweat appeared on Manager Zhou's forehead as he explained, "General Manager Fu, the news of Li Qingshan killing Feral Beasts only spread last night. Our response wasn't slow."

"Not slow?"

Fu Wen sneered twice and casually pressed a button on the desk. A projected light screen appeared.

The projection showed footage from one month ago, of Li Qingshan's battle with Yu Zhuo.

"Last night? Open your eyes and look at what this is. You were there at the time. Are you blind?"

"This... General Manager Fu, Yu Zhuo was only at the Body Tempering Third Stage. Although Li Qingshan defeated someone stronger than himself, that shouldn't be enough for a D-Class Contract, right?"

"You're not just blind. You're deaf too!"

Fu Wen slammed his palm onto the desk and pointed at Yu Zhuo in the footage.

"Yu Zhuo already said that Li Qingshan's Lost-Trace Steps had reached mastery. Do you know what that means?"

"Among all first-year Martial Arts Class students in Martial Righteous Province, you couldn't find a second person capable of that!"

"He's that impressive?"

Manager Zhou stared blankly. It was something he had never considered before.

But now, he had no time to worry about being reprimanded. He asked excitedly, "General Manager Fu, does that mean Li Qingshan has a chance to go to the New Continent?"

"It's still unclear how long it took him to master Lost-Trace Steps, but based solely on the information we have now..."

Fu Wen tapped his fingers on the desk and pondered.

"If his Body Tempering Realm doesn't fall behind, then he really does have a slight chance in three years."

"A slight chance is enough!" Manager Zhou clenched his fist excitedly.

Only two or three martial arts students from Martial Righteous Province could go to the New Continent every year. Who could claim absolute certainty?

But he quickly thought of another problem and asked cautiously, "General Manager Fu, shouldn't geniuses with a chance of going to the New Continent always be offered A-Class Contracts?"

The difference between A-Class and D-Class was like heaven and earth.

"A-Class?"

Fu Wen glanced at Manager Zhou and let out a scornful laugh.

"A-Class Contracts are signed with those talented students who have already begun to stand out before each year's Final Battle."

"If I gave him an A-Class Contract, how would I demonstrate my methods?"

Fu Wen leaned back against the sofa, interlacing his fingers with satisfaction.

"The earlier the investment, the greater the return. That return is what I deserve."

"General Manager Fu, that's true." Manager Zhou cautiously glanced at Fu Wen, hesitating before he continued. "But... isn't a D-Class Contract too low?"

Contracts were binding, but that did not mean they solved everything once and for all.

Especially speculative contracts like this. If handled poorly, they could end with both sides turning against each other.

Fu Wen saw through Manager Zhou's thoughts and shook his head with a smile.

"Don't worry. Li Qingshan came from a publicly supported background. He's a poor student who still has to work everywhere to buy Nutrient Solution. How much money could he possibly have seen?"

"Just the D-Class Contract alone gives him 100,000 a month in the first year. That'll spare him from worrying about Basic Nutrient Solution."

"Besides..."

Fu Wen looked at Manager Zhou meaningfully.

"Only with a gap can there be a surprise."

"The D-Class Contract is just a way for you to keep Li Qingshan steady, so he doesn't get short-sighted and fall into the trap of some local small company."

"When he gets to the store, I'll show up while you're signing the contract and personally raise his contract to C-tier."

"From D-tier to C-tier, the benefits more than double. Such 'recognition and favor' will be enough for Li Qingshan to remember for the rest of his life!"

"President Fu is wise." Manager Zhou forced a smile as he flattered him.

"Hahahaha!"

In the vast office, only Fu Wen's smug laughter echoed...