Chapter 400: First Class

Yi Chen and the rest let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the Elder didn’t make things difficult for them.

Quickly scurrying to the nearest available spots, which were all in the first few rows, they took their seats.

Meanwhile, the Elder, who had arrived on top of the podium by now, finally stopped in his tracks, turning to face all the disciples the very next moment.

This sudden movement caused the few whispering voices that had been echoing in the hall until now to go silent.

Folding his hands behind his back, the Elder scanned the entire hall with his eyes, making sure to meet each and every disciple’s eye that was focused on him.

This totally ordinary action caused all the disciples to feel a sense of heaviness in their chests, making them feel a little tense about what was about to happen next.

Meanwhile, not caring about what the disciples were thinking, the Elder finally addressed them.

"I’m Elder Hong Lie, and I’ll be the one responsible for taking your orientation classes this entire week.

Now, before I start the session, I want to ask something which some of you who had been paying attention to your surroundings would already know."

Elder Hong Lie paused briefly to let a spark of interest grow in everyone’s eyes and continued.

"In this entire hall, how many disciples can be seated at once?"

Hearing his question, one of the disciples sitting at the back instantly answered, "500! It’s 500, Elder Hong Lie!"

"Correct." Elder Hong Lie nodded, hearing his words, and continued, "Now, why is it that you’ve been assigned to this hall when you are only 243 in number? Any guesses?"

This strange question caused many disciples to frown, and several strange answers began popping up in their minds.

However, not being very confident in their answers, they refrained from answering.

Elder Hong Lie was naturally able to read the room, so, letting the question linger in the air any longer, he answered, "It’s because the total number of available spots for this time’s recruitment was five hundred disciples."

He paused briefly to let his words settle in everyone’s mind and continued while showing his five fingers to everyone.

"Five hundred candidates. Out of the thousands of Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators that had appeared for the recruitment, we were going to select only five hundred of them.

However, despite having only these few spots with us, we were still unable to fill them.

What does that mean? It tells just how rare it is for the cultivators to possess the qualities which we, the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect, are looking for.

It means that in the entire White Jade Kingdom, only the 243 of you are the most talented Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators at the moment!"

Listening to these fiery words, all the disciples present felt a sense of pride welling up in their chests, which was also reflected in their expressions.

"However," Elder Hong Lie’s tone suddenly shifted to a grave one, forcing everyone out of their thoughts the next moment, "If you allow this miniscule achievement to get to your heads then it’s only a matter of time before you’ll end up wasting your entire potential and end up being discarded by the sect like many others, for the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect is no place for failures.

Do you all understand?!"

"We do!"

An energetic response came the very next moment, as everyone present in the hall had worked tirelessly to make their dream of entering the Heavenly Azure Dragon Sect a reality. The last thing they wanted was to be kicked out of it.

"Good."

Satisfied with the response, Elder Hong Lie continued, "Then, I expect each one of you to pay close attention to whatever I’ll be teaching in this entire week, for it will become the very foundation that will mould your future path. You understand?!"

"Yes, Elder Hong Lie!"

The disciples answered in unison.

"Mhm." Elder Hong Lie nodded his head before finally starting the class.

"Today, in the first three hours, we’ll be covering the very basics of cultivation. Some of you in the room might already be aware of these.

However, there may be many others who, for various reasons, would not be aware of these basics and still managed to come here by just following the rudimentary cultivation instructions that were passed to you without understanding the depths of it.

That’s totally understandable, as it’s a much quicker way. However, this decision comes at a cost, which will only increase the longer you delay in clearing your basics."

Elder Hong Lie paused to let his words sink into everyone’s mind before continuing.

"If you continue to follow this path, then despite you possessing great talent in cultivation, having a peak-grade spirit root, for example, you’ll still not be able to advance any further than the Qi Absorption Stage..."

As Elder Hong Lie was saying these words, his eyes had momentarily met Yi Chen’s before moving towards the other disciples.

