The Inner Sect's First Lesson (1)

On the first day of classes, before dawn had broken, the entire world was still steeped in hazy darkness. Morning dew clung to the tips of bamboo leaves, on the verge of falling.

Li Ming was curled up beneath his covers, fast asleep.

Suddenly—

"Bang bang bang!" Urgent knocking broke the silence.

"Li Ming! Get up, quickly! If we're any later, it'll be too late!" Zhou Wen's voice came through the door.

Li Ming groggily opened his eyes. It was still pitch-black outside, and even the roosters had yet to crow at dawn.

He rubbed his bleary eyes, his gaze full of sleepiness and confusion. His voice was thick with drowsiness as he mumbled, "It's still early... What's the rush? It's only a seat. Isn't sitting anywhere the same...?"

"No!" The door was violently slammed open with a bang, and a biting gust of cold wind poured into the room.

Zhou Wen crossed the room in three strides and rushed to the bedside, forcefully throwing back Li Ming's warm blanket. The pre-dawn chill was like a ravenous wolf that would eat anything in its path, pouncing on Li Ming at once. He shuddered violently from the cold and instantly woke up a little more.

Without another word, Zhou Wen grabbed him and dragged him out of bed, muttering, "If we get there late, we'll have to sit in the back, too far away from Second Senior Brother!"

Li Ming: "..."

Ever since Zhou Wen had received Second Senior Brother's kindness last time, his friend had become Second Senior Brother's fanatical follower. In just a few days, he had been asking around everywhere about Second Senior Brother's deeds. He had even found out what tea Second Senior Brother liked to drink and which foot he habitually stepped out with first when practicing swordsmanship.

Li Ming suspected that if Zhou Wen were not afraid of causing offense, he would have dug to the bottom of even what color underclothes Second Senior Brother wore every day.

—But none of those long-circulating rumors could compare to the bombshell revelation the older inner sect disciples had disclosed last night.

Last night, just after the newly admitted inner sect disciples had happily finished tidying up their residences, they had been summoned together.

The older disciples wore grave expressions as they spoke righteously about Second Senior Brother's inner voice leaking out, as well as the gag order issued by the Sect Master. After hearing it, everyone found it utterly inconceivable, their faces full of astonishment and doubt.

After all, something like an inner voice leaking out was simply too bizarre to believe. Yet the solemn manner of the inner sect senior brothers and sisters did not seem like a lie.

"Remember, no matter what you hear, pretend you know nothing!" The leading senior brother swept his lightning-sharp gaze over the crowd, his expression stern. "If you truly cannot hold it in, find a trustworthy fellow disciple and supervise each other. This is the Sect Master's order!"

"The Sect Master dotes on Second Senior Brother the most," a senior sister beside him added. Her voice was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable authority, every word weighing a thousand pounds. "If you defy the order and Second Senior Brother notices something amiss, damaging Senior Brother's cultivation of the Dao Heart..."

She deliberately paused, her gaze passing over every new disciple. Satisfied, she watched as they unconsciously held their breaths, nervous expressions appearing on their faces.

"What the consequences will be, I presume I needn't say more?" the senior brother coldly continued, lightly tapping the disciplinary ruler at his waist with his fingertips. Its crisp sound echoed through the silent space like a wordless warning.

Most chilling of all was the senior sister's final, offhand addition: "The Discipline Hall has recently been rather fond of researching little things that impose passive silence."

Though her final words had been spoken lightly, they seemed to carry an invisible chill that made every new disciple's hairs stand on end. Even now, Li Ming felt the back of his neck turn cold when he thought about it.

With that terrifying warning as the conclusion, all the newly admitted inner sect disciples clearly understood the severity of the matter.

"Could it really be as mysterious as Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters said?"

Li Ming was half-convinced and half-doubtful, his heart full of questions. Everything sounded far too absurd, yet the serious expressions of the senior brothers and sisters made him afraid to dismiss it lightly.

"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up!" Zhou Wen's urging pulled him back to reality. Li Ming finally came to his senses, hurriedly threw on his outer robe, gave himself a quick tidying, and was dragged off at a jog by his friend.

By the time they arrived at Golden Scale Hall, panting for breath, quite a few people had already filled the enormous lecture hall.

"Good, good." Zhou Wen pulled him to two empty seats in the front row. Then he took an oil-paper packet from his robe and held it out to Li Ming. "Here. I picked up some steamed buns from the dining hall on the way. Eat them while they're hot."

The oil-paper packet was wrapped in a faint layer of spiritual power. Wisps of heat seeped from within, carrying the tempting aroma of wheat and making one's appetite stir.

Li Ming took the still-warm steamed bun and bit into it in large mouthfuls while curiously looking around.

Most of the disciples in the classroom looked excited, anticipation glimmering in their eyes. Clearly, they had all arrived early from excitement and were happily waiting for the inner sect senior brothers and sisters to come teach, hoping to learn more profound cultivation knowledge and techniques from them.

