We agreed on mecha battles, but you're relying on your life force to become a god?

"An S-rank martial art."

The training ground fell silent for a moment.

Lin Xishan was stunned, then burst into a hearty laugh, the sound of which made the alloy wall vibrate.

"You rascal! Trying to raise prices on the spot, you're incredibly audacious!"

He laughed so hard he almost fell over.

But after the brief laughter subsided, Lin Xishan's gaze towards Wang Xing was filled with even stronger admiration and respect.

"Well, kid... Others would be so excited to sign the contract as soon as they heard about an S-rank reservation. But you, you actually dare to ask for an extra S-rank martial arts technique?"

Faced with a huge sum of 400 million yuan, and top-notch mecha parts and health supplements that would make countless peers green with envy, this eighteen-year-old boy was not blinded by greed!

Despite the immense temptation of profit, he remained absolutely calm and astutely grasped the most crucial aspect of improving his combat skills... S-rank martial arts!

Although this kid is a bit greedy and meticulous, in the cruel world of martial arts, this calmness and greed are essential qualities for becoming a strong person!

"no problem!"

Lin Xishan laughed heartily:

"Your swordsmanship is very solid. That set of Breaking Army Three Forms is A-level, and you have already reached the threshold of mastery... In the future, you will indeed need a higher-level S-level martial art to support your killing."

"Alright then! Once you've mastered the Three Forms of Breaking the Army to the mid-stage of mastery, I'll personally report to the war zone commander and bestow upon you an S-rank sword technique that's perfectly suited to the Fierce Tiger Mech!"

Lin Xishan paused, his expression turning serious: "And you can rest assured. When our military region teaches you S-level martial arts, we will report it directly to the national [Mech Alliance] through the war zone's intranet using your real name. It's legal and compliant, and there are no worries whatsoever."

Wang Xing nodded.

Throughout the entire planet Earth, the Dragon Kingdom, as one of the major powers that originated from advanced martial arts and mecha civilization, boasts a number of top-tier martial arts techniques created on its own, ranking among the best in the world.

To prevent national treasures from being leaked to enemy countries, and to prevent evil martial arts techniques with ulterior motives from spreading among the people and harming society, the Dragon Kingdom has extremely strict control over high-level martial arts.

Especially for martial arts of S rank and above, not only is the purchase and practice subject to strict real-name verification... but even the instructors must register with the entire alliance network.

Those who secretly learn or steal S-level martial arts techniques will be punished with the following penalties: at best, their qi and blood will be destroyed and they will be stripped of their mecha piloting rights; at worst, they will be directly prosecuted for treason!

With the official endorsement of the military region, he was undoubtedly spared a great deal of trouble in the future.

"and……"

Wang Xing silently made plans in his mind.

A few days ago during special training, Teacher Lü Yun promised that as long as his swordsmanship reached the middle stage of mastery, he would use his personal connections to give him an S-level swordsmanship technique.

"Now that I can get an S-rank sword technique from the military region for free, I won't need to ask Teacher Lü for another one. I can ask him to exchange it for an S-rank movement technique or some other type of martial art... It's always good to have more skills!"

Thinking of this, a smile flashed in Wang Xing's eyes.

"How's it going, Wang Xing?"

Having laid out all the necessary bargaining chips, Lin Xishan took a deep breath and asked, "Have you made up your mind about the exam? Or... do you really want to wait until after the Hundred Schools Competition next month before making a final decision?"

Wang Xing began to weigh the options at the speed of light in his mind.

The advantage of delaying the selection until after the grand competition is obvious: if one's strength improves significantly and one delivers a dominant performance within this month, there is a very high probability that one will attract a frenzy of bidding from other, or even all, the four major military regions.

However, this harbors two fatal risks.

First, the competition is full of hidden talents. What if you make a mistake on the spot, or encounter a super strong opponent who is extremely good at countering you, and suffer a crushing defeat? Then your chips will definitely shrink.

Secondly, even if he had swept all the way to first place, the Western Theater Command was already offering him the top-tier "S-level pre-enlistment"! Even if other theater commands tried to recruit him, the highest they could offer would be S-level. Could they possibly conjure up an SSS-level out of thin air? That in itself raises a huge question mark.

The most crucial and touching point for Wang Xing was the timeliness of the special supplies provided by the military region!

