SFS Chapter 98 February Bell
Chapter 98 February Bell
Shen Qing was amused by his absurd greeting, and the corners of her lips curved slightly: "Give me your hand."
The boy generously stretched out his hands, and Shen Qing grasped his wrists. The moment her spiritual energy probed into his meridians, her fingertips paused slightly.
Within the boy's dantian, earthy yellow and cyan spiritual light intertwined and swirled, the earth element spiritual energy was thick and stable, and the wood element spiritual energy was full of vitality.
Dual spiritual roots in earth and wood!
Moreover, both of their spiritual roots are quite pure, making them the best among the seventeen children Shen Qing has examined today.
Earth overcomes water, and wood overcomes earth. While the coexistence of earth and wood may not be the most perfect combination, the mutual generation of earth and wood can still form a cohesive whole.
Moreover, Shen Qingguan is an open-minded and generous person, which are exactly the qualities needed for cultivation.
"What's your name?" Shen Qing asked.
"Zhao Tiezhu!"
Shen Qing picked up his pen and wrote in his notebook: Zhao Tiezhu, dual spiritual roots of earth and wood.
Then he looked up and said, "Tiezhu, you have excellent aptitude. Study hard at the academy in the future. If you work hard, you can enter the outer sect of Qingyun Sect for cultivation."
Zhao Tiezhu's eyes widened, and he immediately bowed deeply: "Thank you, sir!"
Then he skipped and hopped out of the reed shed and rushed toward his grandfather who was waiting outside.
The line moved slowly forward, and when there were about 30 people, a thin, small girl was led into the shed by her grandmother.
The girl was about five or six years old, pale and thin, wearing an old floral jacket that had been altered to a smaller size. She stood timidly in front of Shen Qing, her head down, not daring to even extend her hand.
Shen Qing crouched down to meet her gaze and extended her hand: "Give me your hand, don't be afraid."
The girl glanced at her grandmother, and the old woman said softly, "Go, listen to your master."
She then placed her small, cold hand into Shen Qing's palm. Shen Qing grasped her wrist and probed it with his spiritual energy.
When the spiritual energy flowed to the girl's dantian, Shen Qing's fingers trembled slightly. In the girl's dantian, the light of azure and emerald was like spring water and spring grass, reflecting each other.
It possesses both water and wood spiritual roots; water nourishes wood, and wood stores water. The two spiritual roots nourish each other, and its quality is extremely pure.
Shen Qing slowly released his hand, picked up his pen, and wrote two words on the register: Zhou Xiaocao.
Then he looked up at the old woman and said, "This child has excellent aptitude. The academy will teach her carefully. If she has the opportunity in the future, she can enter the Qingyun Sect to cultivate."
The old woman bowed tremblingly, saying, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."
Zhou Xiaocao also bowed to her grandmother, revealing two small dimples on her little face.
As the sun rose higher, the line grew shorter and shorter.
There are those with mediocre talent, those with mixed spiritual roots, and a few with three-attribute spiritual roots who are barely usable.
Shen Qing screened and registered them one by one.
After Zhao Tiezhu, another boy with three spiritual roots of metal, fire, and earth was discovered. Although his spiritual roots were mixed, his physical constitution was excellent. If he could hone his skills in martial arts, he might have a future.
Just after Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the 40th spot was filled.
Shen Qing put down his pen, looked at the dozen or so families still queuing outside the reed shed, and said, "The forty spots are full. Those who are late, please come earlier next year."
A chorus of sighs of regret rippled through the crowd outside the shed. A woman, leading a child, stepped forward and pleaded, "Sir, we came all the way from the east of the city before dawn. Could you please make an exception for us...?"
Shen Qing stood up: "The academy has limited staff and limited space. Each additional student we accept is another child we can't properly educate. Please return to your quarters. The academy will continue to enroll students next January. There will be more, no less."
Although the women were unwilling, they knew their limits and reluctantly led their children away.
Zhong Xiu stepped forward, collected the roster, and counted them. He said, "Sect Master, we have admitted forty students today. Adding to the forty students from last year, the academy now has a total of eighty students. Qinghe County School only has about fifty students. Our academy is already quite large."
