If there was anything different about the mornings in the Drifting Clouds World, Zhao Chun thought it was probably that the air was a little fresher. She pushed open the ornate window. Her three senior sisters had already received their assignments and gone out.
Yesterday happened to be the last day of the month, so they could rest for a day. Usually, they had to leave before dawn and only returned at sunset. With so much of their time occupied each day, their cultivation speed naturally slowed down.
The menial laborers worked diligently, yet they only earned fifteen Essence Stones a month. Their lives were tight, so they had no choice but to keep their heads down and work, sinking deeper day after day. Zhao Chun closed her eyes to focus her mind, then let out a long sigh.
"Why are you sighing as soon as you wake up?"
Zhou Pianran pushed open her door and came out, inviting, "Let's go get breakfast first. There's a class after we eat." The Probationary Disciples had two types of classes, Major Classes and Minor Classes.
Minor Classes were held twice a month and taught by disciples who had already been formally admitted. Major Classes were held once every ten days and taught by Foundation Establishment Stage Elders.
It was currently the first of the month, so there was a Minor Class that started at Chen shi and lasted until the end of Wei shi, with no breaks in between. The class was held in the Study Hall behind the Disciple Residence. The disciples from the Flying Gourd Minor World were assigned to the Thirty-ninth Courtyard.
Each courtyard had a thousand people, and the seating was arranged by a combination of cultivation base and talent. At the very front were naturally the senior brothers and sisters in the courtyard who were already at the Third Level of Qi Refinement and about to enter the Middle Stage.
After them were those at the Second Level and First Level of Qi Refinement, and at the very back were newcomers like them who had not yet succeeded in Qi Guiding. When cultivation bases were the same, those with better talent were seated further ahead.
Zhao Chun's seat was behind the First Level of Qi Refinement disciples, which was ahead of most of the newcomers. When she arrived, quite a few people were already there. She quickly found her seat, a spot in the middle of a row of old desks.
There were people seated on her left and right, all unfamiliar faces. Peng Zheng was in the row behind her. The other two disciples with Three-Element Spirit Roots from the Flying Gourd Minor World were seated closer, but unfortunately, Zhao Chun didn't know them and couldn't strike up a conversation.
Being alone always had its advantages. She took out the "Sympathetic Resonance True Perception Dharma Scripture" from her cloth bag, spread it open on the desk, and silently recited it. Inside the Great Hall where a thousand people were gathered, the front half was completely silent.
The newcomers in the back half didn't dare to speak loudly, only whispering amongst themselves to get acquainted. The people on Zhao Chun's left and right were both meditating with their eyes closed, but the two in front of her were talkative.
Their voices, one high and one low, sounded like a senior brother who had started earlier was answering questions.
"May I ask Senior Brother, how are these classes generally conducted?"
"Our courtyard's classes are always taught by the head disciple of the late Qi Refinement stage, Senior Brother Xun Xian. He is a Water Attribute cultivator with a Three-Element Spirit Root, so his lectures on Water Attribute spells are more detailed. Senior Brother Xun has ten years of teaching experience, and when it comes to the fundamentals of cultivation, few in the Outer Sect can surpass him."
"This Senior Brother Xun, what is he like as a person?"
"Senior Brother Xun has a magnanimous character and is not very strict. He only clarifies doubts and imparts knowledge; he is not responsible for our specific cultivation. Whether you are diligent or lazy has nothing to do with him."
In that case, he was a bit like some of the professors from Zhao Chun's university days. The teacher just taught, and whether the students learned was entirely up to their own self-discipline. The excellent became more excellent, the poor became poorer, and this polarization began right in the classroom.
When Zhao Chun entered, she had seen that among the cultivators at the Third Level of Qi Refinement in the front, there were children as young as her, as well as youths of seventeen or eighteen. It was the combination of innate talent and diligent effort that created such a wondrous scene.
She recited the Meridian and Acupoint Chart two more times before Xun Xian walked in with his hands behind his back. He sat cross-legged on the platform and said, "I am Xun Xian, the head disciple of the Outer Sect, responsible for teaching matters in the Thirty-ninth Courtyard."
By seniority, he was a senior brother, but the disciples below would not actually address him as such. They all called him "Teacher Xun" to show respect. Xun Xian was truly worthy of being in the Late Stage of Qi Refinement.
