Chapter 15 Sect 3 Don't say you're my student when you go out in the future.
"The debt for the elixir is now settled. You'd better take care of yourselves."
Lin Borong led the group to the Immortal Dao Academy, and after explaining the situation to Jia Xinhong, the instructor in charge of managing the disciples, he left.
"You can call me Mr. Jia. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me."
This cultivator surnamed Jia had a good temper. He was not tall and was thin, but his face was somewhat round and his smile was very kind, making people feel close to him.
He noticed that the mortals were quite at a loss in their new environment, so he immediately led them to visit various parts of the Immortal Academy.
Having received a message from Lin Borong, Jia Xinhong had already prepared a place for the group to go.
Zhao Linglan was the only one with dual spiritual roots, so she was assigned to a separate courtyard, while the other three only had one small room.
I never expected that the rooms for the disciples of this immortal sect would all be single rooms, which is even better than the dormitories in universities!
Xu Xing was very satisfied. She had too many secrets, and if she had a roommate, she would inevitably feel restricted in many ways.
"Although the three branches have independent courses, they have a morning class every three days that they need to attend together, so the disciples of the branches often interact with each other."
“Disciple robes and disciple manuals have been prepared in your rooms,” Jia Xinhong instructed. “There is one thing you must remember: disciples in the academy must never fight in private. If a conflict occurs and results in injury or death, you may even be expelled from the Jade Cloud Sect.”
As Jia Xinhong introduced the Immortal Dao Academy, young disciples kept passing by. They seemed used to new disciples joining from time to time, and only greeted Jia Xinhong, showing little curiosity about the people from Xiahe Village.
On the contrary, the four people from Xiahe Village, seeing that the four were young and full of energy, couldn't help but feel envious.
"You don't need to attend class today. Go back to your rooms and finish reading the Disciple's Handbook. You can go to your respective courtyards to study tomorrow."
"Oh, right..." Remembering something, Jia Xinhong hesitated and asked, "Can you read?"
The Immortal Academy doesn't have any teachers who teach people to read.
Wang Lianhua quickly replied, "I recognize them all, sir, please don't worry."
Although Xiahe Village is remote, it does have teachers. Before the age of ten, they are all arranged to study and learn to write. However, after being tested for martial arts talent, many who do not have the talent will not continue their studies.
Wang Lianhua always believed that reading could enlighten people, so even after Zhao Linglan failed to demonstrate martial arts talent at the age of ten, she still insisted that she study. She and Zhao Youwei argued about this many times.
Thinking of Zhao Youwei who stayed in Xiahe Village, Wang Lianhua felt a sense of disorientation. It had only been a day since she left, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Zhao Jia goes without saying, and even Xu Xing, who was replaced with a different soul, didn't have this problem.
Not long after she arrived here, she discovered that the script here was very similar to the script in her previous era. Although there were slight differences, it was not difficult to recognize.
However, since "Xu Xing" was mentally unstable before, she did not dare to show any abnormality. In the first year, she still attended classes with Zhao Linglan. After that, she naturally began to study the medical books left by Doctor Xu Zhen on her own.
"That's good then. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't stay any longer." Jia Xinhong nodded. "Do you have any questions for me?"
Xu Xing was the first to raise his hand. "Mr. Jia, where do we usually eat? Do we have to pay for our meals?"
To be honest, she's hungry right now.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jia was speechless for a moment, wishing he could pretend he didn't know this guy whose mind was only on food.
Jia Xinhong said gently, "The academy naturally provides disciples with three meals a day free of charge, which is the dining hall on the west side. However, this is only for five years. If you cannot graduate from the Immortal Dao Academy after five years, you will have to take care of your own food and lodging."
Disciples who have not reached the fourth level of Qi Refining after five years can stay in the Immortal Academy for another five years to cultivate with the next batch of new disciples. However, they must pay for everything themselves during these five years and will have to leave if they cannot graduate successfully.
I see.
Xu Xing was secretly pleased. It seemed that these five years were equivalent to a newbie protection period. As for what would happen after five years, that was not yet within her consideration.
Holding her mother's hand, Zhao Linglan asked timidly, "Sir, may I live with my mother?"
Mother and daughter?
Jia Xinhong was somewhat surprised. There were naturally many cultivators in the sect with offspring, but it was rare to see a mother and daughter entering the sect together. He had previously thought that Wang Lianhua was a bit too old for a cultivator, but he did not expect that the two of them were actually mother and daughter.
"That's alright, I'll just revise the roster later."
Thank you, sir.
