Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Fang Chen’s Bargaining Chips

"1,800 points, going once.

"1,800 points, going twice."

Li Su’s gaze swept over the members of the Liuyun Society. Seeing no one else responding, he finalized the decision, "Sold! The first internal spot for the Liuyun Society goes to Fan Yutong."

"Awesome!"

Fan Yutong almost jumped for joy. Only she knew how much effort she had put into saving up those 1,800 points over the past year.

She snatched up every society mission—regardless of difficulty—as long as her schedule allowed. Several times, she had sustained severe injuries while hunting down roaming Demon Beasts or exploring perilous grounds, yet she had gritted her teeth and pushed through even when her recovery delayed her cultivation progress. The Martial Arts Academy didn’t have traditional summer or winter breaks. While most of her classmates participated in the academy’s collective field training to hone their combat skills, she had voluntarily stayed on campus to administer Martial Skill assessments for junior students just to earn a few meager Examiner Points. As a result... she had run into a monster of a freshman like Fang Chen, who beat her black and blue and even knocked out a few of her teeth. Even now, she felt phantom pains in her cheeks at the memory.

However, every cloud had a silver lining. She had eventually succeeded in recruiting Fang Chen into the Liuyun Society, earning a lump sum of 300 points in one fell swoop to finally meet the quota.

She rose excitedly, hurried to the front, signed her name on the confirmation document Li Su handed her, and transferred the 1,800 points on the spot.

As she returned to her seat clutching the confirmation letter, she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. Passing by Fang Chen, she gave him a vigorous high-five.

"Thanks to you! Hehe."

"Congratulations, Fan!"

"Fan Yutong, are you planning to exchange it for a weapon or a Combat Suit?" a familiar society member nearby asked.

"A Combat Suit, of course!" Fan Yutong replied gleefully. "Safety first! I’ll feel much more secure going out on missions from now on."

"I’m so jealous... That’s permanent. You can even wear it after graduation, and it’ll serve as a family heirloom if you keep it at home."

"Hey, what if Senior Sister Fan gets incredibly lucky and wins a match when she goes to Jing’an this time?" someone said longingly. "I heard that as long as you win a single match, the rewards include high-tier Martial Skills, plus all the cultivation resources you could ever need to master it! They guarantee your success!"

"Wow... Thinking about it that way, I suddenly feel like burying my head in training my Fists and Feet really isn’t as good as contributing more to the society," another person said earnestly. "If I save enough points, I can take a shot at it next year too..."

"Everyone has a chance, everyone has a chance! It’ll be up to you guys next year!" Fan Yutong chuckled.

On stage, Li Su interrupted the quiet murmurs below. "Alright, the first spot has been secured. Next is the second spot, open for a joint auction between the Liuyun, Jinyi, Black Tortoise, and Cyan Simurgh Societies. The rules remain the same. Let’s begin."

Ultimately, the second spot was won at the steep price of 1,900 points by a Yellow Rank One Qi Martial Artist from the Jinyi Society.

This price made Fan Yutong secretly count her blessings.

As for the battle over the third spot, the trend seemed clear the moment the second was finalized. Beside the aloof female Speaker of the Cyan Simurgh Society, a female Yellow Rank One Qi Martial Artist had already called out a hefty bid of 1,850 points. Everyone figured that this third spot would most likely be hers.

Seeing this, Li Su didn’t dawdle. "Alright, we will now begin the auction for the third spot. The starting bid is 1,000 points. Please state your offers."

"Wait a minute."

A male voice suddenly rang out from the back of the Liuyun Society’s ranks, interrupting the start of the auction. The training room fell dead silent in an instant. Everyone, including the four Profound Rank Speakers in the front row, looked toward the voice in slight bewilderment.

At the back of the Liuyun Society, a newcomer dressed in a red and white Combat Suit slowly stood up. Although his face was still somewhat youthful, his gaze was remarkably composed. It was none other than Fang Chen.

