Early in the morning, before the sun had even risen, Wei Tianchong was woken up. He was still very drowsy, and roared, “Stop bothering me!”
Tang Jie immediately called out, “Young Master, it’s time for class.”
“No, I won’t go. I’m sleeping.”
“If we get there late, we’ll have to stand while listening to the lecture.”
“Then we’ll stand,” Wei Tianchong impatiently answered.
A moment later, Tang Jie pulled Wei Tianchong out from the blanket and carried him out.
“Tang Jie, you dare!” Wei Tianchong punched at Tang Jie, but Tang Jie immediately grabbed Wei Tianchong’s arm. With his strength, Wei Tianchong had no hope of resisting.
“I’m telling Mom! I’m telling Mom!” Wei Tianchong desperately shouted.
“Then you should do it after you go to class. Shi Meng, hurry and help the young master wash up!” Tang Jie said, ignoring Wei Tianchong.
Shi Meng rushed up and angrily said, “Why is it me again? Why aren’t you doing it?”
“Then do you want to switch places? You encourage the young master to attend class while I help him wash up?” Tang Jie asked, lifting up Wei Tianchong in his hand.
Shi Meng looked at the flailing and cursing Wei Tianchong and swallowed. “Forget it. I’ll do it.”
After flailing around for a bit, Wei Tianchong finally woke up a little.
The three of them arrived together at the Ink Fragrance Court. Quite a few people had already arrived at the lecture hall. It appeared that many students had already learned their lesson from yesterday.
Basking Moon Academy didn’t have a custom of dividing classes. All fifteen hundred students listened to class together, and sure enough, there were only a hundred-some seats. As they had come early, they were able to get seats near the front.
The key here was that there were few servants that could ignore the will of their young masters and drag them out of bed. The vast majority of servants were only able to tearfully beg for their young masters to get out of bed.
As the sun began to rise, the students finally began to arrive. The majority of them didn’t have seats, and endlessly cursed. But as the monitors were present, none of these young masters dared to force someone out of a seat.
At this moment, Tang Jie suddenly raised a sign.
“Seat for sale—three spirit coins.”
Wei Tianchong was shocked. “You’re selling your seat?”
Tang Jie smiled. “As servants, we’re used to standing.”
“But three spirit coins is a little too expensive, isn’t it?”
“It’s fine. It’s my seat, so if I can’t sell it, I’ll use it for myself.”
Three spirit coins was truly a rather excessive price.
Tang Jie’s actions inspired many other servant students who had come early, and they also began to sell their seats, though much more cheaply, for only a little silver. Even Shi Meng sold off his seat. No one paid any attention to Tang Jie’s seat, but he truly didn’t care.
He was happy to sit back and watch.
It wasn’t long before the lecturing Immortal master arrived.
The Immortal master was a middle-aged man with a long beard. His face was dark and scowling, as if everyone owed him money.
As he swept his gaze around, the chattering students instantly fell silent.
The Immortal master nodded. “Close the door and take a count. Those who have yet to arrive don’t need to come in.”
His voice wasn’t particularly loud, but it reached throughout the hall.
The doors of the hall boomed shut on their own.
A few moments later, the count was done. A monitor student came forward and said, “Esteemed Teacher Xin, of the fifteen hundred students of this class, 1342 have arrived. 158 have yet to arrive.”
The dark-faced Immortal master said, “Deduct five points from everyone who didn’t come to the lecture.”
The students down below started to sweat. This was changing the law to drive people away!
The dark-faced Immortal master could tell what they were all thinking, and he coldly snorted. “The Immortal Path is treacherous and hard to traverse. Those who seek the Great Dao must possess a tenacious will and boldly press forward. If it had been so easy to seek the Dao, who would value it? Yesterday, upon entering this school, you presumably experienced some of this school’s rules, but even now, there are still some people who dare to be late! If they can’t even do something as basic as getting up early, how do they expect to cultivate Immortality? Best to go home early and sleep!”
He spoke with such harshness that everyone shivered.
Tang Jie felt that this Immortal master’s argument was very reasonable.
Although Basking Moon Academy had harsh rules, they weren’t unreasonable. Not permitting students to fight each other or to be late were extremely normal rules. It was just that these young masters were so used to the comfort and power afforded by their status that they had yet to fully adapt.
The cafeteria’s rules were a little excessive, but they could correct the habit of these young masters in thinking that they had priority in everything. It taught them that nothing came easily and that they needed to change their bad habits and follow the rules.
If these bad habits weren’t changed and those rich young masters brought their habits to the cultivation world, nothing good would result.