He spoke about foundational knowledge like Qi Guiding and Meridian Cleansing and Acupoint Rushing with ease and in great detail. Zhao Chun was afraid of missing anything and only dared to quickly jot down some notes when he paused to drink tea.
As she listened and wrote, some things not mentioned in the Dharma Scripture began to take shape in her mind. Apart from attributes, Spirit Roots also had 'potential'. For some, the potential was evenly distributed among each element, but for others, it would favor a certain attribute, or perhaps two.
Zhao Chun herself had a Metal-Fire-Wood root that favored metal and fire. In this regard, she could choose one as her main cultivation attribute. For example, Xun Xian, with his Wood-Water-Earth Three-Element Spirit Root that favored a single water attribute, had focused on cultivating the Water Attribute and ultimately achieved success.
Therefore, a spiritual root with a favored potential was superior to one with evenly distributed attributes. Zhao Chun wrote down the two words "metal" and "fire" on the paper; she would probably choose one of them to cultivate. It wasn't that there were no cultivators with multiple attributes, but cultivating them was simply too troublesome.
She first needed to shed her status as a Probationary Disciple before making other considerations. The topic of Qi Guiding was only at the beginning of Xun Xian's lecture. The latter part was mostly knowledge about Meridians and Acupoints.
Zhao Chun picked out the important parts to listen to, her focus still on her own needs. After the theoretical knowledge was covered, it was time for questions. The newcomers were all still digesting the large volume of information from the lecture.
Those who truly had questions were mostly disciples at the second and third levels of Qi Refinement. Zhao Chun had understood most of it and was just waiting to go back to her room to practice. She looked up towards the back.
Most of the newly enrolled disciples had pained expressions, wishing they could bury their heads in their books. Some were muttering to themselves, some were lost in thought, and there were even a few slumped over their desks, sleeping soundly.
The others were of no concern to her, but among them was an acquaintance, Xie Baoguang, propping his head up with his hand, his eyes already half-closed. He was also someone with no desires, Zhao Chun shook her head. The bell chimed three times, signaling the end of this half-month's Minor Class.
Xun Xian paid no mind to whether any disciples still needed their questions answered. He stood up straight and said, "That's all for today. If you still have questions, I will answer them in the next class!"
The disciples watched him leave, only daring to grumble in low voices, "The next class will have its own matters. How could you possibly remember today's questions?" Zhao Chun, however, felt elated.
Xun Xian's lecture was full of substance and was perfectly useful for a cultivator like her who had just entered. The only drawback was the lack of a break during the class. She and Zhou Pianran were both famished and quickly packed their things to head to the dining hall.
After eating and returning to their room, it was only Shen shi. Zhao Chun closed the door, preparing to begin Qi Guiding. According to the book and what Xun Xian had said, she first had to activate her Spiritual Root, sense the Spiritual Qi in the surroundings, and then guide it slowly into her Dantian.
Zhao Chun closed her eyes and sat cross-legged. After losing her Sense of Sight, her other senses became exceptionally sharp. She could feel the warmth from her palms placed on her knees and the faint, slightly decaying smell of the room's old wood.
She couldn't see anything, yet it was as if she could see everything. Within the darkness before her, three colors appeared. Shadows of gold and red intertwined and bit at each other, while a trembling, verdant green shadow hid below.
Zhao Chun thought to herself that this must mean she had successfully activated her Spiritual Root. She then looked around and saw a greyish-white mist floating in the darkness, flowing like water. She wanted to touch it, but a glowing hand suddenly appeared before her.
The hand was not large, and it was clear its owner was a child. It was her own hand! Her vision floated upward, moving from her hand to her body.
A pure white fluorescence outlined her body's contour in the darkness. The three beams of shadow shot into her lower abdomen, but the mist flowed around her, completely avoiding her. Humans are the Spirit of all things.
At birth, they still possess a trace of Innate Spiritual Qi. But as they grow, the Spiritual Qi dissipates, and the Impurity of the world seeps into their flesh, blocking their Meridians, Acupoints, and even their skin. Humans then lose their Spirit and fall to become a Mortal Body.
The Way of the Cultivator is a path that begins from a Mortal Body, to once again become a Spirit Body. The first step of the "Sympathetic Resonance True Perception Dharma Scripture," Body Nurturing, is to clear the skin and flesh to build a bridge for Spiritual Qi to enter.
