He acted as if he was doing them a favor, which he was. So they didn't have any leverage on him and couldn't force him to be accommodating towards things he didn't like.
He wasn't just doing it because he wanted his students to be well behaved. He was also doing it so that they will appreciate what he is doing for them.
His training might be free, but they must understand that it is valuable and they can lose it if they don't cherish it. That way he will be able to earn more karma from them.
The class was always 2 hours, nothing more and nothing less. After that, he would perform his own exercise and do what he usually does in his day.
His days were spent this way. They were full, uneventful, and peaceful. No one disturbed him when he was distributing bread or made a ruckus in his class.
There was a gang war between gangs vying for control over Black Band's territory, but it didn't concern him. These gangs stayed as far away from him as possible. None of them were suicidal enough to offend the crazy noble.
He too didn't go looking for trouble with the gangs. He was waiting for a gang to be established before he went over to raid them.
There was some news that a large gang in the city offended some crazy woman. They fought with the crazy woman, which caused a lot of deaths in the gang.
It was a rumor that became popular just as the news of his wiping out the Black Band gang became a popular rumor in the other parts of the city. Even if the rumor was true, it had nothing to do with Arthur, so he didn't care about it.
But his carefree days came to an end because trouble came to find him. This time, the trouble didn't come from gangs.
No one messed with him when he was distributing bread. Instead, trouble came into his dojo and attended his class.
He was teaching everyone that morning, unaware of the trouble that was coming.
He pointed at the blackboard and said, "The water breathing technique is mellow. That is the key point. You don't need to do too much to start it. As long as you hold your breath and move your chest up and down in the timing cycle of 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 3, you will be able to get started."
"Now follow along with me. Hold your breath. Then pretend as if you're exhaling. Remember that you're only pretending. You don't actually exhale."
"You keep your breath locked in your chest and pretend to exhale according to that timing cycle. Follow along."
He lectured and demonstrated in equal proportions. After he was done, he asked them to practice it and ask any question they had.
This whole process took two hours. When they were done with the lecture, he said, "Remember to practice this every chance you get. The faster you can manage it, the faster you can start cultivating. Once you notice the cool feeling in your body, you can start exercising."
"Now what do you have to say for yourself?"
Every student stood up and bowed as they said, "Thank you, teacher."
The sound of three hundred people giving thanks was very loud. The wave of karma from them was also very high. The two of them satisfied him, so he nodded and said, "Good. You may leave."
The children began trickling out one by one while Arthur packed up his blackboard and went to set it aside. When he returned to close his gate, the yard was already half empty.
As he stood to watch, he realized that two people weren't moving.
At first, he thought nothing of it. But he also noticed that they looked to be older than 16 years old. That meant they were above the age range he set for his students.
They looked to be at least 20 years old. He estimates that their age could be up to 25 years old, but no greater than that. So they were grown men, not children.
What's more, one of the men was looking fiercely at him. He had a look that said that he was looking for a fight or a beating or both.
The other one was looking around and inspecting everywhere. The two of them stood out not only because of their age but also their fancy clothes. So Arthur came to the conclusion that they didn't come for his free class.
He frowned and considered what to do. But he didn't do anything yet. He waited for his students to leave before making any moves.
It seemed they too were waiting for everyone to leave before they executed their mission. When the last kid left, the one that was looking around and inspecting his surroundings was the first one to speak.
He asked, "How old are you, boy? Aren't you a little young to be a teacher?"
He replied, "My age is none of your business. What do you want?"
As he spoke, he unsheathed his sword from his waist, indicating his willingness to fight.
But the men were not scared. The fierce man sneered and asked, "Can you even use that thing? Put it away before you poke yourself with it?"
He didn't put it away. Instead he stepped towards the fierce man and said, "I guess we will find out soon."
The fierce man didn't back down either. He also stepped forward and flexed his muscles as he said, "There's two of us and one of you."
He said, "I'll take my chances."
The three of them were in a stalemate. Actually, it was the four of them. Ruff was creeping towards the fierce man from behind.
One boy with wild red hair, one big muscular man, one lean man, and one sneaky dog faced each other off. Arthur was waiting for Ruff to make the first move while the other two were hoping to intimidate him.
When they saw that he wasn't willing to back down, the lead man interrupted. "We are not here to fight you. At least not yet. That will depend on how this meeting goes."
He asked again, "Then what do you want? This is the last time I will ask."
The fierce man was the one to reply. He said, "You can't teach the breathing technique for free."