Terrifying Rewards!

The vast conference room gradually filled with noise.

Martial arts teachers from various cities, no longer caring about volume, began discussing urgently.

Finally, someone couldn't hold back and spoke up in protest.

"Lü Jing, with the rule change, how are the rewards calculated?"

At these words, the discussion died down.

A crowd of martial arts teachers fixed their sharp gazes on the short, stout figure at the center of the hall.

The top 10 in the Rookie Competition all received the same reward: 5 million Star Coins and one C-rank Martial Skill.

They had brought their students here to fight for a share of those resources.

"In a free-for-all, there's only one victor, so naturally all rewards go to that victor."

Lü Jing grinned, stating it as if it were obvious.

"Whether it's a First Year or a Second Year, the reward is worth 100 million Star Coins."

The martial arts teachers' lingering hopes finally died as they stared at Lü Jing's wide grin, which looked like a blood-soaked maw.

Lü Jing's appetite was anything but ordinary!

In an instant, the room erupted in indignation.

"No way, we don't agree!"

"That's right—all the good prospects are in your Wuyi. You're trying to hog the rewards!"

"Lü Jing, we're all equals here. The rules of the Rookie Competition aren't decided by you alone!"

"Everyone, calm down. Isn't this a meeting to discuss things?"

Lü Jing raised a hand to gesture for quiet, his smile gradually fading into seriousness.

"Everyone, ask yourselves honestly—even if the rules stayed the same, would your students really make it into the top 10?"

More than half the martial arts teachers in the room darkened their faces. This was nothing short of a public slap.

Someone couldn't help but stand up, voicing their displeasure.

"Even if Wuyi has plenty of geniuses, at least the good prospects from other cities should have a chance."

"That logic is sound, and the old rules were set up for that reason, but..."

Lü Jing shook his head and sighed.

"Everyone, have you ever thought about why the Federation established Martial Arts Classes in the first place?"

The topic suddenly took a lofty turn, and none of the martial arts teachers could easily refute it. They exchanged uneasy glances, all eyes on Lü Jing.

"In the Rookie Competition, there are 10 spots per grade. But out of those 10, at most one or two will go to the New Continent."

"I want to ask you all—where do the rest go?"

Lü Jing swept his gaze across the room, his expression growing more solemn.

"You all know well—most of them sign with big corporations and secure a good future."

"But that's not the original purpose of the Martial Arts Classes!"

"The Federation established Martial Arts Classes to uncover geniuses lost in the Old Continent—true geniuses capable of resisting Fierce Beasts and fighting across the Starry Sky!"

"Since only one or two go to the New Continent every year, why spread the resources thin to train talent for those companies and conglomerates?"

As his words fell, the conference room fell silent. All the martial arts teachers calmed down, pondering what Lü Jing had said.

Perhaps Lü Jing did have selfish motives, but the reasoning itself was sound.

Just then, Yuan Hongyan suddenly stood up, smiling brightly.

"Old Lü, haven't seen you in a year, and you're still so fond of grand speeches."

"But today, I'm happy to hear it. I agree to the rule change!"

"Huh?"

Lü Jing was taken aback. The last person he expected to agree first was Yuan Hongyan.

After all, every year in the Rookie Competition's top 10, aside from Wuyi, Wuyuan City took the most spots.

With the rule change, they stood to lose the most.

Unless...

Lü Jing met Yuan Hongyan's curved, smiling brows and suddenly had a bad feeling.

The other martial arts teachers exchanged glances, all guessing that Yuan Hongyan must have a Trump Card up her sleeve.

But since Yuan Hongyan had agreed, and under the weight of Lü Jing's grand reasoning, they found it hard to keep arguing.

In the end, everyone's gaze unconsciously turned to the front row.

Wan Keshan was slumped in his chair, holding a teacup and watching the show.

From start to finish, he hadn't said a single word.

"What? Why's everyone looking at me?"

Under the weight of all those stares, Wan Keshan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The others' faces darkened, and Lü Jing cleared his throat.

"Old Wan, what do you think about this?"

He had to ask. Even though he was the strongest Martial Arts Teacher in Wu Yi City, in this meeting room, Wan Keshan was the real number one in combat power.

Besides, Wan Keshan was known for being unreasonable; he'd caused trouble before.

"Heh heh, relax, I'm a reasonable guy."

Wan Keshan chuckled twice, his gaze flickering between Lü Jing and Yuan Hongyan.

"A caged-breeding rule—the strong only get stronger. Looks like you're both pretty confident in your students!"

Yuan Hongyan kept her mouth shut, ignoring Wan Keshan.

"Old Wan, that's going too far."

