Su Ze returned to his hotel when it was almost midnight.

He took out the Liquid Turbellaria Extract, planning to absorb it then and there, but he remembered the destruction he caused last time when he absorbed the Iron-blooded Honey Badger Extract.

’It’d be a huge hassle if I wreck the hotel.’

Although this time wasn’t like the last—he wasn’t absorbing an extract far beyond his level—Su Ze decided to be cautious. He would wait until after meeting the "big shot" tomorrow and returning to Dongli University before absorbing the Liquid Turbellaria Extract.

He still hadn’t received any notification about the Divine Dice opening, so there was no rush. He just needed to absorb the extract before entering the Divine Dice.

"Time for bed."

Su Ze slept until seven in the morning. After getting up and washing, he went with Mr. Ya to the first floor for the hotel’s complimentary breakfast.

Before eight, Chen Xuejiao was already waiting for them in her car outside the hotel.

The two of them hurried into the car, which headed toward the most prosperous downtown area of Baihua City.

Ministry of Education, Lin Hua Country... Su Ze saw the large characters on the simple yet elegant building inside the high-walled compound and knew he had arrived.

The car drove into the basement garage. Su Ze and Mr. Ya followed Chen Xuejiao, and the three of them took an elevator to the seventh floor.

After they got out of the elevator, Chen Xuejiao said, "Mr. Chen is waiting for you on the eighth floor. You should head up."

The elevator only went up to the seventh floor; it didn’t go all the way to the top floor, the eighth. He would have to take the stairs.

There were guards at the stairwell, but when they saw that Chen Xuejiao had brought Su Ze, they didn’t ask any questions and let him pass directly.

Su Ze followed the stairs all the way to the eighth floor.

The eighth floor was very spacious. As Su Ze walked down the hallway, he saw a large private study, a gym, a movie room, a billiards room, and even an indoor swimming pool.

All these rooms were empty. Su Ze couldn’t help but be amazed. ’Were all these facilities built just for that one person, Minister Chen Suifeng?’

’In my past life, no one would dare to be so brazen about this.’

There was only one office on the eighth floor, right at the end of the hallway, so Su Ze didn’t need to ask for directions. He knew this had to be Chen Suifeng’s office.

He walked inside and saw a man sitting behind a desk, looking down at something.

’This is the big shot, Chen Suifeng?’ 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Su Ze was a little surprised.

He had imagined what this Venerable Powerhouse, the Minister of Education, would look like. He thought he might be a kind-faced yet dignified old man like Principal Zhou Wenshan, a refined and easygoing uncle like President Gu Chengguang, or perhaps a stern, unsmiling middle-aged man like Zhao Yuanyi.

But he never expected the man to be a youth who looked to be in his twenties.

The man had sharp, three-dimensional features, a perfect facial structure, and even his skin was so flawless you couldn’t find a single imperfection.

His handsomeness was both refined and masculine—the kind of good looks even other men would have to admit to.

Su Ze couldn’t help but marvel. ’If all the good looks in the world were worth ten bushels, the pretty boys from novels would get eight, while Chen Suifeng and I would each get one!’

’Bad planning...’ Su Ze had originally planned to come in and address him as "Uncle" or "Grandpa" or something, but the man looked so young, seemingly not much older than himself. It made calling him "Uncle" or "Grandpa" feel incredibly awkward.

Of course, Su Ze knew Chen Suifeng’s actual age couldn’t possibly be as young as his appearance suggested, so calling him "big brother" would be inappropriate too.

Chen Suifeng looked up. He was wearing a simple white graphic T-shirt with the words "Study for the rise of humanity" printed on the chest. He gave Su Ze a hearty smile and said, "You’re here. Sit anywhere you like. I was just watching the video of you hunting the Liquid Turbellaria last night."

Su Ze wasn’t the least bit surprised that the video of his battle last night had ended up in the hands of these powerful figures. Instead of taking the chair opposite Chen Suifeng, he chose a softer, more comfortable sofa to sit on.

Su Ze waited until Chen Suifeng finished the video and put down his tablet before greeting him. Unable to think of a better form of address, Su Ze could only call him "Mr. Chen."

Chen Suifeng said, "After watching the video of your fight last night, I’ve realized you’re even more talented than I thought... Don’t be so formal. I just called you over for a simple chat. I’m not trying to recruit you for anything."

"Though every major family that’s seen this video wants to recruit you, that doesn’t include me. I only have the country behind me, not some big family."

Su Ze sat up straighter. "My being nervous and formal has nothing to do with what you want to discuss. It’s mainly because of your immense power and impossibly perfect appearance. I’ve never met anyone as outstanding as you in both respects."

Chen Suifeng smiled. "You’re pretty sharp. You know what you want."

Su Ze paused, confused. ’What does he mean, I know what I want?’

"You must be wondering why someone like me would become the Minister of Education for Lin Hua Country, right? And after seeing everything on your way up to the eighth floor, you must think I’m a corrupt minister." Chen Suifeng’s words hit the nail right on the head of what Su Ze was thinking.

