Peace in the fairyland (4): Newcomer

“Cheng Huaiqian”‘s tone and expression were full of excitement, as if he had already seen himself stepping into the immortal path and rising straight to a bright future.

It was just that Cheng Huaiqian really shouldn’t know the information about the indigenous world.

Xia Ruize felt it was offensive to see his lover making such an expression, so he threw the Guyuan Pill back and rejected it coldly:

“I don’t want it! I don’t dare to be brothers with Young Master Cheng anymore. Young Master Cheng, please stay away from me and don’t push me down the mountain again.”

After saying this, he walked away without looking back.

“Cheng Huaiqian” at the back looked fierce, and with a flick of his hand, the few drops of blood on his hand were thrown onto Xia Ruize.

Xia Ruize “saw” this scene, but did not react immediately. He also wanted to see what other tricks this man had.

After walking alone for more than ten minutes, the mountain road ahead became wider and wider. After turning a corner, there was a very spacious and flat open space in front of him. There were already many young people waiting in the open space, and there were also a few familiar immortals standing on flying swords in the air.

When Wang Teng, the leader, saw Xia Ruize, he announced, “You are ranked 500th. Very good. You are qualified to become an outer disciple of my Qingyang Sect…”

But at this moment, Cheng Huaiqian followed Xia Ruize to the top of the mountain. Upon hearing this, he immediately shouted back, “I have a report!”

Cheng Huaiqian interrupted Wang Teng’s announcement. Everyone’s attention was focused on him. Cheng Huaiqian said confidently:

“I report that this Young Master Xia harmed other candidates in order to gain the qualification of an outer disciple! I saw it with my own eyes! Look, there is blood on his body!”

Everyone’s attention immediately followed Cheng Huaiqian’s finger and looked behind Xia Ruize, where there was indeed some blood.

Wang Teng, who was standing on the flying sword, said, “In that case, cancel the evildoer’s ranking. The newcomer is ranked 500th and can become an outer disciple of my Qingyang Sect.”

After saying this, he even looked at Xia Ruize with disgust and said in a cold voice: “My Qingyang Sect does not want such a vicious person!”

Xia Ruize: …

Xia Ruize looked a little surprised, and after a moment of silence, he said:

“I demand the right to be defended!

I did not harm anyone. On the contrary, I saw with my own eyes that Young Master Cheng pushed another person off the cliff. The two bottles of Guyuan Pill he had were taken from the victim’s bag.”

“You are so cunning and slanderous! You still want to drag me down with you even after all this. You are truly a treacherous and evil person!”

“Cheng Huaiqian” immediately retorted.

Xia Ruize said slowly:

“Since we each have our own opinions, I think the people of Qingyang Sect will not listen to one side only. I still remember the location where that person fell off the cliff. Maybe he got caught on a tree on the cliff. It would be better for the immortals of Qingyang Sect to rescue him, and then let that person personally identify the murderer.”

After hearing this, “Cheng Huaiqian” was shocked, because Xia Ruize was an example of someone who was pushed down the mountain and hung on a tree but successfully saved himself. He couldn’t help but worry that the other person didn’t handle it properly either.

Thinking of this, a sinister look suddenly appeared on Cheng Huaiqian’s face, and he suddenly rushed towards Xia Ruize, obviously trying to use his old trick again, wanting to push Xia Ruize off the cliff and drag him to death together.

Xia Ruize was caught off guard last time, but not this time. He took a small step sideways and slightly turned sideways to completely avoid the impact of “Cheng Huaiqian”.

“Cheng Huaiqian” exerted too much force and could not stop, so he rushed down the cliff and was about to fall off.

Xia Ruize sighed in his heart, quickly reached out and grabbed the clothes on the back of “Cheng Huaiqian”, and pulled him up, he didn’t let “Cheng Huaiqian” fall, he let him accept the punishment.

“The facts are clear, this Young Master Cheng is the real murderer, please punish him severely!”

Xia Ruize said loudly.

Wang Teng on the flying sword looked around, nodded, and asked Xia Ruize, “How do you want to punish him?”

Xia Ruize didn’t know what the laws of this world were, so he said, “I should be qualified to become an outer disciple of Qingyang Sect. In this case, I will punish him according to the rules of Qingyang Sect.”

