Chapter 158: Elected

While the voting was taking place with such high spirits and fervent enthusiasm, the lively atmosphere in their classroom did not affect the other classes of the Daoist Dharma Department that were still in session.

Everything proceeded in an orderly and systematic manner.

After an unknown amount of time passed, most of the students in the classroom seemed to have made up their minds, having decided whom to cast their votes for. Each person used their spiritual energy to write the name of their chosen candidate on a jade slip, which they then dropped into the rectangular container.

Meanwhile, the vote counts on the projection continued to shift. Among the twenty candidates, the majority received some votes, but Li Ling accumulated the highest number by far.

It was as if most of these people had been deeply impressed by Li Ling's earlier speech, prompting them to support him and cast their ballots in his favor.

It looked as though, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Li Ling truly had a strong chance of being elected class monitor.

Having cast their votes, the students began to converse and discuss with those sitting near them.

The primary topic of conversation among most of them was who would ultimately be elected class monitor. However, since the final results were not yet out, they could only speculate at best.

Although the majority felt it would be Li Ling, some believed there could be anomalies, suggesting that Li Ling might be overtaken by a sudden dark horse.

After all, judging by the voting situation on the projection, several individuals had vote counts very close to Li Ling's, with Zhang Junzhi's tally being the closest of all.

After a while, many of those who had previously been sitting on the fence finally made up their minds and cast their votes.

Once this group had also voted, every student in the room had submitted their jade slips, and this phase of the voting process was clearly drawing to a close.

Naturally witnessing this scene, Li Xi looked at the gathered students and said, "Now that everyone has voted, let us take a look at the results."

Hearing this, the students raised their heads and stared intently at the projection above.

They saw that as the final vote was registered, the projection began to undergo certain changes.

Beneath the rows and columns of tally marks under each person's name, a new set of numbers suddenly appeared, as if directly displaying the statistical results of those tally marks.

Next, once the statistical results were displayed, the names on the projection began to shift positions, rearranging themselves in descending order based on the number of votes received to give everyone a clearer, more intuitive view.

Subsequently, when the changes on the projection concluded, everyone saw the final voting results for the class monitor election.

Li Ling: 25 votes, ranked first.

Zhang Junzhi: 20 votes, ranked second.

Zheng Tian: 9 votes, ranked third.

"......"

The names of the twenty students who participated in the class monitor election were thus listed in order, including those students who had received not a single vote, with zeros displayed next to their names.

Upon seeing these results, the students could not help breaking into low murmurs of discussion.

After seeing the final outcome, Ye Junze and his companions exchanged glances and all of them smiled.

Yun Tianhan said with a smile, "That's wonderful! It looks like Li Ling's treat today is definitely not going to escape us."

Lu Renjia nodded in response, "You said it! I didn't expect so many people besides us to support Li Ling."

Fan Yan wore a smile on her face as well, looking at them, she said, "We can only say it was good luck. Look at Zhang Junzhi's vote count—it wasn't low either. If there had been any twist, Li Ling might not have secured the monitor position."

Lu Renjia chuckled, "At least the current result is a good one."

Hearing their discussion, Ye Junze smiled as well. Naturally, seeing such an outcome made him very happy for Li Ling.

It was definitely not because of the dinner Li Ling had promised—definitely not!

Among this group of people, Yun Tianhan was probably the only one already calculating the details of the dinner party Li Ling had promised to host.

Li Xi clapped his hands to signal the students to quiet down and pause their discussions.

Upon seeing this, the students immediately stopped talking and fell silent, every pair of eyes fixed on Li Xi, eager to hear what he had to say.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Li Xi smiled and said, "Now then, I believe you have all seen the voting results. The candidate who placed first in this election is our fellow student Li Ling. Let us all give him a round of applause to offer our congratulations."

At these words, the students readily clapped their hands, offering their applause to Li Ling.

The other students standing on the stage alongside Li Ling also applauded to congratulate him, harboring no resentment or ill feelings toward him simply because they were not chosen as class monitor.

Afterward, when the applause died down, Li Xi asked the other students to return to their seats, but kept Li Ling standing on the stage.

Looking at Li Ling with a smile, Li Xi asked, "So, Student Li Ling, now that everyone has voted to elect you as our class monitor, do you have anything you would like to say?"

Hearing this, Li Ling showed a rare trace of embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head and looked at the crowd, saying, "First of all, I am very grateful to every classmate who voted for me. As for the classmates who did not vote for me—"

Hearing Li Ling phrase it this way, the students looked at him with renewed curiosity, eager to hear what he would say next.

"—Of course, I am very grateful to you as well. After all, thanks to every single one of your votes, our class monitor election process was able to proceed so smoothly."

As soon as Li Ling finished speaking, everyone chuckled, having momentarily thought their newly elected monitor might hold a grudge, yet pleasantly surprised by such remarks.

Pausing for a moment, Li Ling continued, "Naturally, since everyone is willing to trust me and let me serve as class monitor, the words I spoke during my speech still hold true. I guarantee that I will do my utmost to serve every single classmate and take responsibility for our class. If I fail to live up to this, everyone is welcome to criticize me, rebuke me, or simply elect a new class monitor."

