Virtual Universe, Ganwu Dojo headquarters.
Mitchell appeared on the third floor of the administration building and walked straight into the personnel department office.
"Hehe, Mitchell, aren't you serving in the Golden Mist Army? How did you find the time to visit an old fellow like me?"
A faint smile rested on Jimi's wrinkled face. His clouded eyes seemed to have seen through everything.
"Jimi, don't play dumb with me." Mitchell walked over to the sofa opposite the desk and sat down, slapping the table hard. "I've been in the Golden Mist Army for almost twenty years. Why is my personnel file still at the Ganwu Dojo?"
"Oh, that. Does a little matter like this really require you, the Tenth General, to come here in person? Couldn't you have just sent me an email?"
A servant brought two cups of tea. Jimi took them and placed one in front of Mitchell.
Mitchell stood on no ceremony either. He picked up the cup and drained it in one gulp.
"A little matter? If I didn't come in person, who knows how long Your Excellency Jimi would drag this little matter out? A hundred years? A thousand?"
"Mitchell, you're too impatient. We've been colleagues for hundreds of thousands of years. Don't you know what sort of person I am? Would I deceive you?"
Jimi shook his head, seemingly reminiscing about the old days.
Mitchell was slightly moved. He said, "I know you mean well. You want to keep my personnel affiliation with the Ganwu Dojo so I'll have a way back in the future. But since I chose to join the Golden Mist Army and take the position of Tenth General, I've already put life and death out of my mind."
His tone was firm. "If I, a general, am of two minds and leave myself a way out, how can I ensure the loyalty of the officers and soldiers under my command? Jimi, thank you for your kindness, but I've been very happy in the Golden Mist Army these past twenty years. An easy life in the Ganwu Dojo isn't what I'm after..."
"Very well. In that case, you can take your file with you in a moment." Jimi sighed, respecting his old friend's choice.
He personally retrieved a document from the file shelf and handed it to Mitchell. "This is your virtual file. Take it with you first. Your physical file will be sent to the Golden Mist Army as soon as possible. From now on, you'll have absolutely no connection to the Ganwu Dojo. You'll only have a chance to leave the Golden Mist Army if Lord Marquis Golden Mist personally gives the word. I hope you won't regret this choice."
"I never regret my choices!" Mitchell picked up the file, glanced at it, and put it away.
"Hehe, really?" Jimi seemed to have thought of something very interesting. Smiling, he said, "Didn't you ask me to keep an eye on that Two-Leaf Ganwu Practitioner named Lu Qingshan?"
"Lu Qingshan!" After a brief moment of recollection, Mitchell remembered him-the Two-Leaf Ganwu Practitioner he had once placed great hopes in, only for the man to willingly settle for mediocrity. He was probably an instructor at the dojo headquarters now.
Unconcerned, Mitchell said, "I'm no longer interested in any information about him!"
A more teasing look entered Jimi's eyes. He chuckled and continued regardless of whether Mitchell cared to listen. "Marquis Silvermoon personally gave the order to transfer Lu Qingshan to the Ganwu Mystic Region to serve as an instructor to a Highness. His current standing is equivalent to that of a Special-Class Instructor in the Ganwu Mystic Region. You know, that status is already no lower than yours or mine..."
"What!" Mitchell, who had been indifferent a moment ago, looked incredulous.
He had worked in the dojo personnel department's assessment team for hundreds of thousands of years. How could he not know the requirements for becoming an instructor in the Ganwu Mystic Region...?
Only Three-Leaf Ganwu Practitioners-and elites among Three-Leaf Ganwu Practitioners at that, beings who had mastered an origin law-were qualified to serve.
That Lu Qingshan... twenty years ago, he had been nothing more than a mere Domain Lord with shallow law comprehension and only scattered bits of lightning origin law comprehension. Even Mitchell back then had only thought he had a sliver of a chance of breaking through to the World Lord realm...
Now Jimi was telling him that in just twenty short years, that Domain Lord he had given up on had been personally appointed a Special-Class Instructor by Lord Marquis Silvermoon... how could he believe it?
"That's impossible!!"
Mitchell shook his head, thinking his old friend was pulling his leg.
Jimi, however, calmly took out a document.
Mitchell only glanced at it before his expression darkened. Who would dare forge Marquis Silvermoon's divine power imprint on a transfer document? Even if Jimi had a hundred times the courage, he would never dare do such a thing!
Then there was only one explanation: everything Jimi had just said was true. This...
Delighted to see his old friend left speechless, Jimi smiled and said, "Actually, Lu Qingshan's law comprehension has always been profound. He simply didn't display it during the assessment. In his very first public lecture at the dojo, he already demonstrated an extremely proficient comprehension of lightning laws!"
"He's a qualified instructor. He's more responsible toward the dojo's students than any other instructor... he even created secret techniques specifically for his students and helped them resolve their problems one by one..."
"The students all love and respect him. During his last public lecture before leaving for the Ganwu Secret Realm, some students even shed tears over his departure..."
"Compared with joining the Golden Mist Army, the Ganwu Dojo was the best choice for him. He made the right choice..."
As the two spoke, Mitchell had already used the Virtual Universe to look up news of Lu Qingshan after he joined the dojo.
He fell silent for a long time...
The lingering resentment over being turned down vanished like smoke and clouds.
"He made the right choice. The Golden Mist Army suits me, but it doesn't suit everyone. The Ganwu Dojo and the Ganwu Mystic Region are the platforms that truly suit him. Perhaps it won't be long before he breaks through to the World Lord realm and truly matches us in strength!"
"Hehe, didn't you say you never regret anything? What now? Have you discovered a problem with your judgment?"
Jimi continued to tease him.
Mitchell's expression remained unchanged. "What's there to regret? I invited him because I appreciated his talent. After he turned me down, I never held a grudge or made trouble for him... when you think about it, I was his assessment instructor. I was the one who brought him into the Ganwu Dojo."
"By rights, we should be fairly close... Jimi, my friend, my real body is with the Golden Mist Army, so I rarely have a chance to come to the Ganwu Dojo. That's why I'd like to ask an old friend like you to deliver a congratulatory gift to him for me... choose something he urgently needs right now, worth no more than one hunyuan. I trust your judgment, old buddy!"
Outwardly, Mitchell was as calm as a gentle breeze beneath light clouds, but he had already placed several calls to Sailisi through the Virtual Universe.
"Damn that Sailisi. That bastard hasn't gone around telling people I raised the difficulty of Lu Qingshan's assessment without authorization, has he?!"
Ganwu Mystic Region, Wind Thunder Island.
At that moment, Lu Qingshan was still in Ling Yu's manor, unaware of Mitchell and Jimi's discussion about him.
He was even less aware that Mitchell was planning to give him a gift worth one hunyuan.
"Teacher Lu, if you have no objections, let's settle it this way. From now on, Instructor Bai Mei will guide my cultivation during the first half of each month. For the second half, sorry for the trouble, Teacher Lu..."
"As long as Instructor Bai Mei has no problem with it."
Lu Qingshan nodded. He did not mind whether he went first or second.
A faint smile graced Ling Yu's stunning face. "Instructor Bai Mei has already agreed. Teacher Lu, I still have some questions I'd like to ask you."
(End of chapter)