bookrandom Chapter 12 School Newspaper's Most Influential Figures
Chapter 12 School Newspaper's Most Influential Figures
"It's reached level three."
Wang Xing looked at the row of small blue characters in the upper left corner of his vision, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He didn't show much excitement, but rather a calm and natural composure.
His swordsmanship broke through to the third level, which was within his expectations. It was just a few days faster than his planned goal of breaking through to the third level ten days before the school exam in September.
"Unfortunately, although the level of swordsmanship has improved, the Three Forms of Breaking Army swordsmanship is still at the peak of minor mastery."
"Practicing sword techniques alone is not enough; the exertion of force, body posture, and footwork must be perfectly coordinated in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of swordsmanship."
Wang Xing pondered to himself, "Movement is the foundation of all practical combat skills. Only when your movement is up to par can your swordsmanship be fully utilized."
He brought up the Star Abyss Infusion panel in his mind.
[Agility: Tier 2, 90%]
"I have a feeling that if my movement technique can break through to the third level, the three forms of Po Jun, which combine body and sword, should be able to naturally reach the level of mastery."
Wang Xing stood still in the training room, adjusted his posture, and focused on practicing his movement techniques.
The movement technique he practiced was called Tiger Walking Through Nine Mountains.
This movement technique is derived from the posture of a tiger moving through the mountains and forests—the tiger moves through the mountains, neither too fast nor too slow, but each step is taken at the most crucial point. When advancing, it is like a tiger pouncing; when retreating, it is like a tiger crouching; when turning, it is like a tiger spinning; when dodging, it is like a tiger leaping.
He channeled his energy into his feet, his weight shifting nimbly between them. His thrusters charged, his body sometimes surging forward, sometimes dodging to the side, sometimes halting, simulating evasion and advance in actual combat. The rhythm of his footsteps perfectly matched the cadence of a charging tiger.
Sweat dripped down his chin, soaking his training clothes, but he showed no sign of stopping, honing his movements again and again, just to perfectly connect his movements with his swordsmanship and break through the barrier of mastering the Three Forms of Breaking Army.
……
……
at the same time.
On the top floor of the school administration building, in front of the principal's office.
When Lü Yun pushed open the door, Principal Li Zhengyuan was sitting behind his desk with a stack of documents spread out in front of him, his reading glasses perched on his nose.
Principal Li Zhengyuan was a bald man in his fifties with a calm face and gentle eyes, but he exuded a rugged aura that came from years of battlefield experience.
"Wow, the principal is at school so early today?"
Lu Yun sat down directly in the chair opposite him, slamming the thermos cup on the table with a clatter. "I thought I'd come here so early only to find you empty-handed. I didn't expect you to be so diligent."
Li Zhengyuan glanced at the other person, then looked down and continued reading the documents.
"Recently, representatives from the Eastern and Western Theater Commands have been coming to the school to give presentations, and there are some matters that need to be finalized in advance, so I had to come early... You came to see me so early in the morning just to praise my diligence?"
"No, that won't do." Lü Yun smiled and changed the direction of his crossed legs.
Li Zhengyuan closed the file, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Lü Yun. His relationship with Lü Yun wasn't just that of a typical superior and subordinate. During the Northern Desert Blockade, he was the captain of the Blue Star Mercenary Group, and Lü Yun was a company commander in the military's armored division. The two had fought back-to-back against the Abyss Monsters on the battlefield and saved each other's lives. That kind of bond couldn't be compared to sitting at the same desk.
"Speak, what is it?"
Lu Yun tucked his legs back, leaned forward, and placed the thermos on the table.
"Principal, I have a student in my class who's always the first one in the whole school to arrive at the training room every day, rain or shine. I only noticed this a few days ago. Guess what time he gets there?"
Li Zhengyuan thought for a moment: "Six-thirty? Six o'clock?"
"Four o'clock." Lü Yun held up four fingers. "Four o'clock in the morning. Every day, rain or shine. I had the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, check the register. The earliest entry was 3:40. It's been like this for two years, from the first year of high school until now."
Li Zhengyuan's expression changed.
Are you sure?
"I saw it with my own eyes. I watched him for five days in a row, every day at 4:30 in the morning, he was in the training room."
Li Zhengyuan perked up and leaned forward slightly: "There's such a diligent student, what's his name?"
"Wang Xing".
"It's him!" Li Zhengyuan knew Wang Xing, of course: "He's first in the regular class, and his raw scores are among the top three in the whole school... Last month, you came to me to apply for the new school exam regulations because of him. The only problem is he hasn't awakened his Void Element power; that's a fatal flaw..."
"You came to see me because of him, right?"
"That's right." Lu Yun sat up straight, his tone solemn. "You can't imagine how hard this child works, and he's talented enough. He absolutely cannot be buried... But his family's financial situation is average, and he can't keep up with the cultivation resources. He also has a very strong sense of pride. If you give him resources directly, he will definitely not accept them."
"I know you value talent. Last time you asked me to apply for the new regulations for the September college entrance exams, I already approved it. As long as he makes it into the top ten in the college entrance exams, he can be admitted to the Yuanpei Class as an exception."
"That's not why I came."
Lü Yun smiled and said frankly, "Doesn't the school have a selection process for outstanding senior students? In previous years, only students from the Yuanpei Class were selected. I was wondering if we could make an exception this year and add a spot for a student from a regular class. Students from the Yuanpei Class are important, but students from regular classes shouldn't be ignored. Besides, students from regular classes make up more than 90% of the students in the school, so we must pay attention to them. The school should arrange for an outstanding senior student from a regular class."
