Chapter 369: Sun Mo of Central Province Academy, Invincible!
“Yes, the second place!”
Headmaster Wang nodded with certainty. For such a high ranking, no one would remember it wrongly. Besides, this was with regard to a dark horse like the Central Province Academy obtaining it.
Liu Mubai’s expression turned dark because he thought of a possibility. If this was true, it would be face-smacking because he had said that Sun Mo would only be able to get the fifth place.
An Xinhui was startled but a look of joy soon appeared on her face. “Headmaster Zhou, are you referring to the new student group?”
“Yup!”
(If I’m not talking about the new student group, would I be talking about your representative group? Although third place also isn’t bad, it’s surely not as good as second place.)
“Headmaster An, congratulations. Starting from next year, your Central Province Academy will be in the ‘C’ grade!”
Headmaster Wang offered his congratulations.
Speaking a few pleasant words wouldn’t harm anyone, yet he could pull his relationship with the Central Province Academy closer. So, in the future, if there was a need to conduct some exchange programs, it would be more convenient to negotiate.
An Xinhui felt some disbelief. This joy was too great. Since even more headmasters came to congratulate her, this news couldn’t be fake.
“Headmaster An, Teacher Sun Mo from your school performed dazzlingly. It’s a pity that he didn’t graduate from one of the Nine Greats. If not, his fame would be even greater.”
Headmaster Zhou sighed.
This was influence!
For example, soccer players who belonged to the Chinese Super League. No matter how well you played, you wouldn’t be world-famous! But if you were in the Premier League, as long as you put up a dazzling performance against a big-shot team, you would immediately appear on the news and your value would increase explosively.
“Headmaster Zhang praised him too much. Teacher Sun still has many aspects where he needs to improve on.”
An Xinhui humbly replied, but she felt very satisfied in her heart.
Her childhood sweetheart had given her another surprise. Her grandfather’s judgment was truly very accurate.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from An Xinhui +500. Reverence (3,570/10,000).
“If the new student group really got second place, wouldn’t that mean that we can ascend to the ‘C’ grade this year?”
Zhu Ting was very happy. The higher their school was ranked, the higher the value of the graduates would be.
“With so many headmasters coming to offer their congratulations, there shouldn’t be a mistake.”
Xue Tianlei was very agitated.
Xu Xun’s expression was very unsightly.
When Xia Yi saw this scene, she didn’t know what to say either. (Didn’t I tell you not to look down on Sun Mo? You were adamant and refused to believe me. Look, you are now suffering because of this.)
“Xu Xun!”
Cai Tan spoke.
The gazes of the students immediately turned over. Earlier, the dispute between the two of them was heard by everyone.
“I’ll leave my shoe to you!”
Cai Tan smiled.
(Teacher Sun, you have truly not disappointed me!)
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Cai Tan +500. Reverence (1,320/10,000).
“...”
Xu Xun’s lips twitched but he didn’t say anything. In situations like this, even a fool knew that the new student group had achieved an extremely excellent result. If not, these headmasters wouldn’t come over and greet them.
All the students felt emotional when they saw this scene. Xu Xun used logic to define Sun Mo, but that was a great mistake. Teacher Sun was really someone as Cai Tan had said. He was a man that could turn the impossible into the possible!
“Xinhui, I’m not feeling well. I will return to the hotel first.”
Liu Mubai didn’t want to hear anymore. He knew that these headmasters came to visit An Xinhui because the Central Province Academy had a chance of ascending to the ‘C’ grade this year. And most of the credit was in Sun Mo’s hand. This made him extremely unhappy.
(I’m clearly the main lead!)
Liu Mubai clenched his fist. (Just wait and see, I will definitely shock all of you with my performance in the third round!)
Xue Tianlei felt a little disappointed as he watched Liu Mubai leaving. “Teacher Liu also has times when his judgment is wrong.”
In Xue Tianlei’s heart, Liu Mubai, who was known as one of the twin jade annulus of Jinling, was flawless and perfect, capable of anything. But now, he was actually wrong.
“Teacher Liu’s judgment isn’t wrong. It’s just that Teacher Sun is too strong!”
Fan Yan spoke a word of fairness. If they deduced things according to the limited information they had, no one would think that the new student group was capable of getting second place.
Because that was to obtain second place out of 108 competitors!
It was one thing to go against those schools ranked in the last few rankings. But for the top twenty schools, plenty of their representative teachers were graduates from the Nine Greats.
...
After handling all the headmasters, An Xinhui directly rushed back to Ten Thousand Maple. After she entered, Boss Lei immediately came over.
“Headmaster An has returned? Congratulations. Your esteemed school would surely be able to ascend to ‘C’ grade this year!”
Boss Lei was very happy. Once the Central Province Academy obtained a good result, the fame of his hotel would surely surge.
“There’s still the third round!”
An Xinhui didn’t dare to be careless.
“Headmaster An is too humble.”
Boss Lei smiled amicably. “Everyone, you guys have worked hard. I’ve prepared some iced fruit juice, please drink them to sate your thirst!”
Boss Lei waved his hands as the hotel staff brought over glasses of fruit juice for the students.
“Boss Lei is too considerate!”
An Xinhui thanked him. However, she knew that if it wasn’t for the fact that her school was performing well, they wouldn’t be receiving such treatment.
...
After washing up simply, An Xinhui first went to visit Song Ren to put him at ease. The school would give him a huge sum of money as compensation while still paying him his monthly salary. The school would guarantee that he would be able to live a good life in the future.
Song Ren’s future children would have a chance to study in the Central Province Academy for free.
Speaking of which, the Central Province Academy only had so much money because of Sun Mo.
An Xinhui knew that she owned Sun Mo yet another favor.
“Ac..actually, I didn’t do anything!”
