Chapter 22: The Contract

After Li Xuelian finished explaining Zhang Yu's situation, a light chuckle came from the other end of the phone.

"He is indeed quite good, but there's no need to take him in."

Confused, Li Xuelian asked, "Why?"

Master Xinghuo burst into laughter, his voice filled with delight. "I have already found a true genius."

"Also a first-year high schooler, yet he mastered the Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Manual in just half an hour."

"And he isn't bound by any contracts yet."

At this, Master Xinghuo couldn't help but laugh heartily again.

Li Xuelian asked in surprise, "There's actually such a freak?"

Master Xinghuo chuckled. "I told you long ago, the first layer of Kunxu never lacks geniuses; it only lacks people to invest in them."

"Take the top scorers of every subject in the Gaokao, or the overall top scorer—you should know how brilliant those individuals are."

"But such geniuses appear in the first layer of Kunxu every single year, along with a crowd of others not much different from them. They emerge year after year, like an endless crop of leeks to be harvested."

"There are too many geniuses. It's just that in the past, I failed to find them, and they were always snatched up by others. But now, I have finally managed to get ahead of the curve."

Li Xuelian glanced toward Zhang Yu with a hint of regret and asked, "Won't you take Zhang Yu along as well?"

Master Xinghuo replied, "Forget it. From now on, all our family's resources will be invested in the true genius. Let's not scatter our energy."

...

Inside the conference room beside the art exhibition.

Looking at Zhang Yu, Li Xuelian spoke with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, student. My father has other urgent matters to attend to, so I'm afraid he won't be able to take you as a disciple for the time being."

She continued sincerely, "However, you may use the Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Manual with peace of mind in the future. As for the specific usage rights, I will personally grant you a copy."

Li Xuelian's eyes were full of admiration as she looked at Zhang Yu. "Lastly, I would like to give you ten thousand yuan in my personal capacity."

"Don't feel rushed to refuse; this gift comes purely from my appreciation of your talent."

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

"Oh, right. Regarding those videos you recorded, they involve the distribution rights of the Heavenly Martial Heart-Refining Manual, so you will need to delete them..."

A moment later, as she watched Zhang Yu's departing figure, the smile gradually faded from Li Xuelian's face.

Although Master Xinghuo did not intend to take him as a disciple, Li Xuelian had no intention of actively making an enemy of a youth with such extraordinary talent.

In any case, whether it was the usage rights of the manual or the ten thousand yuan, they were mere trifles to her.

She had lost count of how many small gifts like this she had casually bestowed upon young geniuses.

However, the vast majority of them had eventually faded into mediocrity, long forgotten by her.

After resolving this matter, Li Xuelian visited several other important guests before impatiently heading off to find her father.

She was incredibly curious about the peerless genius Master Xinghuo had mentioned.

...

On the other side, at the art exhibition which had not yet officially concluded.

Bai Zhenzhen watched Zhang Yu walk out of the conference room and asked, "How was it? Did he reject Master Xinghuo? Li Xuelian didn't make things difficult for you, did she?"

Recalling Li Xuelian's admiring expression, Zhang Yu shook his head. "She didn't make things difficult."

"Before I could even speak, she rejected me first, saying Master Xinghuo had other urgent matters..."

"But she did give me an extra 10,000 yuan at the end."

Hearing Zhang Yu's account, Bai Zhenzhen curled her lip. "Standard excuses."

"Maybe she checked your records and realized you aren't actually that outstanding."

"Like how your monthly exam scores are terrible, you have no sterilization records, your muscle growth is subpar, and you're drowning in debt..."

Hearing her words, Zhang Yu curled his lip as well. "A-Zhen, you lost and now you're resorting to personal attacks because you're salty, aren't you?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's smug expression, Bai Zhenzhen couldn't help but grab his shoulder and demand, "Dammit, just tell me—what kind of cheat are you using?"

"Tell me quickly, did you bribe the staff with money to study the Martial Arts Diagram in advance?"

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

*Keep going, A-Zhen. Watching the pathetic state of you weaklings after your defeat is my current source of joy.*

As they were talking, Qian Shen approached from not far away.

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

The trial of the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Diagram had increased Qian Shen's resistance to high scorers.

But seeing a low scorer perform so exceptionally, he was utterly shocked.

Seeing Zhang Yu shake his head in denial, Qian Shen said unwillingly, "Impossible. If you aren't intentionally scoring low, why is there such a massive mismatch between your talent and your scores?"

"Hmm?" Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "An exam can't fully demonstrate a person's potential, can it?"

Qian Shen interrupted him directly, shouting excitedly, "Impossible!"

"The Gaokao and the six major high school subjects are customized by the Ten Great Sects. They are a system specifically designed to evaluate high schoolers, verified and adjusted by countless experts and powerhouses. It is already the most optimal, scientific, and immortal-path system for evaluating a person!"

