CH-21: Tension With The Instructor

"I will be in charge of your cultivation lectures, you may call me Instructor Fiery Blade. I will share my experience of cultivation with you and guide you towards Foundation Establishment, your final exam. Before we get started, do you know what it means to cultivate? I believe student Axel can answer this, please go on."

"Of course, instructor. Cultivation means cultivating one's self beyond natural limits that are put on them. An active act of rebellion toward heavens who puts limits on us." Putting a good face on, I answered with the most basic explanation one could give. 'He should give his money's worth, you can't slack off with making us answer these.'

"A quite simple but profound answer, as expected of the Prominent Clans. That's right, we cultivators cultivate so we can go beyond the limits set on us by the Heavens. But! One should not forget that even though we go against it, it is also our greatest ally in our path. You take Qi and Laws from the heavens and make it yours, and that is cultivation."

Then he went on about his junior days, how he came to the academy and worked his ass off to get where he was, that kind of stuff. Eventually, he got to the point.

"Cultivation is a long and arduous process. As the creme of the crop talents in our continent, your path forward is guaranteed. Unless you cultivate your Body that is. I'm seeing a considerable amount of students who have cultivated to the First Stage of the Refinement Revolution, and there is even a Second Stage! Let me give you a piece of advice, don't continue on it. There is a reason why body cultivation is inferior, the path forward is blocked. Do you understand student Axel?"

'Did he get butthurt over that? Calling me out as the Second Stage...'

"I am aware of it. Thanks to the instructor for his worries but it is my path to tread on."

-Gasp

Now there was visible tension in the auditorium.

"As long as you know. Now, everyone here has built their bodies and is at Peak. The only thing you have to do to breakthrough is to feel the Qi around you and guide it through your meridians to your Dantian. When you open your Dantian with that first Qi you are officially a Qi Refining Stage 1 Practitioner. Now, sit down in the lotus position, and try to feel and move the Qi around you. I will be waiting."

Everyone sat down, sounds of deep breathing could be heard everywhere.

"Student Axel, why are you not meditating?" 'This manchild is still mad?'

"Excuse me, Instructor. I do not wish to start Qi Cultivation just yet."

"Hah! What will you do, body cultivation? I guess the rumours were true after all. Such a waste of spiritual roots." 'Now he doesn't even hide it anymore, will every instructor be like this?'

"As I said before, it's my path to tread. It is not your place to comment on it. Please continue with your lesson." Bastard seemed to have forgotten my position, so I gave him a reminder.

'Shouldn't he mingle with the protagonist, why is he on me? Although Body Cultivation is looked down on, it doesn't mean he can act just like that.'

Swallowing his words, he turned his focus to those who were already moving Qi.

"That's right, now those who don't have any cultivation techniques, raise your hands." A third of the students raised their hands. Although Instructor Fiery Blade looked visibly irritated, he flicked his hands and thousands of books flew to those who raised their hands. 

"This technique is called Clear Essence Cultivation Technique. The version in your hands is up to Peak Qi Refining. It is not because we want to rip you off by not giving the one that is up to Foundation Establishment, but because this technique allows you to change your cultivation technique before Foundation Establishment. If you don't want to switch off to another more specialised technique, you will be given the Foundation Establishment part when you ask for it." Giving the students time to think about it, he continued.

"The technique's distribution is prohibited, and you will swear an oath to not disclose it to third parties. Now read the book, and you will continue like the rest." As he observed the students he started to give pointers.

-"Slow down, be steady. Cultivation is not a sprint but a marathon. Yes, just like that. Keep on."

-"Don't lose focus! Do you want to go into Qi Deviation or what? Focus on your own cultivation and not others'."

-"You are doing good, but your absorption can't keep up with your compression. You too switch to the Clear Essence Technique, the one you use is not suited to you.

-"As expected of the Prominent Jiang Clan, such fine control of Qi and strong compression. Keep on like this." He said to Ava, then turned to Iyana.

"You shouldn't let your first rank position get to your head, and definitely not take examples from your fiance. Why are you not cultivating like the rest?"

"My spiritual root is of Yin, do you plan to kill me by making me cultivate under the sun? And I decide who I take examples from, not you. Don't stray from your duty or your end won't be well." 

'Chill, girl. I guess she had a beef with him in her previous life. Anyways, it should be time he goes for an easier target, like Ye Tian.' He did not disappoint, after guiding a few more students he stood atop Ye Tian.

"Is this what you call compressing? I'm not even saying anything about you storing your Qi in five different positions! It was a mistake to let a quintuple root trash in!"

"Instructor, could you please shut up, I'm trying to focus here."

"You! Okay then, if you can't reach Qi Refining First Stage Peak in a week I will send you to the stables to clean beast shit!"

"What if I do then? What will I get if I reach it?"

"Hah! So clueless about cultivation but still thinks he can do it! Alright! If you reach I will give you 10.000 contribution points from my pay, and 3 bottles of Breakthrough Pills!"

"See you next week then, instructor." Said Ye Tian and got up. The allocated time was over. Realising this, Fiery Blade fixed his composure.

"Ahem, be sure to cultivate diligently. I will check on your progress next week."

-Whoosh

'And he goes...'

-"Wow, I can't wait to fly like him too!"

-"A Golden Core True Person instructing us, how lucky we are!"

-"But don't you think he was quite moody?"

-"How could he be anything but moody! With a quintuple root trash ignoring them even saints would lose it at some point."

-"Heh, he can't even gather his Qi in a single point but still dares to bet with the instructor. I can't wait for him to be humiliated next week."

'Looks like my exchange with him is already forgotten, is this the life of an extra? Anyways, next instructors shouldn't be so childish, trying to pressure us nobles just because we are greenhorns.'

The next lesson was about beasts' anatomy and their habitats. The instructor this time was a middle-aged woman in green robes. She descended onto the stage with her flying beast.

"My name is Xun Shou Shi, you may refer to me as Instructor Azure Claw Fiend. I will be in charge of teaching you about beasts, their habitats and how to tame them. Now before we get started, ask any questions you have in mind." A girl from one of the back seats raised her hand.

-"What is your beast's race?"

"First, you shouldn't put wild beasts and a cultivator's beast companion in the same category. Latter is more likely to have human levels of sentience before reaching Rank 5, so be careful with your words next time."

-"Hiccup!"

"Haha, no need to be so nervous. You are not strong enough for her to care about your words. For your question, she is a Southern Azure Gale Pheasant. They reach adulthood when they are of Rank 4 Mid Stage, currently, she is of Rank 5 Early Stage. If there are no more questions, I will start the lecture."

"Beasts are an indispensable part of cultivation. We use their blood to make talismans, bones and skin to make artefacts. Or simply eat their meat. For many reasons, we are deeply connected to each other. A beast's cultivation starts from a wild animal and goes to the level of Divine Beast. Divine Beasts are as the name implies, of Divine Ascension Realm. Unlike us humans, they can't ascend when they reach Divine Ascension and instead, they go into long hibernations. Each Divine Beast rules over a vast amount of land. They allow humans to use the resources on those lands as long as they don't do so excessively. One of the reasons is that when a Divine Ascension Saint is ascending to the upper realm, they can take others with them. So you could say they rear a Divine Ascension to carry them to the Upper Realm."