Sun Mo’s Priceless Advice was at the grandmaster-level and its effect was extremely strong.
The golden light shone on Liu Tong, causing him to start violently as he froze on the spot. The light also caused his body to emit golden light rapidly.
At this instant, Liu Tong felt like his brain was smacked by a gigantic bell. His 40 years of bitter experiences flooded his brain.
Yeah, since when did this all begin? Even he started to look down on himself?
For the ridicule and mocking of others, he could pretend not to see or hear them. When he was young, when those kids insulted him, he would even raise his little fist to hit them back. But now, where had his courage gone?
“I…”
Liu Tong squeezed out a bitter smile. His heart was full of helplessness and there was a sour feeling.
“Being ugly isn’t your fault. But being scolded and not retaliating is definitely your fault!”
Sun Mo spoke earnestly.
“I’ll say this in passing. Although you might be ugly, you have a lot of potential.”
Sun Mo consoled.
“Teacher Sun, you are praising me too much. I know very clearly about how average I am!”
Liu Tong clasped his fists, not daring to accept the praise.
Li Ziqi and Lu Zhiruo naturally wouldn’t doubt their teacher’s words. But Gu Xiuxun, Li Ruolan, and even Xie Cang couldn’t help but survey Liu Tong carefully.
“Sun Mo, if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time you met him, right? How do you know that he has good potential?”
Gu Xiuxun was very curious.
This was also what the others were puzzled about.
“I can tell from his attacks!”
Sun Mo smiled.
He wasn’t lying. If someone had extremely high potential but a bad character, Sun Mo wouldn’t invite them. However, this Liu Tong, his every movement contained a simple, unadorned, and sturdy feeling.
This indicated that he was able to endure loneliness and mockery. He didn’t succeed because there weren’t any good great teachers to guide him.
One could say that although his age was slightly older, he was still a piece of unpolished jade.
“Che, his words are so exaggerated!”
The citizens commented, clearly not believing in Sun Mo. Luckily, Liu Tong wasn’t a beauty, or everyone would start to guess whether Sun Mo was saying all these just to get into her panties.
Xie Cang and Gu Xiuxun had a contemplative look in their eyes. At their levels, they could indeed feel some things from a person’s combat style.
Liu Tong looked at Sun Mo’s sincere smile. Honestly speaking, he was dumbfounded. (Am I really that talented?) He thought carefully again. Did he have anything worth Sun Mo lying to him about?
(Selling me to a factory as a slave?)
Those slave owners would feel he was too short and ugly and directly toss him out to feed him to the dogs.
“Teacher Liu, I understand that this matter might have a great impact on you. You don’t have to rush and can consider it carefully. Just let me know your answer before the great teacher examination ends.”
Sun Mo smiled. “But let me say a thing first. I will definitely not give up on recruiting you.”
“I can feel Teacher Sun’s sincerity, but may I be so impudent to ask this? Can you make the decision on behalf of the school?”
After asking this, Liu Tong’s heart already started to pound rapidly.
That was the Central Province Academy, a ‘C’ grade famous school, and had even once been part of the Nine Greats, possessing a radiant history.
(Can someone like me work there too?)
“Our teacher is one of the vice headmasters of the Central Province Academy. He is in charge of finances and logistics.”
Li Ziqi introduced with a proud look on her face.
Si~
Upon hearing this, loud exclamations could be heard from the surroundings.
How old was Sun Mo?
He was actually a vice headmaster!
Moreover, he was in charge of the finance and logistics department!
One must know that they were solid positions with heavy weightages in every school. Money and power…just obtaining one of them would make one a major character.
“Has the headmaster of the Central Province Academy gone crazy? Even if Sun Mo was his own son, the headmaster shouldn’t do such a thing just to nurture him, right? Is he really not afraid that Sun Mo would make the school end up in dire straits?”
Someone questioned.
“The main point is how would the others be convinced?”
The backbone of a school consisted of older great teachers. Wanting them to listen to the commands of a young man in his twenties?
Honestly speaking, most people would definitely feel unhappy.
Right now, Sun Mo could already be considered someone famous. Hence, some information about him had long since spread out. Some people knew of it and immediately explained to the others.
“The old headmaster of the Central Province Academy failed in his attempt to break through to the saint level. Hence, the granddaughter of the old headmaster is substituting for him. Sun Mo is her childhood’s sweetheart, and he is also someone personally picked by the old headmaster to marry his granddaughter!”
After hearing this, the gossiping people were instantly enlightened. As expected, there were shady businesses behind this.
Sun Mo was talented and no one doubted this. But by saying Sun Mo could live up to the position of a vice headmaster in a famous school? That was basically nonsense.
Gu Xiuxun looked at their expressions of disbelief and felt that it was unfair. Sun Mo was an impressive character. He was the one who had resolved the logistics problem and financial crisis of the school. He had also cleared the school of trash and chased away Zhang Hanfu, causing the school to be able to shine again, allowing each great teacher to feel that they would have bright futures working there.
