Chapter 604: The heart of a great teacher
There were two fields in the Westmountain Academy, which were now split into 18 areas. Right now, Xuanyuan Po was standing in the compet.i.tion ground for group A, stretching out his body and slowly warming up, waiting for his turn.
“Aren’t you going to watch how the others fight?”
An examinee, who was also waiting at the side, felt a little shy to speak to Sun Mo. After all, Sun Mo’s reputation was too great, and it’d easily make others mistaken that he was lowering his stance and trying to curry up to Sun Mo. Therefore, he decided to talk to Xuanyuan Po instead.
Xuanyuan Po threw a glance at this short-haired examinee and didn’t say anything.
“...”
The short-haired examinee’s countenance turned a little grim as he had been ignored.
(At least one-third of the examinees who can reach this stage have the chance of becoming 2-star great teachers, so you should give some basic respect, alright?)
However, at the thought of Sun Mo’s amazing results, he let out a sigh, feeling dejected.
It was normal for him to be undermined. After all, he was just a n.o.body. Even if he were to become a 2-star great teacher, he couldn’t compare against Sun Mo.
“I’m sorry, this is the way he is!”
Sun Mo apologized.
Xuanyuan Po would suffer when he went into society in the future given his character.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! Teacher Sun, there’s no need to mind it. I was the one who disturbed his warm-up.
The short-haired examinee didn’t expect that Sun Mo would speak. He suddenly felt a little nervous.
“What number do you guys have?”
Sun Mo smiled and asked. (Getting Xuanyuan Po to go watch other people’s compet.i.tion? Collecting information in advance? That doesn’t exist. The combat addict’s style is to charge on rashly from the beginning to the end!)
“Number 25. I don’t think we’ll meet each other, right?”
The short-haired examinee felt a little worried, but his impression of Sun Mo became a lot better. He had come in first place in both the written examination and the Great Teachers Battle, yet he was so easy to get along with, not being haughty at all.
“It’s no wonder so many of his opponents gave up!”
The short-haired examinee secretly praised.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from short-haired examinee +20. Friendly (110/1,000).
Hearing the system’s notification, Sun Mo couldn’t help but turn his head and a.s.sess the examinee next to him.
“System, what the h.e.l.l is this nickname?”
Sun Mo was speechless. Was this person not even worth having a name?
“He’s a n.o.body amongst n.o.bodies. There’s no need for you to waste your effort to remember him.”
The system explained.
“What if he turned the tables around?”
Sun Mo asked.
“That’s impossible. The system won’t be wrong.”
The system insisted. “He’s one of those who doesn’t stand out the most in the great teachers circle. He’s going to be a 2-star for life, entering a school that isn’t that famous, marrying a wife who isn’t that pretty, and teaching a few students who aren’t that outstanding. He’ll live a very dull life.”
“Even if there were twists in his life, it’d be because his wife had found another guy.”
“Can you not be so evil with your words?”
Sun Mo frowned, looking toward the short-haired examinee once again, feeling displeased and angry toward the system.
(Why would a word from you determine someone’s prospect?)
“Don’t be nervous. Even if you can’t win in the first round, there’s still the second round!”
The short-haired examinee consoled his student.
The personal disciples battle was split into two big groups, with 16 years old being the dividing line. Those who were above this age would be in the adult group, while those who were below were in the youth group.
Although the Saint Gate didn’t restrict the lowest age for the youth group, they recommended that the youngest should be older than twelve.
Sun Mo’s students who were partic.i.p.ating were all in the youth group.
A total of 912 students were partic.i.p.ating and they were split into eight groups. In each group, there’d be two rounds of compet.i.tion.
For the first round, after the lots were drawn, there’d be one-on-one battles. The victors would advance directly, while those who were defeated would continue to draw lots, fighting another round. If one were to be defeated once again, they would be eliminated.
The reason for there to be two rounds was to give the students another chance, avoiding the reasons such as poor condition or not performing up to standards that led to their failures.
The cycle would continue on until 100 people were left in each age group. They’d be the list of names that pa.s.sed this year’s great teacher examinations.
Of course, there’d also be some unique situations. For example, if a few students who had advanced in the compet.i.tion were personal disciples of the same great teacher, then the examiners would also pick out the examinees from the list of losers who were ranked further in front, adding them to the pa.s.sing list.
At the end of the day, a total of 200 examinees would be chosen out fair and square.
The personal disciples battle would then continue.
64 people who performed the best would be chosen out from the youth group and the adult group respectively, going through one-on-one elimination battles until two champions emerged.
Sun Mo activated his Divine Sight and scanned the short-haired candidate’s data.
His potential value was slightly lower than average. This meant that he had put in an extremely great effort to achieve his current results. He had put in more sweat that many people couldn’t compare with.
“I’m Sun Mo from the Central Province Academy. Good luck. After you become a 3-star great teacher, remember to write me a letter. I’ll send you a big gift.”
Sun Mo smiled and patted this guy’s shoulder hard.
“This is my standard. It’s all due to luck that I’ve come this far...”
The short-haired examinee smiled bitterly. He wanted to mock himself, but when he saw that Sun Mo was looking at him with such a serious gaze, he suddenly couldn’t go on.
“If even you yourself don’t believe that you can do it, then all the more others won’t believe in you!”
Sun Mo grabbed the short-haired examinee’s hand and flipped it over. There were calluses on his fingers due to reading and copying books. His palms had even thicker calluses that were formed from training hard with his blade across all seasons.
“In terms of hard work, I’m no match for you!”
Sun Mo said with great emotions.
“What happened?”
