It is the 9th day of the third month in the year 3,176 AR (Age of Rebirth)—the day when the first-year inner disciples always take their inaugural lesson at the inner cycle.

Everyone in the cultivation academy knows that the inner cycle was where true cultivation began. The outer cycle is merely a preparatory ground for those who have what it takes to enter the inner cycle.

In the courtyard of the Lecture West Hall, the sun shone brightly.

"Strengthening your Ba is crucial to your cultivation. It demands daily practice," said Hu Guo, a third-year inner disciple, leading the class.

Though not the official instructor, top senior disciples like her were often appointed by the academy to guide the newcomers through these early lessons.

Cross-legged on thin mats, the disciples sat behind wooden tables, their eyes closed tightly and faces twisted contorted in what looked like agonizing concentration, sweat dripping down.

They looked like they were trying to shit some large, jagged stone that stubbornly refused to get out.

In fact, one of them had indeed shit his pants. He had left, taking a flurry of curses from Hu Guo.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of sweat.

Thankfully, Hu Guo had decided to hold the class outdoors, sparing them all from suffocating in the stench in the hall.

As they had settled into the courtyard, she had wasted no time, instructing the group to begin cultivating by shifting their pure force within their sea core, all while she spoke about the importance of Ba cultivation.

Sa Min, not participating in the cultivation— Hu Guo didn’t seem to mind—threw his indifferent gaze around, trying to gauge the Ba’s strength of the disciples around him from their strained expressions.

Bas, like the Borned Ka, were mysterious entities dwelling within the minds of cultivators, in what was known as the Ba Palace. There were many theories about their true nature, but most cultivators regarded them simply as the embodiment of their consciousness—their mental strength.

Only cultivators who reached the Ba Awakening stage could unlock their Ba and enter the Ba Palace. But even in the first three stages of the first cultivation realm, Bas were still extremely important.

For 1st transformation Beyond Mortal cultivators, their Ba was often so weak that even shifting their sky-blue pure force within their sea core was a grueling task.

The struggle was written all over the faces of the disciples around Sa Min.

However, not all disciples suffered equally. While most suffered with the process, a few looked relatively composed.

Ta Chen was among these few fortunate ones. Sa Min noticed her occasionally peek through her eyes, watching how others were doing, before closing them again with a contented smile.

Sa Juan also seemed to handle the first session well.

Sa Wen, on the other hand, was not. With his huge frame and 2-star aptitude, you’d expect him to be much better than. But his bulging veins and the sweat pouring from his body told a different story.

Clearly, he was struggling. The same with Duo Jinhai, the disciple from the Duo clan.

Sa Min sighed.

The strength of a Ba had nothing to do with your aptitude, physical strength, or even your Born Ka. It was a whole different thing altogether. Some people were simply born with a stronger Ba, while others were not as fortunate.

There were various theories about why this was the case. In the Eastern Plane, most believed it was tied to how much good you’d done in the First Heaven. The more virtuous your past, the stronger the Ba you’d receive in this Heaven— Second Heaven.

He rubbed his left eye. That’s probably why people didn’t question me when they found out I only had 1-star aptitude. They must have assumed my Ba was strong.

Having a strong Ba was beneficial; it gave you a good start in cultivation. However, it wasn’t as impressive as having a higher aptitude. Because unlike aptitude, a Ba could be cultivated and strengthened.

It’s really a shame. If my Ba still had its full strength from before using the Yellow Mind Swap Yantra, my cultivation would have been much smoother, even with 1-star aptitude.

This was one of the major drawbacks of the Switch Ba Yantra. Not only would a cultivator lose all the cultivation foundation they had built up in their original body, but the Ba they switched with the victim would also be completely drained of its strength, returning to its original, weaker state before any cultivation had taken place.

Senior disciple Hu Guo continued, her voice light and airy, like a little girl's, "Strengthening your Ba will not only help you move your pure force with ease, making it simpler to fortify your sea core walls, but it will also make it easier to manipulate the Imprints within your Essence Core, saving you time and effort—a huge advantage in fights.”

She sat at the far end of the hall, trying to distance herself from the unpleasant smell that filled in the courtyard. Despite her distance, with her lower face concealed by a white embroidered veil, she couldn't help but pinch her nose in disgust, fanning herself vigorously.

She cast a glance at Sa Min through her white-framed glasses. Even though he was doing absolutely nothing while everyone else practiced intensely, she didn’t appear to care.

“Crafting rank 1 Yantras requires the manipulation of dozens to hundreds of Imprints simultaneously, demanding immense mental strength. Therefore, strengthening your Bas is just as vital as strengthening your sea cores.”

She paused again, allowing their burdened minds time to digest her words.

The disciples' heavy breathing was the only sound echoing in the courtyard.

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"That's why this is your first lesson. Moving your pure force is the traditional and simplest way to strengthen your Bas. Just like with the body, you strengthen it by pushing it to its limits, and the same goes for the Ba…"

Sa Min ignored Hu Guo. What could a 4th-transformation Beyond Mortal cultivator possibly say that he didn't already know?

He wasn’t arrogant enough to think he knew it all, but everything she was saying was simply basic knowledge that everyone should already be familiar with.

In truth, Sa Min recognized that his understanding—as vast as it was— was just a drop in the ocean compared to the knowledge that existed in this world. That was why he had intended to visit the academy’s Yantra Library once class ended.

The words engraved on his back, which had remained there for the past twenty-four hours, still troubled him. He needed to see if he could find something useful in Yantra Library.

Coming to think of the message, Sa Min instinctively turned his head to the side.

A young man with disheveled hair lay sleeping face down on his small table. Despite the distance, Sa Min could smell the scent of alcohol drifting from him.

