2: Chapter 2: This matter requires extra money.

The Academic Affairs Office was on the second floor of the administration building, and Li Zhengyang was still thinking about it while climbing the stairs.

Director Wang usually had no interaction with him, yet he had suddenly called him over, and his tone had been quite aggressive.

Upon reaching the door, it was half-open, so he knocked twice.

"Come in."

Li Zhengyang pushed the door open and stepped inside, scanning the room.

Director Wang was sitting behind the desk; he was in his fifties, his hair combed meticulously, and he was steeping a cup of goji berry tea.

There was a laptop on the desk, with the screen facing toward him.

A person was also sitting on the chair nearby.

He was in his early twenties, dressed much more decently than Li Zhengyang, wearing branded clothes from head to toe, with a styled haircut, and holding his chin slightly raised when looking at people.

Li Zhengyang did not recognize him.

"Sit down." Director Wang pointed to the chair opposite him without looking up, as he was flipping through a document.

Li Zhengyang sat down, said nothing, and waited.

Director Wang flipped through it for a while, closed the file, pushed up his glasses, and looked at him.

"Li Zhengyang, do you know how many times you have been absent this month?"

"I haven't counted."

"I counted for you: seven times." Director Wang tapped the desk with his finger. "How many days of classes are there in total in a month? You have been absent seven times. Are you planning on staying at this school or not?"

The young man beside him was also looking at him, a smirk on his face, the kind of expression one has when watching a joke.

Li Zhengyang did not rush to respond; he leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, and said, "Director Wang, the school handbook states that as long as the monthly assessment standards are met, it doesn't count as a disciplinary violation. Last month, I passed all three items: physical fitness test, basic fist techniques, and combat simulation, with even the lowest score being seventy-two."

Director Wang's expression shifted slightly.

He had not expected Li Zhengyang to recite the school rules.

In fact, Martial Arts Technical College was different from ordinary schools; attendance rate was indeed not a strict metric.

This profession looks at concrete combat assessments; even if you skip class every day, as long as you get full marks on the monthly exam, no one can say anything to you.

"That was last month's performance." Director Wang forced an angle. "You haven't taken the exam this month yet. What if you don't pass?"

"Then we can talk about it when I don't pass."

The young man on the side interjected, "Watch your attitude when speaking to the Director."

Li Zhengyang glanced at him, ignored him, and turned back to continue looking at Director Wang.

Director Wang was choked up, gave a dry cough, opened the document, and switched to a more affable tone.

"Alright, let's not talk about the absences for now. I called you here today because there is a serious matter to discuss with you."

Here it comes.

Li Zhengyang sat up a little straighter.

"You are a registered impoverished student, right?"

"Yes."

"This year, there is a new policy from above. For students of Martial Arts Technical College from impoverished families, we can provide a targeted recommendation for a quota to upgrade from a junior college degree to a bachelor's degree in martial arts." Director Wang paused here to observe his reaction.

Li Zhengyang showed no reaction.

But his mind was already racing.

Junior-to-Bachelor quota, targeted for impoverished students, martial arts bachelor's degree.

There were only a few such targeted quotas per school; they were scarce resources.

Director Wang continued, "Our school received two quotas this year. After screening based on the conditions, you are one of the qualified candidates."

"One of? Who else is there?"

"You don't need to worry about that." Director Wang waved his hand. "I asked you here today because I want to discuss something with you."

Discuss.

Li Zhengyang pondered this word.

An Academic Affairs Office Director wanting to "discuss" something with a poor student; interesting.

"This is my nephew, Wang Ming." Director Wang pointed to the young man beside him. "He is also at our school, a junior, and he happens to meet the criteria this year as well."

Wang Ming nodded at Li Zhengyang with that condescending kind of politeness.

Li Zhengyang understood everything.

Who gets the quota is up to Director Wang.

But Li Zhengyang's conditions were set in stone, and his nephew probably didn't meet the strict criteria for an impoverished student, so he needed Li Zhengyang to voluntarily "give it up."

"Does Director Wang mean that you want me to give this quota to him?" Li Zhengyang asked directly.

Director Wang hadn't expected him to be so blunt; he was stunned for a beat, then smiled. "It's not for nothing. Rest assured, you won't be treated unfairly."

Unfairly?

Li Zhengyang said nothing; he lowered his head, rested his hands on his knees, and put on an expression of deep thought.

In reality, he was overjoyed inside.

Money, here it comes.

But he couldn't show it.

If he was going to sell it, he had to get a price for it, and the process had to make the other party feel that he had been "persuaded," not that he was actively reaching out his hand for money.

It wouldn't do to be too greedy; he had to let the other party name the price first.

Li Zhengyang raised his head and put on a very troubled expression.

"Director Wang, it's not that I don't want to give you face. This quota is truly very important to me."

"How so?"

"The benefits of graduating from a martial arts bachelor's program are numerous. There is priority for entering the armed departments within the system, and the starting annual salary is one hundred thousand. I'm the only one in my family, no father, no mother; if I can get a bachelor's degree, the path ahead will be much smoother."

Li Zhengyang spoke very slowly, his voice tinged with a bit of helplessness, like a poor child pouring his heart out about his life plans.

Everything he said was true.

A martial arts bachelor's degree is indeed a tier higher than a junior college degree; the resources, training facilities, and faculty strength are not on the same level.

But saying these things wasn't to move Director Wang.

