Three Incense Mountain
Yu Ming was sitting back in his cultivation room, all cleaned up from his recent accident.
'There is no mention of whether this is normal in the manual. It just lists the different ways to utilize Qi. Since I don't have any background, I should definitely sign up for the cultivation and general lessons given by Sect....I will skip the etiquette lessons; it will be a waste of tokens to get them.'
Throwing the plans for tomorrow to the back of his mind, Yu Ming looks at the manual, grinning. 'Let's try out how this works first.'
Starting to test his powers, Yu Ming meditates for a few minutes before he starts to feel like he is getting connected to the earth before it disappears quickly.
Not deterred, Yu Ming tries it a few more times to draw some conclusions.
The first is that the connection between his heart and the ground seems to last only a few seconds before snapping, making it useless.
Second, Yu Ming doesn't know what that connection is or how it could help him.
Moving on to how he can convert his Qi into Earth Qi temporarily for Earth Arts or how to manipulate his Qi, Yu Ming has absolutely no idea.
No matter how hard Yu Ming thinks, begs, or commands his Qi to move, it simply does not. And since the Qi is not moving, there is obviously no way to do anything else.
Thinking of his ridiculous lack of understanding about anything related to Qi in general, Yu Ming reinforces that his cultivation lessons definitely need to start tomorrow. Even if they cost 10 tokens per month. Yu Ming also takes note that taking on some kind of job to get more spirit stones will be good since no one uses silver or gold here.
Yu Ming then remembers the weird paper talisman he got from Big Sister Wei and immediately starts to inspect it, hoping his being a cultivator would be enough for it to change. After some time, Yu Ming realizes he can't do anything to the paper and that his most important asset, Qi, can't be controlled by him.
Sighing that he can't even circulate his Qi, Yu Ming puts his talisman back in defeat and decides to cultivate Qi silently for a few hours before hitting the bed.
After a few cycles of circulating Qi, Yu Ming starts to feel a difference.
'I am still on the 1st Layer of [Qi Gathering]. Why is my speed of gathering Qi and refinement faster now? Does a better manual really make so much difference?'
Initially confused, Yu Ming just shrugs and adds this to the long list of things he doesn't know about cultivation. Once he is done, he moves to his room and sleeps.
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Next Day, Three Incense Mountain
Yu Ming dons a clean set of robes, takes a look at himself, and makes sure he is presentable before rushing to Lesson Hall in Three Incense Mountain for his lessons.
Lesson Hall, Three Incense Mountain
Yu Ming quickly walks over to the counter with a senior and bows briefly before stating his purpose while passing his badge over two small formations on the desk. "Senior, I am here to take cultivation lessons and general lessons for a month."
The senior points him in the direction of lessons and replies, "Cultivation lessons first, then general lessons, every day at this time. 2 hours each day for a month."
"Thank you, senior!"
Yu Ming walks over to the room with a signboard saying 'Cultivation Lesson' and enters to find a relatively filled room. Not knowing anyone, Yu Ming just sits in the middle rows to avoid any close contact with whoever their teacher would be.
After a few minutes, a man walks in as the entire room erupts in low, excited murmurs, and Yu Ming finds that the teacher is someone he knows. It is Wu Ming, the person from yesterday. Apparently, he is quite famous, looking at the excited energy in the room.
Stolen novel; please report.
Wu Ming takes a long look at the room before starting in an indifferent voice. "I will teach you about cultivation, sensing Qi, and controlling your Qi, and I will point out any mistakes you make while you cultivate. Let me start with the theory so everyone can understand what cultivation is. Also, no questions now; ask them later."
"We cultivate for many reasons. Whatever it may be, it is against the natural order. In the first realm, [Qi Gathering], a cultivator is still a mortal, it is easy to die against a clever man with weapons. The second realm is [Foundation Establishment], at this stage, you can even start a Clan and live above mortals. I will mainly talk about the [Qi Gathering] stage."
