Chapter 982: Sun Mo’s Brilliant Disciples
Translator: Lordbluefire
This time around, the Central Province Academy would ascend to the ‘B’ grade with no suspense.
The famous schools ranked in the top ten truly lived up to their reputations and had been the first to find the holy ground. But because of this, when the aboriginal chieftain activated the divine punishment, their groups were annihilated and they suffered heavy casualties.
Moreover, the greenhaze aboriginals also hunted them, the first invaders. Because of that, the famous schools that passed this year were all virtually nobodies and depended on luck more than capabilities.
However, the Central Province Academy was an exception.
Given the luxurious battle spoils that Sun Mo obtained, even if they were to fight head-on with the top famous schools of this grade, they would still take the top place.
When a school rose in grade, everyone would be in joy and high spirits.
With such an uprising momentum, even if there were voices in the school that disagreed with An Xinhui, they had to bear with it and wait for an opportunity to make things difficult for her. Hence, An Xinhui’s job at managing the school now was pretty much smooth and effortless.
After Sun Mo had taken over the school and changed it for the better, he didn’t meddle much in its management, having no interest in it. Every day, other than giving lectures, he would be guiding his students. As for his remaining time, he would spend them in the library.
However, there were no girls and music accompanying him. Without them, he couldn’t lead a fulfilling campus life.
“Bluntly speaking, I’m a lazy person!”
Sun Mo smiled in a self-mocking manner and pushed open the door to the headmaster office.
Liang Hongda, who was currently chatting with An Xinhui, immediately stood up with a smile when he saw Sun Mo entering. “Teacher Sun, it has been several days since I last met you. Are you doing fine?”
“Sect lord Liang!”
Sun Mo masked the puzzlement in his heart. He had no idea what this vice sect lord was doing here.
“Don’t address me as ‘sect lord’, you sound like a stranger. When in private, you can refer to me as Uncle Liang.”
Liang Hongda smiled amicably as he looked at Sun Mo like how he would look at his own nephew; his eyes filled with admiration.
“I’m just a small citizen in a village, how would I be worthy of this honor?”
Sun Mo rejected.
“Hehe, I’m the one who insists.”
Liang Hongda was also embarrassed to make his headhunting attempt too clear. Hence, he changed the topic. “Teacher Sun, I came here this time around because I have a piece of good news that I want to inform you.”
As he spoke until here, Liang Hongda exhaled. Those with capabilities were truly arrogant!
If other great teachers saw him being so polite, they would have rushed to get into his good books. But Sun Mo was not doing so. Even though he gave Sun Mo the chance, Sun Mo was not bootlicking him.
An Xinhui poured a cup of tea for Sun Mo.
Sun Mo sat down. He didn’t take the tea but was waiting for Liang Hongda to continue.
“…”
Liang Hongda was speechless. (You don’t even know how to make a conversation? Forget it, he is too young and has clearly not experienced the suppression by society before. I shall forgive him this time.)
“In March, the 1-star great teacher examination will begin. Logically speaking, great teachers who were selected as examiners are all people with high prestige and are greatly experienced. Only so would they not make a mistake in judgment.”
Liang Hongda glanced at Sun Mo. “However, I stood my ground against the opinion of the masses and won a position of an examiner for you.”
“Is it true?”
An Xinhui had a joyful look on her face.
This job was a very good opportunity to widen one’s social connection and experience.
Being an examiner gave one a chance to come in contact with some major characters. Moreover, if one or two geniuses appeared among the examinees and became successful in the future, they had to execute the etiquette of a disciple when they saw Sun Mo again.
“Naturally!”
Liang Hongda smiled. “However, I feel that the position of an examiner isn’t worthy of Teacher Sun’s identity as a three-time champion. Hence, I want you to be the main examiner.”
An Xinhui cast a glance at Sun Mo, hinting for him to say a few pleasantries and thank Liang Hongda for his support.
The selection of a main examiner for each examination was done very cautiously. Usually, the lowest-ranked candidate would be a 5-star great teacher because the main examiner had a one-time veto vote.