This was Wing Lian, the young master of the Wing family—the very family that, according to the encrypted message, was searching for the Key and was behind the disappearance of the colored eyed people.

Did Sa Min believe it? Not just yet. How could he just trust a message whose sender and intentions were unknown?

First, he needed to verify whether the message was true. He had already inquired about Wing Lian with some disciples he knew and found nothing suspicious—nothing out of the ordinary—except for the fact that Wing Lian was an alcoholic who wandered the city at night like a madman, fighting anyone who dared speak ill of his sister.

As if he felt Sa Min’s gaze, Wing Lian lifted his head and their eyes met.

They stared at each other for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” Wing Lian asked, frowning.

Sa Min didn’t answer; he just looked at Wing Lian’s puffy eyes, noticing their dark brown color.

Wing Lian straightened his back, attempting to intimidate him. "Why are you staring at me— City’s Disgrace?"

Since the man Sa Min had beheaded yesterday, most of the new inner disciples, who had never taken a life, had been avoiding him like the plague, terrified of him. But this man…was different.

Sa Min smiled. “Nothing,” he said, shifting his attention back to Hu Guo, who continued to explain the importance of Ba.

Wing Lian snorted and went back to sleep.

“The higher you advance in cultivation ranks and seek to craft high-ranking Yantras, the stronger your Ba must become,” Hu Guo explained, her gaze falling on a large man in the front row who was raising his hand. “What is it, Sa Wen?”

Sa Wen’s white robe clung to him, darkened with sweat. “Senior Sister,” he managed to say through heavy breaths, his eyes still squeezed shut as he was still concentrating on manipulating his pure force. “How long does it take before we notice a difference in our Ba’s strength? And could you talk about other methods besides just manipulating our pure force to strengthen our Bas?”

Seeing Sa Wen struggle, barely able to hold himself up now, Hu Guo clapped her hands. “Alright, that’s enough. You can stop now,” she instructed the disciples.

The disciples collapsed to the ground before even opening their eyes, utterly exhausted.

Ta Chen was the only one who seemed to be completely fine. Even Sa Juan was gasping for breath, reaching into her bag for a water bottle.

If I had joined them in cultivation, I'd probably be better than Sa Wen but worse than Sa Juan, Sa Min thought, knowing very well the strength of his Ba.

That was precisely why Sa Min had avoided cultivating with them. If people found out his Ba was weak, they might start questioning how he had been a mental genius when he was young. That kind of attention was the last thing he wanted.

After giving the group some time to rest, Hu Guo answered Sa Wen's question:

"I know it's frustrating," she spoke with a tone of understanding. “But you’re a big man, Sa Wen. Just as your body needs months of consistent training to grow stronger, so does your Ba. You’ll need to dedicate at least four hours a day to moving your pure force, and within five days, you’ll feel it strengthening.”

By now, the disciples were listening intently. People loved hearing exact timelines for improvement. Numbers gave them a sense of control.

“In 20 days, you’ll be able to manipulate your sea force with much greater ease,” Hu Guo continued. “But remember, each cultivation stage is divided into six transformations, and each transformation has denser sea force than the last. This means your Ba needs to continuously strengthen as you advance. There are other methods and items to strengthen Bas—like using Spherical Coins—but they’re incredibly rare and costly. At the Cultivation Academy, you’d need a significant amount of merits to even obtain one.”

Some disciples showed clear disappointment.

“Look…I know the traditional way is slow and requires time, but it’s unavoidable. Whether you have a Spherical Coin or not, you’ll still need to cultivate your sea core. And how do you plan to do that if you can’t manipulate your sea force, hmm? Honestly, I’d argue the traditional method is better. You’re cultivating your sea core and strengthening your Ba simultaneously. I never used a Spherical Coin, and yet I can form a rank 2 Yantra with no issue. You just need to endure and keep going. Without perseverance, you won’t go anywhere on the path of cultivation.”

Her words did little to lift their spirits.

Fools, Sa Min sneered in his heart as he watched them. Do they really think cultivation is just about using Yantras and showing off abilities? They have no idea how much suffering lies ahead for them.

"Your current focus," Hu Guo continued, "must be on channeling your sea force toward opening the blocked passage leading to your Essence Core, and other meridians. Without an Essence Core, none of this—your Ba, Ka—would truly matter. They would all remain useless. That is why your first task is to open your Essence Core. The second and third disciples to successfully open their Essence Cores will…"

She paused, letting curiosity bloom among the disciples.

"They will be awarded 10 merit points each. The first to do so will receive 15 merit points and a 1st-grade Spherical Coin."

Eyes widened across the courtyard. The atmosphere shifted instantly. Disciples could not believe what they'd just heard.

A Spherical Coin? Sa Min thought, genuinely surprised. That's quite a generous reward.

Spherical Coins were by far the fastest way to strengthen the Bas. They were rare and expensive. He had heard that a single coin cost over 100 merit points in the academy’s Treasure Hall.

He wasn’t the only one surprised. Some disciples murmured excitedly to one another, while others wore expressions of quiet desperation, fully aware they had little chance of obtaining such an item.

"Alright, alright, all men, out!" Hu Guo's voice sliced through the chatter, instantly silencing the courtyard. "Women stay. The rest of you, head to the room on the right. If you have a Body Cleansing Powercube, use it there. If not, the bathhouse is on the left."

Sa Min grabbed his weekly pouch of force apples Hu Guo had given them at the start of class, and made his way out of the East Lecture Hall.

In the distance, Wing Lian was lumbering off.

Sa Min frowned slightly, his intuition telling him that something was off about this young man.

He cast a glance back at the hall where the women stayed. He could tell why Hu Guo kept them in the class.

After that, with a long breath, he strolled out from the area of lecture halls to the center area where the Yantra Library was located.