Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Come to Taibon Valley
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A monstrous rookie had appeared.
It was as if a natural disaster had struck the previously laid-back streets of learning.
Victims who couldn't dodge the charging giant kept popping up.
A famous instructor with decades of experience, known by his nickname Large Golden Core, cursed at the clueless newbie who didn't even know the basics of the righteous path.
The number of students attending his lectures had plummeted.
He possessed a massive golden core, just shy of the size of a walnut—a rarity among rogue cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage.
That slightly larger-than-average golden core had turned him into a renowned instructor overnight.
He took immense pride in its size, and his usual creed was, "Anything smaller than mine isn't a real golden core."
But everything changed with Seoran's arrival.
Unfortunately, the lectures he and Seoran offered covered exactly the same subject.
And in these streets, the winner took all.
In the end, he even became the subject of backroom gossip.
"Large Golden Core, doesn't he look ridiculous?"
"Yeah, always strutting around whenever he could brag about his big golden core?"
"Right? Heard the newbie stole all his students."
"The guy's lecture skills were lacking from the start anyway—he only got famous because of his core size. Might as well change his nickname now, from Large to Medium Golden Core."
Hearing the jeers from his rivals, Large Golden Core chewed on his sense of defeat.
His empty, lonely lecture hall came into view.
Before Seoran showed up, it had been packed to the point where there weren't enough seats.
Large Golden Core steadied his mind through meditation.
Foolish rabble, lacking in cultivation and wisdom.
A golden core's size wasn't everything for a cultivator.
What truly mattered was control over one's spiritual power.
With this flexible reframing, he regained his mental peace.
But no matter how skilled he was at rationalizing, real-world problems wouldn't solve themselves.
Large Golden Core summoned all his assistant instructors.
"You lot, go attend that lecture and steal their secrets."
His loyal underlings bowed their heads and withdrew.
Large Golden Core intended to give this naive newbie a brutal taste of the cutthroat ways of their world.
First, send people to steal the entire lecture content.
Then open an identical copied lecture, and wage a mudslinging PR war claiming they were the originals, leveraging his fame.
After that, all he had to do was sit back and wait.
Even if Large Golden Core did nothing, his followers of decades would tear the rival instructor apart on their own.
The newbie, branded a shameless thief of teaching methods, would see their reputation pop like a bubble.
Once a little time passed, the truth would be forgotten, and Large Golden Core would emerge as the new original.
Imagining a brilliant future where he devoured the arrogant rookie and shone even brighter, Large Golden Core smiled.
A few days later, the assistant instructors returned and reported.
"We couldn't even imitate it after watching."
The smile vanished from Large Golden Core's face.
*****
The day of the paid lecture's start.
Seoran, standing at the podium, said,
"As I mentioned in the free lectures, the most crucial element in forming a golden core is control over your spiritual power. In today's first paid session, we'll focus on the related theory."
Seoran's lecture began.
The seated students soon split into two groups.
One listened with satisfaction, while the other wore slightly bored expressions.
It was unavoidable, really.
Seoran's lectures targeted Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Though lumped together under that single category, the students shared only their cultivation realm and rogue cultivator origins.
Their ages, cultivation progress, and what they'd seen and learned were all wildly varied—they were a diverse bunch.
Seoran's content was undoubtedly solid.
But it didn't land the same for everyone.
A fifty-something rogue cultivator freshly successful at Foundation Establishment was worlds apart from one who'd been cultivating for over two hundred years.
Some were even on the cusp of Core Formation, having mastered both theory and practice.
To true experts, Seoran's foundational lecture was just stuff they already knew.
The session ended with a mix of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
But as students began to leave the hall, Seoran made them sit back down.
"Now we'll have a pop quiz. Please pass the test papers back row by row once you receive them. Stay in your seats after finishing."
Despite calling it a "pop quiz," the test was massive.
It consisted of multiple-choice questions testing understanding of core formation theory.
Once the hourglass sand fully drained, the exam ended.
Seoran collected the papers and began grading.
It was simple since even one mistake meant failure.
Holding up the list of perfect scorers, Seoran said,
"Perfect scorers, all of you advance to the intermediate class. Those who fell short, don't be discouraged. We'll have daily pop quizzes to promote perfect scorers. Intermediate students will get a new lecture schedule."
Seoran's differentiating strategy was class divisions.
Beginner class stuck to core formation theory until they scored perfect.
Intermediate and above, with a solid theoretical base, moved to practical lectures on core formation.
Meditative cultivation to improve spiritual power control.
Seoran tapped the shoulder of a distracted student with a bamboo stick (named Thwack-Thwack).
