Dao Foundation Theory

The woman who entered had a pair of extremely bright and clear eyes. Within her pupils, it seemed one could see a world brimming with life, passion, and intensity!

Her eyebrows were like swords, her nose like a soaring peak, and her lips were so tender they looked as if they would drip with water. At the corners of her slightly parted mouth, the tip of her tongue was faintly visible.

This woman wore no makeup, her hair casually tied up and held in place with a single hairpin. Her clothing style was also peculiar, with the lower half resembling either pants or a skirt, the pant legs flaring out like a skirt hem. The upper half was a tight-fitting top, its sleeves barely reaching her elbows. Compared to the common attire of female cultivators nowadays, this outfit was quite unconventional.

She arrived at the podium and sat down gracefully, leaning back slightly with her hand supporting her chin. Just by sitting there, she exuded a natural charm of ten thousand styles, yet within that charm, there was also a chilling frost of ancient times.

She glanced sideways at the students and said, "From today onwards, I will be teaching you Dao Foundation Theory and guiding your cultivation. My surname is Ji, Ji Liuli. Liuli from 'wandering lost,' not the gemstone 'liuli'."

At that moment, a girl boldly stood up and asked, "But the courseware clearly states that the instructor is Xu Hen Shui, why has it suddenly changed?"

Ji Liuli said indifferently, "Don't think about him anymore. I've already thrown him outside the sect gate, and he won't be back anytime soon. You can give up on that idea and obediently attend my class!"

The students exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. The woman on the stage gave off a very strange feeling. When she smiled, it was like spring flowers blooming across the mountains and fields, but when she put on a stern face, it was like heavy clouds descending, signaling an impending heavenly tribulation. Some students with high spiritual perception felt as if they were facing a primordial ancient beast, instinctively trembling and unable to speak.

Wei Yuan had studied poetry, prose, and songs, which contained countless phrases describing beautiful women, but he felt none of them could be applied to Ji Liuli. Yet, if he were to say she wasn't beautiful, none of the female cultivators he had seen since entering Taichu Palace could be considered beautiful in her presence.

Seeing that no one spoke, Ji Liuli was very satisfied and said, "Since there are no questions, let's begin the class. You can call me Teacher, Master, or Senior Sister Liuli, or Two-zhang-five Senior Sister. You can call me whatever you like. Let's set aside the matter of address for now and talk about what a Dao Foundation is."

Two-zhang-five Senior Sister, what kind of nonsense is that? Before Wei Yuan and the other students could even ponder this, they heard the mention of Dao Foundation and quickly sat up straight, ears perked, afraid of missing anything.

The definition of a Dao Foundation had long been established in the cultivation world, refined to perfection over hundreds of thousands of years, with not a single word to be added or removed. Just as Wei Yuan reviewed the definition in his mind, Ji Liuli said, "Simply put, a Dao Foundation is like raising an immortal embryo and then piling a bunch of miscellaneous things onto it. Once it can't be piled on anymore, you hammer it solid and fuse it into one. That's the Dao Foundation. It's the first stepping stone on the immortal path, and the most important one. All future achievements will be built upon this foundation, hence it's called the Dao Foundation."

"What those miscellaneous things are, you should have all memorized. Who can answer?"

A young man mustered his courage and said loudly, "Root bone, fortune, heavenly timing, earthly qi, prevailing trends, accumulation, and elixirs."

"Very good. Knowing what those miscellaneous things are is only the first step; how to combine them is the second. For two people with the same conditions, if their combination methods and order of sequence differ, the Dao Foundations they forge will be as different as heaven and earth. Therefore, this first step is truly the most crucial step on the path of cultivation. The difference between an Immortal Sect and a mortal sect, a renowned master and a mediocre hand, will result in completely different Dao Foundations for you. This is why I've come to teach this class. Hmph, if you mess up your own Dao Foundation with mere flowers and grass, you still want to mislead others?"

Another girl boldly stood up and said, "Master, isn't that a bit unfair? I heard that Master Xu is also very capable?"

Ji Liuli's long fingers flicked lightly, and the girl suddenly floated into the air. A vine whip materialized in the air and whipped the girl's backside with a swish!

After the whip, the restraint was released, and the girl fell back into her seat. But the moment her backside touched the chair, she bounced up, not daring to sit down properly. The girl's clothes were intact, not even a wrinkle. It seemed the whip had hurt, but caused no actual damage.

Ji Liuli said, "Whether one is capable depends on who you compare them to. You saw him in my hands like a kitten, and you still ask that. So, this whip is to punish your lack of discernment!"

Wei Yuan pondered, then boldly stood up and asked, "There are ten thousand types of Dao Foundations, are they all judged by their combat ability?"

"Otherwise?" Ji Liuli retorted, then continued, "Since there are ten thousand types of Dao Foundations, there must be a ranking. The standard for ranking is nothing else but combat ability. Either you can fight with your Dao Foundation, or if not, you can fight with your Dharma Idol. If that's still not enough, you can fight with your Imperial Scenery. You certainly can't reach Return to One and still be unable to fight, right? What use would you be then? Just a decoration on an Immortal Mountain? Those cultivators who look immortal and dignified but are soft in a fight, even if they reach Return to One, are just wastes of heaven and earth's spiritual energy!"

