Three days had passed. Apart from the first day, a total of eight hundred and seventy-nine people had broken through to the Eighth-Grade Realm over the latter two days.
Adding the hundred and nine from the first day, that made nine hundred and ninety-eight in total.
In fact, those eight hundred-odd who broke through over the latter two days were the ordinary ones.
Those who managed it on the first day all counted as talented.
More people breaking through on the second and third days showed that ordinary people still outnumbered outstanding ones.
There were another thousand and two left, but that did not mean these thousand-odd people were particularly bad.
Anyone who found their sense of Qi within half a month counted as ordinary.
It was simply that those first eight hundred-odd were the better ones among ordinary people, while those who broke through within half a month were the slightly worse ones.
Those who took more than half a month to develop a sense of Qi, but managed it within a month, were just a little slower, a little duller.
If they still could not find their sense of Qi after that, they really were fools.
Basically, as long as they reached the Eighth-Grade Realm before advancing to the next year of study next year, Tianyang Martial Dao Academy would waive their tuition.
If they still could not manage it by next year, that meant they truly were not cut out for martial arts.
If they wanted to keep trying, they could pay tuition.
Those who did not want to try could choose another major.
Anyone who reached the Seventh-Rank Realm before next year, meaning they could project their internal power outward, would receive a scholarship.
Anyone who could break through to the sixth rank by next year would certainly receive focused training.
During this time, Zhang Qingyuan also visited Liu Sidao's home and found Liu Sandao.
Liu Sandao was overwhelmed by the honor when Zhang Qingyuan arrived.
He thought his son had made some mistake and the dean had personally come to call him to account.
Brother Dao was called Brother Dao for a reason: back when he attended school, he had been a little tyrant.
Having the teacher summon his parents had been perfectly normal.
But when he heard that Zhang Qingyuan had come to ask whether he was willing to let his child join the Tianyang Sect...
Liu Sandao nearly leaped up to bite someone. He immediately declared, "Dean Zhang, Sect Master Zhang. For you to think highly of my child, blue smoke must be rising from my Liu family's ancestral graves.
"Rest assured, I support this a hundred percent. If that brat has any objections, tell me. I'll talk to him myself!"
"No, no, no, I just wanted to ask your opinion."
"I'm definitely in favor, with both hands and both feet raised."
Liu Sandao had thought it through. Only a fool would refuse.
Becoming the Tianyang Sect Master's personal disciple was just like picking up free money.
What could his son do after graduating and leaving the mountain?
Go to another sect to continue cultivating and become their disciple?
Yes, he's talented. Much as I'd like to be modest, my son's abilities won't allow it!
Even if he was talented, he had been trained at Tianyang Martial Dao Academy. Even if he joined another sect, would they let him become the sect leader's personal disciple?
Who would not keep their guard up against him?
Even if he became the sect leader's personal disciple, could he get anywhere near the sect master's seat?
Impossible, all right?
Besides, have him do something else?
My son has the potential for the first grade and the makings of a Martial God.
Have him inherit his father's position as head constable, command Phoenix Cry City's three squads of yamen runners, and deal with all the city's thieves, great and small...
Was that not nonsense!
Become someone's bodyguard, or roam the jianghu?
Staying in the Tianyang Sect offered the best value!
Trained by Tianyang Martial Dao Academy, he would have the right roots and pedigree when he joined the Tianyang Sect. If he truly performed well, he would have an excellent chance at the sect master's seat in the future.
Most importantly, the Tianyang Sect had prospects now!
At least two thousand disciples in each intake.
Among the sect's businesses, the newspaper alone already carried considerable weight in the Eastern Realm.
All that talk was useless. Just do it.
Zhang Qingyuan returned to the mountain and spoke with Liu Sidao again. Brother Dao was quite willing too.
In fact, many students in this first intake would be staying to work at the academy.
Tianyang Martial Dao Academy had not yet recruited employees on a large scale precisely because it was saving positions for its own students.
Employing them would demonstrate that the academy provided job opportunities for impoverished students.
It also meant employing people whose backgrounds they knew thoroughly, without the effort of investigating them. Why not?
By the fifth day, another hundred-odd people had broken through.
Those who needed to practice with first-year teachers did so, and those who needed guidance from second-year teachers sought them out.
That day, Old Eldest suddenly hauled two large cartloads of scriptures up from the foot of the mountain and dumped them all into the library. Three rows of shelves were set aside specifically for these Daoist scriptures.
The academy's explanation was that, as martial artists, besides practicing martial arts, they also needed to study the martial Dao.
The library had already held Confucian classics.
Now they were adding some Daoist scriptures, and in the future there would be Buddhist scriptures too.
They did not merely teach martial arts; they also encouraged people toward goodness.
That afternoon, Zhang Qingyuan summoned all the teachers to the meeting room.
Once seated, Zhang Qingyuan said, "I've called you here today mainly to discuss two things.
"First, I intend to go on a study tour."
A study tour?
This was their first time hearing the term, and none of them understood what it meant.
Zhang Qingyuan explained, "'Study tour' is short for 'research-based learning.'
"It refers to a student-centered learning model in which students actively acquire knowledge, apply it, and solve problems through a combination of practice, inquiry, and travel experiences.
"At its core, it extends the classroom into society and natural environments, emphasizing the development of students' overall qualities, innovative abilities, and practical skills in real-world settings.
"Simply put, I want to select a few students and, as their dean, take them out to roam the jianghu and have some friendly exchanges with other sects."
After the teachers heard this, Lu Guying was the first to raise a question. "Dean, the students are all quite young, and most of them are only in the Eighth-Grade Realm. Their techniques and internal cultivation are also still very rudimentary. Wouldn't traveling the jianghu now be a little too... dangerous?"
The others said nothing, but they shared his thoughts.
Even major sects did not let disciples roam the jianghu at the eighth rank. They would at least wait until they reached the Seventh-Rank Realm, or even the Upper Three Ranks.
In other sects, the vast majority of disciples who left the mountain at the eighth rank did so for only one reason.
Their martial arts were too poor. This was as far as they could go.
They had reached the end of the road as outer disciples and had no choice but to leave the mountain to earn a living.
"Mm, Teacher Lu, I'm very pleased that you're considering the students' safety." Zhang Qingyuan affirmed Lu Guying's point, then explained, "Actually, my main reason for taking them on a study tour is also to consider their future cultivation and development.
"Especially the talented ones. Some people become utterly lawless once they gain martial strength.
"This is our academy's first intake, and our ideological education is sorely lacking.
"So the second thing I want to discuss is something you've all seen: many Daoist scriptures have been brought into the library, alongside the Confucian classics we already had.
"As teachers, you should also lead by example and read them often, so that while teaching students martial arts, you can also teach them principles of conduct through your words and actions.
"As for those talented disciples, I will personally take them around the martial world, so they can learn how treacherous society can be, and correct their thinking in time.
"Besides, the destinations for this study tour, apart from the Bright Moon Sect, will only be a few temples and Daoist monasteries in the Eastern Realm."
After hearing him out, the teachers discussed it quietly.
If they were only visiting temples and Daoist monasteries, that would be fine. The Bright Moon Sect was said to have a good relationship with the Tianyang Sect.
"Since there are no other opinions, this meeting's proposal has passed unanimously.
"Next, I'll give you the list of students for this study tour. Teachers of each class, go back and find the relevant students. Have them assemble in front of the mountain gate tomorrow morning.
"Meeting adjourned!"