Chapter 81: Director of Education, Do You Not Believe Me?

The homeroom teacher pondered for a moment, then said, “Chen Meng’s alchemy and weapon forging papers were actually excellent—both had a good chance at full marks. But because of issues with the graders, he still lost points. While it looks like he only lost four points and one point, Chen Meng actually missed out on two extra 30-point bonuses. Of course, Chen Meng, you should also be a bit more careful when taking exams. For example, on your weapon forging paper, I asked the grading teacher and he told me the reason for the deductions was two misspelled words—each one cost you 0.5 points. I had nothing to say to that. As for the alchemy paper, you lost two points on two separate questions because your steps were written too simply. Even though your answers were correct, you skipped the process.”

Chen Meng was left speechless. No wonder he had only just discovered the real reason for his scores—it turned out the homeroom teacher had gone to argue on his behalf.

But as soon as these words were out, many students in the class ground their teeth even harder.

Could you be any more of a monster? It would almost be better if you’d actually gotten something wrong. These kinds of deductions seem practically deliberate!

“I’ll pay more attention next time,” Chen Meng said after a moment, realizing that the homeroom teacher meant well.

“There’s also your cultural studies. Why did you leave so many questions blank? You managed a perfect score on the hardest rune section—are the general studies really that difficult for you?” the homeroom teacher asked anxiously. “If you had scored even just two hundred on the cultural paper, first place in the whole grade would have been ours.”

Chen Meng was at a loss for words. No wonder the homeroom teacher’s gaze had been so strange earlier—he was hoping for a first place in the year.

It made sense. If your class produced a top student, there was a lot of glory in that.

Nihu listened quietly. In the past, every time the exams were returned, he was the one being praised. Now, all the glory belonged to Chen Meng.

The homeroom teacher began discussing the mock exam papers. Chen Meng received his cultural studies paper and saw that, indeed, it wasn’t great. He simply wasn’t good at it; if Yan Ruoxi hadn’t tutored him lately, he probably wouldn’t have even managed this score.

Still, with these results, he was practically guaranteed a spot at Jiangdu University.

“I need to be absolutely certain. I already turned down the special recruitment from Jiangzhou University—there’s no turning back now. The only reason I got first this time was because of the extra thirty points. On the real college entrance exam, I might not get that bonus,” Chen Meng thought. “A perfect score isn’t something you can just decide to achieve. Even a single misspelled word can cost 0.5 points, as the homeroom teacher just said.”

After school at noon, seeing the homeroom teacher getting ready to leave, Chen Meng went after him.

“Chen Meng, do you need something?” the homeroom teacher asked with a smile.

“Yes, actually.” Chen Meng hesitated, surprised by how amiable the teacher had become. “I’d like to request a leave of absence—actually, an extended leave, all the way until the college entrance exam. Of course, I won’t be completely absent; I’ll still come to school from time to time when I can.”

The homeroom teacher was taken aback.

An extended leave right before the college entrance exam? For an average student, maybe— but Chen Meng was considered a top prospect by the school, a potential valedictorian. How could he be allowed to take a leave?

“I can’t approve that,” the homeroom teacher replied directly. “Unless I’ve lost my mind, I can’t allow you to take such a long leave. Chen Meng, you might be all but accepted into Jiangdu University, but the school has high hopes for you. If you leave now and fail the entrance exam, neither I nor the other teachers can shoulder that responsibility.”

Chen Meng had anticipated this. Still, he wouldn’t be asking if he wasn’t confident.

He smiled faintly and said to the homeroom teacher, “I’ve already advanced to divine-constitution status. I’m now an Enforcer with the Bureau of Law, so it’s impossible for me to attend school every day.”

He had originally wanted to say he was just a temp, but that sounded too unimpressive, so he changed his wording at the last moment.

The homeroom teacher was silent for a long while before recalling Chen Meng’s recent advancement. That he had become an Enforcer was a surprise.

