The First Article

When Lin Xiao first arrived, he was surprised to see that there were barely any people in the Cultivation Hall. He had assumed that all the new disciples were simply being unenthusiastic on the first day of class.

However, after sweeping his divine sense toward the residential area and learning the truth, he was rendered speechless.

All right. It seemed that no one had thought about the fact that they did not know how to comb their hair.

After all, back in the Lingxian Sect, everyone had always been able to comb their own hair and dress themselves.

Even Mo Yuanjiao, who came from the General Mo Residence of the Pusi Kingdom, had been trained by his father in these basic self-care skills from a young age.

Therefore, it was indeed something no one had considered.

When he saw everyone enter, Lin Xiao smiled faintly at them.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin.”

Once everyone had taken their seats, he raised his hand and gave it a light wave. One book after another shot out from his sleeve.

The books flew toward each seat, arriving in front of the new disciples before gently settling onto the desks before them.

“Today, we’ll begin with this cultivation manual.”

Everyone lowered their heads and looked over. Five large characters were written across the cover:

The Peach Haven Ten-Thousand-Void Art.

Even Baizhu recognized the title.

It was not because this little beggar had encountered some miraculous opportunity that allowed him to learn how to read during his thirteen years of life.

Rather, when Lin Xiao and the others had first planned to recruit new disciples, they had thought of the problem of literacy.

They could not possibly make every illiterate disciple start from learning to read each time they recruited new people. Otherwise, their progress would be completely different from that of disciples who could already read.

To reduce this gap, Lin Xiao had specially added a function to the Path of Questioning Heart.

All disciples who could not read would learn written characters in passing within the dreams of the Path of Questioning Heart.

The goal was not to make them learned scholars, nor was it to prepare them for the imperial examinations. They merely needed to recognize common characters, as well as the characters used in many of the Lingxian Sect’s cultivation manuals.

Thus, among the current group of new disciples, it could be said that no one was illiterate anymore.

However, before opening the books, most of those who had originally been unable to read had not realized this.

When Baizhu lowered his head and saw the name of The Peach Haven Ten-Thousand-Void Art, he was stunned for quite some time upon discovering that he could actually recognize it.

Only later did he realize that he had learned it in the Path of Questioning Heart.

Thinking of this, his gratitude toward the sect deepened even further.

The sect had not looked down on him for being illiterate or for being a little beggar. It had even taught him how to read through dreams.

Here, he could eat his fill, stay warm, and had even become literate!

This was something he had never even dared to imagine during the more than ten years of his former life.

Baizhu lowered his head and carefully caressed the book in his hands, cherishing it as he followed the sect master’s instructions from the lectern and turned to the first page.

The reason Lin Xiao had chosen The Peach Haven Ten-Thousand-Void Art instead of The Original Essence Heart Sutra or some other manual was simple.

He felt that this was the first cultivation manual belonging to their sect.

It had also been created with the aid of the sect’s ever-reliable elder—the Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree, which had silently supported them all this time.

In terms of grade, it was not inferior. In terms of content, it was currently the cultivation manual that was easiest for beginners to master.

Therefore, Lin Xiao believed it was very suitable as the first manual through which the new disciples would come into contact with cultivation.

Lin Xiao was no longer the same person he had been back then—the “Lin Xiao who couldn’t understand anything.”

Now that his cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul realm, he sat leisurely on the lectern, explaining the first chapter of The Peach Haven Ten-Thousand-Void Art to the new disciples below with ease.

Perhaps it was because the concentration of spiritual energy within the Lingxian Sect had long since improved beyond recognition.

Or perhaps it was because Lin Xiao himself, a Nascent Soul cultivator, was teaching the class.

After he finished the morning lesson, several of the new disciples in the Cultivation Hall already showed faint signs that they were about to draw qi into their bodies!

Of course, it was only a faint indication. None of them had actually succeeded in drawing qi into their bodies on the spot.

Even so, Lin Xiao was extremely pleased.

It was a good thing for the new disciples of his sect to progress quickly!

Only if the disciples advanced rapidly could their sect develop quickly as well, right?

Thus, Lin Xiao, who was in an excellent mood, happily extended the class for a while. He carefully emphasized the points regarding drawing qi into the body once more before finally announcing the end of the lesson.

Outside the Cultivation Hall, Liu Yunan and Ironhead Hu Liang waited and waited. At long last, the new disciples finally came out.

There was no time to waste.

Liu Yunan hurriedly led the new disciples back to the thatched shelter. On the one hand, he guided everyone in sitting meditation so that they could digest the knowledge they had just learned in cultivation class.

On the other, he gave simple answers to the questions troubling some of the new disciples.

Naturally, Lin Xiao had already resolved most of the major questions during class. At present, Liu Yunan was merely explaining some minor matters to them as someone who had already gone through the process himself.

After all, the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall was responsible for directly coordinating with the new disciples, so Liu Yunan handled these matters as well.

As for Hu Liang, Liu Yunan had brought him over to lead the new disciples in constructing their residential area.

There was no other way. Liu Yunan had originally wanted to ask Hu Liang’s father, Uncle Hu, to come, but Uncle Hu felt embarrassed to do so.

Instead, he pushed his own son forward.

After all, over the past few years, Uncle Hu had indeed passed on quite a few house-building skills to Hu Liang.

Once a son had been properly trained, he could be put to use at critical moments like this.

Therefore, Liu Yunan did not insist and simply brought Hu Liang along.

After an hour of time to digest what they had learned, the new disciples officially began their construction assignment.

To begin construction, they first needed a plan, as well as materials.

As for the layout of their residential area, Liu Yunan gave them the time it took to burn one incense stick to discuss it among themselves.

One of the new disciples pointed out that there were too many of them. If more than a hundred people all tried to discuss the matter at once, speaking over one another, then forget one incense stick—it was possible that they would not reach a conclusion even after an entire afternoon.

Someone therefore suggested selecting five people whom everyone believed were capable of making decisions. Those five would handle the specific discussions and planning, while everyone else could listen from the side.

After spending two days together, the new disciples had more or less gained a basic understanding of those around them.

Thus, the five representatives were selected in no time.

The first was Baizhu.

Over the past two days, everyone had learned that he had been the first to pass the Path of Questioning Heart’s trial, and that he had finished nearly half a day before everyone who came after him. They therefore acknowledged him wholeheartedly.

The other four were the cultivators Liang Zhonghuai and Yuan Jinsheng; the refined young lady Xuanyuan Haoyue, who was well-traveled and attentive to detail; and Master Pei, a steady and knowledgeable man whose excellent reputation came from having taught at Lingxian Academy for three years.

The four did not disappoint. In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, they had completed a rough plan.

Liu Yunan did not interfere. He merely told them that once the plans were in place, they had to begin work.

Their first task was to arrange for people to obtain the necessary materials.

However, with more than a hundred people of all ages, figuring out how to assign everyone’s work was itself a discipline.

Liu Yunan left this matter entirely to them as well. He only offered suitable reminders from the side and told them to pay attention to safety.

Hu Liang’s only responsibility was to solve their technical problems regarding construction and teach them the necessary building techniques.

Everything else had to be coordinated and planned by the new disciples themselves.