[You cast the Body-Purification Divine Incantation once and gained the "Untouched by Dust" effect. Body-Purification Divine Incantation EXP +3.] [You cast the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation once and gained the "Purification of Verbal Karma" effect. Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation EXP +3.] [You cast the Heart-Purification Divine Incantation once and gained the "Clarity of the Spirit Platform" effect. Heart-Purification Divine Incantation EXP +12.]
"Hmm?!"
This time, it was Jiang Xuan's turn to be stunned.
"How could it increase by so much EXP..."
Before he could finish, Jiang Xuan understood.
"It's my state of mind! When I performed the ritual and recited the incantations just now, my mind was free of distractions. I wasn't swept along by others' words, and I held fast to my true heart. That happened to align with the true meaning of these Three Divine Incantations, which is why I received such an extraordinary bonus!"
"Sticking to myself and not being affected by other people's words and attitudes... That suits me just fine."
Jiang Xuan had never let idle gossip throw him off balance. Now that he knew holding fast to his true heart could align with the Dao's intent and bring him bonuses, he flung all those discussions beyond the nine heavens.
Thus, utterly ignoring the gazes that had yet to disperse around him, Jiang Xuan cleansed himself, applied the incantation effects, then sat down cross-legged again and refined Spell Power through breathing exercises.
"..."
Seeing that Jiang Xuan paid absolutely no heed to the outside world, the cultivators who had been watching him in hopes of seeing a good show gradually lost interest and withdrew their gazes.
After resting for a while, the students also entered meditation once more and immersed themselves in cultivation.
Time gradually passed along with everyone's cultivation.
One incense stick, two incense sticks, three incense sticks... Before long, it was the hour of the snake in the morning, nine o'clock. After two or three hours of high-intensity cultivation, the students in the plaza were already exhausted in body and mind.
Under such circumstances, eighty percent of those in the plaza had stopped. Some adjusted their breathing and rested, some chatted in low voices, while even more stared wide-eyed, their faces full of envy as they watched those who remained in meditation.
There was no question about it. Cultivating longer than others and refining more Spell Power was an absolute advantage—enough to make anyone see red.
At the same time, most of the youths who had stopped were looking toward the front.
Those who still had enough strength to remain in meditation at this point were either prodigies with exceptional Spirit Root grades or children of cultivation Aristocratic Clans sustaining themselves with pills. They were already the top group within Star Daoist Academy, and they occupied the frontmost seats.
And now, the ordinary students' gazes toward them held not only envy and jealousy, but an undisguised fervor.
Especially among the female cultivators with outstanding looks: when they looked toward the front rows, beneath their envy lay traces of worry and complicated emotions.
—Though this batch of students had only been enrolled for three or four days, everyone had already understood the atmosphere of the Divine Firmament Sect. They knew there were obvious classes here, and they understood that only prodigies and the strong would be respected.
Having seen this clearly, some fought with all their strength to cross the Sea of Suffering, swearing to squeeze their way into the front ranks. Others knew their own limits. Knowing that their aptitude could never open the gates of the inner sect, they sought to find a patron in advance, someone to rely on, and a secure path forward.
And because women were naturally drawn to strength and more accustomed to relying on others, quite a few young girls had already begun secretly selecting their targets.
Just as everyone harbored their own thoughts—some envious, some unwilling, some calculating their future path—a startled cry suddenly rang out:
"Jiang Xuan! Why is he still cultivating?!"
"Jiang Xuan? Who's that? Is he also a Heaven Grade or Earthly Spirit Root?"
"That guy who's always putting on airs and imitating the mannerisms of Aristocratic Clan heirs?"
"He isn't pretending, is he?"
Seeing that Jiang Xuan could continue cultivating, the students around him were first astonished, then grew suspicious one after another.
They believed Jiang Xuan was deliberately pretending to still be cultivating, using it to show how different he was so he could worm his way into the circles of cultivation Aristocratic Clans.
Many shared that suspicion, and wave after wave of scrutinizing, mocking gazes fell ever more sharply upon Jiang Xuan.
Yet those stares, like needles prickling against his back, failed to stir even the slightest ripple in Jiang Xuan's mind.
Knowing clearly what he needed, Jiang Xuan cast aside every outside disturbance and cultivated with an undistracted heart.
That state of firm Daoist conviction instead sent the cultivation efficiency of his three divine incantations—especially the Heart-Purification Divine Incantation—soaring all the way upward.
[You cast the Body-Purification Divine Incantation once and gained the "Untouched by Dust" effect. Body-Purification Divine Incantation EXP +3.] [You cast the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation once and gained the "Purification of Verbal Karma" effect. Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation EXP +3.] [You cast the Heart-Purification Divine Incantation once and gained the "Clarity of the Spirit Platform" effect. Heart-Purification Divine Incantation EXP +12.]
With every breath in and out, Jiang Xuan's breathing exercises were long and steady.
Thus, while the ordinary students around him had long since run out of strength and showed weary expressions, Jiang Xuan's cultivation rhythm remained as steady as a rock.
The cleansing blessings of the Three Divine Incantations made his process of refining Heaven and Earth spiritual energy much easier than before. Furthermore, casting the three divine incantations consumed some of Jiang Xuan's time, extending his cultivation by a full hour compared to usual.
