The middle-aged man grew visibly respectful as he watched Zhang Yu demonstrate Limitless Cloud Hands at level 10. âA level 10 Limitless Cloud Handsâquality like that is hard to come by. Impressive, truly impressive.â
In his mind, someone capable of cultivating a combat technique like Limitless Cloud Hands to level 10 had to be at the peak of Qi Refiningâsomeone who had already graduated high school and still had the time, money, and dedication to hone real martial skills.
After all, no one would waste effort solely on pushing Limitless Cloud Hands to level 10 without also cultivating Dao Heart, mana, or physical strength.
So if someone had time to elevate this one technique to level 10, the rest of their stats were likely maxed out for a Qi Refining student as well.
The man mused to himself,
Probably a high school martial arts teacher moonlighting for some extra cash.
Still, it wasnât his business to pryâcuriosity was a liability in this line of work.
He said, âI'll need to register your information. Just a few questions.â
Zhang Yu nodded.
âAre you looking for part-time or full-time work?â
âPart-time,â Zhang Yu replied.
âWhatâs your teaching experience like?â
The Ragdoll chimed in, âTell him youâve got ten years of experience. Trust me on this.â
Zhang Yu thought for a moment. Since he was keeping his identity hidden anyway, he went with it. âTen years of teaching at a top high school.â
The man nodded slightlyâthat matched his assumptions. As he recorded this, he asked, âAny particular specialties?â
With the Ragdoll coaching him, Zhang Yu picked up the rhythm of the answers. âI specialize in technique instruction. Besides Limitless Cloud Hands, Iâve mastered several other level 10 techniques.â
âHow do you usually maintain student engagement and focus in your classroom?â
âThe simplest way,â Zhang Yu answered, âis to make underperformers kneel through class while the top students mock them. Different levels of performance get different treatment.â
The man nodded approvingly. âWould you be willing to work with lower-IQ clients?â
Zhang Yu blinked. âLower IQ?â
The man smiled helplessly. âWe cater to the lower-tier market. The students buying our lessons arenât exactly top scorersâaverage combined scores across six subjects are under 450. Not the brightest bunch. Youâll need to be patient and keep your explanations simple. Not like teaching at a top high school.â
Wow,
Zhang Yu thought.
So regular high school students are âmentally challengedâ in your eyes, huh?
He held back an eye-roll and said, âIâm very good at teaching academic underdogs.â
âOne more thing: our customers tend to be poor. So instructors are expected to promote financial services. Are you okay with that?â
Zhang Yu frowned. âFinancial services?â
The man smiled again. âJust selling tutoring loans, installment plans, that kind of thingâŠâ
Seeing Zhang Yuâs hesitation, he added, âItâs not mandatory. As long as your teaching quality is high, no one will force you to sell finance.â
He continued, âIf your tutoring sessions get interrupted by security forces or rival gangs, are you willing to fight? And if needed⊠kill?â
Zhang Yu fell silent.
So this is the black market tutoring sceneâteaching one minute, fighting or killing the next, huh?
At least, he mused, they
did
ask if he was willing. That was somethingâbarely.
The man added, âYour hesitation is understandable. Fighting and killing come with expenses. But donât worryâhere at the Dark Tutoring Gang, any fines or damages incurred during a session will be fully reimbursed.â
Whatever appreciation Zhang Yu had vanished.
So thatâs what you meant. Youâre just haggling over costs. For you, gang fights are routine, huh?
Naturally, Zhang Yu declined. Despite having several level 10 techniques, his mana and physical stats were still high school level. No way heâd survive gang warfare.
The man nodded in understanding and moved on with more questions. Eventually, he smiled and said, âThat should be everything.â
âBut to decide what classes we can assign youâand how to price themâwe need to see a trial session first.â
âTrial sessionâ meant Zhang Yu would teach a sample class while the Dark Tutoring Gang assessed his skills and set pricing accordingly.
The man added, âYour Limitless Cloud Hands are impressive, but purely combat techniques donât sell as well as health, study, or work-related techniques.â
He was worried this âhigh school teacherâ might not understand what the lower-tier market really wanted.
