Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire

  “I want to become someone my father can be proud of!”

  Lu Zhiruo’s eyes were filled with hope. This was her dream.

  “So you came out alone by yourself to learn?”

  Sun Mo had some admiration for this girl. On the way back, the two of them chatted a little. He knew that she was from the Sheng Capital, and it would take close to half a month to travel to Jinling by horse carriage. She hadn’t reached 14 years old yet but dared to travel alone. Her guts were admirable.

  “Ahh, uhh.”

  At the mention of this, Lu Zhiruo’s countenance immediately turned dim. It hadn’t been easy for her to meet that great teacher, but her aptitude turned out to be too bad, and the great teacher only took a glance at her before waving his hand to send her off. He couldn’t even be bothered to say anything.

  “The Central Province Academy’s student recruitment meet will be held the day after tomorrow. You can take a look. You might be able to find a better great teacher then.”

  Sun Mo hoped that Lu Zhiruo could recognize reality and head back home earlier. After all, given her aptitude, even intern teachers might give her the cold shoulder as well.

  (Although you have breasts, it isn’t any help to your studies!)

  Sun Mo sighed. If Lu Zhiruo’s breasts could be considered as her aptitude, then she’d be looking down on the rest of the world.

  “Teacher Sun, you’re a good guy!”

  Lu Zhiruo felt very thankful.

  Sun Mo had initially planned on letting Lu Zhiruo look for an inn near the school, but she wasn’t willing to do so. Left with no other choice, Sun Mo could only look for Li Gong, who then cleared up a warehouse to let her stay there temporarily.

  “This is where I usually rest. No one will come, so feel free to stay here.”

  Li Gong’s face was full of smiles, afraid that Sun Mo might not be pleased with his service.

  Sun Mo waved his hand, and Li Gong took his leave. However, before he left, he couldn’t help but throw a glance toward Lu Zhiruo. (Oh my god, the man who marries her in the future would be so fortunate.)

  “Take this money, you can use it first.”

  Sun Mo took out five silver taels and gave it to Lu Zhiruo. When they had caught the thief and gotten back the loot, he knew that this papaya girl didn’t have much money left. This might be the reason why she refused to stay at an inn.

  “No! No!”

  Lu Zhiruo waved her hand and rejected, wearing a horrified expression.

  “Take it. Are you expecting me to send you food every day?”

  Sun Mo frowned.

  Seeing that Sun Mo was angry, Lu Zhiruo jumped up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. She explained, “No, I didn’t have that intention!”

  “Then take it.”

  Sun Mo asked Lu Zhiruo for her home address so he could get someone to come and fetch her. However, when he mentioned this, Lu Zhiruo would lower her head and pretend to be dumb. Therefore, he could only give up on this thought.

  After returning to the dorm, Sun Mo went through his luggage and realized that he didn’t have much savings left. Therefore, it was important for him to earn money quickly. Otherwise, his standards of living would plummet.

  If this was in the past, given his educational background, it’d be easy for him to work as a home tutor for a few days. However, he couldn’t do this in Jinling. It was because he hadn’t taken on a permanent role yet.

  “Am I only left with the choice of writing [Journey to the West]?”

  To be honest, Sun Mo didn’t wish to do this. However, he thought of the homeless Lu Zhiruo. He had to help her out, right? This was like he had picked up a lost kitten from the roadside. He had to keep it for a while. If he didn’t even have the money to buy dried fish for its snack, then the kitten would look down on him as well.

  “That’ll settle it then. It’s better to write ‘Journey to the West’ than to become a masseur!”

  The ancient massage technique was very amazing, and he could definitely be a world-class masseur. However, Sun Mo felt that if he were to do this, the system would definitely be the first to die from laughter.

  The morning sunlight had just appeared when Ludi carried a bowl of soup and a plate of pig trotters, leaving the dorm. Teacher Zhou Shanyi’s impression of him was quite good. As long as he continued to keep things up, he’d definitely be able to get an ‘excellent-grade’ rating. It’d increase his chances of being able to stay in school.

