Two days later, on the sloped gallery of the Heavenly Hailstorm Mountain Peak, Han Xuhan reappeared within a group of 26 disciples. Compared to the previous time, there were a couple of differences today.
The first difference was the seating arrangements. Han Xuhan's group, aka the rookies with no real cultivation of a Mystic Art, were seated on the topmost point of the titanic stairs, just a few meters away from Elder Kong Ye.
The remaining three groups were given the freedom to sit however they wanted. Elder Kong Ye only gave them some generalized guidance while his care for the first group was intensive. He focused on each of them individually.
The second difference was, of course, Han Xuhan's state. He was no longer an ordinary human, but a cultivator of the Zeroth Layer of a Mystic Art! He, Mu Ran, and Xiao Wu sat side by side, eagerly for the day's lecture.
"I assume all twenty-six of you have already purchased at least one Mystic Art from the sect...? If you don't think you can do it within a week, you'll have to go sit at the back of the class."
In response to Kong Ye's questioning tone, everyone nodded vigorously. The man had extended a special favor to their group by his arrangements. Who would be foolish enough to not invest their savings into a Mystic Art and lose out on such guidance for a whole month straight?
"Then everyone must have meditated for one session at least before coming here, correct? It's okay if you didn't succeed in sensing or guiding qi."
"Yes, elder," the collective voice of the disciples was heard.
"Do you have your manuals with you?" He inquired.
This time, the answers didn't come as loudly as before.
"Those of you who have left the manuals at your huts, have you memorized the meridian routes inside your body and the channeling diagrams of qi on your manuals?"
Those who hadn't replied to the previous question shouted their confirmation.
"Good. Begin absorbing qi into your body first, if your meridians aren't filled up right now. Those whose meridians are full with qi, initiate a full cycle according to your manuals.
"Don't worry about anyone peeking into your manual. The sect has taken strict methods to prevent that from happening. Only the buyer will be able to discern the writings of his manual. Your residential token isn't just a pretty seal. There are numerous arrays planted inside them for purposes like this one."
Han Xuhan already knew this. He had tried to ask for Xuanyuan Zhou's advice on the Spiritual Bone Arts yesterday, only to discover that she couldn't read the words on the scroll. The two of them had ended up spending two hours analyzing the first few sections orally.
As for the Skeleton Monarch Manual, he hadn't mentioned it to her, lest she should discover anything about his secret project with Mu Ran. She only knew that he liked to spend his free time socializing with his neighbors.
The whole class was filled with silence as everyone sank into deep meditation.
For Han Xuhan, every session was a fresh experience. He had the barest possible amount of control over qi, and even that was turbulent. Often, he had to concentrate on finding his internal qi first before guiding it.
The extremely complex cycle that circled all around his body didn't help either, making him falter every few seconds.
After completing the first successful cycle where he had moved less than five percent of his total qi, Han Xuhan felt very tired and decided to take a break. The good thing was, unlike the first few times, the completion of a cycle wasn't knocking him out anymore.
This meant only one thing—his spiritual world was slowly getting stronger, ready to be opened up when he reached the first layer!
Taking his eyes off the scroll, he looked around, only to be greeted by Kong Ye's face three feet away from him, gazing at him curiously.
"You two, your current cultivation technique isn't from this sect."
Han Xuhan got a massive fright. Why was this Elder so perceptive? Did he know the nook and cranny of every technique in the archives?
There was definitely something off about his man.
Bracing himself, he answered the Elder's question after sneaking a glance at the meditating Mu Ran.
"Yes, Elder. The cultivation technique we're practicing is a family treasure of my Bos-Brother Mu Ran. I am not allowed to cultivate the signature arts of the sect, so..."
Pushing the ball towards the person in the limelight always works fine in situations like this.
But not this time.
The Elder narrowed his eyes and lifted a hand with one finger stretched toward Xuhan's temple.
"Let me examine your progress. Don't worry. I am not going to steal your cultivation technique."
Xuhan swallowed down his immediate urge to protest and let the Elder push his finger on his right temple.
"Hmm... about four percent of the original flow has gone through a full cycle and left a shallow imprint on your juvenile cultivation base. Along the way, half the qi was lost because of some unusual reasons, and your concentration slackened at least nineteen times throughout the cycle.
"If this is your first time with this technique, then I'm not going to criticize you for such lackluster performance. But it doesn't seem like you're new to the cycle. This technique has already begun to nurture a sturdy foundation for your cultivation on the Mystic Path.
"Now, cycle your qi again. Let me see if you can correct your mistakes."
Han Xuhan was dumbstruck.
You can infer that much just from a casual touch?!
Holy shit! This Elder has to be a hidden boss or something! No way can a normal cultivator be so badass! Not when there were protagonist templates like Mu Ran and Xuanyuan Zhou were running around!
Even Mu Ran, who had been absorbed in his own qi cycle, opened his eyes and stared at Kong Ye with a stunned expression. His face started growing deathly pale. As soon as Kong Ye noticed his gaze, Mu Ran jumped to his feet.
"Elder Kong! I think I suffered a hidden injury this morning while cultivating. Please let me visit the infirmary," Mu Ran shouted as he hurriedly turned to leave.
"Wait, a hidden injury? Where? I'm good at identifying them. Let me inspect it-"
"No, Elder! It would be rude of me to interrupt your teaching. Please keep instructing my martial siblings. This isn't something you need to bother with."
Mu Ran's face became even more pale as the Kong Ye tried to approach him.
Without even waiting for the man to give him his permission, he took off like the wind down the mountain path.
Kong Ye slowly walked over to the edge of the path and gazed at the running silhouette of Mu Ran in the distance.
In a low voice that no one could hear, he muttered to himself.
"First that girl, and now this kid. Both of them have the halo. I have to take them in as disciples to fill the yearly quota from my system or face dire punishment.
"Heavens...why is my system such a cruel one? How am I supposed to unlock the blueprints of spiritual weapons from the shop if all the disciples with protagonist halos are such weirdos?
"No, I must keep trying. This lad's Twin Dragon Devil Reverend physique is a top tier physique in this macrocosm. Moreover, he definitely has other secrets. I can't let such a big fish off the hook.
"Kekeke, little boy, do you think just because you have the halo, you can oppose this Ye? Prepare to bow down to me and call me... Master!"