Right now, Sun Mo's reputation was like the sun in the sky. There was no need for him to have a battle of reputation with Sage Zhou, but he still agreed.
Only by defeating Saint Zhou and making him apologize would the little sunny egg truly be able to untie the knot in her heart. Moreover, Saint Zhou could also be considered an old enemy of hers. Only by defeating him fair and square on the 'battlefield' would Sun Mo be invincible in this world.
"The two of you should rest first. Three days later, go to the public square to choose your students!"
Seeing that Sun Mo had agreed, Xu Chunbo immediately announced.
"Sun Yasheng, see you then!"
Sage Zhou clasped his hands and turned to leave. A large group of relatives and friends hurriedly followed after him.
"Sun, you are too rash!"
Gu Xiuxun grumbled.
"You can't say that. Teacher has not only helped secondary saints to ascend to the saint realm, but he has also defeated secondary saints before. However, he has never fought against a 'saint'."
Qin Yaoguang laughed and said, "When Teacher gets rid of Saint Zhou, then he will be the true number one teacher in the Nine States, including the Saint."
"Let Sage Zhou be the stepping stone!"
Lu Zhiruo bumped her fists together. Teacher would lose?
There was no such thing.
...
When the news of Sun Mo and Sage Zhou's battle spread out, those well-informed nobles went crazy. They immediately brought their children and rushed to the Saint Gate, not hesitating even if they had to run to their deaths.
Putting aside how strict saints were when accepting students, even if it was a 7-star great teacher accepting a personal disciple, they would be very selective.
Right now, Sun Mo and Sage Zhou were going to choose three students each. This was an extremely rare opportunity. All the parents with children in the cities near the Saint Gate rushed here without even bringing dry rations.
On the third day, before the sky was bright, the public square was already filled with people. Even the nearby streets were filled with people, making it hard for people to move.
The staff of the Saint Gate immediately divided them into groups. After a busy morning, everything was finally organized.
At noon, Sun Mo and Sage Zhou arrived at the public square one after another.
A three-meter-high arena had been built here in advance.
"Are the two of you ready?"
Xu Chunbo was still the judge. When he saw the two of them nodding, he instructed, "Twelve-year-olds, go up the stage in order!"
"Mommy, I'm scared!"
A little boy looked at the crowded scene and panicked, not knowing what to do.
"Don't be afraid. If you are chosen, our family will be rich!"
His father's face was filled with anticipation.
The parents of the other children either encouraged them or threatened them, saying that if they didn't get chosen, they wouldn't want them anymore. They were simply full of utilitarianism.
Soon, the children lined up in a long snake formation and went on stage.
Sun Mo and Zhou Sheng stood at the side and surveyed them seriously. If no one spoke, the group would continue to advance. If someone spoke, the group would stop.
Seeing their children walking across the stage without the two master teachers saying a word, many parents started crying.
This meant that their children were not talented enough and had no chance.
When Sun Mo heard those crying and some parents beating their children, he couldn't take it anymore.
"Dear parents!"
After Sun Mo cast Lingering Sound, his voice rang out through the entire square. "This is a great teacher competition between me and Saint Zhou. In order to win, we naturally have to choose the most outstanding children. However, it doesn't mean that those who weren't chosen have no talent."
"Don't you think it's against your conscience?"
Saint Zhou sneered, "In this world, mediocre people are the majority."
"So what? Do mediocre people not deserve to dream? "
Sun Mo retorted sarcastically.
"The energy of a great teacher is limited. Could it be that you can teach everyone in the world? What we need to do is to teach those most talented children and let them lead the world forward! "
This was Saint Zhou's teaching philosophy.
"What a coincidence. I don't care about how the world is. I only want to let every student become more outstanding. When they grow old and look back at their lives, they might feel that they weren't successful enough, but they definitely won't have any regrets. They can proudly say that they've done their best."
This was Sun Mo's choice.
"That's why I said that your mentality is not mature yet. If you're just an ordinary great teacher, you can do whatever you want. But you're a secondary saint and might even become a saint in the future. Sun Mo, you're shouldering the world on your shoulders. Its weight is much heavier than the future of those children."
Saint Zhou persuaded patiently.
The great teachers present quietly listened to the two of them arguing. They didn't say anything, but in their hearts, they were all on Saint Zhou's side.
For an ordinary student, even if you spent 200% of your energy, you might not be able to get them to graduate. But for a genius, you only needed to spend 100% of your energy and they would be able to achieve great things.
To put it simply, the great teachers of the Nine Provinces pursued elite education. The development of this world had nothing to do with ordinary people. It would be led by elites.
"There's no point in talking so much. Let's see who's more powerful!"
Sun Mo couldn't be bothered to argue.
It was impossible for ordinary people to change their worldview just because of a few words from others, let alone a saint.
The selection continued. But because of Sun Mo's words of consolation, the atmosphere became much better. At the very least, although the parents were disappointed, they wouldn't beat and scold their children.
"Wait a minute!"
Saint Zhou was the first to speak. He pointed at a tall and burly child. "What's your name?"
