The sounds of the evening were melodious, and the distant mountains gradually faded away from sight. The clouds looked like burning coals, and there was a faint darkness around them.
Heaven and Earth seemed to have been separated as one gazed out of the third storey of the Divine Sect Seminary. If one gazed below, one would see huge crowds of people, horses and carriages. If one gazed above, one could see the Sun setting.
They had finished speaking and drinking their tea, and remained silent for a while.
Ye Zhengru coughed softly after a long while and stood up slowly. He placed one hand on his cane, and raised the other toward the skies, before pausing and bringing it down to Ye Que's shoulder. He patted his son twice, neither lightly nor heavily.
"I'm old, and can't sit for long," Ye Zhengru said softly before turning around and walking out slowly. He stopped after taking two steps and continued, "I couldn't make decisions for many things in the past; I didn't have a choice then. I can try to fulfil her wish now, though. Since she wanted you to be accepted by your ancestors, you can come look for me anytime you wish."
"Your name should be on the Ye family scrolls."
"It'll state that Ye Que is the son of Ye Zhengru and his wife Tang Wanru."
The sounds of footsteps came from the stairs as Ye Zhengru left, and Ye Que was still sitting in the house. He did not move. He had not tried to retain the general, nor did he get up and send him off, leaving only the words that his father said reverberating in his ears.
"You can recognize your ancestors, and you and your mother should have your name on the genealogical records."
A simple sentence.
Yet it caused huge upheaval in Ye Que's mind.
His Spiritual Sea was even more turbulent, and his spiritual power surged. Even the golden serpent that was his Divine Energy began to swim rapidly.
Ye Zhengru's words had opened a path to the Psychic Realm for Ye Que.
Unexpected, yet it was also reasonable.
Regardless of whether it was the Ye Que who reigned across Three Realms from his past life, or the Ye Que who had returned to his youth, being recognized by the General's Manor as a young master of the Ye Family would probably not bring him many benefits nor much improvement, but it was the last wish of his mother.
To his mother, it was her ultimate wish for him to be recognized.
Regardless of whether Ye Que acknowledged his ancestors or not, the words would haunt him every time, even when he ascended to the Celestial World. It was a defect that he carried in the deepest recess of his mind.
At this moment, his mother's wish was fulfilled, and his Spiritual Sea trembled.
Both the Pre-celestial and Post-celestial Realms focused on increasing the amount of one's True Energy. The Psychic Realm increased the spiritual energy of one's heart, exactly what Ye Que was feeling now.
The gates to the Psychic Realm were thrown wide open at this moment.
"A man should behave like the Heavens and strive for continuous improvement!"
The narrow lane filled with weeds appeared again in front of him, and the seal script appeared clearly in the air.
The gates were opened, and all that was left was for him to bash his way through the grass. Very soon, a Spiritual Force vortex circled round Ye Que's body.
While Ye Que walked onto the path to the Psychic Realm, some of the people downstairs in the Divine Sect Seminary finally began preparations to enter meditation for the first time.
A Dozen of young people sat awkwardly in a cross-legged fashion on futons. Some were street vendors, some were tavern waiters, some were lackeys of the big families, and there was even a lady from the brothels of Willow Alley.
There were a total of 17 people.
These 17 people were the first batch of guinea pigs. No matter how legendary Ye Que's displays of skills were, or how well Qian Shuxiao's speeches were, who would have dared to try learning the skills of the Divine Sect without witnessing or experiencing first hand for themselves?
"Don't be hasty, everyone. The process of cultivation is very complicated, and you'll need to persevere. Have patience and be committed. It's very common to be unable to enter a meditative state the first time you channel a technique."
Qian Shuxiao spoke in an unhurried fashion. "Everyone's physical attributes are different, as are our talents. It's okay to fail in your first attempt. You can try again, and one day you'll be able to feel the difference in this world. The gates to the world of cultivation will be open to you then."
Qian Shuxiao also ordered someone to light three Mind Focusing Joss Sticks to calm everyone down and aid them in achieving a meditative state more quickly.
As for whether it would actually help, even Ye Que could not tell, much less Qian Shuxiao.
Some people were extremely smart and could enter a meditative state within seconds to become one with Nature. Most ordinary people, however, could only achieve this after a long period of continuous effort.
Qian Shuxiao was about to turn back to face the youths to continue his explanation when his gaze fell onto the person closest to him.
He breathed steadily and looked calm, his mind one with his spirit. An extremely faint Spiritual Force was slowly circling around his body, and after 49 cycles, it was slowly absorbed into his body.
This person was actually in a state of meditation!
Qian Shuxiao looked shocked, and his mouth was wide open. Just moments ago, he had told everyone that it was hard for ordinary folk to enter a meditative state, but now someone had proved him wrong.
It took him less than a quarter of an hour!
Qian Shuxiao had taken the same amount of time to enter a state of meditation with the help of Ye Que. "Could it be that this man is extremely gifted? Is he a genius? Have I just found a potentially valuable member of the Divine Sect?" thought Qian Shuxiao.
Shaking his head, Qian Shuxiao suddenly raised his hand and pressed it around. "Everyone is as quiet as possible. Now someone has successfully entered the state of being settled. After he finishes, everyone can ask about his feelings. How is it going to practice?" What is going on? Is it good to practice?"
"Seeing is believing."
"I'm really lucky today. This will be much more convincing than just giving lectures!" Qian Shuxiao thought, feeling very pleased with himself.
He gave a few more instructions before shouting for Chu Dongnan to come over. "Watch over them. I'm going upstairs for a peak and will be back shortly."
Qian Shuxiao noticed that Ye Que had remained alone in the house after Ye Zhengru left, and he felt a little uneasy about it. He pushed the door to Ye Que's room open gently and saw the Spiritual Force flying around. "Our boss is really great. He never ceases to practice!" he thought.
Qian Shuxiao could hear the sounds of discussions going around everywhere in the seminary as he walked up to the stairs just now.
When he walked back downstairs, it was so quiet that it seemed no one was below.
Qian Shuxiao descended slowly, and he saw many stunned faces of the Divine Sect disciples, Chu Dongnan included. Everyone looked as if he or she had just seen a ghost.
"What happened?" Qian Shuxiao asked instinctively.
All he received in return were their collective hushing.
They raised their index fingers to their lips in unison, implicitly telling him to remain silent.
He continued to walk silently down the stairs with a look of doubt on his face, before turning to look.
His expression became exactly like the others after taking only one look, and perhaps it was even more exaggerated. The entire first batch of brave civilians who had signed up for the workshop had entered a state of meditation just after 30 minutes!
Qian Shuxiao rubbed his eyes vigorously, an expression of complete disbelief on his face. He walked over to take a closer look. He wanted to confirm that they had entered a meditative state!
He pulled Chu Dongnan to a corner of the room quietly and asked him in a soft yet serious tone, "Did you arrange for this 'display' earlier on? Who is really in a meditative state now? Which of them had undergone cultivation before?"
Chu Dongnan shook his head vigorously and replied firmly, "Elder Qian, I can use my head as a guarantee that this is not faked at all!"
"Really?"
"Definitely!"
"There's no explanation for this. Could it be that our Divine Sect Seminary is a gateway to Heaven?"