Shen Qing took the register and scanned it from beginning to end, saying, "Make two copies of the register. Give one to Mr. Sun to keep and take back to the mountain, and have the city guard take the other to the county government and give it to Instructor Ma."
"The school will officially begin tomorrow when the students who were on holiday last year return to the academy. Mr. Sun will oversee the opening of the school, and you and Xu Pingfang will assist him. Don't ask me about every trivial matter; Mr. Sun will make the decisions himself."
Zhong Xiu agreed, then asked, "Sect Leader, will you be giving a speech at the academy tomorrow for the opening ceremony?"
"I will go."
Zhong Xiu nodded and said no more.
When Shen Qing left the academy, the sun was already high in the sky.
The academy was bustling with activity. Sun Wenyuan was helping Li Molin and Fang Jingzhi organize the list of new students, while the Huang brothers, Huang An and Huang Ning, were busy arranging accommodations for the new disciples after they arrived at the mountain the next day.
Xu Ping and Fang Xue were in the kitchen preparing refreshments with several outer disciples for the start of the new semester the next day.
Zhong Xiu escorted Shen Qing to the entrance of the academy, gave a slight bow, and then turned back to continue her work at the academy.
Shen Qing did not return to the Qingyun Sect Ancestral Hall, but went straight to the newly cultivated spiritual fields on the back mountain.
When Shen Qing arrived here, his gaze fell upon this newly cultivated fertile land.
Previously, Shen Qing used spirit stones as a foundation and his own 12th-grade Dao Platform to draw upon the energy of the mountain's root veins.
In just a few days, the originally barren land was transformed into fertile soil with a soft texture and a faint flow of spiritual energy, but it was still far from becoming a complete spiritual field.
Because he missed the best time to cultivate it, Shen Qing forcibly repaired its foundation, but the foundation of this spiritual field was ultimately too shallow.
To truly transform this place into a proper spiritual field, we must patiently wait for each rise of the earth's energy, allowing it to be nurtured day and night by the repeated interaction of the yin and yang energies of heaven and earth.
Alternatively, one could use a massive amount of spirit stones as resources to nourish this land and allow it to transform from mortal to spiritual. However, this would require an enormous amount of spirit stones, which Shen Qing simply could not afford.
Therefore, it can only rely on the earth's energy to slowly nurture it. The next period of rising earth energy is precisely the time of the second month, when yin and yang are in harmony and the rhythm of the earth's energy is in balance, which is the best time to regulate the earth's energy.
Shen Qing had already built a simple shed next to the spiritual field, with thick bamboo pillars and a thatched roof. Inside, there was an old bamboo mat and a futon. The entrance of the shed faced the entire spiritual field.
Sitting quietly here, one can take in the entire field; this place will be his retreat for secluded cultivation.
Shen Qing sat cross-legged on the futon, his eyes gently closed, his divine sense spreading out to cover the entire spiritual field.
He could sense the deep, steady power of the earth flowing slowly within the veins, carrying with it the rising yang energy of the first month of the lunar calendar, gradually nourishing the fertile soil beneath him.
Although the spiritual energy in the soil is still faint, it pulsates steadily along the pulse of the earth, gradually merging with the general trend of heaven and earth.
After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, in addition to absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish oneself, the most important thing is to comprehend the Dao and principles of heaven and earth.
This process of ordinary soil transforming into spiritual soil was also an excellent cultivation experience for Shen Qing.
The soil and rocks remain the same, but under the daily cleansing and nourishment of the earth's energy, they have quietly undergone a qualitative change.
The earth element's spiritual energy became increasingly rich and mellow, while the wood element's vitality slowly grew from the ground, echoing the vitality of the earth's veins.
He calmly contemplated and comprehended the most fundamental yet profound principles of the universe.
From the mundane to the spiritual, from death and stillness to boundless vitality.
The Five Elements Dao he cultivated was rooted in the earth and practiced on the earth. He personally witnessed the gradual transformation of the spiritual field, and his understanding of the mutual generation and restraint of the Five Elements and the operation of all things in heaven and earth became increasingly clear in an invisible way.