Chapter 261: Chapter 256: Five Elements Test

Wang Meng listened to "Shan Lin’s" lecture, and much of it made a lot of sense. It was completely different from what he had been taught at the Holy Hall. One could say the creators of the Cultivation Academy were operating from a very high perspective. Judging by the hidden meanings in the lecture, it seemed they clearly understood what ascension was all about. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

This was different from his Godhood. The level of the Godhood was too high—so high that while Wang Meng could sense certain things, he found them very difficult to understand. Still, it had broadened his horizons, and the way Shan Lin’s lecture confirmed his own insights thrilled Wang Meng to no end.

What was the point of cultivation?

Whether one followed the Celestial Dao or defied it, it was all just about becoming stronger.

Therefore, the Cultivation Academy treated Elemental Power as a type of power to be wielded, discarding all the pompous, grandiose claims used to fool mortals.

Cultivation was neither mysterious nor esoteric; it was simply the path of pursuing power.

The first thing the Cultivation Academy did was strip away the reverence for cultivation. The next emphasis was on application.

The level of one’s Elemental Power could be left to develop naturally. The focus was not on its level, but on the fundamentals. How to use Elemental Power to maximum effect and how to truly understand "Elemental Power"—that was the key.

Blindly increasing your Elemental Power level would, at best, make you a simple-minded brute with strong limbs. When has someone like that ever been considered truly powerful?

As for those from other Small Thousand Realms, unless they were above the eightieth layer—what the Small Thousand Realms referred to as the Ancestor level—they could hardly catch the Star Alliance’s eye. In the Alliance’s view, they were just fools who didn’t know how to use their power. And since their ways were already set, they had little potential for growth. However, it was another matter entirely if they reached the Great Perfection Realm.

This was where the importance of the Cultivation Academy lay. The Academy selected elite disciples from every Small Thousand Realm and trained them from the fundamentals. Those who succeeded could become members of the Star Alliance.

It had to be said that "Shan Lin’s" arguments were very persuasive, revolutionary even, starting from the most basic uses of Elemental Power.

A Cultivator’s power was analogous to a mortal’s physical strength. The Small Thousand Realms focused on increasing that strength, whereas the Cultivation Academy emphasized how that strength was used.

There were two fundamental factors: the application of the Five Elements and the Heart Spirit.

The Five Elements within the human body are in harmony with the Celestial Dao. So, what is best?

What is most suitable is what is best. Therefore, when choosing a Cultivation Technique, it must align with one’s Five Elements Attribute. This was why Shan Lin said previous Cultivation Techniques could be discarded.

In most Small Thousand Realms, it was common to ignore the Five Elements. Some even chose the wrong ones. Of course, there was no shortage of lucky people who happened to stumble upon a suitable match.

But that was chance. At the Cultivation Academy, they didn’t want chance; they demanded certainty.

The second item, and the most important one, was the Heart Spirit.

If Elemental Power was the brawn, then the Heart Spirit was the brain. The moves themselves were fixed, so why did the same Sword Technique wielded by different people have completely different killing power?

That was the effect of the Heart Spirit. Basically, sects ranked outside the top one hundred had no idea how to use the Heart Spirit. Those ranked between fifty and one hundred were aware of it, but only the top fifty had any real mastery in this area.

Therefore, coming to the Cultivation Academy was a brand-new start for every Cultivator. They should all feel fortunate; they were the lucky ones among the masses of Cultivators.

This was no longer just ’practice.’ This was true Cultivation!

’True Cultivation, huh?’

Wang Meng liked Shan Lin’s tone; it was invigorating. The man was addressing the very things that had been puzzling him. The Godhood was too advanced, so much so that he could only do certain things by instinct, unable to truly unleash its power.

The reason he could so easily imitate Sword Techniques was due to the latent power of his Heart Spirit, but that was only because the techniques were low-level. If he hadn’t come to the Great Yuan Realm, he might have been led astray by flawed methods and faded into mediocrity. Of course, he might have had a miraculous encounter instead, but who could say for sure?

While "Shan Lin" taught the most fundamental theories of Cultivation, he was also eroding everyone’s sense of loyalty to their sects, instilling the subconscious belief that there was only the Star Alliance, and no sects.

But it didn’t work on everyone. Wang Meng was receptive to the passion in the lecture, but his thoughts were of Zhang Xiaopang and the others, far away at the Holy Hall. ’Ranked 186th, was it?’

’With me there, everything will be different.’

Master Wang was certainly full of confidence.

After listening for a while, Wang Meng felt a wave of weakness. This method of teaching via an Array Technique also consumed one’s Heart Spirit. In fact, it was also a test of the students’ Heart Spirit strength, to prevent them from biting off more than they could chew.

When he emerged from the instructional Array Technique, Wang Meng felt he had gained immensely. To say he was "suddenly enlightened" would not be enough to describe the joy in his heart.

Sects in the typical Small Thousand Realm would describe cultivation in mysterious terms, thereby elevating their own standing and making their disciples revere them. For the average Cultivator, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; after all, cultivation was fraught with risk. But for a natural-born adventurer like Wang Meng, that kind of secretive, roundabout approach was just confusing.

Frankly, the Holy Hall’s teaching methods conflicted with the insights from his Godhood and would have thrown Wang Meng into confusion. No matter how smart he was, constantly struggling between correct and incorrect methods would have been a form of torture.

For Wang Meng, this new environment was like a fish taking to water.

But just because it was this way for him didn’t mean it was the same for everyone else. Wang Meng scanned the others’ expressions. Some were shocked, some were angry, and some were frustrated. Most were calm and serious. Only a tiny few were as overjoyed and excited as he was.

Wang Meng didn’t linger. Although it was just a basic theory, for him it was completely revolutionary. He needed to go back and mull it over.

Tang Wei watched the scene unfold. If he had his Horse-Cutting Saber in hand, he would have undoubtedly hacked the "Shan Lin" before him to pieces. This lecture was essentially telling him to start over from scratch, to abandon everything he had so staunchly upheld.

He knew his own strength; here, he was undoubtedly at the bottom. The only thing he had left was his pride. ’What am I supposed to do?’