Era of Mist

Chapter 235 -234: Testing the Level, Beginning Cultivation

As he looked at Shi Tiexin’s smile, the hairs on the back of the middle-aged man’s neck practically stood on end.

‘What a dangerous man!’

The middle-aged man had long since left the underworld, but his instincts were still sharp. The threat and pressure emanating from this tall man were like a mountain range, so overwhelming it was hard to breathe.

When Shi Tiexin stopped smiling, the pressure finally dissipated. “Do you want to reconsider one last time?”

The middle-aged man fell silent for a moment, weighing the risks of the job and the weight of the case in his hands before finally making up his mind.

After all, a man’s gotta eat.

“When do we start?”

“The sooner the better, of course.”

「Two o’clock in the afternoon, in a classroom at a high school.」

The school was long abandoned. The walls were covered in graffiti, and the classrooms were filled with trash and crude drawings. The entire campus was like the desolate wreckage left after a frenzied outburst, looking utterly bleak.

However, Ah Fei and his men had come to clean up. At the very least, the staff room and this particular classroom were now spotless.

Shi Tiexin surveyed the environment and nodded in satisfaction. The area was open, with no tall buildings nearby, making the possibility of a sneak attack negligible. At the same time, transportation was decent. There was a main road out front, an alley out back, and a complex residential area over the wall. It offered plenty of escape routes, making it far safer than a hotel.

Shi Tiexin had really taken Miss Red Skirt’s words to heart.

There was only a single desk in the middle of the vast classroom, but Shi Tiexin found it familiar. It was almost identical to the classroom in his dreams.

Studying here felt like he had a buff.

CREAK. Someone pushed the door open. It was the middle-aged man, Sakuragi Kenji. Compared to his sloppy appearance this morning, he looked much sharper now. He had shaved and washed his face, and was wearing a suit. This Sakuragi Kenji was actually quite good-looking, the handsome-older-man type with a high-bridged nose and deep-set eyes.

At nearly 1.9 meters tall, he was quite striking in Japan. If he were out on the street, he’d turn a lot of heads.

Of course, his tall and thin frame seemed a bit too small and slender in front of Shi Tiexin.

Looking at Shi Tiexin sitting there ramrod straight, Sakuragi Kenji was still a bit dazed, unsure what to make of this guy. Over the course of the morning, he had contacted his old connections and found out Shi Tiexin’s identity. But he just couldn’t figure out why a newly minted street boss would come looking for him to learn math.

‘Must be some kind of weird hobby,’ he thought.

Besides, street thugs like him were mostly illiterate. There was no need to teach him anything profound. He’d just fudge his way through it until the guy’s phase passed. Once his enthusiasm faded, he would take the money and leave. Perfect.

So, Sakuragi Kenji took out a textbook, preparing to start by teaching him how to recognize numbers.

“Mr. Sakuragi, before we officially begin, I think we should get to know each other. I have an obligation to inform you of my progress, and at the same time, I want to understand your level of expertise.” Shi Tiexin looked at Sakuragi Kenji with a serious expression. “Furthermore, I must review the textbook you’re using, as well as the scope of instruction and the syllabus, to ensure we don’t deviate from my learning path.”

‘How can I be sure Japan’s math curriculum aligns with the second layer of mathematics from the Main World Line?’ For this reason, Shi Tiexin was determined to use his Vision System to assess everything first.

Sakuragi Kenji was a little surprised, and also a little dismissive.

‘He talks a big game, but at the end of the day, isn’t he just a street thug? What kind of skill could he possibly have?’

“My mathematics proficiency is at the second layer—um, which is to say, I’ve reached the stage of logic and application. I’m currently studying word problems, so you can start teaching from there.” Shi Tiexin sincerely hoped that the Japanese math curriculum also included a stage for word problems. If they didn’t teach this at all, he’d truly be at a loss.

Fortunately, the study of mathematics has an inherent structure, and Sakuragi Kenji was no stranger to word problems.

However, Sakuragi Kenji decided he needed to put this guy in his place. ‘It doesn’t matter who you are; in the classroom, you’re a student. Review my syllabus? If I don’t show you who’s boss, you’ll never learn to respect your teacher! If I don’t show you how terrible you are, you won’t appreciate how much your money is worth!’

‘If I want to earn this money smoothly, I can’t let him lead me around by the nose.’ So, Sakuragi Kenji immediately adopted the strict demeanor of a senior colleague in a Japanese corporation.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself! The most important thing in learning math is the fundamentals. If you can’t even get the arithmetic right, you won’t learn anything! Besides, I’m the teacher. I will naturally determine the teaching pace based on your level.” SLAP SLAP. He tapped a set of high-difficulty exercises he kept specifically for humbling students. “If you can score above a sixty on this test, then you can talk to me about making demands!”

Sakuragi Kenji was confident that his problems were very difficult; even high school students would struggle to get a sixty. But Shi Tiexin took the paper, glanced at it, and saw its rating: Fine-Grade. ‘Heh.’

「Ten minutes later.」

“Ahem, today we’ll begin with word problems.” Sakuragi Kenji began the lesson meekly, his head lowered and his eyes downcast, without a single word of nonsense. “First, open your textbooks, and we’ll… actually, why don’t you take a look at the syllabus first?”

“Teacher Sakuragi, I’ve already seen it,” Shi Tiexin said earnestly. “The content is too elementary.”

“Too elementary? Right, right, I’ll adjust the content immediately and teach the more advanced material.” Sakuragi Kenji was completely compliant, showing no inclination to defend the dignity of a teacher.

He couldn’t afford to be stubborn.

‘This guy is truly terrifying!’

He had tutored plenty of students from Tokyo University, but not a single one could compare to this man’s basic calculation skills. Sakuragi Kenji was both shocked and awed, realizing this new street boss wasn’t just talking big—he was dead serious about studying.

So, Sakuragi Kenji immediately changed his attitude. He went from planning to slack off and take the money to bringing out his best material and teaching with genuine effort.

Shi Tiexin saw this change as clear as day.

[You have received the teachings of a Top-Grade Master. The teaching is rated “Diligent Guidance.” Your learning is rated “Focused.” Aptitude requirement reduced by 15%. Chance of going astray reduced by 20%. Learning speed increased by 15%. Effective for five days.]

The Vision System would evaluate Sakuragi Kenji’s teaching skill and his level of dedication. Although it couldn’t compare to the “Meticulous Instruction” of the math teacher in the dream classroom, at least it wasn’t a half-assed effort. He was using his real skills.

Besides teaching math himself, Sakuragi Kenji also found teachers for physics, chemistry, biology, world history, and world geography. In Japan, the best secondary schools were private institutions backed by financial conglomerates. However, in the current climate, these conglomerates were fleeing, private schools were closing down one after another, and many teachers had lost their jobs as a result.

In these chaotic times, these teachers had few other skills away from the lectern, and their lives were difficult. With Dragon Coins to pave the way, Sakuragi Kenji gathered them all with no effort. These were all high-caliber instructors, rated at least “Fine-Grade Lecturer,” and their teaching attitude was “Diligent Guidance” or better. They weren’t just random people pulled in to fill the numbers.

Shi Tiexin was satisfied with this. For the money he was paid, Sakuragi Kenji was proving to be quite serious and responsible.