https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-38-10th-Level-Zhou-Tian-Cai-Qi-Fa/13686439/
Chapter 37: Heavenly Web and Earthly Net
Bang.
With the door slamming shut, the office was now empty save for Zhou Chichen and Lan Ling.
Lan Ling kept lifting the barbell, her voice cool. “President, this Zhang Yu’s got a greedy streak.”
Zhou Chichen lounged on the sofa, chuckling. “Poor people, once they get a taste of power, it’s natural to be young and reckless.”
“If I’d pulled a 70-point jump in a month, I’d be just as wild.”
“Let him have another month to think.”
Lan Ling narrowed her eyes. “President, you really intend to raise his Contract terms again?”
Zhou Chichen spoke calmly. “Lan Ling, you’ve just never met enough poor people. You don’t understand them.”
“Limited by upbringing, life experience, and standard of living—poor people’s vision is usually short. In a situation like that, nine out of ten would’ve signed on the spot.”
“But Zhang Yu stayed calm. He said he’d think it over. That’s why I actually respect him more.”
“If, by next month’s Monthly Exam, his score jumps again, what’s wrong with upgrading his contract?”
Lan Ling frowned. “I just worry he’ll become insatiable.”
Zhou Chichen laughed. “Come on, Big Blue. Be generous. Don’t compete with the underlings.”
“Zhang Yu and us aren’t on the same path. He won’t come after our positions. We’ve never been rivals.”
“In fact, the better he does, the faster he improves—the more we profit. That’s exactly why we should invest in him.”
As he spoke, Zhou Chichen pulled a Spiritual Interface Mask over his head.
“I’ll be tutoring in Ling Realm this afternoon. You don’t need to come looking for me.”
…
In the cafeteria.
As soon as Zhang Yu stepped out of the Student Union office, he sprinted straight toward Bai Zhenzhen.
Seeing her calmly eating, he blurted out, “Zhenzhen, give me a damn good reason.”
“You have no idea how much courage it took me not to sign that contract.”
“You don’t even know how much they admire my talent…”
Bai Zhenzhen remained calm. “Did he rush over the second you walked in, grab your hand, and forget to put on his shoes?”
Zhang Yu paused, mid-sentence.
Bai Zhenzhen continued. “Same thing every time Zhou Chichen recruits someone. He’s always that eager.”
“Wait—what?” Zhang Yu blinked.
So it was this kind of hospitality? Rolling out the red carpet for your buddies?
“But… he wiped my debt too,” Zhang Yu added.
Bai Zhenzhen snorted. “Did he really erase it?”
“More likely, he became your creditor.”
“Didn’t he tell you there’d be no interest? No rush to repay? Said you could pay after graduation, when you’ve got a job?”
Zhang Yu’s eyes widened. “He said that to you too?”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded. “He says that to everyone he tries to sign.”
“But don’t fool yourself—it’s not a gift.”
“No interest? Just empty words.”
“If you don’t repay, and the debt goes overdue, the power’s all in their hands.”
“If they truly didn’t care, it wouldn’t matter. But if they apply for forced execution? Your bank account gets seized instantly.”
“No funds? Then your assets get liquidated.”
“Now, tell me—what’s your most valuable asset?”
Zhang Yu’s gaze flickered. He didn’t own much. Forced execution would just turn him into a deadbeat.
Bai Zhenzhen sneered. “Your most valuable thing? It’s your cultivation, your flesh and blood forged through hardship, your disciplined Dantian—your very self.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes hardened. “You mean… they’d take that?”
She nodded. “Forced execution: pay with money, or sell assets. Once your external possessions are gone, they’ll move on to your organs, your blood, your Dantian.”
Even though Zhang Yu had long stopped expecting any decency from Kunxu, hearing this made his stomach drop.
Bai Zhenzhen wasn’t done. “And don’t even think about running. This isn’t just a paper contract.”
“Remember the Department of Law from the Eight Great Righteous Gods?”
“When they sign, the Student Union uses talismans to summon the Great Deity of Heavenly Oath and Contract as witness. Enforcement? That’s handled by the Eight Great Righteous Gods.”
Damn it, Zhou Chichen. Zhang Yu felt a chill. You pretend to be a brother, then pull a knife behind my back? You’re planning to send me straight to the compound?
Bai Zhenzhen added, “But if you follow the contract perfectly, and your grades keep rising as expected—they might not touch you.”
“But there’s a catch. The other clause: university and major choices during admissions, and the penalties for breaking it.”
“After signing, you don’t get to choose which university or major you apply to. They do.”