Moreover, Tang Jie felt that there was another meaning hidden behind these rules, though he couldn’t tell what it was yet.
The Immortal master continued, “All of you had best shape up in the future. My Basking Moon Academy does not like empty words, and everything must be realized through action. Thus, during lectures, I will only say things once. All of you had best listen closely, and if you don’t catch something, you will have to deal with the consequences yourself.”
After saying all this, the Immortal master said, “I will now begin class. My name is Xin Yue. According to the school rules, all lecturing teachers should be addressed as Esteemed Teacher, and you may also add their surname. Those who do not do this are considered to be breaking the rules of etiquette. During class, you must remain silent, and questions are not allowed. Any sort of racket, noise, or question is breaking the rules, and the perpetrators will be deducted one point for every incident.”
There were more than a thousand people in this class. If they all asked questions, he would have no time to lecture.
“Since this is the first day, I will tell you all about the origins of Basking Moon Academy, the aim of Basking Moon Academy, and the history of several Immortals. The history of the Rosecloud Domain can be traced back to as far as fifteen thousand years ago. There are no written records of the earliest times, and we can only understand a little through investigation of ruins. Among the Immortals that we have some proof of, the Virtue Sage was the earliest and the Law Verifier was the second. At that time, the heavens and earth were infused with spirituality…”
He wasn’t teaching them how to cultivate! This left everyone disappointed.
The Rosecloud Domain had a long history. It was currently divided into four major periods: Remote Antiquity, High Antiquity, Near Antiquity, and the Current Era. Remote Antiquity was fifteen thousand years ago, so long ago that not even those Immortals who cultivated longevity had survived until now. Thus, there were no verifiable historical records. As for High Antiquity, some historical records had been passed down to the present. The Ninedark Martial Lord had been a Titan of the High Antiquity. This time period had been ten thousand years ago. Immortals of this era had already died or had broken out of the domain for parts unknown, and no one knew if they still lived.
Near Antiquity spanned from five thousand years ago until now, and the real history of the Rosecloud Domain began here.
Near Antiquity had experienced three periods of great upheaval, each time causing a momentous transformation. The Basking Moon Sect had arisen in the third upheaval, the “Calamity of Primordial Fog”, and had slowly grown stronger since then. It had existed for three thousand years, spending eighteen hundred years in ascendence and one thousand years in a golden age. Basking Moon Academy had existed for twelve-hundred-some years. It could be said that the Basking Moon Sect’s golden age was closely connected to the establishment of Basking Moon Academy.
Most of the students had little interest in the history of Rosecloud, but Tang Jie was burning with enthusiasm.
Though he could read and write, he had never been properly educated since he had come to the Rosecloud Domain. In order to mix into this world, learning as much as possible about this world in all aspects was necessary.
Those who had truly experienced society would all feel an endless longing for their school days. Tang Jie, who had once said with a melancholy sigh, “I was happier back in school,” and, “If I had a chance to go back to school, I would definitely study hard,” naturally wouldn’t waste this chance.
Thus, not only did he earnestly listen in class, he even took notes.
Students of this era rarely took notes, and Tang Jie’s behavior caused Xin Yue to glance at him a few times.
When the lecture was over, Xin Yue left. Just when everyone thought they could take a break, another Immortal master arrived.
This was a female teacher who had a voice as pleasant as a singing oriole. But her words made everyone’s hearts freeze.
“My name is Si Yue’er. I will now lecture everyone on the geography of the Rosecloud Domain.”
They were still in class, and they still weren’t being taught cultivation. Everyone began to grumble, and not even the threat of losing points could stop the seething “popular discontent”.
They had been standing for an entire hour!
This Si Yue’er had a rather good temper. Rather than shouting out point deductions, she smiled. “I know that all of you students had a hard time coming to this place, and that you came here to cultivate Immortality and attain the Dao. But if you do not understand the principles, how can you attain the Dao? My Basking Moon Academy is a vast undertaking that not only teaches Immortal arts, but also teaches everyone the principles of life. If all the Immortals we teach go out to the world with no understanding of the principles by which to conduct themselves as people, always threatening to kill those who defy them, then we would have brought up nothing but devils. It is best to not have such Immortals. Moreover, cultural knowledge is not without its uses. The cultivation world has existed for more than ten thousand years, and while Immortals have been born and died, and the mountains and rivers are ever changing, there are also some things that don’t change. If you understand the workings of the world, you can obtain anything you want from the world. For example, if you go to some river valley and encounter some bizarre object, you might be able to discover something. But if you don’t understand even the basic principles, you might never have any lucky encounters. On the contrary, you might end up walking into a death trap. All of you should understand that there are quite a few forbidden grounds and danger zones in the Rosecloud Domain. If someone were to recklessly wander in, unaware of their power, then all that bitter cultivation of Immortality would essentially be seeking death…”
After she said all this, the complaints finally died away. Si Yue’er gave a satisfied nod. “That’s the right attitude.”
