Jing woke up with a shake. His eyes jolted open and he saw Wang Fei trying to wake him up. "I'm up," He said with a groggy voice, the sleep's haze gradually seeping out of him.

Shen Yun had already left, and Zho Tu was also just beginning to wake up. Jing got down, removed the black clothes he had bought from the city, and put down the outer sect disciple's black robes.

It was a really beautiful ensemble. Jing was draped in an ebony garment embellished with intricate golden embroidery that traced sinuous patterns across its surface. The fabric, luxuriously rich and opulent, bore the hallmark of both amazing craftsmanship and rare materials, each golden thread woven with precision. At the side, a majestic mountain emblem gleamed in resplendent gold, a symbol of their sect. The attire exuded an aura of dignified elegance, befitting a disciple of the lofty Golden Mountain Sect.

Once the three were ready, they began their walk toward the Junior Amphitheatre where today's lecture about cultivation techniques will be held. Along the way, Jing glanced at Zho Tu and asked, "You've broken through?"

Zho Tu flashed a sincere smile and replied jovially, "Yes!"

Jing was still conflicted as to how he should deal with this player. The problem was, even if he wanted to kill him, it was impossible to do so in the sect as that would bring with it severe consequences. Thus, for now, he had to do his best and keep the relationship between the two somewhat amicable.

Yesterday's anger had all but vanished, or at least it streamed down below the surface of his consciousness he reasoned. "Have you heard what happened to us yesterday?" Jing asked in an attempt to both fill the silence and to act more at ease in front of him.

"You went to those disciples' home?" Zho Tu said before he weakly smiled and said, "If I knew I would have stayed and not gone to break through by the lake."

"It's fine," Jing waved his hand. "But yes and though we beat them up things were really hectic."

Wang Fei smiled and said, "He's somewhat exaggerating. We didn't beat anyone, he did. Even Shen Yun was blasted away with a single punch."

Jing smiled at that. He had phrased it as such intentionally as he didn't want to frighten Zho Tu too much with his strength. "They had just broken through I think, that's why it was easy. We also took them by surprise." He defended.

It didn't take them long before they reached the amphitheatre where hundreds of disciples sat in their seats. Unlike the previous day when most disciples wore their own clothes and the colors varied, today everyone had a single color. Male disciples were wearing black and female disciples wore white. The spots of black and white as they intermingled with one another made for a strange but beautiful sight under the grey dark sky that yearned for the gradually approaching sun.

Jing stood at the very top, and his eyes glazed over them in search of something. Cai Yi was with some female disciples from the sect. Xu Yun was with the other demonic disciple and three others, and Shen Yun was sitting with that chubby girl he fancied, Zhu Xie. He and Shen Yun exchanged a glance before they both looked away.

'Now how am I going to deal with that one?' He pondered with a hard look. 'Apologize? No... It was his fault. Greedy bastard. But if it says like this it won't be good for anyone, especially me. So be the bigger person and all that?' The more he thought about it the more resistant he could feel to the whole idea. In the end, he deeply sighed and sat down with the two guys in the second circular row.

The amphitheater boomed from the murmurs of hundreds of disciples, and Jing didn't say much but merely closed his eyes and listened with his spiritual domain trying to become more versed in interpreting its hidden language and to find new ways to use it. He had found that because of the disciples' lack of spiritual sea, they were none the wiser if he moved his spiritual Qi around them.

In other words, he could study someone's whole anatomy in depth without them ever noticing. He could also easily tell what they were storing in their pockets, what was inside their stomachs, whether they had any strange illnesses, and even how close they were to breaking through.

Teacher Li came as the sun came.

Behind the disciples, the sun's upper edge made an appearance above the east horizons and it shone down on the golden amphitheater making it look even more majestic.

Teacher Li jumped from the very top to the heart of the stage below with a feather's smoothness ease. His always pristine bare feet barely made an audible sound as if gravity happened to be looking away at that moment.

"Good morning everyone," He said with a soft smile and a gentle nod as he looked at the now quiet disciples whose attention was needle-focused on him. His voice was warm, low, and collected, but it reached everyone as if he were sitting beside them. "Today," He said. "We'll discuss something very important. How cultivation techniques work. I see that some of you have already reached the Qi Condensation realm, and so you should be both aware and have established your own Three Heart Pillar meridians. Thus, you can attest to what I am about to say."

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He paused for a while as he looked at everyone. "Unlike the other meridians that can only connect our ethereal bodies and store Qi. The three pillars have another function, and that is to ancer Cultivation Techniques."

Jing listened intently, and the teacher's words were indeed right. He knew that those three heart meridians when he had created them as they followed different rules, he just didn't know how. Even in his memories as a second-stage Qi Condensation, he wasn't able to find much important information about them other than they were different.

