The First Lesson of Cultivation

The Martial Cultivator youth was speaking with fervor when he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

An Elder immediately rushed over and carefully examined him.

"He's fine. His Divine Soul couldn't hold out, so he's only fainted for now," he told those around him.

The cultivators all breathed a sigh of relief.

This time, the peak masters looked at Gu Qingshan differently.

They knew what they were looking at. They had sensed that invisible Sword Intent, surging through the void like a great flood.

Only the disciples of the various peaks remained completely bewildered, unable to figure out what had happened.

Gu Qingshan looked toward Xie Guhong.

Xie Guhong kept silent.

Gu Qingshan cleared his throat and announced in a calm, unhurried voice, "The Palace Master's acceptance of disciples is one of the sect's Six Great Rituals. According to sect rules, it must never be interrupted. Since this is your first offense, and there were extenuating circumstances, I'll sentence you to three months of confinement facing the wall. Take him away!"

Two Law Enforcement Cultivators stepped forward and carried the Martial Dao disciple away.

Even then, the disciples watching still had no idea what had happened.

What they had just witnessed was too unbelievable. They had never encountered anything like it, or even imagined that such a thing could happen in the world.

Their cultivation was still shallow, and they had no idea how terrifying the Sword Intent that had gathered in the air for that brief instant had been.

All they had seen was the disciple who had been about to issue a challenge falling over.

Then Gu Qingshan had spoken and punished him.

So...

How could a Martial Dao expert simply collapse in the middle of speaking?

Could it be that the man had only pretended to issue a