Chapter 38: With Early Admission Secured, Who Else Can Compete?
Zhang Chu kept his head down and said nothing.
Zhang Xueying grew anxious.
As the director of admissions and the initiator of this non-employed martial artist competition, Zhang Yingxue hadn’t seen such a talented young person in ages.
He was of university age but had the martial artist rank of a lecturer.
Such talent.
If the Martial Arts Research Institute didn’t recruit him, the Martial Authority Bureau would surely try every means to bring him in.
“Mr. Zhang, could I have a word with you in private?”
Zhang Xueying swore to herself that she would pull Zhang Chu into her institution’s talent pool.
The others exchanged glances but dared not say a word.
Zhang Xueying was the director of admissions.
Her uncle was the deputy director of the Martial Arts Research Institute.
Who would dare object?
Inside the mentor’s lounge in the multimedia classroom, Zhang Xueying personally made tea for Zhang Chu.
Very soon, a hard copy of a contract was printed on the spot and placed before Zhang Chu.
Alongside it was a badge.
Zhang Chu glanced at them.
The contract was for “Talent Introduction to Binzhou Martial Arts Research Institute as a Counselor.”
The badge represented the status of a mentor at the institute.
“Mr. Zhang Chu, let me explain,” Zhang Xueying began, launching into a comprehensive presentation—from the founding history of the Martial Arts Research Institute, to its outstanding graduates, the size of its library, and the benefits for mentors, covering every aspect in detail.
After listening, Zhang Chu summed it up in his mind: The institute is formidable, and they need me.
“Ms. Zhang, I understand everything you’ve said, and I can sign the contract right now. But according to the competition rules, I should participate in the finals.”
“Skipping the interview stage for me would be unfair to the other candidates, wouldn’t it?”
Zhang Xueying had talked herself hoarse before Zhang Chu finally voiced his concern.
Who takes shortcuts with integrity?
System users excepted!
“That’s what you were frowning about just now?” Zhang Xueying was nearly driven mad.
If she weren’t parched and needing a drink before negotiating further, she might have immediately offered Zhang Chu a higher salary to keep him.
A counselor’s rank with a lecturer’s pay.
There weren’t many at Binzhou University with such qualifications.
“Mr. Zhang Chu, you should really consider this: you participating in the finals would be unfair to everyone else.”
“We’re only recruiting one person this round.”
Zhang Xueying played her trump card, making Zhang Chu feel a pang of guilt.
“For fairness! For justice!”
After a long moment of contemplation, Zhang Chu, clenching his teeth, made a grand, righteous decision and signed the contract on the spot.
The counselor’s salary: fifty thousand a month plus a year-end bonus.
With the counselor’s badge, he’d receive five Level-2 Vitality Pills per month from the university, five more from the Martial Artist Center, and an 80% discount on purchases from the Martial Artist Mall app.
Most crucially—
Seeing Zhang Chu agree so promptly, Zhang Xueying immediately called her deputy director uncle and secured him a post that would help him gain a foothold at the university.
“Ms. Zhang, you’re saying… you want me to participate in the early admissions work for the martial arts exam in three days?”
When Zhang Chu saw the freshly printed official document, he was stunned.
Just hired and already responsible for early admissions.
According to the job allocation, he was to be in charge of Binzhou University.
…
Zhang Chu’s display of talent had been so unexpected that the admissions office was caught completely unprepared.
It wasn’t until Zhang Xueying personally escorted him to HR to submit his paperwork that they began preparing to assign him a class and workspace.
Zhang Chu played the role of the clueless newcomer, letting the leadership arrange everything.
In the end, Zhang Xueying made the final decision.
Zhang Chu was assigned as the counselor for the first-year graduate elite class.
As it happened, Zhang Xueying was not only the director of admissions but also the homeroom teacher for the elite class.
As for his office—
Zhang Xueying personally arranged for Zhang Chu to share hers.
Sharing an office with a charismatic woman in her early thirties, Zhang Chu felt something was amiss: “When you’re this handsome and talented, it’s hard not to catch a beautiful woman’s eye!”
Zhang Xueying, like a caring older sister, paid no mind to what others thought.
She gave Zhang Chu a quick tour of the campus and took him for a private meal at Canteen No. 3.
