It was a serious matter. A teacher had tendered his resignation for no reason, so Zhou Lin didn't dare to delay the matter and immediately passed the resignation letter to An Xinhui.
"What else did he say?"
An Xinhui put down her brush and opened up the letter.
The content wasn't long. He had first said that he had a good time in the school for the past ten or more years and had developed strong feelings for it. Thereafter, the topic changed to him being ashamed of having failed the previous headmaster. Not capable of advancing to become a great teacher all this while, he no longer had the face to stay in the school.
"No, but by the looks of it, he seemed to have been dealt a great blow."
Zhou Lin felt that it was good for Liu Wenyan to resign as well. It'd save some money for the school.
"Go and prepare 1,000 silver taels."
An Xinhui instructed.
"Headmaster."
Zhou Lin wasn't pleased. She must be planning to give this to Liu Wenyan. Was there a need for that?
"Go and prepare it."
An Xinhui put down the documents she was going through and headed out.
"Headmaster, that Liu Wenyan is too mediocre. He's not worth you showing kindness to."
Zhou Lin didn't wish to move. The school's financial situation was in red. If they were to give out these 1,000 silver taels, An Xinhui would definitely have to scrimp and save for a very long time.
"Although he is mediocre and hasn't produced any results, he has worked for the school for over ten years. Moreover, he has a family to take care of. I only hope that he won't be troubled too much financially before he finds his next job."
An Xinhui said in a very calm tone.
"But isn't that too much?"
Zhou Lin pouted. An Xinhui was really kind, but she knew what Eldest Miss's character was like. Once she had made up her mind, it'd be impossible to persuade her otherwise. Therefore, Zhou Lin went to prepare the money.
Liu Wenyan stood by the roadside not far away from the school's entrance. He had luggage with him and was waiting for a horse carriage.
"Teacher Liu!"
Hearing the graceful voice, Liu Wenyan, who was lost in his thoughts, got back to his senses. Seeing that An Xinhui was standing right next to him, he quickly greeted her.
"Headmaster An."
"Why does Teacher Liu wish to resign? Is it because I haven't done a good job? Did I disappoint you?"
An Xinhui asked.
"No, no. It's just that I'm too useless."
Liu Wenyan lowered his head, looking ashamed.
"Since that's the case, I wish Teacher Liu well on your journey." An Xinhui took the wooden chest from Zhou Lin and handed it to Liu Wenyan. "This is a token of our appreciation. Please accept it."
"No, no, I mustn't take it."
Liu Wenyan refused to take it. He felt both touched and ashamed. Who was he to be personally sent off by Headmaster An Xinhui?
"Take it. Give my greetings to aunt."
After saying that, An Xinhui turned to leave. She was very graceful and dignified during the entire process, giving off a great impression.
Liu Wenyan held onto the chest as he looked at An Xinhui's back view. He couldn't help but shake his head. She was a talented and good lady, but it was really an extremely difficult task to bring the Central Province Academy back up.
Right now, the school had too many malpractices, and it had accumulated to the point of no return. At the thought of this, Liu Wenyan couldn't help but call out.
"Headmaster An, please be careful of Zhang Hanfu."
An Xinhui didn't turn back.
"It is only after he has resigned and taken the 1,000 silver taels that he dared to say 'be careful of Zhang Hanfu'. What a coward."
Zhou Lin was still feeling upset.
Recalling the scene from earlier in which Sun Mo had guided Chu Jian, he called out again, "And that Sun Mo, he does have some capability!" (I really hope that you're not just someone who sponges off a woman and that you'll be able to help Headmaster An.)
Hearing Sun Mo's name being mentioned, Zhou Lin's expression immediately turned dark, and she couldn't help but say, "Someone like Liu Wenyan should have resigned long ago. What capability can that Sun Mo have when he can't even work as a logistics worker? He must really be blind!"
An Xinhui frowned slightly. Could it be that Sun Mo was related to Liu Wenyan's resignation? She immediately shook her head. She must have over-thought things. But she should go and see him after the student recruitment meet had ended.
...
Liu Mubai's arrival caused the atmosphere around the Martial Arts Platform to liven up.
"Ranked 18th on the Greencloud Rankings, a definite candidate to becoming a great teacher. He came from the Black-White Academy, which is one of the top nine famous schools. He graduated with outstanding results, being third in the cohort and having a high level of mastery in sword arts. He is a new teacher whom An Xinhui places great hopes in..."
Yue Rongbo brought out amazing praises one after another, all of which belonged to Liu Mubai.
The Greencloud Rankings was a ranking that the Saint Gate had come up with. Youngsters and students below the age of 25 who were outstanding enough would be able to get listed on this ranking.
As its name suggested, the Greencloud Rankings was established with the hope that youngsters could get their names on it and rise to the clouds.
This ranking covered all youngsters in Middle-Earth's nine provinces who were 25 years old or below. Therefore, everyone knew that it was a representation of great quality.
The 18th position that Liu Mubai was ranked at was already an existence that other people held admiration for.
"Liu Mubai is 24 years old this year. It's said that he has long reached the standard of a 1-star great teacher, and that if he were to take the Occupation Examination, he'd have a high chance of passing it. The reason he didn't go for it is because he planned to make history, aiming to become a 3-star great teacher directly."
Yue Rongbo shared a small secret.
"That's so amazing!"
Lu Zhiruo exclaimed.
Sun Mo tsked. If Liu Mubai also had the Absolute Great Teacher System, the amount of favorable impression points he received would probably be over 1,000 points.
"Why did such an amazing teacher come to the Central Province Academy?"
