Gratitude for Recognition

Li Qingshan stood silently before the pile of severed limbs, his blood-dripping long blade in hand.

The corpses of the three Fierce Beasts from earlier had already vanished, transforming into sculptures at the edge of the platform.

But You Qingya was different—

Li Qingshan hadn't forgotten that disgusting tentacle monster.

Yet the red light was slow to appear. The severed limbs and the blood on the ground quickly faded and disappeared, and a human-shaped sculpture emerged at the platform's edge.

"Didn't transform?" Li Qingshan frowned, considering two possibilities.

First, the transformation involved the Evil God's power and hadn't been recorded by the Martial Arts Space.

Second, the transformation ability wasn't limitless either. He had just split You Qingya's head into several pieces, so she couldn't transform.

"For the Martial Arts Space, even an Evil God is just a monster. There's no reason it wouldn't be recorded."

Li Qingshan leaned toward the second possibility. Verifying it was simple—with a thought, You Qingya reappeared.

"Sorry, but I have to kill you again."

Li Qingshan grinned, swinging his long blade.

Soon, severed limbs fell, and a complete torso lay flat on the ground. A faint blood-red glow emerged from the shredded remains.

"Just as I guessed."

Li Qingshan stood with his blade, calmly watching the tentacle monster take shape.

After a moment, ashes scattered, and the human-shaped sculpture returned to the platform's edge.

Li Qingshan tossed aside the Thunder Pattern Blade and stretched out his limbs.

"Time to test the proficiency growth pattern after The Stars Are Calling reaches Great Accomplishment."

The Martial Arts Space ignored physical exhaustion.

Li Qingshan didn't stop, repeating the process over and over.

Only after a full seven hours did he finally pause.

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

Li Qingshan stared at the Status Panel, calculating in his mind.

"One practice in reality, seven in the space—eight total, and it only increased by one proficiency point!"

"It really does double each time!"

After reaching this conclusion, Li Qingshan wasn't particularly surprised.

Earlier, at the Beginner stage, it was one point per practice; at Mastery, two practices per point; at Proficiency, four practices per point.

Now, eight practices per point. That meant if he trained nonstop in the Martial Arts Space for twenty-four hours, he could gain three proficiency points a day. Three thousand points would take a thousand days—nearly three years.

"Good thing I'm 'rolling in resources' now. Even adding a year of rest time, it's more than enough."

Li Qingshan glanced at the [Available Time] column, his expression relaxed.

With a 1-to-10 Time Flow Rate, it would only take a little over half a year in reality to grind The Stars Are Calling to perfection.

That was the fifth realm Teacher Wan Keshan had never even mentioned!

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

As a "genius" who had "comprehended" the fourth realm, it was perfectly reasonable to look ahead to the fifth.

The next morning, on Bus 72.

Since it was the weekend, the bus wasn't crowded—mostly elderly folks heading out to buy groceries.

The old people, who had been chatting idly, gradually fell silent, their gazes drifting to a corner in the back.

There sat a young man, talking on his Communicator.

A phone call wasn't strange. What was strange was that in the short ten-plus minutes since he'd boarded, he had answered and hung up over twenty calls.

"Are young people these days really this busy?"

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

"Could be. I heard him talking about signing contracts the whole time. Maybe he's a third-year in the Martial Arts Class?"

"Definitely. Years ago, my neighbor Old Wang's grandson—that kid made it to the third year of the Martial Arts Class, and he was also chased by big companies to sign contracts every day. Not long after, the whole family moved to Wu Yi City to enjoy life."

With the topic opened, the old folks naturally started gossiping.

In the corner, "Manager Lin, thank you for your company's kind offer, but I really have no intention of signing a contract."

Li Qingshan forced a smile, and without waiting for a response, decisively hung up.

"Phew! These companies are way too fast, aren't they?"

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

From waking up this morning until now, he had already taken over thirty calls, all of them contract invitations from various companies.

Some of these companies were local to Luoying, while others were from a few nearby cities.

Names he'd heard of and ones he hadn't—all of them had come crowding in.

"I can't keep this up, or I'll be driven crazy."

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

The Communicator's light screen expanded, revealing dozens of new emails—all contracts from those companies that had contacted him earlier.

Li Qingshan casually opened a few and skimmed through them.

These emails were mostly the same.

Basically, during his time in school, they'd provide about 50,000 in monthly funding for martial arts training.

The funding would double over the years and continue until he graduated from the third year of martial arts school.

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

This funding seemed generous, but for martial arts training, it was like trying to put out a cartload of firewood with a cup of water.

Just the Intermediate Nutrient Solution he needed now—one bottle a day—cost 240,000 a month.

And that wasn't even the main issue.

The essence of these contracts was a Contract of Indenture!

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

"They talk about sincerity on the surface, but in the contract, they treat me like a beast of burden?"

Li Qingshan's face darkened as he tapped his finger, deleting all dozens of emails in one go.

Then he leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and rested.

A moment later.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

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

"Manager Zhou?"

The light screen expanded, revealing a bald, middle-aged man with a beaming smile—the HR manager of the Yinghai Flagship Store.

Li Qingshan spoke helplessly.

"Manager Zhou, you're not going to try to sign me too, are you?"

Manager Zhou froze, then asked nervously:

"You haven't already signed, have you?"