"The first realm, [Qi Gathering], can be divided into 12 Layers. In each Layer, you gather more and more Qi until you are ready to build a foundation.
In every Layer, you will also need to open a Primary Meridian, which will remove some impurities from your body."
Looking around, Wu Ming asks, "Does anyone know what these meridians help with ?"
Out of the sea of hands around Yu Ming, Wu Ming chooses a random girl.
Excited, the girl speaks loud enough to ring Yu Ming's head. "Yes! Each Primary Meridian opens up some acupoints, allowing us to circulate and restore our Qi faster, and it's apparently also needed for many types of body arts!"
Wu Ming waves her to sit down as he continues,"She is right. Each meridian unlocks some acupoints, but they differ. Some have nearly 60 acupoints, while there are some with less than 10 acupoints."
"Moving to Cultivation Manuals, some have a hereditary manual or some sort of inheritance, but most follow mainstream elements. Based on your Qi Root, I would suggest that you follow manuals that have all your elements. For a 4-Element Qi Root, the more matching elements there are, the more compatible it is with you for cultivation. Also, I don't care if you have a rare element; never change your Qi permanently to that element. Your neutral Qi allows you to learn most of the mystical abilities in the world. If you are giving that up, you will lose all your versatility."
"This is enough theory to start. Go to the library if you want more details. Let's move to cultivation. Everyone, start cultivating in your spots. I will come and help you with circulation and control of Qi, and then you can practice it."
Yu Ming started his cultivation session, waiting for his turn.
"You need to guide your Qi with your intent. Watch." Wu Ming started showing Yu Ming how to use his Qi and pressed it against Yu Ming's back to inject a tiny amount of Qi.
Feeling a foreign Qi floating in his body, Yu Ming was somehow able to use his Qi in response.
Wu Ming removed his hand and walked off to the next student, saying, "Practice that till your Qi moves with your thoughts."
Yu Ming sits down to practice and is able to move his Qi sluggishly by the end of the session.
General Lesson Room, Three Incense Mountain
Yu Ming walks into his next lesson room, surprised to find very few people there.
An old man walks in briskly, introducing himself in a stern manner.
"I am Luo Ping. I will educate you in matters of the world around us and just general things you must know."
Taking out a beautiful brush, Luo Ping writes his name and the words, 'Crane Mountain Dao Sect' in front of the room.
"We are the Crane Mountain Dao Sect! One of the 32 Great Sects, keeping daemons at bay alongside others."
"The Zhenwu Continent, where we live, can be divided into countless territories. Each Territory has at least 1 Major City and many Minor Cities, all subsidiaries under the Sect. To be recognized as a Sect, the Sect must have occupied a single Territory at least.
"Our Crane Mountain Dao Sect may also be divided similarly. Under the command of the Sect Master, there are multiple clusters of peaks. You must know that our Three Incense Peak comes under the Enlightened Cluster, with Cluster Head Shi Xuanzong leading us for many years."
"Teacher, how are the disciples divided?" a boy asks eagerly.
"I was about to come to that. The Outer Sect disciples are below the 10th Layer of [Qi Gathering], and anyone under [Core Formation] is either an Inner Sect disciple or a Core disciple."
Seeing that Luo Ping did not scold or get angry, Yu Ming also asks, "Teacher, once we cultivate above the 10th Layer, are we automatically taken into the Inner Sect?"
Luo Ping smirked while replying, "Of course not. The 10th Layer is the minimum condition, you have to pass the Outer Sect Trials or take a sufficiently difficult mission from Mission Hall. Anything else? No? I will describe to you briefly the responsibility of a Dao Sect before we dismiss."
And so Luo Ping talked a lot about protecting the masses and how an upright cultivator must act.
No worldly ties, no immoral behavior in front of mortals, and others along those lines, and ended the session while saying,
"I will talk about other Sects and their relationships in the next few days."