The middle-aged man, upon seeing Zhang Yu display the 10th level of the Infinite Cloud Hand, couldn't help but show a hint of respect in his eyes.
"The 10th level of the Infinite Cloud Hand, such high-quality skill is indeed rare. Impressive, truly impressive."
In the middle-aged man's mind, someone who could cultivate the Infinite Cloud Hand, a combat technique, to the 10th level must already be at the peak of the Qi Refining stage.
Such a person would have the time, money, and dedication to delve into practical martial arts after graduating from high school.
After all, in most people's thinking, it's impossible for someone to not cultivate their Dao heart, not refine their mana, and not temper their body, yet still manage to raise the Infinite Cloud Hand to the 10th level.
Someone who has the time to raise the Infinite Cloud Hand to the 10th level would most likely have also pushed their other stats to the limit of the Qi Refining stage.
The man thought to himself, "Perhaps he's a martial arts teacher from some high school, sneaking out to earn some extra cash."
However, he had no intention of probing further.
In this line of work, it's taboo to pry into others' secrets.
The middle-aged man then asked, "I need to register your details and ask a few questions."
Seeing Zhang Yu nod, the middle-aged man continued, "Are you looking for part-time or full-time work?"
Zhang Yu replied, "Part-time."
The middle-aged man asked, "What is your teaching experience?"
The doll whispered, "Tell him you have ten years of teaching experience. Trust me, it's the right move."
Zhang Yu thought for a moment, realizing that since he was hiding his identity, it wouldn't hurt to exaggerate a bit.
So he said, "Ten years of teaching experience at a key high school."
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, as this matched his expectations.
He jotted it down and then asked, "What are your specialties?"
Guided by the doll, Zhang Yu gradually got the hang of answering these questions.
"I specialize in teaching martial arts techniques. Besides the Infinite Cloud Hand, I have several other techniques at the 10th level."
The middle-aged man then asked, "In your classes, how do you usually increase student engagement and focus?"
Zhang Yu replied, "The most basic method is to make the weaker students kneel during class, let the top students mock them, and give different treatments based on their performance in class."
The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction and then asked, "Can you handle students with lower intelligence?"
Zhang Yu was taken aback.
"Lower intelligence?"
The middle-aged man chuckled wryly, "After all, we cater to the lower-tier market. The students who come here for lessons are generally not top performers. Their average score across six subjects is below 450. They're not the brightest, so the teacher needs to be patient and explain things in simple terms. It's quite different from teaching at a key high school."
Zhang Yu thought to himself, "So, in your eyes, students from regular high schools and graduates are idiots?" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and nodded, saying, "I'm quite good at teaching underachievers."
The middle-aged man added, "Also, our clients are generally not well-off, so the teachers have the task of promoting financial services. Can you handle that?"
Zhang Yu frowned, "Financial services?"
The middle-aged man smiled, "Things like selling tutoring loans, installment payment plans for lessons, and so on..."
Seeing Zhang Yu's silence, the middle-aged man chuckled again, "It's fine. As long as your teaching quality is excellent, you don't have to promote financial services."
He then asked, "If you encounter attacks from the company's security team or other gangs during tutoring sessions, are you willing to fight? And if it comes to it, are you willing to kill?"
Zhang Yu fell silent, thinking to himself, "This is the dark side of the tutoring world. Teachers here have to consider fighting and killing while tutoring."
However, he felt slightly relieved that the man at least asked for his consent, showing a sliver of morality.
The middle-aged man continued, "We understand your hesitation. Fighting and killing can be costly, but rest assured, according to the rules of our Dark Study Gang, any fines or compensations required due to fighting or killing during tutoring sessions will be reimbursed by us."
Zhang Yu's relief vanished.
So, it was just a matter of negotiating the price.
To them, gang fights were just another day at work.
Zhang Yu, of course, couldn't agree to such conditions.
Although he had several techniques at the 10th level, his mana and physical strength were still at the level of a high school freshman.
He wasn't ready to engage in gang fights.
Seeing Zhang Yu's refusal, the middle-aged man nodded in understanding.
After a series of questions, he smiled and said, "I've recorded most of the details. But to determine what classes we can assign you and how to price them, we'll need you to conduct a trial lesson."
A trial lesson meant Zhang Yu would teach a class, and the Dark Study Gang would evaluate his teaching quality to decide on his classes and pricing.
The middle-aged man added, "Although your Infinite Cloud Hand is impressive, purely combat techniques don't have as large a market as health, study, and work-related techniques."
He was concerned that this "suspected high school teacher" might be limited by his experience at a key high school and unable to grasp the needs of the lower-tier market.