Zhao Jia pursed her lips as she looked at the mother and daughter, feeling very envious of Zhao Linglan for having her own small, independent courtyard.
After answering their questions one by one, Jia Xinhong reminded them, "The sect recruits a new batch of disciples every five years. This batch entered the Immortal Dao Academy half a year ago. You must work hard to cultivate and catch up with the progress."
After Jia Xinhong left, the four of them agreed to have dinner together at the dining hall the next day, and then they parted ways and went back to their respective rooms.
Zhao Linglan and Wang Lianhua walked westward to Huanxin Courtyard, while Xu Xing and Zhao Jia's room was in Xichen Residence, which was quite far from the main courtyard's dojo and dining hall.
"I always thought you and Linglan got along well, so I thought she would invite you to live with her..." After walking a short distance, Zhao Jia suddenly spoke up.
He was fair-skinned and already quite handsome at the age of fifteen, but Xu Xing didn't even glance at him and walked away quickly on his own.
Seeing that Xu Xing ignored him, Zhao Jia's eyes darkened, and he pressed on, "Aren't you angry?"
After pondering for a moment whether to eat at the canteen today or tomorrow, Xu Xing clenched his fist and said, "I'll just eat the fried fish I brought today!"
"..."
Zhao Jia was furious. How could there be such a person?
"Forget it, he's just a low-grade member of the Five Elemental Roots, not worth trying to win over," Zhao Jia said coldly, distancing himself from Xu Xing.
The Xichen Residence houses hundreds or even thousands of disciples. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary courtyard, not at all like it could accommodate so many people. But once you enter, it's a completely different world.
It has pavilions, gardens, rockeries, ponds, and more, but no rooms or buildings.
However, there were many teleportation arrays emitting a faint spiritual light scattered throughout the courtyard. With a disciple's waist token, one could stand on a teleportation array and teleport to the door of their room with a thought.
Xu Xing, secretly amazed, quickly teleported back to his room.
It was called a room, but it was actually a small cave dwelling, furnished with a bed, a set of tables and chairs, and a bookshelf, and nothing else.
Xu Xing touched the two sets of moon-white disciple robes on the bed. Hmm, they felt nice, much better than the clothes she was wearing now.
She rolled around on the bed, feeling completely satisfied. Cultivating immortality is truly wonderful!
Xu Xing's bundle was empty, and she quickly packed it up. Then, she ate some fried fish while flipping through the manual.
Besides a manual listing the rules of the academy, there was also a book on the table on the basic mental techniques for guiding qi into the body.
Without a teacher's explanation, she found it very difficult to comprehend. Having been a materialist for twenty-five years, Xu Xing really didn't know how to sense the spiritual energy in the air and absorb it into her body.
She turned two pages and felt dizzy and lightheaded, so she had to give up.
Xu Xing opened the life skills panel in his mind and focused his attention on the only skill that was not yet unlocked: forging.
Zuo Qiuxu had previously mentioned that the Jade Cloud Sect had places like the Alchemy Academy and the Weapon Forging Academy, but she was currently just a junior disciple in the Immortal Dao Academy who had just begun to learn cultivation, so she probably didn't have the qualifications to enter yet, and she didn't know when she could unlock all the life skills.
Xu Xing fell asleep with anticipation, thinking about how he would soon learn how to cultivate and enjoy five years of study without worrying about food or drink.
To her surprise, when Xu Xing went to the dining hall for breakfast the next day, she discovered that her wish to be able to eat her fill every day for the next five years was in vain.
It turns out that although the canteen provides three meals a day, they are all in fixed quantities. If you are not full, you have to spend spirit stones to buy food separately.
The disciples of the Immortal Academy are all quite young, many of them teenagers. The food provided by the dining hall is normally enough, but Xu Xing has an unusually large appetite.
After finishing all of breakfast, Xu Xing, still feeling hungry, slumped on the table and sighed.
She only had one hundred low-grade spirit stones given to her by Steward Lin. This amount was not enough to eat her fill every day, so she had to find a way to earn money.
"slowly?"
Zhao Linglan and Wang Lianhua quickly found her. Seeing the empty plate in front of her, Zhao Linglan, who already knew that she had a larger appetite than others, smiled and handed over her own steamed bun, "Here you go."
Xu Xing did not answer.
"I can't finish it."
Zhao Linglan placed the steamed bun directly on her plate, and Wang Lianhua also shared half a bowl of porridge.
Since that's the case, Xu Xing didn't refuse. But what about the future, since they've already given him some?
