Chapter 22: The Contract

Chapter 22: The Contract

After Li Xuelian explained Zhang Yu's situation, she heard a light laugh from the other end of the phone.

"Indeed, he's not bad, but there's no need to take him in."

Li Xuelian asked, puzzled, "Why not?"

The Starfire Cultivator burst into laughter, his voice filled with joy, "I've already found a true prodigy."

"Also a first-year student, just 15 years old, and he managed to master the Heavenly Martial Cultivation Heart Sutra in just half an hour."

"He doesn't have any contracts yet."

At this point, the Starfire Cultivator couldn't help but laugh again.

Li Xuelian was surprised, "There are actually such prodigies?"

The Starfire Cultivator chuckled, "I've told you before, Kunxu's First Layer is never short of geniuses; it just lacks people to invest in them."

"Take the top scorers in each subject of the Gaokao, or the overall champion. You know how outstanding they are."

"But such geniuses, Kunxu's First Layer produces several each year, and there are many more who are almost as good, emerging year after year, like a never-ending supply of fresh talent."

"There are too many geniuses. In the past, I couldn't find them, and others always got to them first. But now, I've finally managed to get ahead of them."

Li Xuelian glanced at Zhang Yu with a hint of regret and asked, "Won't you sign this Zhang Yu as well?"

The Starfire Cultivator replied, "No, from now on, we need to focus all our resources on the true geniuses. We can't afford to spread our efforts thin."

...

In a meeting room next to the art exhibition.

Li Xuelian looked at Zhang Yu and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, but my father has more pressing matters to attend to and can't take you as a disciple for now."

She spoke sincerely, "However, you can use the Heavenly Martial Cultivation Heart Sutra without any worries. I'll give you the usage rights."

Li Xuelian's eyes were filled with admiration as she looked at Zhang Yu, "Lastly, I want to gift you ten thousand yuan on a personal note."

"Don't rush to refuse. This gift is purely out of my appreciation for your talent."

"I hope that when we meet again, you will have been admitted to a prestigious university."

"Oh, and about those videos you recorded, which involve the spread of the Heavenly Martial Cultivation Heart Sutra, you'll need to delete them..."

A moment later, as she watched Zhang Yu leave, Li Xuelian's smile gradually faded.

Although the Starfire Cultivator didn't intend to take him as a disciple, Li Xuelian didn't want to antagonize such a talented young man.

After all, granting the usage rights to the Heavenly Martial Cultivation Heart Sutra and the ten thousand yuan were minor efforts for her.

She had given similar small favors to many young talents, and most of them had eventually faded into obscurity, forgotten by her.

After resolving this matter, Li Xuelian met with a few important guests and then hurried off to find her father.

She was incredibly curious about the prodigy the Starfire Cultivator had mentioned.

...

On the other side, the art exhibition was still ongoing.

Bai Zhenzhen watched Zhang Yu as he emerged from the meeting room and asked, "How did it go? Did you reject the Starfire Cultivator? Did Li Xuelian give you a hard time?"

Zhang Yu recalled Li Xuelian's appreciative expression and shook his head, "She didn't give me a hard time."

"Before I could even speak, she turned me down, saying the Starfire Cultivator had other important matters..."

"But she did give me ten thousand yuan at the end."

Hearing this, Bai Zhenzhen pouted, "A standard excuse."

"Maybe she checked your records and found you weren't that great."

"Like, your monthly exam scores are terrible, you have no sterilization record, your muscles aren't impressive, and you're in debt..."

Zhang Yu pouted in response, "Ah Zhen, you're still sore about losing and resorting to personal attacks."

Seeing Zhang Yu's smug expression, Bai Zhenzhen couldn't help but grab his shoulder and demand, "What kind of cheat did you use?"

"Tell me, did you bribe the staff to get an early look at the Heavenly Sage Combat Chart?"

Looking at Bai Zhenzhen's jealous face, Zhang Yu chuckled.

"Go on, Zhen. Watching you and the others lose and show your ugly side is my current pleasure."

As they were talking, Qian Shen approached from a distance.

He looked at Zhang Yu with a serious expression and asked, "Do you deliberately perform poorly on exams?"

The Heavenly Sage Combat Chart test had increased Qian Shen's resistance to high scorers, but he was shocked that someone with low scores could outperform him.

Seeing Zhang Yu shake his head in denial, Qian Shen said, "Impossible. If it wasn't deliberate, why is there such a mismatch between your talent and your scores?"

"Hmm?" Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "Exams can't fully measure a person's potential, right?"

Qian Shen interrupted Zhang Yu, exclaiming excitedly, "Impossible!"