Someone down below said, “It seems like there are other classes after this one?”
Si Yue’er grinned upon hearing this. “Of course. Astrology, history, nature, geography, divination, mathematics, calligraphy and painting, mixed studies… all of them are necessary. The students of Basking Moon Academy, even if they can’t overcome others in strength, have to meet the standard when it comes to knowledge, and they certainly aren’t allowed to be uncultured brutes who bring shame to Basking Moon Academy!”
Everyone grew annoyed at this, and someone thumped his chest and stomped his feet as he said, “I came here to cultivate Immortality, not to read books. When are we going to learn how to properly cultivate? I’m practically dying here!”
Wei Tianchong also wanted to shout, but Tang Jie swiftly covered his mouth and indicated that he couldn’t speak.
Si Yue’er said, “So we have to pack all these classes together. In the mornings, you have culture studies, and in the afternoon, you learn cultivation. Once you’ve passed the literary exam, you naturally no longer need to study culture and everyone can spend their entire day on cultivation.”
“So that’s how it was.” Everyone sighed in relief.
But the thought of standing until noon left everyone frustrated.
Tang Jie once more raised his sign.
“Seat for sale—five spirit coins.”
This bastard had increased the price.
Finally, some young master lost his patience and decided to buy the seat.
After taking the money, Tang Jie stood up and stood next to Wei Tianchong. In any case, he could still take notes while standing.
Si Yue’er smiled. “Since all of you understand, let’s proceed according to the rules.”
What?
What rules?
Si Yue’er’s smile suddenly turned cold. “Any sort of racket, noise or question is not permitted during class. Didn’t Teacher Xin already tell you? All that talking has wasted a lot of time. You, you, you… for causing a racket once, you all lose one point. You, you, you, and you caused a racket twice, so you lose two points. You caused a racket twice and asked a question once. Minus three points!”
She continued to point out at the crowd, and none of those students who had made noise managed to escape. Those students who were pointed out immediately went pale as the monitors came up to take away their points.
An indignant person pointed at Tang Jie and shouted, “He sold his seat, so why doesn’t he lose points? I won’t accept this! Even if I lose a point, I still have to ask this question!”
Si Yue’er answered, “The class rules don’t permit making noise, but so long as you stay quiet and don’t interrupt the esteemed teacher, you can do anything you want. In truth, I don’t really care if you listen or not. You could even sleep if you want, but no snoring! He sold his seat without saying anything, so he didn’t break a rule. Why would I deduct points from him?”
Everyone finally understood why Tang Jie had sold his seat by holding up a sign, and realized that he had been ready long ahead of time. When selling the seat just now, all he had done was hold up the sign, put down the sign, take the money, and stand up. Not a single word had been spoken.
Wei Tianchong finally understood what he had meant by “When you know what you can’t do, you know what you can do!”
In truth, Tang Jie had been performing a test.
When rules were rigorously carried out to a certain point, they often became inflexible.
He wanted to know just how inflexible these rules were.
It now appeared that Basking Moon Academy’s rules were incredibly inflexible.
Once Si Yue’er had answered the question, she smiled. “As for you, minus one point for asking a question, and for questioning the esteemed teacher’s judgment and speaking disrespectfully, minus three points, for a total of four points.”
The student instantly crumpled.
Si Yue’er harrumphed, speaking in a smug tone that everyone could hear. “Fifteen hundred people is far too many. The academy only has so many esteemed teachers, so how can we deal with this workload? The unsuitable should go back home as quickly as possible to save us some effort. Xin Yue is a dummy; with that scowl on his face, who would dare to break the rules? I’m still the best. Haven’t I punished all these people in one go?”
Everyone shivered at these words.
Tang Jie failed to stop Wei Tianchong’s mouth, allowing him to blurt out, “This woman’s really treacherous.”
Tang Jie wanted nothing more than to kick this idiot to death.
Sure enough, Si Yue’er heard this and turned to smile at Wei Tianchong. “Speaking insolently and slandering the esteemed teacher… Minus five points!”
A monitor student immediately charged out like some baneful devil and snatched Wei Tianchong’s point card. With a wave of his hand, five points became dust in the wind.