When they heard that the teacher was going to talk about matters on the Continent, everyone immediately perked up their ears and widened their eyes. Although they had heard of the Seven Sects and Thirty-Six Gates, it was only bits and pieces.
“The so-called Seven Sects and Thirty-Six Gates are the forty-three most powerful forces on the entire Eight Ancient Continent.”
“These forces are distributed in various Cultivation Holy Lands across the Continent, and some are also within the various Empires. Even within an Empire, these forces exist in a transcendent state, equivalent to being revered by the entire country, providing a continuous stream of strong individuals for the nation. The situation is somewhat similar to our country’s Midnight Pavilion.”
At this point, Han Ying paused, looked around at the students who had just arrived at the academy, and said with a smile, “Many of you may not know yet, but the Midnight Pavilion is the largest Celestial Master force in our country, and also the best Cultivation Holy Land. And there is only one way to enter the Midnight Pavilion, and that is to enter various academies. After graduation, the Midnight Pavilion will come to the academies to select the most outstanding students. If you are fortunate enough to enter the Midnight Pavilion, then you will truly soar.”
Everyone suddenly understood and began to whisper among themselves, filled with longing for the Midnight Pavilion. Lu An also took a deep breath, his eyes growing more solemn.
Watching the lively discussion, Han Ying did not immediately interrupt, but let the students discuss for a while before saying with a smile, “Getting back to the main topic, why are the so-called Seven Sects and Thirty-Six Gates divided into two parts? The reason is simple: it’s not because the Seven Sects are stronger than the Thirty-Six Gates, but because the Seven Sects are seven Families with extremely powerful Destiny Wheels, while the Thirty-Six Gates are powerful forces on the Eight Ancient Continent. In terms of strength, there isn’t much difference between the Seven Sects and the Thirty-Six Gates.”
“The ‘Thousand Pagoda Divine Sect’ I just mentioned is one of the Seven Sects, containing powerful Seventh Grade Celestial Masters and even Eighth Grade Celestial Masters. The Thousand Pagoda Divine Sect holds immense power on the Continent; it can be said that the surrounding countries hold it in awe.”
“Then, Teacher, are there no Ninth Grade Celestial Masters in the Seven Sects either?” A student suddenly spoke up, asking loudly, and this question happened to voice the thoughts of most people.
“Ninth Grade Celestial Masters, huh.” Han Ying looked at these students who longed for strength, recalling how she herself used to be like that. She said, “I don’t know if the Thousand Pagoda Divine Sect has Ninth Grade Celestial Masters, but Ninth Grade Celestial Masters are too rare; it’s even unknown how many there are in the entire Eight Ancient Continent. Ninth Grade Celestial Masters are truly individuals who can achieve Heaven-Defying feats, and they rarely appear in the public eye.”
Listening to the teacher’s answer, the students were a bit disappointed but also full of drive! The legendary Ninth Grade Celestial Master, just thinking about it made their blood boil!
At this moment, the classroom fell into another round of discussion. Han Ying still did not stop them, as the first class was mainly about basic knowledge, and the most important thing was to motivate these people to Cultivate. She had long experience with this. Watching the students in the classroom discussing intensely, sometimes about Destiny Wheels, sometimes about the Seven Sects and Thirty-Six Gates, sometimes about Ninth Grade Celestial Masters, everyone’s face was beaming with excitement.
Suddenly, Han Ying was startled, because she noticed that in the corner of the last row, two people were completely unmoved. One was looking out the window, and the other had a deep frown, forming a huge contrast with the atmosphere of the entire classroom.
Han Ying naturally knew these two, as both of them had been tested by her. One with five light pillars, and one a Chosen One; these two had the highest talent in the entire class. In fact, last night, due to the appearance of the Chosen One, the entire academy’s high-level management held a meeting all night, and today it was reported to the country and the Midnight Pavilion. Everyone would spare no effort in prioritizing the Chosen One.
As for the five light pillars, while considered a Genius in the academy, it was not as prominent when placed in the entire country and Ziye Country.
The test results were kept confidential from all students. After thinking for a moment, Han Ying didn’t say anything, as the Chosen One’s Dao was not something she could decide. Perhaps the future of the entire academy would also need the help of this Chosen One.
