chsdbacks Chapter 296 - 287: Contention Among Universities
Chapter 296 - 287: Contention Among Universities
The annual college entrance exams had begun.
While Wang Teng, with his One-star Dumb Flower, resolutely ascended the Golden-Eyed Dragon Gate...
Gu Ming and Lu You were at home, hosting admissions officers who had flown in from universities all over the country to discuss talent clauses and other related benefits.
Lu You hadn’t brought her family to the negotiations, nor had she hired a professional legal team. Instead, she kept her head down and quietly asked Gu Ming’s parents to help her look over the offers.
How could Mr. and Mrs. Gu refuse? Seeing the girl’s sweet and docile demeanor, they were more than happy to help her with such a major life decision.
"The two of them must attend the same university. It’ll be easier for them to take care of each other that way."
"If none of you can meet this condition, then there’s no need to continue. We still have many other schools to talk to."
Mrs. Gu, smiling cheerfully, sent one batch of university representatives away before spending a long time negotiating with another group.
In the end, only the representatives from a few of the nation’s top universities remained.
At the same time, another outsider remained in the Gu Family’s home: Ruan Jing from the Ruan Family, who was also the manager of the local community store.
This time, Ruan Jing was representing the Ruan Family. Accompanying her was a man from the Ruan main family named Ruan Jingtian.
He was dressed in a well-fitted, high-collared suit, his eyes narrowed into a calm expression, as if he already knew which universities would be left to negotiate the final terms.
Gu Ming craned his neck stiffly. At this stage of the negotiations, the knives were out. There were no more false pleasantries; everyone laid their final offers on the table.
When compared, none of the offers were worse than the others.
In other words, the final decision came down to Gu Ming’s preference.
As for the Royal Academy, he was a little surprised.
Among the offers from the various Princes and Princesses, the most sincere one came, surprisingly, from the representative of the Thirteenth Prince—the very same teacher who had once been so arrogant he barely gave Gu Ming the time of day.
Teacher Zhou was also present, his expression stern and serious, as if the awkwardness from the previous month had nothing to do with him.
Business was business, and what’s past is past.
In a public setting, he represented the face of the Royal Family, and he finally demonstrated a professional’s demeanor.
As for the terms he proposed, they were more than ten times better than what he had offered back at the provincial examination grounds.
Full waiver of all tuition and miscellaneous fees, including all costs for his current Pet Beasts and any he might raise in the future.
As long as he signed a contract with the Thirteenth Prince, Teacher Zhou would, witnessed by the other university representatives, produce a vial of Essence Blood Injection from a Six-star Flood Dragon Pet Beast.
This potion could directly rectify the bloodline defects of a Low-star Potential Pet Beast, giving it the possibility of mutating into a top-tier Flood Dragon bloodline and thus expanding the Little Cyan Snake’s upper limits.
This was a tangible, special-quota offer, redeemable on the spot. It wasn’t some empty promise; it was something he could see with his own eyes.
If he agreed, the Gu Family could truly join the ranks of the new era’s middle-class families and, taking it a step further, enter the world of Six-star Level Beastmasters.
Upon hearing this, his parents’ breathing grew heavy.
The representatives from the other private universities exchanged glances, their expressions troubled. An Essence Blood Injection from a Six-star Pet Beast was not something given out lightly.
It required extracting the most refined part of a Pet Beast’s bloodline to be used to directly improve a Low-star Pet Beast’s bloodline ratio, allowing it to truly gain a bloodline capable of Six-star Evolution.
Anything less would be useless.
Furthermore, it wasn’t a matter of just casually taking an Essence Blood Injection from any Six-star Pet Beast.
The Flood Dragon provided by the Thirteenth Prince was of extremely high quality—a Cyan Heaven Flood Dragon, renowned in the market.
The Cyan Heaven Flood Dragon was a type of Flood Dragon Pet Beast whose bloodline was one of the closest to that of a True Dragon.
Although on the surface it was only a Six-star,
by mastering a Combat Technique with evolutionary potential, like the "Wave-Swallowing Technique," or a high-end Technique, the Pet Beast could continuously purify its Flood Dragon bloodline during Cultivation. This would also allow it to further eliminate the impure parts of its own snake bloodline, bringing it steadily closer to becoming a Dragon. Ultimately, through Evolution, it could transform from a Flood Dragon into a True Dragon—a Cyan Dragon.