Wang Teng seemed satisfied with his answer and nodded again.

Suddenly, the air in front of Xia Ruize’s eyes kept undulating like water ripples. He watched helplessly as “Cheng Huaiqian” who had fallen to the ground beside him disappeared, as did the hundreds of young people waiting in the distance. Even Wang Teng, who was riding a flying sword, disappeared…

In its place was a tall and majestic mountain gate made entirely of white jade, with two large golden words “Qingyang Sect” inscribed on it.

Exquisite tables and chairs were placed on the large open space in front of the mountain gate. Many people who looked like immortals were sitting or standing, casting admiring glances at Xia Ruize.

Xia Ruize: …

The “Wang Teng” who was standing on the flying sword disappeared. Wang Teng, who was sitting on the chair, smiled at Xia Ruize and said soothingly:

“Congratulations, you are the fifth person to pass the second level. You can become an outer disciple of my Qingyang Sect. Wait aside for now.”

As he spoke, he pointed to a lawn not far away, where four young people were standing. It seemed that they had passed the second level earlier than Xia Ruize.

Xia Ruize nodded and walked to the lawn to wait.

The four people who passed the second level first took the initiative to say hello. They exchanged names, chatted briefly, and then waited in silence. They didn’t dare to make too much noise because the immortals not far away were discussing something enthusiastically.

All the immortals looked intently at a small piece of brocade in front of them. The brocade was swaying rhythmically in the air, attracting the attention of all the immortals like the most interesting object.

From the few comments he vaguely heard, Xia Ruize guessed that the people of Qingyang Sect could see from the brocade silk the performance of other young people who took the “The Path to Self-Reflection”, and that the challenges faced by others seemed to be similar to those he had encountered.

It seemed that the people of Qingyang Sect wanted to screen candidates for disciples by observing the different behaviors of young people when they encountered setbacks, betrayal, temptation, injustice and other adversities.

This method was quite superior. In an extremely realistic environment, it was difficult for the person being tested to realize that what they had experienced was fake, and their true nature could be easily revealed.

“This kid is no good. He was bought with a bottle of Guyuan Pill and even robbed the players behind him. His character is really unstable.”

“Haha, I think the guy on the upper left is even worse. He was pushed down and just screamed like a ghost without even trying to save himself. Yo yo yo, he even pushed the person who saved him down. He is really vicious.”

“Hey, the girl on the right was wrongly accused and she can’t even say a word to refute it. She can’t just cry. If she continues like this, there will be a lot of trouble. This girl is too delicate.”

……

Although Xia Ruize couldn’t see other people’s performance, he could guess what they did just by listening to the comments.

Not long after, he witnessed with his own eyes a young man suddenly appear in an empty place, and then Wang Teng announced that the young man could become an outer disciple.

The silly expressions on the faces of the young people who passed the test were quite interesting. But Xia Ruize was puzzled, why didn’t Cheng Huaiqian come yet?

When there were more than thirty outer disciples, Cheng Huaiqian finally showed up. He glanced at Wang Teng who announced the result, and immediately fixed his gaze on Xia Ruize, one of the young men waiting nearby.

Not only were the people of Qingyang Sect not angry, but they were actually interested in seeing if these two people would cause any conflict. After all, what they saw was that they were tricked by each other’s image.

But Cheng Huaiqian walked straight towards Xia Ruize, stood beside Xia Ruize and laughed softly:

“Guess what I did to that guy.”

Xia Ruize immediately understood that the “that person” Cheng Huaiqian was referring to was the person he saw during the test, and he immediately asked curiously, “What happened?”

“I pushed him down the mountain three times.” Cheng Huaiqian said meaningfully. People around him thought that Cheng Huaiqian had not yet recovered from the test of “The Path to Self-Reflection” and was warning Xia Ruize. In fact, Cheng Huaiqian turned to the heart network and excitedly recounted in detail:

“The first time he pushed me down the hill, I pulled him down with me, and we climbed up together.

The second time he said he had to kill the person in front of him to make it into the top 500, so I pushed him down again while pretending to help him. Hey, I didn’t expect him to take a shortcut and run back up from the bottom of the mountain.

