After listening to his uncle's words,
Li Yuan immediately thought of the trainees at numerous entertainment agencies.
It seemed like a common tale.
When big stars switch agencies, the contracts they sign are often very lenient.
Trainees? A 9:1 split in their favor was considered quite good.
Even more so, many agencies had no intention of nurturing trainees, instead planning to profit from their breach of contract fees.
"Don't worry too much."
In the holographic projection, Li Changzhou seemed to notice Li Yuan's concerns, and with a smile said, "Martial Artists accumulate personal might within themselves, the more powerful they are, the harder they are to restrict. A peak Martial Path master possesses the might to destroy heaven and earth... Even if you sign a contract early, it's not as dark as you imagine."
"In fact, if you can sign early, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks." A rare trace of regret appeared on Li Changzhou's face as he sighed, "Your aunt and I have limited abilities."
"Uncle, don't talk like that, what you've done is more than enough," Li Yuan interrupted Li Changzhou, then asked, "What should I do now, Uncle?"
"According to your Uncle Zhong, he wants to talk to you in person," Li Changzhou said. "I guess he wants to take a closer look at your Martial Path talent... This is a good thing."
"Set a time to meet with your Uncle Zhong first, then talk."
"But no matter what terms they offer, do not agree to anything. Wait until they put out their terms, then get in touch with me," Li Changzhou instructed. "You've just turned seventeen... you have talent in Martial Path, keep working hard and maybe Starfire Martial Hall will approach you too."
"Additionally, with you entering the Blue Star Youth Rankings, the country should also reach out through the school, and there's a chance they'll recruit you early."
"You should think about it carefully first, and I'll also contact some classmates to find out more about the situation."
"This will determine the path of your life."
Li Yuan nodded.
He had understood what he needed to do; it was to showcase his talent and then choose the best contract to sign.
"Alright, let's stop here for today, I need to start work," Li Changzhou said with a smile.
The communication was cut off.
"Special recruitment?"
"Early signing with Starry Sky Martial Hall?" Li Yuan put down his smart wristband, muttering to himself as he calmed down, "No rush."
"I've only awoken my Mind Spirit Divine Palace a year ago."
"From now until the college entrance exam, as my spiritual power increases, my Martial Arts Skills will improve even faster, and my control over my body will become even greater." Li Yuan's eyes sparked with a light, "Hence, my efficiency in practicing the 'Solid Rock Cultivation Technique' will be higher."
"Unable to cultivate High-Rank Cultivation Methods? The rate of my physical quality improvement is still not slow."
Over the past year, Li Yuan's physical quality had been improving faster and faster, surpassing most students in the Elite Class.
Why?
It was due to his rapidly improving Martial Arts Skills and his continuous cultivation of the 'Observing the Great Sun Starry Sky Scripture'.
"Practice spear."
Li Yuan calmed his mind, took out a large spear from the weapon cabinet at his side, and silently pondered over his Spear Technique.
More than an hour later.
[Your Spear Technique level has increased from Third Stage 48% to Third Stage 49%]
"On weekdays, I ponder over the Spear Technique in reality."
"Every weekend, I hone my skills in virtual combat. The combination of the two indeed provides a rapid improvement," said Li Yuan with a hint of a smile. "Since the start of school up to now, my Third Stage Spear Technique has improved nearly 20%."
This kind of progress within less than a month would be terrifying to share.
...
The Martial Hall is a very special organization.
It is somewhat akin to a multinational corporation, but not exactly the same.
The three major Martial Hall branches are highly independent within their respective nations.
Ordinary departments have no authority over them; only the Martial Arts Department does.
Starry Sky Martial Hall, Guan Mountain District branch.
This is a twelve-story, incredibly large circular building that is much larger than an average commercial complex and not too far from Guan Mountain District's First High School.
In an office on the twelfth floor, the decoration is quite luxurious.
"Dong~ Dong~" The sound of knocking on the door.
"Master, it's First Rank Martial Artist 'Zhong Cheng'." A gentle voice echoed in the office.
"Open the door, let him in," a slightly cold female voice emanated from the resting area.
Click~ The door opened.
A middle-aged man in a black suit entered the office and came to the center, giving a slight nod and said, "Vice Hall Master Song."
If it were an insider from the Starry Sky Martial Hall's Guan Mountain District branch, they would immediately understand who the office's owner was — one of the three vice hall masters, 'Song Yi'.
The Guan Mountain District branch was only a five-rank branch of the Starry Sky Martial Hall.
