“`
In the room.
“Our cultivation contract is definitely better than Starfire Martial Hall’s A-level contract.” The thin and tall military officer surnamed Ji constantly laid out his terms, bewitching Li Yuan.
The conditions were indeed generous.
“Senior Ji.”
“I have already signed with Starfire Martial Hall,” Li Yuan shook his head.
“Signing doesn’t mean you can’t break the contract,” the thin and tall military officer surnamed Ji smiled, “We’ll pay the penalty for you, so you won’t have to spend any money.”
“No, thanks.”
Li Yuan shook his head, “Senior Ji, my growth has been this rapid largely because of the help from Starfire Martial Hall. Anything else is negotiable… but this is the one thing I can’t do, I’m afraid.”
Li Yuan had his principles.
Initially, when Lord Wan signed with him, his performance only warranted a C-level contract, which was already overvalued.
Later, the Martial Hall arranged a series of resource sponsorships, which is how he was able to improve so much in half a year.
One must not forget their origins.
The most important point was that once he returned from here, he would be able to try for a Fallen Star ranking on the Starry Skies Fighting Network… and then his B-level contract with the Starfire Martial Hall could also be upgraded to an A-level contract.
The special training contract of the university and the cultivation contract of the Martial Hall were separate and did not interfere with each other.
However, one could only sign one cultivation contract with entities like Starfire Martial Hall, Starry Sky Martial Hall, Martial Arts Hall, or other large groups.
These were explicitly stipulated in the “Martial Artist Law.”
“Haha, alright, I won’t insist any further,” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer laughed, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
He hoped that Li Yuan would agree.
But, if Li Yuan had agreed immediately, he would actually have looked down on Li Yuan… This mentality was not contradictory.
“Li Yuan, I’m liking you more and more,” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer smiled, “How about this, I represent the Jiangbei Provincial Military and sponsor you with one million Blue Star Coins.”
“Come on, don’t refuse this,” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer smiled.
“This? One million?” Li Yuan was slightly shocked.
“Rest assured, there are no other conditions,” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer conveyed with a smile, “Although you can’t join the military, if you can grow and contribute to the country in the future, whether you join the military or not, does it really matter?”
Li Yuan felt a twinge of emotion and couldn’t help asking, “What about Wu Dongdong and the others?”
“Them? Not necessary!” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer shook his head and laughed, “We only feel it’s worth giving resources to someone like you, and it wouldn’t be a waste.”
Li Yuan was rendered speechless, vaguely understanding why only Tian Dazhuang and himself were called in.
Having too strong of a background could be less appealing.
“Let’s take a sponsorship photo,” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer smiled, “Later, a sponsorship contract will be sent to your virtual personal space. Don’t worry, there will be no restrictions.”
“One million Blue Star Coins, within a week they will be in your account.”
…
After seeing off Li Yuan, the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer leisurely drank tea, waiting another two minutes.
Clang~ A military officer surnamed Wang entered, wearing a smile.
“Did it work?” asked the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer.
“It did,” nodded the military officer surnamed Wang. “Signed with the Martial Arts Hall, the future will always have to be allocated somewhere, so why not to our military? I’ll report it right away and have it arranged.”
“A Martial Path prodigy like Tian Dazhuang is not easy to snatch,” a brawny military officer surnamed Wang laughed, “How about you?”
“It didn’t work out,” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer shook his head and sighed, “Li Yuan is really not bad, it’s a pity.”
“It’s normal not to succeed, after all, he has signed with Starfire Martial Hall.”
“If you had casually promised a few things and he wanted to breach the contract because of that, then it would actually be a matter for serious consideration,” the military officer surnamed Wang laughed, “If you think he’s not bad, why not help him out?”
“How can we help? Our sponsorship authority is only up to one million,” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer was puzzled.
“Haha, I’m the clever one today,” the military officer surnamed Wang said with a smile, “Who says sponsorship is the only way to help?”
“We just need to let it out that we attempted to recruit Li Yuan with an ‘S-level contract’ and were still rejected, then let the news reach Starfire Martial Hall.”
