After Li Xuelian finished explaining Zhang Yu's situation, she heard a light chuckle from the other end of the phone.
"He's indeed good, but there's no need to take him in," came the reply.
Li Xuelian was puzzled.
"Why?"
The voice of Starfire Zhenren burst into laughter, filled with joy.
"I’ve already found a true genius."
"Also a first-year high school student, just 15 years old, and he mastered the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Technique in just half an hour."
"And he doesn’t have any contracts yet."
At this, Starfire Zhenren couldn’t help but laugh heartily again.
Li Xuelian was astonished.
"There’s actually such a freak?"
Starfire Zhenren chuckled.
"I’ve told you before, the first layer of Kunxu is never short of geniuses. What’s lacking is people willing to invest in them."
"Take the top scorers in every subject and the overall champions in the college entrance exams. You know how extraordinary they are."
"But geniuses like that appear in the first layer of Kunxu every year, and there are plenty more who are almost as good. They keep popping up year after year, like an endless field of leeks."
"There are too many geniuses. In the past, I just couldn’t find them in time, always beaten to the punch by others. But now, I’ve finally found one first."
Li Xuelian glanced regretfully in Zhang Yu’s direction and asked, "Shouldn’t we sign this Zhang Yu as well?"
Starfire Zhenren replied, "Forget it. From now on, all our family’s resources will be focused on the true genius. Let’s not spread ourselves thin."
...
In the meeting room next to the art exhibition.
Li Xuelian looked at Zhang Yu with an apologetic expression.
"I’m sorry, young man. My father has other important matters to attend to, so he won’t be able to take you as a disciple for now."
She spoke sincerely, "However, you can freely use the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Technique from now on. I’ll personally grant you the usage rights."
Li Xuelian’s eyes were filled with admiration as she looked at Zhang Yu.
"Lastly, I’d like to give you 10,000 yuan in my personal capacity."
"Don’t rush to refuse. This gift is purely out of my appreciation for your talent."
"I hope that the next time we meet, you’ll have been admitted to a prestigious university."
"Oh, and one more thing. Regarding the videos you recorded, they involve the copyright of the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Technique. You’ll need to delete them..."
A moment later, as she watched Zhang Yu’s retreating figure, the smile on Li Xuelian’s face gradually faded.
Although Starfire Zhenren had decided not to take him as a disciple, Li Xuelian had no intention of making an enemy out of such a talented young man.
After all, granting the usage rights to the Heavenly Martial Heart Refinement Technique and giving him 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.
Most of them, however, eventually faded into obscurity, long forgotten by her.
After settling this matter, Li Xuelian went to meet a few important guests before eagerly seeking out her father.
She was far too curious about the peerless genius Starfire Zhenren had mentioned.
...
Meanwhile, at the art exhibition that hadn’t officially ended yet.
Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu, who had just emerged from the meeting room, and asked, "So? Did you reject Starfire Zhenren? Did Li Xuelian give you a hard time?"
Zhang Yu recalled the admiring look Li Xuelian had given him and shook his head.
"She didn’t give me a hard time."
"Before I could even speak, she turned me down, saying Starfire Zhenren had other important matters..."
"Though she did give me an extra 10,000 yuan in the end."
Hearing this, Bai Zhenzhen pursed her lips.
"Typical excuse."
"Maybe she checked your records and found out you’re not that outstanding."
"Like your monthly exam scores being too low, no sterilization records, poor muscle development, and a mountain of debt..."
Zhang Yu smirked.
"Ah Zhen, still sore about losing and resorting to personal attacks, huh?"
Seeing Zhang Yu’s smug expression, Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t help but grab his shoulder and demand, "Are you going to tell me what cheat you used or not?"
"Come on, did you bribe the staff with borrowed money to get a head start on comprehending the Martial Diagram?"
Zhang Yu chuckled at Bai Zhenzhen’s jealous and ugly expression.
Keep it up, Ah Zhen.
Watching you losers squirm after defeat is my current source of amusement.
As the two were talking, Qian Shen also approached from a distance.
He looked at Zhang Yu with a serious expression and asked, "Do you intentionally score low on your exams?"
The test of the Heavenly Martial Diagram had increased Qian Shen’s resistance to high scorers.
But for a low scorer to outperform him was utterly shocking.
Seeing Zhang Yu shake his head in denial, Qian Shen said unwillingly, "Impossible. If you’re not intentionally scoring low, why is there such a mismatch between your talent and your scores?"
"Hmm?" Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "Exams can’t fully showcase a person’s potential, right..."
Qian Shen cut him off, agitated.
"Impossible! The college entrance exam and the six high school subjects were designed by the Ten Great Sects specifically to evaluate high school students. They’ve been verified and adjusted by countless experts and strong practitioners. It’s the most optimal, scientific, and daoist system for evaluating a person!"