Even if an examinee passed the examination, if the main examiner felt that the examinee had a problem in terms of character, the main examiner could strip the great teacher qualification of the examinee.
There were many hidden rules in the majority of circles.
It was the same for the great teacher world.
If a main examiner wanted to strip an examinee of their great teacher qualification, no one would question it as long as the main examiner had a passable reason to do so.
So, this authority was exceedingly great.
However, there were exceptions where low-star great teachers could become main examiners. An example was the Jiang Zhitong of the Jiang Clan because of the influence of his father.
Naturally, the lowest ranking would be 3-star no matter what.
“Many thanks, sect lord.”
Sun Mo wasn’t a naive guy who didn’t know anything. He knew that Liang Hongda was showing his admiration for Sun Mo and wanted to give him an opportunity. However, he really wasn’t able to act submissively in order to ingratiate himself.
“I have told you to address me as Uncle Liang.”
Liang Hongda feigned anger.
“But this time around, I’m afraid I might have to let your kind intentions down.”
Sun Mo sighed.
He understood that although he was a 3-star great teacher and had great fame now, without connections, there were some things he couldn’t do.
For example, becoming a main examiner. This would require the person to have wide connections. Some high-ranking great teachers that had no backing wouldn’t have a chance to take on this job.
“Mn?” Liang Hongda frowned. “Why?”
“My disciple is preparing to participate in the 1-star great teacher examination.”
Sun Mo spoke bluntly.
“Ah?”
Liang Hongda was surprised. “Next year?”
Even An Xinhui had a dumbfounded look on her face. From this, one could see how great the impact of this matter was.
“Mn!” Sun Mo nodded.
“Which one of your disciples?”
Liang Hongda asked as his mind spun quickly. He had read Sun Mo’s detailed information before, and the information naturally included Sun Mo’s personal students. They were all young kids at 14 or 15 years old. A teenager like this also wanted to take the 1-star great teacher examination?
(Do you think this is a joke?)
“Is it Ziqi?”
An Xinhui interrupted. After she thought this through, given their intellect and standards, other than the little sunny egg, even if Sun Mo’s other disciples comprehended the self-taught halo, they had no way to comprehend three more great teacher halos.
“Mn!” Sun Mo laughed. “Ziqi worked very hard.”
“…”
Liang Hongda’s lips trembled. He really wanted to say, ‘This has nothing to do with one being hardworking or not, alright?’
If one wanted to become a great teacher, it would depend on the combination of their talent and accumulated experience. It had nothing much to do with hard work.
In other words, was there a lack of diligent great teachers?
No. If at the start, they didn’t have the necessary comprehension abilities to comprehend the great teacher halos, they would never be able to ascend to the next level.
“How many great teacher halos has she comprehended?”
An Xinhui was very agitated.
Liang Hongda glanced at An Xinhui while mentally musing at her ‘endless greed’. (Aren’t three halos enough? One must know that she is only 14 years old. No, I better drink a cup of tea to calm my nerves.)
“Four!’
After Sun Mo finished speaking, Liang Hongda choked and coughed out a mouthful of tea.
“Cough! Cough!”
Liang Hongda didn’t bother wiping his lips. His eyes widened as he stared at Sun Mo. “How many?”
“Four!”
Sun Mo repeated as a look of pride appeared on his face. He was trying to expand the little sunny egg’s social connections for her.
Liang Hongda was a vice sect lord of the Saint Gate. If she was highly regarded by him, there would surely be some benefits.
“Which four?”
Liang Hongda continued asking, thinking that it should be the four simplest types of halos.
Although comprehending the required number of halos would allow one to pass, in the examinations, the halos would be compared to see which was better and rarer.
For example, Model Teacher, Lingering Sound, and Misleading Students were very common halos.
An Xinhui blinked her beautiful large eyes and felt very interested.
“Gushing Thoughts.”
There was no need to conceal this information.
“Oh!”
Liang Hongda nodded. This was passable. This halo depended on talent, and it indicated that this girl was nimble-minded and creative. She would frequently have flashes of inspiration.