Still, he shook his head, “Even so, it’s not possible. Yes, you’ve become a divine-constitution being, but you still have to take the college entrance exam.”

Chen Meng hadn’t expected the teacher to be so adamant. It seemed he would have to use his trump card.

The teacher sensed something was off in Chen Meng’s gaze. Just as he was wondering what Chen Meng was up to, he heard him say slowly, “Han Hao is my uncle. It was actually my uncle who asked me to request this leave.”

“Han Hao?” The homeroom teacher was stunned. The name sounded familiar.

Seeing the teacher still hadn’t made the connection, Chen Meng clarified, “He’s currently the District Chief of the East District’s Bureau of Law. Our school falls under his jurisdiction.”

At this, the homeroom teacher jolted in fright and stammered, “The newly appointed District Chief Han is your uncle?”

Chen Meng nodded. “If you like, I can call him now and have him explain it to you.”

The homeroom teacher hurriedly shook his head. He knew exactly what it meant to be the District Chief of the East District—his rank was two levels higher than the school principal.

And most importantly, he was a fourth-tier divine-constitution being!

Of course, he didn’t know Han Hao was actually just an acting District Chief and only a third-tier divine-constitution.

“So you approve?” Chen Meng smiled, finding Han Hao’s reputation quite effective.

The homeroom teacher hesitated. “Even if I approve, the school has to approve as well. I’ll take you to see the Dean of Students—he’s in charge of these matters.”

Chen Meng thought it over and nodded.

In the teachers’ office, they ran into the Dean of Students, who was just about to head out for lunch.

“Hello, Dean,” Chen Meng greeted him with a smile. “I’m Chen Meng—do you remember me?”

The Dean of Students visibly stiffened.

Remember? How could he not?

Last time, when Chen Meng patted him on the shoulder, it left him on edge for days—he thought Chen Meng was hinting at something. There were even a few times he didn’t dare go home alone after work. Only when nothing happened did he finally relax.

“Why is this harbinger of doom here again?” the Dean thought. Out loud, however, he put on a smile. “Of course I remember. If the Bureau of Law hadn’t restricted publicity, our school would have made a big announcement about you. It’s been years since we’ve had a student as outstanding as you. I hear your exam results this time were excellent as well. It’s truly the school’s honor to have a student like you, one of both virtue and talent!”

Chen Meng was taken aback. The Dean really was as shameless as ever—almost rivaling himself.

Nonsense, he told too much truth.

“Oh, it was nothing special,” Chen Meng said with a wave of his hand, then added nonchalantly, “To tell you the truth, I recently killed another cultist and crippled one more—both of them were divine-constitution beings. It happened by Jiangzhou Academy of Sciences—you might have heard about it.”

“What…” The Dean of Students was stunned. He had indeed heard about a battle between divine-constitution beings at the gates of Jiangzhou Academy of Sciences, but he hadn’t realized Chen Meng was involved. Judging by Chen Meng’s serious expression, he wasn’t lying. The Dean broke out in a cold sweat. So, not counting the crippled one, Chen Meng had already killed two people. As for himself, he’d never killed anything more than a chicken.

“Dean, you don’t believe me?” Chen Meng asked with a smile.

“I believe you, of course! With your dedication to fighting against cultists, I should encourage all students to follow your example,” the Dean replied quickly, wanting nothing more than to get away from this harbinger of misfortune.

A high schooler—just how long had it been since he’d killed another cultist and crippled one more? Was he even human?

“No need to make a big deal of it. When things like that happen, anyone with a bit of sense of justice would stand up. This time it happened to be me; I believe if it were you, Dean, you would have done the same,” Chen Meng said, thinking it best to keep a low profile.

“Of course! One must always stand firmly against those cultists,” the Dean said, thumping his chest with righteous fervor.

The homeroom teacher and the other teachers in the office were dumbfounded. How could there be people so shameless? And now, there were two of them.