Chapter 26: Isaiah Thomas’s Choice (Part 2)

Harold Olson showed a satisfied expression. In his view, getting this fresh country bumpkin to accept some kind of sponsorship was already a sure thing. Didn’t he see that the other party was already completely stunned?

With a light smile, Harold Olson stirred up his silver tongue again and began to vigorously persuade!

“Respected Your Excellency Isaiah Thomas, I think the Li Clan’s sponsorship conditions are very good. Take a look… Not to mention the five thousand Gold Plangs per year, first there’s this large estate. Do you see it? The Feili Mountain area! This is a large estate located in the Feili Mountain area! You must know about the Feili Mountain area, right? Even the great His Majesty Pat Riley III goes there for tourism every year…”

“And there’s this Hays Chamber of Commerce. They ’re also very sincere. Look, their annual sponsorship amount reaches fifteen thousand Gold Plangs~~ Fifteen thousand!! If I had that much money, I would have already…”

“The Brown Family is a very powerful major clan in Hall City…”

“Archmage Jim Boehm really thinks highly of you…”

“The Clan Head of the Adafir Family is…”

“The Brown Family…”

La la la~~ La la la~~ La la la la~~ La la la~~

Harold Olson’s smooth talk was like an endless river, flowing on and on without stopping. For a moment, Isaiah Thomas was deeply moved. Who would have thought that the second-ranking Professional Appraiser of the Lons Administrative District would be so enthusiastic!

—This Mr. Harold Olson is really a good man!! The newly emerged Moonlight Battle Aura talent said so…

But actually, everyone understood that as long as Harold Olson could get Isaiah Thomas to accept sponsorship from some family, Harold Olson himself would also receive a generous reward. That was the real reason for his enthusiasm. Harold Olson knew this, Luo Yan knew this, and even Luo Pei and Old Strom knew it too. But Isaiah himself probably really didn’t know.

Also, there were probably many other things Isaiah Thomas didn’t know, but Luo Yan knew them all. For example, when choosing a sponsor, many people preferred to choose royal sponsorship. Because although the royal sponsorship amount was limited, their requirements for the sponsored person were also the smallest. Apart from having to be loyal to the royal family and doing their best to complete tasks assigned by the royal family when needed, they didn’t interfere with the sponsored person’s personal actions at all — for many people, these two points were actually things they should naturally do anyway — so quite a few Professionals preferred to accept royal sponsorship. This was the origin of the large number of royal Martial Artists and royal Wizards.

Compared to the royal family, the requirements of other clans, forces, and individuals for sponsorship were much harsher. At the lightest, there would be various restrictions on the sponsored person’s behavior. At the heaviest, it was like signing an indenture contract. Professionals were proud and arrogant people — who would generally be willing to accept such restraints? However, these private sponsorships often came with huge amounts of money, which had a shocking effect. So some Professionals, unable to resist the temptation of profit, still accepted their sponsorship. After all, money moves people’s hearts.

Of course, there were also some Professionals who didn’t accept any sponsorship at all, whether from the royal family or from other clans, forces, or individuals. Such Professionals naturally possessed precious freedom. But there was also a problem: during their study period, they were mostly troubled by financial issues — as mentioned before, on the Amelia Continent, it was absolutely true that “there is gold in books.” Professionals from ordinary families without sponsorship not only lacked necessary cultivation materials, but even the most basic tuition fees were often a problem. Such Professionals often had to put in ten or even a hundred times more effort in their cultivation, and even so, their progress was still slow. Every step was difficult.

[Freedom and non-scarce material guarantees, leisurely life… such a choice would never have an answer.]

Opening his mouth, Old Strom was about to remind Isaiah Thomas, but was immediately glared at fiercely by Harold Olson, who said irritably: “Stop your nonsense! What do you country bumpkins know? Don’t interrupt and disturb Your Excellency Isaiah Thomas’s thinking…” Then he turned his gaze back to Isaiah Thomas, smiling even more fawningly: “Respected Your Excellency Isaiah Thomas, have you made up your mind? If you really can’t choose, why not let me pick one for you? After all, the value of these sponsorship conditions is about the same.”

He asked again in a gentle voice. Thinking of the generous reward he was about to receive, Mr. Harold Olson’s voice trembled a little. He had really struck gold this time. In fact, he didn’t believe that facing such temptation, this country bumpkin in front of him wouldn’t be moved. No one disliked abundant material guarantees, and no one disliked a leisurely life. These mountain folk worked hard every day, wasn’t it just to earn a few extra copper coins?

Not only did Harold Olson not believe it, even Luo Yan was silent at this moment. He really hadn’t expected those wealthy and influential families from the counties to be willing to invest such heavy capital. At the very least, when he heard these sponsorship conditions, he couldn’t help but feel a slight stir in his heart.

—These conditions were things that many ordinary people couldn’t possess even after working their whole lives, or even several lifetimes!!