Golden Scale Hall had several different classrooms, where different disciples taught different subjects at the same time. Generally speaking, the teaching assignments for each classroom were arranged according to cultivation paths.

Detailed course schedules were neatly posted outside every classroom, allowing disciples to choose the classes they wished to attend based on their own needs and interests.

Classes taught by direct disciples were all large lectures, with only one classroom assigned for each. If disciples were not interested in what a direct disciple taught, they could theoretically just return and rest.

—But how could anyone not be interested?

Not to mention those little newcomers who had just entered the inner sect, their hearts full of curiosity and longing—even many senior brothers and sisters who had cultivated in the inner sect for years would seize the chance to sit in on the classes.

Although the direct disciples' cultivation was not necessarily deeper than that of inner sect disciples, they could interact directly with the elders and communicated closely with them. This precious experience was undoubtedly a treasure others could only dream of obtaining, and it was the direct disciples' greatest advantage.

As time passed, disciples arrived at the classroom one after another. Before long, the senior sister on duty stepped onto the platform on time and officially began the lesson.

By the time the disciples noticed, elders had already taken seats in the back row. Their silent arrival made the entire classroom's atmosphere even more solemn and dignified.

This senior sister who taught the class came from Spirit Artifact Peak, and the course she taught was Fundamentals of Spirit Artifacts.

During the first lesson, the senior sister mainly gave a general introduction to basic knowledge about spirit artifacts, such as the categories of spirit artifacts, the characteristics of different types, and how to properly maintain one's own spirit artifact.

Her explanations were organized and clear, her voice crisp and pleasant. But Zhou Wen and Li Ming both came from poor backgrounds and did not even own spirit artifacts, so what was there to maintain? As Li Ming listened, he could not help losing interest, and his gaze began to drift.

In truth, there were indeed few people who chose this class. For most disciples from poor backgrounds, spirit artifact maintenance was not something they needed to focus on at their current stage. As for disciples from great families, they had been exposed to spirit artifacts from childhood and were already familiar with such knowledge.

As the lesson gradually progressed, more and more disciples entered the classroom.

Zhou Wen, however, diligently took notes. His reason for attending this class was exactly the same as those disciples who came later—today, the direct disciples' lectures would be held in this classroom.

Faced with a crowd of junior brothers and sisters below the stage whose minds had long drifted to the next class, the senior sister teaching on the platform did not show the slightest frustration. She maintained a calm mindset throughout, steadily finishing her lesson before leaving the platform with composure and yielding the space to the direct disciple everyone had been awaiting for so long.

Two classes had been scheduled in this classroom for the morning, and Feng Yue was responsible for the second.

In truth, the cultivation paths of this generation's direct disciples were remarkably unbalanced.

Among the sect's twelve direct disciples, sword cultivators made up half. The three participating in this round of teaching were all sword cultivators without exception. Fortunately, aside from their considerable attainments in swordsmanship, their grasp of other foundational knowledge was equally solid. They were not limited to teaching sword-related material alone.

Today, Feng Yue would teach <Sensing Spiritual Energy and Absorbing It Efficiently>.

He wore a moon-white robe. The soft fabric drifted slightly with his steps, while faint silver cloud patterns embroidered along the cuffs gave him an air of being beyond the mortal world.

After stepping onto the platform and taking his position, Feng Yue calmly swept his gaze across the disciples below. The previously noisy classroom fell silent at once, and only then did he begin his explanation in an unhurried manner.

As preliminary groundwork for the course, the knowledge Feng Yue taught was familiar to the disciples below. Yet the various small techniques he explained came from his own cultivation experience. They seemed insignificant, but they could greatly improve the disciples' efficiency when absorbing spiritual energy.

Some disciples listened while trying them out, and it truly was just as Senior Brother had said. Once its effectiveness was proven, the disciples grew even more excited.

Whether it was the female disciple from Spirit Artifact Peak earlier or Feng Yue, who was currently teaching, both displayed a maturity and seasoned skill far beyond their age.

Their foundations were deep and solid, and their explanations were clear, moving from the profound to the simple. They vividly conveyed obscure and difficult knowledge to the disciples below.

When had they ever experienced such meticulous explanations in the outer sect?

The disciples were like land parched by a long drought receiving sweet rain, benefiting immensely.

Even those with profound cultivation could not guarantee they would make no mistakes while explaining knowledge. By convention, whenever such a situation arose, the elders would immediately speak up to correct it. Yet throughout the entire lesson, the elders had no chance to offer a correction.

On second thought, it made sense. These senior brothers and sisters had surely taught these courses countless times already. They must have known them by heart, so basic knowledge like this would hardly require elders to intervene and correct them.

After Feng Yue finished teaching, he did not leave directly like the senior sister from the previous class. Instead, he found an empty seat in the classroom and sat down leisurely.

This action secretly delighted many disciples. They wanted to go up and ask for guidance, yet feared disturbing Senior Brother.

