Seeing the furious Andrew Bennett and hearing his words, she immediately understood what was going on. Her pretty face turned ugly, and she almost lost her mind.

She was a young lady—how could he say such things? What about her reputation?

"Miss..."

Interrupted by Emily Clark, Andrew Bennett had no choice but to restrain himself.

"Enough, come with me to get the bedding. Don’t make me late for class tomorrow!" Emily Clark snorted, turned, and walked out of the room.

Her illness couldn’t be revealed. If she said anything, she would definitely be questioned. In this situation, how could she possibly say it out loud?

So, in this case, she could only claim she willingly acknowledged Michael Bolton as her teacher, with no other excuse.

"Hmph!"

Seeing the young lady turn and leave the room, Andrew Bennett shot Michael Bolton a cold look, his eyes flickering with unknown thoughts. With a wave of his hand, he walked out.

Right now, he even had the urge to kill this young man. If it weren’t for the fact that this was the academy and the young lady was stopping him, he probably would have acted already.

"What did I ever do to deserve this..."

Seeing the other’s cold gaze, Michael Bolton felt helpless.

Is it really such a big deal to take on a student...

They’re acting like I’m some kind of villain, but the key is... I haven’t done anything at all!

"Forget it, there’s still plenty of time today. Let’s see if I can recruit a few more students! The more students I have, the more resources I’ll get!"

At Hongtian Academy, teachers are divided into many ranks. Every year, evaluations are based on the students’ performance: the more students you recruit, the greater their progress, the better their competition results... all of these are the basis for a teacher’s promotion.

Once your rank is higher, both the teacher and the students receive exponentially more resources.

That’s what true mutual progress between teacher and student is all about.

Right now, he had only managed to recruit three students, just enough to keep his teaching position. In terms of qualifications, he was still dead last in the entire academy!

If he wanted to improve, he could only keep recruiting students.

...

"Matthew Reed, don’t be discouraged! So what if Teacher Daniel Miller didn’t accept you? It’s not worth getting upset over!"

On the academy road, two teenagers walked together, one comforting the other.

"Ethan Grant, you got accepted, so of course it’s easy for you to say. Try not getting picked and see how it feels!" Matthew Reed raised his eyebrows, clearly not pleased with his friend’s consolation.

"Ahem, don’t say that. Actually, there are other teachers too. There’s no need to insist on Teacher Daniel Miller!"

The first boy, Ethan Grant, scratched his head awkwardly.

"No need to choose him? Easy for you to say! The two of us have been practicing spear techniques together since we were kids—the spear is already a part of us, we can’t give it up. Teacher Daniel Miller is the best at teaching spear techniques at Hongtian Academy. You got in, I didn’t—how could I not be upset?"

Matthew Reed said angrily.

"Uh..." Ethan Grant was at a loss for words.

At Hongtian Academy, different teachers specialize in different areas. Some are good at teaching fist techniques, some at broadsword... Teacher Daniel Miller is famous for teaching spear techniques—even among all the teachers at the academy, he’s well-known.

The two of them took the entrance test together, hoping to become his disciples. One succeeded, the other failed—no wonder the one who failed was so frustrated.

"Hey, there’s a classroom over there. Why don’t we go take a look?"

Not knowing how to ease the awkwardness, Ethan Grant suddenly spotted a classroom not far away and pointed ahead.

"I’m not going..." Matthew Reed shook his head.

"Come on, let’s just check it out. What if this teacher is also good at spear techniques?" Ethan Grant encouraged him. "It’s not like you’ll lose anything by looking!"

"Fine!" Although a bit reluctant, Matthew Reed still followed Ethan Grant into the room.

Inside, Michael Bolton was just considering whether to go out and recruit people when he saw two teenagers walk in.

"Hello, teacher!" Ethan Grant bowed.

"Mm!" Michael Bolton lifted his eyelids. "Are you here to become my students?"

"It’s my friend here—he’s really talented, especially with the spear. Among the younger generation, few can match him. I hope you can give him some guidance!" Ethan Grant said quickly.

"Ethan Grant..." Matthew Reed tugged at his good friend’s sleeve.

"What is it?" Ethan Grant asked, puzzled.

"Look at this place..."

Matthew Reed frowned.

This classroom was very small, only big enough for a dozen or so people—a typical small classroom.

Sometimes, the size of a classroom reflects the teacher’s ability. The top-ranked teachers at the academy all have classrooms as big as plazas, able to accommodate hundreds of students training at once. This classroom was tiny—probably a sign that the teacher’s skills were average at best.

"It is a bit small..." Ethan Grant also noticed the size of the room, and his heart sank.

He’d wanted to help his friend feel better, but now they’d ended up in such a small place. If the teacher’s skills were poor, not only would his friend’s mood not improve, it might get even worse.

"Show me your spear technique!"

As if he hadn’t noticed their whispered conversation, Michael Bolton said calmly.

"Since we’re here, let’s let this teacher give us some pointers. If he’s not good, we just won’t become his students!" Seeing Matthew Reed still hesitant, Ethan Grant said.

"Alright!" Matthew Reed nodded.

Unless it’s one of those especially popular teachers, most teachers want to choose students, and students can also make their own judgments.