High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Pros and Cons of the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos

Celestial Sea City Martial Arts Education Bureau.

The Director’s Office.

The walls of the room were made of a special material, adjusting the office’s ambient temperature to the optimal state.

In the center of the room, a large desk occupied a prominent position. Its surface was made of specially tempered glass with a built-in projection system.

At the desk was an intelligent, ergonomically designed chair.

A tall, middle-aged man with a resolute and profound expression sat there. His hair was slicked back, and he looked vigorous and full of spirit.

His sharp gaze was fixed on the data tables projected in front of him.

Among them were several application forms for the ”genius loan.”

His fingers swiped deftly across the projections.

”Approved!”

”Denied!”

Soon, he reached the last application form and suddenly frowned.

’Lin Qi from Tianhai No. 2 Middle School... That’s Old Jiang’s school. That fellow always likes to exaggerate his students’ potential.’

The middle-aged man shook his head with a wry smile.

He then tapped open the file to browse it, which contained an incredibly detailed personal profile.

’In just three months, he went from 100th in the grade to 18th.’

’This student certainly has potential, but he still doesn’t qualify for the special-grade genius loan.’

’However, he’s worth keeping a close eye on. If he can break into the top ten in the midterm assessment, then the special-grade loan will be no problem.’ With this thought, he made his decision.

As the director of the Martial Arts Education Bureau, he had many matters to handle every day.

After dealing with the genius loans, he turned to a new file.

’In recent years, the Martial Arts Students from Bailu City have caught up. They’re now on par with Celestial Sea City, and there’s even a trend of them surpassing us.’

’Now that the Red Realm is becoming more integrated into daily life, they’ve already begun preparing for Martial Arts exchanges within the Red Realm.’

’They’re so proactive. In contrast, we here in Celestial Sea City have been a bit too conservative.’

The middle-aged man shook his head.

...

In the office area on the same floor, Little Li was processing documents.

”BEEP!”

A projected document opened in front of him. He tapped it to view the contents.

”It’s the genius loan applications!”

Little Li scanned through them quickly. When he saw that Lin Qi’s application for a first-grade genius loan had been approved, a smile immediately spread across his face.

”How is that possible!”

A female colleague not far away cried out, her face filled with disbelief.

”How could Lin Qi possibly pass the review for a first-grade genius loan? This has to be fake.”

”Right, it must be fake. Forged.”

”I’m going to file a complaint!” The female colleague’s face was ashen.

”Don’t be a fool. This was personally reviewed and approved by the director.”

”Are you implying there’s something wrong with the director?” Little Li said smugly.

”Well...” The female colleague’s imposing manner instantly deflated.

”You shouldn’t look down on people. Who knows, maybe he’ll become a big shot in the future.” Little Li felt a sense of satisfaction after saying this.

Hearing this, the female colleague’s expression soured, and she fell silent.

...

「A week flew by in the blink of an eye.」

Martial Arts Classroom

”BANG! BANG!!”

Lin Qi’s arms moved like a white crane spreading its wings, whipping through the air. As his crane claws struck out, the air vibrated, producing a series of crisp cracks.

His movements were lively and his dodges nimble. He alternated between action and stillness, waiting for an opportunity to strike while on the defensive.

His body grew hot as strands of Qi Blood surged into every corner, refining it bit by bit.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, but Lin Qi didn’t feel tired. Instead, he felt an endless power welling up inside him.

In moments of intense movement, every single muscle was being exercised.

Tiger Form Fist, Crane Form Fist—he alternated between the two Fist Techniques. The two completely different ways of exerting force felt wonderful to him.

Lin Qi had an epiphany. Each Fist Technique utilized muscles differently; a single technique couldn’t effectively train every muscle in the body.

Therefore, the Refinement effect of two Fist Techniques was definitely stronger than just one.

”ROAR—”

After an unknown amount of time, scorching Qi Blood rushed into his chest. Lin Qi’s presence reached its peak, and with a great shout, he let out a deafening tiger’s roar.

[Through exercise, your Qi and Blood Value has broken through. Qi and Blood Value +0.05]

[By practicing Tiger Form Fist and Crane Form Fist, your Fist Technique proficiency has increased. Fist Technique +1%]

[Qi and Blood Value: 8.4→8.45]

[Fist Technique: Tier Two 13%→14%]

...

”Huuuh—”

Lin Qi stood in place, his breathing heavy. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and his arms trembled, aching unbearably.