Li Su frowned slightly as he looked at him, though his tone remained even. "Junior Brother Fang, is there something you didn’t understand?"

Meeting his gaze, Fang Chen spoke clearly, "Senior Li, I understand perfectly. I just wanted to say that I also want to apply to participate in the ranking tournament."

Li Su’s frown deepened. "But Junior Brother Fang, you’ve only just joined the society. Currently, you only have the basic 100-point signing bonus. Er... if you want to make up the difference with cash, according to the rules, you still need a substantial base amount of points."

Fang Chen shook his head, his voice calm yet clear enough for everyone to hear. "I don’t have enough points, nor do I have that much money.

"My goal is to make it into the top ten. If I fail, I will pay double the money in compensation. If I succeed, I will give all the rewards to the society, save for that wisp of Spiritual Qi."

As soon as these words were spoken, hushed but distinct murmurs erupted across the training room.

"Whoa, isn’t that the freshman who pierced through Sword Qi with his Sword Aura at the Skill Transmission Hall this morning?"

"Heh, he’s got some talent, but isn’t this idea... a bit too convenient? He doesn’t want to pay, he has no points, yet he wants the spot?"

"I think he just hasn’t experienced the harsh beatings of reality yet. Give him another two years to mature, and he’ll learn the rules."

"Exactly! We all do missions for the society, bleeding and sweating to save up points. What makes him think he can go just because he wants to? It’s about contributions! It’s about points!"

Someone couldn’t hold back and raised their voice, "Junior Brother Fang, rules are rules! They’ve always been this way! This is the first time I’ve ever heard of someone trying to participate on an IOU!"

Another chimed in, "By your logic, none of us should bother doing missions. We should all just ask the society for a spot. Even if we don’t win, what is the society going to do to us?"

"Young man, having some talent is a good thing, but you need to read the society’s regulations more carefully. Do you really think knowing a bit of Swordsmanship makes you invincible? The top ten? When was the last time our academy made it into the top ten? Those people are literal monsters!"

"I don’t even know who recruited him. He doesn’t even understand the basic rules..."

Hearing this, Fan Yutong’s face instantly flushed red. She stood up, anxious and indignant. "That’s not what Junior Brother Fang meant! Besides... besides, I think Fang Chen’s strength is genuinely impressive! Teacher Liu Suifeng favored him at the Skill Transmission Hall this morning. Didn’t you all see it?"

Someone immediately retorted, "Fan Yutong, we know you did a good job recruiting him, but you can’t be this overly protective of him, right? So what if he cultivated a strand of Sword Aura?

"Those Yellow Rank senior brothers and sisters have undergone Qi Collection for One Qi. How is he supposed to bridge the gap against the advantages brought by a Qualitative Change in the Qi Sea?

"Not to mention that they also choose specific high-tier Martial Skills based on their Spiritual Qi’s attribute! In a real fight, how many moves could his Sword Aura withstand?"

Those words hit the nail on the head. Fan Yutong opened her mouth but couldn’t find a way to refute them.

She knew all too well that at the High Martial Realm stage, whether or not one had undergone Qi Collection was a fundamental difference. One Qi didn’t just boost one’s cultivation progress; it was an all-encompassing enhancement of the True Essence Attribute, the depth of the Qi Sea, and even the power multipliers for specific Martial Skills. The targeted Combat Skills chosen by scions of prestigious families based on their Spiritual Qi possessed a destructive power that ordinary High Martial Realm Martial Skills simply couldn’t compare to.

She looked at Fang Chen with a hint of shame, feeling like she hadn’t been able to help him at all.

Fang Chen gave her a slight nod in gratitude and was just about to speak.

However, Li Su on stage suddenly seemed to recall something. His eyes flickered, and he raised a hand to press down lightly, quelling the noisy discussions.

Looking at Fang Chen thoughtfully, he said, "Someone just mentioned that the rules have always been this way, but that’s actually not true. I recall there is, indeed, a third channel."

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