He would officially start work after the martial arts exam ended—about two weeks later.
Before leaving,
Zhang Chu collected his first month’s salary and five Level-2 Vitality Pills from Zhang Xueying.
On the way,
Seeing the contract and mentor’s badge on the passenger seat, Zhang Chu felt as if he were dreaming.
Once doomed by ALS, he had been beneath contempt.
Now, beautiful women were drawn to him!
On his way home, Zhang Chu stopped by the Martial Artist Center.
“Congratulations, Mr. Zhang! Certified as a Level-4 martial artist. Here is your martial artist card.”
“All related rewards have been sent to your account via the Martial Artist Mall app. Please check.”
Even the staff at the certification hall now addressed him as “Mr. Zhang.” It was an extremely satisfying feeling.
Holding the green Level-4 martial artist card, Zhang Chu went up to the eighth floor.
The Level-4 martial artist reward: two Level-2 Low-Grade Vitality Pills.
With his mentor’s badge, he received seven pills in total.
The discount coupons for martial arts skills and equipment were valid for a year, so there was no rush to use them.
Back home,
Zhang Chu admired his handsome reflection in the mirror, mentor’s badge pinned to his chest, then took out twelve Level-2 Low-Grade Vitality Pills from his storage ring.
“I wonder how much vitality one Level-2 Low-Grade Vitality Pill can boost?”
He swallowed all twelve at once.
“Ding dong!”
Half a minute later, the system’s voice rang in his mind: “Detected host has consumed twelve Level-2 Low-Grade Vitality Pills. Vitality +720!”
Seven hundred twenty!
Seeing this figure, Zhang Chu was ecstatic.
One Level-1 Low-Grade Vitality Pill gave fifteen vitality points.
One Level-2 Low-Grade Pill, astonishingly, quadrupled that to sixty.
“Popup, where’s the popup?”
Taking pills was to improve his martial skill proficiency, not just boost vitality.
As soon as Zhang Chu silently invoked the command, the white popup appeared, displaying three options:
“1. Level-1 Low-Grade Martial Skill ‘Iron Mountain Shield’—proficiency can be raised to Advanced; estimated consumption: 300 vitality.”
“2. Level-1 Low-Grade Martial Skill ‘Blazing Thirteen Swords’—proficiency can be raised to Advanced; estimated consumption: 310 vitality.”
“3. Level-1 Mid-Grade Martial Skill ‘Skyward Cannon’—proficiency can be raised to Intermediate; estimated consumption: 600 vitality.”
Without hesitation, Zhang Chu chose the third option.
Soon, his vitality value began to scroll and change.
In his mind, a little figure started practicing the “Skyward Cannon.”
When he opened his eyes again, his personal info panel had changed:
Name: Zhang Chu
Level: 4
Additional Vitality: 3,000
Total Vitality: 20,221/50,000
Martial Skill: Skyward Cannon (Level-1 Mid-Grade)
Skill Proficiency: Intermediate
Martial Skill: Iron Mountain Shield (Level-1 Low-Grade)
Skill Proficiency: Intermediate
Martial Skill: Blazing Thirteen Swords (Level-1 Low-Grade)
Skill Proficiency: Intermediate
With intermediate proficiency in “Skyward Cannon,” Zhang Chu spent the next two days slaughtering wild beasts in the Exotic Beast Forest with abandon.
Countless Level-3 and Level-4 beasts fell.
As a staff member of the Kewai Research Institute, he openly took away dozens of beast carcasses and cores.
By day he slaughtered, by night he devoured beast cores.
One Level-3 beast core increased vitality by 150.
One Level-4 core increased it by 300.
By the eve of the early admissions for the Binzhou University martial arts exam, Zhang Chu’s vitality had risen from 20,221 to 40,000—just 10,000 short of Level-5 martial artist.
That night,
Zhang Chu logged back into his Penguin account.
The class group was in uproar, tagging Su Mingyue non-stop.
Tomorrow’s early admissions exam—the university’s hopes lay with Su Mingyue.
Glancing at the admissions work badge on his desk, Zhang Chu flashed a sly smile: “Su Mingyue, I hold the early admission qualification in my hands. If you want into the Martial Arts Research Institute, your attitude tomorrow will decide everything!”