"So you want to include Wang Xing too?" Li Zhengyuan asked, crossing his arms.
Lu Yun nodded: "Bai Lingxue is the top student in the Yuanpei Class, and Wang Xing is the top student in the regular class. Let's make them both prominent figures on campus, and increase their bonuses and give them some resources to help them."
Li Zhengyuan immediately laughed: "You're quite the schemer. The annual prize for the Campus Icon award has always been 50,000 yuan, and only one person is selected. Now you're trying to increase the number of winners and raise the prize money. You've made the school your own."
"Principal, Wang Xing is destined for great things and will be a source of pride for the school. Giving him benefits now is also an investment in our school," Lü Yun said, seizing the opportunity.
"Lu Yun, that's a harsh way to put it!" Principal Li Zhengyuan said, "The school wants to sponsor a student, and you're calling it an investment? Don't try to beat around the bush with me. The regular classes need a role model, and Wang Xing is perfect for that. Two spots aren't out of the question, but the prize money..."
"How about 100,000 per person?" Lu Yun immediately interrupted the principal.
"Lü Yun, do you really think I'm an ATM?"
Li Zhengyuan glared at Lü Yun: "The 'Campus Popular Person' award only comes with 50,000 yuan a year, but you're not only doubling it, you're giving it to two people at once. Two hundred thousand yuan, where am I supposed to get that from?"
Lü Yun didn't laugh; her expression was very serious.
"Principal, Bai Lingxue's family doesn't lack this 100,000 yuan, but Wang Xing's family does. Do you know what kind of situation this child's family is in? His father was sucked away by the Black Abyss, his mother works as a postpartum care center nanny, and his sister works as a guard in the Northern Desert, risking her life for money... That's how he gets up at four in the morning every day to train, and he has never told anyone."
"I won't be happy if this child is held back because of money," Lu Yun said firmly.
A few seconds of silence filled the office. Li Zhengyuan looked at Lü Yun, and Lü Yun looked at Li Zhengyuan.
Li Zhengyuan let out a sigh of relief, took a document out of the drawer, flipped through it, and then closed it again.
"Alright, Lü Yun. The 'High School's Most Popular Student' award has always been 50,000 yuan, but we can't make an exception and raise it to 100,000 this year. It's not that I'm stingy, it's a system problem. If we raise it to 100,000 this year, what will the previous students think? And next year we'll have to stick to the 100,000 standard, what about the year after that? And the year after that? The school can't afford to go through that kind of hassle."
"but……"
Li Zhengyuan paused for a moment, then said, "Given Wang Xing's outstanding academic performance in the regular classes, I'm making an exception and designating two students as this year's Campus Heroes of the Senior Year. Bai Lingxue and Wang Xing will each receive a prize of 50,000 yuan. The Campus Heroes of the Year will be determined annually, depending on the circumstances… If any student in the regular classes has consistently excellent grades, two spots will be given."
Lu Yun feigned dissatisfaction: "Fifty thousand is too little, how about adding a little more?"
"That's enough, this is the plan." Li Zhengyuan waved his hand, his attitude resolute.
"Okay, it's a deal. I'll record this."
Lu Yun suddenly laughed and took out his phone, waving it around.
Looking at Lü Yun's smile, Li Zhengyuan snorted, "Do you think I'm the kind of person who goes back on their word?"
Lu Yun chuckled, stood up, and put the thermos in his pocket.
"Then I'll be going, Principal Li."
"Let's go, don't bother me here." Li Zhengyuan reopened the documents on the table.
As soon as he left the office, Lü Yun couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
He took out his phone, glanced at the recording interface, clicked save, and named the file "Wang Xing: A Figure of the Times".
"Fifty thousand yuan."
Lu Yun put his phone in his pocket and muttered to himself, "That old Li is really shrewd. I said 100,000, and he bargained it down to 50,000, not a penny more. If I had said 50,000, he probably would have given me 30,000."
He initially wanted to negotiate for 50,000 yuan... Asking for 100,000 yuan was his way of leaving room for negotiation.
"Nutritional meals, supplements, mecha consumables... all these things add up to a considerable expense. This 50,000 yuan will be a great help to Wang Xing."
……
"whispering sound."
"That kid Lü Yun had already decided on a price of 50,000 yuan the moment he walked in."
On the other side, Principal Li Zhengyuan, inside his office, scoffed, a smile spreading across his face, thinking to himself:
"You're trying to play games with me? Do you really think I've been a principal for so many years for nothing, that I can't even see through your tricks?"
He then turned on the computer's monitoring network, selected the mecha training ground of the senior high school combat class, and sure enough, he saw a Tiger-type mecha maneuvering in the training ground.
"This child's efforts are truly extraordinary..."
He then picked up his phone and sent a message to the management office.
The winners for this year's Senior Three Personality of the Year have been decided: Wang Xing and Bai Lingxue, each receiving 50,000 yuan in funding.
[Don't touch the school's funding card yet; I'll personally cover Wang Xing's 50,000 yuan prize money.]
Li Zhengyuan put down his phone. Since taking over as principal of the Second High School, his consistent philosophy regarding school funding has been to save money wherever possible.
The prize money for the Person of the Year had already been prepared, which was 5 yuan for Bai Lingxue. Now it was changed to 10 yuan. It didn't seem like much, but the complicated procedures were still involved.
"With the college entrance exams just around the corner in September, I need to get this kid the money as soon as possible. I'll take the money from him."
He found the process troublesome and didn't want the school to spend money, so he had no choice but to spend the money himself.
He looked at the Tiger-type mech in the monitoring room and sighed.
"Wang Xing is a worthy kid!"