“As long as Starfire Martial Hall isn’t stupid, they’ll naturally know what to do,” the military officer surnamed Wang chuckled.
“I only promised an A-level contract, we don’t have the authority for an S-level contract,” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer frowned.
“Starfire Martial Hall doesn’t know we haven’t been authorized from above,” the military officer surnamed Wang wasn’t concerned.
“What if it blows up and the high-ups ask why we promised an ‘S-level contract’?” the Ji-surnamed thin and tall military officer was still worried.
“Someone’s spreading rumors! Besides, no one will ask about such a small matter, it’s under my dad’s jurisdiction.”
…
On the playground.
Li Yuan and Tian Dazhuang walked together toward the distant train.
Li Yuan was now 185 cm tall, noticeably taller than Tian Dazhuang.
“Did you sign, Li Yuan?” Tian Dazhuang asked in a muffled voice, unable to refrain from asking.
The two of them had remembered each other for the past few days, but this was the first time they communicated.
“No,” Li Yuan shook his head before asking back directly, “What about you?”
“I haven’t fully decided yet, but I’m leaning towards it,” Tian Dazhuang smiled faintly, “I was specially recruited by the Martial Arts Hall, and after graduating from university, I would be allocated anyways.”
Li Yuan nodded, “Joining the military is actually quite good.”
“Yeah.”
“But my dad wants me to return to the county in the future, saying that I should aim to be the director of the Martial Path Bureau down the line,” Tian Dazhuang spoke in a low voice, “He said it’s not only safe, but I could also bring honor to my ancestors.”
Li Yuan also casually added, “My aunt wanted me to become a martial arts school teacher, saying that it’s a life of peace and safety.”
After listening to each other, both men fell silent for two seconds, then looked at each other and burst out laughing heartily and freely.
It was a laugh full of candor and unrestraint.
Then, together, they strode towards the train.
No more words were necessary; both understood each other’s thoughts and aspirations.
Young men bursting with ambition, creating banners that will stand through the ages with a whip of their garment; with a single glance, young men evoke thoughts of everlasting clear streams.
Young men always march forward with hope.
That is the essence of youth.
…
After passing through the Star Realm’s entrance, Li Yuan, Lin Lanyue, and the others arrived at the underground train station of Jiangbei Martial University.
Off the train, upstairs.
“`
All weapons and equipment were returned, and after changing back into their clothes, all the students filed out of the building, hopped onto the sightseeing cars, and headed toward the cafeteria.
It was still not six o’clock yet; the sun was low in the west, and a gentle breeze made the atmosphere very comfortable.
“The feeling of coming back is really good,” Wu Dongdong stretched his body and sighed with emotion.
Li Yuan couldn’t help but smile.
Indeed, after experiencing life-and-death battles in the Moon Demon Star Realm, coming back made one all the more appreciative of the preciousness of peace and tranquility.
“How about it, Li Yuan?” Lin Lanyue asked softly, “Did you agree to join the military?”
“I didn’t agree,” Li Yuan said, “but the military has promised to sponsor me with one million Blue Star Coins without making any demands.”
Give without asking for anything in return?
Honestly, Li Yuan was somewhat skeptical when the military officer with the last name Ji spoke, but the whole process indeed had no issues.
They didn’t make him sign any documents, nor did they ask him to sign electronically in the virtual network right away.
“How did you know the military would come looking for me?” Li Yuan asked quietly.
“The military’s sponsorship targets…”
“There are usually three criteria,” Lin Lanyue said indifferently, “First, one must have enough potential to have the hope of becoming a Flying Heaven Warrior.”
“Second, one must come from a family that is not wealthy.”
“Third, they prefer to sponsor students who have a sense of justice and patriotism.”
“You fit all these to perfection,” Lin Lanyue said with a smile. “And you came first in the Combat Assessment; the military respects actual combat power more than test scores, so I guessed you’d definitely be selected.”
“Impressive,” Li Yuan said sincerely.
Li Yuan realized that Lin Lanyue seemed to know everything about the workings of the Moon Demon Star Realm, even understanding the military’s movements so well.