Without Sun Mo, the Central Province Academy might have already fallen out of ‘D’ grade and lost the qualifications to be called a ‘famous school.’
“Teacher Liu, although I admire you a lot, I have something unpleasant that I wish to put out on the table first. The competitive nature in the Central Province Academy is very intense. Other than a low starting salary, the monetary rewards would be given based on one’s performance. The better you perform, the more rewards you will get. But if you do anything that crosses the bottomline or if your performance isn’t up to the bar, I have to apologize as you would be fired.”
Sun Mo intentionally wanted to spur Liu Tong by making negative remarks.
As expected, Liu Tong revealed a look of apprehension, but in his heart, he already intended to go over for a try.
“The doors of my Central Province Academy will always be open. All the young heroes here, if you guys wish to have a place to display your talent, you can come for an interview at the Central Province Academy.”
Sun Mo suddenly spoke loudly, advertising the Central Province Academy.
Some great teachers whose personal situations were not so good felt a little moved in their hearts. After all, everyone was looking to move to a better place, and a ‘C’ grade famous school was still passable.
“Cough, cough. Teacher Sun, please pay attention to the venue. This is the arena for the Great Teachers Battle.”
The main examiner finally regained his senses and urged Sun Mo to leave, not wanting him to disturb the others from taking the examination.
“Main examiner, the competition has ended.”
An examiner reminded him. However, his gaze was still surveying Sun Mo.
The winner of the recent battle wasn’t old, but he had some bald spots on his head. Right now, there was a depressed look on his face as he stared at Sun Mo with hidden bitterness.
For his first round of combat, he had gone all out and displayed a lot of skills. If others saw it, they would definitely be impressed by him and he might be able to become famous after a battle.
But in the end, no one was paying any attention to him.
“Sorry.”
After Sun Mo apologized, he brought his students away and left.
At this moment, the system notification rang out.
Ding!
“New mission issued: Please recruit Liu Tong and nurture him into a virtuous great teacher with high prestige. At the very least, he has to become a 5-star great teacher.”
Sun Mo halted. 5-star? (System, are you so confident in me? Or are you that confident in Liu Tong’s potential?)
“Teacher Sun, please wait!”
Li Ruolan immediately chased after.
Huala~
As Sun Mo left, the spectators also had no more interest to stay here and dispersed, each going off to the areas they were keener on spectating.
“Main examiner, what do you think about Sun Mo?”
An examiner was curious.
“I think he was trying to use this chance to announce his thirst for talents!”
The main examiner analyzed. Honestly, he didn’t feel Liu Tong had much potential. For a fellow who only got into the third level of the divine force realm at 40 years old, if he wasn’t trash, what was he?
That examiner nodded. He felt this was the case as well.
“Teacher Sun, Teacher Sun, please wait. I wish to interview you.”
Li Ruolan chased behind Sun Mo with a smile on her face. It was a pity Sun Mo wasn’t moved at all.
“When you said you admired Teacher Liu, was that a facade to show your thirst for talents? But I feel that you might have miscalculated. Even if these people passed the examination, they would only be 2-star great teachers and wouldn’t bring about a qualitative improvement to the Central Province Academy.”
Li Ruolan’s tone was a little severe as she went straight to the point.
She also didn’t feel that Liu Tong had potential. If she were to grade him, she might even feel it was too much to give him 1 mark.
“I purely admired Liu Tong.”
Sun Mo’s tone was calm. “Also, stop following me. It’s very annoying!”
After hearing Sun Mo speaking in this manner to Li Ruolan who was ranked #11 on the Beauty Rankings, Gu Xiuxun and Li Ziqi immediately showed a thumbs up in their hearts.
Li Ruolan was stunned. Ever since she started working until now, she had never received such cold treatment before. For a time, she froze at her original location.
Seeing Sun Mo leaving without even turning his head, Li Ruolan could be sure that Sun Mo wasn’t trying to play a trick of advancing in the guise of a retreat. He truly didn’t wish to be interviewed.
“Damnit, within three months, this lady boss will definitely make you kneel beneath my skirt!”
Li Ruolan was extremely vexed and tossed the image-recording stone in her hand away. But very soon, she picked it up again and was preparing to interview Xie Cang.
There was no solution to it. Right now, Sun Mo was the most popular person to write about. If she wrote about other people, no readers would want to see it!
After Liu Tong returned to his hotel, his personal student Zhang Pan rushed over to him.
“Teacher, how’s the battle result?”
Looking at the anticipation in Zhang Pan’s eyes, Liu Tong felt incomparably awkward. He truly wasn’t able to say the two words ‘I lost’.
Zhang Pan had a lame leg, but he wasn’t a fool. When he saw Liu Tong’s look, he already knew the answer. But after being disappointed for a few seconds, he squeezed out a smile to comfort Liu Tong.
“Teacher, let us come again next year. We will definitely be able to pass!”
