Chapter 1 The Teaching Begins

Over the next few days, Gu Fei, true to his word, taught his students how to deal with various low-level monsters.

These methods couldn't really be considered kung fu; they were more like patterns and strategies developed from observing the attack habits of the monsters. Each method was extremely effective against its specific monster, but if you tried to apply the same thinking to a different enemy, you were sure to fail miserably.

Of course, if you were quick-witted and understood how to apply the principles behind these methods, that would be another matter entirely. But that was something only an expert with a solid foundation in kung fu could do. Gu Fei's students, even the smartest ones, could only manage to adjust a technique that was originally "step left, strike right" to "step right, strike left" based on the situation. That was their limit. This small change might be effective against the rigidly programmed computer opponents, but it was far from enough for real combat against other players.

Even this level of progress was enough to surprise Gu Fei. He had never seen students so eager to learn. If their first day of study had been somewhat forced and reluctant, after tasting the benefits of Gu Fei's techniques, the students had begun to take the initiative. Many of them were digging through data, researching the monsters they needed to fight, and then coming to Gu Fei to ask how to deal with them.

Gu Fei had leveled up primarily by completing wanted quests, with monster hunting as a side activity. He hadn't actually hunted that many types of monsters. The techniques he taught his students were mostly ones he had encountered on his own leveling journey, which was why he had developed such refined methods. Now, many of the monsters the students were asking about were ones Gu Fei had never even heard of. How was he supposed to answer?

The first time he admitted that he wasn't sure, the student was disappointed. Gu Fei didn't think much of it, but later he happened to overhear the students discussing it in private, concluding that their teacher's kung fu was nothing special.

This annoyed Gu Fei. He wasn't sure simply because he wasn't familiar with those particular monsters, but the students had misinterpreted it as their teacher's kung fu being inadequate! That was ridiculous. How could there be any aspect of fighting that kung fu couldn't handle?

Gu Fei was obsessed with kung fu! As soon as the students logged off that day, Gu Fei contacted Brother You to get detailed information about the four monsters the students had asked about, including their stats and locations. He immediately headed to the leveling area to study them in real combat.

The next day, after teaching the day's combat techniques, Gu Fei solemnly taught the four students who had asked the questions the methods he had just developed for dealing with those four monsters. He made it very clear that the key to accomplishing such things was simply whether or not you were willing to put in the effort.

The results were mixed.

On the bright side, the four students were immediately impressed, believing that kung fu was indeed omnipotent.

On the downside, six more students asked about techniques for dealing with six more monsters that day.

Gu Fei felt like he had fallen into a trap, and one that he had set for himself, all because of his obsession with kung fu.

Despite this, Gu Fei's obsession didn't lessen. He put off answering about the six new monsters until the next day. After the students logged off, Gu Fei again asked Brother You for information and headed to the leveling area to do his research. It felt like he was preparing a lesson...

On the third day, after teaching the six new techniques, Gu Fei guessed that there would be new questions. Sure enough, six students asked about six more monsters. And they didn't say much, as if they knew that Gu Fei would definitely give them the answers the next day, handing over their questions and disappearing.

"Damn it..." Gu Fei felt like he was receiving quests. These students were like NPCs giving him missions, six a day, like a daily routine.

"Busy?" Gu Fei turned and called Brother You again.

"Heh, here it comes! I was waiting for it. What are they asking about today?" Brother You didn't mind at all. He loved it when people asked him questions. In fact, what Gu Fei was doing now was Brother You's hobby.

"Uh, today it's..." Gu Fei sent the names of the six monsters.

"Let me check!" Brother You opened his omnipotent encyclopedia and sent messages to Gu Fei while he searched. "What are you busy with? Four monsters the day before yesterday, six yesterday, six more today. I've been keeping track of them all. Are you doing some kind of research?" Brother You not only liked people asking him questions, but he also loved asking other people questions. He had actually waited until the third day to ask, which was pretty considerate of him.

"Want to know? Come with me!" Gu Fei replied.

"Okay, okay!" Of course, Brother You wasn't bothered.

Gu Fei certainly wasn't either. Instead of running to the library to look up information, he could carry the library with him. If he had the option, he would definitely choose the latter.

