From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword-Chapter 190 - 158: A Famous Quenching Master of Later Generations

It was once again the activity day for the Flame Emblem.

Today, the Flame Emblem Club building was especially lively, even members who had not obtained qualifications to enter the event would come to the club, hoping for a chance to sneak into Quenching Castle.

As the number of members of the Flame Emblem Club continued to increase, it became necessary to queue for each event, with some waiting a month or even two without their turn coming up.

"Why can't it ever be my turn? I've been queuing for over a month now, and it's always queuing, queuing..."

A middle-aged Quenching Master, very indignant, ranted at the reception desk of the Flame Emblem Club: "I've paid the membership fee too, a million for membership, do you think that money's blown in by the wind?"

The receptionist at the Flame Emblem Club was accustomed to this kind of situation and responded with a smile, "Mr. Yuan, our club requires a pre-deposit of one million for joining, but this is not the membership fee – you can spend this one million in the club.

"Moreover, if you are not satisfied with the club's services, I can help you with the withdrawal process, and the pre-deposited amount will be fully refunded.

"Would you like to proceed with the withdrawal, Mr. Yuan? I can assist with that right away."

"No... no need, I don't want to withdraw," the middle-aged Quenching Master, identified as Mr. Yuan, immediately backed down, frantically waving his hand.

"Then is there anything else you need?" the receptionist asked with a smile.

"How much longer do I have to wait before it's my turn?" Mr. Yuan, the Quenching Master, asked dejectedly.

"I don't know that either, as I don't have the authority to check the queuing system," the receptionist replied with a smile.

"But I really need to enter Quenching Castle. I can't just keep waiting in vain – is there any way you can talk to your boss for me..."

Mr. Yuan's tone became softer and more pleading: "Please, I'm a Quenching Master. As long as you let me into Quenching Castle, I'll agree to any conditions.

"I'm out of options here, I need to make some money, please help me."

The receptionist maintained her smile and said, "Sorry, Mr. Yuan, there is nothing I can do."

In fact.

Competition for membership in the Flame Emblem Club was fierce, as the major consortia all wanted to send people into Quenching Castle, even driving up the entry standards to the tens of millions level.

However, Lu Heng felt that ordinary Superpower Users should be given a chance, otherwise, soon all those entering Quenching Castle would be those handpicked by the big consortia.

Therefore, the Flame Emblem maintained the standard of a pre-deposit of one million for joining.

It's just that after joining, members needed to queue to enter Quenching Castle.

Outside, the entry tickets for Quenching Castle obtained through queuing had already been speculated by the major consortia to tens of millions.

However, if the club found out that someone was buying or selling entry tickets, they would directly cancel their entry qualifications and then expel them from membership.

Even so, some consortia operated in secret.

As Mr. Yuan, the Quenching Master, was speaking with the receptionist.

Lu Heng walked into the hall of the Flame Emblem Club and happened to hear this Mr. Yuan's conversation with the reception desk, so he turned his head for a glance as he passed by.

When he saw the Quenching Master, he felt he looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, so he stopped in his tracks.

Upon seeing Lu Heng enter, the manager of the Flame Emblem Club immediately came over to greet him: "President Lu, President Lin mentioned today that you would be coming; everything has been arranged for the event, let me lead you there."

Mr. Yuan, upon hearing the club manager's words and noticing his respectful demeanor, immediately realized that this young man who had arrived must be a big shot.

He quickly advanced a few steps forward and introduced himself: "Hello, President Lu, my name is Yuan Hecheng. I am a Quenching Master, my Talent is 'High Temperature Balance,' and I would like to enter Quenching Castle for an evaluation. I have been queuing for a very long time."

The club manager, seeing someone disturbing the boss, quickly signaled the security over.

If this Yuan Hecheng suddenly did something rash, it would be his – the manager's – dereliction of duty, which would cost him his job.

Lu Heng paused when he heard the name "Yuan Hecheng."

Because this name was famous in the future – it was well-known in the Coastal area and even nationwide as a distinguished Quenching Master.

Actually, just from his self-introduction of the Talent "High Temperature Balance," it was obvious.

This Talent could maintain a constant temperature range in the Quenching Furnace, greatly increasing the success rate of Quenching.

With this Talent, he was bound to achieve success in the profession of a Quenching Master.

The security rushed over, ready to remove the man.

Lu Heng raised his hand to stop the security's action, then said, "Let him come in with me."

Yuan Hecheng, who had just seen the security closing in, was prepared to resist, but then the situation turned on a dime, and suddenly he saw a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

Once inside a conference room.

After sitting down, Lu Heng took the initiative to ask, "You're a Quenching Master?"

Yuan Hecheng quickly nodded in response: "Yes, I'm a Quenching Master."

The current Yuan Hecheng was not as renowned as he would be in later years.

In the future, wherever he appeared, he would be surrounded by many people.

After all, a Quenching Grandmaster during the Abyss Descent Era was a very rare resource.

The current Yuan Hecheng, however, was disheveled, with tousled hair and a beard, a far cry from the prestigious Quenching Grandmaster he remembered, and so Lu Heng, at first glance, only thought he looked familiar and did not recognize him.

Lu Heng was curious and asked, "Have any consortia invested in you?"

