Since arriving in this world, Lu Qing had only learned that the place he was in was called Liang Kingdom. He had followed every lead about Immortals, traveling countless miles before finally reaching Profound Heaven City.
He had not learned anything too detailed, and he took the assessment the very next day.
So, to be honest, Lu Qing did not truly understand the Profound Heaven Dao Academy. Most of what he knew about this Dao Academy came from the inn waiter, as well as Li Jiuming's incessant chatter along the road, which had given him a barely passable understanding of it.
It was an extremely formidable cultivation force.
This little booklet in the Jade Slip happened to clear up his previous confusion.
The Profound Heaven Dao Academy was the dominant cultivation force within the Profound Heaven Domain.
It had countless Heavenly Prodigies, countless Elders, and countless powerful experts.
After Lu Qing finished reading, he had only one thought: coming to the Profound Heaven Dao Academy had indeed been the right choice.
The place where he was now was called the Profound Heaven Domain. Beyond the Profound Heaven Domain were several other great domains, each with equally terrifying cultivation forces.
"Cultivation is difficult. Tomorrow morning, I have to attend an Elder's cultivation class."
After skimming through the rest, Lu Qing turned his attention to the Academy's cultivation system.
Cultivation in the Profound Heaven Dao Academy was divided into the Meridian Opening Realm, Qi Nourishment Realm, and then Foundation Establishment.
The booklet listed realms beyond those, but they were blurry in the disciples' eyes. Presumably, one needed sufficient cultivation before they could see the later realms.
This Dao Peak courtyard covered a vast area and had immense space within.
The one thing Lu Qing needed to pay attention to was that the Jade Token's introduction stated that there were formations here.
Every Dao Peak on the outermost perimeter had protective formations, linked together ring by ring with the main peak.
The courtyard formation, meanwhile, needed to be activated by its owner.
Lu Qing had not yet begun cultivating, so he would have to wait until after he entered cultivation to activate it.
He slept soundly through the night.
He was not familiar with any of the people who had arrived with him. The only one he could call a friend was Li Jiuming.
Following the Jade Token's guidance, he saw countless snow-white White Cranes flying over a lake or playing in the water.
One White Crane flew over and landed in front of him.
The White Crane spoke in a crisp voice, its gender impossible to discern. "I am White Crane Boy. One Spirit Stone per trip. Where do you want to go? I'll take you there. Just pay the Spirit Stone."
Lu Qing stared in surprise. Then he saw smooth figures flowing like water amid the snowy clouds and mist around the other mountain peaks. White Cranes flew through the air with disciples seated on their backs.
"Alright. Thank you, White Crane Boy."
With a White Crane as transportation, he did not begrudge the cost. He took a Spirit Stone from the storage bag issued yesterday. The spirit beast called White Crane Boy took the Spirit Stone in its long, pointed beak, scratched at the feathers on its belly, and the Spirit Stone vanished before his eyes.
Lu Qing looked closely and saw that one of its feathers glimmered with silver light amid its snow-white crane feathers. Under the sunlight, it was slightly dazzling.
Seeing his gaze, White Crane Boy said smugly, "See? This is my storage bag. Is it pretty?"
"Very pretty." Lu Qing spoke honestly. This glittering silver thing was elegant and extraordinary in appearance alone, let alone when it blended seamlessly with the feathers around it.
"Hahaha, you have good taste."
White Crane Boy agreed with a nod, the crimson feathers atop his head bobbing with the movement.
"You are a newly inducted disciple. I'll take you to Martial Arts Peak. That is where your class will be today."
"Get on."
Sitting cross-legged on the White Crane's back, Lu Qing felt the high-altitude currents brush over his skin, stirring a faint chill.
White Crane Boy flew both swiftly and steadily.
Wispy white clouds streaked past beside him. Flying high in the sky, he could take in most of the Dao Peaks at a glance, though quite a few glowed with white or other-colored light, clearly blocked off by formations.
Others were simply blanketed in dense fog, connected to the heavens. It was impossible to tell whether the tops of those Dao Peaks remained on the mountains or had already entered a bed of clouds.
All of a sudden, Lu Qing saw roaring flames erupt from one Dao Peak. Boom—
It sounded like an explosion.
He was stunned.
