The Evening Class Is About to Begin

Today, the disciples of Qingyun Peak did not return to Qingyun Peak for their meals as they usually did.

They had been told to wait until things at Changming Mountain were finished, then gather together at the sect’s main hall.

It had been a long time since Lin Xiao had last come to the sect’s main hall. Standing outside its entrance and looking at the building before him, he couldn’t help wondering: For the sect as it was now, wasn’t this main hall a little too small?

At present, even when the disciples of Qingyun Peak came over, the place could only serve as a landmark.

If the hall were large enough, everyone could go inside and hold one of the sect’s rare grand banquets there. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

It seemed that expanding the sect’s main hall had to be put on the agenda.

Before long, every member of the Lingxian Sect had gathered in the open area specially cleared out in front of the main hall.

The place was rather small. With nearly two hundred people standing there, it was packed to capacity.

After Lin Xiao delivered a few formal remarks, he announced that the Lingxian Sect’s first official all-sect banquet since its initial recruitment drive had begun!

The aroma of the delicious dishes arranged on rows of tables nearby did not even need the wind to carry it over. Waves of fragrance burrowed straight into everyone’s noses. Although those present had cultivation bases now and would not easily go hungry, every one of them still felt famished.

Thus, as soon as the sect master announced that the meal was ready, everyone proceeded quickly but orderly to the tables. They picked up their own plates and utensils from the large stack prepared to one side, then eagerly plunged into an ocean of delicacies.

The food on every table seemed inexhaustible. Whenever the amount began to dwindle, fresh dishes were immediately brought out to replenish it.

The people from the Spirit Food Hall took turns carrying dish after dish out of the hall, keeping the feast supplied without pause.

Night fell.

Suddenly, a bonfire roared to life in the open ground nearby.

The flames leapt high and burned fiercely, rising to a height of three people.

It was nothing more than an ordinary bonfire, without any dazzling magical effects, yet it was as if a spark had ignited the romance and warmth in everyone’s heart.

Involuntary cries of surprise rose from the crowd.

Someone started cheering, and their voice stirred the emotions of everyone around them. Soon, the entire crowd was cheering along.

Even those too shy to open their mouths could not stop the broad smiles tugging at the corners of their lips.

Everyone ate and drank, talked and laughed.

This was the first time the disciples of Qingyun Peak had taken part in an all-sect banquet held by the Lingxian Sect.

Regardless of whether they had little experience or had seen much of the world, every one of them was astonished by the gathering.

These disciples had come from all corners of the land, each with different backgrounds and life experiences. Yet no matter what environment they had grown up in, none of them had ever experienced anything like this.

Here, there seemed to be none of the omnipresent class divisions found in the outside world. There were no fathers and sons, no rulers and subjects, no distinctions of rank or status. Everyone sat at the same tables, ate the same food, and watched the same bonfire. They simply shared in the happiness of the moment, each person an equal part of the joyful atmosphere.

Lin Xiao sat cross-legged atop the Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree, holding a plate piled high with food. His gaze swept across the faces of every member and disciple.

Seeing how relaxed and happy everyone was, he felt a deep sense of contentment.

This was what he wanted: the feeling of happiness and freedom.

People worked hard to live, and every so often, they gathered together in celebration.

Lin Xiao thought that a world without scheming and infighting driven by greed and desire was the greatest freedom there was.

He had no idea how long this kind of freedom could last, or how far it might eventually spread.

But those were matters for the future. For now, all he could do was work hard to preserve it within the Lingxian Sect.

With the fragrance of the Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree drifting around him, Lin Xiao picked up his chopsticks and began enjoying the food on his plate.

He hoped that as his cultivation grew stronger, the range of his influence would continue to expand, allowing this kind of freedom to spread to many, many places...

“Brother Xiao! Come quick—Fuzi’s serving the roast whole lamb!”

The night sky glittered with stars, and beneath the darkness, the people laughed and reveled in a scene of warmth and harmony.

But the beauty of that night did nothing to hold back the Lingxian Sect’s regular routine the following day.

The next morning, everyone was refreshed and went about their usual cultivation, studies, and work.

The teaching and research team had been working at a furious pace. By now, they had finished studying the first chapters of all the cultivation manuals and secret techniques Lin Xiao had assigned them. All that remained was to finalize the detailed lesson plans before officially beginning classes.

At the same time, they would continue studying the later chapters without interruption.

Early that morning, Lin Xiao, Sun Yigao, and the others gathered on the seventh floor of the Scripture Repository to conduct one final review of the lesson plans.

The teacher responsible for giving the lecture at the cultivation hall on Qingyun Peak that day was Liao Pantu, so he was not present in the Scripture Repository. The day’s review was therefore completed by the other four.

Once they had swiftly checked all the lesson plans for the first level of every cultivation manual, they began arranging the class schedule.

Although cultivation techniques were important, a cultivator’s cultivation base was the foundation of everything. The regular cultivation classes could not be reduced.

That meant the new classes would have to be scheduled at another time.

However, the afternoons were reserved for the routine work of the various departments. If the cultivation technique classes were held then, they would clash with everyone’s work schedules, forcing many sect members to choose between their jobs and studying cultivation techniques. That could easily cause the sect’s various operations to stagnate and prevent everything from proceeding smoothly.

It would also interfere with the disciples’ ability to earn spirit stones.

That was no way to develop the sect.

Therefore, Lin Xiao and the others decided to schedule the classes after dinner.

Originally, the time after dinner was left for everyone to arrange as they pleased, with the intention of giving them a chance to relax.

In reality, however, the Lingxian Sect was full of cultivation fanatics. Most disciples spent their evenings either cultivating diligently in their rooms or working hard to improve skills such as artifact refining, alchemy, formation inscription, talisman crafting, and spirit food preparation.

The only true relaxation they allowed themselves was probably the time late at night when some of them went to sleep, still following the sleeping habits they had developed before embarking on the path of cultivation.

Even so, they did not actually feel much pressure during all that hard work. Whether they were cultivating or improving their proficiency in various skills, they found it fairly easy and enjoyable.

As a result, no one felt that they were exhausting themselves. On the contrary, they gained plenty of fresh pleasure from it all.

After discussing the matter, Lin Xiao and the others decided to schedule the classes in the evening.

The classes would not take up too much time. Each person would attend two lessons every night, with each lesson lasting only half an hour.

However, there were currently only five teachers, while there were more than a thousand different cultivation techniques. If they devoted one lesson to each technique, the process would be far too slow.

In the end, Lin Xiao and the others decided to first classify the cultivation techniques and post the categories for everyone to see, allowing the disciples to choose their own courses.

Liao Pantu, Sun Yigao, Yang Jinshu, and Mo Yuanjiao had previously divided the cultivation techniques among themselves for study. Once the disciples had selected their courses, they could simply attend classes under the teacher responsible for the corresponding techniques.