"Dehua, let Teacher Ye rest first."

As Li Xuezong spoke, he deliberately stood between Zhang Dehua and Ye Ran.

"no...."

"What do you mean 'not'? You run tens of thousands of laps first!!"

Li Xuezong said, "When you come back, please bring back a few bottles of water for Teacher Ye."

Zhang Dehua stared at Li Xuezong in shock.

Is this really the same Teacher Li I know?

Did this teaching assistant's role change really happen... so quickly?

"What are you looking at??" Li Xuezong was about to say something

But Ye Ran stopped him.

Ye Ran looked at the little old man, who had already gotten into character, with a hint of helplessness:

"Teacher Li, there's no need for that. 'Teaching assistant' is just a title. We're still colleagues, there's no superior-subordinate relationship..."

Then, Ye Ran looked at Zhang Dehua with a smile.

During his freshman year assessments, he had a pretty good impression of these top students in Class 1.

Ye Ran: "I happen to have some free time now, so come stand over here."

Zhang Dehua was overjoyed and obediently walked to Ye Ran's side.

Ye Ran circled around Zhang Dehua once.

He nodded thoughtfully.

Then he frowned again.

It would have been better if his brow hadn't furrowed, but the moment it did, Zhang Dehua's heart skipped a beat.

He looked at Ye Ran and said cautiously:

"Teacher Ye... there shouldn't be any major problems, right? I've always been in good health."

Ye Ran looked at Zhang Dehua and said strangely:

"You should see a doctor if you're not feeling well, how would I know?"

"Um...you were frowning just now..."

"Oh, I'm frowning because I've noticed that your foundation is rather weak, and I don't know how to improve it for the time being."

This sentence,

It was as if it had pierced Zhang Dehua's pride directly.

I, Zhang Dehua, was a top-five student in my freshman year assessment—a true genius.

They're saying I'm too weak?

Zhang Dehua blushed at Ye Ran's words and retorted defiantly:

"Teacher Ye, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

As he spoke, Zhang Dehua intentionally or unintentionally used his fire-based supernatural abilities.

The scorching heat made the surrounding air feel parched.

Ye Ran nodded upon seeing this:

"Well, we weren't sure at first, but now it seems they are indeed too weak. If you were to fight, we might not be able to defeat that magic academy."

Ye Ran's straightforward words

This made Andy Cheung, who was already quite popular, even more popular...

Zhang Dehua, who has always been showered with praise,

Unable to withstand such direct questioning, he stammered and said:

"I... I can't be that bad, can I??"

"Not bad?" Ye Ran frowned when he heard Zhang Dehua's doubt. "With your current strength, you probably can't even withstand one punch from Wang Dachun."

Hearing Ye Ran humiliate Zhang Dehua like that,

Shui Ling'er, standing next to Zhang Dehua, couldn't help but speak up for him, saying:

"Teacher Ye, Wang Dachun has just advanced to the second-grade Great Dao, which can be said to be a genius that is one in a billion. Moreover, he has also advanced to the Platinum level. No matter how talented we are, we can't possibly withstand a punch from Wang Dachun."

"Ling'er!!" Zhang Dehua tugged at Shui Ling'er's sleeve, signaling her to say less.

However, Shui Ling'er seemed to have been provoked by Zhang Dehua's pull, and said more bluntly to Ye Ran:

“Teacher Ye, we admit that we can’t compare to Wang Dachun, but in the Gold level, my senior brother is definitely not as bad as you say.”

Listening to Shui Ling'er's rebuttal,

Ye Ran said to Shui Ling'er with great interest, "They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that's absolutely true."

Ye Ran's words stunned Zhang Dehua, who was tugging at Shui Ling'er's sleeve.

Shui Ling'er's face flushed instantly, and she clutched the hem of her clothes, stammering, "Don't talk nonsense, I... I didn't..."

Ye Ran ignored her reaction and continued speaking to himself:

“In your heart, Zhang Dehua is naturally stronger than others, but your subjective consciousness cannot determine the objective reality of the magic academy we are facing, nor can it admit defeat because of your thoughts.”

Then, Ye Ran stared intently at Zhang Dehua and the others, and said seriously:

“Your teachers and elders praise you as geniuses every day. In the midst of this praise, you lose yourselves and gradually begin to believe that you are the so-called geniuses.”

"Never having seen the real bright moon, yet complacent with one's own flickering firelight; never having seen the vast sky, yet content with the sky at the bottom of a well."

"Each of them thinks they're exceptional, always believing they can surpass others with just a little practice. Why bother working so hard? Their cultivation is about the same, their combat is about the same, their comprehension is about the same—it's always about the same, about the same..."

“Each of you were roughly the same, but now you're worlds apart. In my opinion, you haven't even utilized 80% of your talents.”

"He wasn't among the most talented to begin with, yet he contracted a disease typically associated with geniuses. In the end, he just faded into obscurity, becoming one of the masses."

Ye Ran's words were cold and direct, and his gaze was like a cold, sharp arrow.

It pierced the hearts of those four top students in the class before them.

However, the young man was ultimately impetuous.

Even after their weaknesses were exposed, Zhang Dehua and the others were still not convinced.

He stammered and said:

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