The students were once again dumbfounded. These words were utterly shocking and showed no respect for the True Immortals of the Return to One realm. Those were True Immortals!

Ji Liuli added, "Speaking of which, if you can't fight, do you think you can still reach Return to One? If you can't fight, you'll all perish halfway through your cultivation! You just need to remember one thing: the world today is a world of great contention. You must contend for life, for cultivation, for breakthroughs, for everything!"

With that, Ji Liuli said to Wei Yuan, "You are Wei Yuan, right? I remember you. Everyone else received the Ancestor's blessing, but you received the blessing from a stone at the Ancestor's feet."

A burst of laughter erupted in Qisi Hall, and Wei Yuan's face grew a little hot.

Just as the young men and women were laughing heartily, Ji Liuli flicked her fingertips. Most of the young men and women floated into the air, and each received a whip. Amidst the crackling sounds, only five people in the entire Qisi Hall were left unwhipped.

"No matter what kind of blessing you receive from the Ancestor, it is still a blessing. Those who received the Ancestor's blessing can laugh it off, but you who haven't even received a blessing, how dare you laugh? This whip is to give you some self-awareness."

After the round of whipping, most students were grimacing in pain. However, these children were not pampered. They knew they weren't truly injured, and the pain was just an illusion that could be endured. Thus, not a single student in the class cried.

What Wei Yuan found strange was that most of his classmates came from prominent families. He had seen plenty of arrogant individuals during the unified examination, so why had they all become so well-behaved and polite in Qisi Hall?

Before he could figure out this question, Ji Liuli's voice rang out again:

"There are over 150 people in your cohort, but only 37 are sitting here. Where are the other over 100 people? I'll tell you, they are studying with their respective mentors and are not participating in centralized instruction. These people belong to the Zhi Gu Sect. And you, whether you like it or not, are now considered part of the Ding Xin Sect. In the sect's minor examination three years from now, you will compete with them to see which side learns better. There are a total of 21 people who received the Ancestor's blessing on their side. So, from today onwards, my task is to give you the most combat-capable Dao Foundation, and your task is to defeat all 21 of them three years from now!"

The students were all competitive by nature, and their blood boiled. Many even forgot the pain in their buttocks. A boy immediately stood up despite the pain and said loudly, "Does not having the Ancestor's blessing mean we are doomed?"

Ji Liuli praised, "Good question! In reality, having the Ancestor's blessing is merely equivalent to getting a small head start on the long immortal path. If you only look at three years, catching up might be difficult, but if you look at the long term, whether you have a blessing or not makes little difference. Even within three years, many ordinary disciples have eventually surpassed those who received blessings. There are many such examples."

The immortal path is long, and three years is but a blink of an eye. All the students in Qisi Hall who had not received blessings felt their spirits lift, their fighting spirit reignited.

"However, don't think that passing the sect's minor examination is the end. There is a Myriad Forms Hall in the palace, which records all the Dao Foundations that have appeared in the past. Once you forge your Dao Foundation, a record will also be kept in the Myriad Forms Hall. At that time, your Dao Foundation's ranking will be clear for all to see! What this means, I don't need to elaborate, do I?"

The Senior Sister's words immediately made some students ambitious and others secretly apprehensive. This was equivalent to creating a grand ranking list of all Taichu Palace disciples from the past few thousand years, with everyone's name on it. If one's ranking was low, how could they face anyone?

Ji Liuli continued, "The Myriad Forms Hall is just the beginning. Ten years later, there will be the sect's grand examination, which all Dao Foundation realm disciples must participate in, as well as those who have completed Body Forging. That will be your first major examination, and there will be an official ranking. After the grand examination, there will be the Merit List, where all Taichu Palace cultivators will be ranked according to their merits. In addition to the overall list, there is also a separate small list for the Dao Foundation realm."

The students exchanged glances, feeling that the road ahead was long and filled with assessments and rankings. Some immediately showed signs of difficulty.

Their reactions were naturally within Ji Liuli's expectations, and she sneered, "Although Taichu Palace is vast, its resources are limited, and there are never enough to go around. So, who gets more and who gets less, these lists are the basis! I know some of you come from illustrious families and think that if you can't get resources from the palace, your family can supplement them. But why does your family give you resources?"

"The youngest of you is six, and the oldest is no more than eight or nine years old. What if, in a few years, you have more younger brothers and sisters, and some of them have even better talent than you? Will your family still give you so much sustenance?"

The young faces of a few children from influential families turned a little pale.

"Therefore! Cherish every class you have under me! As long as you are ruthless enough with yourselves, I can make you stronger! Regardless of which list it is, you must strive to climb to the top!"

The students' blood boiled once more.

Next, Ji Liuli began to explain the basic knowledge of Body Forging in detail. Her speaking speed was extremely fast, and her words were very concise. Wei Yuan felt that his brain could barely keep up, and he desperately tried to take notes. Before he knew it, it was time for class to end.

After three chimes of the bell, the class concluded. Ji Liuli said, "Wei Yuan, don't leave yet. Come with me to the Council Hall."