Even so, the power of a vice hall master was astonishing and not within reach of an ordinary martial artist.
A young woman with a slender figure, whose loose martial attire couldn't hide her shapely body, walked out from a side resting room.
She wore no makeup, but her skin was fair, with a melon seed-shaped face, and her eyes were extremely sharp.
In her every move and stance, she exuded an invisible aura that revealed her extraordinary martial arts cultivation.
"Zhong Cheng, how is the contact going?" Song Yi asked the man in the suit, her gaze sharp.
"I've spoken with Li Yuan's guardian today, and they agreed to our contact," Zhong Cheng nodded and said, "Additionally, I've had two encounters with Li Yuan and am familiar with his situation... The young man is decent and quite diligent in his training."
"However, it seems that neither Starfire Martial Hall nor the Martial Arts Hall has reached out to Li Yuan," Zhong Cheng said.
"It's better that they haven't made contact." Song Yi's red lips curved into a smile, "If the Martial Arts Hall had reached out, wouldn't our hopes be much reduced?"
"In Xia Country, most martial arts prodigies eventually choose special recruitment," Song Yi said, "For us to recruit, we mostly have to wait until they graduate from university."
Zhong Cheng couldn't help but nod.
"Vice Hall Master Song," Zhong Cheng hesitated before saying, "I have a good relationship with Li Yuan's family, but objectively speaking, I've specifically looked into Li Yuan's data."
"Starfire Martial Hall and the Martial Arts Hall haven't made any moves for a reason... Li Yuan has not awakened his Martial Spirit, and while his martial arts skills are not bad, they aren't exaggerated either," he explained.
"Hundreds of youths emerge every year on Blue Star's youth rankings in Jiangbei Province alone."
"And there are other age groups of martial arts prodigies..." Zhong Cheng expressed his doubt, "Is Li Yuan worth the great expense to sign him early?"
The laws of the Seven Star Alliance stated explicitly:
To sign a contract with a minor before term, the individual must be at least twelve years old.
Next, they must provide cultivation resources worth at least one million Blue Star Coins each year, for no less than six years.
Moreover, the one million Blue Star Coins provided yearly cannot include so-called 'instruction by a master' or 'training premises.'
At least half of it must be monetary rewards, and the rest must be tangible resources like qi and blood potions.
It was designed to prevent Martial Halls from signing people indiscriminately.
This meant.
Signing early would cost the Starry Sky Martial Hall at least six million Blue Star Coins or more, not including other indirect expenses — a truly astonishing price.
"Under normal circumstances, Li Yuan indeed wouldn't be worth us signing early," Song Yi said slowly, "However, he has something special about him."
"Special?" Zhong Cheng was taken aback.
Whoosh~
Suddenly, an abundance of light shot down from the ceiling, forming a projection screen displaying copious amounts of data, text, images, and videos.
"What's this?" Zhong Cheng was puzzled.
"The Starry Skies Fighting Network, which our Starry Sky Martial Hall directly controls," Song Yi said with a mysterious smile, "We're also the primary shareholders in the entire virtual network's controls."
"By the Seven Star Alliance's agreements, a lot of information from the Starry Skies Fighting Network must be shared with the other two major Martial Halls and the host country."
"So, whether it is the Starfire Martial Hall or the Xia Country Martial Arts Department, they would know immediately if Li Yuan entered the Blue Star youth rankings... but specific match intelligence, winning rates about Li Yuan, we would not pass on to them," she said.
"Just take a look, and you'll understand," Song Yi pointed at the projection.
Zhong Cheng immediately started clicking through the screen, browsing through Li Yuan's data.
Soon.
Zhong Cheng realized something was amiss.
"He completed 196 virtual battles within a single day?" Zhong Cheng was a bit shocked, "How did he manage that? Can his mental consciousness endure it?"
He immediately scrolled forward through the history records.
He was shocked to discover.
In the past three months, nearly every weekend, Li Yuan would engage in high-intensity virtual combat, the fewest being around ninety battles, and sometimes exceeding two hundred.
"This? This!"
"Li Yuan's spiritual power?" Zhong Cheng's eyes lit up, already realizing, he blurted out, "Is it at a martial artist level?"
"A ninety percent probability," she said.
"Although we haven't conducted a detailed test yet, by my estimation, his spiritual power is at least level 11," Song Yi said with a smile, "Add to that his martial arts skills."
"Do you think he is qualified for us to sign him early?"