John walked down the mountainside, taking in the breathtaking scenery all the way down. His pathway passed by several of the other houses of the other Core Disciples. Each house had detailed architecture, and were incredibly luxurious.
The pathway down the mountain was lined with beautiful trees and flowers, and John would occasionally spot a towering waterfall nearby. Many different kinds of birds were chirping, and John spotted many kinds of animals on his walk down. The walk down the mountain lasted for quite some time before he finally reached its base.
The academic portion of the sect was in a large valley, surrounded by many mountains where the disciples lived. The valley was many miles long and wide, and contained hundreds of buildings of various purposes.
A wide road led from John's mountain into the heart of the valley, and John followed it to reach his classes. Many other students were walking on the road to their classes, and Elders were occasionally visible as well.
After reaching the campus area, John continued to walk for some time before he found the particular building his first class was being held in. It was a large circular building several stories tall, and many disciples were constantly streaming into it.
John followed the other disciples inside, and after some searching, found his particular classroom. It was a large auditorium, capable of holding thousands of disciples. A loud, boisterous atmosphere filled the room, as the hundreds of disciples inside talked excitedly about various things.
While looking around, he spotted several familiar faces. Mason, June, Mae, and Hartley were all already seated in various places, and many curious eyes were glancing at them. They had been some of the most impressive disciples in this year's entrance exam, and many lower disciples were either discussing them, or trying to join them as followers.
'It seems like this class contains Core Disciples, as well as Inner Sect Disciples. I guess Outer Sect Disciples have their own class.'
John walked a few rows in before deciding to pick a relatively empty row of seats to sit in. Nearby disciples immediately spotted John enter, and the topic of discussions immediately shifted. John's performance as the top ranked Core Disciple was one of the hottest topics, and his presence caused those discussions to ignite once more.
John sat down on a seat in his row and closed his eyes. His mind focused inward, and he soon found himself standing in front of the holy gate. Despite class almost starting, John never wasted an opportunity to cultivate. Having his soul stand in front of the holy gate passively strengthened it, and he always felt refreshed after doing so.
"John!"
A voice called out happily, and John opened his eyes to see Adam approaching him.
"Hey Adam, you seem to be in a good mood" John greeted, noticing Adams happy demeanor.
"Of course I am. I'm a Core Disciple, and my new home is awesome! There's a cultivation chamber, as well as a place for me to practice using my formations without concern of causing destruction. I even have a butler! This sect really knows how to treat me correctly," Adam replied.
'Seems like his house is relatively similar, although I'm sure there are some differences between mine and his.'
Adam sat down next to John, and the two began to discuss the various things regarding their houses and rewards they had received.
"What? You have a cultivation pool? That's not fair, I don't have that. And you received three hundred spirit crystals? I only received one hundred," Adam's happiness quickly turned slightly sour as he heard John's better rewards.
John's rewards were much more luxurious, as he had received more money, pills, and a better home.
"Hey, you can't complain. Without me, you wouldn't even be an Inner Sect Disciple, let alone a Core Disciple. Be happy with what you have," John replied, causing a thoughtful look to appear on Adam's face.
"I...I guess you're right. I suppose what I have is pretty awesome," Adams' sour mood quickly turned into one of happiness again, and he shivered in fear at the thought of being an Outer Sect Disciple. He thanked himself for having such good vision for talent again, as that alone allowed him to get this far.
By now, nearly one thousand disciples were present in the auditorium, which contained all the Inner and Core Disciple first years.
"Hush now, class is in session!"
A loud yet calm voice sounded out, causing the eyes of all the disciples present to look towards its source. John looked at well, and quickly spotted an Elder walk out of a door near the stage at the end of the auditorium.
The Elder was a woman who appeared to be in her forties. She had a gentle smile on her face and a calm voice, causing all those who looked at her to feel relaxed.
She reached the podium located at the middle of the stage, and addressed the crowd of eager disciples.
"I am Elder Hale. In this class, you will be learning about everything related to lightning. From lightning types, to uses of lightning, to where you can find certain types of lightning, all will be discussed during this class. By the end of the year, I would hope you all become experts in all things lightning," Elder Hale said to the class.
Many excited eyes stared directly at the Elder, eager to learn about such things. Since most of the disciples present came from powers not specialized in lightning, their knowledge regarding it was limited.
John looked towards Elder Hale in eagerness as well, and hoped to learn as much as he could regarding lightning. By learning as much as he could about it, perhaps he could start to get closer and closer to the truth of the Celestial Lightning Script.
The Celestial Lightning Script was a complete mystery to John at the moment, and he wanted to learn about its origins if possible. By comparing the teachings of the Heavenly Lightning Sect to the script itself, he would at least be able to begin establishing its power and profundity compared to the sects techniques.
Elder Hale began her class.
"Lightning comes in many forms, and can be used in many different ways. There is healing lightning, destructive lightning, restrictive lightning, lightning formations...the list goes on and on. By learning about each of these types, you can find what you wish to specialize in, which will begin your lightning cultivation journey."
"The first type of lightning we will discuss is..."