“And there are all kinds of restrictions. Break any of them? You’re looking at astronomical breach fees.”
Seeing Zhang Yu’s blank expression, she snapped, “You didn’t even read that part?”
Zhang Yu shot back, “The benefits were so tempting I was about to lose control. I ran here to see you before I signed!”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded. “Alright. Good job resisting, Yu. Strong will.”
Then her tone shifted. “Yu, have you noticed how the rich kids around here rarely clash with us poor ones?”
“Don’t they always seem polite, calm, and kind? Never bully us just because they’re rich?”
Zhang Yu thought back. “Yeah… it’s kind of true.”
Bai Zhenzhen said, “Because the rich and poor aren’t even on the same track. They never saw us as real rivals—so they act like decent people.”
Zhang Yu frowned. “But we all take the same exam. How can we not be competing?”
“They’re aiming for the Top Ten Elite Universities. For them, ordinary universities? They can get in anytime. They don’t see us as competition.”
“But the Top Ten? Even they have to fight tooth and nail against other rich families.”
Zhang Yu asked, “Can poor people get into those schools too?”
Bai Zhenzhen: “The spots are limited. In each city, even fewer. In ShaoYang City, the total number of Top Ten slots each year? Maybe a few dozen.”
“All of them are already monopolized through backdoor deals.”
“Class A Contracts are one such method—signing talented poor students early, locking in their university and major choices.”
“Sure, you can’t go to the Top Ten after signing. But you’re their investment. They’ll treat you kindly, be your friendly classmate.”
“But if you don’t sign… or worse, show any interest in the Top Ten? Then you’re a rival.”
“And they’ll unleash everything—brutal competition, ruthless tactics, pressure from every direction.”
“The Top Ten spots? That’s a private club. No poor kid is allowed in.”
“Even the student councils of top high schools are united—one for all, all for one.”
“And don’t expect the school to help. When parents’ social power outweighs the school’s authority, even the principal can’t stop the Student Union.”
Zhang Yu’s eyes widened. So this was it—ShaoYang’s elite clique shutting out the poor.
In that moment, he felt it: an invisible web, vast and suffocating, spreading over every student, crushing the breath from their lungs.
He whispered, “So the gap between the Top Ten and ordinary universities… is really that big? They’re this afraid of it?”
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. “What else?”
“The Top Ten Sects are the one thing that shapes your entire life—from birth to death. They decide Kunxu’s fate.”
“Only by entering a Top Ten University can you even hope to join a Top Ten Sect.”
“Graduates from ordinary universities? The Top Ten Sects won’t even accept them. At best, they become employees in some corporate branch.”
Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. So even after graduation, classism still rules. A regular university grad is doomed to be a contractor—permanently.
Bai Zhenzhen added, “And there’s one more thing—only the Top Ten Sects can grant immortality.”
Her voice carried a rare hint of longing.
Immortality—every cultivator’s ultimate dream. Who, on the path of cultivation, hasn’t dreamed of it?
Zhang Yu remembered. Immortals exist only in the Top Ten Sects.
Bai Zhenzhen said, “That’s the reality.”
“To enter the Top Ten? You’ll face a storm of destruction.”
“Yu, now that you know… what’s your plan?”
Under Bai Zhenzhen’s gaze, Zhang Yu looked torn.
Should I sign? After signing, I’ll have safety—studying, exams, Feather Scroll. Even if I go to a regular university, I could still thrive in a sect-affiliated corporation.
But… the Top Ten Sects…
At that moment, he thought of the Immortal Spirit Root—only accessible to disciples of great sects. The Celestial Gate-Level Cultivation Techniques—only for the elite. The path to immortality—exclusively for those from the Top Ten.
Countless chasms—known and unknown—separated the futures of those from Top Ten universities and those from ordinary ones.
Just as doubt swelled in his heart, a chill shot through him. The countdown appeared again.
“Study hard. Work hard. Get into university. Join a great sect. Then buy every ancient artifact in your shopping cart.”
To join a great sect… you must get into the Top Ten…
Damn it… I never had a choice, did I?
Seeing Zhang Yu’s grim face, Bai Zhenzhen patted his shoulder. “Take your time. This isn’t something you can decide in a second.”
“They gave you a month to think, right?”
As she stood to leave, Zhang Yu suddenly asked, “You? Zhenzhen… what’s your plan?”
She paused, then said, without hesitation: “I’m not signing.”
“I’m going for the Top Ten.”
Zhang Yu felt the cold recede. And in that silence, he knew his own choice.
He smiled. “Then… let’s go together.”
(End of Chapter)
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