Zhao Chun tried to draw the Spiritual Qi closer to her, but she failed every time. The mist circled her body, not entering in the slightest. Looking closely, she could see that there were still faint Black Spots on her body, blending into the black background like tiny holes.
It seemed there was a problem with the Body Nurturing step; it hadn't reached the standard for Qi Guiding. Now that she knew where the problem was, the remaining task was simple. Zhao Chun stopped Sensing Qi, took three deep breaths, and switched to silently reciting the incantation to continue nurturing her body.
Days without classes were much more leisurely. Zhao Chun spent most of her time in her room cultivating. Zhou Pianran, however, was someone who couldn't sit still.
With her gentle and sociable nature, she had made some friends in the Daylily Garden. When they were together, she liked to tell Zhao Chun the new things she had heard, so that Zhao Chun wouldn't be completely cut off from the outside world.
For example, Zheng Chenqing, who had overjoyed Elder Lin so much, was discovered to be exceptionally suited for cultivating a Secret Cultivation Method of the Sect after meeting the Sect Master. He was accepted as a Personal Disciple, soaring to the heavens in a single step.
Then there was Elder Qiu, whom they had seen on their first day in the Drifting Clouds World. Her name was Jianying. When she was adopted by the Sect Master, she was still in swaddling clothes.
With the aptitude of a Three-Element Spirit Root, she broke through to the Core Formation Stage at the age of twenty-five, becoming famous throughout the Drifting Clouds World. What Zhao Chun heard most about were the trivial disputes between the various factions among the True Spirit Sect disciples. The Drifting Clouds World was full of sects.
Apart from the sects, there were also Family Clan systems supported by Great Cultivators. They had close ties with the sects; the family elders served as sect elders, and the younger generation became Sect Disciples. Disciples with backing were naturally different from ordinary people.
The Outer Sect of the True Spirit Sect was subtly divided into three types of disciples: those from small worlds, those from the Drifting Clouds World, and those from Cultivation Families. Their status increased in that order. The Thirty-ninth Courtyard was entirely composed of disciples from small worlds, so the atmosphere was more peaceful.
Some courtyards had all three types of disciples coexisting, which often led to conflicts. Zhao Chun didn't want to get involved. She only focused on her cultivation, hoping to become an Official Disciple as soon as possible.
She also advised Zhou Pianran to stay away from disputes. They had no one behind them and couldn't afford to offend anyone.
"I understand. I only inquire about these things occasionally, and I'm careful not to draw attention," Zhou Pianran had her own wits about her and knew the dangers involved.
She held a cup of hot tea in both hands and asked, "How are things on your end? I've noticed you've become more reclusive lately, always staying in your room and not coming out." She had been practicing the Body Nurturing incantation for seven days, and the black spots on her body had completely disappeared.
Zhao Chun felt it was about time. She said, "Success or failure will be decided tonight. I am fully confident!"
"Then I'll wait for your good news! Senior Sister Lian even said that after you become an Official Disciple, you should help them get some easier tasks."
"The senior sisters have treated me with sincerity, so I will naturally not let them down."
During her days of ascetic cultivation, the senior sisters had taken great care of her, handling all her needs for food, clothing, and lodging. Although there was an element of betting on her future, their kindness towards her was real. That night, Zhao Chun sat cross-legged on a cattail hassock.
Cui Lan'e had found it for her in the storeroom. A canopied bed was inconvenient for cultivation, so cultivators often used hassocks instead. A body as bright as white jade sat in the darkness.
The surrounding mist was no longer as repulsed as before. Instead, it circled her skin, touching it tentatively. Zhao Chun knew the opportunity had arrived.
She immediately activated her Spiritual Root. The three-colored long shadows condensed into a Spiritual Vortex, forcefully pulling the Spiritual Qi towards her body. At first, the Spiritual Qi was startled and scurried about in chaos, unwilling to obey.
After sensing the goodwill Zhao Chun released, it hesitated before moving forward. Finally, under the continuous pull of the Spiritual Vortex, it chose to probe inside! Zhao Chun felt her body become more vibrant, and it began to breathe on its own!
Once there was one, a second followed. The Spiritual Qi gradually enveloped her, passing through the Spiritual Vortex towards her Dantian. It no longer repulsed her, but became intimate.
At this point, Qi Guiding was completely finished. Zhao Chun had officially stepped onto the Path of Cultivation, becoming a First Level of Qi Refinement cultivator!
(End of Chapter)