The students nodded in approval upon hearing these words. Li Ling's expression was earnest as he spoke, not resembling someone putting on a false front.

Most importantly, when Li Ling made these remarks, his gaze was resolute and unflinching under the collective scrutiny of the crowd.

Naturally, this gave people the impression that he was being completely sincere.

In truth, Li Ling was indeed speaking from the heart. After all, his family had sent him to Anze not only for cultivation, but even more so to undergo tempering and gain practical experience.

Serving as class monitor would undoubtedly maximize the effectiveness of this tempering and practical training.

"That is all I have to say. As for the rest, I will let everyone judge by my future actions."

Having finished, Li Ling bowed politely to the assembled students.

In response, the students once again offered a unified round of applause for their newly elected monitor.

Li Xi smiled as he watched.

Reflecting on Li Ling's words, he thought that the young man truly possessed the grace of a prominent family. His speech had been both polite and sincere, making him quite likable.

Clapping his hands, Li Xi looked at Li Ling and said, "Very well. Since Student Li Ling has such determination, I have nothing more to add. The teachers and all your fellow students look forward to your future performance. Make sure you prove to be a competent class monitor."

Li Ling nodded and replied, "Of course."

Li Xi patted Li Ling on the shoulder, as if giving him encouragement, and said, "Alright, you don't need to worry. The students in our class all have good tempers, so you won't need to exert harsh discipline over them. Serving as class monitor will mostly entail what I mentioned earlier—occasionally handling tasks assigned by the department. Beyond that, you will simply need to periodically report the cultivation progress of our classmates. There isn't much else to it."

Hearing this, Li Ling nodded in acknowledgment, "Understood, Teacher. I have memorized it all and will certainly not let down your expectations or everyone's trust."

Li Xi smiled and said, "No need to be so nervous. You may head back to your seat for now. I will contact you if anything comes up later."

"Understood." Li Ling nodded, obeyed the instruction, stepped down from the stage, and walked back to his seat.

No sooner had Li Ling returned and seated himself than he was surrounded by Yun Tianhan and the others, each of them looking at him with broad, smiling faces.

With a mischievous grin, Yun Tianhan said, "Li Ling, you've firmly secured the class monitor position this time. So, don't forget about treating us to dinner tonight!"

Li Ling nodded in reply, "Of course I won't forget. I already promised you beforehand, win or lose."

Yun Tianhan laughed, "Good, very good."

Ye Junze looked at Li Ling and offered a simple, "Congratulations."

Fan Yan and Lu Renjia naturally extended their congratulations as well.

Li Ling waved his hand dismissively and said, "I was only able to become class monitor because of your support. If truth be told, I should be thanking you instead."

Yun Tianhan chuckled, "There's no need to be so polite. We're all friends, we're brothers."

Lu Renjia chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! Being this polite just makes us sound distant."

Fan Yan half-jokingly remarked, "Friends are friends, but as for brothers—well, I am a girl after all, so that might not quite fit."

At that, the group laughed heartily.

Buoyed by Li Ling's successful election, their spirits were high, and the atmosphere remained warm and harmonious, with smiles gracing everyone's faces.

Once Li Ling had settled back into his seat, Li Xi spoke up once more.

"Now then, let us draw the matter of the class monitor election to a close. Next, let us discuss another matter. Rest assured, it will not take up too much of your time."

Hearing this, the students quieted down once again.

Seeing that everyone was attentive, Li Xi continued, "This other matter is also the final agenda item for today's class meeting. Once we finish discussing it, everyone will be dismissed."

"This matter concerns the Academy Grand Tournament, which will commence two months from now. Some of you may have already heard about it on the school forum or from senior students."

As soon as Li Xi's words fell, murmurs broke out among the students once more.

"Academy Grand Tournament?"

"What is that?"

"It sounds rather interesting, doesn't it?"

Various curious voices rose up in the room.

Meanwhile, those who had some prior knowledge began patiently explaining the details to the classmates around them who were in the dark.

Li Xi waved his hand to signal for quiet, saying, "I know everyone is curious."

"Do not be impatient; I will explain it to you right now. The Academy Grand Tournament is a competition held internally within Anze Academy. At that time, students from every department within the academy will participate and compete against one another, and our Daoist Dharma Department is naturally included."

Hearing this, those students who had previously been unaware nodded in realization.

"Of course, since the tournament will not begin until two months from now, I will spare you the detailed rules for the time being." Li Xi paused briefly before continuing, "The reason I am bringing this up to you today is to tell you that over these next two months, you should all strive to cultivate diligently. Otherwise, when the competition arrives and you lack sufficient strength, I imagine none of you will feel reconciled to losing."

The students nodded in agreement. That was indeed true; everyone possessed a competitive streak, all the more so now that they had embarked on the path of cultivation.

Striking while the iron was hot, Li Xi said, "So you must all apply yourselves vigorously to your cultivation. If nothing else, the rewards for the Academy Grand Tournament are quite generous. Even if only for the sake of the rewards, you ought to give it your all and strive for success."

In unison, the students replied, "Yes!"

Li Xi smiled, waved his hand, and announced, "Very well, today's class meeting concludes here. Class dismissed."

With those words, Li Xi turned and walked out of the classroom.