  The only thing he wasn’t happy about was the teacher’s rating on his braised meat. What did he mean when he said that it’d be better if Ludi were to add some goji berries and caterpillar fungus? That would be heterodoxy. It’d spoil the natural taste of the braised meat.

  Moreover, only middle-aged people would drink goji berries steeped in water. (You’re already an old man and no longer need that. Even if you were to eat goji berries every day as you would rice, you’d still age and slowly lose strength.)

  At the thought of this, Ludi couldn’t help but increase his force exertion in his arms, being narcissist of his healthy body that was filled with vitality, and then……

  He felt gloomy. A papaya girl was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall. She propped her legs up and hugged them with her arms. With her head resting on her knees, she slept comfortably.

  Glistening saliva trickled down the corners of her lips, landing on her pants. It made a huge wet patch on it.

  “Would you guys cut it out?”

  Ludi felt that Zhang Sheng and Sun Mo were truly shameless. To think that they’d spend money on actors to boost their reputation so that they could stay back in school. He, on the other hand, was very upright.

  At the thought of this, Ludi felt that the braised meat he was holding became even more fragrant.

  “Uh?”

  Lu Zhiruo rubbed her eyes, looking up with a dazed expression. As she had been sitting there for too long, her shoulders felt a little sore. She instinctively shook and rubbed them, moving her body.

  “Oh my god!” Ludi almost screamed out. Was this the legendary child-like complexion? “Who are you looking for?”

  “I’m looking for Teacher Sun, Sun Mo!”

  Lu Zhiruo quickly stood up. After saying that, she even bowed. “Hello Teacher!”

  Ludi was stunned. He hadn’t been called a teacher before. Everyone would refer to him as ‘Teaching Assistant Lu’, and it somehow sounded like the words ‘pig trotter braiser’. Other than making Ludi feel upset, this title also made him swear that he’d become a substitute teacher as soon as possible, followed by the yearly teacher-in-charge and then a great teacher. He would then get the intern teachers to braise pig trotters for him.

  To suddenly be called a teacher by a student, Ludi felt as if he had drunk iced sour plum soup on the hottest day of the year. The feeling of exhilaration went right down into his bones.

  “Sun Mo, someone’s looking for you!”

  Ludi shouted out and then flashed a smile that he had been practicing for a while. “I am Ludi. If you have any problems in the future, you can come to ask me.”

  “There’s no…… no need. Teacher Sun can help me with my questions!”

  Lu Zhiruo backed off a step and lowered her head. This teacher’s smile was so scary. She could even see the chives stuck in the back of his teeth.

  (Hey, hey, do you think I don’t want any face to be rejecting me so quickly?) Ludi’s passion was like the sandcastle on the beach that was washed away by the waves.

  (Hmph. You look at me in contempt right now, but in the future, I’d be at a level too high for you to reach!)

  Ludi thought in his heart and then turned to leave. However, he had only taken a few steps away when he turned back, throwing a glance at Lu Zhiruo’s chest.

  Sun Mo attached the wooden blade at his waist and walked out of the dorm.

  Lu Zhiruo hid behind a pillar and looked around, afraid that another guy she didn’t know would come out. When she saw that it was Sun Mo, she jumped out with a peace of mind, bowing and greeting him.

  Sun Mo ran two rounds around the Sorrowless Lake. After warming up, he practiced the first level of the Grand Universe Formless Divine Art.

  Lu Zhiruo was like a small tail, following him in what he was doing. Sun Mo hesitated for a moment but didn’t stop her.

  By the time he had started to sweat a little and more people were coming to the lakeside, Sun Mo stopped. It was going to be the peak hour at the canteen soon. If he didn’t go now, it’d be squeezy there.

  Someone handed a towel to him.

  Sun Mo turned and saw the girl, who was still dressed in her green clothes, standing under the sun and passing him the towel respectfully with both hands.

  “You don’t have to do these things!”

  Although Sun Mo said that, he still took the towel from her and wiped off the perspiration on his forehead.

