NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: Cultivation theory class
After the Sui-er’s agreement. We bid goodbye to uncle Qin and went to our prospective classes.
As the island was a restricted area, I had to show my new token a dozen times before reaching the classroom. Luckily, this had to be done only once to register at every checkpoint.
From my point of view, those security measures were useless for the cultivation theory subjects. Most of it was not really secret information but their library was one of the most exhaustive ones in the city. I planned to use it until I mastered the foundation of cultivation and spiritual formations.
By the time I arrived at the classroom, I was a few minutes late but it was empty. A beautiful lady looking in her early twenties greeted me with a smile “Hello there, you must be student Bai”
“Greetings from student Bai, I am sorry for being late. Security here is tight” I answered with a bow.
“No worries, no one is ever on time on their first day here. I am expecting two other students so let’s drink some tea while waiting” so far she did not tell me her name
A round tea table was set up in the middle of the circular classroom. There was a big table at the far end of the class across the door - teacher's position - and 10 smaller desks were surrounding the tea table giving plenty of space to wander around. Instead of the thick padded mats I was used to in my previous class, there were some rough looking ones.
My new teacher - that is what I assumed so far - took me to the center where there were four steaming cups of tea and no teapot. The aroma was nice and made me feel like I was sitting in a bamboo forest on a spring day. After sipping the tea, that feeling intensified and part of the stress I had since I woke up 3 days ago was gone
“I would like to congratulate you on your performance on the exam. Usually, students with your background prefer to wait much longer before moving to this side” said the teacher.
I did not know what to say so used a generic answer “Thank you for your praises” then, with my stress leaving slowly, I also added part of the truth “I was bored there and I don't like that teacher”
Sh*t never complain about teachers in front of other teachers! What was in this tea? I thought while looking at my cup. Should I finish the tea or not?
“Hahaha. I like your honesty. Don’t worry this tea is not drugged, just makes you more relaxed. It is made with dried green bamboo flowers. It is hard to find but not as hard as my favorite golden bamboo flower tea… Alas, it is not possible to get them in this city” Flower bamboo tea … never heard of it before. I didn't even know that bamboo flowers existed. I need to search for it later. The taste is really good.
“Ah, the others are here. Let’s meet them.” Said the teacher standing up. I followed her out and saw the two students who took the exam with me. They passed as well, I gave them a smile and a thumbs-up. They of course ignored me and bowed to the teacher.
“Hello, student Wong and Student Ang. Congratulations on passing the exam. Welcome to the cultivation theory class”
After both students thanked her, we all went to drink tea. Both boys were much more nervous than me but after a sip, they calmed down a lot.
“I am going to be your teacher from now on. You can call me teacher Wei”
All three of us stood up and bowed to teacher Wei with a “Student welcome teacher Wei”
With a wave of her hand, teacher Wei said “Sit down. Sit down. Let’s talk about the course.
Because it is your first day, you had to come early but starting tomorrow, the classroom will be at 9 AM”
"YES! I can sleep more!" I thought inwardly1I imagined our MC dancing in his mind
“With you, there are now 9 students in this class today. That can change depending on students switching to other classrooms, passing the cultivation exam, reaching the maximum age, or moving to a sect. The capacity of this classroom is 20” Mmm 2 per desk.
“There are 3 other teachers in cultivation theory, teacher Fei, Qing and Hong. All are good and I suggest you switching between the 4 of us whenever you feel like it. None of us would mind. Each of us has a different vision of cultivating arts so you can learn more with all of us combined. I am, for example, good at teaching how to use your root elements with spiritual energy to increase their effectiveness while teacher Fei prefers using spiritual energy to mimic any element, a very helpful skill from my point of view.
Teacher Qing is more of an encyclopedia that knows the most about skills and renowned cultivators and sects' history.
Teacher Hong is good at pure cultivation theory. He can analyze and explain the fundamentals and, sometimes, gives introductions to arrays.
There is a registration paper at the entrance of each classroom where you can put your name. This lets teachers know how many students to expect the next day. If you do not fill it, then by default you are not changing classes the next day”
Wow, I did not know about the level of liberty we had here!
“You will also find a schedule of each class on the board at the center area of the island. For example, today and next week, I am teaching introduction theory for beginners, this is why I am the one welcoming you today. You can check other teachers' schedules if you already know the basics and want to change next week” She said while looking at me. I was not planning to change yet though.
“For all classrooms; we start with a theory lesson, sharing reading materials and suggesting specific books for in-depth studies. The afternoon is for self-study and cultivation practices. Both can be done in the classroom but you can choose to self-study at the library instead. Teachers will be in the classroom in the afternoon in case you have questions or need coaching” Cultivation theory is like university in my previous life - not that I went, but this is close to what my brother told me about -
“Last, you still have access to your former section’s library and cafeteria but not the 5 art classrooms. You can find a few quiet pavilions and areas scattered within this island if you wish to cultivate, relax, paint or even play music as long as you do not disturb the students around you. Those areas are open even during holidays just like our library” If I was not concerned about the trio's safety, I would come even during holidays to avoid the toxic family
“I like drinking tea so this table is always available for those who wish to do the same during the afternoon self-study sessions. You will have to bring your own tea and teaware though. Feel free to share with your fellow students” At this point, most students from the free section do not know how to use their spiritual energy to heat up water so drinking tea can be a way to practice.
“Well, it is almost 9 AM. Go chose a desk, the others will be here soon”
I picked up the desk on the left side of the door. while the other 2 students picked the right side. The hard looking mats were actually very comfortable, perfect for long-time sitting. I should check where I could buy them, they might be helpful in the future.
The desk had brushes, paper and ink. There were also 3 books; beginner, intermediate and advanced theory of cultivation.They were pretty explanatory titles. I opened the beginner book, next to the title there was a warning to not take it out of this class. The other two books had the same warning
The first book had some pretty basic information. By the time I was on the 10th page, other students started to pour in. They all looked at me weirdly, maybe because I was the only ‘rich’ guy or they thought that I should already have learned the basics from the Yu family.
Well, that toxic family never took the time to give or teach me anything. At this point in my first life, I knew nothing outside of Bai’s family cultivation technique. And because that technique was unusual, I effectively did not know the basics. I wonder if my parents did that on purpose or just thought the Yu family would assign me a tutor.
After everyone was settled, teacher Wei started talking about the meaning of spiritual energy, the types, the dantians and meridians. I was fascinated, I knew some but not all because my master was not a martial artist type of cultivator. He was more like a scholar type one. By the time lunch arrived, I learned that there were two more types of spiritual energy than I thought and many more numbers of dantians and meridians.
By the time I went out for lunch, I had the same feeling as a blind who started seeing for the first time. My brain was analyzing the little information I got so far, a mix of former and new knowledge was twirling together. Instead of giving me a headache, it just gave me the motivation to read more about it. I would have gone back to the classroom to finish reading the first book instead of lunch if I had not promised Sui-er to have a picnic with him. I was curious about the food his father made.
