Shi Feng did not speak loudly, and the expression on his face remained calm. However, as if his voice carried some kind of magic power, the many students in the testing hall found themselves inadvertently turning their heads toward Shi Feng. Even Wu Lingling, who was about to turn around and leave, halted her footsteps, her eyes full of surprise.
"You won't charge anything? Instructor, are you telling the truth?"
For Wu Lingling, 100,000 Credits wasn't a significant amount of money. This was because her elder sister Wu Xiaoxiao earned a lot of money through God's Domain, and the occasional pocket money she received from her elder sister amounted to tens of thousands. And through saving this money, Wu Lingling had already accumulated over one million Credits by now.
Previously, Wu Lingling had only thought about leaving because she thought Shi Feng was a scammer.
However, Shi Feng had declared that he wouldn't take any fees if she didn't make any improvements. If Shi Feng was someone without abilities, he definitely wouldn't dare make such a claim. Not to mention, Shi Feng was indeed an instructor of the God's Domain Academy.
At this time, even Luo Tiancheng was surprised by Shi Feng's claim. He never thought that Shi Feng would take such decisive action.
However, Luo Tiancheng knew better than anyone of Shi Feng's combat standards. Shi Feng was someone who hadn't even reached the Refinement Realm. This meant that he couldn't even exert subtle control over his physical body. So, what qualifications did Shi Feng have to teach others?
Although Shi Feng could provide some pointers by relying on his ten years of combat experience, the points he could give were mostly specialized in fighting monsters. At most, he could teach the students here the techniques players could employ when fighting against other players.
However, these experiences wouldn't be of much use in the Trial Tower. This was because the Trial Tower tested the players themselves. Players needed to develop their combat standards to a certain extent to clear the tests in the Trial Tower.
After taking these factors into account, Luo Tiancheng concluded that Shi Feng intended to take a gamble. After all, if it was a talent like Wu Lingling, the specialized knowledge Shi Feng provided might just be enough to help the girl get from the fifth floor's early stage to the fifth floor's middle stage.
Then, if Shi Feng succeeded in his gamble, he would instantly attract the attention of the other new students.
Of course, if Shi Feng's bet failed, he would solidify his identity as a scammer in the new students' eyes. At that time, he would have no hope of remaining in the God's Domain Academy.
Noticing that Shi Feng's words had tempted many of the new students present, Luo Tiancheng looked at Shi Feng and smiled, saying, "Instructor Shi, you're not fit to be an instructor if you entice students in such a manner. You might not gain any money if your students don't improve, but you don't stand to lose anything, either. At most, you can just blame your students, saying that they failed to learn the essentials, hence they failed to improve and that it isn't your teaching that has a problem. In contrast, if a student coincidentally makes a breakthrough in the Trial Tower, wouldn't you make a lot of money?"
Upon hearing Luo Tiancheng's words, many of the students also noticed the problem in Shi Feng's offer.
"So, Instructor Luo, are you saying that I'm being unfair to these students?" Shi Feng said, smiling as he glanced at Luo Tiancheng. "In that case, do you have any brilliant ideas to share?"
"I dare not offer any brilliant ideas. I just feel that as an instructor, you shouldn't be playing such word games with your students," Luo Tiancheng said. When he saw that Shi Feng remained calm even after he had exposed the man's ploy, he couldn't help but feel a little strange. Even so, he still provocatively suggested, "Since you are so confident in your teaching, Instructor Shi, it shouldn't be difficult for you to help all of your students make improvements in the Trial Tower, right?"
Wu Lingling was one of the best talents the God's Domain Academy had welcomed this semester. If Shi Feng got lucky, it was indeed possible for Wu Lingling to achieve a breakthrough after listening to his guidance. However, it would be a different story if Shi Feng had to help multiple students achieve a breakthrough. The sun would be rising from the west tomorrow if he managed to accomplish such a feat.
If anyone else was standing in Luo Tiancheng's place right now, they might just allow Shi Feng to bet on his luck. However, Luo Tiancheng wouldn't. He wanted to cut off all of Shi Feng's paths of retreat and watch Shi Feng leave the God's Domain Academy in humiliation.
Of course, Luo Tiancheng also knew that Shi Feng wasn't an idiot. The man definitely wouldn't accept such a suggestion. However, if Shi Feng rejected his suggestion, he could simply say that Shi Feng had a guilty conscience. In turn, this would cause the new students to present to doubt Shi Feng's abilities.
However, contrary to Luo Tiancheng's expectations, Shi Feng nodded his head and said with a look of realization, "What you said is reasonable, Instructor Luo. This is indeed a good solution. If I only guide a small number of students, the results I achieve can't be used to prove anything. But Instructor Luo, as you can see, no students are coming to sign up for my lesson. How about you help me find 20 students?"
"???" Luo Tiancheng was momentarily dumbfounded when he heard Shi Feng agreeing to his suggestion. What's going on? Is he taking the initiative to put himself onto the path of no return? Also, aren't I trying to prevent him from recruiting apprentices? Why must I help him find 20 students now?
"Instructor Luo, you've constantly been casting suspicion over my abilities, yet you aren't even giving me a chance to prove myself. Should such slanderous actions be coming from an instructor?" Shi Feng said with a grin. "Moreover, you are one of the more well-known junior instructors in our Academy. You should be acting as a role model. If you question someone, you should first provide the relevant evidence."
The new students present nodded in agreement with Shi Feng's words. Then, they moved their gazes from Shi Feng to Luo Tiancheng.
Since Luo Tiancheng doubted Shi Feng's abilities, he should provide substantive evidence to prove his claims. Otherwise, he would be doing nothing but create rumors, and who wouldn't know how to create rumors?