He explained, âNot saying Limitless Cloud Hands is bad. There are definitely students whoâd pay for it. But most of our customers are more interested in the basicsâŠâ
Zhang Yu suddenly recalled the technique rankings heâd seen online.
âSo, Health-Preserving Technique, Excavator Palm, Crane Claw, Sports Car Leg⊠these have a bigger market?â
The man smiled. âExactly. These are our most requested classes. While theyâre cheap per student, you can teach dozensâor even hundredsâat once. In the end, itâs more profitable than elite small-group sessions.â
âOther popular options include basic high school techniques like Scattered Hand, Basic Sword Technique, and Basic Breathing Technique.â
Zhang Yuâs eyes lit up.
So Excavator Palm and Sports Car Leg are top sellers? Maybe I can use the Feathered Tomeâs specialization to master those quickly and start teachingâŠ
The man said, âLetâs set a trial date. I need to coordinate the teachers whoâll be observing. Are you free in five days?â
Zhang Yu calculated briefly and nodded. âFive days works.â
âBesides Limitless Cloud Hands, what else do you plan to teach during your trial? Weâll assign evaluators with relevant expertise.â
Zhang Yu thought,
Health-Preserving Technique is an expert-grade skillâexpensive, complex, and slow to learn. But Excavator Palm, Crane Claw, Sports Car Leg, and Elevator Leap are advanced-gradeâcheap and simple, like Back-Dragon Mountain-Flipping Strike. Quick to master.
Just to be safe, he decided to underreport a little.
âI can also teach Excavator Palm and Sports Car Leg,â he said.
That covered both elite and mass-market classes. The man nodded, satisfied. âThen we look forward to your trial.â
âOh, and could you leave a contact number?â
Zhang Yu declined.
âIn that case,â the man said, âplease download a game called
Kunshen World
. Add me as a friendâwe can message through there.â
âŠ
On the way out of the complex, the Ragdoll couldnât hold back.
âYou actually learned those? Excavator Palm and Sports Car Leg?â
She couldnât believe a top high school student had bothered with those bottom-tier donkey techniques.
Sheâd thought Zhang Yu would stick to selling elite small-group sessions with his level 10 Limitless Cloud Hands.
But here he was, planning to teach Excavator Palm and Sports Car Legâmass-market fodder.
Zhang Yu opened a shopping app and casually purchased both techniques. âNever trained them. But five days is enough to learn.â
Since heâd be with the Ragdoll constantly, there was no hiding it anyway.
The Ragdoll frowned. âFive days? Even if you learn them, how do you compete with teachers whoâve been doing this for years?â
âJust stick to Limitless Cloud Hands,â she said. âQuit messing around.â
Zhang Yu ignored her. With the purchases made, his account balance dropped another 3,500 yuan, leaving just over 12,000.
Back at the abandoned complex, Zhang Yu began training the new techniques.
First up was Excavator Palm.
This was a strength-based palm technique modeled after an excavator, designed to generate a bit of âbucket forceâ to dig and level ground.
Purely a work-focused technique, it had no combat or body-refining elements. Just three moves: forward scoop, reverse scoop, and sweeping scoop.
Zhang Yu nodded.
You can finish the whole set in a few seconds. Should be easy to learn.
He skimmed the manual, then switched his Feathered Tomeâs specialization to this technique.
Immediately, his hands began slapping the air in rapid succession. Invisible waves of force rippled outward, trying to form a coherent patternâonly to collapse mid-air.
When the full set of moves failed to yield any results, Zhang Yu froze in place.
The Ragdoll sighed. âTold you it was a waste of time. You think you can master this in days and compete with veteran tutors? Get realââ
But before she could finish, Zhang Yu moved again.
This time, his palms stirred the air with a whooshing force, like a massive bucket scooping and scraping through the wind.
The Ragdoll stared, dumbfounded. âWait⊠you already learned it?â
âJust like that?â
âAnd it looks like youâve been training it for years!â
âIs this his real hidden potential? He can master techniques
that
fast?â
What came next shocked her even more.
In just over an hour, she watched in disbelief as Zhang Yuâs Excavator Palm progressed from amateur flailing to a fluid, devastating masteryâeach strike as if he were ready to level the whole ruined complex with nothing but his hands.