Terrifying Rewards!

Inside the vast meeting room, the noise gradually rose.

Martial Arts Teachers from various cities no longer cared about keeping their voices down and began discussing matters urgently.

At last, someone could not hold back and spoke up in challenge.

"Lü Jing, after the rules are changed, how will the rewards be calculated?"

As soon as those words fell, the discussion quieted somewhat.

The Martial Arts Teachers all fixed their bright eyes on the short, stout figure at the center of the venue.

The top ten in the Rookie Competition had always received identical rewards: 5 million Star Coins and one C-rank Martial Skill.

They had brought their students here precisely so they could compete for a share of those resources.

"Under Free-for-All Mode, there will be only one winner, so naturally all the rewards will belong to that winner."

Lü Jing grinned and said as though it were only natural,

"Whether it is First Year or Second Year, the reward will be worth 100 million Star Coins."

The hearts of the Martial Arts Teachers present, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died. Looking at Lü Jing's wide-open mouth, they felt as though it were a gaping bloody maw.

Lü Jing's appetite was anything but small!

For a moment, the crowd erupted in outrage.

"No, we don't agree!"

"That's right! All the promising seedlings are in Wuyi. You're trying to swallow all the rewards for yourselves!"

"Lü Jing, we're all equals. The Rookie Competition rules aren't yours to decide with a single word!"

"Everyone, don't get worked up. Aren't we here to discuss it?"

Lü Jing raised a hand in a calming gesture. His smile gradually faded, replaced by seriousness.

"Everyone, search your hearts. Even if the rules remain unchanged, can your students really squeeze into the top ten?"

Inside the meeting room, more than half the Martial Arts Teachers' expressions darkened. That was practically a slap across the face.

Someone could not help rising to his feet and saying unhappily,

"Even if Wuyi has many geniuses, at least the promising students from our other cities should have a chance."

"That reasoning is not wrong. The old rules were indeed established for that purpose, but..."

Lü Jing shook his head and sighed.

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

The topic suddenly soared to a far loftier level, leaving the Martial Arts Teachers unable to refute him. They all looked at Lü Jing with uncertainty.

"In the Rookie Competition, each grade has ten slots. Yet among those ten, at most one or two can go to the New Continent."

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

Lü Jing swept his gaze around the room, his expression growing increasingly stern.

"I'm sure you all know that most of them sign with major companies and secure themselves a good future."

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

"The Federation established Martial Arts Classes to uncover geniuses left behind on the Old Continent—true geniuses capable of resisting Fierce Beasts and conquering the Starry Sky!"

"Since only one or two people go to the New Continent each year, why should we still spread out our resources and cultivate talent for those companies and financial conglomerates?"

As his words fell,

the venue fell silent for a moment. All the Martial Arts Teachers calmed down and considered what Lü Jing had said.

Perhaps Lü Jing did indeed have selfish motives, but his reasoning was sound.

Just then,

Yuan Hongyan suddenly stood up, her face brimming with smiles.

"Old Lü, it's been a year since we last met, and you still love preaching grand principles so much."

"But hearing it today made me happy. I agree to change the rules!"

"Hm?"

Lü Jing froze. He had never expected Yuan Hongyan to be the first to agree.

After all, among the top ten in the Rookie Competition each year, aside from Wuyi, Wuyuan City claimed the most spots.

After the rules changed, they would suffer the greatest losses as well.

Unless...

Lü Jing met Yuan Hongyan's crescent-shaped smiling brows and suddenly had a bad feeling.

The other Martial Arts Teachers looked at one another, all guessing that Yuan Hongyan must have some trump card hidden away.

However, since even Yuan Hongyan had agreed, and Lü Jing had spoken such lofty principles, they found it difficult to continue objecting.

In the end, everyone unconsciously turned their gazes toward the first row.

Wan Keshan was slumped in his chair, holding a teacup as he watched the show.

From beginning to end, he had not uttered a word.

"No, why are you all looking at me?"

With everyone's attention gathered on him, Wan Keshan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Everyone's expressions darkened at his words, while Lü Jing coughed lightly.

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

He had no choice but to ask. Although Lü Jing was the strongest Martial Arts Teacher in Wu Yi City,

within this meeting room, Wan Keshan was the true number one in combat strength.

Moreover, Wan Keshan was famous for being unreasonable. It was not as if he had never caused trouble before.

"Hehe, don't worry. I'm the most reasonable person around."

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

"A rule like raising venomous insects—where the strong grow ever stronger. Looks like you're both very confident in your students!"

Yuan Hongyan kept silent and ignored Wan Keshan.

"Old Wan, that was too much."