Lü Jing put on a righteous face, unflinching as he said:

"Even if my student takes the championship, it's still training talent for the Federation. If we really produce a genius like 'Mou Yu,' the whole Wuyi Province would share in the glory..."

Wan Keshan waved a hand to cut him off, annoyed.

"Alright, spare me the grand speeches. I didn't say I disagreed."

Lü Jing paused, hesitating.

"You agree?"

Yuan Hongyan's gaze sharpened as she fixed her eyes on Wan Keshan.

"Old Lü, you weren't wrong about one thing."

Wan Keshan set down his teacup and stood, looking at Lü Jing.

"Resources are better concentrated, to avoid waste."

With a meaningful smile, Wan Keshan grabbed Teacher Li beside him and turned to leave.

"Then it's settled."

Yuan Hongyan acted decisively, rising and leaving the table.

Lü Jing stood there, staring at their retreating figures, uncertain and uneasy.

The meeting ended smoothly, and the new rule was set as he'd wished.

Logically, he should be happy.

But Yuan Hongyan and Wan Keshan's quick agreement had shaken his confidence.

"Classmate Li, Classmate Zhao, this is your dorm."

Ren Ming led Li Qingshan and Zhao Hongzhou into the room.

The room was simply furnished, with just two single beds and some disposable toiletries.

But besides that, there were two things that absolutely shouldn't be in a dorm.

"Virtual Combat Pods!"

Zhao Hongzhou exclaimed, rushing forward to gently stroke the metal casing of the pod.

Li Qingshan stared at the two pods, equally puzzled.

"Classmate Ren, does Wu Yi First High School have that many spare Virtual Combat Pods?"

According to Wan Keshan, each of the ten high schools in Wu Yi should only have ten.

"Classmate Li, you misunderstand. These two pods are prepared for tomorrow's Rookie Competition. Every dorm has them."

Ren Ming explained briefly, then looked at the eager Zhao Hongzhou and warned:

"These pods were temporarily allocated to the school by the Federation. The system is locked by the Smart Brain and can only be used for the Rookie Competition. They can't connect to the Combat Space."

"No problem. As long as I get to experience a virtual battle tomorrow, this trip won't be wasted."

Zhao Hongzhou rubbed his hands excitedly, his enthusiasm undimmed.

Li Qingshan, meanwhile, was pondering Ren Ming's words.

This Rookie Competition had 750 participants from the First and Second Years combined, meaning 750 Virtual Combat Pods.

The entire Wuyi Province's Martial Arts Class had only about 750 pods in total.

Such a huge move—the Rookie Competition rules must have changed drastically!

Unfortunately, Ren Ming only knew bits and pieces about it, and Li Qingshan didn't get an answer.

But Ren Ming did bring up something else.

"Classmate Li, Yu Yuanjun's cousin Fu Wu is also joining this Rookie Competition. Be careful."

"Fu Wu?" Hearing that vaguely familiar name, Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

"Is Fu Wu strong?"

"Very strong! Fu Wu is the top of the Second Year at Wu Yi First High School." Ren Ming thought for a moment, then added:

"Classmate Li is competing in the First Year bracket, so you won't run into him. Just be careful these next couple of days, and it should be fine."

"Alright, got it."

Li Qingshan noted the name but didn't take it too seriously.

After all, when he beat Yu Yuanjun, he had "the law on his side."

If someone really came looking for revenge over that, he could just pick up the legal weapon to "protect" himself.

After confirming the dormitory location, Li Qingshan and Zhao Hongzhou followed Ren Ming downstairs, regrouped with the other students, and headed toward the sports field.

The sports field was packed with people—all the teachers and students from various cities gathered here.

Before long, a short, stout figure climbed onto the stage with a microphone.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Lü Jing, the Martial Arts Teacher at Wu Yi First High School. I'll now announce the rules for this Rookie Competition..."

Without any long-winded speeches, Lü Jing laid out the rules in just a few short sentences.

But those few sentences were like a boulder crashing into a calm lake.

The entire field erupted in uproar.

"What kind of free-for-all is this? They're clearly trying to cut off our chances!"

"First prize worth 100 Million Star Coins? Sounds nice, but who besides you Wu Yi City folks can actually grab it?"

"I had a real shot at the top 10, and now the reward is just gone?"

Under the new rules, only the first place in both the First and Second Year brackets would get a reward.

As tempting as the 100 Million Star Coin prize was, those two spots were completely out of reach for them!

Such aggressive rules were hard for the vast majority of students to swallow.

Especially those who had originally hoped to fight for the top 10—they were furious, swarming their own Martial Arts Teachers to protest.

In an instant, the whole field turned into a chaotic marketplace, buzzing with noise.

Amid all the clamor, one figure stood completely still.

Li Qingshan remained rooted in place, his eyes gleaming with a startling intensity!