It's easy to imagine that cultivation would be mentally taxing, and her appetite would likely increase. If she's constantly hungry, how will she have the energy to upgrade her life skills?
Life skills?
"That's it!" Xu Xing's eyes lit up. "Maybe I can figure out how to make money through life skills."
However, her hemostatic powder and the like, which are only effective for mortals, are definitely not presentable. The most urgent task is to first guide qi into the body and learn how to use spiritual power before figuring out how to make things that cultivators can use.
Having made up his mind, Xu Xing regained his spirits.
After breakfast, Wang Lianhua and Xu Xing saw Zhao Jia hesitating at the entrance of Yaoguang Courtyard.
Seeing them arrive, Zhao Jia breathed a sigh of relief and entered Yaoguang Courtyard with the two of them, enduring the scrutinizing gazes of the unfamiliar disciples.
Would you like some sweet cake?
A young girl with an exquisitely styled hair bun stood at the door. She was also dressed in a moon-white disciple's robe, eating pastries while handing out a few pieces to others.
Every time someone came in, she would ask them, but no one reached out to take it; they ignored her.
"Sweet cake...it's delicious." The girl seemed very happy to see Xu Xing stop in front of her.
Zhao Jia frowned and reminded him, "Hey! Didn't you see they didn't want them? You..."
Xu Xing never refused anything edible. She took the food and finished it in a few bites, then smiled and said, "It's delicious, thank you."
Seeing that she had eaten, the girl smiled, a small dimple appearing on her cheek. "Mother must be... very happy!"
The three continued walking inside, and Zhao Jia complained with dissatisfaction, "She's obviously acting strangely, you really are..."
Xu Xing could naturally tell that although the girl looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old, her speech and behavior were very immature, and her mind was probably not quite sound. Although she didn't know why such a person was in the Immortal Dao Academy, she disliked Zhao Jia's contemptuous tone, perhaps because three years ago, "Xu Xing" was also seen as a fool by everyone.
Xu Xing looked at Zhao Jia rudely, "This isn't Xiahe Village. Do you think you're still the village chief's grandson? If you're not happy staying with me, then leave."
Zhao Jia opened his mouth, clearly not expecting the usually good-tempered Xu Xing to suddenly get angry.
Xu Xing ignored him and, together with Wang Lianhua, found an open space nearby. They glanced at the others' postures and then copied them into meditation. Zhao Jia hesitated for a moment, but finally sat down beside them. Being new to the place, he knew nothing and didn't dare separate from Xu Xing.
There were about a hundred disciples in the Yaoguang Academy's training grounds, and the five spiritual patterns on Xu Xing's waist token made these disciples quickly discover her talent, and whispers immediately began to circulate among them.
"Five spiritual roots? The Jade Cloud Sect accepts five spiritual roots? Isn't four spiritual roots the minimum requirement?"
"He got in through connections!"
"Her eyes are so strange..."
"Shh! Mr. Wen is here."
Soon, the room quieted down, and a slender woman with long hair entered the temple.
Her expression was cold, her complexion was not good, and she seemed somewhat tired. After looking around, her gaze lingered on Xu Xing and the other two. "I am Wen Lu, in charge of teaching disciples of Yao Guang Academy."
"There are three new disciples today. The rest of you should cultivate on your own. The new disciples and those who have not yet been able to draw Qi into their bodies should listen carefully and comprehend it well."
"Let me make this clear from the start: although the Immortal Academy's assessment is for a period of five years, if you cannot induce Qi into your body within one year, then you will have to leave."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xing noticed that three or five people in the dojo lowered their heads, looking embarrassed.
It seems they are the few disciples who haven't yet achieved Qi cultivation. Yesterday, Mr. Jia said that this batch of disciples has been here for half a year, and they still haven't been able to achieve Qi cultivation after half a year...
Xu Xing had a bad feeling. Would her five spiritual roots be able to successfully draw qi into her body?
"Mr. Wen, if Wen Yao fails to cultivate Qi within six months, will she also have to leave?"
The one who interrupted Wen Lu was a young man sitting in the middle of the dojo. He was not meditating like the others, but lying down with his arms crossed. He looked quite dignified, but his smile was somewhat frivolous.
Xu Xing looked over upon hearing the sound and saw that the man was surrounded by a group of people who were laughing along with him.
Following their mocking gazes, Xu Xing saw the girl who had given her the pastries at the door earlier.
She sat in the far corner, trying her best to strike the same pose as everyone else, but nothing she did worked. She looked rather clumsy, with a silly smile on her face, completely oblivious to the mocking looks from the others.