White Crane Boy was utterly unsurprised. "Elder Yu's alchemy furnace exploded. Normal, normal."
Lu Qing looked toward the explosion and saw a white-haired old man hopping madly. "That's not right?!"
"How could this be wrong?"
"It's this ratio! It must be the wind direction—the feng shui is wrong!"
The clattering sounds gradually faded into the distance. Even from so far away, Lu Qing could practically see the Elder stomping about in fury.
He had to admit, it somewhat shattered the image he had formed yesterday.
"Heh, Elder Yu is obsessed with alchemy. He studies this and studies that every day. Last time I went over there, I nearly had my feathers burned off."
White Crane Boy sounded aggrieved.
Lu Qing did not reply. Who knew what temperament that Elder had? White Crane Boy could say such things, but as a newly inducted disciple, Lu Qing naturally would not leave behind words for others to criticize.
"Alright, this is Martial Arts Peak. I'll stop here. Go in yourself."
White Crane Boy spoke at just the right moment.
"Thank you, Boy, for bringing me here."
White Crane Boy gave a hey. "I take Spirit Stones and get things done. I'm very reliable. Next time you go out, you can come find me again."
"Remember, I am White Crane Boy. Call for me, and I will hear you."
"Oh, I nearly forgot. I should leave a wisp of my aura on your Jade Token. The sect is too big. Sometimes even I get lost while flying around. Having the Jade Token makes things much more convenient."
White Crane Boy spared no effort in soliciting business.
To make it easier for these newly inducted disciples to distinguish which one was him, White Crane Boy also explained how to summon him.
Clearly, cases of mistaken identity had happened before.
Lu Qing found it somewhat amusing and agreed to his method.
A feather flashed, and the Jade Token at his waist stirred faintly.
Watching the White Cranes fly, he honestly could not really tell them apart either, but naturally, he would not say so aloud. "Mm. If Lu Qing has need of you, I will certainly come find you, Boy."
White Crane Boy flapped his wings and flew away.
Lu Qing also prepared to attend the Dao Academy's cultivation class here.
This place was a cluster of palaces. Various buildings spread out in orderly layers from the mountainside onward. This Dao Peak could no longer be considered merely a peak—it was a true mountain.
Vast in the truest sense of the word.
As he stepped onto the plaza, the surroundings gleamed with flowing lights. Many streams of light shot outward, while more spirit lights fled in from beyond the mountain and appeared over the plaza, revealing their figures.
"Lu Qing, here! Over here!"
Li Jiuming truly lived up to his gossiping nature. Lu Qing had only just arrived, but Li Jiuming was already quite familiar with the place.
"I got here early. The Elder hasn't arrived yet. This is where we cultivate, and our first class will be here. After this class, we will cultivate on our own. But at Martial Arts Peak, Elders come to preach and give lessons every so often."
"This is the daily routine of our Outer Academy. Generally speaking, if we need anything, we can come here to collect missions. Once we begin cultivating, we can enter the Jade Token Space and accept missions there. That is the truly exciting place."
Li Jiuming laid out everything he had learned.
He seemed exceptionally curious about the mysterious Jade Token Space.
"Lu Qing, aren't you curious at all?"
"I am curious, but I have not begun cultivating yet. I'll find out later."
"That's true."
"I'll go take a look over there."
The two of them had become rather familiar with each other, since they had entered together and gotten along fairly well.
However, Lu Qing knew clearly that though they got along well now, after they began cultivating, that might not necessarily remain the case.
A commotion arose from one corner of the lecture plaza.
"Hey, did you hear? On my way here, I heard people saying that an Earth-grade Genius is coming here too."
"What is going on? Didn't they say that as long as those monsters had enough talent, they could enter the Inner Sect directly?"
"I don't know. I also heard that besides the group from our area, several monsters appeared in other provinces of the Profound Heaven Domain. They are all Earth-Grade Aptitude, and I heard some of them even have Heaven-Grade Aptitude!"
"Damn, that terrifying? They're together with us too!"
"You don't know this, then. I'm from Profound Province. That monster is the Gu Family's Qilin heir of this generation, named Gu Xuantian. He has Heaven-grade Aptitude and astonishing comprehension, yet he did not enter the Inner Academy directly either."
The many people sitting cross-legged on cushions in the hall wore stunned expressions.
Before you continue