It was to raise the price.

You have to let the other party know that the item is valuable before he is willing to offer a high price.

Wang Ming was getting impatient and rolled his eyes on the side.

Director Wang raised his hand to press down, signaling his nephew not to be anxious, and then said to Li Zhengyang, "I understand everything you've said. But Little Li, you also need to be practical. Do you know which schools this quota corresponds to?"

"Which ones?"

"They are all third-tier universities. Dongjiang Martial Arts College, Naze Martial Arts Technical College, those types." Director Wang counted on his fingers. "The faculty is average, the facilities are average, and the admission cutoff scores are low. To put it bluntly, it's just a diploma. After you graduate, compared to graduates from prestigious martial arts universities, there is still a huge gap."

This was not wrong.

A third-tier martial arts bachelor's degree indeed has limited value.

But what Li Zhengyang cared about was not the diploma.

He cared about how much this quota was worth.

"A third-tier university is still a university." Li Zhengyang shook his head. "Director Wang, the year I took the college entrance exam, I was two points short of the bachelor's cutoff. I couldn't even scrape together the tuition for a retake, which is why I came to this junior college. If you want me to give up this opportunity..."

He stopped here on purpose.

The words left unsaid carried more weight than those spoken.

Director Wang was silent for a few seconds and exchanged a look with Wang Ming.

Then Director Wang spoke: "Fifty thousand."

Fifty thousand.

Li Zhengyang's brain buzzed.

It wasn't because he was scared by the number, but because he was doing the conversion.

Fifty thousand equals 500 points of Blood Qi.

He currently has 248, plus 500 makes 748.

What is the concept of 748? It's enough for him to go straight from Second-Rank Martial Master to Seventh-Rank.

A Seventh-Rank martial artist is already top-tier in a junior college; even that so-called genius in the school doesn't have this level.

Fifty thousand...

Still too little.

"Director Wang." Li Zhengyang sighed. "Fifty thousand, to be honest, compared to a bachelor's degree..."

"Sixty thousand." Wang Ming spoke, looking at Li Zhengyang. "Don't push your luck."

Li Zhengyang glanced at him, didn't respond to him, and kept speaking to Director Wang.

"I've checked; registered impoverished households get subsidies every year in martial arts bachelor's programs, and that's not counting the special training camp subsidies during winter and summer breaks. The annual salary for positions after graduation is also higher than for junior college..."

"You checked quite thoroughly." Director Wang chuckled, but the smile was not very natural.

"Can't help it; children from poor families are good at calculating."

This blocked off all room for maneuver for Director Wang.

You couldn't just say to an orphan, "Don't be so calculating."

The office was quiet for about ten seconds.

Wang Ming was anxious and just about to speak, but was stopped by Director Wang's gaze.

"One hundred thousand." Director Wang held out his palm. "I will pay at most one hundred thousand. I will handle the procedures here; you only need to sign a declaration of voluntary withdrawal."

One hundred thousand.

1000 points of Blood Qi.

248 plus 1000 equals 1248.

Li Zhengyang was a bit tempted.

But, money is a thing that the more you have, the better!

Instead, Director Wang was clearly getting impatient and rubbed his hands.

"How about this, you name a price."

"Director Wang, you know, I have a bachelor's degree dream..."

Seeing that the other party was still stalling, Director Wang issued an ultimatum.

"Two hundred thousand. If it's even one cent more, we don't want this quota."

The improvement from a third-tier martial arts university is not that great anyway; if this could be exchanged for two hundred thousand, it could be said to be a profit.

Even hesitating for a second would be disrespectful to the system and the money.

But Li Zhengyang still "hesitated" for a while longer.

He lowered his head, rubbed his fingers, and finally looked up, his expression very complex, as if he had made a difficult decision.

"Alright."

His voice carried obvious unwillingness, and combined with his washed-out school uniform jacket and thin frame, at this moment he was just a poor student forced by life to bow his head.

Director Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Ming also breathed a sigh of relief and crossed his legs.

"However," Li Zhengyang continued, "the money must be paid first."

"You..." Wang Ming just wanted to say something, but Director Wang stopped him again.

"Fine. Tomorrow I will have someone transfer the money to your card; you sign the declaration today."

"Money first, signature later."

Director Wang looked at him, and Li Zhengyang also looked at Director Wang, without blinking.

In the end, it was Director Wang who looked away first.

"Fine. The money will arrive tomorrow morning; you come to sign in the afternoon."

"Deal."

Li Zhengyang stood up and, before leaving, turned back to look at Wang Ming.

Wang Ming frowned: "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Congratulations, Senior; have a good journey on the path to a bachelor's degree."

After saying this, he went out the door.

Walking to the corner of the stairs, confirming no one was watching, Li Zhengyang took out his phone and opened the system interface.

[Current Blood Qi Value: 248]

Tomorrow it will be 2248.

He began to calculate in his heart: First-Rank Martial Artist 100, Second-Rank Martial Artist 200... First-rank Martial Master 1000...

Two hundred thousand yuan is enough for a Second-Rank Martial Master.

And this money doesn't need to be paid back.

A legitimate transaction, both sides willing, no need to even feel guilty.

After Li Zhengyang walked far away, the uncle and nephew in the room began to whisper.

"Uncle, are we really just giving this kid two hundred thousand for nothing?"

"Ming'er, don't worry; we will make this kid spit it back out."

...