But on second thought, he remembered that the Divine Firmament Academy had specifically opened up this training ground halfway up the mountain and set fixed hours for their morning classes. Even Lecturer Song Zhou always guided their cultivation precisely on schedule. There had to be some cultivation mystery hidden within this training ground that he did not know about.
“Born into the Cold Gate, I have access to far too little information. I even guessed the Spirit Root ratings of the students in my class wrong before. I probably know nothing at all about the secrets of cultivating in this training ground either.”
Having made up his mind, Jiang Xuan forcibly suppressed the urge to cultivate on the spot, rose to his feet, and walked out of the hall.
After greeting his mother, Jiang Xuan hurried toward the training ground of the Star Daoist Academy halfway up the mountain.
To his slight surprise, the moment he reached the entrance to the training ground, he ran headlong into his former friend Zhou Lin, as well as the young lady she served, Su Linyin.
There was only one path leading into the training ground, so such an encounter was perfectly ordinary. Jiang Xuan merely nodded at them before quickly heading toward his seat.
He did not look back, so naturally, he failed to see Su Linyin suddenly halt as she watched his receding figure.
After a moment, she softly asked, with no joy or anger discernible in her tone, "Lin'er, tell me, was I right or wrong to give Jiang Xuan to Dong Hao?"
"Of course you were right, Young Miss." Zhou Lin answered without the slightest hesitation. "You had already given him an opportunity. He was the one unwilling to seize it."
Su Linyin lowered her eyes and softly repeated, "Yes, I gave him an opportunity."
As her words fell, the last ripple in her eyes vanished completely. Her gaze suddenly turned sharp and cold—since she had decided to abandon him, she ought to cut things off completely.
She had resolved never to think about Jiang Xuan again.
Jiang Xuan knew nothing of Su Linyin's decision, nor did he care in the slightest.
By then, he had returned to his seat and was preparing to follow the ritual procedure for cleansing his hands, mouth, body, and Pure Heart.
Yet before the ceremony even began, Jiang Xuan noticed that something was off about the emotions of the students in the training ground today.
The air was thick with restlessness and anxiety.
What made Jiang Xuan raise an eyebrow was that it was not only the students seated in the back who were anxious this time. Many people in the front also wore nervous, worried expressions.
He even noticed that quite a few disciples from cultivation lineages looked grim, while some were trembling all over without stopping.
"What is going on? Why are they acting like this?"
Just as Jiang Xuan felt surprised and puzzled by the scene before him, Dong Hao came to his side.
Seeing Jiang Xuan's confusion, Dong Hao explained with a trace of melancholy.
"You're wondering why they're so agitated, aren't you?"
Without waiting for Jiang Xuan to answer, he continued, "They should be anxious. Today is the seventh day since we entered the Star Daoist Academy, and it is also the final day for the outstanding evaluation. For those of us born into cultivation lineages, this day is also a threshold dividing the elite descendants of the family from its collateral branches."
"Compared with you, our cultivation lineages are larger and possess more resources, but that has never meant that we face less competitive pressure than you do."
"There may be many resources, but cultivation lineages have even more descendants. In order to survive in this cultivation world where one must fight for everything, no family has ever distributed resources equally, much less invested them in the weak."
"Only elites deserve preferential access to resources."
"This first assessment before us is the first sieve. If you pass, the family will continue cultivating you with all its strength. If you fail, not only will your resource share be cut directly, but for the rest of your life, you will have to run about and serve the family."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over several pale-faced female cultivators in the training ground. Lowering his voice, he said, “Like these female cultivators from prominent families—if they fail the assessment, they can only accept the marriages arranged by their families. Either they marry an elite from a collateral branch, or... they are given to prodigies from the Cold Gate as Dao companions.”
At that, Dong Hao turned to Jiang Xuan. His eyes carried several traces of gravity, but concealed within them was also a blazing fire that refused to admit defeat.
"Jiang Xuan, I won't hide it from you. From the very beginning, I approached you because I wanted something."
