Jia Ming's skills were actually terrible, and he was no disciple of Professor Jia Ziling at all. He did, however, have a connection to Professor Jia Ziling of East Guard Academy: he was the professor's nephew. Relying on that connection, he had borrowed Jia Ziling's name to set up this training course. Jia Ziling knew what his nephew was doing, but such things were hardly uncommon and had no effect on him. Sometimes, he even lent a hand.
Jia Ming wasn't very skilled, but he had a gift for talking and knew all the tricks to hoodwinking people. Simply reading from a book wouldn't do, of course. After all, the books only contained so much material; he had to add something. He knew exactly what sort of people attended these training courses, so he soon came up with a good solution.
Anything simple and basic, he explained at great length and in meticulous detail. He could spend ages on even the simplest theorem, deriving it this way and that. Anything difficult, however, he glossed over in a sentence.
To an outsider hearing him for the first time, the teacher's lectures seemed quite detailed and substantial. Anyone who knew the subject, however, would absolutely turn up their nose. It was pure hoodwinking.
Yet Chen Mu listened with rapt attention. His foundation was so weak that when he encountered something he didn't understand, he sometimes had no idea where to look for a book, let alone which book to consult. With no one to guide him, Chen Mu had progressed extremely slowly over the past three years. Card makers took these fundamentals for granted and saw no need to explain them in such detail. Jia Ming's exhaustive explanations of the basics, however, were exactly to Chen Mu's taste. Many things that had once puzzled him suddenly became clear.
From then on, Chen Mu attended every one of Jia Ming's classes without missing a single lesson. Theory and practice complemented each other, each helping the other advance. For three years, Chen Mu had tried to improve the One-Star Energy Card by fumbling his way through on his own, but that had also given him a wealth of experience. By comparing the two, he made rapid progress.
His understanding of the One-Star Energy Card had still been somewhat hazy before. Now, his grasp of its structure grew clearer by the day.
"All right, there's only one lesson left in this course. Now, I have some good news for everyone. Since we run this course jointly with East Guard Academy, we can also take part in the Continuing Education Exam they hold every year. Go home and make a card each, then hand it to me next time. If any of you are selected, you may well be chosen to pursue further studies at East Guard Academy." Jia Ming wore a perfectly serious expression.
Though he had little knowledge in his belly, his silver tongue and considerable wit actually gave him a rather good relationship with his students.
The next day, everyone handed in the cards they had made. Chen Mu submitted a One-Star Energy Card.
East Guard Academy's so-called Continuing Education Exam was held specifically for training courses run jointly with the academy. Its original purpose was to give exceptionally talented students in those courses a chance to receive a formal education. Over the years, however, it had gradually become a mere formality. Neither the course organizers nor the academy paid much attention to it. Embarrassingly, in more than thirty years, the Continuing Education Exam had selected only two students.
Jia Ming took it even less seriously. He knew his students all too well; probably not one of them could make a complete card. So he didn't record the names associated with the cards, but simply dumped them all into a paper bag. Ah, what a miserable lot! I have three classes to teach, you know.
After finishing all his classes, Jia Ming made a trip to his uncle's office at East Guard Academy, casually tossed three paper bags onto the desk, and went off to find some fun and unwind.
When Jia Ziling returned to his office and saw the three paper bags, he couldn't help frowning. Jia Ziling was past fifty, and quite a few wrinkles had begun to appear on his square face. Although he understood that these things were really just lip service, once a promise had been made, the motions still had to be gone through. But how could such a task possibly be left to a distinguished professor?
Jia Ziling pressed the activation button on the Wrist Device strapped to his wrist. His was far more exquisite and compact than Chen Mu's, only the size of a palm. Its pure silver surface was engraved with intricate patterns, and its three straps were made from the hide of sawtooth crocodiles native to the Mohadi Domain. The Wrist Device had four card slots and was clearly worth a fortune.
A translucent screen of light sprang up before him, displaying a long list of names. The Communication Card inside his Wrist Device had been activated. Communication Cards had been invented only thirty years ago, but were already widely used. They came in different grades according to their range. The highest-grade Communication Cards could provide flawless communication throughout the entire Tianyou Federation, but their price was beyond what ordinary people could afford. Most ordinary residents used one- to two-star local Communication Cards. Jia Ziling's was somewhat more advanced: a three-star card capable of communication throughout the entire district.
With a finger bearing a sapphire ring, Jia Ziling lightly tapped a name on the screen.
About five seconds later, the image of a handsome young man appeared on the screen. His glossy, medium-length straight hair gave him a somewhat androgynous look, and a trace of coldness lingered around his eyes and brows.
"Teacher, did you need me for something?" Zuo Tingyi asked respectfully, his tone icy.
Well acquainted with this student's temperament, Jia Ziling said, "Come to my office."
About ten minutes later, Zuo Tingyi arrived at the office.
"Sort these things out." Jia Ziling pointed at the three paper bags on the desk.
Zuo Tingyi acknowledged him and began sorting the cards in the three paper bags. Seeing not the slightest sign of impatience on his face, Jia Ziling nodded in satisfaction. Zuo Tingyi was his prized student. Not only was he intelligent and gifted, with excellent grades, but he also showed immense respect for his teachers and elders and was meticulous in everything he did. Almost every teacher who taught him was very fond of him. On top of that, he knew how to please people, delivering expensive gifts every holiday. He was practically every teacher's idea of the perfect student.
Zuo Tingyi sorted through the cards one by one. Most were too ghastly to look at, riddled with errors. Though his expression remained unchanged, inwardly he felt rather helpless. Having this sort of rotten chore land in my lap really is irritating.
Junk Card!
Junk Card!
This one is beyond ridiculous! A card this simple, and it has no fewer than fifteen errors!
Another Junk Card!
Black lines all but sprouted across Zuo Tingyi's forehead.
Finally, a card that looks halfway decent!
Zuo Tingyi let out a long breath. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have spared a One-Star Energy Card so much as a glance. Under these circumstances, however, this humble One-Star Energy Card actually left him a little excited.
After he finished sorting through all three paper bags, only one card lay before Zuo Tingyi: a One-Star Energy Card.
Zuo Tingyi was just about to report to Jia Ziling when it suddenly occurred to him that he ought to be more careful, lest he make a fool of himself. Those hideous Junk Cards had left even the normally composed Zuo Tingyi with lingering unease. If this card contained some minor error he had overlooked, he would lose face badly.
He hurriedly brought the sole surviving One-Star Energy Card before his eyes for a careful inspection.
Huh!
He gave a soft exclamation, his expression changing slightly.
Fang Xiang is putting on a little burst of updates, so how about a little burst of votes from everyone too!
(End of chapter)