After the students’ discussion slowly quieted down, Han Ying continued, saying, “Now that we’ve finished talking about the Seven Sects and Thirty-Six Gates, let’s talk about Tian Yuan Power again. Although everyone’s Tian Yuan Power can transform into five basic forms, for the path of Cultivation, quality is more important than quantity. Every Celestial Master must face a choice at the very beginning: which direction to develop.”
“The five basic forms are the foundation of all forms, and also the Elementary stage. Each of you must choose one of the five basic forms as your future Cultivation direction, and how to choose depends on your own interests.”
As soon as these words were spoken, all the students immediately started discussing again.
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water—the five basic forms. Which one should they choose?
All the students felt that each of the five forms had its own characteristics and impressive aspects, making it difficult to give up any of them. Han Ying couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the students’ expressions, saying, “The academy will help everyone with the choice of the five forms, so you don’t need to worry about that. What you need to worry about now is the upcoming Heart Fire Body Tempering.”
Heart Fire Body Tempering?
All the students were startled and immediately quieted down.
Han Ying looked at their puzzled eyes and said with a smile, “The so-called ‘Heart Fire Body Tempering’ is a special method to Temper everyone’s physical strength and the purity of their Tian Yuan Power. As you all know, whether it’s refining iron or casting weapons, fire is needed to make them more refined. We are the same, except the fire needed is different.”
“Our fire is a unique Guiding Heart Fire, formless and colorless, directly entering everyone’s body and igniting each person’s Heart Fire, thereby causing the Heart Fire to burn throughout the body.” Han Ying explained, “Heart Fire Body Tempering is one of the courses you need to undergo every week. Next, I will take you to the Body Tempering Tower.”
After speaking, Han Ying walked towards the door. All the students immediately stood up and followed Han Ying.
Lu An, sitting in the last row, was also startled upon hearing this and quickly stood up to follow, but found that Fu Yu seemed to have no intention of moving. He couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going? The teacher said it can Temper our Tian Yuan Power.”
Fu Yu looked up at Lu An, and after a slight hesitation, though she didn’t originally want to go, she still stood up.
Han Ying led the group through a cluster of buildings, then through a forest, finally arriving at a tall tower.
Although this tower had only five layers, it was ten zhang high, and each layer’s area was even larger. From a distance, it looked like a giant disk resting on the ground.
“This is the Body Tempering Tower, come in!” Han Ying said.
As everyone walked inside, Lu An noticed many people going in and out of the tower’s entrance. What caught his attention was that most of the people coming out looked pale and even swayed as they walked, indicating that this Body Tempering was not very comfortable.
When everyone arrived at the First Layer of the Body Tempering Tower, a vast open space appeared before them. However, most of this open space was a circular giant pit. The pit was more than one person’s height, and the ground of the giant pit was covered with sand made of an unknown material.
“Below here is the Body Tempering ground you are to enter.” Han Ying turned and said loudly to all the students, “Once you enter, the Guiding Heart Fire will naturally enter your bodies. At that time, the Heart Fire will scorch your body, which will be extremely painful, so I have a few points to explain here.”
Upon hearing this, all the students immediately listened carefully to avoid missing anything.
“First, try to stay inside as long as possible. This is your first time, and often the first time determines your future limit. If you can persevere long enough the first time, you will also persevere in future Body Tempering sessions. If you give up easily this time, then the future may not necessarily improve.”
The students nodded in agreement, and then suddenly heard someone shout loudly, “Don’t worry, Teacher, I’ll just live in there!”
Everyone burst into laughter, and Han Ying also smiled. These students were, after all, like newborn calves unafraid of tigers; they would soon realize how terrifying it was inside.
“Second, Body Tempering is extremely painful, but you must believe that this pain will not harm you; on the contrary, it will definitely benefit you. Moreover, Body Tempering will not cause death; at most, it will cause you to faint, and once a person loses consciousness, the Guiding Heart Fire becomes ineffective.”
“Which means, the third point everyone needs to pay attention to is, while enduring the pain, try not to faint.”
As she spoke, Han Ying inwardly shook her head slightly.
Let alone these new students, even veteran students would often run out because they simply couldn’t endure the pain. Who could endure the pain until they fainted?