After hesitating again and again, one disciple finally gathered his courage and approached Feng Yue, carefully asking a question. A kind smile appeared on Feng Yue's face as he patiently listened to the disciple's confusion, then gave an orderly answer.

His response was concise and clear, turning the profound into the simple. Not only did it resolve the disciple's immediate confusion, it also drew upon various sources to broaden the related knowledge, making the disciple feel as though he had obtained a priceless treasure.

With this pioneer leading the way, the other disciples also gathered their courage and crowded around to ask questions. For a time, the classroom was filled with animated discussion, everyone seizing this rare opportunity to eagerly absorb knowledge.

In such a rich atmosphere of learning, the break passed especially quickly. The disciples were immersed in conversation and completely forgot the passage of time, even forgetting to eat lunch. Only when the bell announcing the imminent start of the third class faintly sounded did everyone reluctantly return to their seats.

Naturally, Li Ming did not want to miss such a wonderful opportunity either, so he went with the other disciples to ask questions.

When he returned, his entire face was flushed with excitement, and his eyes shone with exhilaration. Unable to wait, he said to Zhou Wen, "Zhou Wen, you should have gone too! Third Senior Brother explained things so thoroughly. So many things I could never understand before suddenly became clear!"

"I was listening," Zhou Wen said with a smile.

Li Ming looked at him in confusion. Then Zhou Wen slowly moved aside his sleeve, and only then did Li Ming see that the paper before him was filled with densely packed notes. Looking closely, they were indeed all records of what Third Senior Brother had explained just now, detailed and accurate, with the important points specially marked.

"You brat... Your ears really work well."

"I only used spiritual power to enhance my hearing," Zhou Wen explained with a modest smile.

Controlling spiritual power had always been his strength. In order to learn better, he had enhanced his hearing with spiritual power beforehand so that he could catch every detail Feng Yue explained more clearly and record this precious knowledge in full.

The bell for the third class rang on time. The moment Chu Shihan's tall, slender figure appeared at the doorway, the lecture hall that had been buzzing with whispers fell utterly silent. Even Feng Yue, who had already been seated, unconsciously straightened his back, his eyes full of anticipation.

He had stayed precisely to listen to his two senior brothers' lectures, hoping to draw experience from them and improve himself further.

Chu Shihan walked steadily to the center of the platform. After a brief greeting, he went straight to the point.

The subject of his lesson was Controlling Spiritual Energy. His teaching style was much like his own way of doing things—clean and decisive, concise and brisk, without the slightest dragging of mud and water. He neither made excessive, lengthy, irrelevant assumptions nor beat around the bush. Instead, he went straight to the core, clearly explaining every crucial point in cultivation and every place where mistakes were easily made.

His voice was steady and powerful. Every word seemed to carry an invisible force, drawing the disciples below into his lesson without them realizing it.

Li Ming listened with complete concentration while trying to control his spiritual power according to the explanation, yet he met with repeated setbacks. He had wanted to ask Zhou Wen, who had always excelled in this area, for advice, but when he turned his head, he discovered that Zhou Wen's attention had long since left the class.

Following Zhou Wen's gaze, Li Ming was shocked to realize that Second Senior Brother had somehow already silently taken a seat.

In fact, the moment Second Senior Brother entered, Zhou Wen had noticed him sharply. The other party seemed to have noticed the gaze directed at him as well. He merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment before silently taking a seat below the platform.

Quite a few disciples had noticed Second Senior Brother's arrival, but at this moment, they had yet to realize the importance of the matter.

Nine Domains Encyclopedia:

○ Golden Scale Hall

Located on Spirit Medicine Peak, it was specially established for disciples newly entering the inner sect. Its name carried the meaning of "a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate," a beautiful blessing for new disciples.

It was extremely spacious and divided into several different classrooms, allowing different disciples to teach different subjects simultaneously. Detailed course schedules were neatly posted outside every classroom, allowing disciples to choose the classes they wished to attend based on their own needs and interests.

After the newly promoted disciples left, Spirit Medicine Peak would use it for classes taught by its own disciples. During the period when newly promoted disciples used it, Spirit Medicine Peak disciples would be assigned practical classes or simply given time off.

A Little Scene:

A certain unnamed Spirit Artifact Peak senior sister's course schedule—

First class: Basic knowledge of spirit artifacts and how to maintain them

Senior Sister's explanation: "Spirit artifacts are our close companions, so take good care of them—"

Second class: How to see through spirit artifact weaknesses and destroy them

Explanation: "Seeing through an enemy's weakness and attacking accordingly is also important."

Third class: Simple repairs for damaged spirit artifacts and related materials

Explanation: "After non-professionals make simple repairs, remember to find a professional to repair them again—"

Fourth class: Convenient methods for seeing through the weaknesses of previously damaged spirit artifacts and destroying them

Explanation: "If the repairer's skill is too awful, this is what happens—they get destroyed over and over again."

...

A passing junior brother from Spirit Artifact Peak: ...Senior Sister, you actually just want to advertise for us, don't you?