  Lu Zhiruo then took out a bamboo cylinder from her bag. After pouring out a cup of water and passing it to Sun Mo, she took the used towel, not saying a word in the entire process.

  The fragrance of meat buns was permeating the second level of the canteen.

  “Are you hungry?”

  Sun Mo looked around.

  Lu Zhiruo nodded subconsciously and then quickly shook her head.

  Gurgle~

  Lu Zhiruo’s stomach started growling, making her feel extremely awkward. Her face was instantly flushed up all the way to her neck.

  The papaya girl lowered her head, and her two slender index fingers were rubbing against the corner of her clothes uneasily. She was like a quail that had been captured.

  “Go get what you want to eat!”

  Sun Mo threw his employment pass to Lu Zhiruo and headed toward a table next to a window. “I’ll have porridge and salted vegetables. If there are hotteoks, then get me one.”

  “En!”

  Lu Zhiruo took the employment pass and quickly ran toward the porridge stall.

  All the teachers in the Central Province Academy had an employment pass. It was a small wooden token that was the size of one’s palm. Other than allowing one to use places such as the martial lecture hall and the Meditation Dojo for free, there’d also be discounts when one showed it when buying meals and other things.

  Lu Zhiruo was holding onto Sun Mo’s employment pass and thus would be able to enjoy the discounts. This caused the corners of her lips to curl up, giving her the urge to touch the money pouch in her pocket that was almost empty.

  After having breakfast, Sun Mo went to the library. He looked for a secluded spot and started writing [Journey to the West]. For fear that she’d disturb Sun Mo, Lu Zhiruo took a seat slightly further away from him.

  Sun Mo had read the Four Classic Novels many times in the past. He felt that out of them [Journey to the West] was the most obscure one in its writing. He remembered all the stories, but he couldn’t replicate it word by word. Therefore, he used his own language to reproduce the story in which Tang Sanzang went on a mission to seek holy scriptures.

  “Should I make Wukong wilder?”

  As the first chapter was done, Sun Mo was a little uncertain if he’d be able to earn his first bucket of gold with it. Although he had tried to make it sound more like ancient literature, it was still too straightforward when compared to the novels in the market now. However, since he couldn’t find other methods to earn quick bucks, he could only continue with his writing.

  Thankfully, Sun Mo also enjoyed writing in his free time. This wasn’t something difficult for him.

  Lu Zhiruo was bored just sitting there and planned to take a few books to read. However, after taking a look around the library, he realized that she had read almost all of them before and didn’t like the remaining ones. She came back empty-handed. Not daring to disturb Sun Mo, she placed both hands on her knees and sat upright, being so well-behaved as if she was a cat.

  The summer wind blew past the window, sending one of the manuscripts to her. She had long since felt curious about what Sun Mo was doing and thus glanced over.

  “The Flowerfruit Mountain is a place of good fortune, and the Water Curtain Cave presented a whole new world?”

  Lu Zhiruo continued reading. (This is a story of a monkey, but is it possible for a monkey to come out from a stone? That’s so mysterious! Hmm, isn’t Teacher Sun’s choice of words too straightforward?)

  Lu Zhiruo felt that she’d be able to do a better job than Sun Mo. However, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the manuscript. It was because this monkey was really interesting. It was just a beast, but it dared to call itself the ‘Monkey King’. What arrogance.

  Lu Zhiruo put aside the copy of the manuscript and then glanced toward Sun Mo. She then secretly inched closer, reached out her hand, and took another piece.

  Distressing journey to the west, the birth of the Monkey King.

  Traveling the world in search of immortality!

  Lu Zhiruo continued reading. When she reached out again and touched nothing, she quickly realized that she had finished reading through all the manuscripts.

  “There’s no more?”

  Lu Zhiruo was disappointed and subconsciously looked toward Sun Mo. He was also looking at her.

  Clank!

  Lu Zhiruo instantly got up in shock, but because she moved too quickly, her knees scraped against the table. It hurt a lot.

  “Ouch!”

  Lu Zhiruo gasped but quickly greeted, “Teacher Sun!”

