Unlike the Tower of Babel and the Martial Arts Bureau, which are located in the center of Jingcheng City, the City Lord's Mansion of Jingcheng City is located in the relatively quiet northern part of the city.

It was already dusk, but the administrative building of the city lord's mansion was still brightly lit. When Huang Tao got out of the car, he couldn't help but sigh at the sight.

Although the current lord of Jingcheng has always been low-key and rarely appears in the public eye, he is far more diligent in his duties than his predecessor.

The decisive and efficient city lord works overtime every day, and naturally, the various departments under the city lord's mansion also have to work overtime, so the so-called nine-to-five rule has become a mere formality.

After tidying up his still somewhat disheveled clothes and folding up the bloodstains on his cuffs, Huang Tao was about to step into the municipal building when his bracelet started vibrating rapidly.

He glanced down and saw Zhao Hanhai, the head of the senior year.

After being away for several days, Huang Tao received a notice upon his return that he was to attend a city-wide meeting of middle school principals, personally chaired by the city lord. Seeing that he was about to be late, Huang Tao had no choice but to hang up on Zhao Hanhai, mute his wristband, and enter the municipal building.

...

When Huang Tao walked into Conference Room No. 3 on the fifth floor of the municipal building, seven of the principals from the other eight middle schools had already arrived.

"Old Huang, you're just back?"

Sitting next to him was Li Ziyan, the principal of No. 2 Middle School, whom he knew well. Seeing Huang Tao's weathered face, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I went to earn some merit points and almost got late." Huang Tao nodded.

"Earn merit points?" Li Ziyan was taken aback at first, then his face showed surprise. "Is it... that new place?"

"good."

"Wow, Lao Huang, you've got guts! You actually dared to join the pioneering team." Li Ziyan bowed admiringly, then sighed, "I also received an invitation, but I was a bit of a chicken, mainly because my wife wouldn't let me go..."

"How was the harvest?" Li Ziyan asked in turn.

"Not bad..." Huang Tao thought for a moment and whispered something in Li Ziyan's ear.

Upon hearing this, Li Ziyan immediately slapped his thigh in frustration.

"Damn it, I've lost out big time. It's all that stupid woman's fault for stopping me. I'll beat her to death when I get back..."

Huang Tao smiled upon hearing this, glanced at the beautiful figure sitting alone in the first row, and changed the subject, saying, "Principal Xu, why are you so punctual today?"

"Hehe, isn't it because they're afraid the city lord will use this as an excuse to criticize them again?"

Li Ziyan laughed with a hint of schadenfreude.

"Jingcheng No. 1 Middle School is known as the educational flagship of Jingcheng. At one time, it overshadowed the No. 1 Middle School and Experimental Middle School in the provincial capital. However, it has been declining year by year in recent years. Do you think it can still be as arrogant as before?"

“Our Jingcheng hasn’t produced a top scholar in the imperial examination for six years, not even a second-place scholar. As the principal of No. 1 Middle School, she is naturally to blame.”

"Hey, these days many kids with a bit of money prefer to go to high school in the provincial capital. What do you think is the reason for that?"

Huang Tao was somewhat lost in thought upon hearing this. He stared at the slightly forlorn figure for a while before shaking his head.

"We can't blame Principal Xu. She's done a lot. Wasn't Wang Shuo someone she mentored? At least he still has a chance to compete for the top score this year..."

"Old Huang, don't you know?" Li Ziyan interrupted Huang Tao with a strange look on his face.

"What?"

"Wang Shuo has already given up on the exam."

"Why?" Huang Tao was startled upon hearing this.

“They went to Beiwu ahead of time. I heard that Xu He personally went to their door twice but couldn’t stop them. They left today. This matter was even on the city news this afternoon!” Li Ziyan shook his head and said, his face not looking too good.

Although he and Xu He didn't get along, in a sense they were one.

"Why now?" Huang Tao asked, puzzled. "Wasn't this matter already settled before? Wang Shuo also publicly stated that he would bring glory to Jingcheng. Why did you change your mind at the last minute?"

"I don't know the inside story, but some say that Beiwu strongly requested it and offered great benefits, while others say that Wang Shuo has taken a powerful master as his teacher in the north... In any case, it's a done deal."

Huang Tao fell silent, his mood becoming somewhat heavy.

He suddenly understood why the city lord's mansion was hosting this meeting at this particular juncture.

Wang Shuo can be considered a calling card of Jingcheng's education system. With so many media resources over the years, how could he not have had the support of the City Lord's Mansion behind him...

The purpose is to reclaim the glory that once belonged to the martial arts education in Jingcheng.

The power of role models, after being catalyzed and fermented in a special way, can unleash boundless power.

Wang Shuo, who should have been able to take the college entrance examination smoothly, suddenly abandoned his responsibilities at this time, which explains why Xu He seems to be in a strange state today.

Huang Tao was hesitating whether to go up and comfort Xu He when the conference room door was pushed open, and a dark-skinned but dignified middle-aged man strode in.

"City Lord!"

All the principals stood up.

"Everyone's here, please have a seat."

The current city lord of Jingcheng, Chai Haotian, nodded slightly and sat down in the main seat first.

Behind him, his secretary and several education officials followed and took their seats.

"Now that everyone's here, let's start the meeting."

Chai Haotian glanced at everyone without saying a word, his gaze first falling on Xu He, who was sitting in the first row.

"First of all, Principal Xu, I need you to give everyone here an explanation: what exactly is going on with Wang Shuo?"

Xu He stood up, her mature and elegant face pale. She pursed her lips and said, "I'm sorry, Lord Chai, and everyone else, I couldn't persuade Wang Shuo to stay. He was determined to leave and took yesterday's flight to Beidu..."

"But didn't Wang Shuo sign a corresponding agreement with your No. 1 Middle School? Are you just going to let him break the contract like this?" Chai Haotian frowned.

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