With his cultivation efficiency doubled and his cultivation time increased as well, by the time Jiang Xuan exhausted himself and ended his session, his fourth Aperture had already been completely refined to completion.
This also allowed Jiang Xuan to estimate his Aperture Opening speed.
"Because my body will be tired, my cultivation efficiency will drop somewhat at night... So, as I am now, I can open at most three Apertures in a day."
"Thirty-six Apertures means twelve days... Today is already the fourth day since entering the Daoist Academy, and I've opened four Apertures. In other words, on the fifteenth day of the assessment, I may be able to meet Instructor Song Zhou's standard, receive a Good rating, and enter the Dao-Bearing Class for cultivation."
Thinking this far, Jiang Xuan did not feel relieved. Instead, his brows furrowed tightly.
"Meeting the standard right at the deadline and entering the class leaves too many variables. It's far too dangerous."
"Besides, the amount of time it takes to enter the Dao-Bearing Class will definitely affect the distribution of resource rewards. If I can enter earlier, then I must seize this head start."
Beyond those two points, Jiang Xuan had an even deeper consideration—his goal had never been merely scraping by with a "Good" rating. If he wanted to firmly join the ranks of Inner Disciples, his sights had always been fixed upon the highest rating: "Excellent."
"Entering the Dao-Bearing Class doesn't mean I'll definitely become an Inner Disciple. Only by obtaining an Excellent evaluation, receiving most of the resources from Instructor Song Zhou, and raising my strength as quickly as possible will I be able to achieve good results in the Hundred-Day Grand Examination."
"I have no hope in the first evaluation, but the first round of assessment only lasts thirty days, while the Hundred-Day Grand Examination gives me a full hundred days. I may not be without a chance to turn the tables."
Whether he wanted to enter the Dao-Bearing Class early or receive a better evaluation, in the end, it all came down to increasing his cultivation speed.
At this moment, he began considering how to push his cultivation speed another step further.
Before long, he thought of two viable directions.
"Now that I've taken the Daoist Acolyte career and gained the Three Divine Incantations, I can recite the incantations as much as possible during this period and perform some of a Daoist Acolyte's proper duties."
"Once my Daoist Acolyte level rises and the realms of the Three Divine Incantations improve, my cultivation speed will definitely rise another step."
Jiang Xuan had been doing this all along, but results would still take time to appear. Distant water could not quench immediate thirst. Thus, his gaze fell upon the second method: his Career Panel. Penniless and short on Spirit Stones, this was the only place where he could make something happen.
Fortunately, he truly did find a way to break the deadlock there.
"Career... Daoist Acolyte is only a secondary career. I still have a main career slot that I haven't taken."
With that thought, Jiang Xuan first looked at the requirements for taking the Novice Qi Refiner career.
[Career Requirements ①: Find a spiritual land and take up residence there. (Completed) ②: Obtain a Qi cultivation method and cultivate it to the Proficient level. ③: Cultivate a wisp of Spell Power. (Completed)] [Technique: Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Method (Realm 1, Beginner, 133/300) (Blue)]
After a single glance, Jiang Xuan shook his head. "Too slow. Although I can still cultivate this afternoon, at my current pace, I'll need at least four or five more days before I can take the Novice Qi Refiner career."
"By then, it'll already be the tenth day of the assessment. I'll only have five short days left to strive for a higher rating..."
His thoughts raced, and two paths lay before him. The first was to change his main career.
"Novice Qi Refiner is only the direction I chose. I haven't bound myself to it yet, so I can freely change careers now."
"Furthermore, I can choose more than one career, even among main careers, and there's no EXP penalty. So I can choose another career first, then take on Qi Refiner as a side career later."
The second path was to switch to a Qi cultivation method with a lower threshold, one that was easier to master quickly, and complete the Novice Qi Refiner's second career requirement first.
"After all, the career requirement only says that I need to cultivate a Qi cultivation method to the Proficient level. It doesn't specify what kind of method it has to be."
"The Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Method is Blue Rare Grade, even Deep Blue. In this world, that makes it a top-tier Profound Grade technique. Since its rank isn't low, it's naturally harder to improve."
"But other Qi cultivation methods may not be nearly as difficult to cultivate."
Both methods were viable to a certain extent, leaving Jiang Xuan somewhat indecisive.
"Buzz buzz..."
Before he could weigh the matter and reach a conclusion, a surge of clamorous voices and cheers suddenly came from the front, shattering the plaza's quiet.
Looking up, Jiang Xuan discovered that a group of students at the very front were surrounding two people, their faces full of delight as they offered congratulations.
Even Instructor Song Zhou, who was usually stern, cold, and exacting, wore a few traces of a gentle smile at this moment.
Of course, some people wore expressions of envy and jealousy as well.
"Congratulations, Miss Xie Hanyan."
"Young Master Qin, I knew you could do it."
"Refining all thirty-six Apertures to completion in just four days—Young Master Qin Feng truly is a heaven-sent genius!"
"Hahaha, you're too kind, everyone. I was merely lucky..."
The congratulations in the crowd were unceasing. Though Qin Feng tried to remain calm, the spring breeze of pride on his face could not be concealed.
This scene also let Jiang Xuan know that someone had opened all thirty-six Apertures and received an Excellent rating.
And there were two of them at once.