"Fine! I'll help you find 20 students!" Luo Tiancheng gnashed his teeth as he glared at Shi Feng. Because of Shi Feng's words, he had now become a rumor monger in the new students' eyes. "But if you fail to help those 20 students improve, you better not blame your failure on the students' lack of ability!"
"Naturally," Shi Feng confidently said.
In reality, Shi Feng had had a headache trying to figure out a way to attract new students.
Firstly, not all freshmen had the financial wealth to pay 100,000 Credits. Secondly, the freshmen that had yet to seek apprenticeship were already dwindling in number.
If he started his performance with only a small batch of students, by the time he finished teaching these students, had them challenge the Trial Tower, and spread his fame, the other junior instructors present would've long since snatched away the remaining students. By that time, even if there were students who wanted to come under his wing, they wouldn't be able to do so. After all, under the God's Domain Academy's rules, students who had apprenticed themselves under an instructor were not allowed to change their instructors within a year.
However, even for Luo Tiancheng, someone who had worked in the God's Domain Academy for several years, he failed to find more than a few students who were willing to spend the money to take Shi Feng's lesson. After all, 100,000 Credits was a significant sum of money for most of the students present. This situation rendered Luo Tiancheng speechless.
In the end, Luo Tiancheng had to offer to pay for these students to get them to try out Shi Feng's lesson. As soon as he went with this option, he quickly managed to bring 20 new students to Shi Feng.
"Instructor Shi, here are your 20 students," Luo Tiancheng said, glaring at Shi Feng. He even took the initiative to transfer two million Credits to Shi Feng. "Now, please begin your performance!"
Although Luo Tiancheng didn't know why Shi Feng behaved so confidently, he refused to believe that Shi Feng could create a miracle. After all, even Tier 4 experts were incapable of helping many freshmen achieve a breakthrough in the Trial Tower through just a brief lesson, let alone a Tier 3 expert like Shi Feng.
"No problem." Shi Feng felt delighted when he saw the transaction notification appearing on his quantum watch. If he combined these two million Credits with his own five million, he wouldn't have to worry about equipment and resources for a while once he reentered God's Domain. Then, he looked toward the 20 students in front of him and said, "I'll be doing a set of aerobics in a moment. All you need to do is learn the whole set. Once I see that you've reached an adequate proficiency, you may challenge the Trial Tower."
As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the 20 freshmen in front of him instantly became dumbfounded.
Aerobics?
They had learned aerobics when they were in elementary school, but such exercise was only meant to loosen their muscles. However, they had never heard of aerobics being able to help one improve one's combat standard.
"Aerobics? It seems I have underestimated you, Instructor Shi. I am truly ashamed of my ignorance," Luo Tiancheng sarcastically said. At this time, he wanted nothing more than to laugh out loud. "Should I play some music for you as well?"
Initially, Luo Tiancheng had thought that Shi Feng had prepared some kind of secret technique to turn the tables on him, but…
Aerobics?
Shi Feng was simply tired of living!
It should be known that the God's Domain Academy's students were all befitting the title of genius. This was especially true for Wu Lingling. Right now, many first-rate Guilds had already put their attention on the girl, confident that she would become a future powerhouse in God's Domain.
Yet, now, Shi Feng was having these geniuses do aerobics like a bunch of elementary students!
If news of this spread, Shi Feng would become the joke of the city. And if none of his students managed to make any improvements, his image in the Academy would also fall into tatters!
"That won't be necessary," Shi Feng answered. Then, behaving as if he didn't see the awkward looks on the students' faces, he said, "There are nine movements in the set. I don't need you to execute them to perfection; I just need you to reach a passing standard."
Upon hearing Shi Feng's words, the 20 students before him couldn't help but look at him in contempt and anger. After all, they were people capable of perfectly executing even God's Domain's complex combat techniques, let alone a bunch of measly aerobic movements.
Meanwhile, Wu Lingling suddenly felt as if she had been tricked, and her IQ insulted.
However, Shi Feng did not care about any of the looks of contempt and anger he received. He simply began executing the aerobic movements he mentioned while explaining the movements.
The set of aerobics Shi Feng currently executed was something he had invented during his other life, and it was used as part of the basic training for Zero Wing's newcomers. Meanwhile, anyone in the Guild capable of perfectly executing the entire set would be instantly promoted into a core member.
Shi Feng had created this aerobic exercise using a combination of multiple combat techniques found in God's Domain and his understanding of the Refinement Realm. Although the set's nine movements appeared ordinary, the execution difficulty increased with each subsequent movement as the minute movements became more and more complicated. One would need to be at the Refinement Realm standard to perfectly execute all nine movements.
Currently, most of the students in front of him were still stuck on the Trial Tower's fourth floor. They were merely laymen when it came to manipulating their physical bodies. Needless to say, they were still miles away from rivaling Refinement Realm experts.
Meanwhile, the aerobics he taught would allow them to gradually understand how they should control their bodies. As to the extent to which they could improve, that depended entirely on the individual. After all, the aerobic exercise only provided them with a clear direction to advance in.
Subsequently, after Shi Feng completed the first set of aerobics, he had the students start exercising with him.
One repetition… Three repetitions… Ten repetitions…
As the 20 students began following Shi Feng's instructions, the students who arrived in the testing hall afterward couldn't help but be shocked by the sight. This situation caused the 20 students to feel greatly embarrassed.
Then, after guiding the 20 students through the aerobic exercise for nearly three hours, Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction at the sweaty students in front of him and said, "Alright, the lesson is over. You can challenge the Trial Tower now!"