noffsinger Chapter 5 Things Are Getting Better
Chapter 5 Things Are Getting Better
Shen Qing got up just as dawn was breaking.
It's not that I don't want to sleep more, it's just that the new disciples get up earlier.
To be precise, they barely slept all night.
These teenagers, who were beggars and vagrants just yesterday, were lying on beds with roofs and blankets, too excited to sleep.
Before dawn, they spontaneously gathered at the training ground.
"The immortal master said he'll start teaching us cultivation today!"
"I dreamt I was flying last night!"
"Are you stupid? How can it be that fast? I heard from Senior Brother Stone that you have to sense the spiritual energy first."
Shen Qing stood at a distance listening to these words, a slight smile playing on her lips.
Looking past the crowd, Shen Qing found Zhong Xiu.
The girl stood at the edge of the crowd, not participating in the discussion, but simply listening quietly.
Her posture was different from others; her feet were slightly apart, and her center of gravity was lowered, as if she was ready to exert force at any moment.
To see the whole leopard from a single glimpse—geniuses are truly different.
Shen Qing withdrew her gaze and stepped forward.
"Come here, everyone."
Everyone turned around at once and swarmed over.
"metropolitan!"
"Immortal Master!"
"Stand still." Shen Qing raised his hand, and everyone immediately quieted down and automatically lined up in several rows.
Shen Qing's gaze swept over the people in front of him. The group of people varied greatly in age, but none of them showed impatience or perfunctoriness. Everyone was full of longing.
"From today onwards, you are officially disciples of the Qingyun Sect. I will teach you the methods of cultivation and guide you on the path of cultivation."
"But let me make this clear from the start: spiritual practice is not about enjoying blessings, but about enduring hardship. If anyone cannot endure the hardship, they may leave now, and I will not stop them."
No one moved.
Shen Qing nodded: "Alright. From now on, you are my disciples. The rules of Qingyun Sect are very simple: no betrayal, no deceiving your master, and no internal strife. You'll learn the rest as you go."
"Now, sit down. I will teach you how to sense spiritual energy."
Everyone sat down with a clatter, even their breathing became soft.
Shen Qing sat cross-legged at the front and began to explain the spiritual energy sensing method of the Qingyun Qi Refining Technique.
Shen Qing spoke slowly and meticulously, breaking down the obscure cultivation terminology in the simplest terms.
An hour later, the first lesson was finished.
"Try to sense the spiritual energy around you using the methods I teach. It's normal not to sense it the first time; don't be impatient."
The disciples all closed their eyes and tried it.
Shen Qing stood up and walked slowly through the crowd, observing the condition of each person.
Most people frowned, sensing nothing.
That's normal. First, mortal bodies haven't undergone marrow cleansing, so their perception of spiritual energy is naturally slow. Second, apart from a very few, the aptitude of this group of disciples is indeed not very good.
But there were a few people who caught his eye a little longer.
Wang Ergou's posture was extremely awkward in Shen Qing's eyes, and his breathing was also disordered, but he was in the mood.
A young girl named Su Xiaomei, with her upright posture and steady breathing, left a good impression on Shen Qing.
Finally, Shen Qing's gaze fell on Zhong Xiu.
The girl had her eyes closed, and her cross-legged posture wasn't quite standard, but her breathing had naturally adjusted to a special frequency.
With each breath, the surrounding spiritual energy flowed gently toward her.
She had already sensed it.
It wasn't that vague feeling of "I think I sensed something," but a genuine sense of the spiritual energy flowing between heaven and earth.
While everyone else was still figuring things out, she had already taken the first step from mortal to cultivator.
Shen Qing remained expressionless and continued walking forward.
But his heart skipped a beat.
His meridians were naturally unobstructed, which was terrifying.
If such a person were discovered by those major sects, he would immediately become an inner disciple.
If the Huang family discovers this, they will surely use all their resources to seize it.
Such a person can make a family prosper for hundreds or even thousands of years.
And now, she is his disciple of the Qingyun Sect.
Of course, the system hasn't bound Zhong Xiu yet. Her loyalty is far from reaching the threshold of "genuine recognition".
