After dinner, Li Yuan took Chen Yong to the open space where he trained and continued practicing.
Chen Yong truly was not very invested in martial arts.
Before even an hour had passed, he started clamoring to go back and rest.
He said he was too tired from teaching during the day, still had work tomorrow, and needed to sleep early.
Li Yuan knew he could not persuade him, so the two returned to the apartment together.
They watched television together, and Li Yuan took the chance to offer him more guidance and explanations.
Li Yuan had to prepare for the Youth Martial Tournament, while Chen Yong also had to prepare for the provincial Open Class.
That night, the two squeezed into the rented apartment to sleep.
While watching television, Chen Yong suddenly thought of something and spoke up to remind him again.
"Right now, a lot of parents at the school are filing complaints against you.
"The first-year parents are alright, but the second- and third-year parents have major issues with you."
"I don't even teach the second or third years. What are they complaining about?" Li Yuan did not quite understand. He had no dealings with the parents of second- and third-year students.
"They say you stole Jin Fan's spot, affected Lingshan City's Youth Martial Tournament ranking, and hindered Lingshan City's development.
"However, the Education Bureau helped suppress it, so the complaints have not had much impact for now."
Chen Yong actually wanted to share some good news, but after thinking about it, he simply could not find any.
"This year's Youth Martial Tournament will also have real-time online point rankings.
"People may not be able to watch the actual matches, but they can see how many points everyone currently has..."
This was an innovation for this year's Youth Martial Tournament. There might even be livestreams in the future.
For the competitors, having the point rankings updated in real time was another source of pressure.
Once they thought about so many people watching their results, the pressure would cling to them.
"I think it's fine. Ever since I fought for this Youth Martial Tournament slot, the rumors have never stopped.
"With the point rankings updating in real time, the impact will be even smaller. I won't be able to hear any of it while I'm competing anyway."
The two chatted casually until around ten o'clock.
Li Yuan had originally planned to explain more lessons to Chen Yong and help him sort through the questions he might encounter in the Open Class.
But at that point, Chen Yong said he was sleepy.
At seven in the morning, Li Yuan got up and went to the school with Chen Yong.
Although it was still vacation, Li Yuan planned to go back and take a look.
The two rode to school. To Chen Yong, the journey was truly rather long.
But Chen Yong also understood Li Yuan's current financial situation.
Renting somewhere closer was somewhat beyond his means and would only leave him even more strapped for cash.
He kept those thoughts to himself and did not say them aloud.
After arriving at Lingshan No.1 High School, Li Yuan went directly to Class Nine and Class Fourteen.
He told the students in both classes that he would be at school until the end of the workday.
If they had any questions, they could come ask him directly.
During this trip, Li Yuan also took the opportunity to see whether there were any Experience Points to pick up.
He only picked up three from the two classes combined.
It seemed that being too far away really did affect the dropping of Experience Points.
After returning to the office and sitting down, the teachers around him politely nodded in greeting.
Adults did not easily tear off all pretense.
Even if they had opinions about Li Yuan and felt that he had taken this slot and affected Lingshan City's future.
They only voiced those complaints behind his back and would not bring them out to cause an unpleasant scene.
Not long after Li Yuan sat down in the office, Gu Yu, the intern assigned to follow him, arrived.
As an intern, Gu Yu had never taught a single internship class.
Ever since coming to Lingshan No.1 High School, he had only focused on his own cultivation.
Entering the office, Gu Yu walked straight toward Li Yuan.
He carried a bag in his hand that seemed to be intended for Li Yuan.
"The Youth Martial Tournament starts this Friday, right?
"This is a set of protective inner armor I use. It's not especially good, but it offers decent protection.
"Teacher Li Yuan, take it and use it. To be honest, I'm really worried you'll get hurt.
"My mentor said I have to defeat you properly and completely dismantle your Cloud Extreme Fist before I can go back."
"If you get injured, you'll really make things difficult for me..."
As Gu Yu said this, the concern in his eyes looked quite genuine.
The other teachers nearby heard this and lowered their heads to whisper among themselves.
Li Yuan did not stand on ceremony. He stepped forward, took the bag, and pulled out the inner armor for a look.
"Thank you for your kindness, Teacher Gu Yu. I'll do my best to achieve a good result in the Youth Martial Tournament."
Li Yuan gave a polite response.
Hearing that, Gu Yu smiled helplessly.
"I actually hope you don't try that hard in the Youth Martial Tournament.
"So that when you fight me, you won't have lost your fighting spirit and have no strength left for your moves.
"My mentor is extremely strict.
"Even if I win then, he still won't acknowledge it..."
Gu Yu's words were filled with confidence.
After hesitating, Gu Yu brought up the question he had asked before and tossed it before Li Yuan again.
"Teacher Li Yuan, looking at it now, how long until I can beat you?
"Still two months?"
Hearing the question, Li Yuan looked at the set of inner armor in his hands.
Having accepted someone else's gift, he really could not speak as forcefully.
"Probably less than two months now. Fifty days?"
Clearly, Gu Yu was still dissatisfied with that answer.
"I've already seen through the Cloud Extreme Fist's core completely.
"After you return from the Youth Martial Tournament, in about a month, let's see whether I can beat you then."
After saying that, Gu Yu did not waste any more time and turned to leave.
Li Yuan remained at Lingshan No.1 High School until classes ended. Quite a few students came to ask him questions along the way.
Taking this opportunity, he reinforced their learning once more.
Seeing Li Yuan's work ethic and dedication, the other teachers nearby.
To be honest, swallowed back their former disapproval.
Director Ma saw this as well.
The small trace of regret in his heart seemed to have faded away.
Helping Li Yuan had been the right choice.
Why should a teacher this dedicated and hardworking not be given a chance to advance?
Using the approach of bad money driving out good would only make teachers less willing to put their minds into teaching.
Of course, Director Ma could only think about it now.
He had handed much of his work over to Director Liu.
His related management post remained, but his real authority and management power were gone.
Adjustments to posts at Lingshan No.1 High School required approval from the Education Bureau.
If not for that, Principal Yin would likely have demoted even his director position by a level.
Over the next two days, Li Yuan calmed himself and improved a little more.
On Saturday morning, he arrived at the Provincial Gymnasium at the scheduled time.
The martial artists from Lingshan City participating in the Youth Martial Tournament would gather here today before departing together.
When Li Yuan arrived at the Provincial Gymnasium, Deputy Director Zeng Chang was already waiting there.
For this year's Youth Martial Tournament, he was the chief team leader.
At first, he had still possessed some drive and ambition.
If he did well this time, he could bring credit to the Education Bureau director.
He might have had a chance at that director's position.
But now, he was certain he had no chance.
As the leader for this trip, Deputy Director Zeng Chang only hoped that no major trouble would occur.
Once the new director took office, it would already be good enough if he could be transferred sideways into an idle position.
When Li Yuan saw Deputy Director Zeng Chang, he immediately went over to greet him.
Deputy Director Zeng Chang smiled. He was quite composed and did not wear a gloomy expression.
He then chatted with Li Yuan about this training trip.
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