Yuan Hecheng first nodded, then quickly shook his head: "Someone approached me about it, but I didn't agree."

"Why didn't you agree?" Lu Heng continued.

"The conditions they offered were too harsh. If I signed the contract, they would invest in me and arrange for my entry into Quenching Castle. Only after passing the Quenching Castle evaluation would I receive a decent treatment, and if I didn't pass, I'd only receive a basic salary," Yuan Hecheng candidly explained the situation.

Since Quenching Castle is currently the only place on Blue Star with a Quenching Furnace, and the emergence of the Flame Emblem Club has become the only channel to enter Quenching Castle.

After Chunshang Group withdrew from Da Xia, other consortia also found that investing in Quenching Masters made it very hard to get a return.

In such a situation, the major consortia did not directly give up on the occupation of Quenching Master. They continued to invest, but the contracts became more and more stringent.

Because if the consortia wanted to train a Quenching Master, they had to get past the hurdle of Quenching Castle.

But to send a Quenching Master into Quenching Castle, a large sum of money had to be invested.

What frustrated the consortia even more was that so far, not a single Quenching Master had managed to pass the assessment at Quenching Castle.

Not one.

This meant that, so far, the money the consortia had invested in Quenching Masters had all been in vain.

As for entering Abyss World for Quenching, this approach was not profitable.

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Because Hengyu had pushed the guaranteed success rate of Quenching up to 75%.

This guaranteed figure was too excessive, directly causing the consortia to be unable to recoup their investments in the industry of Quenching.

These consortia were unable to recoup their investments in the Quenching Masters they funded, yet they could not give up on the Quenching market.

What to do?

They could only continue to invest and then sign increasingly stringent contracts with Quenching Masters.

Now a strange situation had formed where the number of Quenching Masters was increasing, but there was only one Quenching Furnace on Blue Star.

This caused the Quenching Furnace to be scarce, while Quenching Masters turned out to be not so rare.

Therefore, when the consortia signed contracts with Quenching Masters, the terms started at ten years, and there were even demands for fifteen-year terms.

Moreover, the terms of the contracts were very harsh.

After signing the contract, the consortium would spend money to send the Quenching Masters into Quenching Castle for assessment.

If the assessment was passed, their treatment would naturally skyrocket, but if they failed, they could only get a very low basic salary.

As for taking on Quenching Orders, that was impossible to achieve.

...

Having just seen Lu Heng's visibly agitated demeanor, clearly under great pressure, Lu Heng had asked,

"Why are you in such a hurry to enter Quenching Castle if no consortium is investing in you? If you queue patiently, your turn will eventually come."

Yuan Hecheng quickly stood up, his tone anxious as he said, "No, I must enter Quenching Castle as soon as possible."

There was obviously a reason for his urgency.

Lu Heng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Why the hurry?"

Yuan Hecheng's expression showed difficulty, and after hesitating a few times, he finally let out a sigh and said, "I urgently need money."

"How much do you need?" Lu Heng continued to ask, wanting to understand the situation of the future prominent Quenching Master more clearly.

Especially his background.

This was very important.

If he had already signed with other consortia, and was a Quenching Master arranged by them, then there was no need for Lu Heng to step in to help.

Yuan Hecheng held up one finger and said, "At least ten million."

Ten million, for a famous Quenching Master, was just a drop in the bucket.

For the major consortia as well, but for ordinary people, it might be more money than they would ever see in their lifetimes.

Lu Heng then asked, "Is there no consortium willing to invest ten million in you?"

Yuan Hecheng sighed, his tone helpless as he said, "There are consortia willing to invest, but the money isn't given directly to me. The contract stipulates that the money can only be used for Quenching. Plus, there would be a specific agent responsible for managing the funds. I wouldn't be able to access a dime."

Lu Heng thought for a moment, then asked, "Have you talked to them about an advance on your compensation?"

Yuan Hecheng nodded and replied, "I've discussed it. I talked to the people at Dingsheng. If they were willing to advance me ten million, I'd be willing to sign a fifteen-year indenture agreement. But they didn't agree, thinking it would be hard to recoup the costs.

"I also understand the current situation. Only by passing the assessment at Quenching Castle can one gain value. Otherwise, even as a Quenching Master, no one would be willing to advance so much money.

"That's why I had to come here myself, hoping to try my luck."

After hearing his response, Lu Heng understood the purpose of his visit to the club.

His strategy was indeed correct.

As long as he could enter Quenching Castle and pass Gulu's assessment, his value would skyrocket a thousandfold once he got out.

By then, it wouldn't be him asking those consortia anymore; they would be the ones presenting him with blank checks, waiting for him to write the amount.

Yet, so far, not a single Quenching Master had managed to pass Gulu's assessment.

This was also the reason Dingsheng Consortium was unwilling to advance him ten million in compensation.

Lu Heng thought for a while, then asked, "Why are you in such a hurry for ten million?"

This amount of money wasn't really a lot for a successful Quenching Master.

He just needed to develop slowly, and in the future, he could earn much more than this figure.

Yuan Hecheng took a deep breath, remained silent for a long time before answering, "Because... my daughter has been conscripted, and she's only ten years old..."