  The papaya girl then turned her gaze toward the manuscript in front of Sun Mo, subconsciously reaching out her hand. She had a strong yearning to read it.

  Chapter 29: Sitting At Home, But Points Were Coming Down from the Sky!

  Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire

  The ink had already dried, and Sun Mo kept the manuscript.

  Lu Zhiruo blinked her big eyes, watching with such fervent gaze as if she was a kitten that had starved for days and had just discovered dried fish left to dry on the balcony.

  “Hold on, why don’t I help him tidy up his manuscript? Won’t I be able to read it openly then?”

  Lu Zhiruo clenched her small fists and knocked her head. She was so stupid.

  Swoosh!

  A golden halo suddenly extended out in the library, bringing forth some noises in the initially quiet atmosphere.

  “It’s a great teacher halo!”

  Lu Zhiruo looked around and saw a handsome young man walking in. He waved his hand to get everyone to continue with their learning.

  “He’s called Qin Fen, a graduate from Jixia Learning Palace, one of the top nine renowned schools. Do you want to have him as your teacher?”

  Sun Mo assessed Qin Fen. What high EQ. He had released the ‘Wide Learning and Retentive Memory’ halo in the library. Not only would this leave a favorable impression on the students’ hearts, but it would also spread his name. His way of doing things was a lot better when compared to Zhang Sheng who only knew how to build up his reputation by bribing students.

  Of course, the great teacher halo was something that could only be gained through enlightenment and not learned. Even if Zhang Sheng wished to do this, he was unable to.

  Sun Mo was unable to replicate this act either. The ‘Priceless Advice’ halo could increase the weight of his words, allowing the students to be influenced for a while. However, he hadn’t grasped it completely yet; thus, it would only work at times. As for the ‘Ignorant and Incompetent’, it was a great teacher halo that was purely punishment in nature. If he were to throw it out here, he’d definitely bring about a great commotion, and he’d then be fired.

  “No!”

  Lu Zhiruo shook her head without any hesitation.

  “You don’t look up to him? From what I heard, many students want to become his personal disciple.”

  Sun Mo was surprised by how decisive Lu Zhiruo was. For students who didn’t have a good aptitude, there was no chance for them to study under a great teacher. Therefore, Qin Fen’s reputation as a graduate from a renowned school was very tempting. It wouldn’t be bad to be his personal disciple.

  “It’s not about his capabilities. I just don’t like the scent of him!” Lu Zhiruo explained.

  “Huh?”

  Sun Mo was stunned and he subconsciously sniffed. There didn’t seem to be any other smell other than that of ink? (Moreover, are you really able to smell it despite being over 30 meters away from him?)

  “Teacher Sun smells better.”

  Lu Zhiruo smiled sweetly, flashing her dimples.

  “Haha.”

  Sun Mo couldn’t help but pat Lu Zhiruo on the head when he saw how docile she was.

  The papaya girl didn’t doge but squinted her eyes slightly. She tilted her head a little and rubbed it against his hand. Her hand then reached out toward the manuscript on the table.

  Did that monkey obtain the art of immortality? She really wanted to read it! ……

  The sky was slowly turning bright. Yan Li, who usually liked to sleep in, got up. After washing up, he changed into a clean set of uniforms.

  “It’s such a pity. Why can’t we wear the clothes we brought from home? Who would be able to tell that I come from a rich family like this?”

  Yan Li felt gloomy as he looked into the mirror. But that didn’t matter. He put on his jade bracelet and then rolled up his sleeves just so that the bracelet would be revealed discreetly.

  The true way of doing things was to flaunt your wealth in a low-profile manner.

  It wasn’t as if Yan Li wanted to hitch up with girls, but that he wanted to become Qin Fen’s student. He knew that his aptitude was mediocre, but he could make it up with his wealth.

  After all, cultivation required the depletion of a tremendous amount of resources, and money could be used to purchase some resources. Otherwise, if one were to rely on their own cultivation, how long would they take before they managed to achieve anything?

