Meeting Deputy Director Zeng Chang

From the martial techniques Chen Yong chose, his personality was clear.

The techniques he learned were all easy to pick up, simple to master, but low in ceiling.

When Li Yuan studied them last night, this point was very obvious.

The Jade Stone Palm and Straw Raincoat Blade Chen Yong currently practiced were both like this.

They didn't require too much effort or time, and after mastering them, they might not give an advantage at the same realm.

But against those of a lower martial realm, they could generally win.

These two techniques were textbook examples of a low ceiling.

With his [Enlightenment to Perfection] talent, Li Yuan had gained very little from looking them over last night.

They simply lacked the depth for Li Yuan to delve into.

After studying them, he only found a few practical tricks.

These tricks added a bit of variation and improvement to the two techniques.

Over the morning, Li Yuan explained them to Chen Yong twice, and Chen Yong had a fairly solid grasp by then.

When noon approached, Chen Yong said he was hungry.

His mind was at most half-focused on cultivation.

Before heading to eat, Li Yuan picked up the light orbs that had fallen around them.

There were four orbs in total, giving him thirteen experience points.

Two of those orbs had come from his own insights.

This good friend of his really didn't have his heart in martial arts.

Leading him through cultivation like that, only two orbs dropped in an entire morning...

At lunch, Chen Yong shoveled a few bites of rice and started complaining, saying how tiring the morning's training had been.

"And you call that tiring...

In four hours total, you rested for almost an hour and a half, right?" Li Yuan said with some helplessness.

"Of course it's tiring. Everyone's constitution is different.

Just like the Youth Martial Tournament—even if they handed me a spot, I wouldn't go."

Chen Yong shot back irritably, then looked at Li Yuan quite seriously.

"Bro, I remember you never practiced Jade Stone Palm or Straw Raincoat Blade before, right?

You just looked them over for one night—how are you more skilled than me, who's studied them for ten years?"

Chen Yong's words weren't entirely wrong.

He had been training these two techniques since college.

Counting the time, it had been a full ten years.

To this question, Li Yuan had an answer ready.

"Bro, you've trained these two techniques for over ten years. How many total hours have you put in?

On average, did you even manage one hour a day?"

One hour a day was practically maintenance for a martial artist.

After starting work, a martial artist would train at least two hours daily.

People like Yin Yi and Jin Fan mostly half-assed their teaching duties and trained even longer.

But Chen Yong was genuinely stumped.

Any free time he had, he spent resting and relaxing...

"This weekend still has a day and a half. I'll go over all the techniques that might be tested with you.

You have to remember the key points.

If you can't, record them and listen back a few times at home."

Li Yuan laid out the plan.

Just hearing the schedule made Chen Yong feel tired.

After wolfing down a few more bites, Chen Yong dropped the subject.

He started talking about Monday instead.

At the Monday meeting, Deputy Bureau Chief Zeng Chang had told Li Yuan to come see him.

"I'm guessing it's about the Youth Martial Tournament. If nothing unexpected happens, it'll be more coercion and bribery."

Chen Yong shared his guess, and Li Yuan thought it was possible.

But at this stage, what use was there in coming to talk to him again?

"Registration has closed, so swapping people out shouldn't be possible anymore. Anyway, we're heading over on Monday—we'll see when we get there."

Li Yuan didn't dwell on the matter.

But mentioning it reminded him of the leave request.

"Help me ask for leave on Monday, and while you're at it, check if the shift schedule I applied for has passed review. This Youth Martial Tournament leave is a bit long; I'm afraid they'll use it to dock my bonus."

Li Yuan had already steeled himself mentally.

Bonuses were, after all, rewards for teachers who performed well.

Taking leave didn't count as absenteeism, but during that time, an individual wasn't generating value.

Withholding the bonus was reasonable and justified.

Principal Yin had been struggling to find a flaw in him, and now that there was a chance, he'd surely seize it.

After lunch, Li Yuan began guiding Chen Yong on content that might be tested in the Open Class.

Just listening, Chen Yong's state was passable.

He strongly resisted practical drills, probably finding them too exhausting.

Over the weekend, Li Yuan picked up a little over forty experience points.

On Sunday night, Li Yuan lay in bed.

Closing his eyes, he looked at the light screen to check his current experience.

[Experience: 185/400]

Still over two hundred points short; he should reach it before the Youth Martial Tournament.

He had two more days of classes next week to push the students along on their progress, then starting Thursday, he'd take leave to prepare for the tournament.

If he introduced new lessons early, he could still pick up quite a bit of experience from the students.

If he was still short, he'd think of somewhere else to find more.

The Youth Martial Tournament had a special format; time had to be set aside for preparation.

All these years, he'd been working at the school.

He'd hardly participated in any training, and his external practical experience was scarce.

Li Yuan didn't want to go into the Youth Martial Tournament blindly.

After a night's rest, it was Monday again.

Not going to Lingshan No.1 High School today, Li Yuan got in the car and headed to the Municipal Education Bureau.

The Municipal Education Bureau wasn't far from Lingshan No.1 High School.

The drive was just over ten minutes.

Going that route was the same bus he took to work.

At 8:30 AM, Li Yuan arrived at the entrance of the Municipal Education Bureau.

Work started at nine, and quite a few people from the Bureau had already arrived early.

These units were actually pretty tiring these days, not as easy as outsiders claimed.

They still had to work overtime, and the workload was heavy.

The main advantage was probably the stability.

Around 8:40, Deputy Director Zeng Chang arrived with a folder in hand.

He seemed lost in thought, not noticing Li Yuan at first until he was called, snapping back to reality.

"Oh, Teacher Li from No.1 High."

Zeng Chang smiled and shook hands with Li Yuan, appearing polite and courteous.

But Li Yuan these days didn't usually pay attention to others' attitudes or tones.

Many people spoke kindly, yet everything they did harmed your interests.

"Let's go upstairs and chat. There are some things I really want to ask you about."

Deputy Director Zeng Chang was very amiable, giving the impression of being easy to talk to.

But Li Yuan knew not to take that seriously.

Leaders typically only vented their anger at their direct subordinates.

To those further down the chain, they always seemed easygoing.

When it came to punishment or firing, these leaders would arrange it privately through their direct subordinates.

On the surface, they'd always play the good guy.

The two walked into a small meeting room, and Zeng Chang brought up the previous Open Class.

"Your lecture on 'Flickering Shadow Steps' was excellent. I've been in education for many years, and to be honest, you're the best I've ever heard. You left a deep impression on me; I just hadn't matched the name to the face. It was at that weekly meeting that I realized you were the teacher vying for the competition spot."