"Replying to Old Master, my name is Black Pig!"
The child grinned widely and had a smile on his face.
"Don't call me Old Master, call me Teacher!"
Saint Zhou frowned. "I didn't ask for your nickname!"
"I don't have a name. That's what my father calls me!"
Black Pig scratched his head. He felt that this grandpa was very scary.
"Throw a few punches!"
Saint Zhou instructed.
Black Pig waved his hands randomly and threw a bunch of punches. However, this caused the eyes of everyone to brighten. This kid's physique was very good.
His muscles and bone structure showed that he was a martial arts genius with a single glance.
"It's over, Momo is going to lose!"
Gu Xiuxun grew anxious. Also, she had learned her lesson. Because she couldn't call out Sun Mo's full name, she changed to a nickname.
"That's right. What can a student achieve in three months of teaching? The main thing is still their potential and fighting spirit! "
Li Ziqi was enraged. "Although this black pig has taken a bath and changed into a clean set of clothes, there's still a faint smell of blood on him. He's clearly a butcher. Such a child would definitely be fiercer and fiercer!"
The countenances of An Xinhui, Mei Ziyu, and the others grew increasingly unsightly. This child was clearly a ferocious general who could defend against ten thousand enemies by himself.
"Sun Yasheng, I'm your elder and should let you pick first. If you like him, feel free to take him!"
Saint Zhou waved his hand, appearing very magnanimous.
However, Xu Chunbo glanced at Saint Zhou and shook his head imperceptibly.
This old fellow was very scheming.
Sun Mo wanted face and would definitely not take advantage of this. Moreover, even if he wanted to, he wouldn't dare to. If Saint Zhou lost, he could say that he had chosen this black pig first.
"There's no need!"
As expected, Sun Mo rejected.
The 12-year-olds were still on the stage. They could be young, but they weren't allowed to be too old.
"My son has been chosen! My son has been chosen! "
The black pig's father was overjoyed and shouted loudly, attracting the gazes of envy and jealousy from many people.
Time passed by the minutes and seconds. Seeing that the remaining line was getting shorter and shorter, Xianyu Wei felt a little anxious. "What if there's no child that I like?"
She and Helian Beifang had rushed over two days ago.
"According to the rules, teachers can only pick one or forfeit. They don't have the right to look for another batch of children."
Qin Yaoguang explained.
"Sun Yasheng, if there's no child that you like, I'll allow you to change to another batch of students!"
The more Saint Zhou looked at the black pig, the more satisfied he was. If his performance wasn't bad, he could take him in as a personal disciple.
Sun Mo ignored him and looked at the other children. This time around, he had tried Divine Sight. It could be used, but he didn't use it. If he wanted to win, he had to win flawlessly.
Finally, a little girl with a thin and weak body appeared before Sun Mo. Her face was dirty and her clothes were filled with patches. However, her eyes were exceptionally lively as she glanced around randomly.
When she noticed that Sun Mo was surveying her, she secretly stuck out her tongue and made a funny face.
This was a cheerful little girl.
"What's your name?"
As Sun Mo asked, the gazes of everyone turned over, wanting to see who Sun Mo would choose. After all, a person's reputation was like a tree's shadow. Sun Mo was a great teacher that could make a 'trash' like Li Ziqi famous.
"My name is Briquet!"
The little girl's voice wasn't very pleasant to hear and was a little hoarse. "Uncle, just choose me. No matter what you want me to do, I'll do it well!"
"What makes you feel that you can do it well?"
Sun Mo smiled and asked.
"Because I'm willing to suffer!"
Briquet rolled up her sleeves, revealing her arms. "Don't look at how skinny I am. I can pull a lot of coal every time. My mother said that I'm even better than boys."
Actually, Sun Mo had long since seen through the coal ash in the gaps between his fingers, as well as her teeth, skin color, and the shape of her bones. She was a child worker who mined coal.
Mining coal in the modern era was still a very dangerous job, let alone in the Nine Provinces where productivity wasn't as developed. Every time they went down the well, it would be a life and death situation.
However, other than mining coal, these people had no way to support their families.
Compared to mining coal, the work that was even more dangerous was for children to mine coal. In order to save money, those coal bosses would usually dig out a tunnel that was half a meter thick and let the children climb in to mine coal.
Their work equipment was a shovel, a large basket that was dragged by a rope on their back, and a coal bowl that could be hung by their mouths.
The so-called coal bowl was a saucer with some lamp oil inside. When they went down the well, they had to bite on it the entire time and couldn't let go. If not, they would have to work in the dark.
This was also the reason why Sun Mo could tell that this little girl was a child worker. It was because her teeth were deformed because she had been biting on the coal bowl for a long time.
"Uncle, choose me!"
Briquet sniffed and its big eyes flashed. It was very intelligent.
"How many years have you been down the well?"
Sun Mo was curious.
"It's been three years!"
Briquet was very proud. "I'm the coal miner with the most experience in this town!"
Many great teachers frowned. Xu Chunbo even cursed, "Letting such a young child mine coal? Your actions are despicable, and your intentions should be punished!"
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