The third time he accused me of assault, I pushed him off the mountain.”

When saying this, Cheng Huaiqian stared at Xia Ruize’s face closely, his tone was a bit boastful, “Fake is fake, it’s a million miles away from the real thing.”

Cheng Huaiqian also realized that the “Xia Ruize” beside him had been replaced only after he was hit for the first time. At that time, Cheng Huaiqian was very curious.

He was entangled with the fake “Xia Ruize” all the way, constantly tricking him, and even ignored his own progress, just to see how big the difference was between the fake and the real one.

In the end he came to the conclusion that, apart from the appearance of having figured it out, the fake one was not at all similar to the real one, so he naturally pushed the other person off the cliff again without hesitation.

Xia Ruize smiled helplessly, and showed the Qingyang Sect’s immortals’ evaluation trends on disciple candidates that he had collected, and said helplessly: “If you go too far, the Qingyang Sect may not approve you.”

Fortunately, perhaps because Cheng Huaiqian was focused on fighting to the death with “Xia Ruize” who was the first to attack him, even if his actions were a bit extreme, he was regarded as a man of revenge and was not labeled as “evil-minded”. Otherwise, as long as the people of Qingyang Sect did not let him out, he would never reach the end.

After waiting for two hours, the candidates for the first five hundred outer disciples and one thousand servants were officially announced.

The two groups of people stood on both sides of the mountain gate, all looking at Wang Teng as he shouted loudly down the mountain:

“The Qingyang Sect’s recruitment of disciples has ended. The remaining people will be eliminated. Please go down the mountain on your own.”

There were young men who were waiting on the road to rob the newcomers and snatch the Guyuan Pill when they heard the voice. Their heads started to panic and the illusions around them disappeared. They had no idea where they could get the Guyuan Pill from their hands and they were so anxious that they broke out in sweats.

There were also people who had “killed” others and were climbing the endless mountain road. Who would have thought that they hadn’t even seen the top of the mountain, and the selection had already ended?

Of course, there were also people who were pushed off the cliff and trembled while hugging a small tree between the rocks. As a result, the illusion disappeared and they were found lying on the stone steps.

……

The so-called “The Path to Self-Reflection” was not about who had the best physical strength and could reach the top of the mountain first, but about the different qualities revealed by different responses to events.

The Qingyang Sect did not hide their intentions at all, and openly informed everyone of the name of “The Path to Self-Reflection”. The young people participating in the selection should have this in mind. If they still perform poorly under such circumstances, then they were truly hopeless.

Xia Ruize knew clearly that the final candidates for outer disciples and servants would definitely be influenced by the Qingyang Sect. Those who were not favored by the Qingyang Sect would be stuck in the “The Path to Self-Reflection” for a long time and could not get out. There was still a lot of room for maneuver in this regard.

But this had nothing to do with him, after all, Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian both successfully ranked in the top 500.

After Wang Teng announced that the entrance selection had ended, he gently said to the five hundred outer disciples:

“Congratulations on your successful admission into our Qingyang Sect. Starting tomorrow, you will begin studying in the outer sect. I hope you will cherish this hard-earned learning opportunity!

After you arrange a place to stay with your senior brothers, you will go down the mountain to say goodbye to your family and go find your senior brothers to make arrangements.”

While Wang Teng was speaking, a handsome young man in a green robe walked up to a group of outer disciples and slowly bowed as an equal. Everyone immediately knew that this man was the senior brother who was responsible for settling them.

After instructing the outer disciples, Wang Teng turned to the thousand servants again. This time his voice was not so gentle, and he announced:

“You have obtained the qualifications to become servants of the Qingyang Sect, and there are also special brothers who will inform you of the obligations of servants. You can choose whether to stay in the Qingyang Sect. If you want to stay, you must pay a tuition fee.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the five hundred outer disciples and one thousand servants looked at each other, some were happy and some were envious, their emotions almost solidified into substance.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian followed their senior brother in a green gown into the mountain gate. When they actually crossed the mountain gate, the scene in front of them changed again. There were no longer towering mountains in front of them, but a gentle slope. On the slope, there were green trees, colorful flowers, and rows of houses that stretched from not far away to the end of the sight.

