A new genius

Wu Zhi headed strait for the cafeteria. Unbothered by the strange looks, he full on sprinted to his destination.

When he got their he ordered a whole plater of dishes to eat by himself: roast pork belly, Miso soup, pork dumplings, sweet and sour chicken, an assortment of hot tea, some mineral water with ice in it, served in a glass jug, braised tofu, stir-fried greens, and lastly, some nice silky sweet mango pudding to top it all off. It was a full on feast, not just for the stomach, but for the eyes: a majestic sight, and for the smell: a salivating aroma. He had no idea if what he was doing was normal or not but frankly he didn't care. He was living his best life, eating like a king. 

Nobody came up to him, and frankly he had no idea what he should do next. It was some time in the afternoon, one month from when he went into secluded mediation. 'Maybe I should try some classes out' he thought. 'Its probably a good idea to learn as much as he can, about this new world. Maybe I can skip mathematics, ethics, and I don't know about etiquette. But I should definitely go for more cultivation classes and maybe geography. He had a feeling geography would actually be worthwhile to learn.

So he went to the attendance room to see if there were any classes he should sign up for. There wasn't much as most classes happen just before lunch. There was: meditation insights, basic mathematics, combat training, and divination class. The divination class was happening at night because it was teaching divination by mapping the stars. He didn't know anything about that. Basic mathematics was a waste of time for him and combat training had no use for him right now. Meditation insights it is! He wanted to see just how big of an advantage his meditation specialization was. Who knew, he could learn a thing or two. The class was scheduled at night at the waterfall of tranquility. He signed up and went to take a small nap, he hardly had anything else to do.

When class started he was sitting near the waterfall, while people aged 5 - 18 were having hushed conversations and whispering amongst one another. An old man with a gentle temperament walked in the room. He didn't look to old, maybe in his 50's to 60's if Wu Zhi had to guess. He was wearing comfortable silk robes. A testament to his status as well as his temperament. He seemed like someone important, though he had no idea how important. "Hello Everyone I am elder Ming, I will be presiding over class today, if you have any questions please raise your hand". Seeing no one raised their hand he calmly walked to the center of the small river were a flat rock sat. It was the perfect place for meditation one could ask for. He sat in the lotus position and said "meditation is the best for cultivation, this is because it calms the mind and removes distractions. Meditation is an ancient practice that spans time all the way back to our ancestry. Now can anyone tell me how one might improve their meditation experience. He opened his eyes to find a few silent hands shoot up. "The one in a green robe what might you do to improve your experience". "I would use some spiritual incense to increase my concentration". "That helps" the teacher said. "You by the waterfall what would you do". "I would find a place with no distractions". "Very good" the teacher replied. "There are two different types of meditation techniques I employ. One is of focus, to focus really hard you have to be calm and patient, you focus on what troubles you the most or on your cultivation. The other is the opposite, it is to focus on nothing, think of nothing and enter a state of nothingness. These are the two main types of meditation, if you have experienced one I want you to try the other. If you have experienced neither I want you to try one or the other". With that, everyone shifted around in place, getting comfortable and sitting in the lotus position. For Wu Zhi specifically, he was going to use the meditation technique for emptying his mind. To achieve a state of nothingness he had to close of everything, all distractions, all thoughts, everything. he couldn't feel anything, not even the passage of time. Like a sage he sat there unmoving, uncaring, at peace. With time passing he got a gentle tap on his shoulder. "Young lad, the class is over". He looked up to find elder Ming giving him a gentle smile. "Child, when did you enter the sect" elder Ming asked. "Oh I entered the sect about a month ago elder". He said as he cupped his fists. "A month ago? Did you practice cultivation before that"? "No elder, I only started practicing cultivation when I joined the sect". "So you're saying you reached the first level of qi refinement in one month, is that correct"? "Yes that's right". Elder Ming gave him a strange look. "what about your spiritual test results, what are they". "It is umm... a talent score of 68, a blood element, and a dual specialization in dual cultivation and meditation". Elder Ming silently stared at him. "Hmm, come to my office tomorrow I want a have a chat with you. It should be the deans office in the schooling sector". With that he turned around and walked off, Wu Zhi was turning around about to cup his fists in thanks when he noticed that the elder had disappeared. 'Huh, I wonder what he wants to talk about' he thought as he made his way home.