Chapter 337: Educational Master

After finishing New Year’s Eve dinner, the family sat together to watch the evening gala. Five hundred years after the era of catastrophic change, many things were different in this world, but the Lunar New Year still remained the most important holiday for the people of Great Xia.

Li Xiaofei’s light core kept buzzing nonstop. Wang Siyu, Liu Yao, Zheng Shou, Bai Longfei, Fang Buyi, Bai Qiqi, Ren Dong...Many, many friends sent their New Year’s greetings.

For a moment, it felt as if he had traveled back in time to five hundred years ago and was celebrating the New Year in that familiar era. He replied to each message one by one. He also sent a message of blessings to Tan Qingying's light core. He wasn’t sure if she would see it.

After midnight, amidst the brilliant display of fireworks filling the sky, Li Xiaofei and Zhong Ling headed to the Cloudy Sky Gang headquarters. All the middle and senior members of the Cloudy Sky Gang had gathered to remember the late Zhong Yuanshan. Afterward, they held a small internal celebration. The festivities didn’t end until four in the morning.

Li Xiaofei then made his way to the Cloudy Sky Youth Academy to check in on Principal Hu, who was all alone. He stayed with her, offering comfort and companionship, until seven in the morning the next day.

On the first day of the New Year, a rare sunny day greeted everyone. Li Xiaofei distributed red envelopes to all the members of the Cloudy Sky Gang and the Martial Alliance before dealing with the chaos of organizing activities.

There were numerous traditional rituals and procedures, particularly after the Lunar New Year, especially in old-school organizations like the Cloudy Sky Gang. Eventually, Li Xiaofei grew tired of it all and handed everything over to Chu Yuntian, Yang Cheng, and Li Junjie.

He then spent his days hiding in the Cloudy Sky Youth Academy, endlessly comforting the lonely Principal Hu. This behavior even caused some of the elders in the Cloudy Sky Gang to worry. They wondered if their president was showing signs of becoming a hedonistic ruler by neglecting his duties day after day. Regardless, when the bustling festivities of the New Year finally came to an end, Li Xiaofei's strength had grown significantly.

Not only had he reached mastery in the Black Iron Sword Bone, but he had also cultivated the Yi Jin Jing to perfection. All of his other martial arts had also reached an advanced level of mastery. His overall combat strength was now comparable to that of the Golden Body Realm. However, he had hit a bottleneck. Unless he began the process of Acupoint Opening, his strength would remain stagnant.

Li Xiaofei’s search for Acupoint Opening Realm manuals had yet to yield any results. During this time, he participated in two more online Martial God tournaments hosted by Longya Group, both of which he won with ease.

The first stage of the preliminary selection had concluded. Li Xiaofei, with his top-ranking performance in his division, along with five other contestants, including Zhang Zhihong, had advanced to the second stage of the competition.

Longya Group had invested heavily in promoting this Martial God tournament, reportedly with the support of the government, which had caused the event’s popularity to surge. The top contestants from each division received massive exposure as they emerged.

Li Xiaofei's choice of the virtual identity Your Grandpa had gained considerable attention from the media and prominent streamers. However, he immediately logged off after every match, making it impossible for any media outlets to interview him. He had even declined Longya Group's official post-match interviews, earning him the reputation of being the most mysterious top-ranked player in the preliminary selection.

In early February, school resumed as usual. Around this time, Li Xiaofei received a call from Xiao Hongye.

“I’ve found out what you asked me to investigate,” she said.

“Tell me quickly.”

“Principal Chen’s research paper was stolen.”

“Stolen?”

“Yes, to be precise, it was plagiarized. His name was removed, and someone else published it under their own name in the top databases on the light-network and in Great Xia’s leading academic journals.”

“Damn,” Li Xiaofei cursed.

Such things could still happen in this day and age?

“Who did it?” he asked urgently.

Xiao Hongye responded, “The culprit is someone named Su Yuncao, a well-known education expert in Great Xia. He’s the former Director of the Xiajing Education Department and the current Vice President of Beixia University. He’s a highly respected authority in the education sector, with a vast number of students under his mentorship.”

Li Xiaofei was shocked. “A man of such stature would stoop to stealing someone else’s paper? That’s shameless!”

Xiao Hongye continued, “I couldn’t believe it at first either. Su Yuncao has an impeccable reputation and is considered highly ethical within the industry. I never imagined he’d do something like this.”

Li Xiaofei said, “Alright, then there’s only one explanation.”

Xiao Hongye responded, “Exactly. Principal Chen’s paper must be incredibly valuable and influential. Su Yuncao wouldn’t have risked tarnishing his reputation unless the paper was worth it.”

Li Xiaofei sneered, “There’s no such thing as plagiarizing just once; it’s either zero or countless times. I’m willing to bet this isn’t the first time this esteemed authority has done something like this. What surprises me is that Old Chen just let it slide?”

“Judging from Principal Chen’s reactions before and after the Lunar New Year, it seems he intended to let the matter rest,” Xiao Hongye speculated, “There’s likely more to this. I suspect Su Yuncao offered something so compelling that even Old Chen couldn’t refuse, or perhaps he was threatened in some way.”

“I see. Thanks, Sister,” Li Xiaofei said.

After hanging up the phone, Li Xiaofei sank into thought. The whole situation disgusted him. Li Xiaofei knew exactly how much effort Chen Fei had put into that paper. That research was the distilled essence of years of dedication to Red Flag High School and the results of refining his educational philosophy, methodology, and results in ancient martial arts. So now, it had been stolen from him?

Moreover, the fact that Xiao Hongye had uncovered the information so quickly made Li Xiaofei realize that this beautiful and alluring woman had quite the powerful background. Li Xiaofei thought for a long time and decided that he would have to find a chance to ask Old Chen directly about what had happened. If Chen Fei had indeed chosen to suffer in silence, Li Xiaofei knew he couldn’t just intervene without understanding the full picture.

But no matter what, Li Xiaofei made sure to remember the name Su Yuncao. However, he didn’t expect the news that broke in Liuhe Base City the very next day. Su Yuncao, the Vice President of Beixia University and renowned education expert, was scheduled to arrive in Liuhe Base City in three days via private jet for a visit and a special lecture!

Li Xiaofei immediately sensed something strange. This plagiarist was personally coming to Liuhe Base City. He felt an urge to meet this so-called educational master and witness his grandeur firsthand.

At the same time, something happened at Red Flag High School. After the school reopened, Dean Qin Dewei was notably absent.

Rumor had it that he had run into some trouble in Lanfu Base City, leading him to request a week’s leave. It was the first time in over a decade that Dean Qin had taken a leave of absence during the school term.