“It’s Sun Mo. He seems to do palm-reading for someone!”
“That can’t be. Who is so lucky?”
The people nearby started to gush over to check it out.
The short-haired examinee’s mind erupted as Sun Mo’s words ‘In terms of hard work, I’m no match for you!’ kept ringing in his ears.
“Teacher Sun!”
Swoos.h.!.+
The short-haired examinee’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. He had gone through a lot to come this far. In school, he had always been the earliest to wake up and the latest to sleep. Even after he started working and became a teacher, he didn’t dare to slack.
Until now, at the age of 28, he hadn’t found himself a girlfriend. He kept on working hard every day to improve himself.
But who would know his pain?
There were times when the short-haired examinee felt lost. (I’m leading such a tough life, giving up so many pleasures in life. Is it worth it?)
Now, a line of recognition from Sun Mo made the short-haired examinee feel that the life of hard work he had been through for over ten years hadn’t been a waste.
This was a praise he had received from a great uprising star.
Usually, famous people like them valued their reputation a lot. However, Sun Mo actually said that he couldn’t compare against him. How broadminded was that?
“Hard work is also a talent, but you must find the right direction to work hard toward. I think that you can consider spending some effort in herbology.”
Sun Mo suggested, “Don’t learn alchemy anymore.”
“Teacher Sun...”
The short-haired examinee was completely astonished. (How do you know that I major in alchemy?) His gaze then slid toward his hand that Sun Mo was grabbing onto.
(My G.o.d, can G.o.d Hands detect even things like this?)
“Good luck!”
Sun Mo gently hammered the short-haired examinee’s shoulder.
“It’s useless, Sun Mo!”
The system was filled with disdain, but it felt an additional hint of recognition toward Sun Mo in its heart.
Ding!
(You didn’t give up on the other party because of their poor apt.i.tude. Instead, you encourage them. This fulfills the great teacher feats and you’re rewarded with one gold treasure chest!)
Of course, the system didn’t announce this congratulation and reward. It didn’t want Sun Mo to become someone who only hankered after material gains and rewards in the future.
Only behavior like this, where one truly gave thought to another person’s future, truly reflected the heart of a great teacher.
“Herbology?”
The short-haired examinee was stunned and many memories instantly flashed past his mind. Some details that he usually didn’t notice also occurred to him.
Alchemy was the most popular job. It could allow one to earn money and some level of prestige. However, this was only if one had made some achievements. Over so many years, the short-haired examinee did have progress, but he was only at the average level.
Why did the 4-star alchemist in his academy choose him as an a.s.sistant?
The short-haired examinee suddenly thought of what that alchemist had said.
“Your talent in alchemy is mediocre. Why not change your job and try out herbology?”
Back then, the short-haired examinee was young and hot-blooded. His mind was only filled with the thought of making achievements in alchemy. Thinking back about it now, he had been too stubborn.
Moreover, he had also heard rumors of others talking bad about him, saying that he had no talent. If it wasn’t because he came from the mountains and had seen many herbs since a young age and thus was able to do a good job in handling them, his teacher wouldn’t have kept him by his side.
Back then, the short-haired examinee only wanted to prove himself after hearing this. Now that he thought about it, in order to stay as an alchemist, he had put in effort into learning herbology and had gotten very familiar with the discerning, storing, and handling of herbs.
“Maybe I should really give up!”
The short-haired examinee thought this and then bowed 90 degrees. “Teacher Sun, thank you for your guidance! Liang Mo has benefited from your teaching!”
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Liang Mo +1,000. Respect (1,100/10,000).
Liang Mo didn’t get up even after a while. He was really thankful toward Sun Mo from the bottom of his heart. Sun Mo’s words seemed to be giving him enlightenment, guiding him in the direction he should work hard in the future.
This was like how the soccer player Bale had been a left-back in the past, but after he was changed to become a winger, he gained the great reputation of being a world-cla.s.s player, known to be able to pa.s.s the ball to himself three seconds later.
Therefore, when one path was blocked, why not consider changing to another?
Liang Mo’s student looked at him, realizing that his teacher had become different. There was no longer struggle and the feeling of loss in his gaze, instead there was an additional hint of determination. It was like when he had first met his teacher.
“Teacher, I like the gaze that you have now!”
The guy smiled, revealing his white teeth.
“Then go and get me the first victory!”
Liang Mo rubbed his student’s hair.
Li Ruolan stood in the crowd, using an image-recording stone to record this scene. After admiring it, she then kept it away happily.
As expected, she’d be able to get great news just from following Sun Mo.
“Teacher, aren’t you being a little neglectful in your duties?”
Xuanyuan Po teased.
“Why do you say that?”
Sun Mo’s brows furrowed slightly.
“Other teachers would either instruct their personal disciples to take note of certain things or help them observe opponents from the same group. But you end up giving guidance to another examinee.”
Xuanyuan Po’s lips twitched.
“Why?” Sun Mo a.s.sessed Xuanyuan Po. “Do you need my guidance?”
“No need!”
The combat addict raised his chin confidently. “Watch as I fight my way into the finals!”
“Number 19, Xuanyuan Po; number 52, Fei Cheng, please get up on stage!”
The main examiner announced.
“Teacher, I’ll be going!”
As Xuanyuan Po said this, all the examinees and students around him immediately looked over. Was it finally time for Sun Mo’s personal disciple to get up on stage?
(Let’s see what you’ve got!)
Li Ruolan then took out the image-recording stone she had put away earlier. After the examinees and personal disciples in the area understood what was going on, they started to squeeze their way to the front, wanting to get a clearer view.
It was Sun Mo’s student! They must study him properly!