A Teacher: Passing On Knowledge, Teaching Skills, Resolving Doubts

The moment the signal sounded, Yan Shaozhe arrived in under three minutes.

He had flown all the way over. When he landed, the wind had even tousled his hair. The instant he saw Yan Jingzhe and Zhou Yi facing off, his heart sank.

"Brother, what happened?" He strode over, his gaze sweeping back and forth between them.

"Did you give her the authority to expel students?" Yan Jingzhe asked directly.

Yan Shaozhe glanced at the wooden board in Zhou Yi's hand, then at the three children with red-rimmed eyes. He roughly understood what had happened.

"A first-year homeroom teacher has the authority to advise students to withdraw," he said carefully, "but it needs to be reported—"

"Advise them to withdraw?" Yan Jingzhe handed him the board. "Take a look. Is this advising them to withdraw, or expelling them?"

Yan Shaozhe took the board and read it, his brow furrowing. He knew Zhou Yi. He knew she was strict, even harsh, but he had not expected her to be this ruthless.

"Teacher Zhou," Yan Shaozhe said in a heavier tone, "I remember emphasizing to you that advising a student to withdraw is a last resort. It requires repeated discussions and evaluations. You cannot reach a conclusion based on a momentary judgment."

Zhou Yi clenched her teeth and said nothing.

Yan Jingzhe looked at Yan Shaozhe, then at Zhou Yi, and suddenly asked, "Shao Zhe, what are your standards for accepting disciples?"

Yan Shaozhe froze for a moment. "Talent, character, potential..."

"When you accepted Ma Xiaotao, what rank was she?"

"Rank twenty-two."

"What rank is she now?"

"Rank sixty-one."

Yan Jingzhe nodded and turned to Zhou Yi. "Teacher Zhou, you have taught for a lifetime. Tell me, can you judge how far an eleven-year-old child will go in life based on how she performs at rank eighteen?"

Zhou Yi opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Yan Jingzhe did not wait for her answer.

He turned around to face all the students on the field. At some point, they had gathered nearby, standing at a distance. Some craned their necks to watch, while others whispered among themselves.

"My name is Yan Jingzhe, Dean of the Soul Guidance Department." His voice was not loud, but everyone on the field heard him clearly.

"I am saying this here today. Remember it."

"A teacher is not here to pick students. A teacher is here to teach students."

"If a student is lacking, then teach them until they are not. If a student is slow, then teach them patiently. If a student does not work hard, then find a way to make them work hard. If you, their teacher, have already given up on them, how are they supposed to learn?"

The field fell silent.

The children looked at him, something indescribable in their eyes. It was not admiration, nor was it gratitude. It was a feeling of... being seen.

"Cultivation progress below standard, improper attitude," Yan Jingzhe read aloud from the wooden board. "I did not see any detailed grade reports, any records of discussions, or any letters communicating with their parents. All I saw was a homeroom teacher driving three children out of the academy with a single word."

He turned to Zhou Yi.

"A teacher imparts the Way, teaches skills, and resolves doubts."

"And you, Teacher Zhou, are unworthy of being a teacher."

Zhou Yi's face instantly flushed the color of liver. Her lips trembled a few times as she tried to retort, but under Yan Jingzhe's gaze, she could not say a single word. His gaze was not fierce. It was even calm. Yet that calmness was more frightening than anger.

Yan Shaozhe coughed softly beside them. "Brother..."

"You do not need to persuade me." Yan Jingzhe raised a hand to stop him. "I will not pursue what she has done in the past today, but not one of these three children is allowed to be expelled. If anyone thinks they are no good, let them transfer to my Soul Guidance Department. I will teach them."

Yan Shaozhe gave a wry smile and said nothing further.

Zhou Yi finally spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse. "Dean Yan, I was acting according to the academy's regulations..."

"Regulations are dead. People are alive." Yan Jingzhe cut her off. "You are a teacher, not a tailor. Students are not cloth. Once you cut them wrong, you cannot start over. With one stroke of the blade, you may destroy someone's entire life."

At the edge of the field, a thin, small figure squeezed through the crowd and ran up to Yan Jingzhe.

It was Huo Yuhao.

"Master!" he called out breathlessly. Then he realized he might have arrived at a bad time and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Yan Jingzhe looked at him, and his expression softened somewhat.

"Yuhao, is this Teacher Zhou your homeroom teacher?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. He glanced at Zhou Yi, then quickly looked away. He had only been enrolled for a few days, but he had already witnessed just how formidable this Teacher Zhou was. During class yesterday, one student had circulated his soul power half a beat too slowly and been berated by her in front of the entire class for a full ten minutes. Afterward, he had even been made to write a self-criticism.

Yan Jingzhe saw all of it.

He said nothing more. He merely reached out and patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder.

"Come with your master."

Huo Yuhao hesitated. He glanced at Zhou Yi, then at Yan Shaozhe. In the end, he obediently followed behind Yan Jingzhe.

After taking two steps, Yan Jingzhe suddenly stopped and looked back at the three expelled children.

"You three, come with me as well. Go register with the Soul Guidance Department. From today onward, you are students of the Soul Guidance Department."

The three children froze.

The female student who had been crouching on the ground to pick up the wooden board lifted her head. Tears still hung on her face, but there was now a light in her eyes.

"Thank you, Dean Yan..."

Yan Jingzhe waved a hand without saying more and turned toward the Soul Guidance Department.

Huo Yuhao jogged after him and said quietly, "Master, you were incredible just now."

Yan Jingzhe did not look back. "Incredible? I just could not stand it."

"But Teacher Zhou, she is..."

"She is a teacher," Yan Jingzhe interrupted Huo Yuhao. "Impart the Way, teach skills, resolve doubts. She did none of those three things. Then she should not occupy the position while doing nothing."

Huo Yuhao nodded as if he understood, though not entirely, and did not ask further.

Yan Shaozhe remained where he was, watching Yan Jingzhe's back disappear at the far end of the field. He sighed, then said to Zhou Yi, "Teacher Zhou, go back and write a report. Explain the circumstances of those three students in detail and submit it to my office. In the future, any matter involving expelling students must come through me first."

Zhou Yi's face alternated between pale and livid. In the end, she still nodded.

Yan Shaozhe turned to leave, then stopped and looked back at her.

"Teacher Zhou, my brother usually does not concern himself much with academy affairs. But you had better remember what he said. When he said you were unworthy of being a teacher, he was not insulting you. He was warning you. Think about it yourself."

With that, he left as well.

The crowd on the field gradually dispersed.

The three children followed behind Yan Jingzhe, crossing the field and the teaching district toward the Soul Guidance Department. They did not know what awaited them ahead, but at the very least, it was no longer a single expulsion notice.

Sunlight shone down from overhead, drawing the group's shadows short and close beneath their feet.

Huo Yuhao walked behind his master, looking at his master's broad back. Suddenly, he felt that there truly were adults in this world who kept their word.

They did not merely say things. They were the kind who would truly step forward and stand up for you.

He etched his master's back into his mind and quickened his pace to catch up.