Lü Jing wore an upright expression and said without changing his face,

"If one of my students wins the championship, that will still be cultivating talent for the Federation. If a genius like Mou Yu truly appears, then all of Wuyi Province will share in the glory..."

Wan Keshan waved a hand to cut him off, saying impatiently,

"Enough. Don't preach grand principles to me. I never said I disagreed."

Lü Jing paused, then asked hesitantly,

"You agree?"

Yuan Hongyan's gaze sharpened as well, staring at Wan Keshan.

"Old Lü, there's one thing you said that wasn't wrong."

Wan Keshan set down his teacup, rose to his feet, and looked at Lü Jing.

"Resources are better concentrated, so they don't go to waste."

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

"Then it's settled."

Yuan Hongyan acted with thunderous decisiveness, getting up and leaving the venue.

Lü Jing stood where he was, watching their backs with uncertainty.

The meeting ended perfectly, and the new rules were set as he had wished.

Logically, he should have been happy.

But Yuan Hongyan and Wan Keshan agreeing so readily one after another had completely shaken his confidence.

"Student Li, Student Zhao, this is your dorm room."

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

The room was simply furnished, containing only two single beds and some disposable toiletries.

Yet besides those, there were two things that absolutely should not have been in a dorm room.

"Virtual Combat Pods!"

Zhao Hongzhou cried out and hurried forward, carefully stroking the metal shell of a Virtual Combat Pod.

Li Qingshan stared at the two Virtual Combat Pods, equally puzzled.

"Student Ren, does Wu Yi First High School have such an abundance of Virtual Combat Pods?"

According to Wan Keshan, each of Wuyi's ten high schools should have only ten.

"Student Li, you misunderstand. These two Virtual Combat Pods were prepared for tomorrow's Rookie Competition. Every dorm room has them."

Ren Ming gave a simple explanation, then reminded the eager Zhao Hongzhou,

"These Virtual Combat Pods were temporarily allocated to the school by the Federation. Their systems have already been locked by the Smart Brain. They can only be used for the Rookie Competition and cannot connect to the Virtual Combat Space."

"It's fine. As long as I can experience a virtual battle tomorrow, this trip won't have been in vain."

Zhao Hongzhou rubbed his hands excitedly, his enthusiasm undiminished.

Li Qingshan, however, was considering Ren Ming's words.

A total of 750 First Year and Second Year students would participate in this Rookie Competition. That meant there were 750 Virtual Combat Pods.

The Virtual Combat Pods of all Martial Arts Classes across Wuyi Province combined numbered only around 750.

For the Rookie Competition to make such a lavish move, the rules had to be undergoing a major change!

Unfortunately, Ren Ming knew only a little about it as well, so Li Qingshan got no answers from him.

However, Ren Ming brought up another matter.

"Student Li, Yu Yuanjun's cousin Fu Wu will also participate in this Rookie Competition. You should be careful."

"Fu Wu?" Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow upon hearing that familiar-sounding name.

"Is Fu Wu very strong?"

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

"Student Li is participating in the First Year competition, so you won't run into him. As long as you're careful these next two days, there should be no problem."

"Alright, I understand."

Li Qingshan remembered the name but did not take it too seriously.

After all, when he had beaten Yu Yuanjun, he had been "acting in accordance with the law."

If someone truly came seeking revenge over that matter, he could also pick up the weapon of law to "protect" himself.

After confirming the location of their dorm room,

Li Qingshan and Zhao Hongzhou followed Ren Ming downstairs, met up with the other students, and headed toward the athletic field together.

The athletic field was packed with people. Teachers and students from every city had gathered there.

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

"Hello, students. I am Lü Jing, a Martial Arts Teacher from Wu Yi First High School. I will now announce the rules for this Rookie Competition..."

There was no long, stinking speech. Lü Jing used only a few brief sentences to explain the rules of this Rookie Competition.

Yet those few sentences were no different from a massive boulder crashing into a placid lake.

The entire athletic field immediately erupted.

"What Free-for-All Mode? You're clearly cutting off our path!"

"The first prize is worth 100 million Star Coins? That sounds nice, but aside from Wu Yi City, who can possibly seize it?"

"I clearly had a chance to compete for the top ten, but now the rewards are just gone?"

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

Although rewards worth 100 million were tempting, those two spots were simply beyond their reach!

Such aggressive rules were difficult for the vast majority of students to accept.

Especially those who had originally hoped to compete for the top ten. They were furious and went to their own Martial Arts Teachers to protest.

For a time, the entire athletic field seemed to have turned into a marketplace, deafeningly noisy.

Amid the uproar, one figure stood as steady as a mountain.

Li Qingshan stood where he was, A Pair of Eyes shining with a terrifying brightness!