"From the Elite Class to the Trash Class, the dormitory conditions, dining standards, and teaching resources—all of them were clearly graded. But that was not enough, far from enough. It wasn't as if I didn't know about those delinquent youths in the Trash Class, but they had their reason for existing. They were like catfish thrown into a pond, keeping the other fry lively as they fled for their lives."
"The purpose of those hooligans was to simulate the social environment. To tell students that people's hearts were treacherous and society was harsh. You thought the world was safe? You thought you had no pressure to survive? Sorry, danger was everywhere. Violence and civilization had always coexisted."
"What did a little exploitation by delinquent youths amount to? Freight Drivers could gang up and fight over picking up a shipment. Coal ship captains could kill for coal sources. Factory foremen could risk everything for status and break the law."
"These things all truly existed. If you didn't study well, you could only face them. Want to fall in love? Want to find someone? Look around, and all you would see were cheap, vulgar women striking flirtatious poses and speaking crudely, or rotten bastards with shifty eyes who cursed the moment they opened their mouths."
"If someone thought that was fine, then fine—such people had no value worth urging onward or saving. Let them rot in the mud and fend for themselves. But if you didn't want to face such things, then climb upward. The higher you climbed in your studies, the farther you would be from the most bottom-tier and blatant violence, and the closer you would be to those heaven-blessed prodigies of majestic bearing and stunningly graceful beauties."
"Even when it came to scheming and fighting ruthlessly, a group of highly intelligent people competing in wits was always more interesting and more intellectually stimulating than a bunch of people with no real ability."
"All this was so students could truly feel it: doing well in school was indeed extremely useful. Only then could passive learning be transformed into active learning, unleashing their enthusiasm for studying. Only then could Fengming First High School's advancement rate rise even higher."
As Zheng Kaiming listened, his furrowed brow gradually relaxed. "A brilliant insight, Principal. However, for those black sheep who seriously disrupted teaching order and even caused tremendous harm to other students' personal safety, I still recommend that the school expel them."
Principal Liu nodded decisively. "Of course. Simulation was one thing; I had no intention of allowing actual personal harm on campus. Those black sheep could all get lost. Those who could transfer schools could transfer; those who couldn't would be directly ordered to withdraw. The school would absolutely show no mercy in this regard. Director Zheng, draw up a specific list and report back to me."
"Understood." Zheng Kaiming immediately began rubbing his hands together, calculating which little bastard would be most suitable to kick out.
Principal Liu spoke again. "Also, I intend to further strengthen our policies of encouragement and incentives on the existing foundation."
"Strengthen them?" Zheng Kaiming was puzzled. "How does the Principal intend to strengthen them?" In Zheng Kaiming's view, the current policies already emphasized the principle of Survival of the Fittest quite well.
"For now, I only have a general idea: let outstanding students obtain more benefits, display more of their talents, and enjoy more moments in the spotlight. Vanity and greed are Catholic original sins, but I think both are quite good—at the very least, once fully stimulated, they can overcome 'sloth.'"
Principal Liu pondered carefully for a moment. "The specifics still needed to be discussed at an academic affairs meeting with the various subject departments, offices, grade-level groups, and outstanding teachers. Director Zheng, for the sake of efficiency, help me draft a proposal and circulate it to every unit. We won't repeat ourselves at the meeting; we'll decide on it directly."
Zheng Kaiming nodded. "All right. Principal Liu truly acted like thunder and moved like wind. I'll jot down the key points first." With that, Zheng Kaiming took out the notebook he carried with him and sat up very properly.
Principal Liu nodded and raised one finger. "First, we must focus on strengthening assessments of how well students had mastered the fundamentals of every subject. Take Mathematics, for example. We'll start with the Four Basic Arithmetic Operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division..."
Zheng Kaiming wrote furiously, recording every word from the principal with utmost concentration.
At the same time, Shi Tiexin was also writing furiously, equally focused.
No, Shi Tiexin was actually far more focused than Zheng Kaiming. He could be said to be wholly absorbed, having basically reached the realm of seeing without seeing, hearing without hearing, where nothing had anything to do with him.
Because a progress bar had appeared before his eyes.
Relearning the Basic Mathematics First Layer manual was not particularly difficult. Even if his level had only been passable, that didn't mean he was stupid. After all, in most subjects, what textbooks taught and what exam papers tested were not remotely on the same level. Without looking at the exam paper, most students could not even guess that a single knowledge point could be developed in such bizarre ways.
Shi Tiexin was in the same situation.
The textbooks in this world at least contained a few in-class exercises, but the mind-art manual Shi Tiexin had received contained nothing at all—only a few pages so brief that they seemed unwilling to spare even one extra word. Being able to reach a passable level by studying those pages alone could already be called diligent.
Now that he had taken out elementary school Mathematics textbooks and read them again, Shi Tiexin did not know whether it was because he had already studied the abbreviated version or because the manual itself possessed the superb attribute of Step-by-Step Advancement, but his process of studying the manual was as smooth as a broad highway. Not only did he progress at lightning speed, everything flowed with incomparable ease. Things that had once seemed like flowers glimpsed through mist became suddenly clear and open after the manual gave him a few pointers.
At that moment, Shi Tiexin's field of vision suddenly reacted. Besides identifying manuals and issuing missions, those miraculous words finally displayed a third kind of response: progress display.
A clear, bright bar appeared steadily above the manual.
Several words were written on it: Manual Comprehension Progress. Then came a bar that continuously extended from short to long. Shi Tiexin read very carefully, yet for some reason, he was still reading incredibly fast, and the progress bar rose just as quickly.
During every second he spent studying elementary Mathematics, Shi Tiexin was in a strange mental state that was both hazy and focused. It was as though his mind simultaneously experienced the enlightenment of So that's how it is—how amazing! and the effortless familiarity of Of course that's how it is. It's simple.
Shi Tiexin had originally estimated that it would take at least one or two days to finish all six books. It would take another three to five days to completely digest and absorb them. But reality was that when the bell signaling the end of the second evening self-study period rang, the progress bar had actually reached the end.
With a snap, the end of the progress bar burst into dazzling sparks as though fireworks had exploded. Large, emphatic words appeared on the bar: Manual complete comprehension!, accompanied by an extremely festive animated effect.
The special effect made Shi Tiexin feel both amused and strangely invigorated, as though he had truly accomplished something extraordinary.
Then, he saw the tangible benefits.
Basic Mathematics First Layer manual completely comprehended Complete comprehension: While in the complete comprehension state, initial cultivation progress increased by 30, cultivation efficiency before the Excellent rank increased by 10%, and the chance of Qi Deviation decreased by 30%
I was on duty today, so the update was late. Sorry, sorry.
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