Chapter 22
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Chapter 22: The Contract
After Li Xuelian explained Zhang Yu’s situation, she heard a soft chuckle from the other end of the line.
“He’s certainly impressive, but we won’t be recruiting him.”
Li Xuelian asked, puzzled, “Why not?”
True Person Starfire burst into hearty laughter, his voice brimming with delight. “I’ve already found a true genius.”
“He is also a First-Year, only 15 years old, and he mastered the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Technique in just half an hour.
“And he doesn’t have any contracts yet.”
At this point, True Person Starfire could not help but laugh again.
Li Xuelian exclaimed in surprise, “There’s actually such a freak?”
True Person Starfire chuckled. “I told you long ago that the first layer of Kunxu is never short of geniuses. It only lacks people willing to invest in them.”
“Take the top scorers in each subject and the overall top scorer in the National College Entrance Examination. You know how incredibly talented those people are.”
“But there are many such geniuses in the first layer of Kunxu every year, along with plenty of others who are only slightly less brilliant. They keep emerging year after year, like weeds after rain.”
“There are too many geniuses. In the past, I always failed to find them and was beaten to the punch by others. But now, I’ve finally gotten a step ahead.”
Li Xuelian glanced regretfully in Zhang Yu’s direction and asked, “Shouldn’t we sign this Zhang Yu as well?”
True Person Starfire replied, “Forget it. From now on, all our family’s resources will be invested in the true genius. We cannot afford to divide our attention.”
***
In the conference room next to the art exhibition, Li Xuelian looked at Zhang Yu with a deeply apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, young man. My father is currently occupied with other matters and won’t be able to take you as his disciple for now.”
She continued earnestly, “However, you can rest assured that you may continue using the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Technique. I’ll personally grant you the usage rights.”
Li Xuelian’s eyes shone with admiration as she looked at Zhang Yu. “Finally, I’d like to offer you a personal gift of 10,000 yuan.
“Don’t be so quick to refuse. This gift is purely a gesture of my appreciation for your talent.
“I hope that by the time we meet again, you will have been accepted into a prestigious university.
“Oh, and by the way, regarding those videos you recorded, they involve the dissemination rights of the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Technique. You will need to delete them…”
A moment later, as she watched Zhang Yu’s departing figure, the smile on Li Xuelian’s face gradually faded.
Although True Person Starfire did not intend to take him as a disciple, Li Xuelian had no intention of making an enemy of such a promising young talent either.
In any case, granting the usage rights to the Heavenly Martial Heart Refining Technique and offering 10,000 yuan were mere trifles to her.
She had lost count of how many times she had made similar small gestures to young geniuses.
However, the vast majority of them had ultimately faded into obscurity and were long forgotten by her.
After resolving this matter, Li Xuelian met with several important guests before hurrying to find her father.
She was incredibly curious about the peerless genius True Person Starfire had mentioned.
***
Meanwhile, at the still-ongoing art exhibition.
Bai Zhenzhen watched Zhang Yu emerge from the conference room and asked, “So, how did it go? Did you reject True Person Starfire? Did Li Xuelian give you a hard time?”
Zhang Yu recalled Li Xuelian’s admiring expression and shook his head. “She didn’t give me a hard time.”
“Before I could even speak, she rejected me first, saying True Person Starfire was busy with other matters…”
“She did give me an extra 10,000 yuan in the end, though.”
Hearing Zhang Yu’s account, Bai Zhenzhen curled her lip. “That’s a standard excuse.”
“Maybe she checked your records and realized you’re not that impressive after all.”
“Like your terrible Monthly Exam scores, lack of a cultivation breakthroughs, poor muscle development, and the mountain of debt you owe….”
Listening to Bai Zhenzhen’s words, Zhang Yu scoffed. “A-Zhen, you’re just salty about losing, so now you’re resorting to personal attacks, is that it?”
Seeing Zhang Yu’s smug expression, Bai Zhenzhen could not help but grab his shoulder and demand, “Damn it, are you ever going to tell me what cheat you used?
“Spill it! Did you bribe the staff to study the Heavenly Being Martial Arts Portrait in advance?”
Watching Bai Zhenzhen’s face twist into a hideous mask of jealousy, Zhang Yu chuckled.
“Go on, A-Zhen. Watching you weaklings squirm in defeat is my current entertainment.”
As they spoke, Qian Shen approached from nearby with a grim expression. He stared intently at Zhang Yu and asked, “Did you deliberately do poorly on your exams?”
The trial of the Heavenly Being Martial Arts Portrait had given Qian Shen a newfound resistance to high scorers. But the fact that a low-scorer could surpass his performance left him utterly stunned.
When Zhang Yu shook his head in denial, Qian Shen pressed on, unwilling to accept it. “Impossible. If you weren’t deliberately doing poorly, why would your talent and scores be so mismatched?”
“Hmm?” Zhang Yu pondered for a moment. “Exams can’t fully capture a person’s potential, can they…?”
But Qian Shen cut him off, his voice rising in agitation. “Impossible!”
“The National College Entrance Examination and the six core high school courses are a system custom-designed by the Ten Great Sects to evaluate high school students. It has been refined through countless expert validations and adjustments by powerful cultivators. It is the most optimal, scientific, and ‘immortal path-aligned method for assessing an individual.”