’...So, he’s using me as an example, huh?’ Yi Chen thought bitterly while continuing to focus on Elder Hong Lie’s words.

"For those of you who think their basics are crystal clear, you may leave the class right now. However, if you still decide to remain in the class, then I’ll assume that you’re here to learn, and therefore I expect each one of you to give me your full attention. Is this clear?"

"Yes, Elder Hong Lie."

Everyone responded in unison, clearly indicating that they had no intention of leaving the class.

"Very well then." Elder Hong Lie nodded, seeing the response, and asked the very first question for today’s lesson.

"Can someone tell me how many different stages of cultivation there are, and while at it, also state them in a lower-to-upper order? Raise your hands if you know the answer."

The moment Elder Hong Lie finished his words, several hands lifted up in the air; the very next moment, the rustling sound of robes echoed in the entire hall.

"You, stand up and answer." Elder Hong Lie chose a random disciple who was sitting in the middle rows and told him to answer.

"Yes. Elder Hong Lie!" The disciple stood up with an excited expression, while the other disciples around him could only sigh in regret for not being chosen.

Meanwhile, the disciple started answering the question just as Elder Hong Lie had asked.

"There are five cultivation stages in total, and they follow this order from lower to higher:

1. Elementary Transformation Stage

2. Meridian Refinement Stage

3. Qi Absorption Stage

4. Core Building Stage

5. Heaven Ascension Stage."

"Mhm, very well. Sit down." Elder Hong Lie gestured with his hand for the disciple to sit down the next second and continued, "Now that everyone is clear about how many cultivation stages there are, let me ask you a conceptual question. If any one of you is able to answer it, then I’ll provide you with 10 contribution points."

Elder Hong Lie stated with a smile and paused to let his words settle in everyone’s mind.

"...Contribution points!"

"Didn’t Elder Yu Xong tell us that we can use them to avail various resources from the sect?"

"Yes... Not only resources! Also, the facilities of the sect can be availed at a much cheaper rate if one has contribution points!"

"We just need to answer correctly, and Elder Hong Lie will give us the points? Count me in!"

.

.

.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Elder Hong Lie cleared his throat and asked, "Here’s the question. What is the basic unit of cultivation?"

"...basic unit of cultivation?"

"What’s this...?"

"A unit?"

.

.

.

Several confused murmurs echoed in the entire hall the very next moment, but seeing that Elder Hong Lie had no intention of explaining any further and was waiting for their answers, a few bold ones decided to raise their hands.

"Yes, you," Elder Lie said while pointing towards a female disciple who had just raised her hand.

"It’s...P-power?" She answered hesitantly.

"No." Elder Hong Lie shook his head, gesturing for her to sit down before looking for other answers.

"You." He pointed towards a male disciple who seemed to be very confident about his answer.

"It’s martial prowess! Without that we-"

"No, it’s not." Elder Hong Lie cut him off before he could continue further and started looking for other hands.

Lured by the contribution points, several disciples kept trying one after another, but despite the growing number of attempts, they failed to state the answer which Elder Hong Lie had been looking for.

’Basic unit for cultivation... basic unit of cultivation.’

Meanwhile, Yi Chen, who had been carefully listening to all the answers, kept repeating the question that had been asked.

’Yeah...it’s worth a try.’

Yi Chen’s eyes shone with conviction as he raised his hand the very next moment.

"Yes, what’s your answer?" Elder Hong Lie asked the next moment.

From his tone, it was evident that he wasn’t as enthusiastic as earlier.

’Looks like I’ll have to answer it myself in the end...’ He thought, disappointment evident in his heart, as he planned to reveal the answer to everyone after Yi Chen’s turn.

However, just at that moment, he heard the answer he had been expecting all along.

"I-It’s..."

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A/N: If you like the story so far, do recommend it to your friends. Why should you be the only ones waiting for the future Chapters? xD

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