Chapter 95: Chapter 77: Signing the Contract

For example, some divine or demonic arts require specific environments or treasures to cultivate. You can spend cultivation points to acquire them.

They can also be used to redeem a suitable High-Tier saber technique legacy for you, and to cover the exorbitant fees for personal guidance from saber masters, Intent-realm experts, or even Soul-realm mentors.

The standard offer is a one-time payment of sixty million core cultivation points!"

When Minnie from the Virtual Company and the others heard ’a one-time payment of sixty million,’ the corners of their eyes couldn’t help but twitch. This level of support clearly exceeded the limits of their own proposals.

"Li Wen," Sun Zhenshan’s gaze was like a furnace, incredibly piercing, "the Fire Hall is based on Blue Star, guarding the eternal flame of the Human Race!

Our commitment to investing resources is unparalleled by others from across the Star River. Your home is here, your foundation is here!

Joining the Fire Hall is a hidden dragon returning to the abyss, a fierce tiger returning to the mountains! Your future will be limitless!"

Sun Zhenshan’s frank and incredibly generous offer—especially the S-rank promotion track, half a set of foundation-building treasures, and the sixty million core cultivation points—left the representatives of the other three major powers speechless.

The Fire Hall had gone all out this time, practically shutting down all competition.

Minnie from the Virtual Company sighed softly, gave a helpless smile, and elegantly put away her data slate.

Lu Xiong from the Mercenary Alliance smacked his lips and shrugged with a hint of regret.

The female representative from Galaxy Bank wanted to say something more, but upon seeing the look of absolute certainty in Sun Zhenshan’s eyes and the light shining in Li Wen’s, her words ultimately turned into a complicated blessing.

The result was self-evident.

Sunlight filtered through the shade of the trees at the edge of the field, dappling Li Wen’s young, yet already sharp, face.

He took a deep breath and looked at Sun Zhenshan with a determined gaze.

"Director Sun, thank you for the Fire Hall’s trust! I choose to join the Fire Hall!"

As his words fell, the entire crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

"Excellent! Decisive enough!" Sun Zhenshan praised loudly. "I’ll have someone draw up a contract shortly. You can head to the Fire Hall’s Bluestone City branch tomorrow."

"Yes," Li Wen nodded.

"Then I won’t disturb you any further." Sun Zhenshan glanced at the surrounding crowd and patted Li Wen’s shoulder before being the first to leave.

Seeing that the dust had settled, the others also said their goodbyes and departed.

...

When all the commotion finally died down and the crowd had dispersed, only Li Wen and Fang Chengwu were left on the quiet path back to the Flying Star Class’s private Martial Arts Room.

"You did very well, Li Wen," Fang Chengwu’s voice was gentle, yet filled with sincere praise.

"Far better than I imagined. Your composure, decisiveness, and control over your own limits far exceed those of your peers."

Li Wen bowed slightly. "It is all thanks to your excellent guidance, Teacher." The gratitude he felt for Fang Chengwu was beyond words.

Fang Chengwu waved his hand dismissively, stopped walking, and gazed toward the distant horizon with a profound look in his eyes.

"No need to be so modest. You earned all of this yourself. As for choosing the Fire Hall..."

He paused, his tone carrying an unquestionable certainty, "It was indeed the optimal choice."

Seeing the confused look in Li Wen’s eyes, he slowly explained:

"The information you’ve been exposed to so far has been limited to a single county or city. This vast Galactic Human Alliance has boundless territory, spanning four main habitable planets: Blue Star, Red Flame Star, Ice Soul Star, and Cangwu Star."

"The four top-tier powers each have their headquarters on one of those planets. The Virtual Company’s headquarters is on Cangwu Star, the Mercenary Alliance is rooted in Red Flame Star, and Galaxy Bank dominates Ice Soul Star."

Fang Chengwu’s gaze returned to Li Wen, sharp and bright:

"And the headquarters of the Fire Hall is right here on Blue Star! It is rooted here, its influence permeates every aspect of the Blue Star Federation, making it the undisputed number one power on Blue Star! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the uncrowned king of Blue Star."

"Its resources, heritage, and the level of importance and support it gives to local Blue Star geniuses are incomparable to the branches of the other three, which are located far across the Star Sea. Your roots are here, and so are more of your opportunities."

"Director Sun’s astonishing offer on behalf of the Fire Hall was certainly a recognition of your talent, but it also has a great deal to do with the headquarters being on Blue Star.

With another power on another planet, not only would resource allocation be more difficult, but they might not have been willing to give you so many core benefits.

That S-rank promotion clause, the promise of that set of foundation-building treasures, and especially that one-time payment of sixty million core cultivation points... it’s all thanks to this home-field advantage."

"So," Fang Chengwu patted Li Wen’s shoulder, his voice earnest,

"make good use of these unprecedented resources. Don’t let down this good fortune, and don’t let down the land that raised you."

Understanding dawned on Li Wen. So that was the deeper meaning behind it all.

"I understand, Teacher. I will give it my all!"

Fang Chengwu nodded in satisfaction:

"Go on, then. Familiarize yourself with the specific permissions and resource usage outlined in the contract.

You also need to start planning for the foundation-building treasures. The other four treasures you have to find yourself, while not as rare as the four the Fire Hall promised to provide, will by no means be easy to acquire. You need to plan ahead. Time waits for no one."