The two of them arranged to meet, and Brother You had already found all the information Gu Fei needed while on his way. Gu Fei needed to know the monster's level, attack methods, and locations.

"Here you go." Brother You was very meticulous. He had specifically listed the six monsters Gu Fei had asked about on a piece of paper, and he handed it to Gu Fei as soon as he saw him at the city gate.

"Thanks." Gu Fei said, taking the paper and looking at it.

"If you go out here, the Wild Wanderers are the closest." Brother You pointed to the third monster on the paper.

"Okay." Gu Fei nodded.

"So, tell me, why are you asking about the data for so many monsters every day?" Brother You asked as he led the way.

"I'm researching how to fight these monsters," Gu Fei said.

"Why research so many?" Brother You was puzzled. Some of the monsters Gu Fei was asking about were very low level, completely unsuitable for someone who was already over level 40.

Gu Fei sighed and told him about how a group of his students had come to White Stone City to seek him out.

Although Brother You had known that Gu Fei was a teacher, it still sounded strange to hear about a teacher leading his students in playing an online game. But Brother You was more interested in what Gu Fei had said about his highly efficient methods for dealing with these monsters.

"How efficient?" Brother You asked.

"Have you forgotten that I was once second on the efficiency榜 (bǎng, list)?" Gu Fei felt that specific data wasn't necessary; that alone would be enough to convince Brother You.

"Oh yeah! I remember that the person who was first on the efficiency list back then was Hong Chen Yixiao. It's amazing that a priest was ranked first on the leveling efficiency list. Speaking of which, isn't that guy always saying he wants to make things difficult for you? He's been causing us trouble for a while, but we haven't seen any activity from him lately! Also! That guy is obviously from the game company. I complained about it, and they said they would investigate, but they haven't responded. It's so strange! Hey! Do you think they found out and banned him? That's why we haven't seen any activity from him for so long? Oh yeah! Don't you have him as a friend? Has he been online lately?" Brother You asked, looking at Gu Fei, but saw that Gu Fei was staring at him speechlessly, even stopping in his tracks. Brother You was truly Brother You, always thinking about so many things!

"Ha, I got off topic. What were we talking about again?" Brother You said self-deprecatingly with embarrassment.

"The monster-fighting methods I've developed are definitely efficient. You can learn them and try them out for yourself later. Hong Chen Yixiao is from the game company. He admitted it himself when I first met him, and I think it's probably true. Uh, also, that guy has been online every day, but he doesn't reply to any of my messages," Gu Fei replied in one breath, answering everything Brother You had just mentioned.

"Heh heh..." Brother You chuckled dryly, feeling a little embarrassed to continue the conversation.

The place where the Wild Wanderers gathered was indeed not far from the main city. After chatting for a few words, the two saw the figures of these monsters on the map.

"This monster is level 25. You have to be gentle," Brother You reminded Gu Fei.

Gu Fei smiled and nodded. When he took his hand out of his pocket, he was holding a dagger.

"Oh, you're going to use a dagger?"

"The kid who asked how to fight this monster is a Thief, so of course I have to study how to fight it with a dagger," Gu Fei said.

"Oh, oh..." Brother You nodded quickly, then asked with a selfish motive, "So which monster was the Knight asking about?"

Gu Fei saw through his thoughts, smiled, and said, "Brother You, if you want to learn how to fight a certain monster, just say so. I'm free these days anyway, I'll help you research it together."

"I just want to try out your efficient monster-fighting methods," Brother You said with a bashful smile.

"You'll see it." Gu Fei pointed to the fourth monster on the paper. "This kid is a Knight."

"I'm looking forward to it," Brother You said.

They stopped wasting time chatting. Gu Fei rolled up his sleeves, grabbed his dagger, and immediately went into melee combat with the monster. Brother You watched in stunned silence, thinking how lucky he was to have known that Thousand Miles was a super invincible melee mage. If he had suddenly seen a mage fighting monsters with a dagger, his heart would have stopped.

Brother You was an adult after all, and his understanding was better than the children's. Moreover, he had personally witnessed the entire research process, so he understood Gu Fei's thinking: figure out all the monster's attack and defense methods, and then create a set of predictable attack routines.