“Every subject and every point perfectly reflects the comprehensive disparities between people, including the superiority of bloodlines, the backwardness of regions, and incomplete evolution…”
Watching Qian Shen’s utterly serious expression, Zhang Yu realized he had completely misjudged the other boy.
You’re not just a simple score discriminator, are you? You’ve evolved from score discrimination to bloodline discrimination, regional discrimination, and even racial discrimination. You’ve become a full-fledged supporter of the score-based caste system, haven’t you?
In Qian Shen’s worldview, high scores meant being exceptional and superior with the right to be confident and arrogant, while low scores meant being worthless trash.
This was the worldview he had cultivated over many years, the source of his confidence as a top student, and in essence, the unspoken rule of all Key High Schools.
“Hmph, if you refuse to admit it, so be it.”
“But I will report this situation to the school. I hope you show your true ability in the next Monthly Exam and stop getting an incompletely evolved score like 550.”
As Qian Shen’s back receded, Zhang Yu felt as if he had been both scolded and not scolded at all.
Bai Zhenzhen, standing nearby, nodded thoughtfully. “Amidst all his rambling, there is one point you should pay attention to.”
“The school will definitely learn about what happened here. They might approach you to sign a contract.”
“A contract?” Zhang Yu asked curiously, turning to A-Zhen. He had vaguely heard about this before, but the details remained hazy.
Bai Zhenzhen explained, “You know, not everyone in High School is as wealthy as Qian Shen’s family.”
“For many students who are poor but academically gifted and exceptionally talented, investment is crucial.”
“And the school itself is one of the investors.”
“Usually, after the start of the second year, the school will select outstanding students based on their first-year performance and grades, offering them contracts and investing in them.”
“Of course, for the truly exceptional and dazzling students, the school might approach them about contracts even during their first year to prevent others from signing them first.”
Here, Bai Zhenzhen puffed out her chest. “Like me.”
Zhang Yu asked, “Why didn’t you ever tell me about this before?”
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes, as if to say, “Have you already forgotten what a mess you used to be?”
Bai Zhenzhen said, “Based on your performance at the art exhibition, the school will definitely want to discuss a contract with you. As for whether to sign it…”
Seeing the conflicted expression on Bai Zhenzhen’s face, Zhang Yu asked, “Is it such a difficult decision?”
Bai Zhenzhen sighed. “It’s not that it is difficult to choose. Whether to sign or not is quite straightforward, depending on your personal circumstances.”
“The real challenge lies in whether your self-assessment is accurate.”
Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu earnestly and asked, “For example, when you comprehended the Heavenly Being Martial Arts Portrait this time, what kind of cheat did you use?”
Halfway through her question, Bai Zhenzhen waved her hand. “Ah, never mind. A mother doesn’t ask about cheats. You don’t have to tell me.”
“In short, if you are absolutely confident you can get into one of the Top Ten Universities, do not sign this contract now.”
“On the other hand, if you are not sure you can make it into the Top Ten and are just aiming for an ordinary university, then you should sign the contract as long as it is not too exploitative.”
Zhang Yu listened thoughtfully and then asked a few more questions about the school and the contract details.
Just as they were finishing their conversation, another person approached Zhang Yu. She was a charming and delicate young woman.
“Hey there, classmate. You were so cool just now. Can I get your contact info?”
Similar requests had become commonplace since Zhang Yu comprehended the Heavenly Being Martial Arts Portrait. Even Lian Tianji from Purple Cloud High School had asked for his contact details.
Zhang Yu had grown accustomed to this. Sighing inwardly, he added her contact information.
“Heh, so now even beautiful girls are approaching me?”
Zhang Yu asked, “Which school are you from, classmate?”
“I’m Wu Qingqing from the Sacred Maiden Academy’s Advance Class,” she replied.
Zhang Yu’s expression stiffened. In the World of Kunxu, someone who looked like a man might not actually be one, but a student from the Sacred Maiden Academy’s Advance Class must have been a man before.
Wu Qingqing seemed to sense the change in Zhang Yu’s expression and smiled faintly. “Oh, your thinking is still rather old-fashioned, huh?”
“Do you think our class is full of people who took advantage to get into a key high school, but are actually terrible students?”
“Let me tell you, a few of the top students in our class are just as good as you. You will see during the next citywide unified exam.”
Zhang Yu speechlessly watched her departing figure.
Wait, was that what she thought I was concerned about?
Kunxu… In this crappy place, even a trans people’s worth is judged by their test scores first, huh?
“Congratulations,” Zhou Tianyi said as he approached from the side. “Did you sign a contract with a Golden Core True Person?”
Zhang Yu looked at Zhou Tianyi and suddenly remembered how inconspicuous he had been in front of the Heavenly Being Martial Arts Portrait earlier.
For the rest of the event, Zhang Yu continued working as a security guard while exchanging a few words with guests, both familiar and unfamiliar.
When his security duties for the day were finally complete, his savings had increased by 1,600 (wages) and 10,000 yuan (gift), soaring to a total of 13,300 yuan.
After paying off the remaining 5,000 yuan of his loan for the month, Zhang Yu’s account balance dropped to 8,300 yuan. At least for now, he no longer had to worry about debt collectors.