Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Carrot and Stick
"Brother Qi, you’re out!"
Lin Qi came out soon after, and Jiangtao rushed over enthusiastically.
"Brother Qi, you’re number one!"
Jiangtao gave him a thumbs-up and then a fist bump. The two of them looked at each other and grinned.
"So, how exactly did Lin Qi win?"
"Lin Qi’s Qi and Blood Value is lower than Qiu Jie’s, and in terms of Spear Technique, it felt like Qiu Jie was a bit stronger too. But Lin Qi ended up winning. It just doesn’t make sense to me."
Someone in the crowd suddenly shook their head and asked.
"Allow me to answer that!"
Zhang City stood up to speak. Once all eyes were on him, he began to explain:
"Qi and Blood Value and Skill are major factors in a battle, but they aren’t everything."
"Martial Arts is not a game. You can’t win just because your stats are higher."
"In a battle, elements like your mentality, judgment, decisiveness, and Prediction all affect the outcome."
"As for Qiu Jie, he deserved to lose. It’s useless to be bitter about it."
"Your Spear Technique isn’t bad, but your foundation isn’t solid. Your hands aren’t steady or precise enough. Lin Qi had several ways to defeat you during that fight."
"In the end, he chose a simple, Ordinary thrust to break your Killing Technique."
"Tenth in the grade?"
"I said you didn’t have to listen to my instruction. I thought you were supposed to be so good, but this is it?"
"Ask Lin Qi. Did he even use his full strength?"
Zhang City sneered, mercilessly roasting Qiu Jie.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qiu Jie’s face flushed beet red. His Qi Blood surged, and a nameless rage welled up in his chest, making him want to lash out.
Lin Qi watched the drama unfold from the sidelines, unable to suppress his admiration. ’Zhang City is truly amazing,’ he thought. ’He sees everything with perfect clarity.’
’Qiu Jie’s Spear Technique hasn’t even reached Tier Two. He’s not as good as Wu Feng was. There’s no way he could have beaten me.’
Faced with Zhang City, the furious Qiu Jie ultimately kept his composure and chose to turn and leave.
"Alright, the ten selected fighters will stay behind. The rest of you, head back to the Martial Arts Classroom," Zhang City suddenly announced.
The others started to file out.
"Lin Qi is incredible. He’s really on the rise now. Who would’ve thought?"
As the others left, snippets of their conversations reached Lin Qi’s ears.
In everyone’s eyes, Lin Qi had now become a prominent figure among the third-years, no longer the nobody he once was.
Soon, only Lin Qi and ten others were left in the Virtual Room.
"Lin Qi, you’re very good!" Zhang City said, looking at him with rare praise.
"It’s all thanks to your excellent guidance, sir," Lin Qi said humbly.
Zhang City nodded in satisfaction, then looked around at the ten students and said:
"In one week, the ten of you will represent our Tianhai No. 2 Middle School in competition."
"Your opponent will be Songbai Middle School from Bailu City. They’re very strong, a formidable rival. If you get careless, lose your matches, and cause our school to lose the exchange tournament..."
"Hmph. Then don’t blame everyone for tearing you apart."
"Songbai Middle School is also one of the top ten key middle schools in Bailu City, but they are benchmarked against our Celestial Sea City’s second-tier middle schools."
"Their overall strength is greater than ours. Unfortunately, we’ve been matched against them."
"I have only one requirement: secure the final victory."
Zhang City’s voice grew louder, and a powerful aura emanated from him.
The students frowned, feeling a heavy pressure. Their opponent was on par with a second-tier school; winning was going to be difficult.
"This exchange tournament isn’t just good practice for you. If you win, you’ll also get prize money."
"Each participating school and each city’s Martial Arts Education Bureau will put up 500,000 yuan, for a total of 2 million yuan."
"The winning side gets to take the entire 2 million yuan," Zhang City added.
Lin Qi’s eyes lit up. ’Two million yuan! Even if it were split evenly, I’d get 200,000.’
’Of course, it probably won’t be split evenly. The winners will likely get a bigger share.’ That thought alone was enough to motivate him.
"For the next week, seize this opportunity. Pour everything you have into your Cultivation and increase your strength."
"Alright, that’s all I’ll say. Dismissed. Lin Qi, stay behind," Zhang City said.
This time, the other nine students left, leaving only Lin Qi and Zhang City.
