Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen: Qi Condensation Level 3

Mo Hua entered Tongxian Gate, and the new year of sect life began.

Tongxian Gate is a first-rank sect, and first-rank sects are the lowest tier in the cultivation world.

The ranking system of sects in the cultivation world is rigidly hierarchical.

When a sect is founded, it must first be assigned a rank, reviewed and decided by the Dao Court.

The requirements for rank assignment are strict, with rigorous evaluations of the sect's assets, mountain territories, depth of heritage, the abbot's moral character, the cultivation levels and numbers of elders and instructors, and the maximum number of disciples it can accept.

Promotion to a higher rank is even more stringent: it requires several high-level cultivators to have taught at the sect for a set number of years before applying to the Tianquan Pavilion of the Dao Court.

Promotion is a top-priority matter for any sect, requiring years of preparation, extensive connections with the Dao Court, and heavy expenditure of manpower and resources.

In Tongxian Gate, only the former abbot is a Foundation Establishment cultivator—far short of the requirements for a second-rank sect. Moreover, it is unlikely the sect will qualify for promotion within the next hundred years.

Furthermore, Tongxian Gate's assets consist of only three peaks: Tongling Peak, Tongxuan Peak, and Tongming Peak.

Among Tongxian Gate's outer disciples, those at the early Qi Condensation stage—levels 1 to 3—cultivate on Tongling Peak; those at the middle stage—levels 4 to 6—study on Tongxuan Peak; the very few outer disciples at the late stage—levels 7 to 9—are also placed on Tongxuan Peak, since their numbers are too small to warrant a separate peak.

Inner disciples and direct disciples, including the sect's abbot, elders, and instructors, all reside on Tongming Peak.

It is said there was once a fourth peak, Tongxian Peak, exclusively for the abbot and elders to reside and cultivate, but due to the sect's poor management and debts exceeding assets, it was reluctantly sold off.

How can a sect called Tongxian Gate still call itself Tongxian Gate without Tongxian Peak?

Every past abbot of Tongxian Gate vowed to redeem Tongxian Peak, but this grand aspiration has never been fulfilled.

Disciples on each peak are divided into four classes: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding, with quality and sect emphasis decreasing from Jia down to Ding.

The Jia class admits only so-called "children of heaven"—those with excellent spiritual roots, high talent and comprehension, and rapid cultivation progress.

Of course, if you have connections with the sect's abbot or elders, or are willing to donate a substantial sum of spirit stones, you may also enter the Jia class.

In short: either talent, or connections, or spirit stones.

The Yi class accepts disciples with average spiritual roots but decent talent, comprehension, diligence, and overall performance.

Bing class disciples have average spiritual roots, average comprehension, and average performance; Ding class disciples have even worse spiritual roots and performance, barely managing to get by.

Mo Hua was placed in the Yi class, the type of disciple with average spiritual roots but diligence and decent performance.

Mo Hua is at Qi Condensation level 2, so he lives, eats, and cultivates on Tongling Peak—the peak with the most disciples in Tongxian Gate.

After entering the sect and greeting familiar fellow disciples, Mo Hua began his year of study and cultivation.

Even the poorest low-tier cultivators scrape together spirit stones to send their children into a sect, at least to lay a foundation for cultivation and avoid complete ignorance of the cultivation world's knowledge—hence Tongxian Gate has the most early-stage Qi Condensation disciples.

As for whether one can continue past Qi Condensation level 6, it depends on two things: the cultivator's innate talent and family wealth.

Some hermit families simply cannot afford spirit stones, forcing their children to drop out, work as assistants in weapon-forging, or learn to hunt demons in the mountains—barely scraping by. One hundred spirit stones per year in tuition is no small sum; otherwise, the family would starve before the child ever became a cultivator.

Those who continue cultivating past Qi Condensation level 9 are even rarer.

Several of Mo Hua's familiar fellow disciples had vanished; upon inquiry, he learned they had dropped out due to poverty and hardship, unable to pay tuition.

Cultivation is vast and profound; without a teacher, one wanders countless wrong paths. Dropping out at the early Qi Condensation stage means, barring extraordinary fortune, one will never advance further in cultivation.

Mo Hua sighed faintly, feeling deep regret—but his own circumstances were hardly better, so he had little time for lamentation.

Mo Hua attended classes, cultivated in between, and spent his spare time drawing arrays—busy yet fulfilling.

Several months later, without realizing it, Mo Hua broke through to Qi Condensation level 3.

Cultivation in the Qi Condensation stage relies mostly on persistence and accumulation: daily practice, steady buildup, sufficient spirit stones spent—and breakthrough comes naturally.

But what hermits lack most, always, is spirit stones.

Minor breakthroughs rely on accumulation; mid-level breakthroughs encounter bottlenecks, requiring specific heavenly treasures or pills to overcome.

As for major breakthroughs—such as from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment—it is largely a matter of fate; for most low-tier hermits, it is an insurmountable abyss in their lifetime.

Each realm advancement brings immense benefits to a cultivator.

Mo Hua, now at Qi Condensation level 3, felt his spiritual energy more abundant, his spiritual sense stronger.

The Bright Fire Array, once difficult to draw, was now effortless; he no longer needed long rests after completing it.

Though expected, Mo Hua was still delighted.

No wonder so many cultivators endure the monotony of cultivation, all striving to advance their realm—this simple, unadorned joy after monotony is true joy.

At age ten, Qi Condensation level 3—Mo Hua's cultivation was solidly above average in the Yi class.

Now that Mo Hua had reached Qi Condensation level 3, he must choose a cultivation technique.

One day after class, Instructor Yan summoned several Qi Condensation level 3 disciples to stay behind, including Mo Hua.

After gathering them, Instructor Yan spoke bluntly:

"This was originally Zhou Lao's duty, but he is slightly unwell, so I am substituting for him to explain techniques to you."

"The most important thing for a cultivator is spiritual energy—whether body cultivator or spirit cultivator, whether drawing arrays, refining pills, forging weapons, or inscribing talismans, all require spiritual energy. Strong spiritual energy makes you superior; weak spiritual energy leaves you inferior. The fundamental difference between cultivators lies in spiritual energy."

"A cultivator's spiritual energy is determined by their technique, and their technique is determined by their spiritual root. What kind of spiritual root you have dictates what kind of technique you should cultivate, and what technique you cultivate determines how much spiritual energy you gain."

"Spiritual roots are innate, fixed at birth, unchangeable by any means. You cannot choose your spiritual root—but you can choose your technique."

"Choosing the right technique greatly benefits your future cultivation. Even with an inferior spiritual root, the correct technique can grant you a long cultivation path; but if you possess an excellent spiritual root and choose the wrong technique, you effectively sever your own path to immortality."

"Therefore, regardless of your spiritual root's quality, choosing a technique must be done with the utmost caution…"

"Technique…" Mo Hua murmured silently to himself.

Mo Hua possesses a mid-grade, lower-tier Five Elements spiritual root—among his peers in Xiancheng, this is below-average spiritual quality.

He did not know what kind of technique he could learn with such a root.