If he agrees today, the two top-tier mecha modification parts, [Howling Tiger Stripe Steel] and [Storm Transmission Kit], will be shipped out immediately. This will allow his mecha's capabilities to skyrocket in a short period of time!

For him now, the most important thing is to upgrade his mecha as quickly as possible, improve his combat skills, and build up the strongest foundation before the college entrance examination.

Time and tangible benefits far outweigh those price gouging schemes that don't even have a future.

"If you're still unsure, you can immediately call your family and teachers for advice. After all, this is no small matter. But I swear on the flag of the Western Theater Command, this is absolutely the highest level of sincerity we can offer!"

Lin Xishan softened his tone. He had already done so much; if Wang Xing still refused, then he really had no other choice.

Wang Xing shook his head.

He did not intend to ask his family.

My older sister, Wang Yue, already works in the Mobei Military Region and is an extreme advocate for the military. She probably knows this and will force me to sign with the Western Theater Command. My mother, Yang Xiaoxia, only wants me to be safe and will support me no matter where I go.

As for teacher Lü Yun...

Wang Xing looked up at the tightly closed door.

Lu Yun deliberately brought him here, then turned around and left without hesitation, hanging up the inspection sign. This gesture of avoiding suspicion made his intentions all too clear.

Teacher Lü was telling him in this way that as a powerful mecha pilot aiming for the top, one must have the courage to make good decisions and act independently!

One should not rely solely on the guidance of others.

He must choose this path himself, and he must walk it himself!

As for sincerity... Wang Xing truly felt it.

In an effort to win him over, the Western Theater Command went so far as to send a colonel to spar with him and even went to great lengths to devise a "feigned attack while secretly advancing" tactic.

In contrast, the Eastern Theater Command, although it fell into the trap, when it heard that the other side was offering a B-level rating, the price it hastily offered to intercept the deal was only an A-level rating.

Who says anything higher than B has to be A? Why not S?

This precisely reveals that the Eastern Theater Command was not initially determined to give him S-level treatment; it simply wanted to make a profit by giving him A-level treatment.

Comparing the two, a judgment is made.

Having figured all this out, Wang Xing's hesitation completely vanished. He raised his head, his gaze clear and firm:

"I agree!"

.........

.........

At 2 p.m. that day, in the principal's office of Rongcheng No. 2 High School.

In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, sunlight shines through the holographic blinds, casting futuristic striped light and shadow on the mahogany desk.

In the center of the room floated a protocol console made of holographic projections, with blue data streams flowing like a waterfall in the void, each line of text shimmering with the faint light of quantum encryption.

Because signing such a high-level military contract requires the presence of immediate family members, Yang Xiaoxia, who rushed over after receiving the call, is now sitting on a leather sofa, looking somewhat flustered and excited.

"Ms. Yang!"

"This is the appendix to the [Dragon Kingdom Western Military Region Mecha University Early S-Level Recruitment Agreement], and this is the Military Family Confidentiality and Guarantee Regulations."

Opposite her, Lin Xishan put away his military sharpness and smiled as he manipulated the miniature tactical projector, clearly projecting the final electronic agreement terms one by one into the air.

Lin Xishan pointed to the floating blue light screen and patiently explained:

"You and Wang Xing should review it first. Once you confirm that everything is correct, you can then register your biometric fingerprint within the electronic aperture at the bottom."

Wang Xing and Yang Xiaoxia carefully checked the various allowance amounts, material lists, and attached obligations clauses in the agreement word by word.

After confirming that everything was exactly as Lin Xishan had promised at noon, the mother and son exchanged a glance and nodded.

"drop!"

Wang Xing pressed his right thumb into the center of the aperture, and accompanied by a crisp electronic synthesized sound, the holographic projection lit up with a faint green light.

Fingerprint verification successful.

Immediately afterwards, a beam of infrared light shot out from the suspended high-precision scanner in the corner of the wall, quickly scanning Wang Xing's pupils and facial contours.

[Iris scan complete... Facial bone modeling and data entry complete...]

[The Dragon Kingdom military's highest-level network connection has been successful. Code name TX-9502. Wang Xing, an S-level reserve cadet from the Western Theater Command, has been officially registered and archived!]

The atmosphere in the office instantly relaxed when the green text lit up.

The contract has been signed.

"Wang Xing! Welcome to the Western Theater Command family!"