The scope of her background was probably beyond his imagination.
“What’s the military’s goal?” Li Yuan asked, a touch of puzzlement in his voice. “They aren’t making demands.”
“If one day you become a Flying Heaven Warrrior, and the military has a mission that needs the help of a Flying Heaven Warrior, and they invite you to join,” Lin Lanyue said with a smile, “would you go?”
Li Yuan was taken aback.
“In a sense, a Flying Heaven Warrior, with their individual might, stands above the mundane world and cannot be simply bound by law; it’s more about being tied down by emotions,” Lin Lanyue continued.
Li Yuan nodded, now understanding what Lin Lanyue meant.
If the military faced a grave crisis and needed some Flying Heaven Warriors to battle, what then?
It wasn’t as if issuing a command would guarantee a Flying Heaven Warrior’s compliance.
Their strength gave them the right to say ‘no.’
The military’s approach reminded Li Yuan of Jiangbei Martial Arts University’s rewards; essentially, both were about ‘forging good karma.’
However,
Jiangbei Martial Arts University cast a wide net, while the military selected only from the most elite students.
“Let’s go,”
“Let’s eat first,” Lin Lanyue said with a smile. “You’ve expended so much energy today; you need to eat more tonight.”
“Time to eat! Time to eat!” Wu Dongdong got excited. “I’m going to eat six servings today.”
Everyone laughed.
Li Yuan had long noticed that although Wu Dongdong came from a distinguished background, he was not picky about his food at all.
Like a reincarnated glutton, he welcomed whatever came his way.
…
Night fell, and after dinner, Li Yuan and Gu Qianghan returned to their dormitory.
Clang~
Li Yuan directly took out the long spear from the weapon cabinet.
“Huh? Li Yuan, you’re not tired? You’re still going to train today?” Gu Qianghan looked at Li Yuan as if he were a monster.
“Just a bit more training,” Li Yuan said with a smile.
Tired? Of course, he was tired.
But could he afford not to train? No, he couldn’t.
“I’m off to bed,” Gu Qianghan shook his head. “You keep training; I’m going to sleep.”
Clang~ Gu Qianghan closed the door of his room behind him.
Li Yuan smiled faintly, his gaze returning to the long spear. The smile vanished as he silently practiced his spear technique.
Swish! Swish!
The spear danced, creating shadows as numerous and unstoppable as stars, while his body moved like a dragon through the wind—unpredictable and fast.
Stellar Spear Technique and Dragon Movement Technique, he practiced them in harmony with each other.
For Li Yuan, while his body was tired, his movement technique had just broken through to the Fourth Level, and it was the perfect time to consolidate his training.
Any improvement, no matter how small, was good.
Qualitative change comes from quantitative change.
“Fourth Level training is about digging deeper into the body’s potential, based on the foundation of unity between body and mind,” Li Yuan thought to himself. “The progress is clearly much slower than at the Third Stage.”
This training session lasted until after nine, with sweat dripping to the floor, Li Yuan’s body was exhausted to its limits.
Only then did he finally stop.
“[Your Body Method Realm has improved from Fourth Level 1% to Fourth Level 2%],” Li Yuan glanced at the prompt that appeared half an hour ago.
“After twelve o’clock tonight,”
“the seven-day cooldown for the promotion match will be over, and I’ll be able to try the ‘Fallen Star Promotion Match’ again,” Li Yuan looked forward with anticipation. “Last time I broke into the global top 1000, my techniques were only at the Perfection of the Third Stage.”
Now what?
Both spear technique and movement technique had fully entered the Fourth Level, and his strength had increased tremendously compared to last time.
“By then, there will be an additional 500,000 Blue Star Coins.”
…
Just after ten o’clock, after showering and changing into pajamas, Li Yuan felt extremely relaxed all over.
He sat cross-legged on the soft bed.
The room’s soundproofing system was excellent.
“Gu Qianghan must have fallen asleep by now.”
“Now it’s time to see what this ‘Origin Power Infusion’ is all about,” Li Yuan closed his eyes gently, his consciousness entering his inner world.