The senior brother led the five hundred newcomers to a courtyard, gestured with his hands, and said:

“The fifty courtyards in the area ahead are your accommodations. You can choose the rooms in the order you arrive at the top of the mountain.

Five servants are arranged in each courtyard, and they will take care of your daily life. You are new here, if you have any questions, you can ask me or the servants. They have entered the sect earlier than you, know the basic rules of Qingyang Sect, and understand some superficial problems in cultivation.

Okay, now it’s time to choose a room.”

After that, he waited for the newcomers to make their own choice.

The newcomers all knew the order in which they reached the top of the mountain. When the first young man who became an outer disciple walked out of the crowd, his senior brother took out a silver identity badge and handed it to him without further explanation.

The Qingyang Sect was indeed a large sect, and the conditions it provided for its disciples were very favorable.

Take the courtyard where they lived, for example. It was quite large, facing south and with two rooms in each of the three directions, east, north and west. Five of the rooms were for the disciples to live in, and the remaining one was a study room for common use. There was also a small storeroom on the south side for storing items that were not often used.

In addition, the outer disciples were also assigned servants, who were responsible for taking care of their food and daily life.

Xia Ruize was fifth in line, and it was soon his turn to choose. He chose a courtyard on the side, and the main room next to the study on the north side. A servant was already standing at the door of the room. He respectfully followed Xia Ruize into the room, took out a tape measure, and said that he needed to measure his body shape:

“I’m the servant Wu Wei. Please sit down and wait for a moment. I’ll go get your clothes and daily necessities.”

After completing the measurement, the servant Wu Wei prepared to leave the room.

Xia Ruize stopped Wu Wei and said, “Wait a moment. When my roommate comes, you can measure together and then go get it.”

While they were talking, someone wanted to choose Xia Ruize’s room, but Xia Ruize refused, saying that he already had an appointment with a roommate. At this time, those who could choose a room were those with high rankings. The other party did not force it and chose the room next to it.

After waiting for a while, Cheng Huaiqian walked into the room. After Wu Wei measured Cheng Huaiqian’s body shape, they went to collect daily necessities together.

The two of them looked at Wu Wei’s light steps and realized that not everyone could be a servant of the Qingyang Sect.

Soon, Wu Wei returned with two sets of daily necessities. As outer disciples, each of them had three sets of green disciple robes, a full set of spare clothes, towels, basins and other daily necessities, as well as paper, pens and other study supplies.

At the same time, dinner was also brought back. Two large food boxes contained three dishes, one soup, two meat dishes and one vegetarian dish, as well as a plate of fruit after the meal. It must be said that the living conditions provided by Qingyang Sect to its disciples were truly excellent.

When Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian were having dinner, Wu Wei stood by and explained some of the sect’s rules to them, including where to attend classes every day, which immortals usually taught the classes, the assessments every ten days, and the major exams every month.

There was a rule that Wu Wei emphasized to the two of them: after each monthly exam, based on the performance ranking, ten outer disciples would be demoted to servants, and ten servants would be promoted to outer disciples.

Xia Ruize asked curiously: “Which group of servants?”

Xia Ruize now knew that Wu Wei, who was responsible for taking care of them, was one of the previous batch of servants who entered Qingyang Sect, but he didn’t know which batch of servants they were competing with.

“They are the servants who entered the sect at the same time as you. The 1,000 people ranked after the 500th can choose to pay a large sum of money to enter the Qingyang Sect and become servants.

The reason for handing in the tuition is that after completing the assigned tasks, servants in the same batch can follow the outer disciples to attend lectures. Some people who missed the opportunity in the entrance selection may still be promoted to outer disciples.

Therefore, most people would choose to stay in Qingyang Sect as servants every time.”

Wu Wei replied.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian looked at each other. They still underestimated the appeal of cultivating immortals. According to Wu Wei, if one wanted to stay in Qingyang Sect as a servant, one would not only have to work hard but also pay a large sum of money. Even so, there were still many people flocking to it.

After dinner, Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian took Wu Wei out together, preparing to take a good look around the Qingyang Sect within the permitted area and to get more information from Wu Wei.

Just then, someone came out of the next room and came forward to greet him:

“Hello, I am Li Shunchen, from Jin Gu. We will live in the same courtyard from now on. Please call each other if you have anything to say.”

