Abandoning One's Real Name

As for Sun Yigao and the others, they would have to put in a little more work. Within a single lesson, they would need to teach different material depending on which cultivation technique each disciple had chosen.

This arrangement was merely a temporary measure.

Once someone managed to be the first to master the first level of a particular technique, the teaching of that technique could be delegated to them.

Everyone was prepared for the fact that all beginnings were difficult, and none of them objected to the arrangement.

Mo Yuanjiao was even eager to give it a try. After a moment's thought, he asked, “Why not let everyone attend whichever classes they want? Once they've chosen a class, they're locked into it. What if they end up disliking the technique and find it inconvenient to switch?”

Sun Yigao thought it over, then shook his head.

“That wouldn't be appropriate. It would make everyone restless. People would keep thinking that they could attend a class first and still switch whenever they pleased, which would make it difficult for them to settle down and study.”

Yang Jinshu also agreed with Sun Yigao. “We've gone through all these techniques during this period. How many likes and dislikes could there really be? It's not as though anyone would develop an aversion to or reject a particular technique, right? In the end, each is simply a skill to master. They're learning only for self-defense, not for anything else, and they won't take up too much time.”

Hearing this, Mo Yuanjiao felt that they had a point. He nodded in agreement and began arranging the class schedule with the others.

Once the course content had been settled, there was still the matter of finding a venue.

At present, the only places within Lingxian Sect suitable for use as classrooms were the cultivation chamber halfway up the mountain and the cultivation hall on Qingyun Peak.

Lin Xiao was considering whether he should work late into the night to clear a plot of land and build several rooms for teaching cultivation techniques.

Just then, Sun Yigao suggested, “Why not use the Lingxian Academy at the foot of the mountain for now? Classes at the academy end every evening, and it has isolation formations, so we won't have to worry about being disturbed.”

Lin Xiao considered this and realized that Sun Yigao was right. It wasn't that they couldn't immediately clear some land and build a few cultivation-technique classrooms, but anything constructed in such a hurry would inevitably be crude.

As the sect continued to expand, many of Lingxian Sect's original buildings were beginning to show their limitations and were facing the need for reconstruction. For that reason, Lin Xiao did not want to build anything too hastily.

Otherwise, they would only have to spend the effort later on drawing up new plans and rebuilding everything from scratch.

The Lingxian Academy had already been expanded once. Even now, it was more than spacious enough to accommodate the nearly two hundred people of Lingxian Sect.

With the Lingxian Academy serving as a temporary solution, Lin Xiao no longer needed to rush. He could take his time and properly plan the classrooms for teaching cultivation techniques.

Afterward, he intended to explore the Northern Mountain Range thoroughly once more and choose a suitable location for a proper construction project.

The sect's resources were no longer as scarce as they had once been. There was no longer any need to settle for simply building something that would do.

As the four members of the teaching group were nearing the end of their discussion, the sun stood directly overhead. Not long after classes ended at the cultivation hall on Qingyun Peak, Liao Pantu appeared in the teachers' office.

“Eh? Senior Liao, you're here unusually early today. Surely those disciples didn't fail to surround you with questions?” Mo Yuanjiao asked curiously when he saw Liao Pantu arrive so soon.

After all, whenever they went to Qingyun Peak to teach, the disciples would surround them with questions for quite some time afterward.

But Liao Pantu merely waved his large hand and said:

“I heard that Baizhu and the others took the lead in forming some sort of study group last night. After class, the members discuss the problems they’ve encountered and try to solve them together. Only when they truly can’t work something out do they ask the instructors the next day. It seems to be working quite well—the number of people asking questions today has been cut by more than half.”

Hearing this, Sun Yigao said with a smile:

“‘When walking with three people, I can always learn something from one of them.’ This study group was certainly a good idea. Having companions to advance alongside you on the path of cultivation, helping one another along the way, is tremendously beneficial.”

Lin Xiao nodded as well.

“It seems that after spending this much time together, the disciples of Qingyun Peak have grown much closer and more at ease with one another. They no longer need us to make arrangements—they’re already forming groups and acting together on their own.”

After explaining why he had returned early, Liao Pantu’s gaze swept across their faces before he continued:

“Speaking of which, in the cultivation world, cultivators generally adopt a Dao title once their cultivation reaches a certain level. Most take one when they form their Golden Core, though some receive one after successfully establishing their Foundation. It wasn’t particularly important before, but from now on, if you need to deal with the cultivation world for any length of time, having a Dao title will be more convenient.”

“A Dao title?” Sun Yigao pondered for a moment. It sounded somewhat like the courtesy names used by scholars.

He voiced this thought, but Liao Pantu replied:

“That’s similar, but not quite the same. A cultivator’s Dao title isn’t bestowed by someone else. It comes from one’s own insights into one’s path and Dao-heart. That’s how it should be, at least. In reality, many cultivators never truly gain such insight, but since they want a Dao title to present to the world, most of them rack their brains to come up with one.”

As he spoke, he pointed at himself.

“But I’m different from those people. Liao Pantu wasn’t actually my birth name. Pantu is my Dao title. I’ve used it for over a century, and I’ve long since forgotten my birth name.”

Lin Xiao suddenly understood.

So that was why, when he had first met Senior Liao, the man had introduced himself as Venerable Pantu. It wasn’t that he had simply added “Venerable” to his own name to make it sound impressive—Pantu really was his Dao title!

At the same time, Lin Xiao asked the system in his mind:

“Why doesn’t the Disciples System show Senior Liao’s birth name?”

The system replied:

【Answering the host: Since this person has reached the Nascent Soul realm, his Dao-heart is firm, and he abandoned his birth name long ago. The name reflected by his Dao-heart is only ‘Liao Pantu.’ This system will display only the name that the person himself acknowledges in his heart.】

So that was how it was.

It seemed that Senior Liao’s birth name concealed some untold story.

After all, the system had explicitly said that Senior Liao had abandoned his birth name, and he himself had said that he had “forgotten” it. Clearly, that abandonment had been absolute.

But since he hadn’t brought it up, it was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it. Lin Xiao therefore didn’t ask.

The other three had the same thought as Lin Xiao and tacitly kept silent about the matter.

Mo Yuanjiao asked with great interest:

“Senior Liao, how are we supposed to comprehend our own Dao titles?”

From the look on his face, it seemed that the moment Liao Pantu gave him a method, he would rush off and try it immediately.

Seeing his eagerness, Liao Pantu threw his head back and laughed.

“What are you in such a hurry for, boy? The method is actually very simple: sit in meditation and contemplate.”

“What? It’s that simple?” They were all rather surprised.

Liao Pantu, however, shook his head:

“The method is simple enough, but actually obtaining your own Dao title is no easy feat. Back then, I meditated for more than ten days before I finally comprehended mine—and that was considered incredibly fast. Many cultivators spend ten or even eight years trying to comprehend theirs and still get nowhere. Of course, people like that are usually cultivators whose cultivation has nearly reached its limit and who have little future ahead of them.”

“Is a Dao title really that important? Would someone actually spend ten or eight years trying to comprehend one?” Yang Jinshu asked.

At this, Liao Pantu nodded.

“It is quite important. Once you have a Dao title, it is as though an additional guiding lamp has appeared on your path of cultivation. Many bottlenecks you might encounter during cultivation will become easier to understand and overcome.”