  “Yan Li, you’ll definitely be able to succeed.”

  Yan Li gave himself some encouragement. Today was the day of the student recruitment meet. Many teachers who were hard to meet would appear, and there would even be great teachers amongst them. However, Yan Li felt that he might not have such a chance to be chosen by them.

  At the thought of this, Yan Li felt very gloomy. However, when he turned and saw Qi Shengjia, who was just getting up from his bed, he felt a sense of superiority.

  “A salted fish!”

  Yan Li wore a contemptuous smile. It was degrading to share the same dorm with trash like him. Was he not leaving school? Why was he still not doing anything?

  Over the past two days, Yan Li would hope to see Qi Shengjia’s bed being emptied every time he returned to the dorm. He had even had the delusion that this pauper would flee away sheepishly like a loser, but he would be disappointed every time.

  “I must get a great teacher this year!”

  Wang Hao clenched his fist.

  “Sigh, Shengjia has entered the battle hall. His chances are a lot greater than ours.”

  Zhou Xu felt emotional and couldn’t help but be a little jealous. Previously, he was in a position in which he could look down on Qi Shengjia. However, now that Qi Shengjia had overtaken him, he naturally felt slightly uncomfortable.

  “Zhou Xu, who did you say has gotten into the battle hall?”

  Yan Li frowned. Had he heard wrongly?

  “It’s Qi Shengjia. Didn’t you know that?”

  Wang Hao was a little envious as well.

  “Haha, is it fun to lie to me?”

  Yan Li let out a stifled laugh and then glanced at Qi Shengjia from the corners of his eyes. “If some trash of the 4th-level of the body-refinement realm could get into the battle hall, then wouldn’t I be able to become its lecturer?”

  “Shengjia, show him your battle hall’s identity plate.” Wang Hao teased, “By the way, Sheng Jia is at 5th-level of the body-refinement realm, not 4th-level.’

  “That’s impossible!” Yan Li cried out and assessed Qi Shengjia dubiously. “Even if you want to lie, you should be more serious about it. I would believe that he can get up to 4th-level. After all, anyone could have a streak of good luck. But 5th-level…… Would a guy who’s so poor that he has to wear a pair of holey socks be able to afford peak-grade medicine?”

  Wang Hao and Zhou Xu exchanged a glance and suddenly appeared astonished. If a cultivator wished to advance, other than putting in effort into their cultivation, the other method was to take peak-grade medicine for additional nourishments. However, these alchemical pills were all very expensive.

  Even Qi Shengjia’s father couldn’t bear to buy them. So, did Sun Mo, who was completely unrelated to Qi Shengjia, have so much money to waste on him? It could only mean that Sun Mo’s Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands was very amazing.

  Ding!

  +20 favorable impression points from Wang Hao.

  Prestige connection with Wang Hao: Neutral (73/100).

  Ding!

  +16 favorable impression points from Zhou Xu.

  Prestige connection with Zhou Xu: Neutral (41/100).

  Sun Mo immediately received favorable impression points from two students. This gave him a feeling of exhilaration as if he had picked up a money pouch. However, this Zhou Xu clearly didn’t have much admiration for him. ……

  “How about it? You don’t have anything else to say, right?” Yan Li sounded very proud. “If I didn’t remember wrongly, your opponent was Peng Wanli, who is at 6th-level of the body-refinement realm. Even if you’re at 5th-level, you won’t be able to win against him!”

  Wang Hao couldn’t be bothered to answer him. He took out Qi Shengjia’s plate and threw it over.

  Pa!

  Yan Li immediately took it and was then stunned. Qi Shengjia’s name was written in gold on the black wooden token. There wasn’t any sense of aesthetics to it, but after seeing it, Yan Li was so astonished that he was speechless.

  This was something Yan Li wanted and even dreamed of but couldn’t get. Even worse, now it appeared in the hands of an inferior student.

  “What the……?”

  Yan Li screamed as if a thick mace was pierced into his butt, and his voice broke. He clutched onto the plate tightly, trying to console himself by saying that this was a fake. However, he was unable to do so. It was because he had seen a battle hall’s plate that belonged to a good friend. He had spent a lot of money to treat that person to a meal.

