E 32

"No way! All I gave him was a stack of study guides. I didn’t give him any special tutoring!"

"You sit right across from me, you know that!"

Hearing the other teacher’s words, Old Li was equally shocked.

As a homeroom teacher of an average class—more accurately, the bottom class in the average section—Old Li had always felt helpless about his students' grades.

Unlike the honors classes, average classes received fewer resources, and with more students to manage, it was impossible for the homeroom teacher to pay attention to everyone.

Unlike Old Yu in the honors class, who could recognize each student’s handwriting, Old Li could only hand over a stack of study guides to motivated students like Lin Wan and tell them to come to him with questions.

That was the only help he could offer. But to his surprise, Lin Wan had managed to give him such a pleasant surprise!

After listening to what Old Li said, the teacher sitting diagonally across thought for a moment and realized that it was indeed true.

"You're right. So, this means he taught himself?"

Once the teacher understood, they immediately felt a pang of envy.

"Congratulations! It looks like your class is about to produce another top student. Sigh, why can't my students be self-taught and save me some effort?"

Old Li, hearing this, smiled smugly. Although he was being humble, he couldn't help but let a bit of pride slip into his tone.

"Oh, I'm flattered. Honestly, I didn’t do much; it's mainly the student's hard work."

The teacher sitting diagonally across: ...Even though you're telling the truth, why does it sound so infuriating?

While Old Li and that teacher were joking and chatting, another teacher in a corner of the office, the math teacher, glanced at the data on his computer and sarcastically remarked.

"Oh, if he's really that amazing, then why were his previous grades so bad? With such a poor foundation, how could he catch up in just a few days? This whole thing sounds pretty suspicious to me."

Hearing this, Old Li's face darkened instantly.

He looked at the young teacher who was smirking at him and frowned.

"What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting I leaked the exam questions, Mr. Zhao?"

The 'Mr. Zhao' Old Li referred to was the young teacher sitting diagonally across, who was also the homeroom teacher for the second-to-last ranked class in the grade.

Earlier, while Old Li was chatting with others, the results for the other subjects were also being released.

Mr. Zhao had just glanced at his class's rankings and noticed that Lin Wan, a student in Class 5 who usually dragged down the average score, had performed exceptionally well, not only in math but also in other subjects.

Instead of being a burden, Lin Wan had actually raised the average score for Class 5 significantly!

Because of this, Class 5, previously ranked last, had jumped up two places in the rankings.

Not only did this break Class 5's long-standing reputation as the "perpetual bottom rank," but it also surpassed Mr. Zhao's class, which had always ranked second-to-last.

Classes at the bottom of the rankings are often singled out for criticism during staff meetings. Before, because of Lin Wan's "immense drag," the grade director always criticized Old Li's class, but now, with Lin Wan's unusual performance, Mr. Zhao feared that his class would be the one to face criticism instead.

Imagining the potential humiliation at the upcoming meeting, Mr. Zhao felt suffocated.

No, he couldn’t accept this!

Glancing at the furious Old Li, Mr. Zhao's tone grew even more sarcastic.

"Oh, I didn’t say that. We’re all teachers with integrity and morals, right? No one would do something like that."

After throwing out a few barbed comments, Mr. Zhao's expression turned cold as he sneered, "I'm not accusing you of leaking the exam. I'm accusing Lin Wan of cheating!"

"If his performance had only improved in math, I wouldn't have said a word. It's not uncommon for students to make a last-minute push. But take a look at his results this time!"

Raising his voice, Mr. Zhao's words echoed throughout the office.

"Just look at his scores—his rankings in all subjects are near the top of the grade! Does this seem normal to you?"

"Tell me, does this seem normal to you!"

The office fell silent after hearing Mr. Zhao’s words.

The other teachers had also heard of Lin Wan from Class 5.

That student who had been dragged into the school by the principal with a scholarship, only to become completely mediocre after entering high school.

He had given up on himself, stopped caring about his studies, slept through classes, and rarely handed in assignments.

The other teachers had seen Lin Wan come to the office for help recently, and it was true that in just a few days, his ranking had jumped from the very bottom to the top of the pyramid—something did seem off.

Seeing that the whole office had fallen silent in response to his words, Mr. Zhao felt a sense of triumph.

He had calculated that without Lin Wan’s scores, his class would be on par with the classes that used to rank higher than them, securing a tie for third-to-last place—a much better position.

So, Lin Wan had to be taken down!

Clearing his throat, Mr. Zhao loudly declared in the silent office,

"So, for a student who cheats in exams, we must impose severe punishment and issue a formal warning. His scores should be voided, and he should be given a major demerit to show the students that cheating has serious consequences!"

"What are you saying? No way! How can you do that? That's ridiculous!"

