My equipment is designed for cultivation; I started by slaughtering my way through a small world.

Sima Xiao proposed to reward Gu Qing handsomely, and upon hearing this, most of the researchers nodded in agreement.

In the land of immortals.

The prodigies deserve to be valued and given ample resources.

at the moment.

There's also a mercenary contract that's still pending.

Otherwise, Sima Xiao would have already started investing more in Gu Qing.

Compared to others.

Gu Qing's distant cousin, Zhang Yubai, frowned slightly.

Becoming a full-fledged mercenary ahead of time might bring many benefits, such as boosting Gu Qing's strength in a short period of time, but it would also limit Gu Qing's future achievements.

"Dean."

"The Immortal Kingdom has explicit regulations that trial participants cannot be forced to become official mercenaries prematurely."

"You're doing this..."

"Oh, of course I know that."

Sima Xiao waved his hand and explained, "I plan to double Gu Qing's benefits as a formal mercenary. This way, he will voluntarily choose to become a full-fledged mercenary early, and the official authorities of the Immortal Kingdom will have no objections."

"This...this isn't quite right..."

"What's wrong with that? Gu Qing will be promoted ahead of schedule and will be able to get a lot of resources. He can make a big effort to improve his strength in the month before the elimination rounds begin and make a run for the top 100 in the competition."

As the saying goes, "A lead in one step leads to a lead in every step."

"If Gu Qingruo successfully enters the top 100 of the Bloodline Competition, his influence within the group will increase again, and he will receive more cultivation resources."

"..."

Another twenty-odd hours passed.

In the Spirit Realm, the preliminary stage of the Bloodline Competition has entered its countdown phase.

"The countdown to the preliminary rounds has begun. All regions are requested to accelerate the elimination process and select the top 100 from each region."

「60……50……40……30……20……10……」

"Time's up!"

A majestic voice echoed across the eight competition zones, as if it were the will of Heaven.

It makes it impossible for people to resist.

When the competition time finally stopped at '0', all the participants experienced either joy or sorrow.

"Damn it!"

"I'm ranked 101st. If I had held on a little longer, I might have made it into the knockout stage."

"Damn it, damn it..."

"Hahaha, I've advanced to the knockout stage!!"

"..."

Xianmu Group.

When Gu Qing came out of the life support pod and looked out the window, he saw the enormous Blood Radiance Tower in the sky above the Central Continent, with eight sides representing the eight major competition zones.

Golden names appeared on the eight sides of the tower.

The names of Gu Qing and others.

It was prominently listed.

"Ding-dong!"

"Ding-dong!"

……

Before Gu Qing could examine the Blood Radiance of the Plane closely, his Void Seal emitted a series of ding-dong sounds.

Message notifications surged.

Display 99+

There are familiar people among them, such as his adopted son He Lou and his high school classmate Wang Jian.

Some strangers also sent friend requests.

Gu Qing rose to fame in this bloodline competition.

Many companies will contact contestants who achieve good results to endorse their company, play the game, and promote their products.

However, Gu Qing cannot make money through these means; Gu Qing is not currently a free agent.

He had no choice at all.

Not long after.

Sima Xiao, Zhang Yubai, and others also emerged from the virtual world of the Spirit Realm. Several assistant researchers, carrying several contracts, came together to find Gu Qing and the others.

Upon meeting, Sima Xiao's face was beaming with smiles:

"Young friend Gu."

"You all performed exceptionally well this time, greatly enhancing the reputation of the Immortal Wood Group's Bloodline Research Institute. I want to thank you all properly."

"Dean!" ×3

Gu Qing, Chen Ang, and Jia Meiqian quickly and respectfully responded.

"You're welcome."

"Sit down and talk."

Sima Xiao smiled.

As soon as the dean finished speaking, an assistant researcher brought over chairs and had Gu Qing and the other two sit next to Sima Xiao.

"Gu Qing, the reason I came to see you three is to expedite the procedures for your official mercenary status."

"Once you become official mercenaries of the Xianmu Group, the group will increase its investment in you, allowing your strength to achieve a qualitative leap in a short period of time."

"Only in this way can we help you make it into the top 100 of the Bloodline Competition."

"Here are a few contracts; please take a look."

"If there's anything you're not satisfied with, we can discuss it..."

Gu Qing was stunned.

Mercenaries promoted to full-fledged positions ahead of schedule?

If it weren't for the chance encounter with the four older brothers of the Meng family during the second mercenary trial, Gu Qing would never have known about the huge pitfall hidden in the mercenary conversion contract.

I originally planned to confront the Xianmu Group after passing the third trial.

Didn't expect things to change so soon?

Taking a deep breath, Gu Qing took the contract from the assistant researcher and looked at its contents.

The contract mainly consisted of an investment agreement, under which Xianmu Group would provide him with a low-interest loan of up to 500 million spirit coins.

With this money, you can purchase storage rings, flying swords, flying boats, cultivation techniques, pills, simulated cultivation realms, and other cultivation resources within the Immortal Wood Group.

Only at the very end of the contract was there a note from a young man.

After becoming a full-fledged mercenary of the Immortal Wood Group, and in the future breaking through to the sixth rank of the Immortal Dao, the Dao Domain must continue the lineage of the Azure Wood Immortal Venerable.

The four older brothers of the Meng family once told him that the Dao Domain is the foundation for becoming an immortal in the future.

To continue the lineage of another's Dao in one's own Dao Domain is equivalent to handing over control of one's "Immortal Foundation" to someone else.

Life and death are in the hands of another's single thought.

Sima Xiao, beaming, handed the pen to Gu Qing:

"Sign it quickly!"

Staring intently at the last line of small print on the contract, Gu Qing hesitated to write anything.

Sima Xiao continued with a smile:

"Hurry up and sign it. This is a contract I negotiated with great effort. Your loan amount is a full 500 million, and the annual interest rate is only 2%."

"Your credit limit is ten times that of a normal mercenary who has been promoted to full-fledged status, and your interest rate is five percentage points lower than that of a normal mercenary."

"Such good terms, sign quickly, and I'll try my best to get the loan approved for you today."

As soon as Sima Xiao finished speaking, Chen Ang and Jia Meiqian both turned their heads to look.

Their contracts are not like that!

Chen Ang's contract only had a loan limit of 100 million, but the annual interest rate was 4%.

Jia was in an even worse situation because he had no money. His contract only had a limit of 60 million, and the annual interest rate was not low, reaching 5%.

but……

Is this about money?

Gu Qing said in a deep voice:

"Dean, can I make my own decisions about the Dao Domain?"

Sima Xiao was not angry upon hearing this. Instead, he patiently persuaded Gu Qing, saying, "Gu Qing, I know you have some talent. You've even advanced to the elimination rounds of the Bloodline Competition."

"Yes, but I must tell you, among all the living beings in this world, how many can truly attain immortality?"

"Even the top geniuses from the ten great universities of the Immortal Kingdom fall one after another on the path to immortality."

"Of the immortals recorded in the Immortal Kingdom's Records of Immortals, eight or nine out of ten ascended to immortality by inheriting the grace of their predecessors and relying on their lineage."

"It's good to rest in the shade of a big tree."

"Many people dream of becoming disciples of immortals. You have some talent, but don't be arrogant because of it."

"Opportunity knocks but once."

"Don't make things difficult for yourself!"

Sima Xiao offered earnest advice, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages.

"Dean, what you said makes a lot of sense and is very insightful."

"But I still want to try, I ask myself..."