  “Shengjia won against Peng Wanli despite the difference in their level. Moreover, Teacher Jin Mujie even gave him praise in front of everyone, saying that Shengjia’s Skywolf Fist is quite good and that he has reached a small achievement in it.”

  Zhou Xu helped to speak up for Qi Shengjia as the former would still need the latter’s help in the future. In the past, although Zhou Xu didn’t like Yan Li, he would definitely not scoff at him.

  “Impossible!”

  Yan Li denied this possibility without even giving it any further thought. A great teacher’s judgment was very high, so why would they praise Qi Shengjia?

  “You can just go and find out from others! Many of them saw the battle with their own eyes.”

  Wang Hao urged. “Let’s go. Today’s a big day.”

  “Why?” Yan Li couldn’t understand. (How did a salted fish manage to turn the tables around? Could it be that he encountered a great teacher? But why would a great teacher be so free as to bother with such a trashy student? That won’t do. I must find out the truth behind this.)

  Qi Shengjia pursed his lips and clenched his fists tightly. He wasn’t good with words and thus wasn’t able to scoff at Yan Li. However, when he saw Yan Li’s countenance changing from blue to red repeatedly after taking the plate, Qi Shengjia felt that all the humiliation he had experienced over the past three years had been washed away.

  Qi Shengjia smiled and reached out his hand. “Have you seen enough? If you have, then return it to me. I’ll be heading to the student recruitment meet.”

  “You……”

  Yan Li almost died from fury. He wanted to rebut, saying ‘who would care for a lousy plate like this?’ But he wasn’t able to say it. It was because he really wanted it!

  Qi Shengjia left the dorm, and he hadn’t left far away when he heard banging sounds coming from it. He didn’t have to ask. It must be Yan Li venting his frustrations by smashing stuff to the ground.

  “Thank you, Teacher Sun Mo!”

  Qi Shengjia had heartfelt gratitude toward Sun Mo. In the 15 years of his life, he had never been able to walk with his head held up high like this before. And all of this was what Sun Mo had given him.

  Ding!

  +50 favorable impression points from Qi Shengjia.

  Prestige connection with Qi Shengjia. Current state, friendly (408/1,000).

  Sun Mo, who was cultivating the Grand Universe Formless Divine Art by the Sorrowless Lake, received a notification from the system. It was really a case of sitting at home but money was coming down from the sky.

  (Qi Shengjia, you can do it!)

  Sun Mo hadn’t expected that Qi Shengjia would contribute so many points. Honest people were really reliable. If you were to treat them well, they’d thank you for life.

  For a short instant, Sun Mo had thought of taking Qi Shengjia as his personal disciple. After all, he’d be able to gain a tremendous amount of points, but he immediately dismissed this thought.

  There was no other way out. Qi Shengjia’s potential value was extremely low, and it was destined that he wouldn’t be able to gain much in life. How could he let a student like him be his first disciple?

  Even salted fish had dreams!

  Sun Mo was still planning on producing a few great swordsmen, saber saints, or people like that.

  Turning his head, Sun Mo then looked toward Lu Zhiruo whose potential value was extremely low. However, the first thing that he saw was her pair of papaya breasts.

  They were really too big and would be seen with just a casual glimpse.

  Sun Mo hesitated. He felt that if Lu Zhiruo wanted him to be her teacher, he’d definitely not reject her.

  “Is this discrimination?”

  The system clearly guessed what Sun Mo was thinking.

  “Rubbish. Big boobs are just. What’s wrong with sticking firmly by justice?”

  Sun Mo retorted, speaking as if he had a righteous stand. He then took the water the papaya girl had passed to him and drank it up. He couldn’t help but think that if he were to do this in No.2 High School, he’d be reported to the Ministry of Education the next day, suspended from his job, and received investigation.

  “Ding! Please recruit five students from the student recruitment meet. If you fail, there’ll be a punishment!” The system issued a mission.