Shen Qing wasn't in a hurry. Children who grow up struggling at the bottom of society don't easily trust anyone.
Around noon, Shen Qing gathered all his disciples together.
"Did anyone sense any spiritual energy this morning?"
Everyone looked at each other.
A timid voice rang out: "Sect...Sect Master...I think...I sensed something..."
It's Su Xiaomei.
Everyone turned to look at her, and the little girl's face immediately turned bright red.
Shen Qing walked over, placed his hand on her shoulder, and channeled his spiritual energy into her.
A moment later, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Having three spiritual roots is one in a hundred among mortals.
She could really sense it; the residual Qi in her dantian truly proved that she had succeeded.
It only took one morning.
"Su Xiaomei has already sensed spiritual energy. From today onwards, she will be your role model."
Su Xiaomei's eyes widened.
Is she a role model?
Shen Qing's gaze inadvertently swept over Zhong Xiu. The girl was huddled in the crowd, her face calm and revealing no emotion.
But Shen Qing noticed that her fingers tightened slightly.
They've become competitive.
well.
"That concludes today's training. You may disperse."
The disciples dispersed in twos and threes. Shen Qing called out to Zhong Xiu.
"Chung Hsiu".
The girl stopped, turned around, and looked wary.
Shen Qing didn't approach, but stood still and said in a very ordinary tone, "You sensed it today too, didn't you?"
Zhong Xiu's body stiffened slightly.
"Do not be nervous."
Shen Qing's tone was calm, "I've taught disciples for decades. I can tell who sensed it and who didn't with just a glance. You sensed it faster than Su Xiaomei, you just didn't say it."
Zhong Xiu remained silent for a moment, then nodded gently.
"Why don't you say so?"
"...I don't know." The girl's voice was very soft. "I just feel like I shouldn't say it."
Shen Qing nodded: "Very smart. It's right to hide your abilities when you haven't figured out the situation around you."
Zhong Xiu raised her head, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
It seems they didn't expect to receive such positive feedback.
"However," Shen Qing changed the subject, "hiding your talents is for self-preservation, not for laziness. Starting tomorrow, I will assign you separate cultivation tasks. Your talent is better than others, so the requirements will naturally be higher. Can you accept that?"
Zhong Xiu looked at him with a hint of doubt in her eyes.
After a long silence, she nodded. "Yes."
Shen Qing didn't say anything more and turned to leave.
System prompts will pop up at appropriate times:
[Disciple Zhong Xiu's loyalty +5, current loyalty: 50]
Shen Qing's lips curled up slightly.
I'm fifty now, and I only need ten more points to bind my account.
Over the next few days, Shen Qing's life gradually returned to normal.
In the morning, Shen Qing taught his disciples how to cultivate, but the afternoon was not so pleasant. Under the guidance of Uncle Fu, the disciples began to clear land in the back mountain.
After all, landlords don't have surplus grain.
Shen Qing really couldn't afford to feed and drink these twenty mouths right now, so finding a source of income was essential. It wasn't that no one had objections, but when Shen Qing told them that those who were unwilling could leave the mountain on their own, no one objected.
After dinner in the evening, Shen Qing would give them a lecture on basic cultivation knowledge. Finally, Shen Qing would share some personal tips based on his past life experiences to increase their loyalty.
For example: Qingyun Sect is our home, we are all one family, of course we should love each other, etc.
Shen Qing would cultivate by himself at night and draw spiritual energy precisely at midnight.
Once he has twenty disciples, the total amount of spiritual energy he draws each day is equivalent to the effect of four days of arduous cultivation.
Moreover, this number is still growing as new disciples begin to sense spiritual energy.
On the third night, two more disciples succeeded. On the fourth day, five more succeeded.
On the third day, Zhong Xiu was able to guide spiritual energy to circulate through her meridians in a small cycle.
On the fifth day, she stepped into the first level of Qi Refining.
It takes five days to go from a mortal to the first level of Qi Refining.
Ordinary disciples need months or even years.
Feeling the spiritual energy in his dantian becoming increasingly abundant, Shen Qing felt that at this rate, he would be able to attempt Foundation Establishment again in at most half a month.