Lin Xishan stood up and solemnly gave Wang Xing a standard military salute.

Then, smiling, he raised his hand and firmly grasped Wang Xing's shoulder.

"Thank you, sir!"

Wang Xing also stood up straight. Although he hadn't put on his military uniform yet, his fierce and valiant spirit was already beginning to take shape.

"The pre-enlistment allowance will only be issued to you after you officially enlist; it cannot be given to you now."

Wang Xing understands.

The national system does this to prevent some people from making promises and then going back on their word, or from spending all the money and then not showing up, thus embezzling the country's military funds.

No matter how much the country invests in military spending, it wouldn't do this.

"I will give you the Red Tiger Bone Marrow Fluid in batches according to the time specified in the agreement."

Lin Xishan pulled up a list of supplies. "There are three in total. The first one will be given to you within fifteen days for foundational cleansing and marrow cleansing; the second one will be given to you three months later for consolidating your qi and blood foundation; the third one will be delivered three weeks before the college entrance examination for the final breakthrough. Each time you take it, a doctor sent by the military will be on-site to supervise and ensure safety."

Wang Xing nodded. This timeline was reasonable and corresponded perfectly to the three key moments in his improvement of qi and blood.

"As for the [Howling Tiger Stripe Steel] and [Storm Transmission Kit] modification parts, the higher-ups have already started mailing them out."

"Of course, if you use them up and then refuse to enlist, the state will recover the equivalent value of these items, except in some special circumstances."

Then he checked the logistics information of the express delivery... This express delivery was not sent from the Western Theater Command, but was sent directly from the "Kunlun Warehouse", the Central Military Equipment Allocation Center of the Dragon Kingdom.

"Kunlun Warehouse" is the central logistics hub of the Chinese military, located in the heart of the Central Plains. Strategic materials from all war zones are centrally dispatched from here. This ensures efficient transportation while avoiding sensitive issues that might arise from cross-war zone transport.

"The package has arrived in Rongcheng. You should be able to have it modified at the Yuanfang Bureau's mecha repair shop in Qingyang District, Rongcheng, tomorrow. There will be professional Yuanfang Bureau personnel there to operate it for you."

In the Dragon Kingdom, the personnel of the City Defense Bureau are all military officers, who are from the armed forces and are somewhat similar to... the People's Armed Police.

The various military regions are all highly confidential places, and Wang Xing would not be allowed to go there.

Moreover, Chengdu is not part of the Western Theater Command; it is located at the border between the Southern and Western Theater Commands.

"Qingyang District Defense Bureau Modification Room..."

Wang Xing suddenly realized something; wasn't this the spot on the business card Lei Zhen had given him?

…………

After the signing was completed, Lin Xishan turned to Yang Xiaoxia, his expression softening slightly: "Ms. Yang, as Wang Xing's mother, you will naturally enjoy the same family benefits as Wang Xing's scheduled enlistment."

As he spoke, he took out a card with a dark gold sheen from his pocket and handed it over.

"This is the 'Military Family Medical Insurance Card.' From now on, for any minor ailments like headaches, fevers, or serious illnesses, you can use this card to receive full reimbursement at any military-affiliated hospital or public hospital nationwide. You'll also have priority access to the military family's lane, avoiding queues and registration fees. Additionally, you'll receive one free comprehensive physical examination annually, including blood and qi testing, organ scans, and mental health assessments; appointments can be made at top-tier hospitals."

Yang Xiaoxia took the heavy card.

The hospital she visited most often in her life was the community clinic. Every time she went for a medical appointment, she had to be very careful with her money, afraid of spending even a penny more than necessary.

Now, this little card means she no longer has to worry about medical expenses.

"This...this is too precious." Yang Xiaoxia's fingers trembled slightly.

"Ms. Yang, thank you for raising such a good son."

Lin Xishan said solemnly, "This treatment is nothing compared to the talent we are cultivating for the country."

Everyone present looked at Yang Xiaoxia, whose face was kind, with respect and admiration.

Lu Yun looked at Wang Xing, crossed his arms, and had a faint smile on his face.

His eyes were full of pride, as if to say, "You've finally grown up."

Looking at the reassured light in his mother's eyes, Wang Xing felt an indescribable sense of determination welling up inside him.

The benefits for enlisting are... really good!

One person joins the army, and the whole family enjoys the benefits.

This statement is not just empty talk.