"Every subject, every point, perfectly reflects the comprehensive gap between people, including the superiority of bloodlines, regional backwardness, and incomplete evolution..."
Seeing Qian Shen’s earnest expression, Zhang Yu realized he had misjudged the guy.
You’re not just a simple score elitist, huh? You’ve evolved from score elitism to bloodline elitism, regional elitism, and even racial elitism.
You’re a full-blown score caste supporter, aren’t you?
In short, according to Qian Shen’s worldview, high scores meant you were awesome, elite, confident, and superior, while low scores meant you were trash.
This was the worldview he had built over the years, the foundation of his confidence as a top student, and even the unspoken rule of all elite high schools.
"Humph, if you don’t want to admit it, fine."
"But I’ll report this to the school. I hope you’ll show your true abilities in the next monthly exam and not score a measly 550 again."
As Qian Shen walked away, Zhang Yu felt like he had been insulted, but also like he hadn’t.
Bai Zhenzhen, however, nodded thoughtfully.
"Among all his nonsense, there’s one thing you should pay attention to."
"The school will definitely find out about what happened here, and they might approach you for a contract."
"Contract?" Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen curiously.
He had vaguely heard about this before, but the details were always hazy.
Bai Zhenzhen explained, "You know, not everyone in high school is as rich as Qian Shen’s family."
"For many poor but talented students with good grades, they need someone to invest in them."
"And the school itself is one of the investors."
"Usually, after the start of the second year, based on the students’ performance and grades in the first year, the school selects a group of outstanding students to sign contracts with and invest in them."
"Of course, there are also a few students who are so exceptionally talented and brilliant that, to prevent them from being snatched up by others, the school will approach them about contracts as early as the first year."
At this, Bai Zhenzhen puffed out her chest.
"Like me."
Zhang Yu asked, "Why didn’t you tell me about this before?"
Bai Zhenzhen shot him a look, as if to say, "Do you really need me to spell out what you were like before?"
Bai Zhenzhen continued, "Given your performance at the art exhibition, the school will definitely talk to you about a contract. Whether you sign it or not..."
Seeing the conflicted expression on Bai Zhenzhen’s face, Zhang Yu asked, "Is it really that hard to decide?"
Bai Zhenzhen sighed.
"It’s not exactly hard to decide. Actually, based on your personal situation, it’s pretty straightforward."
"The hard part is whether your self-assessment is accurate or not."
Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu seriously and asked, "For example, what cheat did you use to comprehend the Heavenly Martial Diagram this time?"
But halfway through, she waved her hand.
"Never mind, it’s not my place to ask. You don’t have to tell me."
"In any case, if you’re absolutely confident about getting into one of the Ten Great Universities, then don’t sign the contract now."
"On the other hand, if you’re not confident about getting into the Ten Greats and just want to go to an ordinary university, then as long as the contract isn’t too bad, just sign it."
Zhang Yu pondered this and asked a few more questions about the school and the contract.
As the two were talking, someone else approached Zhang Yu—a charming and lovely young girl.
"Hi, classmate. You were really cool just now. Can I get your contact info?"
Similar things had happened many times since Zhang Yu comprehended the Heavenly Martial Diagram.
Even Lian Tianji from Ziyun High School had asked for his contact info.
Zhang Yu was gradually getting used to it.
He sighed inwardly and added her.
"Haha, even pretty girls are coming to me now?"
Zhang Yu asked, "Which school are you from?"
The girl replied, "I’m Wu Qingqing from Sacred Maiden Academy, in the advanced class."
Zhang Yu’s face stiffened.
In the world of Kunxu, someone who looked like a man might not necessarily be a man, but students from the advanced class of Sacred Maiden Academy... they were definitely men before.
Wu Qingqing seemed to sense the change in Zhang Yu’s expression and smiled slightly.
"Oh, you’re quite old-fashioned, aren’t you?"
"Do you think our class is full of people who got into the advanced high school by taking advantage of the system, but actually have terrible grades?"
"Let me tell you, the top students in our class are no worse than you. You’ll see in the next city-wide exam."
Zhang Yu watched her retreating figure speechlessly.
No, that’s not what I was thinking about.
Kunxu, this damn place, even transgender people have to check their scores first, huh.
"Congratulations," Zhou Tianyi walked over from the side.
"Did you sign a contract with the Golden Core Master?"
Zhang Yu looked at Zhou Tianyi and suddenly remembered that the guy had been pretty much invisible during the Heavenly Martial Diagram test earlier.
For the rest of the day, Zhang Yu continued his duties as a security guard, exchanging a few words with both familiar and unfamiliar guests.
By the time his security shift was completely over, his savings had increased by 1,600 yuan plus the 10,000 yuan, skyrocketing to 13,300 yuan.
After paying off the remaining 5,000 yuan loan for the month, Zhang Yu’s account balance dropped to 8,300 yuan, but at least he no longer had to worry about debt collectors for the time being.
(End of Chapter)