To Be a Sycophant, You Should Stay Firmly on That Path

At this, Zeng Chang frowned.

As a leader in the education department, he was naturally well acquainted with the relevant administrative procedures.

This trip to Qijia Town for training counted as personal professional development for a teacher.

If personal matters delayed class time, it naturally required approval from Lingshan No.1 High School.

As for Principal Yin, any high-sounding excuse would be enough to put him off.

After hesitating for a moment, Zeng Chang came up with a solution. "How about this? Participate under the Municipal Education Bureau's group identity.

It's just one training trip. It won't cause any trouble.

Keep a low profile and don't tell anyone."

This so-called group identity was actually related to the computer record system used in Lingshan City.

That record system had had some flaws when it was first designed years ago.

For group rankings, it could only create a new identity.

For example, during Lingshan City's annual friendly martial arts competition, every unit had a virtual character identity.

The Municipal Education Bureau's was called "Wuling Education."

It meant the Lingshan Municipal Education Bureau, a fictional group identity.

Likewise, "Wuling Water" belonged to the Water Resources Bureau.

"Wuling Transport" was the fictional identity of the Transportation Bureau.

Over the past few years, every city had been replacing its old systems.

Lingshan City could not secure any of the various development policies, so naturally, its replacement was pushed further down the line.

For Li Yuan's training trip to Qijia Town, he would use the identity "Wuling Education."

As someone managed under the Education Bureau, there was no issue with Li Yuan using that identity.

Once everything had been settled, Li Yuan carried a box of nutrient fluid out.

He had already taken leave today, and carrying so much nutrient fluid around was inconvenient.

Li Yuan took a car straight home, then pulled out a bottle of nutrient fluid and carefully read its instructions.

The four grades of nutrient fluid did not refer entirely to quality.

Nutrient fluid used for cultivation was not something one could drink whenever one wanted.

Those newly entering the Martial Dao could drink, at most, D-grade Nutrient Fluid.

Nutrient fluid at C Grade and above, aside from recovery effects, also had obvious strengthening and tempering effects.

These nutrient fluids honed and tempered the body.

They changed a martial artist's physique through three dimensions: cells, bone marrow, and fascia.

That was also why Li Yuan needed B-grade Nutrient Fluid.

Using the effects of nutrient fluid to break through the barriers of a realm was the quickest route.

After carefully reading through the instructions and confirming that he had misunderstood nothing, Li Yuan began trying to advance with nutrient fluid in the small room.

The moment the B-grade Nutrient Fluid entered his stomach, it brought an intense burning sensation.

It felt similar to drinking high-proof liquor.

The burning came quickly and faded just as quickly.

Soon afterward, pain began rising throughout his body.

The pain was scattered, so scattered that he could not tell exactly where it was coming from.

It lasted for about an hour.

Then pain appeared in his bone marrow and fascia in succession.

The pain was extremely obvious, yet Li Yuan felt a measure of anticipation.

This was a sign that his Martial Dao realm was advancing further.

Because of that anticipation, the pain throughout his body instead felt oddly refreshing.

The pain lasted two hours before dissipating.

The nutrient fluid's effects had run out.

Li Yuan understood his own physique. Tempered by the Zhou Tian Dao Yin Technique, his current constitution far surpassed that of other martial artists at the peak of Fourth Grade.

His tolerance for B-grade Nutrient Fluid was likewise beyond comparison with others.

The fact that the pain in his body had faded so quickly also showed that his tolerance remained high.

With that in mind, Li Yuan drank another bottle of nutrient fluid.

He had rationed it before only because he did not have enough nutrient fluid, not because his body could not endure it.

Over the course of that day, Li Yuan drank three bottles in total.

He could clearly feel his body's cells becoming full, with a force pushing outward.

This was a clear sign of advancement in his Martial Dao realm.

It was already completely dark, so Li Yuan did not continue cultivating and simply lay down to rest.

He waited for his physical strength, mental energy, and especially his willpower to recover.

After another two or three rounds, his Martial Dao realm should be able to advance.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would enter Fifth Grade before leaving for training in Qijia Town.

On Tuesday, Li Yuan taught as usual.

His schedule was packed today, as the school had moved many later classes to this day.

Li Yuan had already asked Class Nine and Class Fourteen to prepare in advance.

Once he had taught those classes, he would further strengthen their training after returning from the Youth Martial Tournament.

Compared with other teachers, Li Yuan genuinely cared about his students' studies.

It was not until six o'clock, after work, that Li Yuan found time to speak with Chen Yong.

Li Yuan mentioned that he would be taking a long leave starting tomorrow and asked him to help look after Class Nine and Class Fourteen.

"Oh, right. They didn't deduct your bonus for this long leave.

I asked around. Director Ma approved it last Friday."

Chen Yong brought up the matter of pay.

Teachers at Lingshan No.1 High School were paid quite poorly.

Without bonuses and allowances, even making ends meet after paying rent was difficult.

"I'm taking such a long leave, and they didn't deduct my bonus?

That really surprises me..."

Li Yuan had already prepared himself for his bonus to be deducted.

Hearing today that he would receive it as normal gave him the feeling of finding money on the ground.

Chen Yong watched him and hesitated for quite a while.

"I heard Director Ma personally gave you special approval for this leave.

This Monday, there was suddenly an adjustment to the areas Director Ma was responsible for.

A large portion of his authority was cut away and handed entirely to Director Liu.

I don't know whether these two things are related..."

Chen Yong frowned. He could not judge whether the two matters were connected.

Li Yuan also fell silent for a moment upon hearing that.

"I'll go talk to Director Ma. Since he helped me get this special approval, I should at least go thank him."

With that, Li Yuan got up and headed toward Director Ma's office.

Director Ma's office door was open.

He was inside packing his things, apparently preparing to get off work as well.

Li Yuan knocked on the door.

Hearing the sound, Director Ma looked up toward the entrance.

He was not surprised by Li Yuan's arrival.

"There aren't as many things to deal with for once, so I can go home early and get some proper rest."

Director Ma said with a smile, looking rather open-minded.

"In all these years, I've never gotten off work this early."

Li Yuan stepped forward twice, his brows knitting slightly.

"Director, I don't understand..."

He only said half of it, but Director Ma knew what Li Yuan wanted to say next.

"What's there not to understand? I simply think you deserve that bonus.

You teach conscientiously and have a good work attitude. Why should your bonus be deducted just because you're attending the Youth Martial Tournament once?

When have other people ever had their bonuses deducted for attending those training trips?"

Li Yuan was even more surprised. He had not expected Director Ma to say that or to speak up for him.

Director Ma gestured for Li Yuan to sit and handed him a cup of black tea.

"To be honest, I do regret approving this leave application.

After currying favor with the principal for so many years, I was knocked back to square one overnight.

If you're going to be a sycophant, you should stay firmly on that path..."

Li Yuan looked at the director and could not help asking, "Then why did you help me, Director...?"