"Yes, Teacher!" Li Wen bowed respectfully and watched Fang Chengwu leave.

He raised his head and gazed at the vast, starry sky.

The Star Sea is distant, but Blue Star is the foundation.

The path at his feet had just been laid. Awaiting him was a journey of even greater magnificence.

...

「The next morning.」

Li Wen took a leave of absence from the Flying Star Class and set off for the Fire Hall’s Bluestone City branch.

The branch was located in the core area of Bluestone City, its presence solemn and imposing.

Just as Li Wen stepped into the spacious and bright lobby, a capable-looking middle-aged man in a standard Fire Hall uniform strode over to greet him.

"Hello, you must be Li Wen? We’ve been expecting you." The middle-aged man said with a warm smile.

"My name is Wang Hai. I’m the steward at this branch in charge of handling contracts for talented students. Director Sun gave special instructions. This way, please."

Li Wen nodded in acknowledgment. "Hello, Steward Wang."

He then followed Wang Hai across the lobby and took a private elevator straight to the fifteenth floor, the top floor.

The environment on the fifteenth floor was even quieter and more elegant.

In an office with distinguished furnishings and a wide, open view, Li Wen met the new Hall Master of the Bluestone City branch—a man who looked to be about fifty, with a calm and gentle gaze.

The previous Hall Master had apparently been replaced after taking responsibility for the last Demon Beast attack.

"Li Wen, welcome. I am the new Hall Master of the Bluestone City branch, Chen Yuanfeng."

Hall Master Chen stood up. His attitude was very polite, without a hint of arrogance.

"Director Sun gave me a detailed account of your situation yesterday. Your heavenly talent is a delight to see. It is our honor that you chose the Fire Hall."

After a brief but sincere exchange, during which Hall Master Chen once again expressed the branch’s high regard and welcome, he confirmed that the core terms of the contract were correct.

The signing process was exceptionally smooth. The A-rank seed contract was quickly signed in triplicate, with one copy given to Li Wen for his safekeeping.

Afterward, Steward Wang led Li Wen once more.

They didn’t leave the fifteenth floor immediately. Instead, they first toured the branch’s main functional areas.

As they walked, Wang Hai explained:

"This floor is mainly the Hall Master’s office area and the highest-level strategic decision room. Floors twelve to fourteen are exclusive areas for our core members and top-tier talent, equipped with private cultivation zones, gravity rooms, meditation rooms, and so on. The eleventh floor is..."

During the tour, Wang Hai pointed out specifically:

"Only those with an A-rank contract like yours, as well as the branch’s upper management, have permission to use the facilities on floors eleven to fourteen. The fourteenth floor, in particular, has the best and quietest environment."

Sure enough, the feeling was completely different when they arrived on the fourteenth floor.

The corridors here were wide and covered with soft carpets. They were lined with closed, heavily secured private rooms.

Wang Hai led Li Wen to one of the doors. After the smart recognition system on the door scanned Li Wen’s identification badge, it slid open silently.

"This is your personal Martial Arts Room. For a long time to come, this will be your exclusive space."

Wang Hai explained as they entered. The room was spacious and bright, filled with new, high-end training equipment. It also had an accompanying rest area, an access port for a small virtual pod, and an excellent view from the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

After getting him settled, Wang Hai took some more time to explain in detail the difference between Fire Hall points and core cultivation points, and their respective uses:

"Li Wen, the annual salary of five million Huaxia Coins and the five million Fire Hall points mentioned in your contract have already begun the transfer process. They should arrive soon.

As for the core cultivation points, the sixty million is a one-time payment, so there might be a slight delay. They are meant to support your most crucial Martial Dao growth needs."

He emphasized, "Fire Hall points are like our internal hard currency. You can use them at most resource points and shops within the branch and the Alliance to exchange for various common materials, equipment, living necessities, and even some external services.

Core cultivation points are different. They are used exclusively for redeeming high-level knowledge, top-tier Cultivation Technique legacies, and the like."

Finally, Wang Hai took out a special tablet and handed it to Li Wen.

"To make it convenient for you to use your points, check your permissions, and access information, please download and link this special software for internal Fire Hall members.

All point transactions, resource information, and important notices will be updated here in real time. Oh, right," he added,

"if you want to familiarize yourself with the Fire Hall’s various information, functions, and resource network more intuitively and quickly, the most convenient way is to use the virtual pod here to connect to the ’Fire Hall Member Network.’

It’s an ocean of information, far more detailed and intuitive than anything we can explain in the real world."

With all the instructions given, Wang Hai politely took his leave.

In the vast, private Martial Arts Room, only Li Wen remained.

He stood still for a moment, soaking in the feeling of this brand-new, powerful sanctuary that was his and his alone.

Then, the latest model internal communicator on his wrist emitted a crisp notification sound.

"BEEP! Your Fire Hall A-rank contract account has been credited with your annual base signing bonus of 5,000,000 Huaxia Coins. 5,000,000 Fire Hall points have been credited simultaneously. Please check your account."

Almost at the same time, a text message confirming the deposit of the five-million-coin fortune was sent to the personal phone he had linked to the internal software.

Li Wen picked up his phone and stared at the long string of zeros on the screen. A powerful sense of unreality and immense excitement instantly washed over him.

He leaned back in the soft chair, taking several deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

’This isn’t some distant goal or fantasy anymore. This is a ladder of power, real and tangible, right in my hands.’