Of course, in logistics, maintenance, or on some of the less intense secondary battlefields, the average survival time would be much higher.

But this still proved just how precious and valuable Imperial Contribution Points were!

They had to be earned from the corpses of the Alien Race, paid for with life after life, with endless blood and sacrifice!

And yet, here at Cannan Star Martial Arts University, you could earn them just by volunteering for a month? By doing easy work like directing foot traffic, verifying identities, and ensuring the safety of the candidates?

That was... utterly absurd!

An expression of utter confusion filled Qin Feng’s face.

Xiong Yanfu, standing beside him, seemed to notice his confusion. He smiled and explained,

"Qin Feng, you must be thinking this defies all common sense, right? To be honest, I was just as shocked as you are when I first found out."

"Think about it. Without such a crushing advantage, how could Cannan Star Martial Arts University—a place that operates on a hands-off approach and provides no fixed resources—firmly hold its title as the best in this star system and attract all the top talents on a pilgrimage?"

"In reality, this all comes down to a special privilege granted at the highest level of the Empire: the authority to trade Contribution Points."

"Within the Empire, any private trading of Imperial Contribution Points is a felony. Once discovered by the Imperial Court of Justice, you’re immediately put on the wanted list. If the amount traded is large enough, you could even be executed."

"But Cannan Star Martial Arts University is different. Their chancellor—that legendary, ancient being who’s said to have lived for who-knows-how-many millennia—possesses a special authority granted by the Empire itself, allowing for the trade and distribution of Contribution Points within the university!"

"Of course," Xiong Yanfu added, "this authority can only be used for the purpose of cultivating students. It can’t be used for anything else."

"Let me give you an example, and you’ll get it."

"Cannan Star Martial Arts University has many guest instructors, right? Among them, there’s no shortage of Black Hole-level Strongest. For a being of that caliber, completing just one Empire-issued mission at their level would earn them an astronomical amount of Contribution Points. It would be enough for people like you and me to use for... agh, I can’t even calculate it. Anyway, it’s an unimaginable sum."

"Never mind. Let’s just use the most common instructors as an example. Most of the regular instructors here are at the Stellar level. If they went out and completed a single Empire mission, the Contribution Points they’d earn would be enough for thousands of new students like us to cultivate all the way to the Planetary level and graduate, with plenty to spare."

Hearing this, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck Qin Feng’s mind.

He finally understood.

’So, with this "special trading authority," Cannan Star Martial Arts University is basically an officially sanctioned, massive "Contribution Point hub"!’

’It can take the massive amount of Contribution Points earned by the instructors at the top of the pyramid from their high-level missions and redistribute them to the students in a relatively "cheap" way, through things like school competitions and volunteer tasks!’

’This single perk completely crushes the so-called "S-rank contracts" offered by all other Martial Arts Universities!’

’Other Starry Sky Martial Arts Universities, even those in the Top 100, could never have such a ridiculously overpowered trading privilege!’

Once he understood this, Qin Feng’s awe for Cannan Star Martial Arts University deepened even further.

...

The line moved forward, slowly but in an orderly fashion.

Soon, it was Qin Feng’s turn.

The person in charge of verifying identities was an upperclassman with a stern expression and a calm, steady aura.

He didn’t even look up, saying in a business-like tone, "Point your personal terminal at the verification device."

Qin Feng complied.

As a beam of light swept over it, his personal information and the digital copies of his two recommendation letters appeared on the upperclassman’s screen.

The upperclassman had only intended to give it a routine glance, but when he saw the contents of the screen, a flicker of surprise appeared involuntarily.

Because on his private system, it clearly showed that the file for the candidate before him, a young man named Qin Feng, didn’t just contain a joint recommendation letter from the Martial Arts High Schools of the "Qiming" Educational Planet.

It also had a recommendation letter jointly signed by one hundred of the Top 100 Star Martial Arts Universities!

’That’s seriously impressive.’

’After all, just getting a recommendation letter from a single Top 100 Martial Arts University already marked someone as a top-tier genius.’

’But to have a hundred of them endorse a single person? In the seven times he’d done this volunteer work, this was the first time he’d ever seen such a thing.’

The upperclassman couldn’t help but look up in surprise and size up Qin Feng again, this time more carefully.

However, to his senses, the young man before him had a reserved aura and seemed utterly unremarkable, like an uncut gem. He couldn’t see anything special about him at all.

Though surprised, he showed no sign of it on his face. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

His excellent composure had him simply press the "Verification Approved" button on the screen without a word.

"Go on in."

He stepped aside, clearing the path.

Qin Feng and Xiong Yanfu thanked him and walked through the main gate.

Beyond the gate was an open-air plaza so vast it defied imagination.

The plaza was paved with smooth, white stone, stretching as far as the eye could see, large enough to hold millions of people at once.

At the far end of the plaza stood a black dais, soaring into the clouds, its purpose a mystery.