After hearing his uncle's words, Li Yuan immediately thought of many trainees from entertainment agencies. It seemed quite similar. When big stars switch agencies, the contracts they sign are often very loose. For trainees? Getting a 90-10 split is considered good. In fact, many agencies don't even plan to train their trainees; they just want to profit from their breach of contract fees.
"Don't worry too much." In the projection, Li Changzhou seemed to notice Li Yuan's concerns and smiled, "Martial artists gather personal strength in one person. The stronger they are, the harder it is to control them. Top martial arts experts have the power to destroy the world... Even if you sign a contract early, it’s not as dark as you think."
"In fact, if you can sign a contract early, it will be more beneficial than harmful for you." A rare look of disappointment appeared on Li Changzhou's face as he sighed, "Your aunt and I have limited abilities."
"Uncle, don't say that. You've done enough." Li Yuan interrupted Li Changzhou and asked, "Uncle, what should I do now?"
"According to your Uncle Zhong, he wants to talk to you in person." Li Changzhou said, "I guess he wants to see your martial arts talent in detail... This is a good thing."
"Set a time to meet with Uncle Zhong first."
"But no matter what conditions they offer, don’t agree right away. Wait until they make their offer, then contact me," Li Changzhou instructed. "You just turned seventeen... You have talent in martial arts, keep working hard, and maybe the Starfire Martial Hall will come looking for you."
"Also, since you made it onto the Blue Star Youth Ranking, the country should reach out to you through the school. If things go well, they might even give you a special invitation."
"Think it over carefully, and I’ll contact some classmates to gather information."
"This will decide your path for life."
Li Yuan nodded. He understood that what he needed to do was show his talent and then choose the best offer.
"Alright, let’s stop here for today. I have to get back to work." Li Changzhou smiled.
The communication ended.
"Special invitation?"
"Early signing with the Starry Sky Martial Hall?" Li Yuan put down his smart wristband and thought quietly, calming himself down: "No rush."
"I awakened my Spiritual Palace only a year ago."
"From now until the college entrance exam, as my spiritual power increases, my martial arts skills will improve faster, and I will have better control over my body." Li Yuan's eyes sparkled: "Then, the efficiency of practicing the Rock Foundation Cultivation Method will be even higher."
"Can’t practice advanced cultivation methods? My physical constitution is still improving at a good pace."
Over the past year, Li Yuan's physical abilities had improved rapidly, faster than most students in the Elite Class.
Why?
It was because his martial arts skills were advancing quickly, and he had been practicing the Great Sun Starry Sky Sutra all along.
"Time to practice spear techniques."
Li Yuan calmed himself and took a spear from the weapon cabinet, quietly pondering the spear techniques.
After more than an hour.
[Your spear technique level has increased from 48% to 49%.]
"Practicing spear techniques in reality."
"Every weekend, I sharpen my skills in virtual battles. Combining both really speeds up my progress." Li Yuan smiled: "Since school started, my spear technique has improved by nearly 20%."
Such progress in less than a month would definitely shock people if he shared it.
...
The Martial Halls are very special organizations. They are somewhat like multinational corporations but not exactly the same. The three major Martial Halls operate independently within the country. Regular departments have no jurisdiction over them; only the Martial Arts Department does.
The Starry Sky Martial Hall, Guanshan District Branch.
This is a twelve-story circular building, very large, much bigger than a typical commercial complex, located not far from the first high school in Guanshan District.
In an office on the twelfth floor, the decor was quite luxurious.
"Knock, knock." A knock sounded.
"Master, it's the ranked martial artist 'Zhong Cheng'." A warm voice echoed in the office.
"Open the door and let him in." A slightly cold female voice came from the lounge.
Click~ The door opened. A middle-aged man in a black suit walked into the office, approached the center, and slightly nodded, "Branch Master Song."
If someone from the Starry Sky Martial Hall Guanshan District Branch were present, they would immediately recognize the office's owner—Song Yi, one of the three deputy branch masters.
The Guanshan District Branch is only a level five branch of the Starry Sky Martial Hall. Even so, the power of a deputy branch master is quite impressive, far beyond what ordinary martial artists can reach.
