Chapter 36 – Immensely beneficial
Huang Ye finally asked the question he was concerned about after understanding these trivial matters.
"Head Zhou, does the academy have a library?"
"A library? You mean a place where books are stored, right?" Head Zhou's comprehension was quite good.
"That's right, a place where you can read and borrow books."
"In the academy, this place is called the Scripture Repository, but you can't enter it freely. You need to exchange points for reading time."
"Oh, can the time be exchanged with silver taels?"
"No, it must be with points."
"How do you earn points?"
"There are many ways to earn points. The simplest is attending classes, but the points earned from attending classes are minimal."
"To earn more points, one way is to take on tasks from the Task Office, and another is through groundbreaking innovations."
"The first method is relatively easier. You can go to the demon beast mountains outside the city and hunt demons and monsters to earn points."
"If you can capture demons and monsters lurking within the city, you'll earn even more points. However, it's dangerous, and you might lose your life."
"The second method of groundbreaking innovation is very difficult, and few succeed. Generally, students don't choose this way."
"There are also other ways to earn points. The academy allows students to compete with their points."
"Thank you for the information, Head Zhou."
"Hehe, you're welcome, young master. It's nothing. You'll learn all this after staying here for a while."
"Do you have any subjects you wish to study, young master?"
"Do you have any good suggestions, Head Zhou?"
"For us martial artists, the foundation lies in internal skills. As long as your internal skills are profound, improving other abilities becomes easier."
"Alright, I'll start with internal skills."
"By the way, my elder brother is a cultivator. Do they also study internal skills?"
Huang Ye deliberately asked this question.
"Your elder brother is different from us martial artists. He is a cultivator. Cultivators absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, while we martial artists harness our own potential. The two cannot be compared."
"In the initial stages, martial artists can still compete with low-level cultivators, but once at the advanced stages, the gap between them widens rapidly."
"Oh! Does the academy have such techniques?"
"That, I don't know. I'm only in charge of academic affairs. Even if there are, we martial artists can't cultivate them. Becoming a cultivator requires talent."
"Someone like your elder brother, a chosen one with the aptitude for immortality, stands out even among the Immortal Sects, while we ordinary people don't even have the qualification to cultivate."
As they talked, they walked to a majestic hall.
Inside the hall, dozens of students were attending a lecture given by an unremarkable old man.
Seeing Head Zhou arrive, the old man stopped his lecture and glared at him.
Huang Ye saw Head Zhou smile at the old man and lightly touch his own arm.
"Young master, please go in. I won't enter. You can buy the teaching materials directly from the instructor."
With that, he disappeared in a flash.
Uh, that speed was much faster than before. It seems this old man has quite a temper, and Head Zhou is clearly afraid of him.
Huang Ye casually walked into the hall. The students, noticing the old man's unusual behavior, turned to look at Huang Ye.
But they didn't even catch a glimpse of Head Zhou, thinking Huang Ye had come alone.
Huang Ye glanced around. There were quite a few students here.
They varied in age, mostly boys, with only a few girls scattered among them.
"What's your name?"
"Student Huang Ye."
"Find an empty seat and listen to the lecture. After class, come to me to purchase the teaching materials."
"Yes!" Huang Ye randomly found an empty seat and sat down.
The old man continued his lecture, explaining how to gather True Qi into a single line for attack.
After listening for a while, Huang Ye felt the old man's teaching was quite good.
Although it was completely different from his own cultivation method, the old man explained it in detail.
How to gather Qi, how to condense it, how to focus it into a single point for release, and he even provided several examples, making it easy to understand.
Initially, Huang Ye wasn't interested in the internal skill teachings, following Head Zhou's suggestion just to keep up appearances.
Unexpectedly, the old man's teachings were truly valuable. Previously, he had attempted to simulate the Six Meridian Divine Sword using Spiritual Energy.
He managed to make it look decent, but its power was mediocre.
At the time, he hadn't studied the internal skill heart techniques of the Six Meridian Divine Sword, thinking True Qi and Spiritual Energy were completely different and there was no need to learn internal skill heart techniques.
After listening to the old man's lecture, he realized his understanding was completely wrong.
Whether it was the True Qi within the body or the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, the essence of forming an attack within the body was the same; only the power released was different.
The Six Meridian Divine Sword he executed was merely a superficial imitation, not even a tenth of the power of True Qi.
Compared to a true Spiritual Energy attack, it was worlds apart. If the Six Meridian Divine Sword released fire elements, its power could increase a hundredfold.
But the Spiritual Energy he absorbed was a mix of various elements, and the five elements inherently counteract each other. Releasing such a hodgepodge would deplete his energy before even hitting the opponent.
This realization made him feel his understanding of martial arts was still too shallow, and he should really study more.
Even without immortal cultivation techniques, some martial arts knowledge could still be beneficial for cultivation.
Especially the True Qi application methods taught by the old man today, which were immensely beneficial to him.
"System, how does the old man's True Qi application method compare to the martial arts knowledge you have recorded?"
[Master, I think the old man's teachings are excellent, more precise than the knowledge I have.]
[The martial arts knowledge I recorded lacks understanding of many principles and is analyzed based on literal meaning. The old man teaches the essence, and his martial arts level is clearly much higher.]
Hearing the system's assessment, Huang Ye knew his judgment was correct.
"You should listen more too. It might help when deducing techniques in the future."
As Huang Ye was engrossed in communicating with the system, he suddenly sensed something coming at him and instinctively wanted to dodge.
But at the last moment, he refrained from dodging because he saw what it was—a small piece of stone chalk.
"Pop!" The stone chalk hit him squarely on the head.
Though small, it left a small bump on his head.
"Hahaha!" The students burst into laughter.
Huang Ye looked at the old man with a face full of grievance.
The old man glared with wide eyes, "You little rascal, daydreaming on your first day of class. What, am I not teaching well?"
"Teacher, you misunderstood. I was just contemplating what you were explaining. I listened to your teachings attentively."
"Teacher? What's that supposed to mean? Are you calling me old?"
Huang Ye was taken aback, remembering this wasn't the school from his past life. The title Head Zhou used earlier seemed to be 'instructor.'
"Teacher, you misunderstood. In my hometown, we call teaching elders 'teacher.' It's the same as 'instructor.'"
"What nonsense! Here, you should use the local terms. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, understand?"
"Understood, I'll gradually adapt."
"You said you were listening attentively. What was the last sentence I just said?"