The registered disciple was stunned What kind of divine sect is this

At the foot of Qingyun Mountain.

Smoke curled upward from the incense burning before the Ant Grave.

A long queue had formed in front of the Heart-Questioning Pavilion.

Zhao Feng did not return to his own courtyard. Instead, he turned into the adjacent compound, which served as the living quarters for the registered disciples.

The courtyard was not large, but it was kept neat and tidy. In front of the house was an open clearing paved with bluestone slabs, where over a dozen registered disciples were currently meditating and cultivating.

Recently, the popularity of the Tianyan Sect had only continued to rise. The number of people who had climbed past the fortieth floor of the Heart-Questioning Pavilion and been accepted as outer sect registered disciples had already exceeded twenty.

Zhao Feng came to a halt and spoke in a deep voice, All registered disciples, assemble!

His voice was not overly loud, but as the oppressive aura of the Golden Core stage spread outward, everyone heard him loud and clear.

Very quickly, the twenty-odd registered disciples stood in a neat row across the clearing.

Greetings, Deacon Zhao!

Zhao Feng nodded. His gaze swept over the crowd as he announced solemnly, From this day forward, all registered disciples and outer sect disciples of the Tianyan Sect will uniformly cultivate the sect's foundational technique: the Tianyan Primordial Chaos Art.

There was no great reaction from the crowd; everyone looked quite placid.

After all, every sect had its own entry-level cultivation technique. Most of these were low-grade Yellow-tier, and getting a mid-grade Yellow-tier technique would already be considered a blessing.

However, Zhao Feng's next words froze everyone in their tracks.

This Tianyan Primordial Chaos Art is a low-grade Earth-tier cultivation technique. It can be cultivated all the way to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

Boom!

The training ground instantly erupted!

What? An Earth-tier technique?

Did I hear that right? We can cultivate it up to the Nascent Soul stage?

Impossible! That is absolutely impossible!

Even the ancestral heirlooms of the Four Major Clans are only at this level! How could they possibly bring something like this out for us registered disciples to practice?

Exactly! I heard that the core technique of the Jiang family, the head of the Four Major Clans, is only mid-grade Earth-tier, and only their direct descendants are allowed to learn it!

Everyone wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Truth be told, when they had fought tooth and nail to challenge the Heart-Questioning Pavilion, they had indeed been drawn in by the gimmick that registered disciples could practice a Nascent Soul technique.

But everyone knew in their hearts that Nascent Soul techniques were not so easily obtained.

Moreover, even if such a technique were handed to them, a group of people with mere mortal constitutions could never possibly reach the Nascent Soul stage!

In reality, everyone had thought that being given a high-grade Yellow-tier technique capable of reaching the Golden Core stage would already be worth burning high incense in gratitude.

Yet they never expected that the sect would actually bring out a Nascent Soul technique, and an Earth-tier one at that!

What did this mean?

It meant that even with their mortal constitutions, they actually had a glimmer of hope to glimpse the Nascent Soul realm!

Even if that hope was only one in a thousand, or one in ten thousand!

It was still better than nothing!

However, after the initial shock faded, the crowd calmed down and became somewhat skeptical, or rather, they dared not believe it.

That was an Earth-tier Nascent Soul technique!

Even factions on the level of the Four Major Clans would treat it as a closely guarded family heirloom.

Would it really be handed out so easily?

Given to a bunch of registered disciples to practice?

Just what kind of divine sect was this?

The disciples exchanged glances, their eyes full of suspicion.

Although no one voiced their doubts out loud, everyone's face clearly read, I don't believe it.

Zhao Feng took all of this in. Even without his innate ability to read people, he could easily tell what they were thinking.

He walked directly into the center of the crowd and said, I know you don't believe it. That is fine. Right now, I will teach you the incantations for the first three levels of the Qi Condensation stage. Try circulating your spiritual energy yourselves, and you will know whether it is true or false.

After saying this, he recited the incantations for the first three levels of the Tianyan Primordial Chaos Art, enunciating every single word clearly.

The first level, drawing Qi into the body! Focus your intent on the dantian, rid your mind of distractions. Let the spiritual energy enter through the crown of the head, travel down the Conception Vessel, and pool in the dantian...

He spoke quickly, but every word was distinct.

