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Chapter 101: Convincing the Teacher
Wu Bingji said, "So what do you want to do?"
Tang San replied, "First, we need to form a small team where everyone's abilities complement each other. We shouldn't have too many people, because otherwise there will be too little profits for each of us. Then, we'll go together to hunt for the Winged Tigers. If we find them, we'll hunt them down. A teacher can supervise us from the side and intervene if there's danger."
Wu Bingji frowned. "Teachers won't interfere in these tasks; we can only rely on our abilities."
"Leave that to me. I'll find a way to convince the teacher. If the teacher agrees to just accompany and secretly protect us, not actually help us, it should be acceptable, right?"
"Of course. But will the teacher agree?" Wu Bingji asked doubtfully.
"Leave it to me.” Tang San was confident.
After leaving Wu Bingji, Tang San told Du Bai to return to his room, then headed to Mu Enqing's residence.
The Redemption Society's campus was small, so there were no offices for the teachers.
He knocked on the door, but Mu Enqing hadn't returned yet. The teachers had probably gone out together for whatever reason.
Tang San wasn't in a hurry and just waited at the door.
About half an hour later, Mu Enqing finally returned. Surprised to see Tang San at her door, he asked, "Are you looking for me?"
"Um, hello, Teacher Mu. I have an idea about the practical training class I'd like to discuss with you," Tang San said respectfully.
"Come in," Mu Enqing nodded.
The teachers had actually been discussing Tang San's abilities in combat. If it weren't for the very thorough investigation into Tang San's background, they would have found it extremely suspicious that a nine-year-old child had such immense talent in combat. It was almost against the natural order!
But the facts were plain and clear before their eyes, leaving them no choice but to believe. In fact, Si Ru was planning to look for Zhang Haoxuan again, feeling that this child held great promise.
Mu Enqing was the most frustrated one. As a practical training teacher, he felt useless in front of little Tang San. How could he teach this child anything about combat? Mu Enqing's expertise wasn't in elemental control, and even Guan Longjiang and Si Ru couldn't figure out how to instruct Tang San in this aspect.
After closing the room door, Tang San respectfully approached Mu Enqing.
"What are your thoughts? Let's hear them," Mu Enqing said, sitting down.
Tang San said, "Teacher Mu, now that I participated in both the physical training classes and the combat ones.... I think there is a problem with our practical classes."
"Oh?" Mu Enqing looked surprised at the child. "What problem?"
Tang San unhesitatingly said, "The problem is that they’re not very realistic. In actual combat, our lives would be in actual danger. I think that our potential can only really show when we face this kind of danger. For example, when I was in Wind Wolf Town, I was attacked by some Wind Wolves while I was outside and I nearly died. But after that experience, my understanding of the wind element became much, much better. So, I think practical training classes should expose us to more danger so we can make greater progress under that pressure."
Mu Enqing's eyes lit up. "Are you saying that your deep understanding of the wind element is because you've experienced life-and-death situations? But you’re only nine, how many experiences like that could you have?"
Tang San said, "I guess it's been...twice?"
Mu Enqing nodded. "Well, that's because of your high comprehension. Even if an average person experiences the same thing twice, they might not have the same realization as you."
Tang San responded, "If twice is not enough, then three times, and if that’s not enough either, then we can do it even more. You know, after these things happened, I first felt fear. Then I started to think about many things. I mean, it’s hard to forget a fight that almost got you killed. And because I had those experiences, I didn’t want them to happen again. That made me cultivate more seriously and think up more ideas to get stronger."
Mu Enqing asked, "Then how do you think we should conduct our practical training classes?"
"I've seen the mission list from the eldest senior brother. It includes hunting demonic beasts. It’s like sparring with people at the academy, but there’s a bigger risk of death and it wouldn’t expose our identities as members of the Redemption Society. So I actually thought that we could form teams to hunt demonic beasts, and have a teacher secretly protecting us. But unless there is a risk to life, even if we are seriously injured, teachers should not intervene. This would allow us to feel the pressure of facing strong enemies in real combat. I believe this method would be more effective."
"Hmm," Mu Enqing's eyes showed contemplation. The Redemption Society did have similar practical training classes, but these were usually led by a teacher who would guide them at all times and intervene at critical moments. It was rare for students to go out on their own, and if that happened, it was . After all, the Redemption Society had only a handful of students, each carefully selected and extremely valuable to the institution.
The potential fatal danger to any student was a significant blow to the academy, so the teachers were always cautious.
“I am just worried that there might be danger," murmured Mu Enqing.
Tang San spoke seriously, "Teacher Mu, flowers grown in a greenhouse won’t do well when they are exposed to the wind and sun. On the day I arrived, the mayor told me that we have a long and tough journey ahead of us if we want to help the human race. So we have to put in as much effort as we can. Also, as I said, teachers can follow us in secret and do something only if there's a real danger to our lives. That makes sense, doesn’t it?"
Mu Enqing said, "I need to think about this. Do you have a specific plan?"
"I just talked about it with the eldest senior brother, and we think we can pick a somewhat difficult task and organize a small team to hunt. That’s why we hope that at least one teacher can be there to protect us in secret. Only the eldest senior brother and I would know about the teacher's presence; the others wouldn't. As long as we can complete the task ourselves, the teacher doesn’t have to intervene. They can just watch over us secretly. As for the reward, we can share half with the teacher. If the teacher ends up intervening to save us, we can even give the teacher eighty percent. It's all part of our training."
Mu Enqing responded, "That's a solution. I'll discuss it with Teacher Guan. I'll let you know tomorrow if it's feasible."
"Okay, thank you, Teacher," Tang San said, taking his leave immediately.
As he reached the door, he paused, turned back, and earnestly told Mu Enqing, "Teacher Mu, I really think that if we don’t face these kinds of challenges where our lives are in danger, we can’t really grow strong."
Tang San left, leaving Mu Enqing deep in thought. The words that struck him most were Tang San's about flowers in a greenhouse being unable to withstand wind and rain.
This was not the case for most human vassals; let alone being kept safe in a greenhouse, their very survival was constantly threatened. However, due to their lacking innate talent, even though they had plenty of stimulus and made all the efforts they could, their growth was ultimately limited.
But the children at the Redemption Society Academy were carefully chosen by the organization for their potential to become strong. Should these children, then, not face risks? Without the pressure of life-threatening danger, can their growth indeed be smooth?
This question had also been troubling several teachers, and for good reason—those with the most talent among these children were also the slowest to improve. This was true for both Du Bai's Celestial Fox Transformation and Gu Li's Chrono Croc Transformation.
The problem was that such bloodline powers were too precious; who would dare to gamble with them?
Taking a deep breath, Mu Enqing stood up, intent on discussing this issue with Guan Longjiang.
As Tang San left Mu Enqing's room, the corners of his mouth curled up into a smirk. He knew he had most likely succeeded in persuading the teacher. Actually, it was already evident from Mu Enqing's expression at the end of today's combat class. At that time, he had noticed a clear hint of disappointment in Mu Enqing's gaze.