Early the next morning, Xiang Ning arrived at school. Su Muhan, who was waiting by the gates, dragged him inside the moment she saw him. 

Xiang Ning was just about to greet her, why was she in such a hurry? 

Meanwhile, crowds of students poured into the school field, including both lower and upper secondary students. They were all huddled together, whispering to each other and speculating about what the headmaster was up to. 

The beast invasion had just been two short days ago, after all. The assembly must be an announcement to comfort the students and praise the teachers who had made arrangements to evacuate the students. 

They had heard of a battle outside the school compound, too, and most importantly, the boy involved was the idol countless students worshiped, as well as the pride of Qiling Academy. 

They wondered if they would be lucky enough to meet him. Yesterday, there had been many people who wanted to check out what a recovered Xiang Ning was like, which was the reason why so many people had walked past Class 8. The students from Class 8 could barely get out of class to go to the washroom with the crowd outside. 

Very soon, all the students had gathered at the field. The headmaster went up on the stage and, as expected, rambled on about many irrelevant things, then started his praise. “In reference to the beast invasion the day before yesterday, I’m proud of the response shown by our teachers and students, especially the students of the special training class. You may all be new to this kind of thing, but you still chose to step up during our moment of need, fighting for the school and Marsh City!” 

As he spoke, the special trainees swelled with pride. Yeah, they actually fought beasts! And killed many, too. 

“Among you, several extremely capable students even killed a few beasts themselves. We acknowledge your contributions, and you shall receive resources as a reward.” 

“Wang Zhe. Long Yuhan. Qiu Shaoyan.…” More than ten names were called out, every single one of them furiously blushing. It was their first time being named in front of so many people. 

When the announcements came to an end, everyone thought that would be it but Qi Jiuming’s next words triggered the crowd once more. 

“The recent invasion set off urgent alarm bells for us, and because of that, we decided to launch a new course. We’ll sacrifice our Saturdays to launch a new combat technique class. Of course, it’s on a purely volunteer basis,” he said with a smile. 

Kids these days were often pulled in many different directions on the weekends for different classes and other tutoring. If their parents had so much extra money why didn’t they… cough, cough. All in all, Qi Jiuming was thinking about the kids. No one knew if the classes they took outside school were even effective. 

The students erupted in conversation. 

“Excuse me, sir, is it open for all the students?” 

“Yes, other than those in the special training class, every student can enroll,” said Qi Jiuming. 

“Then… who’ll be our teacher?” That was an important question. A good teacher was key to an effective class, and if they lacked standards, the students wouldn’t be interested. 

“Hehe. The teacher we chose will definitely satisfy you. Please let us welcome our combat technique instructor, Teacher Xiang Ning.” 

Xiang Ning was pushed out of the crowd and to the front, exposed before every Qiling Academy student. He shyly scratched his head, forcing himself to walk up to Qi Jiuming, then turned to the students below the stage and bowed. 

“Nice to meet you, my name is Xiang Ning. I’ll be your combat technique teacher for the next month. I haven’t taught anyone before, so I can’t guarantee that my classes will be very good. If you want to join… mm, it’s on a voluntary basis.” 

The crowd fell silent.

Xiang Ning heaved a small sigh of relief. See? The students aren’t even speaking after they saw me! They’re all speechless. He wanted to chuckle and tell Qi Jiuming that no one would attend his classes. That was until a round of applause and cheering rumbled like thunder; even Qi Jiuming and the other teachers jumped. As for Xiang Ning, he didn’t dare say a word. 

No, what’s happening? Why are they all so excited? Do I really qualify to be a teacher? 

Qi Jiuming came up to Xiang Ning and smiled. “Looks like you have the talent to be a teacher.” 

Xiang Ning’s mouth twitched. This was unexpected. 

......

The day of the announcement was a Wednesday, and there were three more days until Saturday. During those three days, the entire city grew excited, even the nine other major schools were attracted by Qiling Academy’s new course. 

“Old Qi, we’re close, right? Don’t you think it’ll be great if one of my school’s best classes can go watch his class?” 

“Hahaha, Old Qi, last time you refused my treat, but you have nowhere to run to this time! Also, what’s that class you’re launching, is it a combat technique course? I think it’s a great idea and I’d like to check it out. I want to send some students there—you won’t say no, right?” 

“Honest people don’t beat around the bush. Old Qi, give me fifty spots.” 

… 

Qi Jiuming clutched his head. It wasn’t just the major schools that were calling him, even those of some influence in the city started contacting him with all kinds of requests. He was torn, unsure of whether to agree or not. 

The course was supposed to be at the school field, which could fit many people. If they wanted their students to attend, sure, but these people treated it like a favor... some even sent him gifts! Why did that make it all seem so suspicious? Thus he turned away all the bribes and explained, “Every class will be recorded on video.” 

As for the number of spots available, the school field’s bleachers could fit six thousand people. Qi Jiuming’s students couldn’t fill them, and since Xiang Ning was teaching alone, he wouldn’t need much space, so more people could sit on the ground. That made eight thousand spots. 

Was Qi Jiuming panicking? No. I’ll take in everyone who comes, there aren’t that many people, right? In the end, he didn’t reply to anyone, but sent out an announcement that he accepted students from all over Marsh City and it wouldn’t be a problem if there were members of the public that wanted to spectate. Wasn’t that a great way to enhance Qiling Academy’s reputation?

Qi Jiuming gave specific instructions to his staff. “Place stools in the areas of the field that I marked, then set up a holographic projection.”

“Yes, Mr. Headmaster!” 

Qi Jiuming looked forward to the day. 

Meanwhile, Xiang Ning was lazily sprawled on his desk. Ever since the assembly had ended, he’d felt uncomfortable with all the staring. Fatty Wang came up to him with a grin and said, “I heard many people want to come to our school for your class.” 

Xiang Ning waved him off. “Whatever, those are just rumors. Which parent would be willing to let their child attend my class? What if I taught them something wrong? Sigh, what a hassle.”

Place your bets here peeps! How many people do you think would attend MC's class?