Signing a Contract?

Wan Keshan suddenly jolted awake, turning his head to look at his niece, wondering if he had misheard.

He saw Li Qingshan every day. How could he not know Li Qingshan's strength?

To have planned this Sacrifice, the Evil God Cultist must have been Corrupted and possessed the ability to transform.

Was that something Li Qingshan could handle?

However, the mecha's iron face revealed no expression, and Yu Man did not speak again.

Wan Keshan could not hold back any longer and questioned her.

"Li Qingshan is only at the Body Tempering Second Level..."

"Uncle, I admit it. You were right back then."

Yu Man frowned as she cut him off impatiently.

"At the Body Tempering Second Level, he killed an Evil God Cultist and hunted three Fierce Beasts in succession. Li Qingshan really does count as a genius."

"A genius?" Wan Keshan was dumbfounded.

Back then, he had merely made up an excuse for his niece so he could hand out a little more bonus money.

In his eyes, Li Qingshan had at most a sliver of a chance to make it to New Continent.

But now...

"At the Body Tempering Second Level, he killed an Evil God Cultist? And hunted three Fierce Beasts in a row?"

A flash of inspiration struck Wan Keshan's mind, and he said with certainty.

"Did he get hold of a Laser Gun? That brat really is clever!"

"What Laser Gun? Didn't you teach him the two D-rank Martial Skills, Mizong Step and Wind Shadow Blade?"

Inside the mecha, Yu Man's frown deepened. She felt as though her uncle was making a pointed remark at her, showing off.

After taking a deep breath, she waved a hand and projected four Light Screens.

"Stop asking. See for yourself!"

The Light Screens displayed the battle footage previously deduced by the mecha.

"Not a gun?"

Wan Keshan muttered, his gaze falling on the figure's right hand.

Though the footage was not particularly clear, he could still make out a Chopping Knife.

The Chopping Knife he had given Li Qingshan!

As the figure in the footage stepped forward and swung the blade, Wan Keshan's eyes gradually widened, disbelief written all over his face.

"Mizong Step at Great Accomplishment? Wind Shadow Blade at Great Accomplishment?"

"Is that really Li Qingshan?"

Wan Keshan questioned it instinctively, but then the figure in the footage circled behind its opponent and slashed upward.

He fell silent.

The figure in the footage was definitely Li Qingshan!

Beside him, the resentment in Yu Man's heart eased somewhat, but she gradually realized something was wrong.

She lifted her faceplate and asked in confusion.

"Uncle, you really didn't know?"

"I don't know shit!"

Wan Keshan cursed.

Two months ago, he had sent the Martial Skills to Li Qingshan only because of that hypothetical scenario of facing a Fierce Beast alone.

But a hypothesis was ultimately just a hypothesis. He had never expected it to succeed.

Over the following ten-odd days, he watched Li Qingshan become listless from practicing the Martial Skills.

Wan Keshan had even regretted sending Li Qingshan the Martial Skills so early.

Later, when Li Qingshan's mental state returned to normal, he had merely assumed that Li Qingshan had taken his advice and temporarily given up Martial Skill training.

Who would have thought...

"Two months, and Mizong Step reached Great Accomplishment! Wind Shadow Blade reached Great Accomplishment!"

"Hahaha! This brat was planning to give me a surprise!"

Wan Keshan burst into loud laughter, his brows filled with excitement. At the same time, he turned to his niece and warned her.

"Right, don't leak this information. Li Qingshan's realm is too low. It would be best if those hyenas don't set their sights on him too soon."

"I know what I'm doing." Yu Man nodded first, then her brows furrowed slightly.

"However, there were too many witnesses at the scene. Li Qingshan's achievements probably can't be hidden from some local companies."

"It's fine. That kid is smart. He won't fall for it so easily." Wan Keshan waved his hand and said firmly.

"The survivors are all Ordinary People. They can't see the details. As long as Li Qingshan's talent isn't exposed, those major corporations and conglomerates won't make a move ahead of time."

Luoying City at night was anything but deserted.

Traffic streamed endlessly down the roads, lights blazed along both sides of the streets, neon flickered, and countless Projection advertisements lit up the walls of towering buildings.

In the night sky, a hovercar flew silently past.

Li Qingshan sat on the sofa, looking down at the city's nightscape through the porthole.

"Coach Li, thank you for teaching my son over the past month."

Cao Ya smiled sincerely, once again planting a large hand on the back of his son's head.

"This brat, I always thought he had no talent for martial arts, so I never forced him."

"Luckily, we had Coach Li. Otherwise, who knows how much time would have been wasted for nothing?"

Tears hung at the corners of Cao Shaoyu's eyes. His chubby face was flushed red from holding it in, yet he did not dare argue back.

Li Qingshan found it amusing and shook his head.

"The talent is his own. I merely provided some guidance."

"Coach Li is too modest." As Cao Ya spoke, he lifted the backrest of the sofa beside him and took out a long Wooden Box.

"Coach Li, this is a gift of thanks I specially prepared. Please do not refuse it."

"How could I accept this?" Li Qingshan shook his head and waved a hand.