The person who came to say hello was a very cheerful young man with a round, smiling face. He seemed easy to get along with. Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian also responded with a smile and introduced themselves respectively.

Upon hearing that both of them were from small countries, Li Shunchen suggested that the three of them go out for a walk around the area. During the walk, he chatted with the two of them about some news about the Qingyang Sect that he had known in advance, and naturally revealed a lot of information.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian naturally would not refuse. With Li Shunchen and Wu Wei, after a walk, the two of them had a better understanding of Qingyang Sect.

Much more information was provided to them than their identity background.

As it got dark, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. The servants had their own courtyard, and after confirming that Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian no longer needed any servants and agreeing on a time to deliver breakfast the next day, Wu Wei left the outer disciples’ courtyard.

At dawn the next day, Wu Wei came with two large food boxes. After putting the food boxes away, he was busy getting hot water for the two of them to wash up, which made Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian quite uncomfortable.

However, according to their characters, they had servants to serve them at home, so they could not show too much discomfort.

While the two were having breakfast, Wu Wei, who was standing by, asked Cheng Huaiqian, “The sect’s office in Qingyang City sent a message saying that someone who claims to be your servant wants to see you. What do you think?”

Hearing this, Cheng Huaiqian was stunned and looked at each other with Xia Ruize. Then he suddenly remembered that at the beginning of the mission world, he was followed by a servant who wanted to trick him.

It was only after being reminded that Cheng Huaiqian remembered the servant he had forgotten about for a long time. However, the servant who insisted on giving Cheng Huaiqian water had noticed that something was wrong early on.

At that time, the first round of the Qingyang Sect’s disciple selection was over, and the servants couldn’t find Cheng Huaiqian, thinking that there were too many people and they got lost. It was not until all the people eliminated by the Qingyang Sect left the foot of Qingyang Mountain and the servants still couldn’t find him that they realized something seemed amiss.

The servant continued to wait, and those who were eliminated in the second round also left the foot of Qingyang Mountain one after another. He was unwilling to accept the possibility that his Young Master could smoothly enter the Qingyang Sect. He firmly believed that Cheng Huaiqian had returned to Qingyang City on his own, so he hurried back to Qingyang City. However, there was no sign of Cheng Huaiqian in the inn where the master and servant were staying.

The servant who was ordered by the mistress of the house to keep an eye on Cheng Huaiqian and who tied a knot and made Cheng Huaiqian drink water mixed with laxative at the critical moment could not believe that the fifth son of the Cheng family could successfully pass the assessment and enter the Qingyang Sect after drinking the water he gave him!

But the person was indeed missing, so the servant had no choice but to find the Qingyang Sect’s office in Qingyang City to give it a try, and then got a definite reply there that “Cheng Huaiqian” had indeed become an outer disciple of the Qingyang Sect.

The servant, who was shocked into a trance, quickly asked for a message that he wanted to see his master.

This news was passed all the way to the outer gate. At that time, Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian had already rested, so they turned around and informed Wu Wei.

“I don’t need a servant around me. Let him go home and tell the elders that I am safe.”

Cheng Huaiqian said casually.

Wu Wei responded that he understood and quickly passed the message down the mountain.The servant who was unable to enter Qingyang Sect had no choice but to embark on the journey home. He had to report back to the mistress as soon as possible.

The Fifth Young Master, who had always been suppressed and excluded by the head of the family, actually entered the Qingyang Sect? And became an outer disciple! This news was bound to cause a great earthquake in the Cheng family.

With worries about his own fate in his heart, the servant did not dare to delay for too long and went towards Chengyan Kingdom without any complaints.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian, who were in Qingyang Sect, were led by Wu Wei to the place where they had classes after eating and drinking. It was a huge courtyard with white walls and black tiles, called the Lecture Hall.

There was a high platform in the center of the lecture hall, surrounded by a road paved with bluestone slabs. On the bluestone slabs were placed cushions and low tables in a circle around the high platform.

The cushions and low tables were specially prepared for new outer disciples, and seating was arranged on a first-come, first-served basis.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian knew this rule from Wu Wei in advance. They arrived relatively early today and chose a seat in the third row. They placed the paper and charcoal pencils they brought on the low table in front of them, ready to take notes.