Zhang City looked at Lin Qi, growing more and more pleased, and broke into a smile.
"Lin Qi, I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. You’re even more outstanding than I imagined."
"How much of your strength did you use against Qiu Jie?"
Lin Qi pondered for a moment before replying, "Seventy percent."
"You beat Qiu Jie with only seventy percent of your strength... It seems there are very few in the top ten of your grade who are stronger than you."
Zhang City praised him again, his tone filled with even more admiration.
"Have you signed with a Martial Arts Dojo yet? A C-level Contract? Or a B-level Contract?" he asked suddenly.
Lin Qi shook his head. "Not yet. Chongming and the Obsidian Martial Arts Dojo both approached me, but they would only offer a C-level Contract."
"I don’t know about the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo. They haven’t contacted me yet."
Zhang City frowned. "That can’t be right. With your Talent, signing a B-level Contract should be no problem at all."
"It seems something’s gone wrong somewhere. Wait a little longer. The Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo might have good news for you."
Lin Qi nodded. He wasn’t in a rush. If he could get the prize money from the exchange tournament, he would be in even less of a hurry.
...
「Back in his Martial Arts Room」
Lin Qi changed into his Martial Arts Uniform, consumed an Energy Potion, picked up his Long Spear, and began to train.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
The Long Spear thrust out. Its tip quivered and its shaft vibrated, letting out a low hum.
A powerful aura radiated outwards like waves. Move after move, fierce and domineering, each thrust seemed powerful enough to shatter a mountain.
Lin Qi controlled the muscles in his arms, wielding the Long Spear to execute the style, power, and precision of his Spear Technique.
He replayed the recent battle in his mind.
’Qiu Jie’s strength... he was even weaker than I imagined.’
’His Spear Technique Realm is quite high, but his fundamentals are shaky. His thrusts are unstable, so I easily found an opening.’
’But it’s understandable. Practicing the basics is the most tedious work. Only someone like me could stick with it and build the most solid Foundation.’
Then, Lin Qi’s thoughts turned to the Martial Arts exchange tournament.
’The Martial Arts exchange tournament is in a week, and my opponent is from Songbai Middle School.’
’Their overall strength is higher, and the opponents won’t be as weak as Qiu Jie.’
Whether for the sake of facing a strong opponent or for the prize money, he had to improve his strength even more.
’I’ve already mastered my first Killing Technique. It’s time to develop a second one.’
Lin Qi thought to himself, setting his goals for the coming week:
Work hard to raise his Qi and Blood Value, push his Spear Technique toward Tier Two, and begin comprehending a second Killing Technique.
...
「That evening, at the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo」
In the underground garage, a burly man with a wild air and a powerful presence stepped out of a black luxury car. His every movement exuded an overwhelming aura.
"Finally back!"
The man stepped into his private elevator, which took him straight to the top floor of the Martial Arts Dojo.
The elevator doors opened to a spacious office. A massive desk sat in the center, with a large, brown bookshelf behind it.
He had just sat down when the doorbell chimed.
"Come in!"
The office door opened, and Manager Sunx, dressed in a black suit, walked in.
"Welcome back, Hall Master!"
"Is this your way of welcoming me back? By bringing me a mountain of work to deal with?"
Yue Feng was speechless. ’Some Vice Hall Master I am,’ he thought wryly. ’Born to a life of hard labor.’
"Alright, spit it out. What’s so urgent?"
"There’s a talented prospect with a unique situation. We’re not sure what kind of contract to offer him, so we need you to make the call, Hall Master."
"Oh?"
"Let me see," Yue Feng said, reaching out his hand with curiosity.
Manager Sunx took out a tablet, handed it to Yue Feng, and projected the enlarged file.
"’Lin Qi, student at Tianhai No. 2 Middle School...’"
Yue Feng quickly scanned the file, then mused for a moment before speaking.
"’This one is indeed difficult to judge. Let me think about it. I’ll give you an answer in due time.’"
"Understood!"
After Manager Sunx left, Yue Feng frowned. ’A Talent like this is a blind box. You never know what you’re going to get.’
’It’s not that we haven’t seen this type of Talent before. But only a rare few are the real deal. Most of them quickly sink into mediocrity.’
BEEP! BEEP!
Just as he was thinking this, his phone chimed. He took it out and looked at the screen.
’Zhang City?’ Yue Feng wondered. ’What’s this guy calling me for?’ He answered the call.
...