At this moment, his teacher should be even more disappointed than him. Hence, even though Zhang Pan knew there also wasn’t much hope for them next year, he still did his best to console his teacher.
“I’m sorry!”
Upon seeing the concerned gaze of his personal student, Liu Tong instantly felt tears filling his eyes. He disappointed his student again. He could still remember that in order to prove himself, Zhang Pan would endure the pain in his leg and cultivate until late at night every single day.
Sadly, he couldn’t even win an opportunity for his student to showcase his skill.
“Teacher, let’s return tomorrow.”
Zhang Pan suggested. Since there was no more hope, they had to face reality. He knew that his teacher was very poor. And for this examination, the school wouldn’t reimburse the traveling and lodging expenses. Hence, the more days they stayed here, the heavier their financial burden would be.
Next month, they had to eat plain buns for quite a few more days.
Liu Tong gritted his teeth. He was also a man and had his own pride. He didn’t wish to be looked down upon by his disciple.
“Pan`er, let us wait for a few more days!”
Liu Tong made his decision.
“Ah?”
Zhang Pan was taken aback. “Do you want to see the result?”
Zhang Pan had wanted to say that the [Great Teachers Report] would publish the result, but after recalling that his teacher had failed, he decided not to say this. It would be good if he allowed his teacher to stay here for a few more days to clear his mind.
“No, after the examination ended, I’m preparing to negotiate with Teacher Sun. Oh, that’s Sun Mo, Black Doggy Sun!”
Liu Tong explained.
Zhang Pan was shocked. “One-Vote Sun?”
“Yes!”
Liu Tong nodded.
Zhang Pan really wanted to ask how did his teacher know such a famous person? Let alone in Westmountain, even in his own school, Liu Tong was someone transparent.
When colleagues gathered for meals, no one would call him to join in.
“He invited me to teach in the Central Province Academy!”
After Liu Tong spoke, he saw Zhang Pan’s expression immediately changing. Zhang Pan’s expression changed from bewilderment, to shock, to excitement as his breathing grew hurried.
As Zhang Pan’s personal teacher, Liu Tong had never done anything that would make Zhang Pan proud of him. This was the only time he managed to do so. In the end, it was all because of Sun Mo’s admiration for him.
“Teacher Sun, if I have the qualifications to enter the Central Province Academy, I will definitely do my utmost to repay you for your kindness of recognizing my worth!”
Liu Tong silently vowed.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Liu Tong +500. Friendly (500/1,000).
“The Central Province Academy is a ‘D’ grade school, right?”
Before Zhang Pan started school, he had done some research on a few famous schools. After all, who wouldn’t want to join a famous school? Sadly, because of his lame leg, none of the schools would give him a chance.
“‘C’ grade, they ascended last year.”
Liu Tong introduced.
“‘C’ grade…”
Gurgle, Zhang Pan gulped down a mouthful of saliva. One must know that as Liu Tong’s personal student, once his teacher was employed by the Central Province Academy, even if his results were very bad, he would be qualified to study in the Central Province Academy.
“If my mother knows about this, she would definitely be so happy that she would butcher a 100kg pig and cook it to celebrate.”
Zhang Pan’s eyes were full of hope. But very soon later, his heart was filled with doubt.
“Teacher, would that Sun Mo be lying to you?”
Zhang Pan only realized that his words might be a little belittling to his teacher after he spoke. However, no one could blame him for being worried. After all, Liu Tong was clearly very unpopular.
He had seen his teacher drinking alone to drown out all his depression and loneliness hundreds of times.
“Absolutely not.”
At such a moment, Liu Tong could only persist and believe in Sun Mo. (Maybe the truth was like what Sun Mo has stated? I’m a genius but it’s just that I don’t know it?)
Pui! Pui! Pui!
(Liu Tong, you are merely being invited by Sun Mo and you are already so happy? You should go take a look at your reflection in the mirror. Maybe the mirror would crack from contempt!)
At 5 p.m., the first round had ended.
The failures were eliminated and the victors continued to draw lots. The official matches would start tomorrow.
Gu Xiuxun drew lot #35 and Sun Mo #178. Xia Yuan also passed and drew lot #323.
“I hope I won’t meet a formidable opponent!”
Xia Yuan prayed.
The examinees not only didn’t know the names of their opponents, but they wouldn’t know which round they would be fighting as well. This was to prevent any possibilities of cheating.
Sun Mo could also feel the pressure. He was young and this was his greatest weakness. Those middle-aged great teachers who had taken the exams a few times would have higher cultivation bases.
“Luckily, I have the divine force fruit!”
After dinner, Sun Mo got Ying Baiwu and Xuanyuan Po to guard him as he swallowed his divine force fruit in his bedroom.
Sun Mo already had the experience of consuming a divine force fruit. Besides, since his constitution was not bad, the entire process went rather smoothly.
After that, the second day came. The day for a fierce fight had begun.