The most exciting part was Gu Fei's probing phase, with his endless stream of attack methods dazzling Brother You. He estimated that after watching Gu Fei's performance, he would never be attracted to any of the fancy fight scenes in action movies again.

On the other hand, the content when developing the routines later was relatively boring, just repeated experiments. If something went wrong, he would start all over again. This process continued until Brother You was a little tired of it, but Gu Fei was still trying tirelessly. The methods he had taught his students before were all unconsciously developed through repeated monster fighting during his own leveling process. Now, doing specialized research like a school assignment was naturally so tedious.

Until finally, Brother You saw that he had succeeded. After a set of attacks, not only did the monster not touch Gu Fei at all, but the attack routines of both sides had become a cycle. As long as these actions were carried out step by step, the monster's defeat was inevitable.

"Too...too amazing!" Brother You opened his mouth wide. What Gu Fei had developed was even more terrifying than he had imagined. This wasn't just about efficiency. More importantly, if you could fully master Gu Fei's method, it was safe and didn't cost you anything. This method was really economical and practical.

Gu Fei continued to try it on five more monsters and only stopped after confirming that there were no problems. He nodded to Brother You and said, "Alright, let's go to the next one!"

"How did you do it?" Brother You admired Gu Fei to death.

"So, kung fu is just one word: Action!" Gu Fei clenched his fist.

"Later, I'll pick out some of the monsters I often fight while leveling up, and you can help me research them," Brother You said.

"No problem!" Gu Fei nodded.

"Should we ask Jian Gui and the others if they want to learn a few tricks too?" Brother You asked.

"Heh heh, them... They don't need to. The leveling methods they've figured out are already very suitable for them, especially since they can fully exploit their own characteristics and the advantages of their equipment. If they want to learn a more efficient method, there is one, but..."

"But what?"

"It's too difficult and requires a foundation," Gu Fei said.

"How difficult?"

"Like me, fighting monsters that are 20 levels higher... Although it's possible to develop similar routines, it requires a very high reaction speed. Also, it requires absolute agility. I don't think you can all prioritize agility for any class like I do, right?" Gu Fei said.

"Impossible..." Brother You wiped his sweat.

"So, it's not necessary for them," Gu Fei said.

"What about me?" Brother You asked.

"You... Brother You, you know your own problems best!" Gu Fei said.

Brother You was stunned, then very depressed. Gu Fei was subtly telling him: You and them are not on the same level, and your combat skills really need me to give you a lesson.

Next, Brother You followed Gu Fei to visit several more monsters, witnessing Gu Fei's performance with various weapons. Even the priest's healing staff was wielded by him with great power. But afterwards, he awkwardly explained to Brother You: "My methods are all based on close combat, and the priest class is really awkward. Mages can also cast spells appropriately in close combat, but priests have almost no attack skills, and their damage output is very limited. Most people can't add strength either. Alas, even if you learn this set of methods, you can't improve efficiency."

"Don't say that," Brother You quickly said. "You can't compare the efficiency of priests to warriors. You have to compare it horizontally. If you replace any priest with your priest method and ask them to level up solo, your method will definitely be more efficient. The priest class can only level up solo for a short period at the beginning, and then they have to rely on a team. Even if they rely on quests to level up, they still have to ask for help when they encounter combat. With your plan, they can at least become a priest who doesn't need to ask for help."

"Yeah, priests are indeed more efficient with a team. But speaking of which, how did a guy that annoying like Gongzi find a leveling team to guarantee such a high level?" Gu Fei occasionally gossiped.

"Now, a standard ten-person leveling team needs two priests to ensure absolute safety, but Gongzi can heal solo throughout the entire process without any mistakes. With one less priest, there's one more DPS. Everyone wants a priest of this level, so who cares if they're annoying? Experience is more important!" Brother You said.

"Alas, the world is going downhill!" Gu Fei sighed. Everything is about experience, which is so similar to how everything in reality is about money. No matter how virtual the online game is, people's core values are still the same.

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Today it's four thousand... I'm so sad I don't want to say anything.