Wu Wei, a servant, could find a seat on the ground outside the futon in the lecture hall and was allowed to attend the lectures.

According to Wu Wei’s explanation, he had actually taken these courses with the outer disciples of the same batch when he entered the sect. The outer disciples of the same batch now mainly relied on their own practice and there were not many public classes arranged. As a servant who took care of the new batch of outer disciples, he could follow the new disciples to consolidate the basic courses.

When talking about this benefit, Wu Wei’s tone was filled with pleasure and pride.

There were more than 600 servants who entered the sect at the same time as him, but only more than 200 servants were needed to take care of the new disciples, and those chosen would naturally be those with good performance among the servants.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian immediately understood that this was probably the reason why many people would rather spend a huge price to send their family members to join the Qingyang Sect as servants.

Apart from the fact that servants had to serve others, which made people hesitate, the learning opportunities they got were actually not much different from those of outer disciples.

Since the two outer disciples he was taking care of were willing to get up early and reserve seats at the lecture hall, Wu Wei could also occupy a seat slightly closer to the front. So Wu Wei carefully and responsibly arranged for Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian before finding a place to sit on the ground at the back.

It was a rare opportunity to be taught in person by the master of the sect. Although it was all basic lessons, he would definitely gain more by listening to them again.

As soon as the Si hour¹ arrived, an immortal descended from the sky and landed on the high platform in the middle. She was a graceful and elegant female cultivator. She looked around at the outer disciples around her, smiled gently, and began to explain the courses that outer disciples needed to master.

“For you now, the most important thing is to master the Qingyang Heart Method as soon as possible. Only when you truly master the Heart Method, feel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth entering your body and gathering it in your Dantian², and break through to the first level of Qi training, can you be said to have embarked on the road of cultivating immortals.

You have ten days to concentrate on the heart method, and then you will need to shift some of your attention to other courses, such as the exercises. Only by learning how to use the techniques can you demonstrate your real strength.

In addition, there will be courses on talismans, alchemy, refining equipment, formations, etc. Of course, these will only be basic courses. If you are interested, you can study in depth on your own.

Finally, I hope you remember that exams will be arranged every ten days and every month.

The outer sect will give you one month to adapt to the rhythm of Qingyang Sect, and the assessment at the end of the first month will not eliminate outer sect disciples.

But starting from the second month, the bottom ten in the monthly exam will be demoted to servants, and correspondingly, the top ten servants will be promoted to outer disciples, so you must pay close attention.”

The elegant immortal on the high platform slowly explained the Qingyang Sect’s arrangements for new disciples. As the disciples below listened, their expressions became more and more terrified, but they did not dare to raise any protest.

After explaining the basic situation, the immortal began to explain the Qingyang Heart Method in detail.

The immortal on the high platform waved his hand, and five hundred jade slips flew to the outer disciples and stuck to their foreheads. Immediately, a heart method of several thousand words appeared in front of everyone.

“I will lend you this jade slip for three days. You can only memorize it and use it yourself. You cannot copy it or pass it on to others. You must memorize the secret method within three days!”

After giving this instruction, the immortal began to explain the contents of the heart method in detail, word by word.

Although the immortal on the platform spoke in a gentle tone and explained in detail, she did not care whether the disciples below understood her or not. She just kept talking for two hours.

The young man, who had just been introduced to the cultivation method, was confused and dizzy. Even though he tried his best to take notes, he was still busy and confused.

There were even people who fainted due to excessive energy consumption caused by looking at the heart method stored in the jade slips for a long time and not being able to keep up with the pace of the immortal’s lectures.

At noon, the immortal finished his lesson and flew away.

The servants who had good sense came forward quickly to help up the outer disciples they were taking care of. Wu Wei wanted to help, but Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian had already stood up on their own, leaving him no chance at all.

“Please bring lunch to the room.”

After making the arrangements, Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian headed straight towards their residence.

Now that they had acquired the secret method, they couldn’t wait to try to practice it, wanting to see what the difference was between the power principles in the world of cultivation and the world of magic.