The registered disciples hastily held their breath, trying desperately to memorize every syllable.

Once Zhao Feng finished reciting, he closed the manual.

Circulate your spiritual energy according to the incantation. Begin now.

The crowd immediately sat cross-legged and closed their eyes.

Some were sweating profusely from nervousness, some muttered the words with trembling lips, and others took deep breaths, trying hard to calm themselves down.

Spiritual energy slowly began to flow within their bodies, following the guidance of the incantation, starting from the dantian and traveling along their meridians.

At first, many still harbored doubts.

But as their spiritual energy began to circulate along the technique's pathways, everyone's expressions changed.

It was too smooth!

In the past, when they practiced those fragmented Yellow-tier techniques, their spiritual energy moved sluggishly, encountering blockages everywhere. The slightest lack of attention could lead to Qi deviation.

But now, the spiritual energy flowed through their meridians like a surging river, completely unimpeded!

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

An hour later.

Ah!!!

A young disciple suddenly snapped his eyes open and leaped up in excitement, his voice trembling:

One... one full cycle! It only took me an hour to complete a full circulatory cycle!

He stood up, spinning around in circles, waving his arms and dancing as if he had gone mad.

When I practiced Yellow-tier techniques before, it took me a whole day and night to complete a single cycle! Now it only takes an hour! It's ten times faster! Ten times!

A second person opened his eyes.

He showed the same wild ecstasy, followed by sheer disbelief!

I finished it too! It really only took an hour to complete a cycle!

Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth...

One after another, everyone's reactions were largely the same: first disbelief, then wild joy, and finally, eyes brimming with tears.

I completed a cycle too!

Me too!

This technique... it's miraculous!

I've never felt my spiritual energy move this fast!

Is this an Earth-tier technique? Is this really an Earth-tier technique?!

A middle-aged rogue cultivator in his forties fell to his knees. Pressing his hands against the bluestone slabs, his shoulders heaved as he cried like a child.

He had cultivated for thirty years using a low-grade Yellow-tier technique. Every day, completing just one cycle was a grueling task, and the spiritual energy in his dantian was as thin as morning mist.

He had thought his life would end just like this, with no hope for Foundation Establishment, let alone the Golden Core stage.

But now, one hour, one cycle.

He saw a path—a path leading to the Golden Core, leading to the Nascent Soul.

Even if this path was fraught with countless hardships, even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, it was enough!

Sect Master... Sect Master's great grace... this disciple... this disciple...

He could not go on. He prostrated himself on the ground, pressing his forehead against the bluestone slabs, his shoulders trembling violently.

If these people had been officially recorded in the system's roster, Lin Yan would surely be hearing a continuous string of notifications about rising loyalty right now.

Standing on the steps and watching their reactions, Zhao Feng felt his own eyes grow slightly misty.

Once upon a time, had he not been exactly the same?

Just over a month ago, he had been a cripple.

His dantian shattered, his limbs broken, left at the city gates to die.

It was the Lord who gave him the Nine-Revolution Body Sculpting Pill, the Lord who allowed him to reconnect his meridians, and the Lord who helped him break through to the Golden Core stage.

No one understood this feeling better than he did—the feeling of seeing light from within the deepest darkness.

Zhao Feng took a deep breath, raised a hand to press down the noise, and waited for the crowd to quiet down before speaking in a deep voice:

I know everyone is excited, but let me make the ugly truths clear up front: there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world!

"For now, everyone will first cultivate the first three layers of Qi Condensation. Only upon completing each stage of cultivation, finishing the tasks assigned by the sect, and accumulating enough merit will you be able to unlock the cultivation technique for the next layer."

Although Lin Yan hadn't said it, there was no way Zhao Feng would teach the entire cultivation technique right from the start. What if they just took it and ran away?

It had to be done step by step. They would only be given the next layer once they reached the prerequisite, and only on the condition that they were obedient and completed their required tasks!

"Since the Tianyan Sect is a guardian sect, it is our duty to protect this region. Those who make great contributions will be imparted the subsequent cultivation techniques, while those who slack off and shirk their duties will be expelled from the sect!"

"At the same time, let this be a warning to you all. If anyone dares to take our cultivation techniques and betray the Tianyan Sect, the sect will execute them without mercy!"