Chapter 19

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Chapter 19: Teacher Qi Lian

"Is a new student here?"

"I haven’t seen him before. What’s his story?"

"I haven’t seen him either. He must be a worthless minor achievement from the C or D class."

Many eyes turned toward Yun Ye, and among them were quite a few with malice.

Yun Ye acted as if he had neither seen nor heard anything.

In the entire Academy, only the children of powerful families were allowed to speak; for others, silence was the best choice.

However, based on Yun Ye’s observations, these so-called children of noble families did not include the major families like the Liu family, which truly held power in Baishi Town, as Yun Ye had never seen them.

Those who came to the Academy were mostly from ordinary noble families. They controlled some cultivation methods and possessed part of Baishi Town’s production resources but did not hold complete power. They still needed the Academy and the government to acquire resources.

Nevertheless, having control over production resources and parts of Baishi Town’s industries elevated their status far above that of common people and wealthy merchants.

Especially wealthy merchants; apart from outsiders, all merchants in Baishi Town had to rely on associations with noble families to avoid their wealth being taken.

In this situation, although there were indeed many wealthy individuals in the Academy, their status was generally low, just slightly above that of commoners, so they tended to be low-key.

As soon as Yun Ye entered the Academy, he was viewed as having a bit of money, but lacking talent and a good family background. This assumption was based on this context.

Those who truly came from noble families found it much easier to cultivate the Qi Cultivation Technique and had undoubtedly shown their talents early on.

Or rather, they could never be rated as C or D-level from the start.

Yun Ye quickly pushed open the door to the initial hall.

Inside were stacks of books, and a graceful woman in a blue robe sat quietly at a desk, reading. Despite the dim light in the room, for some reason, Yun Ye felt as though the early sun had cast down golden rays, highlighting the blue-robed woman in an ethereal and stunning way.

But upon closer inspection, everything seemed blurry to Yun Ye. He could only make out the blue robe and sensed that she was an extremely beautiful woman, but he couldn’t see clearly, especially the color of her hair…

Was it black, gray, or another color?

He couldn’t tell, as if veiled by a layer of mist.

This strange situation made Yun Ye’s mind feel conflicted, and for a moment, he felt slightly dizzy.

The next second, Yun Ye snapped back to reality and quickly averted his gaze.

In this world, no matter how strange things seemed, it could all be attributed to Spiritual Law. In the modern world, one might not suffer such consequences from a mere glance, but in this world, that was not guaranteed!

Whether it was the previous Captain in black armor or Liu Quan, the Deputy Officer of Spiritual Techniques, both had the ability to control him directly through their gaze and speech, even leading to his demise if desired.

This woman in the blue robe seemed so enigmatic that he certainly couldn’t provoke her at his current level. Just as Yun Ye was about to bow and ask a question, the blue-robed woman lifted her gaze and spoke gently, "Are you a new student? Please, take a seat. I am the teacher of the initial hall, Qi Lian. You can call me Teacher Qi Lian."

"Yes… Teacher…" Yun Ye replied while writing on paper and ink, "（Please excuse me, Teacher Qi Lian. I am Yang Shi, and I just arrived today. What should I learn next?）"

Yun Ye did not mention his throat problem.

From his experience, most people didn’t care to know why he had issues.

Getting straight to the point and finishing quickly was more reassuring.

"Yang Shi, noted," she said.

"I will inform you about the circumstances of the Awakening Hall. If you’d like to hear it, I can tell you right now."

The blue-robed woman indeed didn’t pry further; her voice was clear and crisp, evoking an immediate fondness and sparking many thoughts in Yun Ye’s mind.

Fortunately, Yun Ye deeply understood the complexities of this world and did not overstep: "（Please begin, teacher.）"

The woman in the blue robe nodded and replied, "Good," but immediately after, Yun Ye lost control of his body and found himself uncontrollably walking into the hall.

Just as Yun Ye felt a hint of horror rising within him, he realized he had walked to the cushioned mat in front of Qi Lian’s desk and was seated properly.

Seeing Yun Ye settled, Qi Lian spoke:

"I apologize; I don’t like formalities. Sitting is better than standing."

Yun Ye remained silent.

Wow, that invitation to sit was not just a formality…

Although he had wanted to sit, he had refrained due to the gap in strength and status. Yet, this woman had directly made him "sit," giving him a sense of being read.

"It’s not mind-reading. The Spiritual Law can only perceive some emotions; it’s hard for people to hide their feelings."

She claimed it wasn’t mind-reading!

Yun Ye was startled and quickly cleared his mind of distractions, not wanting to think of anything. If the secret of his rebirth were revealed, he would face great danger.

Fortunately, Qi Lian was not lying; the Spiritual Law could only sense emotions and could not directly read thoughts.

She continued, "The Awakening Hall is divided into three parts: the initial hall, the middle hall, and the back hall. The initial hall focuses on awakening techniques, the middle hall on real combat, and the back hall on Spiritual Law."

"After learning the awakening technique for a month in the initial hall, you must participate in the ranking competitions of the Awakening Hall, which continues until graduation, even if you complete the Spiritual Roots revival."

"And in the back hall, only after the Spiritual Roots revival can you qualify to study Spiritual Law, which is still quite a distance away for you."

Whoosh.

A book that had been stacked in the corner flew into Yun Ye’s hands. It was a book without a cover or title, and its contents could not be discerned from the outside.

"I am merely a guide; I am not responsible for specific teaching. This book is the greatest help I can offer you."

"It contains much knowledge that practitioners need to know, as well as a basic awakening technique."

"You can either take it back to study at your leisure or learn right here. But remember, the awakening technique must not be shared with others."

Qi Lian spoke softly.

"Understood."

As soon as Yun Ye responded, he suddenly saw chains appearing out of nowhere, vanishing in an instant, almost like an illusion.

Yun Ye had no understanding of these chains, but he instinctively grasped the situation—he was "locked" in place.

This was a binding that was imposed on him by a certain Spiritual Law after he agreed to keep secrets.

Such chains would prevent him from revealing the awakening technique in any form.

—Could it be that the awakening technique is something extremely valuable?

Yun Ye quickly dismissed the possibility that "the government restricted the spread of the awakening technique to avoid high mortality rates."

No ruler in Baishi Town could possibly be so kind-hearted.

It must have been due to some self-serving interest that the government had teachers expend extra effort to impose such restrictions.

To find out the answer, he first needed to understand the awakening technique.

Yun Ye couldn’t help but glance at Qi Lian—

She had already set down the scroll and began discussing basic cultivation knowledge.

"Before learning the awakening technique, you need to know your limits—cultivation requires talent!"

"Those with superior physiques advance quickly in Q cultivation and can awaken their Spiritual Roots sooner. Those born with spiritual bodies awaken at birth, wielding immense power without any cost."

"Those with exceptional Spirit Sense can forcibly revive their Spiritual Roots and control even greater power. Those inherently gifted with Spiritual Law can perceive past and future, altering the world with a thought."

"Practitioners with excellent Spiritual Roots consume and hold spirit energy continuously, leading to rapid cultivation. The legendary five-element body can master all phenomena in the world, making it invincible, born as a saint."

"Those with great understanding can grasp many concepts at once, attaining enlightenment and creating Spiritual Laws, crucial for mastering them."

"Physical and spiritual enlightenment—these are the four barriers to cultivation. Regardless of who you are, you must understand your limits before starting cultivation. Otherwise, you will likely face disaster due to overestimating your abilities."