But this time, Isaiah Thomas was no longer in that dazed and foolish state as before. Hearing this, he finally raised his head and said with a smile: “No problem, Mr. Harold Olson. I think I’ve already made my choice.”

Isaiah Thomas hadn’t seen much of the world, but that didn’t mean he was stupid. He at least had the basic common sense of “sponsor and sponsored” that had appeared no fewer than eight thousand times in the chapters of wandering bards’ tales. How could he possibly allow someone else to sign an “indenture contract” for him?

“You’ve already decided~~” Mr. Harold Olson’s face showed obvious disappointment, but then he immediately perked up and said with a beaming smile: “May I ask which sponsorship you plan to accept, respected Your Excellency Isaiah Thomas?” No matter what, as long as Isaiah Thomas accepted sponsorship, he would get paid. Mr. Harold Olson didn’t mind which one he chose.

Hearing this, a radiance seemed to appear on Isaiah Thomas’s face, and he said firmly: “I am willing to accept the sponsorship of Mr. Luo Pei, the Director of Talim Village, Wooden Bucket Town, Hall City, Lons Administrative District.”

Boom! It was as if a thunderbolt had struck overhead. Instantly, everyone in the Village Office was dumbfounded — Harold Olson, Old Strom, Luo Yan, and even Luo Pei himself!!

[Does this guy know what he’s saying? Accepting sponsorship means swearing loyalty to Luo Pei. But compared to those huge sponsorship amounts before, what Luo Pei could offer was absolutely meager, not even a single hair from nine oxen!!]

Silence…

Long silence…

Suffocating silence…

“What?!” After a long while, Mr. Harold Olson came back to his senses, staring at Isaiah Thomas in great shock, his face full of disbelief: “Wait~~ What did you just say? I must have misheard. Respected Your Excellency Isaiah Thomas, you said…”

Hearing this, Isaiah Thomas waved his hand without hesitation and said: “You didn’t mishear. I truly am willing to accept the sponsorship of Mr. Luo Pei, the Director of Talim Village, Wooden Bucket Town, Hall City, Lons Administrative District.”

At this, Harold Olson finally jumped up, shouting in a shrill voice: “No~~ No~~ How can you do this? How can you accept this kind of sponsorship? This kind of godforsaken corner, this kind of country bumpkin…”

But before he could finish, Isaiah Thomas across from him coldly interrupted: “Sorry, but I’m also a country bumpkin like you said!” Then he showed Luo Pei a firm smile and said loudly: “I am willing to accept your sponsorship, Mr. Luo Pei!”

At this moment, Luo Pei finally came back to his senses. But who would have thought that his first reaction wasn’t to joyfully accept Isaiah Thomas’s loyalty, but to persuade him with a grave expression: “Isaiah, you need to think this over carefully. This matter is no joke. It concerns your future!”

In that instant, Luo Yan felt an urge to bang his head against the ground. My grandfather’s son~~ You really are… This is a Martial Artist with unlimited potential, the loyalty of a Moonlight Battle Aura talent! Can you show a bit more enthusiasm? Don’t be such a pushover! What if he actually changes his mind?!

But Isaiah Thomas’s performance moved Luo Yan. He gently shook his head and said very firmly: “It’s alright, Director. I’ve already thought it through. I’ll accept your sponsorship!”

This time, Luo Pei no longer insisted. After a brief pause, he nodded with a serious expression and said: “Very well, Isaiah Thomas. I… Luo Pei, from the Luo Family of Flax City, currently serving as Director of Talim Village, formally promise that I will do my utmost to sponsor you. This sponsorship will never change for life!”

[…Perhaps the money at his disposal wasn’t even one ten-thousandth of what others could offer, but the weight of his promise was by no means lighter. “Do my utmost” — just these four words alone already made people feel a heavy sincerity rushing toward them…]

Old Strom smiled. Isaiah Thomas smiled. Luo Pei smiled. The one smiling the happiest was Luo Yan.

Seeing the contract between the two parties established, Luo Yan was almost dumbfounded. This actually worked? Is this for real? Could it be that after being reborn once, his luck had exploded? This was a Moonlight Battle Aura talent who could definitely advance to a high-level profession, and might even have the potential to break through to a super-level profession! This… this… this…

My son’s great-grandfather~~ Your grandson is about to get rich!!

Silly grin after silly grin. Just as Luo Yan was being flooded by the sudden wave of immense happiness, the ignored Mr. Harold Olson jumped out again!

“No no no~~ How can you accept such a shabby sponsorship? Absolutely not, not, not! I don’t agree!!” Harold Olson shouted with all his might, his face red and neck thick, reminding people of a rooster being grabbed by the neck.

But this time, the only response he got was Old Strom’s half-smiling face: “Respected Mr. Harold Olson? This matter doesn’t seem to have anything to do with you, does it?”

Instantly, Harold Olson was like a deflated ball. He sat down on the ground in utter dejection, as if watching golden coins flying toward him… and then… flying away…