"Not at all, not at all," Su Ze denied flatly, wondering, ’Does this guy have a Mind Reading Technique or something?’

"It’s normal for you to think that. The truth is, I have my own philosophy on education, but a few old-timers in Lin Hua Country don’t agree with it. The only reason I became the Minister of Education is because I’m strong enough, and they didn’t have any better position to place me in, so they just sent me here to fill a role."

"I’ve tried to initiate educational reforms several times, but those old fossils always blocked me. Their thinking is rigid, and they can’t tolerate new ideas from the younger generation. So boring!"

Su Ze chose his words carefully and asked, "So... you’ve been sidelined?"

"And I just praised you for being a smooth talker." Chen Suifeng shot him a look. "How can you call it being sidelined! My exercise of power is merely being supervised, that’s all."

’Got it. He has power, just not much.’

Su Ze went along with the topic and asked, "What is your philosophy on education?"

Chen Suifeng stood up, picked up a thermos with goji berries steeping inside, and also walked over to sit on the sofa. "Things are different now than they were over a thousand years ago. After the Era of Evolution began, educational philosophy should have been adjusted too. It can’t be as gentle as before, but it’s not about applying constant pressure either. The most important thing is to help every student figure out what they want."

"Only when they can clearly see the ambition and desire in their own hearts can their motivation be truly ignited. At that point, you won’t need schools or parents to apply pressure; the students will be driven by their own desires to work hard."

Su Ze didn’t offer an opinion on this, choosing to be a quiet listener.

Chen Suifeng continued, "What a person wants changes at every stage of their life. Desires change with age, environment, and experience. When I was a teenager, I enjoyed being admired and sought after, so I worked hard to become stronger and study hard. But my talent was limited. I only excelled in the martial exams; my academic exams were a complete disaster."

"In my twenties, my greatest desire was women. I started paying attention to my image, dressing handsomely and respectably. This did attract women, but not necessarily the ones I was interested in. I discovered that some women cared more about how fat my wallet was than how handsome my face was, so I started to find ways to make money and become rich."

"In my thirties, I focused on social status and craved the respect of others. So I joined the military, trading combat merits for rank, and rose up through the promotions. Of course, my considerable strength helped with that."

"In my forties, my focus shifted to my career. I wanted to make another breakthrough, so I started focusing on networking and building connections. But then I realized the times had changed. Making a hundred connections wasn’t as good as reaching the Saint-tier myself. So I gritted my teeth, pushed my way to Saint-tier, and sure enough, I became a General."

"In my fifties, a great battle resulted in the deaths of more than half the soldiers under my command. I truly came to understand the fragility and preciousness of life, and I saw clearly that humanity’s situation was grim. I longed to avenge those fallen soldiers, longed to change the situation, so I single-mindedly focused on raising my own evolution level, wanting to turn the tide all by myself."

"In my sixties, I completed my fifth evolution and became one of the top-ranked powerhouses in Lin Hua Country. But I found that I still couldn’t change anything on my own. Furthermore, my potential was exhausted. The fifth evolution might be my limit."

"I realized that to change the situation, I might need to cultivate more people like me. That’s why I applied for a transfer to the Ministry of Education, intending to go all out and make a big difference. But in the end, I was sidelined by a few old-timers—no, I mean, I was supervised."

"My whole life has been driven by desire. You could say I’ve been striving to satisfy my own wants. But when I became a Venerable Powerhouse admired by all, I found that the one thing I truly wanted was completely out of reach. What I wanted to do was already beyond my capabilities."

"So I’ve come to terms with it. I’ve stopped putting so much pressure on myself and decided to just enjoy life. When you can’t get what you want most, you might as well pursue the things you *can* get. Like the swimming pool next to my office, the billiards room... I built all of those with my own money. In fact, this entire building you see was torn down and rebuilt with my own funds because I didn’t like the original office building."

’All I can say is, when you get stronger, you see things differently, and your perspective changes.’

Take Su Ze, for instance. All he was worried about right now was how to get stronger as quickly as possible and how to avoid being ambushed by his enemies. As for the grand scheme of humanity, he had neither the time nor the ability to worry about it.

Su Ze wasn’t very interested in any of this; he was even getting a little drowsy listening to it.

He had no idea why Chen Suifeng was telling him all this. He couldn’t say whether Chen Suifeng’s philosophy was right or wrong, so he didn’t offer any opinion.

He could only offer a compliment. "You seem to be doing great now. You’ve maintained your youth so well. Anyone would think you’re a young man in your twenties."

Chen Suifeng chuckled. "The reason I maintain a young and handsome appearance is because I still hold on to the desires I had in my twenties. Hmm, maybe not as intensely as back then, but they’re still there."

"Alright, enough about me. Let’s talk about you."

"I also called you over this time because I want to give you something."

Su Ze’s spirits instantly lifted. ’Now that’s what I’m talking about. I’m not sleepy anymore.’