Chapter 82: The Future of the Mystic Sect

Yun Jiao’s teaching pace was astonishingly fast. In less than ten days, she had already covered more than half of the formation techniques listed by Tianshi Hall. After checking her schedule, she realized that even if she continued at this pace, the lessons wouldn’t fill a full month.

Wanting to maintain good teaching quality and reputation, she planned to discuss with everyone whether they wanted to learn other formations for free—just to fill up the month’s worth of classes.

Unexpectedly, this proposal was met with unanimous opposition!

“No, no, Fellow Daoist Yun, we think these hundred-odd formations are already more than enough.”

“Yes, yes! Too much knowledge is hard to digest—these are enough for us to benefit from for the rest of our lives.”

“Indeed! Please don’t add any more, Fellow Daoist Yun. We appreciate your kindness.”

“We’ve already gained so much. How could we trouble you further?”

“Yes, yes, thank you for your hard work, Fellow Daoist Yun!”

“Fellow Daoist Yun, your virtue is boundless!”

“……”

Their voices grew increasingly sincere, some even sounding close to tears—firmly insisting that it didn’t matter if the course didn’t last the full month; they absolutely did not need additional lessons.

“Alright then, we’ll just finish the remaining formations as originally planned,” Yun Jiao finally conceded. But the moment she said that, she faintly heard a collective sigh of relief from the other end of the transmission.

The remaining teaching time was only about ten days. In other words, this lucrative venture was about to end soon. Although several tens of thousands of taels of gold could feed an ordinary family for generations, she was raising nothing but gluttons and gold-eaters in her temple—this money clearly wouldn’t last long.

So while there was still time, she asked Old Zhou about the current state of the mystic world’s cultivation techniques, especially the ones that had been lost to time. Then she drafted a long-term teaching plan and decided to bring it up while the mood was good.

“Let’s set aside the formation lessons for now. I have another proposal and would like to ask for everyone’s opinion—whether it might be feasible.”

Everyone paused, as if suddenly remembering they were sect leaders and elders, and finally stopped their endless flattery.

“Ahem, Fellow Daoist Yun, please speak freely.”

“It’s like this,” Yun Jiao said directly. “Hall Master Xu mentioned several times that during the great war five hundred years ago, many of our mystic sect’s inheritances were lost.”

“That’s true,” Hall Master Xu replied heavily. It was a great loss for the mystic world.

“So that means… what was lost back then wasn’t just formations, but also talisman arts, alchemy, and even cultivation methods?”

“Of course,” someone sighed. “Back then, driving out ghosts and subduing demons were trivial things. It’s said that a thousand years ago, celestial masters could traverse the three realms and communicate with both the living and the dead. Such glory has not been seen again.”

“Oh?” Yun Jiao’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully before she continued, “Our Qingyang Sect hasn’t left the mountains for many years, so I’m not sure exactly which techniques are missing, but we still have methods like the Mystic Heart Sutra, Heaven’s Descent Art, Five Elements Mind Refining Technique, and Yin-Yang Reincarnation Mantra. Would anyone be interested in learning them?”

Everyone: “！！！！！”

Σ(°△°|||)︴

The entire chat went dead silent—then erupted in waves of exclamations.

“Truly?! The Qingyang Sect still has these techniques?”

“The Mystic Heart Sutra! That’s the very same method cultivated by my ancestor Patriarch Jingwu of the Bi family! Even our own clan no longer has the complete version, yet Qingyang still does?”

“The Yin-Yang Reincarnation Mantra! It really exists?! That’s the legendary art said to directly connect the realms of life and death!”

“Heavens above, am I dreaming? The Heaven’s Descent Art and the Five Elements Mind Refining Technique—weren’t those lost a thousand years ago? I thought they were mere myths!”

“And Qingyang still has them?! Fellow Daoist Yun, are you truly going to pass these down to other sects?”

“Of course it’s true!” Yun Jiao replied firmly. She’d already asked her Grandmaster for permission. “I’ve calculated it—it’s actually not that difficult. I only studied them for about two months.”

That included writing analytical notes, academic papers, and conducting some extended research.

“Wait!” someone caught the key detail in her words, blurting out in disbelief, “You mean… Fellow Daoist Yun, you’ve already completely mastered these heart methods?!”

“Yeah!”

“All… all of them?!”

“Of course!”

“……”

What the hell?! What kind of higher-dimensional monster was this woman?! This had to be a dream. It had to be!