There were no classes scheduled in the afternoon, which was time for outer disciples to comprehend and practice on their own.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian discussed while eating lunch, confirming to each other that their understanding of the morning’s lessons was correct, with Wu Wei helping out from time to time by adding a few words.

After all, Wu Wei entered the Qingyang Sect three years ago and had already started practicing the Qingyang Heart Method. Now he had reached the third level of Qi training, and his understanding of the Heart Method was deeper than that of Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian who had just started practicing.

It was a pity that his cultivation results were not good among his fellow servants, so he could not get rid of his status as a servant.

The Qingyang Sect had a strict hierarchy. Even though Wu Wei had already embarked on the path of cultivating immortals, because he was only a servant and not an outer disciple, he could only call the new members Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian “senior brothers” and must take good care of them.

After lunch, Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian couldn’t wait to sit down and try to practice the “Qingyang Heart Method”.

As soon as the “Qingyang Heart method” was put into operation, they immediately realized that, similar to the process of drawing elements into the body in the magic world, the world of cultivating immortals also attracted the spiritual energy between heaven and earth into one’s body.

The two of them quickly attracted the surrounding spiritual energy. After entering the body, the spiritual energy circulated along a specific route. Every time it circulated and passed through the dantian, a part of the spiritual energy that was originally in gaseous state would turn into liquid state and remain in the dantian.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian immediately knew that this was their spiritual power, which was the result of practicing their mental skills.

They could sense that their Dantian was currently the size of a soybean. As long as the spiritual power converted into liquid could fill the soybean-sized Dantian and break it, they would officially break through to the first level of Qi training.

With the experience of practicing magic, the two were very familiar with the process of drawing spiritual energy into the body. Especially after memorizing the route of the spiritual energy’s circulation, the speed of their heart method circulation became faster and faster.

By the afternoon, the spiritual power in Xia Ruize’s body had filled his dantian, which was the size of a soybean. Xia Ruize continued to practice his heart method, and at the end of a certain cycle, when the spiritual energy passed through his dantian, the new spiritual power exceeded the upper limit of the dantian’s bearing capacity.

Xia Ruize seemed to hear a slight “pop” sound beside his ear, and then he felt his Dantian shattered, which meant that the first layer of restraints in his body was broken, and outside the broken Dantian was a larger Dantian.

The destruction of the smallest layer of Dantian also meant that Xia Ruize had successfully advanced to the first level of Qi training.

After successfully breaking through, Xia Ruize paused in his practice, opened his eyes, stood up and walked around the room, waving his hands and legs. He felt that the process of practice and breakthrough was easy and comfortable.

Of course, the result of an easy breakthrough was that he didn’t feel like he’ve changed much.

This was actually because his own physical fitness was already very high. If other ordinary people could break through to the first level of Qi training, they would still feel that their bodies were a little lighter, and even their strength would increase a little.

Xia Ruize touched his chin. Since he didn’t feel tired at all, he decided to continue practicing.

So he sat down again, concentrated his mind, and continued to practice his heart method.

Until night fell, Wu Wei did not see any movement from Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian in the room. Seeing that the dinner he brought back would get cold if not eaten, he had no choice but to knock on the door.

Soon, Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian got up to open the door and took the food box from Wu Wei.

Wu Wei was stunned on the spot, his eyes wide open and he asked in disbelief: “You, you guys broke through?”

For a moment, Wu Wei felt as if a huge hammer had hit him on the head. He was so frightened that he could not speak clearly.

He had been a disciple for three years and had only reached the third level of Qi training, whereas these two outer disciples in front of him had only been disciples for one day and had attended classes for only one day, yet they had already cultivated themselves to the first level of Qi training?

Wu Wei was so shocked that he could hardly recover. He realized clearly the huge difference in qualifications between people and felt extremely depressed for a moment.

The news that Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian had broken through to the first level of Qi training gradually spread with Wu Wei’s words. When the outer disciples in other rooms came to visit them because they were too shocked, Wu Wei felt relieved. As expected, such evildoers were only a minority, and they had affected not only him but others as well.

Facing the person who came to ask specifically, Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian did not hide anything and both nodded to admit that they had made a breakthrough.