When someone next to them heard this, they asked, feeling perplexed, "Given his results, Liu Mubai shouldn't have any problem staying in the Black-White Academy, right?"
"Outstanding people like to take on challenges. If Liu Mubai were to stay in the Black-White Academy, his life would just continue as it had been. However, if he were to come to the Central Province Academy, helping this famous school with a great historical background to return to the top nine rankings, then his name would become monumental for this school. He'd get a statue made after him, his name passing down in history. If it was you, what would you choose?"
Yue Rongbo could relate to what Liu Mubai was thinking. Which great teacher wouldn't want their name to be passed down in history?
"He has such great ambitions!"
Lu Zhiruo exclaimed.
"Of course. That's probably one of the reasons why An Xinhui kept Liu Mubai here."
Yue Rongbo kept his gaze on Liu Mubai, who was amongst the crowd. He didn't blink at all.
There had only been three to four people on the Martial Arts Platform earlier on, but after Liu Mubai's arrival, over 100 students jumped onto it. They couldn't wait to perform the martial arts that they were proud of, wanting to show off their moves and be selected by Liu Mubai.
Suddenly, the Martial Arts Platform was packed with people.
At a time like this, giving way to others wasn't something that people would consider. There were usually too few chances to come into contact with Liu Mubai, so they must grab hold of this chance.
A few teachers immediately went up in a bid to uphold the order, but it was too late. With a loud boom, over ten students let out agonizing cries as they were sent flying and fell off from the Martial Arts Platform.
The commotion ceased instantly. Even the surrounding students looked over.
A young man, who was over 1.8 meters tall, stood on a vacant area on the Martial Arts Platform, holding onto a silver spear, sweeping his cold gaze out.
The summer wind blew, causing his white clothes to flutter.
"Oh, not bad!"
Yue Rongbo praised as his gaze landed on the young man's white clothes. There were some traces of dark red on it. From his experience, those were likely left behind from washing out blood traces.
"Xuanyuan Po is here to accept challenges!"
The young man called out loudly and proudly.
The students on the Martial Arts Platform were stunned for a moment before they charged out toward him angrily. This young man holding a silver spear was too arrogant and deserved to be given a beating.
"Take this!" A muscular young man immediately pounced out. "Thinking of using me as a stepping stone? Dream on!"
However, he had just finished his words when he was struck in the chest by Xuanyuan Po's spear, and he fell backward like a broken sandbag.
Bang!
The muscular young man landed on the ground. He was in so much pain that he had curled up into a ball.
This attack hadn't scared off the rest but agitated their competitiveness instead. Therefore, another young man charged out.
Bang!
The young man was struck by the spear and sent flying.
"I'll have a go!"
A soft bellow rang out as a budding young girl charged out. However, it took only an instant before she was knocked off the Martial Arts Platform.
Sssss!
Everyone couldn't help but draw in a cold gasp. This Xuanyuan Po was arrogant and amazing, but at the same time, very vicious as well. He didn't even hold back against a girl.
The girl let out an agonizing cry, but Xuanyuan Po was unmoved. He swung his silver spear around. "You guys are too weak. Come at me together!"
Such an arrogant callout infuriated the crowd.
"Let's attack together and kill him!"
"This guy is really brutal. He even beat up girls!"
"Trash him."
The young men were all infuriated, but just as they were all planning to jointly attack Xuanyuan Po, they were stopped by a teacher who had jumped up the Martial Arts Platform.
"What are you guys doing? This place is for you guys to demonstrate your martial arts and spar. It's not for mass-fighting and creating trouble. All of you get off now!"
Lian Zheng was infuriated. The youngsters didn't know how to hold back. What if they were to cripple someone?
The students were hesitant and unwilling.
"Get off!"
Lian Zheng bellowed, and golden light lit up on his body as 'Priceless Advice' was activated. Influenced by the great teacher halo, all of the students got off the Martial Arts Platform docilely.
Xuanyuan Po tsked, rested his spear on his shoulder, and then jumped off the Martial Arts Platform.
"Hold on!"
Liu Mubai spoke up.
Hua!
A commotion broke out, and some people wore envious gazes. It was clear that Liu Mubai wanted to recruit Xuanyuan Po.
"What is it?"
Xuanyuan Po turned back and sniffed.
Many people had the urge to beat him up after seeing his attitude. (Do you know what it means to respect teachers and honor their teachings? Who speaks to a person who was a sure candidate to become a great teacher like this?)
Some of them wanted Xuanyuan Po to quickly offend Liu Mubai and be detested by him.
"I'm Liu Mubai. I'm very interested in you."
Liu Mubai smiled as he assessed Xuanyuan Po. He looked at Xuanyuan Po's physique and felt that he was someone with great potential.
"There are many people interested in me!"
Xuanyuan Po smiled proudly.
Many teachers shook their heads when they heard this reply. This Xuanyuan Po's head couldn't be filled with muscles, could it? Usually, when a teacher said this, smarter students would know that the teacher wanted to take them in as their disciple. If the student was interested, they would quickly drop to their knees and pay respect to the teacher.
"Alright, I'll say this again. I'm Liu Mubai, ranked 18th on the Greencloud Rankings. I graduated from the Black-White Academy and am a teacher from the Central Province Academy. I admire your physique and character, and plan on taking you in as my disciple."
Proud as he was, Liu Mubai wouldn't dare to call himself a strong candidate for becoming a great teacher.
In fact, just the fact that he was ranked 18th on the Greencloud Rankings was enough to explain a lot of things. However, Xuanyuan Po was clearly a hotheaded person and there wasn't any hint of respect in his tone.
"Do you excel in spear arts?"
Such a straightforward question was considered to be quite offensive.