“If any of you are interested, once the formation class ends, I’ll open another course,” Yun Jiao said casually. “Two lessons per day, same schedule as now—of course, tuition will be charged separately.”

“Open another course? You mean… you’ll be teaching personally?”

“Of course. Why not?”

“……”

The group fell completely silent—dead quiet.

They looked down at the test papers in their hands. Even the excitement from hearing about those top-tier techniques instantly faded. Suddenly, the idea of learning from her felt terrifying. Why did it feel so ominous?

“What’s wrong?” Yun Jiao asked when no one answered. “Is the tuition too expensive?”

“Heh… heh-heh… Fellow Daoist Yun,” Hall Master Xu finally forced himself to speak, “we are, of course, thrilled that you’d be willing to teach us such sacred arts. However… uh… however…”

Couldn’t someone else teach them instead? Self-study would be fine too!

He “however”-ed for a long time but couldn’t say the rest, so he kept giving frantic signals to the other elders beside him. Quick, think of something, or we’ll be doing homework for months!

Finally, Elder Shen’s eyes lit up as he quickly stepped in. “What the Hall Master means is that we’re all getting on in years. For such profound techniques, it would be better for younger generations to study them. For the future of the mystic world, we old fellows shouldn’t take up space. Why not let the most talented disciples from each sect come to learn instead?”

As soon as he said that, every sect leader immediately caught on and chimed in enthusiastically.

“Yes, yes, Elder Shen is right! What business do old men like us have learning such deep techniques? Leave it to the young ones!”

“Exactly, the young are much better suited. Their bones are unshaped, their minds more flexible—it’s ideal for learning new arts.”

“Indeed! Our sect has many outstanding disciples. Fellow Daoist Yun can choose whichever she pleases.”

“Ours too! If you take a liking to any of them, price is no issue!”

“Just tell us how many you want to teach—anyone but me!”

“And ours as well…”

Their excitement grew until they were practically digging graves for their own disciples.

As long as they didn’t have to study, that was enough.

Yes, yes—this was all for the future of the mystic world! Their sense of leadership suddenly felt heavier… and much safer.

“Is that so? There’s such a difference?” Yun Jiao looked doubtful. These old men weren’t that old—surely they could still learn fine? Oh well, as long as they paid tuition, she didn’t mind. “So, it’s settled then?”

“Settled! Settled! Settled!” all the sect leaders shouted in unison.

“Alright,” Yun Jiao nodded and opened her textbook. “Let’s continue class then.”

Everyone finally exhaled in relief, faintly imagining the future mystic world submerged in endless lessons and homework. Hmm… the thought was actually a little thrilling! Hehehe…

~(≧▽≦)/~

“Oh, right. I received the papers for the third mini-exam,” Yun Jiao said, glancing at the thick stack of test sheets in her hands. Her brows twitched slightly. Honestly, she had never seen scores so miserable before. Considering her students were sect masters and elders, she carefully chose her words before continuing, “Nearly forty people answered six questions correctly this time. The pass rate has improved a lot compared to the last two exams—up to ten percent.”

Everyone immediately brightened. After all, the first exam had been a total disaster—even Elder Jiao hadn’t passed back then.

“Especially the first three questions—you all did quite well. Over ninety percent of you got them right. Seems everyone’s comprehension has really improved! Even Bai Yu didn’t solve these when he studied.”

“Hahaha… Fellow Daoist Yun flatters us,” they said, beaming, finally regaining a little of their confidence as masters and elders.

“But the strange thing is…” Yun Jiao’s tone shifted slightly. “That same ninety percent of you answered in exactly the same way. Even the wording and formatting were identical. Such perfect harmony!”

“……”

Silence fell once again. Though it was only a voice through the communication talisman, everyone began sweating profusely. They were doomed—they shouldn’t have all copied from the same person!

Yet Yun Jiao’s voice remained calm, as if she hadn’t caught them red-handed. Instead, she smoothly changed the topic.

“These great scores prove that everyone has completely grasped the formation principles. To help reinforce this knowledge, therefore…”

She paused deliberately before continuing, each word clear and cold:

“I’ve decided that starting tomorrow, instead of an exam every three days… we’ll have one every day!”

Let’s see if you still have time to cheat now!

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”

The transmission filled with collective wails. They were sorry, alright? Truly sorry!

(;Д')

(End of Chapter)