After reaching the maximum level, my "soft rice system" finally arrived.

But it's okay, as the old saying goes, everyone has their own expertise.

Although Ciel knew nothing about the Ironmoon Order, there were always people who did.

"The hope is that while developing its side businesses, the Shadow Council hasn't neglected its core business."

……

As the ruler of the dark world of the Western Continent, the Shadow Council is considered by many council members to be one of the three major powers of the Western Continent, on par with the Dawn Church and the Black Tower. It has always maintained an air of mystery and unpredictability.

Charles had visited the Shadow Council's stronghold in the capital before. The stronghold was located in a tavern, with an unusually hidden entrance and multiple layers of verification.

Inside, a small sub-plane was set up using an expensive spatial stabilization array for trading. Ordinary extraordinary individuals needed to be introduced by acquaintances to gain access.

The items traded were of extremely high value, ranging from intelligence on legendary figures to firsthand information on noble struggles within a kingdom, and even legendary weapons had appeared as auction items at the Shadow Council's auctions.

It can be said that as long as you pay a sufficient price, there is almost nothing you cannot obtain from the Shadow Council.

and so--

What is this building in front of me, which is more than ten stories high and decorated in a grand and magnificent style?

Charles rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had remembered the address wrong.

A bright gold plaque hangs high above the main entrance of the building. The upper left corner displays the four artistically rendered characters "Shadow Group," while the lower right corner displays the smaller characters "Si Er Xue Education and Tutoring Institution."

Below the plaque is a large red banner that reads: "Don't let your child lose at the starting line."

Charles entered the hall.

"Mom, I don't want to learn arcane magic."

"Good boy, how will you pass the entrance exam and get into a good introductory academy if you don't learn arcane arts?"

"How can you get into the Empire's top intermediate extraordinary academy if you don't enter a good enlightenment academy? How can you stand out in the higher academy's assessment if you don't attend a key middle school?"

"If you don't get into one of the eight best advanced extraordinary academies in the Western Continent, how will you enter the Black Tower and become a respectable wizard after graduation?"

To Charles's right, a noble mother and son were struggling, the mother looking at her child with a meaningful expression.

"If you don't enter the Black Tower to become a wizard, you can only be like your uncles and elders, becoming the most ordinary warriors or knights, covered in dust every day and not earning much money."

To Charles's left, a group of employees, dressed in identical uniforms, were neatly arranged in two rows.

A superhuman who appeared to be in management was addressing the two rows of employees: "According to intelligence from headquarters, the Golden Deer Chamber of Commerce seems to be preparing to launch a superhuman education tutoring class, which seems to be called something like New West."

"Everyone, do you think we can tolerate those unscrupulous merchants from the Golden Deer Chamber of Commerce stealing our Shadow Council's share?"

The two rows of employees answered loudly and clearly: "No!"

"What's our slogan?"

"Down with the Golden Deer Merchant Guild! The world belongs to the shadows!"

"Good, very energetic! Starting today, in order to cope with the impact of the Golden Deer Chamber of Commerce, our work hours will be one hour earlier and our get off work hours will be one hour later. The weekend will be changed from a two-day weekend to a one-day weekend."

"Our group's overtime policy changes are based on the principle of voluntariness and are absolutely not mandatory. If you have any objections to this adjustment, please raise them now."

The manager waited a few seconds and, seeing that no one spoke, nodded with satisfaction: "Very good. It's clear that everyone has a strong sense of collective honor and a willingness to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good."

"Shadow Corporation doesn't belong to you or me, it belongs to all of us, and we need to cherish it together like we would our own home."

"When you are working hard, don't ask what the company can do for you, but ask what you can bring to the company."

"Many people have betrayed the group in the past, and I gave each of them 10,000 gold coins."

"I gave 10,000 gold coins to everyone who betrayed the group, so those who remain loyal will amount to millions—"

"Understand the applause!"

clap clap-

Applause filled the air.

This sales pitch sounds so familiar...

As Charles listened to the familiar words, he fell into deep thought.

Soon, he unearthed memories from several years ago from the depths of his mind.

At that time, it seemed to be a symposium of legends and high-ranking officials from various factions in the Western Continent when the leader of the Shadow Council—the legendary "Queen of the Night"—spoke up with a complaint.