A young woman with a slim figure, whose loose martial arts uniform couldn't hide her shape, walked out from the lounge.
She wore no makeup, but her skin was fair, with an oval face, and her sharp eyes exuded a strong presence.
Her movements revealed that she had impressive martial arts skills.
"Zhong Cheng, how's the contact going?" Song Yi looked at the man in the suit, her gaze sharp.
"I spoke with Li Yuan's guardian today, and they agreed to let us make contact." Zhong Cheng nodded, "Also, I've met Li Yuan twice, and I understand his situation... The young man is quite good and practices diligently."
"However, it seems that neither the Starfire Martial Hall nor the Martial Arts Department has contacted Li Yuan." Zhong Cheng said.
"That's actually good." Song Yi's lips curved into a slight smile, "If the Martial Arts Department had contacted him, wouldn’t our hopes be diminished?"
"In Xia Country, most martial arts geniuses ultimately choose special invitations." Song Yi continued, "If we want to recruit them, we usually have to wait until they graduate from university."
Zhong Cheng nodded in agreement.
"Branch Master Song," Zhong Cheng hesitated, "I have a good relationship with Li Yuan's family, but objectively speaking, I’ve looked into Li Yuan’s information."
"The Starfire Martial Hall and the Martial Arts Department have taken no action for a reason... Li Yuan hasn’t awakened his Martial Spirit. His martial arts skills are good, but not to an exaggerated extent."
"Every year, hundreds of young martial artists emerge in the Jiangbei Province Blue Star Youth Ranking."
"There are also other age groups of martial arts geniuses..." Zhong Cheng expressed his doubts, "Is Li Yuan really worth the significant cost of an early signing?"
The Seven Star Alliance has clear regulations. For a martial hall to sign a minor early, the person must be at least twelve years old.
Moreover, they must provide at least one million Blue Star Coins worth of training resources every year for at least six years.
And the one million Blue Star Coins cannot include things like 'guidance from famous teachers' or 'training venues.'
At least half must be cash rewards, and the rest should be physical resources like vitality-enhancing elixirs.
This is to prevent martial halls from signing people without limits.
This means that if they sign early, the Starry Sky Martial Hall would have to pay at least six million Blue Star Coins, not including other soft expenses, which is a huge cost.
"Normally, this Li Yuan wouldn’t be worth an early signing." Song Yi said slowly, "However, he is a bit special."
"Special?" Zhong Cheng was taken aback.
Suddenly, a large amount of light shot down from the ceiling, forming a projection that displayed a lot of information, texts, images, and videos.
"What is this?" Zhong Cheng was puzzled.
"The Starry Sky Combat Network, which is directly controlled by our Starry Sky Martial Hall." Song Yi smiled mysteriously, "We are also the largest shareholder of the entire virtual network."
"According to the Seven Star Alliance agreement, much of the information from the Starry Sky Combat Network must be shared with the other two major martial halls and the country."
"So, whether it’s the Starfire Martial Hall or the Xia Country Martial Arts Department, they’ll know immediately when Li Yuan enters the Blue Star Youth Ranking... But we won’t pass on specific match details or win rates to them."
"Just take a look, and you'll understand." Song Yi pointed at the projection.
Zhong Cheng quickly clicked on the screen and began to browse through the information about Li Yuan.
Soon, he noticed something was off.
"In one day, he participated in 196 virtual battles?" Zhong Cheng was a bit shocked, "How did he manage that? Can his mental awareness handle it?"
He quickly flipped through the historical records.
Then he was stunned to discover.
In the past three months, almost every weekend, Li Yuan engaged in high-intensity virtual battles, with as few as eighty to ninety matches and more than two hundred at times.
"What? This?"
"Li Yuan's mental power?" Zhong Cheng's eyes lit up as he realized, unable to help but exclaim, "Is it at the martial artist level?"
"About a 90% chance."
"Though it hasn't been specifically tested, based on my estimate, his mental power is at least level 11." Song Yi smiled, "Plus, his martial arts skills."
"Do you think he qualifies for an early signing?"
(End of Chapter)