Chapter 134: The Slot is Gone

Chapter 134: Chapter 134: The Slot is Gone

Afternoon, on the roof of the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo.

ROAR!!

A dark red, peregrine falcon-shaped aircraft lifted slowly into the air. Then, with a deafening roar, it shot toward the Imperial Capital, kicking up fierce gusts of wind.

The strong wind tugged at the corner of Yue Feng’s clothes. He watched the black dot disappear on the horizon and asked:

"Old Sun, do you think Lin Qi will succeed in upgrading to an S-level Contract?"

"My bonus this year is riding on him."

Manager Sun, standing behind him, nodded. "Deputy Team Leader Wen Rui is very impressed by Lin Qi’s Talent."

"Deputy Team Leader Zou Wan also asks about Lin Qi from time to time."

"They both have high hopes for Lin Qi!"

"Barring any surprises, the S-level Contract should be a sure thing."

Yue Feng frowned. "Everything’s going too smoothly. It’s giving me a bad feeling."

"I hope I’m just imagining things!"

...

The Imperial Capital, the heart of the Xia Country, a Martial Arts Sacred Land in the eyes of all its people.

The headquarters of the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo stood proudly in the Core Region of the Imperial Capital, the entire structure resembling a slumbering behemoth.

Its exterior was a palette of red and white, forged from a special alloy that glinted with a cold, metallic luster.

It looked indestructible, brimming with a sense of advanced technology.

The centermost building towered into the clouds, its lines hard and straight, as if poised to pierce the Azure Sky.

Inside a conference room within the building.

The first thing that caught the eye was a massive oval conference table, its surface made of a dark, black stone.

In the center, a holographic projection screen floated in mid-air, displaying various sets of data.

Ten smart chairs were occupied by men and women of varying ages. All of them exuded a powerful aura; they were all Middle Realm Martial Artists.

Zhang Tai was also seated among them, smiling as he chatted and reminisced with the others.

"Enough with the pleasantries. Let’s get this meeting started!"

The speaker was a tall, sturdy man in a red and white uniform. He had a stern face and a full beard.

"This time, our ten evaluation teams have assessed the geniuses from every province. We will project the data. After everyone has reviewed it, we will vote on whether to upgrade them to an S-level Contract."

"I’ll start!"

As he spoke, individual screens materialized in front of everyone, displaying detailed information.

"Huo Wanyang!"

"Old Qin, there’s no need for an introduction on this one. Let’s just vote. He’s number one in the country. A guaranteed S-class genius," someone said.

Old Qin nodded. "Then let’s vote directly."

A name was projected before the crowd.

Beneath it, the word "Pass" appeared again and again.

"Ten votes to pass. Huo Wanyang is upgraded to an S-level Contract."

"Next, Tao Xue!"

"Ten votes in favor. Passed!"

"Next, Li Zehao!"

Two of the people sitting there paused and exchanged a glance. One of them was Zhang Tai.

He spoke slowly, "The Imperial Capital has already filled its two slots. According to the rules, he’s automatically deferred to the end. We can reconsider him if we don’t reach the ten-person quota."

"That’s right!" a beautiful, middle-aged woman in a purple dress added.

"Alright, my evaluations are finished. Little Li, you’re up."

Not far away, a beautiful, aloof woman in a white uniform slowly projected the data.

"I was in charge of evaluating Shanghai..."

"First, Ao Feng!"

"Ten votes in favor. Passed!"

...

As each evaluation team presented their candidates, the group voted on whether to upgrade them to an S-level Contract.

"Next, Zhou Xiyin!"

"Ten votes against. Failed!"

In the blink of an eye, the voting for the major provinces concluded. Zhou Xiyin was eliminated, leaving only one candidate. Zhang Tai then projected Lin Qi’s file for everyone.

Many people’s eyes lit up after reading the file.

After reading it, Old Qin also nodded. He had to admit, the boy was indeed a genius.

"Let the vote begin!"

"Nine votes in favor. Passed!" an automated voice announced the result.

"Wait!" someone said slowly, raising their hand.