"I've already accepted the tui—"

Before he could finish, Cao Ya had already opened the Wooden Box.

Inside was a long saber in its sheath, black from end to end. Mysterious patterns were carved onto both the hilt and sheath, joining them into one.

Cao Ya pushed the Wooden Box before Li Qingshan.

"Coach Li, why not take a look at this saber first?"

Li Qingshan did not refuse. He picked up the long saber and drew half the blade from its sheath.

An electric gleam flashed into existence, then vanished in an instant.

"Electricity?"

Li Qingshan blinked, staring at the silver blade that carried a trace of purple light.

Yet the electric gleam did not appear again, as though it had merely been an illusion.

"More accurately, that was not electricity just now, but lightning. This blade is called Thunder Pattern."

Cao Ya offered a simple explanation but did not elaborate further. Instead, he said solemnly.

"Coach Li, teaching my son may have been nothing more than fulfilling your duties to you.

"But for this brat, being able to go to New Continent early means he will have more opportunities in the future. It is a major matter that can change his Fate. You absolutely deserve this gift of thanks!"

"Besides, I selected this Thunder Pattern Blade with great care. It will be very important to your future Martial Skill training. Please make sure to accept it."

With things having been said to this extent, Li Qingshan no longer stood on ceremony and accepted the Thunder Pattern Blade openly.

"Thank you, Mr. Cao."

He would consider this blade Little Fatty's gift for becoming his student.

Once they went to New Continent, he could simply fulfill more of his responsibilities as a master.

"Coach, could you stop smiling at me? I'm scared!"

Cao Shaoyu shuddered and could not help scooting to the side.

"Brat!"

As if addicted to it, Cao Ya slapped him again.

Only after Little Fatty's eyes brimmed with tears did he withdraw his hand in satisfaction. Then he looked at Li Qingshan and said seriously.

"Coach Li, there is one more thing I feel I should remind you about."

"Please, go ahead." Li Qingshan's expression turned serious.

"Tonight's news will definitely spread. Afterward, quite a few companies will probably contact you about signing a contract."

"Signing a contract?" Li Qingshan raised a brow in confusion.

"Don't companies normally wait until the third year before coming to the Martial Arts Class to sign contracts?"

Only a tiny number of students could enter New Continent each year. Signing with a major corporation was the way out for most Martial Arts Class students.

"It's different. Those are merely employment contracts." Cao Ya shook his head and explained.

"The contracts I mean are Investment Contracts!

"Such contracts are generally offered to geniuses they favor. They invest resources in advance and sponsor their early martial arts training. The price is that they must work for the company long-term in the future."

"A Contract of Indenture!"

Li Qingshan summed up the true nature of so-called Investment Contracts in a few words.

"Uh, you can't put it quite like that." Cao Ya's mouth twitched, and his expression became somewhat awkward.

"For some ordinary geniuses from poor families, trading several decades of future freedom for a smooth early path in martial arts isn't necessarily a loss."

Li Qingshan nodded without arguing.

That was true enough, but with the Status Panel in hand, he would rather suffer a little more in the early stages, work a few more jobs, and report a few more Evil God Cultists than sign such a Contract of Indenture.

However, seeing Cao Ya's expression,

Li Qingshan could not help wondering whether a major corporation stood behind his sudden mention of this matter.

Just as Li Qingshan considered how to refuse,

Cao Ya unexpectedly changed his tone.

"Of course, that only applies to ordinary geniuses. Coach Li, you don't need to."

"Oh?" Li Qingshan's gaze shifted as he waited for him to continue.

"The Federation's system for training martial artists and mecha pilots has long since been perfected after so many years."

Cao Ya took a sip of water and looked out the window.

As he spoke, the flying car slowly descended and landed silently on the residential complex's lawn.

"With your talent, as long as you perform normally in school and enter New Continent Martial Arts University, you won't lack cultivation resources."

The car door had already opened. Cao Ya stopped there and did not elaborate, merely offering one last warning.

"Coach Li, I brought up contracts only to remind you not to be fooled by companies hoping to pick up a bargain."

"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Cao."

Li Qingshan nodded and thanked him solemnly.

Although Cao Ya had always treated him as an equal because of Cao Shaoyu, that final piece of advice was no different from the concern of an elder.

The three of them got out. After Cao Ya and his son watched Li Qingshan leave, they turned and returned to the car.

The flying car slowly rose into the air. Cao Ya leaned back against the sofa with his eyes closed to rest, while Little Fatty skillfully rummaged through the compartments in search of snacks.

Suddenly, he knocked over a bottle of drink.

"Oh no, Dad, this document got stained."

Cao Shaoyu held a folder in his hands, looking uneasy.

Cao Ya opened his eyes and glanced at the folder.

"It's not a document. It's a contract."

As those words fell, Little Fatty grew even more nervous.

Seeing his son's uneasy appearance, Cao Ya laughed freely and lightly patted the back of his head.

"Stained is stained. It's useless anyway."

Little Fatty let out a breath of relief and casually tossed the contract onto the floor.

The cover of the contract had been soaked by the drink, leaving only the faint outline of an "S" at the beginning...