He walked to the side, picked up a sports drink, and took a few gulps before glancing at the time.

’Class is almost over. Time to go get dinner.’

...

During evening self-study, there was still some time before class began.

Lin Qi sat at his desk reading. His life had been peaceful lately. He made full use of the Energy Potions and Crane Form Fist, and his daily progress was visible to the naked eye. He was very satisfied with his current lifestyle.

”By the way, have you signed with a Martial Arts Dojo yet?”

”The Chongming Martial Arts Dojo approached me this afternoon,” someone said. ”They offered me a D-level Contract and told me to think it over. I didn’t see any problem with it, so after talking it over with my parents, I signed on the spot.”

”Congratulations. None of the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos have approached me. Only some lesser-known dojos have,” his friend sighed quietly.

”Haha, I’ve already signed with the Obsidian Martial Arts Dojo! And it’s a C-level Contract,” someone announced smugly.

”A C-level Contract is nothing. I got a B-level Contract,” a handsome boy said, tilting his head back arrogantly.

”As expected of Qiu Jie, ranked tenth in our grade. That’s amazing.”

”Brother Qiu, tell us how you signed! What are the terms of the contract?”

The eyes of those around him were filled with envy.

Qiu Jie said proudly, ”Alright then, listen closely...”

A short while later, the crowd started discussing other things.

”According to the grapevine, Yu Jing and Qi Yuelin were both only offered B-level Contracts, but they’re holding out for A-level Contracts. The negotiations are at a standstill,” someone suddenly whispered.

”They’re not satisfied with a B-level Contract? I’d take it in a heartbeat!” someone said, their eyes red with envy.

”An A-level Contract... in our school, maybe only Li Zhou is qualified to sign one,” someone else said, shaking their head.

Lin Qi sat at his desk, silently listening to the other students’ discussions.

Lately, because of the Martial Arts Dojo signings, the atmosphere in the class had become quite restless.

”Brother Qi, have any Martial Arts Dojos tried to sign you recently?” his deskmate, Jiangtao, asked, leaning in curiously.

The two began to whisper.

Lin Qi shook his head. ”Yeah, but they were all small or mid-sized dojos. They wanted to talk about a contract, but I turned them all down.”

”I’m just waiting on the three top-tier dojos, but none of them have contacted me yet.”

Jiangtao comforted him, ”They’ll probably contact you in a day or two.”

”Over the past few days, all Three Great Martial Arts Dojos have spoken with me. The terms they offered were pretty similar. Let me tell you about the differences between them.”

Lin Qi nodded. He was also very curious about the contracts from the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos.

Jiangtao took out a piece of scratch paper, drew three circles, and labeled them as the three dojos. He organized his thoughts for a moment before speaking.

”Red Dome, Chongming, and Obsidian. These three top-tier Martial Arts Dojos were all founded by Ninth Realm Title Level Martial Artists from our Xia Country.”

”Among them, the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo was founded by the world’s number one powerhouse, Emperor Red, so its overall strength is the greatest.”

”It has the most profound foundation and the highest requirements for talent.”

Lin Qi nodded. The Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, just by virtue of being founded by Emperor Red, could attract countless geniuses.

”The Chongming Martial Arts Dojo, besides being founded by a Ninth Realm Martial Artist, is also backed by numerous financial consortiums. It possesses the strongest financial power in the Xia Country.”

”Therefore, the contract amounts from the Chongming Martial Arts Dojo are the highest. They have no shortage of money.”

”As for the Obsidian Martial Arts Dojo, their contract amounts are similar to Red Dome’s, but their requirements for talent are the lowest of the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos.”

”It’s the most suitable for geniuses who are in-between, or relatively ordinary.”

In one breath, Jiangtao laid out the characteristics of the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos.

”For a genius like me, there’s no difference between the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos. It just depends on who shows more sincerity.”

”Of course, the most important thing is you, Brother Qi. Whichever dojo you choose, I’ll go there too. I’m not in a hurry to sign, anyway,” Jiangtao said with a smile.

Lin Qi analyzed the situation silently.

’My situation is a bit complicated right now,’ Lin Qi thought. ’I have Talent, but I need time to grow. If the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos only look at my grades, they’ll probably offer me a C-level Contract.’

’Of course, that wouldn’t be unacceptable, since the contract can be upgraded.’

’So I want to see which dojo shows more sincerity.’

With this in mind, Lin Qi asked for more details about the contract contents of the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos, as well as the circumstances of the conversations.

Jiangtao told him everything he knew.

...