At first, Old Li had only frowned while listening, but when he heard how Mr. Zhao planned to handle it, he was furious.

"You’re accusing Lin Wan of cheating? Then show us the proof! Without evidence, you're making baseless accusations and want to give the student a major demerit? That’s absurd! Absolutely not!"

Despite Old Li's anger, Mr. Zhao remained calm.

"Well, we'll see, won't we? Let's see who the director believes—me or you!"

With a sneer, Mr. Zhao strode out of the office.

"How could he do this? This is outrageous!"

Slamming his hand on the table in frustration, Old Li hurried after him.

Mr. Zhao had connections; he had been hired through nepotism and had a good relationship with both the principal and the director. If Old Li didn’t hurry to catch up, there was a real chance that Zhao might convince them to approve the punishment without any proper consideration!

With the college entrance exams approaching, most schools would prioritize the students' mental well-being—how could they allow such chaos? The more Old Li thought about it, the angrier he became, and he rushed after Mr. Zhao straight into the grade director’s office.

—

Meanwhile, after purchasing the food cart and rushing back to the capital, Xia Wenzhuo and Xu Shan quietly appeared in Lin'an again. However, this time, they were accompanied by a middle-aged man with an immortal-like demeanor and an extraordinary aura.

"Third Uncle, it's here. The couple who sold us the food cart lives here."

Turning to the man walking behind him, the usually tough Xia Wenzhuo was now unusually obedient. They knew the wealth-gathering array on the cart wasn’t simple, but they hadn’t expected it to be significant enough to alarm their elders.

After dragging the cart back to the capital overnight, they had presented it to their parents, hoping to earn some praise. However, the moment their parents saw the cart, or rather the wealth-gathering array engraved on it, they immediately lost their composure.

The cart caused quite a stir in both families, and the heads of the households immediately decided they needed to make contact with the senior who had created it. Thus, before they could even drink a cup of hot water, Xia Wenzhuo and Xu Shan were sent out again, this time bringing along their Third Uncle—an incredibly powerful cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core stage—on an urgent trip back to Lin'an.

"Hmm."

Xu Hong'an nodded in response as he carefully observed the residential area. He found that the layout and spiritual energy were very ordinary, and no arrays had been set up. From every angle, this was just an ordinary neighborhood.

Could the trail end here?

Xu Hong'an frowned and, still uneasy, sternly reminded the two younger ones again, "When we enter their home, be polite and respectful. Don’t act high and mighty like Celestial Masters, understand?"

"Of course! When have we ever acted arrogantly?" Xia Wenzhuo grinned cheekily. "We’re not like the Li family, always with their noses in the air. We're the most reliable, right, Sis?"

Excited at the thought of meeting a powerful figure, Xia Wenzhuo couldn't help but babble, even accidentally offending his sister, Xu Shan.

With a cold glare that promised retribution later, Xu Shan solemnly assured her uncle, "Don’t worry, we understand."

"Good."

Their Third Uncle nodded, giving them one last reminder. "You know that the situation in the capital has become more complicated in recent years. The hidden forces have been quietly plotting, and they won't be content to remain in the shadows forever. Before they make their move, we must be prepared."

"This person in Lin'an might be a reclusive Celestial Master with no affiliations. Our goal is to confirm their identity and stance. If possible, we should try to bring them into our family. A master skilled in drawing talismans would be invaluable to us."

"Understood!"

Hearing this, Xia Wenzhuo and Xu Shan fully realized the importance of their mission. With serious expressions, the three of them made their way toward the couple’s home.

However, their respectful yet friendly approach was met with a major setback from the very start.

"What? You’re asking how we got the cart?"

The couple looked at their unexpected visitors with confusion.

"The cart was bought on Taobao, of course! Why are you asking about that?" The husband said, his face full of suspicion as he spoke through the iron gate.

Indeed, since they were strangers, the couple hadn’t even let them into the house. The conversation took place awkwardly at the entrance, with curious neighbors occasionally casting glances at them.

Feeling utterly embarrassed, Xia Wenzhuo's face burned with shame.

"We were just curious," Xia Wenzhuo thickened his skin and smiled, asking, "Brother, have you ever noticed that, one day, your cart suddenly felt different?"

"There was one day."

Under the trio’s expectant gazes, the husband said gruffly, "I remember now! You’re the ones who bought our cart. Are you here to steal our business? Ever since we sold the cart to you, our business hasn’t been the same. Get lost! If you don’t leave, I’ll beat you up!"

With a loud bang, the small door in the iron gate slammed shut.

???

Stunned by the door slamming, Xia Wenzhuo was left speechless.

What’s wrong with them? There’s no way he’d abandon being a Celestial Master to compete for a bun-selling business! Even if he lost his mind, he wouldn’t do something that brainless!

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