Li Qingshan shook his head.

"No, I don't plan on signing anything."

"Good, you haven't!" Manager Zhou sighed in relief, his smile returning.

"Our Yinghai has always been committed to discovering talent and supporting their martial arts path. A genius like you—we can't let you slip by."

Li Qingshan grew even more exasperated and could only refuse again.

"Manager Zhou..."

"Don't rush to say no. I've sent you the contract—take a look first."

Manager Zhou cut him off, speaking with confidence.

"We're a major chain brand at Yinghai. The terms we offer are nothing like what those small companies can match."

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

Li Qingshan casually opened the email and scanned it.

"D-Class Investment Contract"

The terms in the contract were indeed much better than those from the previous companies—all the funding was basically doubled.

But still, it was nothing special.

Li Qingshan quickly glanced over the final thirty-year work term and tapped the X in the top right corner.

Investment was always for a return—he understood that.

But understanding was one thing; he wasn't about to sign this kind of Contract of Indenture.

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

"It wouldn't be great to refuse him outright right now. I'll deal with it when I go to the store tonight."

Recalling Manager Zhou's confident smile just now, Li Qingshan abandoned the idea of calling.

Responding with a refusal right now would undoubtedly be a slap in the face.

Yinghai Flagship Store, General Manager's Office.

In the boss chair, a long-haired youth in casual clothes tapped his fingers on the desk, his gaze lazily sweeping over the bald middle-aged man before him.

"Did you send the contract?"

"Sent, sent."

Manager Zhou's expression was tense, cautious.

A new broom sweeps clean—the youth before him was Fu Wen, the general manager just transferred to Luoying City three days ago.

More importantly, the head of Yinghai's Wuyi Province region was also surnamed Fu.

"Good thing I came over this time, or you really would have let a talent slip through."

Fu Wen's tone gradually hardened, the laziness in his gaze fading into sharpness.

Manager Zhou's forehead beaded with sweat as he explained:

"General Manager Fu, the news of Li Qingshan killing a Fierce Beast only came out last night. Our response wasn't slow."

"Not slow?"

Fu Wen sneered twice, casually pressing a button on the desk. A Light Screen Projection appeared.

On the projection played the footage of Li Qingshan and Yu Zhuo's fight from a month ago.

"Last night? Open your eyes and look at what this is. You were right there at the scene—are you blind?"

"This... General Manager Fu, Yu Zhuo was only at Body Tempering Third Level. Even though Li Qingshan won as the underdog, that doesn't warrant a D-Class Contract, does it?"

"You're not just blind, you're deaf too!"

Fu Wen slammed the table, pointing at Yu Zhuo in the image.

"That Yu Zhuo already said Li Qingshan's Mizong Step has reached Great Accomplishment. Do you know what that means?"

"In the entire Wuyi Province's Martial Arts Class First Year, you couldn't find a second person who's done it!"

"That impressive?"

Manager Zhou stared blankly, something he'd never considered before.

But now, he didn't care about being scolded anymore, excitedly saying:

"General Manager Fu, then does Li Qingshan have a chance to go to the New Continent?"

"We don't know yet how long it took him to reach Great Accomplishment in Mizong Step, but based on the current data..."

Fu Wen tapped his fingers, pondering:

"If his Body Tempering level doesn't fall behind, he might have a slim chance in three years."

"Slim is enough!" Manager Zhou clenched his fists excitedly.

Every year, only two or three martial arts students from Wuyi Province could go to the New Continent—who dared claim absolute certainty?

But he soon thought of another issue, cautiously asking:

"General Manager Fu, talents with a chance to go to the New Continent have always signed A-Class Contracts, haven't they?"

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

"A-Class?"

Fu Wen glanced at Manager Zhou, snorting with laughter.

"A-Class Contracts are signed before the annual 'Final Battle' for those talents who've shown their promise."

"If I gave an A-Class Contract, how would my methods stand out?"

Fu Wen leaned back on the sofa, interlacing his fingers, smugly saying:

"The earlier the investment, the bigger the return. This return is what I deserve."

"General Manager Fu, that's true." Manager Zhou shot a careful glance at Fu Wen, hesitating:

"But... isn't a D-Class Contract too low?"

Contracts had binding power, but they weren't a one-and-done solution.

Especially with this kind of speculative contract—if handled poorly, it could end in enmity.

Fu Wen saw what Manager Zhou was thinking and shook his head with a smile.

"Don't worry. Li Qingshan is just a poor student from a Publicly Supported Background, working odd jobs to buy Nutrient Solution. How much money has he ever seen?"

"Just a D-Class Contract, 100,000 a month in the first year, and he won't have to worry about basic Nutrient Solution anymore."

"Besides..."

Fu Wen looked at Manager Zhou, his tone meaningful:

"Disappointment makes surprise sweeter."

"The D-level contract is just a way to keep Li Qingshan steady, so he doesn't get short-sighted and fall into some local small company's trap."

"Once he arrives at the store, I'll show up during your signing and personally upgrade his contract to C-level."

"From D to C, the benefits more than double. That kind of Gratitude for Recognition will be enough for Li Qingshan to remember for a lifetime!"

"General Manager Fu is wise." Manager Zhou forced a smile and flattered.

"Hahaha!"

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

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