At that point, the Little Cyan Snake could truly transcend its species’ limitations and achieve a super-ascension.
This was an incredible treasure that would make anyone envious. The other private universities wouldn’t offer such a top-tier potion, even if they could.
Because, to be precise, this thing had the potential to evolve to a Seven-star or even an Eight-star Level.
In contrast, the most the other private universities could offer was to cover all the nurturing expenses for Ah Kun, Cyan Treasure, and the Seed-Cracking Hamster, plus the costs for Gu Ming’s next Pet Beast for nearly half a year.
That was their absolute maximum offer.
After all, private universities weren’t charities.
Once a genius student entered a Beast Taming University, their expenses would double every month.
At first, the consumption wasn’t that high.
But once a Pet Beast’s evolutionary path and nurturing plan were determined, and it began training various Cultivation Techniques, the rate of consumption would skyrocket. It was like throwing money into a bottomless pit.
A private university couldn’t possibly cover all of a student’s Pet Beast expenses indefinitely. Eventually, Gu Ming would have to earn resources through his own efforts.
The top universities all promised that if Gu Ming could achieve high rankings among the student body after six months, he would receive a massive resource bonus on top of the standard public scholarships.
The so-called Essence Blood Injection from a Six-star Pet Beast was also part of the deal, but its quality wouldn’t be as exceptional as the one offered by the Royal Family.
However, that was just another empty promise. Whether he could actually obtain it was a matter for the future.
In short, what the private universities could give Gu Ming right now was one year’s worth of nurturing resources for his three Pet Beasts.
The universities had already planned a year’s worth of consumption based on the three Pet Beasts’ current Cultivation Techniques and strength, and had the representatives bring the entire package to the meeting.
If he signed, Gu Ming could receive these materials immediately, without having to worry about middlemen taking their cut at every level, leaving him with only a tenth of the original amount.
This was also something Gu Ming could get his hands on right away.
As for the Royal Family’s side,
although they would cover the nurturing costs for his three Pet Beasts, it wouldn’t be a lump sum. Instead, it would be dispensed monthly.
Whether those resources would be skimmed by various parasitic middlemen would depend on how strong Gu Ming’s connections were at the Royal Academy.
For the past two weeks, aside from not preparing for the college entrance exams, Gu Ming had been gathering information and comparing the pros and cons of the Royal Academy and the private universities.
From what he gathered from several teachers, including those from his own school, and from snippets of information from his system, he realized that studying at the Royal Academy would be extremely beneficial for his entire family.
’If I can manage my relationships well, build connections with the higher-ups, and make a good impression on them, I could use their power to rake in a fortune on the side.’
’At the same time, I might even get a piece of the pie from the resources skimmed from above.’
’At the very least, I could get advance notice and intercept the resources when they’re distributed, preventing others further down the line from skimming even more.’
’Once I obtain an official position and have children, I could also start making arrangements for my descendants, or even my relatives’ children, to enter the officialdom, allowing the entire Gu Family to get in on the action.’
’The most attractive part is the ability to make a huge profit after climbing into the powerful elite.’
’That’s the most profitable return on investment for entering the Royal Academy, and it’s why students from every family are fighting tooth and nail to get in.’
’However, if you aren’t good at navigating interpersonal relationships, unwilling to bow and scrape, and don’t want to grovel around the rich and powerful like a dog... then the Royal Academy is clearly not suitable for a certain type of student.’
After all, real Princes and Princesses study there, and the various power struggles surrounding them are constantly and fiercely clashing.
Even if Gu Ming didn’t want to get involved, as soon as he entered that university, he would inevitably be caught in the aftershocks of their struggles.
When gods fight, it’s the innocent bystanders who suffer first. A person with no connections there was truly no different from a stray dog on the street.
After considering all factors, Gu Ming was leaning toward attending a private university.
He much preferred to focus on his own research.
’As long as I make good use of the time-discrepancy bug in my system to trigger future knowledge, I can forge a heavenly path in research. Why bother studying the art of climbing the social ladder by licking boots?’