Upon facing An Xinhui’s courtesy, Song Ren had an embarrassed look on his face. “Truthfully speaking, everything is due to Sun Mo’s ability. He was the one that led the new student group to such heights.”
Song Ren was young and was someone who wanted face. For things he didn’t do, he would never be thick-skinned enough to claim the credit.
“Teacher Song’s willingness to participate in the competition is already the greatest contribution.”
An Xinhui was very good with words, causing Song Ren to feel as comfortable and refreshed as he would be when standing in the spring wind.
“Headmaster An, to put things unpleasantly, I felt that Teacher Sun wasn’t worthy enough of you in the past. But now, I feel that he is a great man.”
Song Ren had changed his opinion of Sun Mo. He also hoped that the two of them could be together, working hard hand-in-hand and leading the Central Province Academy to greater heights.
“I’ve never felt that Sun Mo isn’t worthy of me!”
An Xinhui smiled. “Teacher Song, you should go and rest!”
...
An Xinhui left the guest room and inhaled deeply. (Seems like Sun Mo’s performance was incomparably good. He has actually convinced Song Ren completely.)
Next, An Xinhui went to Gu Xiuxun’s room and heard a bunch of good stuff about Sun Mo.
The masochist worshipped An Xinhui and treated her as her own elder sister. When she spoke, she wouldn’t have any apprehensions and her words were all straight from the bottom of her heart.
“Sun Mo is truly impressive!”
Gu Xiuxun sighed ruefully.
“You have said this for the fifth time!”
An Xinhui drank a mouthful of tea while feeling even more curious about Sun Mo.
One must know that Gu Xiuxun was the top graduate of the Myriad Daos Academy. She must have seen a lot of geniuses before, and her judgment was very good. However, even she felt very highly about Sun Mo.
“Only five times?”
Gu Xiuxun’s lips curled. She then repeated, “Sun Mo is truly impressive!”
“...”
An Xinhui was speechless. (Are you really so impressed by Sun Mo?) After that, she thought of a question. “In that case, between Liu Mubai and Sun Mo, who is the more impressive one?”
“Mn?”
Gu Xiuxun frowned. “This question is somewhat difficult to answer!”
An Xinhui drank her tea while waiting silently. She knew that a person like Gu Xiuxun wouldn’t say things without thinking. Once she said something, it would be backed by logic.
“I don’t know a lot about Teacher Liu, but as a student of the Myriad Daos Academy, I’m very familiar with Fang Wuji.”
Gu Xiuxun spoke.
“Continue!”
An Xinhui understood what Gu Xiuxun meant. Fang Wuji and Liu Mubai were both claimed to be the twin jade annulus of Jinling. Their strength and talents should be comparable.
“Fang Wuji is extremely impressive regardless of teaching capability or his own strength. He has shocking talent in terms of learning, and his overall talent is so high to the extent where others would feel despair!
“For geniuses like these, they would naturally inspire a sense of inferiority in others. Others would feel like they are staring at a tall mountain when looking at them!
“I’ve felt helpless before that I won’t be able to catch up to Fang Wuji in my life. But after the feeling of helplessness passed, I would work even harder and could feel the distance between me and him closing somewhat.”
When Gu Xiuxun was a student, she admired Fang Wuji very much. However, she felt no sense of worship toward him. This was especially so after becoming a teacher. Her sense of admiration for him became much lighter.
Gu Xiuxun felt that whatever Fang Wuji could do, she would be able to do it as well.
An Xinhui looked at Gu Xiuxun and laughed as she felt gratified. This was the point she admired Gu Xiuxun for the most. Gu Xiuxun would constantly strive to improve herself. She would naturally feel tired at times and disappointed because she was inferior to others. However, she would never stop until she reached her targeted peak.
“Also, for Sun Mo. Every time you think that you can see through him completely, he would reveal a new talent. He’s like a fellow that’s capable of doing anything. It’s like nothing in this world can baffle him!”
Gu Xiuxun recalled her experiences with Sun Mo.
This fellow would always bring a sense of freshness. Moreover, his thinking process was always like blazing a new trail, completely different from others!
It wasn’t strange since the education Sun Mo had received and the background he had grown up in was completely different from these natives of the Middle-Earth Nine Provinces.
This was like students in the east and west. Their perspectives when it came to problem-solving were different from each other. In fact, even students who went abroad to study for a few years might find their perspectives changing.
“I know Fang Wuji would surely become a highly accomplished teacher in the future. But Sun Mo would surely have more students.”
Gu Xiuxun then gave her final conclusion.
“Mn?”
An Xinhui furrowed her brows.
“For us teachers, who don’t want to become a secondary saint or a saint? But I can’t feel this obsession from Sun Mo. It seems like he is content enough to remain a normal teacher and to teach his students!”
Gu Xiuxun was puzzled.
This masochist was actually right. Sun Mo wasn’t someone who had heard about the greatness of saints since his childhood unlike the natives of the Nine Provinces. He didn’t know what the word ‘saints’ represented in this world.
In his heart, saints were like Confucius. Secondary saints were like Mencious. He had read [The Analects of Confucius] and [The Analects of Mencius] before, but honestly speaking, he wasn’t able to feel their glory.
Speaking of emotionally-stirring reading materials, the four sentences of Zhang Zai* resonated the most with him. ‘To ordain conscience for Heaven and Earth. To secure life and fortune for the people. To continue lost teachings for past sages. To establish peace for all future generations.’ This made his blood boil with fervor.
But that was merely it.
In the ancient era, studying to score high for the emperor examination was to become an official to serve the country, protecting an area of people and being responsible for them. But in the current era, the main reason why people studied was to find a good job.
The times had changed!
[1] Zhang Zai is a chinese philosopher that lived in ancient china.