All eyes turned to the speaker: a middle-aged man with a noticeably bald head, sitting next to Zhang Tai.

"Shouldn’t we consider the two geniuses who were deferred?"

"That’s right!" Zhang Tai agreed.

"The quality of the geniuses this year is very high. There are ten S-level slots in total, and surprisingly, it’s not enough," someone lamented.

"Of the remaining candidates, Lin Qi and Li Zehao are the most outstanding. Both are worthy of an S-level Contract," another person said.

In the end, out of the three geniuses, Lin Qi and Li Zehao advanced to the final round.

The burly man surnamed Qin spoke up. "The last slot will be decided between Lin Qi and Li Zehao."

"We’ll vote directly. The minority will yield to the majority."

And so, they began to vote.

The names of Lin Qi and Li Zehao were projected by themselves.

[Lin Qi: 5 Passes!]

[Li Zehao: 5 Passes!]

Everyone was quite surprised. It was a tie.

Many people’s expressions shifted, especially after seeing that Zhang Tai had voted for Li Zehao.

"What’s going on? Lin Qi has greater Talent! He’s the one who should be upgraded to an S-level Contract," the middle-aged woman in purple couldn’t help but exclaim.

"That’s not how you should look at it."

"Li Zehao is ranked 28th in the country. In terms of Qi and Blood Value and Martial Arts, he’s stronger than Lin Qi, who’s ranked 108th."

"Are you saying Li Zehao isn’t worthy of an S-level Contract?"

The bald man explained with a smile.

Hearing this, the others thought it made some sense.

"Zhang Tai, what’s your take on this? Based on potential, shouldn’t Lin Qi be rated higher than Li Zehao?" the woman in purple turned and questioned Zhang Tai.

Zhang Tai replied unhurriedly:

"That’s not the right way to look at it. Lin Qi’s rise has been incredibly fast, but speed can also mean instability."

"None of you have forgotten Li Xiao from Shu Province two years ago, have you? His performance back then was even more outrageous than Lin Qi’s."

"In one year, he went from dead last in his grade at an ordinary high school to the top ten in the entire country."

"He was unanimously voted up for an S-level Contract."

"But you all know the result of that. He has now completely degenerated into an ordinary genius."

"And he just so happened to be the one you, Kelan, strongly recommended."

The expression of the beautiful woman in purple, Kelan, changed. "Everyone knows Li Xiao had an accident."

"Is that really the truth?" Zhang Tai spread his hands.

"The issue with Li Xiao was classified as top secret, but he seems perfectly normal himself. He just... seems to have become an ordinary genius!" someone nodded.

"Well, in that case, let’s have another round of voting. I’ll abstain!" the burly man surnamed Qin declared.

Everyone nodded. A new round of voting began, and the results came out a moment later.

[Li Zehao: 5 Passes!]

[Lin Qi: 4 Passes!]

"The results are in. Li Zehao has five votes, surpassing Lin Qi."

"I declare that Li Zehao is upgraded to an S-level Contract!"

"The meeting is over. Huo Wanyang, Tao Xue... Li Zehao, these ten individuals are upgraded to S-level Contracts. Meeting adjourned!" the burly man surnamed Qin announced.

Kelan gave a cold laugh. "Zhang Tai, ’fairness’? What a joke!"

"Everyone knows Li Zehao is your sister’s son—your own nephew."

With that, she turned and left without a backward glance. The expressions on the other faces were also intriguing.

Hearing this, Zhang Tai turned and left with a blank expression.

He left the conference room and returned to his office, the bald, middle-aged man following behind him.

After coming in, the man leaned back on the soft, black leather sofa.

"Zehao’s promotion to an S-level Contract should have been a done deal. No one expected this Lin Qi to just pop up out of nowhere."

"If you hadn’t planned ahead, that S-level Contract would have gone to Lin Qi."

Sitting in his smart chair, Zhang Tai sighed. "My reputation for fairness, built over so many years, is completely ruined."

"Based on my years of experience, Lin Qi’s Talent is a cut above."

"But for Zehao’s sake... he had to be sacrificed!"

...