He continued, "Of course, I'm not saying the Infinite Cloud Hand is bad. There are definitely people willing to pay to learn it. But our customers are often more interested in more basic techniques..."
Hearing this, Zhang Yu suddenly remembered the rankings he saw when purchasing techniques online.
He asked, "So, techniques like Health Restoration Palm, Excavation Palm, Crane Claw, and Racing Leg have a larger market?"
The middle-aged man smiled, "Indeed, these types of techniques have the highest demand for tutoring. Although each student pays less, a single class can often teach dozens or even hundreds of students, earning more than high-end small classes like the Infinite Cloud Hand."
"Besides these, there are the basic high school techniques, such as Freehand Combat, Basic Swordsmanship, and Basic Breathing Techniques."
Zhang Yu's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "Excavation Palm and Crane Claw have the largest market? Maybe I can use my Book of Feathers expertise to quickly raise these techniques to the 10th level and start teaching."
The middle-aged man then said, "Let's schedule the trial lesson. I need to arrange for evaluators. Are you available in five days?"
Zhang Yu thought for a moment and nodded, "No problem, five days it is."
The middle-aged man asked, "Besides the Infinite Cloud Hand, what other techniques do you plan to teach during the trial? We need to arrange evaluators who specialize in those areas to assess you."
Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Health Restoration Palm is an expert-level technique, expensive and complex, involving movements for the entire body. It would take a while to master."
"On the other hand, techniques like Excavation Palm, Crane Claw, Racing Leg, and Elevator Leap are advanced techniques, cheaper and simpler. They should be easier to learn, similar to practical combat techniques like the Dragon Flipping Mountain Hand."
But to be safe, he decided to understate his abilities.
He said, "Besides the Infinite Cloud Hand, I can also teach Excavation Palm and Racing Leg."
This way, he could handle both high-end and low-end classes.
The middle-aged man smiled and nodded, "Then we look forward to your performance in five days."
"By the way, would you mind leaving your contact information?"
When Zhang Yu declined to leave his phone number, the middle-aged man said, "Then please download a game called 'Kun Shen World' and add me as a friend. We can discuss class details in the game."
...
On the way out of the compound, the doll couldn't help but ask, "You've practiced Excavation Palm and Racing Leg too?"
She couldn't believe that a student from a key high school would practice such lowly techniques.
She had thought Zhang Yu could rely on his 10th level Infinite Cloud Hand to teach high-end small classes.
But now, he was planning to teach large classes for low-end techniques like Excavation Palm and Racing Leg.
Zhang Yu, browsing a shopping site on his phone to purchase Excavation Palm and Racing Leg, casually replied, "I haven't practiced them, but five days should be enough to learn them."
Zhang Yu knew that since he would be spending a lot of time with the doll, some things couldn't be hidden.
The doll frowned, "How is five days enough? Even if you learn these techniques, how can you compete with the experienced teachers in the Dark Study Gang? You should just stick to teaching the Infinite Cloud Hand."
Ignoring the doll's skepticism, Zhang Yu purchased Excavation Palm and Racing Leg, reducing his account balance by 3,500, leaving him with just over 12,000.
Back at the abandoned building, Zhang Yu began practicing his new techniques.
First was Excavation Palm.
This palm technique imitated the power of an excavator, condensing a shovel-like force to dig materials and level the ground.
Being a purely work-oriented technique, it contained no combat or body-refining elements.
The moves were simple: forward shovel, reverse shovel, and sweeping shovel.
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, thinking, "I can probably finish a set in a few seconds. It should be easy to learn."
After briefly skimming through the manual, Zhang Yu switched his Book of Feathers expertise to this technique.
He began striking the air with his palms, releasing bursts of invisible force that seemed to form a certain momentum but quickly dissipated.
Seeing Zhang Yu finish a set of Excavation Palm with no effect, the doll sighed, "I told you it's a waste of time. You think you can master this technique in such a short time and compete with teachers who've been teaching for years? How could..."
But before she could finish, Zhang Yu, who had been standing still, suddenly moved again.
This time, his palms moved with a whooshing sound, as if a giant shovel were digging through the air.
The doll stared in shock, "What... you've already learned it? So quickly? And it looks like you've been practicing for a long time. Is this the potential you've unlocked? The ability to learn techniques rapidly?"
But what happened next shocked her even more.
In just over an hour, she watched in disbelief as Zhang Yu's Excavation Palm improved by leaps and bounds.
From a complete novice, he became a master, his movements fluid and powerful, as if he could level the entire abandoned building with his palms.
(End of Chapter)