He took a deep breath, solemnly extending his hand toward Jiang Xuan. His tone was incomparably sincere. "There will be more than one assessment like this. Entering the Dao-Bearing Class is only the beginning of the struggle."
"I do not want to fall behind. I do not want to be abandoned by my family... Jiang Xuan, I need your help!"
Looking at Dong Hao's outstretched hand and recalling the many resources he had previously provided, Jiang Xuan sighed softly in his heart.
As expected, resources from cultivation lineages were never so easy to take.
But after the thought passed through his mind, he did not refuse. There was no denying that, regardless of Dong Hao's original intentions, the other man had indeed provided him with immense support these past days.
Leaving aside the spirit meals and pills, they had replenished the deficits in Jiang Xuan's body and given him hope of being rated outstanding in the first round of assessment despite his Profound-Mid Rating Spirit Root.
Of course, pills alone could not bridge the gap between Jiang Xuan and the descendants of Aristocratic Clans, much less the prodigies from the Cold Gate.
The reason he had opened his Apertures so quickly was the enhancement from the Dao Acolyte's Three Purification Incantation, as well as his employment as the Purple Precious Grade profession [Clear-Heart Sword Disciple] and the various abilities brought by that profession.
But the One Qi Sword Art Dong Hao had gifted him earlier had played no small part in allowing him to become a [Clear-Heart Sword Disciple].
A gentleman judges deeds, not hearts; judge hearts, and no one in this world is perfect.
Jiang Xuan could find no fault with Dong Hao's actions, and he had genuinely received the man's favor. Under such circumstances, he could not refuse Dong Hao's request.
"I will help you."
As he agreed, Jiang Xuan also sighed inwardly.
So be it. My goal in the second assessment is not to fight for first place, only to enter the top ten. There will surely be room for both of us in the second round of competition... Besides, continuing to cooperate with Dong Hao brings me more benefits than drawbacks.
A shortage of resources had always been Jiang Xuan's greatest pain point.
Although he had obtained the Three Purification Incantations and could now unleash the linked skill Communion with Truth, Jiang Xuan still did not wish to die. Thus, he had never considered casting the complete Three Purification Incantations on anyone else.
He would not even cast the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation or the Body-Purification Divine Incantation on others.
To cleanse the filth and turbid qi within the body and return the flesh to pure clarity—even if the effect is gradual, that is still far too shocking. No matter what, these two divine incantations cannot be used on outsiders.
With two of the Three Purification Incantations removed, the only one Jiang Xuan could sell... could bestow as a blessing was the Pure Heart Divine Incantation.
Its effect is good, and it can earn me some money, but I need to buy vast quantities of tonics. I also need to gather Daoist Scriptures and the Daoist Canon to build a Scripture Repository. That will require far too many Spirit Stones and consume too much energy. With Dong Hao's help, things will be much easier.
While Jiang Xuan's thoughts whirled, Dong Hao did not disappoint him.
Upon hearing Jiang Xuan's agreement, a brilliant smile appeared on Dong Hao's face. Then, with great generosity, he painted Jiang Xuan a grand picture. "Thank you for your loyalty, Brother Jiang! I, Dong Hao, am by no means an ungrateful man. If I can successfully enter the inner sect, my family will surely support me with all its strength. When that time comes, finding Brother Jiang a good position in the Divine Firmament Sect will be no difficult matter. Perhaps even..."
Halfway through, he glanced at the gorgeously dressed but hollow-complexioned female cultivators ahead, then gave Jiang Xuan a look that any man would understand. "Perhaps, if Brother Jiang has an interest in a young lady from an Aristocratic Clan, I can help make the match."
"Of course, only women from collateral branches. As for the direct-line fairy maidens of cultivation lineages, even I have to rack my brains to pursue them."
"..." Dong Hao's regard was sincere, but the benefits he offered left Jiang Xuan speechless. "Thank you for your kind intentions, Brother Dong, but I am wholly devoted to cultivation right now and have no mind for romantic matters."
To Jiang Xuan's surprise, his words only made Dong Hao laugh even more heartily. "Brother Jiang, if you want to advance faster in cultivation, that is all the more reason to seriously consider this."