"Gaokao and the six major high school subjects are a system designed by the Ten Great Sects to evaluate high school students. It has been validated and adjusted by countless experts and strong cultivators, making it the most optimal, scientific, and Xian Dao-based evaluation system!"

"Every subject and every point perfectly reflects the comprehensive differences between people, including bloodline superiority, regional backwardness, and incomplete evolution..."

Seeing Qian Shen's serious demeanor, Zhang Yu realized he had misjudged him.

"You're not just a score discriminator; you've evolved into a bloodline, regional, and racial discriminator, becoming a staunch supporter of the score caste system."

In Qian Shen's view, high scores equaled excellence, elite status, and superiority, while low scores equaled being a waste and a failure.

This was the worldview he had built over the years, the confidence he had as a high-scoring scholar, and the rule of thumb in all key high schools.

"Hmph, if you don't want to admit it, that's your choice."

"But I'll tell the school about this situation. I hope you show your true abilities next month and don't score 550, which is a sign of incomplete evolution."

As Qian Shen walked away, Zhang Yu felt as if he had been scolded, yet not quite.

Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen nodded thoughtfully, "There's one point in his rambling that you should pay attention to."

"The school will definitely know about this situation, and they might approach you for a contract."

"Contract?" Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen curiously. He had heard vague rumors about this before, but never understood the details.

Bai Zhenzhen explained, "You know, not everyone at high school is as wealthy as Qian Shen's family."

"For many poor but talented students, they need investment."

"The school is one of the investors."

"Usually, after the start of the second year, they select a batch of outstanding students based on their first-year performance and sign contracts with them, investing money in their development."

"Of course, there are a few students who are so outstanding and brilliant that to prevent others from signing them first, the school will approach them in the first year."

At this point, Bai Zhenzhen puffed out her chest, "Like me, for example."

Zhang Yu asked, "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes at Zhang Yu, as if to say, "You know what you were like back then, right?"

Bai Zhenzhen continued, "Based on your performance at the art exhibition, the school will definitely approach you for a contract. Whether or not to sign it..."

Seeing Bai Zhenzhen's conflicted expression, Zhang Yu asked, "Is it that hard to decide?"

Bai Zhenzhen sighed, "It's not that hard to decide, actually. It's just a matter of whether you truly understand yourself."

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu seriously, "For example, what kind of cheat did you use to master the Heavenly Sage Combat Chart?"

But halfway through her question, she waved her hand, "Forget it, mother and son don't ask such things, and you don't have to tell me."

"Anyway, if you're confident enough to aim for a top university in the Ten Great Sects, then don't sign the contract now."

"On the other hand, if you're not confident about getting into a top university and just want to go to a regular one, then sign the contract unless it's a bad deal."

Zhang Yu nodded thoughtfully and asked a few more questions about the school and contracts.

As they were talking, another person approached Zhang Yu, a cute and charming girl.

"Hi classmate, you were really impressive. Can I get your contact information?"

Since mastering the Heavenly Sage Combat Chart, Zhang Yu had encountered this situation many times, even receiving contact requests from Lian Tianji of Purple Cloud High School.

Zhang Yu, now used to it, sighed and added her contact information.

"Wow, even beautiful girls are coming to me now?"

Zhang Yu asked, "Which school are you from, classmate?"

She replied, "I'm Wu Qingqing from Holy Girls' Academy, in the advanced class."

Zhang Yu's face froze. In the Kunxu world, those who look like men might not be men, but students in the advanced class of a girls' school... were usually men in the past.

Wu Qingqing seemed to notice Zhang Yu's change in expression and smiled slightly, "Oh, you're quite old-fashioned, aren't you?"

"Are you thinking that our class is full of people who cheated their way into a key high school and have terrible grades?"

"Let me tell you, our top scholars are just as good as you. You'll see in the next city-wide exam."

Zhang Yu watched her leave, speechless.

No, that's not what I was thinking.

Kunxu, this place even makes transgender people check their scores first.

"Congratulations", Zhou Tianyi said as he walked over, "Did you sign a contract with a Golden Core Cultivator?"

Zhang Yu looked at Zhou Tianyi, suddenly remembering that he hadn't been very noticeable during the Heavenly Sage Combat Chart test.

Zhang Yu continued to work as security and chatted with both familiar and unfamiliar guests.

By the end of the day, his savings had increased by 1600 yuan from the security job and 10,000 yuan from Li Xuelian, bringing his total to 13,300 yuan.

After paying off the remaining 5,000 yuan of his monthly loan, Zhang Yu's account balance dropped to 8,300 yuan, but he was temporarily free from the worry of debt collection.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end