29: Signing

"The S-rank contract is mainly composed of four aspects.

First is the spirit beast. You can choose a juvenile spirit beast with a Monarch Rank bloodline from the Myriad Spirits Mansion of the Third Academy.

Hmm, most of these Monarch Rank cubs have considerable backing, and some even come with their own cultivation resources. Even for the teachers and students of the Third Academy, such an opportunity is extremely rare.

Next are the Third Academy's universal currency, academic credits. The academy will provide you with 10,000 academic credits upfront, and an additional 1,000 academic credits each month thereafter.

You might not have a concept of the numbers alone, so let me put it this way: at the academy's logistics department, a normal General Rank material or spirit item is only worth about 5 to 30 academic credits.

In terms of resources, the academy will provide you with a self-selected Monarch Rank Breeder's insights, and three Monarch Rank materials, with no price limit. As long as they are in the academy's treasure vault, you can choose them. You should know that even extremely rare materials like Destiny, Time, and Space exist in the academy's treasure vault.

Regarding secret realms, you get one opportunity to enter a top-tier secret realm: the Dragon Clan's Azure Sea Realm, the Phoenix Clan's Parasol Tree Realm, the Qilin Clan's Auspicious Qilin Realm, or other top-tier racial habitats allied with Hua Nation. You can choose one to enter. As for whether you can obtain benefits or contract a spirit beast, that will depend on yourself."

After listening to Qin Jue's introduction, Xu Yan took a deep breath, his eyes filled with unconcealable shock.

Any one of the four points Qin Jue mentioned would be priceless and could even cause a storm of bloodshed if placed outside.

Yet, they were directly presented to him by the Third Academy. As long as he signed the contract, these things would belong to him. Was this the Third Academy's generosity and profound heritage?

Forcing himself to calm his turbulent emotions, he took the contract Qin Jue handed him and read it in detail.

Besides what Qin Jue had mentioned, the contract actually contained other benefits, such as a "single dormitory" with a small training ground. However, these were far less shocking than the four points Qin Jue had spoken of earlier.

The golden thread on his wrist lit up again. Xu Yan roughly finished reading the contract, picked up the pen placed beside it, and signed his name.

Seeing Student Xu Yan decisively sign his name, the smile in Qin Jue's eyes became even softer, carrying a warmth akin to looking at a junior in one's own family. He said gently, "Then, welcome to the Third Academy, Student Xu Yan."

...The door to the assessment room opened, and Xu Yan walked out. As soon as he stepped out, he felt a gaze, somewhat fervent, directed at him.

He subconsciously turned to find the source of the gaze, only to discover it was one of the eight responsible persons.

When their eyes met, the person even smiled at Xu Yan, their eyes full of friendliness.

At the same time, a very friendly voice sounded in Xu Yan's ear.

"Little fellow, your name is Xu Yan, right? Do you want to come to our Seventh Academy? I guarantee that the conditions our Seventh Academy can offer are definitely no worse than the Third Academy's. If you enroll this year, the academy even has adorable little phoenixes you can pet! How about..."

However, before the person could finish speaking, they were directly interrupted. A middle-aged man, also an academy representative, to their right, glared fiercely at the person who had just transmitted the message to Xu Yan, his eyes full of menace and killing intent.

Upon seeing Xu Yan's gaze, the man instantly reined in the emotions in his eyes, replacing them with a benevolent smile, like an elder looking at a junior.

At the same time, another voice entered Xu Yan's ears.

"Little fellow, the Third Academy is truly the most suitable for you. Relying on solid breeding foundations to form bonds with spirit beasts, isn't that more reliable than relying on feelings and metaphysics? You..."

Before the person could finish, they were interrupted again — by the same person they had interrupted earlier.

Then, the two exchanged glances and began a silent quarrel. Although Xu Yan couldn't hear the specific words, he could tell from their expressions that the insults were quite nasty.

This scene, with representatives from other academies poaching on the spot and two representatives nearly coming to blows, left Xu Yan a bit flustered.

Just then, Qin Jue also emerged from the assessment room. He stood beside Xu Yan, bowed slightly to the other representatives, and then looked at the representative from the Seventh Academy. "Senior Zhou You, Xu Yan has already signed with our school, please do not contend for him any further."

Hearing that Xu Yan had actually signed the contract right there in the assessment room, the representative from the Seventh Academy sighed helplessly, "Oh well, it's just a pity for such a good prospect."

This sigh, in turn, drew dissatisfaction from the Third Academy's representative nearby.

"What, going to our Third Academy is a pity? I'd say it's truly burying their talent if such a good Breeder prospect were to go to your Seventh Academy!"

And so, the two representatives began to argue again.

Qin Jue led Xu Yan away from the area, saying as they walked, "You don't need to pay too much attention to what those two said; it's just standard recruitment talk. If you truly have an interest, our Third Academy's Spirit Beast Diplomacy Department is also top-notch. You can always drop in on some classes there later."

Xu Yan nodded, his heart full of anticipation for the future.

"What are your thoughts now? Do you want to leave directly, or stay and watch the Combat Department's assessment?"

"Teacher Qin, I'd like to stay and watch."

"Just go ahead. After that earlier incident, no one should bother you anymore. Watching battles between your peers will also benefit you."

After speaking, he turned and re-entered the assessment room.

After parting ways with Qin Jue, Xu Yan arrived at the Combat Department's assessment area. At this moment, a battle was taking place on the central arena, with one person and one spirit beast fighting against another spirit beast. It was clear the battle was nearing its end.

Seeing Xu Yan's arrival, Zhao Xuan, whose eyes had been somewhat bored by the ongoing assessment on stage, instantly lit up. He quickly walked over to Xu Yan and asked, "How was it, Xu Yan, did you pass?"

Listening to the question, Xu Yan nodded.

"I've signed the contract."

Hearing Xu Yan's answer, Zhao Xuan didn't rashly ask about the contract's rank or specific details. Instead, he began to introduce the situation of the Combat Department's assessment to Xu Yan.

"This assessment involves battling a General Rank low-grade spirit beast. The spirit beast's species is randomly drawn. The passing conditions are to defeat the opponent or endure for ten minutes in front of them.

Currently, nearly fifty people have been assessed, and only six have successfully passed this first stage of the assessment."