Lu Qing did not interrupt, but he kept listening closely.
"Why is this year different? Could it be that these monsters also have to take the exam to enter the Inner Academy like us?"
One disciple looked dazed, deeply shaken.
"No way?"
Within the lecture hall, even the placement of meditation cushions had its own particular order.
Those obviously dressed in silks and brocades gathered together, while the others clustered elsewhere.
The voice revealing the inside story came from the cushions at the front.
"Even these geniuses can't enter the Inner Sect?"
"That's still pretty fair, isn't it?"
"Hehe, it's true. They have to undergo the assessment just like us."
"But you're dreaming too nicely. When the time comes, you'll have to compete against them in the Entry Trial Tournament. The rankings will determine your monthly stipends. There's a guaranteed stipend, sure, but if you want better resources, you have to fight your way upward."
A proud-looking youth stood up, swept his gaze over everyone present, and sneered.
"Besides, they may not be entering the Inner Academy, but they've long since had masters arranged for them within the Inner Sect. With masters backing them, what do they have to fear?"
"You're thinking too beautifully."
The youth sneered, clearly looking down on everyone around him.
The surroundings erupted in an uproar.
"You!"
Yet when some people saw his face, their indignation quickly subsided.
"Damn, do you have a death wish? His name is Gu Xing!"
"He's from the Gu Family. Gu Xuantian is his elder brother."
A disciple hurriedly tugged at the person beside him who wanted to argue, quietly revealing Gu Xing's background.
Someone from the Gu Family.
Lu Qing immediately understood why, the moment this youth spoke, the lively discussion had slammed to a halt.
The Gu Family was clearly no ordinary lineage.
Still, judging by Gu Xing's tone, there was likely some hidden twist within this matter.
These were matters involving great cultivation lineages. Lu Qing did not dwell on them, instead recalling one thing Gu Xing had mentioned: cultivation resources were very important.
This batch of monsters had not entered the Inner Academy, but would compete alongside those from the Outer Sect. When the time came, the competition would surely be fierce.
Most of the disciples who heard this wore varying expressions.
Lu Qing sat steadily. He only needed to cultivate step by step, following the proper order. Setting everything else aside, the lifespan drop effect for this month had just appeared.
[Skill effect activated: Randomly dropped 10 years of lifespan.]
He had gained ten years of lifespan out of thin air, and Lu Qing was delighted.
Naturally, his expression remained much the same as the disciples beside him. They all appeared deep in thought, while in truth their minds had already wandered beyond the clouds.
He was destined to be a Longevity Species. Fighting and killing did not suit him.
"They're here." The crowd stirred noisily.
It was like a huge star making an entrance. Lu Qing followed everyone's gaze and looked over as well.
In any case, blending into the crowd would not make him stand out. He just needed to cultivate steadily.
More than ten figures appeared.
There were both men and women.
Uh.
He heard praise from those beside him.
"Wow, they really are geniuses. They're extraordinary indeed."
Forgive him for saying so, but he looked with his left eye and then his right, yet could not see anything extraordinary about them. At most, they were dressed more splendidly and carried themselves more steadily.
As someone whose Divine Soul had already matured for decades, Lu Qing could not bring himself to sigh in admiration at this point. He could only look with his eyes as a faint complaint flashed through his mind.
Of course, time did not count in Immortal Cultivation within the Cultivation World. The next time they met, perhaps every one of them would carry the extraordinary aura of a Heavenly Prodigy.
That was what he thought inwardly.
The cushions at the very front had remained empty.
Lu Qing had been puzzled earlier, and had even occasionally wondered whether the cultivation world also had a tradition of rule-abiding model students sitting in the front row.
Now it seemed he had thought too much.
Those seats had clearly been reserved for this group.
Lu Qing's position was the way of the mean. Looking left and right, no one would want to fight him for it, nor would he end up in the back, suffering people's disdainful looks before staging some thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river scene.
An Elder soon appeared.
He was another white-haired old man, possessing the bearing of an Immortal, seated upright upon a cloud couch.
Without even glancing at those below, he began directly explaining the matters requiring attention in cultivation, skipping even an introduction.
He clearly seemed to be rushing here just to give them this lesson.
Because Lu Qing recognized who this old man was.
He had caught a fleeting glimpse of him on White Crane Boy's back, when he had seen him by accident just moments ago.
That was also why Lu Qing suddenly found things a little strange. The man was obsessed with alchemy; the explosions alone made that plain to see.
Now that the other party had come to teach, his pace would surely be swift.
Lu Qing devoted himself wholeheartedly. There was no paper or brush here; he could only rely on his own mind.
He memorized as much as he heard. Besides, even if he had a brush, whether he could keep up with Elder Yu's speaking speed was another question entirely.
"Cultivation begins with the Meridian Opening Realm. Our Dao Academy has a dazzling array of methods, but Divine Visualization is the most suitable for beginners. Now follow my words, look at the Visualization Diagram before you, and enter closed-eye meditation..."
A diagram of light appeared before Elder Yu.
The object of visualization was a sheet of magma.
Scorching heat waves rolled and surged. One wave after another rose from the magma, only to vanish back into it.
Lu Qing looked over, and searing heat rushed straight into his eyes.
"Heaven makes up what is excessive, the flesh is insufficient, Spiritual Essence moves on its own, the foundation of the Dao..."
Lu Qing subconsciously closed his eyes. At first, he could still hear Elder Yu's voice with great clarity.
But soon, threads of scorching sensation spread from between his brows, then from the crown of his head, slowly coursing through his limbs and bones, as traces of heat emerged within his sinews and skeleton.
The sensation was incredibly distinct.
He felt wisps of hot currents, like magma flowing past, pass through the air and penetrate his flesh. His crown, brow, spine—every meridian in his body seemed to be washed through by that hot current.
Hot!
Hot beyond imagination!
The next moment.
He did not know how much time had passed.
Within Lu Qing's consciousness, that river of magma appeared.
Rumble!
No words were needed.
His spirit immediately burst forth with vitality.
Crack!
Crack!!
His bones and meridians made a series of sounds.
A roar resounded within his flesh. He had successfully entered the Meridian Opening Realm!
Lu Qing's mind cleared, and he instantly felt his body become a hundred times lighter, as though he had previously lived in this world dragging along a heavy corpse of flesh.
But now, he was light—light in a way beyond imagination.
There was only one feeling—refreshing.
"Hahaha, I've entered the realm!"
"Hehe, me too!"
When Lu Qing opened his eyes, he saw that those with better aptitude in front had already opened theirs.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, many more people began entering the realm in succession. Some were overjoyed, while others looked unwilling to accept it.
When he looked up again, he discovered that Elder Yu had vanished at some unknown point.
The magma diagram of light still hung in the air.
The dozen or so young men and women on the cushions at the front, who had also entered the Meridian Opening Realm, rose and left one after another.
As for the many more who had failed to enter the Meridian Opening Realm, no one paid them any attention.
As a new disciple who had entered the realm, Lu Qing felt that after today, the new recruit protection period might be over.
His path of Immortal Cultivation was about to officially begin.
The Meridian Opening Realm was only the first step.
What he needed to consider now was that he was ready to learn spells.
Lu Qing's mind was clear, and his consciousness lucid.
Before you continue