“Retentive Memory.”
Sun Mo smiled, feeling really proud for his eldest disciple.
“Ze!”
Liang Hongda couldn’t help but applaud lightly. This was a good showcase of talent. Because in the entire Nine Province, only very few people could comprehend this halo.
“Unrealized Dream!”
Sun Mo smiled.
“Huh?”
Liang Hongda stared at Sun Mo with wide-opened eyes. Was this halo something a 14-year old girl could comprehend?
“You didn’t hear it wrongly!”
Sun Mo repeated.
“Oh!”
Liang Hongda’s lips were already slightly convulsing. This halo belonged to the rare category.
It depended on the will of the great teacher to create a true dreamscape. After that, it would allow others to experience life in the dreamscape, for them to comprehend things.
One must know that humans would often feel regret. They would always say ‘if time could be reversed’, ‘if I went back to the past, I would surely do things better’, etc, etc!
But there was no medicine for regret in the world. However, Unrealized Dream could be considered a medicine for regret.
“Impressive!”
Liang Hongda involuntarily said that, as even he didn’t have this halo. “What about the fourth one?”
“Distinctionless Education!”
After Sun Mo finished speaking, Liang Hongda leaped from his chair and shouted loudly, “Impossible!”
Swish!
Sun Mo and An Xinhui glanced over.
“Eh…”
Liang Hongda felt somewhat awkward and didn’t know what he should do to alleviate the awkwardness.
Sun Mo drank his tea, and after waiting for five minutes, Liang Hongda, whose expression had changed countless times, finally spoke again, “Is it really Distinctionless Education?”
“It is absolutely true!”
Sun Mo shrugged.
“…”
Liang Hongda really felt like shouting ‘You are lying to me, right?’
Distinctionless Education was the symbol of a Saint.
Why?
Because there were good and evil humans. Even if some great teachers didn’t treat students differently in reality, they would subconsciously be fonder of outstanding and elite students.
For one to have Distinctionless Education halo, they had to be truly impartial before they could comprehend it.
This was a baptism of the mind, a type of enhancement, a lofty state of mind, a pure desire to educate everyone regardless of their status, race, identity, and aptitude.
“Teacher Sun’s brilliant disciple rea..really is…”
Liang Hongda could no longer find words to describe his shock.
“That’s why I have no way to become one of the main examiners,” Sun Mo tactfully declined.
“Wait a minute, if Ziqi obtained the title of a 1-star great teacher, wouldn’t she break a record?”
Liang Hongda was stunned. “If I didn’t remember it wrongly, the current record holder for the youngest 1-star great teacher is our current Sect Lord Su. He obtained the 1-star title at 16 years old.”
“That’s correct.”
An Xinhui nodded with certainty. After that, she frowned.
“…”
Liang Hongda gulped a mouthful of saliva as he stared at Sun Mo with envy. The words of congratulations he wanted to speak in advance suddenly stopped when he recalled Li Ziqi’s identity.
If Li Ziqi really became a 1-star great teacher, Sun Mo might encounter some trouble.
Because Li Ziqi had been rejected by Secondary Saint Zhou when she wanted to be his student. Hence, she was heavily mocked by a few neighboring countries that didn’t have a good relationship with Great Tang.
The princess of a country couldn’t even join the tutelage of a Secondary Saint? Trash!
(But it might just be my groundless fear. I heard that Li Ziqi’s combat strength is very weak. Even if she passes the lecture segment and the written exam, what about the martial exam? She can’t possibly find someone else to fight in her place, right?)
Liang Hongda then guaranteed that as long as he was still a vice sect lord of the Saint Gate, he would always retain the chance to be a main examiner for Sun Mo.
After Liang Hongda left the Central Province Academy, he immediately wrote a letter and arranged for one of his trusted aides to send the letter swiftly to Secondary Saint Zhou to express his good will.
After all, the value of a Secondary Saint was naturally much greater than Sun Mo.
[1] the word ‘disciples’ and ‘personal students’ are terms used interchangeably by the author