"Maintain a steady flow. Spiritual power swaying like reeds proves your control is still lacking. Focus more."
The intermediate class, filtered by quizzes, had far fewer students than beginners.
This let Seoran pay more attention during the same lecture time.
Though her practical lectures multiplied her workload, student satisfaction soared.
Intermediate classes had daily quizzes too.
The tiny elite who reached advanced got even denser instruction.
They learned core formation through their bodies.
With a hand on the student's back, Seoran asked,
"Do you feel the spiritual energy moving inside you? I'll now describe the core formation process using controlled spiritual energy. Think of it as your own spiritual power and follow slowly. Remember this sensation."
It was a simulated core formation experience.
Seoran controlled tiny amounts of spiritual energy flowing in the student's body with her own golden core.
To avoid clashing with the student's spiritual power, she mimicked the process with spiritual energy.
For ordinary folks with tiny cores, it was an impossibility even in death.
Of course, the supreme prodigy Seoran pulled it off again.
The biggest hurdle for rogue cultivators was the gap between theoretical foundation and practical cultivation.
Patchwork cultivation was uneven and often shackled further progress.
Seoran used class divisions and promotions to harmonize their haphazard achievements.
Beginners built theoretical foundations.
Intermediates piled on practical cultivation.
Advanced glimpsed higher realms through simulations.
Seoran's tiered lecture system was revolutionary.
It fused Black Bamboo Sect's millennia of cultivation theory, Dancheong's six centuries of trial and error, and heaven's favorite prodigy Seoran's genius.
Other instructors couldn't replicate it even if told how.
The summer lecture series of recent months concluded.
The new course "What is Core Formation?" successfully produced one Core Formation cultivator.
Seoran rocketed to stardom.
*****
Three quarters had passed.
Fall and winter lectures were long over.
In that time, she produced six more Core Formation cultivators.
Top-tier experts on the verge of Core Formation had flocked to her lectures.
Seoran earned the honorable nickname Sacred Golden Core.
The courses were so popular she hired extra staff.
Her first clerical assistant, Dan Wonpyo, said,
"Instructor Ryu, the year-end awards committee inquired about your attendance. They seem keen for you to come. It's expected since your win is a sure thing."
Seoran put on a bigwig act and replied,
"Tell them I'll attend."
"Yes, understood."
Once Dan Wonpyo left the instructor lounge, Seoran pulled a book from her sleeve and examined it.
It was the second-half statistical report for the year.
Published by the Learning Streets Management Committee.
Seoran flipped through happily to the page with the annual tuition revenue rankings.
This year, she'd lectured on core formation.
Qi Building cultivators were numerous but poor; Core Formation ones were wealthy but few.
In the Learning Streets, Foundation Establishment cultivators were the most lucrative audience.
A chart compared the top ten tuition earners.
The ink line for Seoran's revenue shot up like it would pierce the paper.
The nine mediocrities at the bottom looked pitiful just to balance the scale.
Days later, at the year-end ceremony.
Seoran naturally swept Instructor of the Year and Lecture of the Year.
She shattered countless prestigious records too.
She'd exceeded her initial goals.
In the early dawn hours of New Year's as registration opened.
Foundation Establishment cultivators rushing to the signup desk clamored nonstop.
An unbelievable situation had unfolded.
"No courses from Sacred Golden Core? What nonsense is this!"
"Out of my way—I’ve been waiting since last fall!"
"Everyone, please calm down! Sacred Golden Core isn't offering spring courses! I mean, there are no courses to sign up for in the first place!"
It was utterly incomprehensible.
Who in the Learning Streets was more famous than Sacred Golden Core, Instructor Ryu Seoran?
Fresh off dual year-end awards, opening a course would've let her rake in spirit stones like weeds.
Word that Seoran wasn't offering lectures spread instantly across the Learning Streets.
It was the sudden retirement of a famous instructor.
Rumors naturally swirled.
She'd earned piles of spirit stones and started secluded training for Primordial Infant.
Rumors of her massive core and theoretical mastery drew a massive sect recruiting her with billions.
No—rival jealous instructors banded together to pressure the rising star.
Everyone's tales varied, but all agreed the great star illuminating the Learning Streets had fallen.
They were all wrong.
Sacred Golden Core, Ryu Seoran, hadn't left Taibon Valley.
Because she'd signed up for a ton of puppetry courses.
When spring lectures began.
The instructor for "Fun Basics of Puppetry," entering the assigned classroom, doubted their own eyes.
There sat the industry legend, Ryu Seoran, in the front row.
It felt like a meteor crashing down from above.
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