The teacher continued, "Cultivation Techniques are a complicated expression of your own personal Qi in the outside world. Like this," Teacher Li raised his sleeve with a gentle tug, lifting the fabric of his white robe upward to reveal the skin beneath, exposing his powerful forearm with a subtle gesture. Above his forearm, an extra layer of skin began to materialize out of nowhere before it turned into square rocky shapes that covered his entire arm, up to his neck. Even from that distance, Jing could feel the extra layer of both protection and sturdiness the teacher's body now held.

"This is one of my defensive cultivation techniques," Teacher Li said after he let go of his Qi, and fixed his sleeves down. "You might have noticed how this technique was very complicated. First, the Qi transforms itself and becomes a hard matter. Then, that skin goes even further and transforms itself into rocks. Then, the rocks follow a set pattern that I have predetermined to maximize their defense and protection by evenly spreading the vibration of the force. So, the important question is, how was I able to do all of these things in less than a second?"

Jing's eyes widened, 'How did I not think of that?!' He who had just broken through yesterday, understood how Qi was complicated and required a lot of attention. How was Teacher Li able to do all of that in a split second was simply a miracle from his little understanding. Though he could tap into his memories and search how he himself was able to unleash that claw on his first day, the teacher had begun explaining and so he focused.

"It's easy," Teacher Li smiled as he walked around the center stage. "Because I have already cultivated my cultivation techniques up to that point in my Heart Pillar, that is why I was able to just pour Qi into them and all of my previous hard work would be unleashed instantly. That is why Cultivation Techniques are so important." He stressed. "They allow you to work hard in the safety of your home to prepare for battle before it even begins."

Jing had an enlightened expression as he gently nodded in understanding.

"Now here is the most important part." Teacher Li said. "The foundation of your Qi Condensation Heart Pillars are very crucial to your cultivation path going forward. Because in order to break through to the Foundation Realm you'll have to integrate the essence of all three pillars into the two streams. Then, to break through to the Core Formation Realm you'll have to further integrate the two streams and the main pillar you'll develop through the realm into one core and two avatars. The one core and two avatars will further merge to create your own Nascent Soul Realm. Then the Nascent Souls will have to multiply and expand until they form their own domain."

He paused for a few seconds, letting this important fact sink deeper into the disciples' minds. "That is why, The Heart Pillars you'll be establishing in this realm will have a far-reaching impact well beyond the Saint Domain Realm..."

Jing was completely bamboozled by the teacher's last words. He not only gave him the perfect description of how cultivation would flow even though it was still very general and vague, but he also explained how the decisions they'll make today will affect them for the foreseeable future, something that made him slightly anxious. 'What if I make the wrong choice?' He thought.

Teacher Li continued explaining the differences between Cultivation Techniques and the paths the sect recommends as they have been well studied through hundreds of years. After an hour or so, he said, "Now, if you have any questions feel free to ask me before we depart for the scriptures hall."

A silence descended upon the hundreds of disciples, each one appearing deep in thought.

A female disciple finally raised her hand. When permitted to speak, she asked, "Teacher, you said that the Heart Pillars are where our cultivation techniques will reside. Does that mean we need to be at least third stage Qi Condensation to access the first heart meridian before we can learn them?"

"Perfect question," praised Teacher Li before he explained. "No, do not worry. You can fill your three heart pillars even at the first stage. However, there is indeed a connection between which stage you're on, and how far you could go. When you reach the third stage of the Qi Condensations and light the first heart pillar, the cultivation technique within it will undergo a change, for the better of course."

"What kind of change?" Another disciple asked.

Teacher Li merely joked in response, "If I begin with that you'll be hardly able to shut me up. I'll leave it to you to explore as it always brings more fruits that way."

A male disciple at one of the lower seatings raised his hands. After receiving permission, he asked, "What path did Venerable Ancestor choose?"

"Haaa!" Teacher Li mumbled, "Good question." After he thought for a while he said, "I think from the stories you hear about our Ancestor carrying mountains you can imagine that he went with the Might Path."

Jing had learned that the Might Path was one focused on bodily strength every step of the way. Not that Qi is neglected, that would be impossible as it is the root of all. However, every drop of Qi was channeled into their own body and all of the techniques revolved around something physical without the integration of any weapon nor a cultivation technique that could be projected outward. Other than Might, The Golden Soul was the other path. Its emphasis was less on physical combat and more so conventional cultivation progression through a focus on cultivation techniques and weapons. There was also the Balanced Path which balances a mixture of the two.

Jing suddenly had a ridiculous idea and raised his hands.