This news stimulated countless arrogant children from large families. They were originally proud of becoming outer disciples of Qingyang Sect, but suddenly they felt threatened. They didn’t even bother to visit other people to build relationships, and returned to their rooms to start practicing.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian looked at each other helplessly. They really thought that the whole training process was easy and natural, but they didn’t expect that their performance was still a little too outstanding.

However, the comments of outsiders had no effect on the two of them. After dinner, they did not even go out for a walk, but instead closed the door in their room to continue their practice.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian, who had only stayed in the mission world for a few months at most, always had a sense of urgency. They cherished the quiet learning opportunities in the initial stages of the mission and tried their best to get the most out of the Lord God.

This practice lasted most of the night, and they took a short nap only after they broke through to the second level of Qi training.

As soon as the sun rose, they got up early to prepare for the new day’s classes.

Today, Wu Wei’s attitude towards Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian was more respectful than the previous two days. If his care in the previous two days was due to the system and regulations of Qingyang Sect, then today’s respect came from the heart.

He had a feeling that these two newcomers might surpass him soon, so he had to seize the opportunity now to get close to them.

Wu Wei seemed to have completely forgotten his identity as a third-level Qi training cultivator. He completely put himself in the position of a servant, trying to take good care of Xia Ruize and the other person.

Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian now felt even more uncomfortable and quickly suggested that it would be better for Wu Wei to maintain his previous attitude.

Let Wu Wei sigh with regret.

As soon as Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian left the house, Li Shunchen was already waiting in the courtyard. When he saw them, he immediately came over and greeted them warmly:

“Senior Brother Xia, Senior Brother Cheng, I heard that you two have successfully advanced to the first level of Qi training. Congratulations!”

Xia Ruize glanced at Li Shunchen. Due to the special induction between practitioners, he immediately knew that the other party had also broken through to the first level of Qi training, and immediately smiled and congratulated him.

The three of them walked towards the lecture hall, chatting and laughing. Li Shunchen came from a large secular family, and although he had only started formal cultivation yesterday, he had been influenced by what he saw and heard during his growth, and his understanding of the fairyland was much better than that of the two outsiders, Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian. Some of the information he casually mentioned could help Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian fill in the gaps in their background knowledge.

When Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian walked into the Lecture Hall today, the people around them, whether they were outer disciples from the same batch or servants following them, all turned their eyes to Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian as well as Li Shunchen beside them.

They couldn’t help but sigh when chatting with each other that three of their batchmates had already left the others behind and successfully advanced.

Today’s class was still a heart method class. Xia Ruize and Cheng Huaiqian already knew that the one teaching them was Immortal Hua Manyue.

As usual, Immortal Hua landed on the high platform in the center of the Lecture Hall and looked around at the outer disciples below with a gentle expression. However, when her gaze turned to the position of Xia Ruize and the other two, an expression of surprise appeared on her face.

Hua Manyue took a step forward and landed lightly on the ground. She walked in front of Xia Ruize and the other two, looked at them one by one, and asked with a surprised smile:

“You three actually broke through in just one night? Come on, stretch out your hands so I can see.”

After saying this, she checked the pulses of Xia Ruize and the other two in turn, confirming that the spiritual energy in their bodies was circulating according to the path of the [Qingyang Heart Method].

Two of them had even broken through to the second level of Qi training!

After personally confirming it, Hua Manyue was very happy. She smiled gently and said to Xia Ruize and the other two, “You are very good. If you have any questions, you can ask me after class.”

After granting Xia Ruize and the other two the privileges of being good students in front of all the outer disciples, Immortal Hua turned around and flew onto the platform to start today’s lecture.

However, the disciples today seemed to be a little inattentive in their lessons, and were restless and wanted to slack off. Immortal Hua stopped them midway and scolded them:

“You are stupid people. You lack talent and are not diligent. If you cannot correct your attitude towards learning, please leave my Qingyang Sect as soon as possible!”

After these words were spoken, no one dared to look around anymore and forced themselves to concentrate on listening.

Notes

1. Here refers to the ancient Unit of time in china, called “Shi Chen” the time in a day i divided in 12 Shichen, and one shichen is equal to two hours., Here the Si hour is between 9 and 11 am. Info ↩︎
2. Dantian is the place where the Taoist inner alchemy is completed and where the mind is focused when refining the elixir. More info ↩︎