Before they even arrived, their voices echoed across the hall.
"Su Ba, is it? I'm a recruitment officer from Mujiang Martial Institute. We would be honored to have you join us—"
"Su Ba, I represent the Daqian Martial Institute of Luoye City. Although it's a bit farther from Fengwu City, if you're willing to join us, I'll apply for special rewards on your behalf!"
"Yes, Su Ba! Just name your terms—whatever conditions you have, as long as they're within reason, we'll meet them!"
"Su Ba, Yunmeng Martial Institute might be top-tier, sure—but it's filled with geniuses. The competition is fierce, and the pressure is immense. Consider our Huayi Martial Institute instead. You'll grow much more comfortably."
Recruiters represented their martial institutes in scouting talented disciples across the kingdom. The higher the quality of the students they brought in, the greater the rewards and recognition they'd receive from their institutes.
That's why—even in the face of Yunmeng Martial Institute's dominance—they weren't going to let a genius like Su Ba slip away without a fight.
After all—
A prestigious institute might come with a strong reputation, but it also means fierce internal competition.
Martial institute resources were distributed based on rankings.
The higher you ranked, the more cultivation resources you received. The lower your rank, the less you get.
If a genius like Su Ba entered an average martial institute, he could easily climb to the top ranks in a short amount of time, securing huge benefits and boosting his strength even faster.
But if he entered a top-tier institute like Yunmeng?
Yes, he was a genius—but so were all the others.
Catching up to and surpassing them in the short term would be extremely difficult.
Most newcomers could only rise in rank once the older, stronger disciples graduated and left.
What's more, many gifted cultivators had crumbled under the pressure in elite institutes—some even abandoned the path of martial arts altogether.
That's why some geniuses, despite being able to enter Yunmeng, would instead choose a second-tier institute where they could reign at the top.
There's a saying: "Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix."
Why be a small fish in a big pond when you can be a dragon in a lake?
That was the recruiters' hope.
Maybe Su Ba was one of those people.
Soon, all thirty-one remaining recruitment officers had spoken their piece. Some offered special terms, others promised resources, and all waited eagerly for Su Ba's answer.
Below the platform—
Hundreds of third-year students stood in stunned silence.
They'd never seen anything like this.
Recruitment officers scrambling over each other to recruit a single student?
Weren't these martial institute officials usually cold and aloof?
Weren't they supposed to be stoic, expressionless figures of authority?
Why were they now acting like a bunch of desperate fanboys in front of Su Ba?
Was this the difference between gods and mortals?
Several students nearly coughed up blood.
In their eyes, Su Ba would most likely choose Huayi or Mujiang Martial Institute. Neither was as powerful as Yunmeng, but both had solid reputations—and more importantly, they had offered very generous terms.
With those perks and reduced competition, Su Ba could grow even faster than if he struggled inside Yunmeng!
It seemed like the perfect choice.
Sure enough—
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Su Ba gave a light smile and spoke calmly:
"Hmm. I'm truly grateful to all the martial institute representatives here, especially those from Huayi and Mujiang, who offered such generous terms."
"As we all know, a martial artist's path is heavily dependent on access to resources."
"To be honest… I was very tempted."
He paused.
Everyone leaned in.
And then—
Su Ba smiled and declared,
"So, I choose… Yunmeng Martial Institute."
Thud!
Hundreds of third-year students fainted on the spot.