"Every subject and every single point perfectly reflects the all-encompassing gap between individuals, including the superiority of bloodlines, regional backwardness, and incomplete evolution..."

Looking at Qian Shen's incredibly serious expression, Zhang Yu realized he had misjudged him before.

*You're not just a simple score-discriminator. You've evolved from score discrimination to bloodline, regional, and even racial discrimination. You've become a proponent of the score-based caste system, haven't you?*

In short, in Qian Shen's worldview, a high score meant you were awesome, an elite, superior, and confident; a low score meant you were trash.

This was the worldview he had built over many years, the source of his confidence as a top student, and perhaps even the rule of all key high schools.

"Hmph, if you don't want to admit it, fine."

"But I will report this situation to the school. I hope you show your true abilities in the next monthly exam and don't produce another 'incomplete evolution' score like 550."

Watching Qian Shen's departing back, Zhang Yu felt as if he had been insulted, yet also felt as if he hadn't.

Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen nodded thoughtfully. "Among all that nonsense he said, there is one point you should actually pay attention to."

"The school will definitely find out about what happened here. When the time comes, they might approach you to sign a contract."

"A contract?" Zhang Yu looked at A-Zhen curiously. He had heard whispers of this before, but the specifics had always been a blur.

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 have good grades and excellent talent, they need investors."

"And the school itself is one of the investors."

"Generally, after the start of the second year of high school, the school will screen a group of outstanding students based on their first-year performance and grades to sign contracts and invest money in them."

"Of course, there are a very small number of students who are so exceptionally outstanding and dazzling that, to prevent them from being snatched up by others, the school will discuss contracts with them during their first year."

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

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

Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes at him, as if saying, *Don't you know how pathetic you were before?*

Bai Zhenzhen continued, "Given your performance here at the art exhibition, the school will definitely talk to you about a contract. As for whether to sign it..."

Seeing the conflicted expression on her face, Zhang Yu asked, "Is it that hard to choose?"

Bai Zhenzhen sighed. "It's not exactly that it's hard to choose. Actually, depending on your personal situation, the choice is quite clear."

"The difficulty lies in whether a person's self-perception is right or wrong."

Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu and asked seriously, "For example, regarding your comprehension of the Heavenly Human Martial Arts Diagram this time—what kind of cheat did you actually use?"

But halfway through, she waved her hand. "Forget it. Mothers don't ask about cheats. You don't have to tell me."

"In short, if you are absolutely certain and intend to aim for the Top Ten universities, then don't sign this contract for now."

"Conversely, if you aren't sure you can get into the Top Ten and just want to get into an ordinary university, then as long as the contract isn't too exploitative, just sign it."

Zhang Yu fell into thought and asked a few more questions regarding the details of the school and the contracts.

After they had talked for a while, someone else approached Zhang Yu, but it was a charming and lovely young girl.

"Hello, student. You were so cool just now. Can I have your contact information?"

Similar things had happened many times since Zhang Yu had comprehended the Martial Arts Diagram; even Lian Tianji from Ziyun High School had asked for his contact info.

Zhang Yu had gradually grown used to this. With a silent sigh of amazement, he added her.

*Heh, even beautiful girls are proactively contacting me now?*

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

The girl replied, "I'm Wu Qingqing from the Holy Maiden's Academy, in the honors class."

Zhang Yu's expression suddenly froze. In this world of Kunxu, someone who looked like a man might not be a man, but a student in the honors class of a girls' academy... must have been a man in the past.

Wu Qingqing seemed to sense the change in his expression and smiled slightly. "Oh, your thinking is quite old-fashioned, isn't it?"

"Do you think our class is full of people who took advantage of something to get into an honors high school but actually have terrible grades?"

"Let me tell you, the top scholars in our class are no worse than you. You'll find out during the next city-wide unified exam."

Zhang Yu watched her departing back in speechless silence.

*No, is that even what I was thinking about?*

*Kunxu... in this damn place, even trans people have to check their scores first, don't they?*

"Congratulations." Zhou Tianyi walked over from the side. "Have you signed with Master Jindan?"

Looking at Zhou Tianyi, Zhang Yu suddenly remembered that the guy seemed to have had almost no presence in front of the Martial Arts Diagram just now.

For the rest of the time, Zhang Yu worked as a security guard while exchanging a few words with guests, both known and unknown.

As his security duties for the day were completed, his savings increased by 1,600 and 10,000 yuan, surging all at once to 13,300.

After paying off the remaining 5,000 yuan of his monthly loan, Zhang Yu's account balance dropped to 8,300, finally allowing him to temporarily stop worrying about debt collectors.

(End of Chapter)