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"What\'s wrong?" Lin Shen realized that this might not be just a simple underwater skill book.

"If I\'m not mistaken, this is a skill called \'Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals\' created by Manager An himself; it\'s his unique skill." Tian Xun looked at Lin Shen with puzzlement, "Previously, even when An 16 wanted to obtain this skill for his son, Manager An did not agree, so why would he give it to you? Have you met him before?"

"I don\'t know him, nor have I met him," Lin Shen shook his head.

After contemplating for a moment upon hearing this, Tian Xun lifted his head and said, "You should go take up your post at the Celestial Master Institute as soon as possible, don\'t delay any longer."

"That\'s what I was thinking as well," Lin Shen nodded.

After resting at home for just one day, Lin Shen took his identity card and went to take up his post at the Celestial Master Institute.

Contrary to Lin Shen\'s expectations, he had imagined that no matter what, the Celestial Master Institute, being a branch of the Heavenly Emperor\'s forces, would still have a very strong foundation, even though the previous Dean had been executed.

Before arriving, Lin Shen had been contemplating how he could manage to suppress the group of strong and fierce warriors at the Celestial Master Institute.

But when Lin Shen arrived at the Celestial Master Institute, he discovered there were no fierce warriors there; the entire institute had less than three hundred on its roster, with over two hundred as field agents on Alien Worlds, almost never returning to Sky Pinnacle Star.

The remaining forty-some people, more than half of them had been put on unpaid leave, and those who were actually working in the Celestial Master Institute amounted to only about a dozen.

Outrageously, among these dozen people, there were even those who manned the gates and cleaned, the uncles and aunties.

When Lin Shen arrived at the Celestial Master Institute, he found people in the office either drinking tea, chatting, playing with communicators, gathered around playing cards, or even one lady knitting a sweater.

"Is this really the Celestial Master Institute? Could I have gone to the wrong place? The Heavenly Emperor\'s henchmen, the empire\'s enforcers, look like this?" Lin Shen suddenly understood why, as a minor Ascender, he had been appointed Dean by the Heavenly Emperor.

After revealing his identity, it was an old Celestial wearing glasses who took him to the Dean\'s office and handed over some items and various documents associated with the Dean\'s position.

The others looked at Lin Shen with what could be described as a numbness in their eyes, no hostility, no fawning, giving Lin Shen the impression that they were a group of apathetic individuals.

Lin Shen had no choice but to call a meeting of everyone. They were somewhat cooperative; those who could come did, totaling just seventeen people, with an average age just shy of two hundred years.

The youngest member was a Taiger Clan lad of fifty-four, also the only member without a title in the Celestial Master Institute; even the old Celestial managing the gates was the head of the security department.

The rest had titles of this \'director\' and that \'chief,\' with as many as four serving as deputy deans.

"F*ck this, how is this supposed to be the Celestial Master Institute? This is just a damn nursing home, isn\'t it?" Lin Shen was utterly dumbfounded. He had thought he was coming here to make a name for himself and make some easy money, but now it seemed that was not the case at all.

"Dean, we haven\'t paid our utility and repair bills for a very long time, and even the fieldwork allowances haven\'t been distributed for many years.

Our pensions have also been suspended for many years… Could you see if we can resolve these issues first…" An Sai, the over two hundred-year-old Celestial female secretary and officially the assistant to the dean—that is, the old lady who knits sweaters in the office—placed a stack of documents in front of Lin Shen.

"The utility bills haven\'t been paid for more than three hundred and forty years, and the repair funds have been overdue for over four hundred years…" Lin Shen was truly dumbstruck this time.

He had no idea how this debt had accumulated, owing hundreds of years\' worth of payments. He suspected that the secretary aunty might be messing with him.

The secretary aunty saw through Lin Shen\'s thoughts and explained while knitting, "Back when the Celestial Master Institute was in its prime, who would dare to ask for this money? They couldn\'t wait to offer us money instead, but ever since the Institute fell apart, we have had to repay our debts. Over the years, the situation of the Institute has deteriorated, and the debts have only grown.

With no funds allocated from above and no income within the Institute, we have been unable to repay, and it\'s led to the situation we are in now."

"Those who had connections managed to transfer out, those with some abilities have taken unpaid leave to seek other opportunities, leaving only us, the old, weak, sick, and disabled behind. We\'re hoping at least to weather it out until retirement."

"We were looking forward to your coming, hoping and praying; finally, we have you here. Lord Heavenly Emperor chose you to be the Dean, he must have meant to restore the prestige of the Celestial Master Institute. He must have allocated a considerable sum for you, right? Other stuff can wait, debts only become a heavier burden if ignored. Maybe we can start by paying off the overdue pensions…"

After listening to what the secretary aunty said, Lin Shen cleared his throat and responded, "Of course, the Lord Heavenly Emperor is going to allocate funds, but he hasn\'t said when or how much. Let\'s just wait and see."

Upon hearing this, the secretary aunty\'s face fell, "So, Dean, you\'re just here to bide your time and retire, too? But you don\'t look old enough for that."

"Sai, forget about this dean business, you can just call me Tian," Lin Shen said, pointing at the sweater she was knitting, "You\'ve done a good job with this sweater, though it\'s missing some fancy stitches."

Lin Shen was broke, and he couldn\'t fix this mess, but life had to go on. He wanted them to stop bugging him about money and just muddle through for now.

"Dean, you know about this too?" An Sai seemed surprised.

"A little… just a little… You see, if you pull back the needle like this… thread it through here… then pick it up like this…" Lin Shen felt like the Heavenly Emperor had dug him a massive hole. This was no deanship; he was here to plug holes and balance the books.

"That pattern looks nice… show me again… I didn\'t catch it the first time…" An Sai marveled as she watched.

It was only Lin Shen\'s first day at the Celestial Master Institute, but he quickly integrated into the ranks of the laid-back crowd.

Lin Shen might not have been good at many things, but he could handle eating, drinking, and having fun. He drank tea with one vic- dean, played Go with another, played cards with a few directors and ministers, and discussed the finer points of gardening with yet another vic- dean.

Together with gossip sessions with Secretary An Sai, Lin Shen felt he was centuries ahead of his peers, entering retirement life early.

As long as the conversations didn\'t revolve around money, he could chat about anything and enjoy himself. It didn\'t take long before he fully became a part of the Celestial Master Retirement Institute.

"Liu, these cards are boring. Try our hometown\'s mahjong; it\'s a lot more fun than what you\'re playing." Lin Shen had carved himself a set of mahjong tiles and coaxed several directors and ministers to play. Initially, they were reluctant, but soon they were more addicted than anyone else, and mahjong quickly became all the rage at the Celestial Master Institute.