Repercussions

"Good!"

Principal Han Siyuan rose to his feet and applauded, visibly excited.

Reaching Flowing Strength in just one month—Thirteen Middle School had not seen such a genius in a long time.

No students had been admitted to Martial Arts University for years, and the funding allocated by the Martial Arts Bureau had dwindled year after year.

As principal, he had no face to show for it. Among the second- and third-year students, the strongest had only just reached Smooth Strength. Their chances of getting into Martial Arts University were zero.

If no one was admitted to Martial Arts University for several more years, the Martial Arts Bureau would likely stop allocating funds altogether.

At that point, Thirteen Middle School would fall from a martial arts school into an ordinary high school, and even its Martial Arts Classes would be abolished.

At a recent meeting at the Martial Arts Bureau, he had vaguely caught wind of this, and he could not help feeling a sense of urgency.

Without Martial Arts Classes and funding from the Martial Arts Bureau, not only would the Martial Arts Teachers lose their jobs, but the salaries of school administrators like himself would also be drastically reduced. With only the salary issued by the Education Bureau, he would earn just five thousand yuan a month.

Ordinary teachers earned only a little over three thousand.

Martial Arts Teachers earned twenty thousand yuan, but that salary was not paid by the Education Bureau. It was paid by the Martial Arts Bureau.

If the Martial Arts Classes were abolished, the Martial Arts Teachers would lose their jobs. However, with their Fifth Realm of Jin Li cultivation, they could easily find work at any martial arts school or become security consultants for major corporations. They simply would not have as much freedom.

As principal, he could not simply resign.

At school, he was the one in charge. Everything was decided by him.

Elsewhere, he would not have such freedom and would have to take orders from others.

He had spent more than thirty years at Thirteen Middle School, rising from Martial Arts Teacher to Dean of Academic Affairs, then Vice Principal, before finally becoming Principal. He had grown attached to the school, and no matter what, he could not let the Martial Arts Bureau abolish its Martial Arts Classes.

Thus, the pressure on him as Principal was far greater than that on the Martial Arts Teachers.

Clap, clap, clap!

Seeing the Principal applaud, the other school administrators also stood and clapped.

"Qin Fen, well done!"

Seeing Shi Jian concede, Chen Bo immediately jumped up and cheered for Qin Fen.

With this victory, Qin Fen had become the number one freshman at Thirteen Middle School.

Qin Fen had grown up with him. They had been classmates from elementary school through middle school, and now both had entered Martial Arts Class A in high school. They had long been as close as brothers, and Chen Bo was sincerely happy for Qin Fen.

The students of the Martial Arts Class watching the match also rose and applauded.

A string of applause immediately rang out through the hall.

"Principal, Qin Fen reached Flowing Strength within a month. Such a cultivation speed would rank among the best since Thirteen Middle School was founded. If we devote all our resources to nurturing him, he will definitely get into Martial Arts University. This is a blessing for Thirteen Middle School," the Vice Principal said with a smile.

Principal Han Siyuan nodded. "Qin Fen is indeed outstanding, and Shi Jian is no slouch either. Both are more talented than freshmen from previous years. They are both elites of Thirteen Middle School. We can send them to the Freshman Martial Arts Exchange Competition hosted by Yang City Fourth High School, where they can fight elites from other schools and improve their practical combat abilities."

"There are five slots for the Freshman Martial Arts Exchange Competition. Aside from Qin Fen and Shi Jian, we still need to select three more freshmen." The Vice Principal asked, "Should we have the other Martial Arts Students compete as well?"

"You can discuss that with Teacher Zhou. Martial Arts Class A is under his instruction now, so the candidates for the Freshman Martial Arts Exchange Competition should naturally be selected from its Martial Arts Students," Han Siyuan said.

"Mm."

The Vice Principal nodded to show that he understood.

"Teacher Zhou, congratulations!"

Liu Sheng walked up to Zhou Wu, who was not far away, and extended his hand to offer his congratulations.

Although Shi Jian's defeat to Qin Fen left him somewhat disappointed and cost him the qualification to teach Martial Arts Class A, he would not hold a grudge against a student or deliberately make things difficult for him over such a trivial matter.

Someone like that would first fail the character test and would never be allowed to become a teacher at the school.

Precisely because they were Martial Arts Teachers, the school placed immense importance on the character of its hires. Before being hired, candidates underwent various tests and investigations. Only after their character was confirmed to be sound would they be employed.

If a Martial Arts Teacher had poor character, an extreme personality, or warped values, the students they taught would be influenced as well. That would bring harm rather than benefit to both the school and society.

Healthy competition was allowed within the school, but backstabbing and scheming would never be tolerated.

Once discovered, dismissal would be the lightest punishment. In serious cases, they would be handed directly to the Martial Arts Bureau for punishment and have all their martial arts cultivation abolished.

"It was just good luck. The main reason is that Qin Fen is gifted and works hard, which is why he was able to cultivate Flowing Strength so quickly."

Zhou Wu shook Liu Sheng's hand without claiming all the credit for himself.

Over the past month, Qin Fen had practiced diligently every day. His training volume was only greater than others', never less. Zhou Wu had seen it all. His achievement was no stroke of luck; it was inevitable.

"Mm, there are indeed quite a few highly talented students in this year's class."

Liu Sheng nodded and began chatting with Zhou Wu.

"Teacher Zhou, Teacher Liu."

Qin Fen came down from the Arena with Shi Jian and arrived at the Rest Area.

"Shi Jian, Teacher Zhou will instruct you from now on. You must cultivate diligently, get into Martial Arts University, and bring glory to the school."

Liu Sheng stepped forward and patted Shi Jian on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Teacher. I will definitely cultivate diligently."

Shi Jian nodded solemnly.

At that moment, Zhou Wu's phone began to ring.

"Hello, Vice Principal."

Zhou Wu pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear.

"Teacher Zhou, bring Qin Fen and Shi Jian to my office."

A deep, resonant voice came from the other end of the line.

"Understood." Zhou Wu hung up and said, "Qin Fen, Shi Jian, come with me to the Vice Principal's office."

Ten minutes later, the three arrived at the Vice Principal's office on the third floor of the Teaching Building.

The Vice Principal was younger than Principal Han Siyuan, only in his fifties.

Since the Spiritual Energy Resurgence, people's physical condition had changed dramatically. Even an elderly woman who exercised could break the pre-Resurgence hundred-meter sprint record.

Human lifespans had also increased greatly as a result. Aside from those who died from incurable terminal illnesses, ordinary people could live to around a hundred, while those with greater longevity could reach one hundred and twenty.

Quasi-Martial Artists who had cultivated Jin Li, so long as they did not overtrain and damage their bodies and ate Nutritional Meals containing Spiritual Qi every day to maintain their daily physical needs, often lived more than a decade longer than ordinary people and could reach their one hundred and thirties.

Therefore, although the Vice Principal was in his fifties, he was still in his prime.

Principal Han Siyuan was older, nearly seventy, yet he still looked vigorous and full of life. His vitality and blood were in a stable phase. His combat strength remained, and he could still fight others, though he lacked the endurance of young people with abundant vitality and blood.

After ninety, one's vitality and blood would begin to decline, worsening year by year. There would still be some combat strength, but after a hundred, one basically could no longer fight others.

Every extra bit of vitality and blood expended in battle was burning away one's own life.