And this surname...
Sure enough, the next moment, Wen Lu said, "That's natural. Although Wen Yao is my daughter, she doesn't have any special privileges."
She made a pointed remark, "The Immortal Academy treats all its disciples equally, and this will not change because of who their father or mother is. You are no exception."
The man who made the provocative remark shrugged, looking completely indifferent.
Xu Xing guessed that either his cultivation level was good or he had some background, but his attitude towards his teachers and elders was probably not easy to get along with, so he should avoid him in the future.
Next, Wen Lu introduced the corresponding spell directions for each type of spiritual root. Her voice was clear and cold, and her pace was unhurried as she spoke in a gentle and detailed manner.
Xu Xing put aside the earlier interlude and listened with complete absorption.
"You all possess four spiritual roots. The most important thing right now is to choose one and commit to it..."
"Mr. Wen, you're mistaken. We've just had a new one with five spiritual roots!"
The man spoke again, glancing at Xu Xing with disdain.
Wen Lu said coldly, "Li Yuan, if you have any complaints about the academy recruiting disciples with five spiritual roots, you can ask the dean. Don't interrupt me in class. If you are capable, you can also apply to be transferred to Tian Shu Academy. I will not stop you."
The man named Li Yuan's face darkened. His father was a Nascent Soul cultivator and a famous weapon-refining master in the sect. Unfortunately, no one in the Jade Cloud Sect could violate the rules of the Immortal Academy. He only had four spiritual roots, and even with his father's status, he could not be allowed to enter other branches.
Li Yuan stared at Wen Lu with a sinister expression, his tongue pressed against his cheek, about to speak again, but was stopped by the people around him.
“Brother Li, she is in charge of the entire Yaoguang Academy after all, and there are still four years left…”
Li Yuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he snorted coldly, "He's just a Golden Core cultivator."
His disciples secretly groaned. They were only at the early stage of Qi Refining. Golden Core cultivators were nothing to Li Yuan, but they were no match for him.
Fortunately, Li Yuan didn't say anything more to interfere, and things went smoothly afterward.
Wen Lu didn't care about Li Yuan's provocation. So what if his father was a master weapon refiner? Such a person was destined not to go far on the path of immortality.
She continued to instruct the group, helping them to calm their minds, sense the five elements of spiritual energy distributed in the air, and choose the one they felt closest to as the direction for their future cultivation.
Nowadays, apart from those with a single spiritual root, disciples with multiple spiritual roots also choose to cultivate one spiritual root as their main focus. The reason why those with a single spiritual root have good aptitude is precisely because there is no interference from other spiritual roots, which allows them to attract spiritual energy effectively.
But more than cultivation, Xu Xing wanted to use spiritual power to learn the ways of alchemy and weapon crafting in this world. She had five spiritual roots, and each of them was useful for her life skills.
Metal is helpful for forging, wood can help her gather herbs, and fire is perfect for alchemy...
Xu Xing was in a dilemma. She wanted them all, but she also knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Perhaps she should first see which spiritual energies were more compatible with her before making a decision?
"...Clear your mind and calm your spirit, and use your heart to feel the spiritual energy around you..."
Following Wen Lu's guidance, Xu Xing took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and searched for the five elements of spiritual energy in the darkness.
Soon, five different colored light spots gradually gathered towards her. Sensing them with her mind, Xu Xing touched each one and found that she felt very close to and fond of each light spot.
Does this mean she can try to cultivate five spiritual powers at the same time?
Despite being close to the points of light for a long time, Xu Xing still didn't feel any spiritual energy flowing into his body. With his teacher present, he naturally had to ask questions when he didn't understand.
She opened her eyes and asked, "Mr. Wen, is it possible to cultivate only one type of spiritual power? Or is it possible to cultivate multiple types?"
Another one who doesn't know his place.
"sure."
Many disciples within the sect attempted dual or triple cultivation, but without exception, their progress was slower than that of other single-cultivation disciples at the same level. Ultimately, they failed to advance in a balanced manner, instead allowing their spiritual energy to become impure and redundant. Over time, this accumulation led to regression rather than progress.
If disciples with dual or triple spiritual roots are like this, what about a disciple with five spiritual roots?
"But you should know that you can't bite off more than you can chew. The experiences of many predecessors have shown that this path is difficult, so you should know when to back down."
After Wen Lu finished speaking, she could tell from the expression of the disciple named Xu Xing that he had not changed his mind.
She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Go ahead and try, but if you can't graduate in five years, don't say you were my student, Wen Lu."
A note from the author:
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