After quite a while, he finally made up his mind: “I’ll sign, let’s go with one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand. Not only that, if you can make it into the top ten of the Jiangzhou Tournament, I’ll put up two million... I just hope you can attend the ribbon-cutting when our Jiangzhou flagship store opens.”

Grace Thompson thought for a moment and nodded slightly. “Alright.”

He did find it novel and planned to experience the process.

From now on, unless there are special circumstances, he probably wouldn’t take on any more endorsements.

At that moment, Grace Thompson called Coral on his phone.

By the time he, Matthew Evans, and the legal staff Matthew Evans had called over were drafting the contract in a café, Coral arrived in a hurry with a middle-aged man.

“This is our Changfeng Martial Arts School’s legal counsel.”

As Coral spoke, she couldn’t help but size up Grace Thompson: “Not bad, already landed an endorsement? Looks like you passed?”

“Yeah, it’s just a portrait rights authorization.”

Grace Thompson said, turning to the middle-aged man: “Thank you for your help.”

“You really passed?”

Coral muttered, “Did I really run into the legendary martial arts genius?”

The middle-aged man and the legal staff brought by Matthew Evans exchanged a few words, made some adjustments to the details, and then nodded to Coral and Grace Thompson.

Seeing this, Grace Thompson returned to the table.

Coral took the opportunity to glance at the contract and immediately exclaimed, “Wow, top ten in the Jiangzhou Martial Arts Tournament!? That’s ambitious!”

“There’s still half a year, I’ll give it a try.”

Grace Thompson said with a smile.

“Give it a try...”

Coral looked at Grace Thompson, her expression a bit complicated.

She felt she was understanding this person less and less.

At first, when Benjamin Sullivan tried to pull strings to get Grace Thompson accepted as a disciple, she was still thinking of giving him a hard time.

It was only after losing to Grace Thompson that she started to take him seriously.

Over the following month, Grace Thompson’s progress was obvious to all.

Even though he claimed he was just picking up the martial arts he’d lost before, and thus improving quickly, she still felt a bit uneasy watching it.

Now he’d gotten his Level 2 Martial Artist certificate and dared to sign a contract aiming for the top ten in the Jiangzhou Martial Arts Tournament!

You know, even her master wasn’t one hundred percent confident about making it into the top ten.

Even though Grace Thompson only said he’d give it a try, his words and actions still showed unparalleled courage and confidence.

At the very least...

If it were her, even with a Level 2 Martial Artist certificate, she absolutely wouldn’t have the courage to sign up for the Jiangzhou Martial Arts Tournament, let alone aim for the top ten.

“What level had you actually reached before?”

Coral couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t tell me you’d already broken through to the Dark Level back then?”

Grace Thompson just smiled and didn’t answer.

He didn’t want to lie.

But sometimes, the truth hurts more than a lie.

Coral was a good girl; it was better to let her figure it out on her own.

He checked the contract one more time and signed his name.

“Looking forward to working together.”

Matthew Evans stood up and shook hands with Grace Thompson: “At the latest, the first payment of fifty thousand will be in your account by tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

Grace Thompson nodded.

The fifty-thousand signing bonus was something the legal counsel had fought for on his behalf.

When it comes to money, it’s best to have it in hand.

Besides, with money, he could buy some qi and blood supplements, which would further shorten the time needed to restore his body to the peak of the Huajin stage.

Chapter 9: Attitude

Changfeng Martial Arts School.

Grace Thompson quickly performed a set of boxing forms.

His entire body’s qi and blood surged like a furnace, blazing hot.

If someone were to check his temperature with a thermometer right now, they’d find his body temperature was definitely above 45 degrees Celsius.

After a while, the set was finished. His chest heaved as he let out a long breath.

Sweat poured from his body, quickly soaking his clothes.

But Grace Thompson paid it no mind, quietly sensing the changes in his qi and blood.

After a moment, he had already calculated the data.

“0.02.”

By absorbing a large number of Dan Jin and Gang Jin videos, and constantly fine-tuning and adjusting with the “Insight” talent, a single round of Xuanpin Gate practice could now increase his qi and blood strength by 0.02.

Six rounds a day would be 0.12.

At this point, it had been three days since he received his Level 2 Martial Artist certificate.

His qi and blood physique had already risen to 23.

A few points gained in just a month.

However, improvements in qi and blood physique always come faster in the early stages than later on.

The further you go, the harder it gets.

Practitioners of Jin-level martial arts have qi and blood between 20 and 30, while Dan Jin masters, Gang Jin grandmasters, and even some Spirit-Refining Martial Saints have qi and blood in the 30 to 40 range.

Unless you’re born with divine strength or take rare treasures, even Martial Saints find it hard to push their qi and blood physique above 40.

“The first part of the Innate Qi Cultivation Technique is for nourishing qi, enhancing one’s vital energy, invigorating life force, and strengthening the body. The second part is for building the foundation, shaping and reinforcing the practitioner’s base from the ground up. If I supplement it with the ‘Insight’ talent, maybe I can dig deeper into my physical potential and achieve effects similar to those born with divine strength.”

There’s also a third part later on, the Golden Core chapter.

It’s not the same as the Golden Core realm of cultivators, but rather, it allows the practitioner’s body to become unified and their vitality to remain undiminished, like a great elixir within the body—free from illness and with a long life.