At that, he stepped closer and whispered,
“Even if these women are abandoned by their families and relegated to collateral branches, the resources in their hands are still beyond anything you, born into the Cold Gate, can compare with.”
"If you can marry one, you can at least save yourself ten or twenty years of struggle."
"...No need." Jiang Xuan did not want to be bound by such ties.
Seeing his resolute attitude, Dong Hao shrugged and stopped trying to persuade him.
Once Dong Hao left, Jiang Xuan immediately followed the prescribed ritual, performing the Pure Heart, mouth, body, and hands cleansing rites. His entire being settled into serene tranquility. Not long afterward, Song Zhou, lecturer of the Star Daoist Academy, arrived riding the clouds and mist.
He raised his eyes to glance at the sky, then announced loudly to the more than three thousand students below, "Begin cultivation."
"Exhale... inhale..."
At the command, more than three thousand students began breathing in unison and commenced their morning cultivation. Jiang Xuan likewise entered meditation.
In an instant, he felt the wonder of Communion with Truth settling upon him.
His pure body, cleansed until it harmonized with heaven and earth, not only made drawing qi into his body smoother, but also made refining spiritual qi twice as effective with half the effort. Even when searching for Apertures, his clear and transparent body allowed him to move more than thirty percent faster than ordinary Cultivators.
"This is an all-around enhancement!"
The cleansed body accelerated Jiang Xuan's Aperture Opening once more. During yesterday's evening class, he had opened six Apertures in a single cultivation session. Today, he opened even more—over the course of one morning, he directly opened seven Apertures.
"Unfortunately, Communion with Truth overlaps somewhat with the abilities of the Clear-Heart Sword Disciple. With the Clear-Heart Mirror (Self-Observation), finding Apertures is already easy for me. A pure body is not especially useful to me... at least not right now."
"And there is also the gathering of spiritual qi... [Heart? Sincerity (Sword)] combined with the Three Purification Incantations already allows me to achieve Unity of Man and Sword with the Azure Glaze Sword and draw upon the natural spiritual qi between heaven and earth. That also overlaps greatly with the effect of spiritual qi gathering automatically."
Although it could not directly add another thirty to fifty percent to his progress, going from six Apertures to seven still delighted Jiang Xuan.
What excited him even more was that, after a morning of cultivation, he was only one final Aperture away from the outstanding standard of thirty-six Apertures!
"I do not even need to wait until evening class to open this final Aperture."
The Divine Firmament Sect's class schedule was carefully arranged. The interval between morning and evening classes allowed Jiang Xuan and the others' bodies to recover as fully as possible.
Cultivating ahead of schedule would instead yield poorer results.
But Jiang Xuan was now only one Aperture away. Even if the effectiveness of his cultivation was discounted, it would never affect this final kick at the threshold.
"The sooner I break through it, the sooner I can rest easy. Lecturer Song Zhou will certainly be present when evening class begins, but when it ends, he may not remain here."
"In the past, those who met the standard during evening class usually reported their results to Lecturer Song Zhou the following morning. But today is the final day of assessment. If I report it tomorrow, it can only count as an elite rating."
Although Jiang Xuan felt that, by ordinary reasoning, Lecturer Song Zhou would remain until the end today, he did not dare gamble, nor could he afford to lose.
"The path of cultivation is like a thousand armies and ten thousand horses fighting to cross a single-log bridge. One step slow truly means every step slow. If I can reach the shore steadily, there is no need to take risks."
"Jiang Xuan, come eat."
When Jiang Xuan finished his cultivation and emerged from meditation, Dong Hao came looking for him again and invited him to share a spirit meal. This time, however, they were headed for seats in the front rows.
"I have a few friends I need to introduce to Brother Jiang."
Dong Hao, who was determined to enter the inner sect, had naturally recruited more than Jiang Xuan alone. He had also taken a liking to several talented youths and drawn them into the same camp. Today's meal was not only for eating, drinking, and strengthening their rapport, but also to bring Jiang Xuan together with the others so they could become familiar with one another.
That way, they would be able to coordinate in battle more easily in the future.