She said that the intelligence and information within the Shadow Council were of such high value that external forces often sent spies in, or tried to lure internal employees to leave with important intelligence, which greatly troubled her, the leader.

So, I casually offered a few suggestions, introducing concepts like "wolf culture," "suffering a loss is a blessing," "how much money you've wasted determines how magnanimous you are," and "good fortune."

Unexpectedly, what was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener, and a few years later, it was actually used by the Queen of Shadows.

And judging from the results, it seems to be quite good.

I never imagined that I was the master of self-help.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Waters Are Too Deep

"Young man, judging from your age, you should still be preparing for the entrance exam of the Advanced Extraordinary Academy... Would you like to take an academic ability test first?"

As soon as Charles entered the hall, he was warmly greeted by people.

He looked at Charles's face and began to introduce the tutoring business to Charles.

"Our Shadow Group achieved great success in the entrance examination of the Imperial Advanced Academy of Extraordinary Talents. More than 260 people were successfully admitted, and eight of them were favored by the academy's mentors and received scholarships for the Elite Talent Program, a collaboration between nobles and the academy. Their professionalism is trustworthy."

"Also, classmate, I can tell you some inside information about our group."

The person suddenly lowered their voice.

"You should know His Majesty Charles, the deputy tower master of the Black Tower, right? Almost all the textbooks for the magic academy were written by His Majesty Charles."

"And not long ago, during the entrance examination for the Extraordinary Academy, His Highness Charles suddenly appeared and gave a lecture to the candidates present."

"However, the materials from that lecture are extremely scarce; currently, we are the only tutoring institution on the market that has a copy."

"However, if you purchase our elite class course, you will have the right to use our exclusive materials, which are precious materials that many high-ranking wizards are eager to obtain. You won't find this opportunity again."

The other person was clearly a cultured person who had read the Black Tower books, and even quoted one of its popular phrases.

Charles asked with interest, "How much does your elite class cost?"

"Seventy-two lessons a year, the total cost is six hundred and sixty-six Imperial Gold Coins."

The other party glanced at Xia Er and added, "However, we can sign a contract that if you fail the assessment, you can get a 70% refund of your tuition."

I never imagined my course would be so valuable.

If I had known it was this profitable, I would have just started selling courses myself.

Charles thought to himself that the education and training industry was indeed extremely profitable, and then said, "Besides tutoring classes, your Shadow Council must have other legitimate businesses, right?"

The employee's previous professional smile vanished: "May I ask where the customer learned about this..."

Snapped--

The employee reached out and caught a metal plaque that Charles threw to him.

"A Steel-class adventurer!"

The employee couldn't help but gasp softly.

"Please wait inside for a moment, I'll go ask my supervisor."

He respectfully led Charles into a hidden door.

Then, he quickly went to the staff passage and used the communication crystal to report the situation to the Shadow Council's supervisor in the capital.

On the other side, the supervisor frowned after listening to his subordinate's report.

Steel-grade adventurer, the highest level in the adventurer guild rating system.

Almost every Steel-rank adventurer can be considered a living legend, having written their own illustrious name as an adventurer.

Of course, that alone would have been fine.

The Shadow Council, as a behemoth in the Shadow World of the Western Continent, had received guests of this caliber before, so it shouldn't have made him so cautious.

However, the problem is—

As far as he knew, at this moment, besides the few familiar faces who were always stationed in the capital, there was only one other Steel-level adventurer in Aran's capital—

Moreover, that person had just made an appearance at the Imperial Capital Advanced Extraordinary Academy not long ago.

Thinking of this, sweat instantly poured down the manager's plump face.

"Why is he here? Does he know we secretly recorded his demonstration on the light screen to sell as educational materials, so he's here to collect patent fees?"

“But we’re not the only tutoring agency doing this. Logically speaking, given his status, he shouldn’t be the one specifically coming to our door…”

"Could it be——"

The Shadow Council's leader's brain was working at full speed.

Then, he suddenly recalled some details from the depths of his memory that he had forgotten.

It was a high-level meeting within the Shadow Council, where they were struggling with the constant stream of intelligence spies and employee defections.

However, at that meeting, their leader, the Queen of the Night, gave a speech full of success stories that enlightened the high-ranking members.

In just a few years, the Shadow Council was transformed into an unbreakable business empire with exceptionally high employee loyalty and a strong sense of belonging.