Chapter 144: Power and Trainees (Part I)

In a corner, a man in his early thirties let out a long sigh.

There was no applause in the room, only a heavy silence. Zhou Xianlong stood up and took the lead in clapping. Finally, the applause reluctantly grew from a monotonous patter into a collective ovation from the two hundred people present.

There was disappointment, there was reluctance, but wherever there are people, there is a martial world; and in this world, those who do not advance must retreat.

Qin Ye also clapped lightly, casting a brief glance around. Countless friendly gazes came his way, while Momo began buzzing frantically. Over a hundred friend requests poured in instantly.

This time, he did not refuse; he clicked accept on all of them.

The reserve instructors who failed the election were not without gains. Those favored by the First Cultivation University were all the elites of the current cultivation world. Befriending them now might prove useful at some unexpected moment.

Xu Anguo smiled as he looked out over the crowd. "Thank you all for your efforts. Take a ten-minute break. After ten minutes, the next procedures will commence. All official instructors, please remain. As for the other reserve instructors, vehicles will be provided tomorrow to take you back to your original units."

This statement marked the official establishment of the First Cultivation University's formal teaching circle. The rest could only retreat into obscurity.

Ten minutes later, everyone was seated in the amphitheater once again. This time, however, the person at the podium had changed to Zhou Xianlong.

As if to hint at the solemnity of the upcoming procedures, he looked expressionlessly at the seated official instructors, gave a light cough, and began, "Now, we will proceed with the first item on the agenda."

"According to regulations, the first stage of instructor evaluations is divided into two parts. The first part is the selection of outstanding official instructors. Congratulations to everyone here; those who can continue to sit in these seats are the elites of the cultivation world." True to his style of never wasting words, Zhou Xianlong held up two fingers. "Second, the elimination system will be enforced. The top three instructors from the first stage evaluation will automatically enter the elite instructor reserve sequence. Only elite instructors are eligible to compete for the positions of associate professor and above."

Qin Ye nodded slightly. Su Feng and the others were right; this was also a pyramid. The top tier enjoyed the best resources, while the others... well, they might have it better than the practitioners in the provinces and cities, but it was merely a drizzle sharing the same rain.

A sense of competition.

From the very beginning, the First Cultivation University was cultivating a competitive mindset in all its students, and even its instructors!

This, presumably, was the true atmosphere of the modern cultivation world.

Fight by a hair's breadth against the heavens; those who do not advance will fall behind.

From these side details, he could deduce much more with his life experience, and so he continued to listen.

Zhou Xianlong continued, "Once formal teaching begins, we will launch the second stage of instructor evaluations. The specific details will be distributed after the semester starts. Very well, you may now get acquainted with your students."

He snapped his fingers, and instantly, a huge LED screen dropped down behind him.

Amidst the silence, a silver-white light illuminated the center of the dark LED screen, splitting it into two halves. Immediately afterwards, thousands of nameplates appeared on the screen, popping up like bullets!

Qin Ye let out a deep sigh. Teaching—a completely new experience. Never in his life did he imagine he would stand on a podium to educate other practitioners.

And yet, he was a netherworld runner...

Had the husky successfully won the wolf king's trust...?

Everyone looked at the screen with excitement. These rectangular black plaques were printed with the outline of a person, with a question mark in the center. However, they were divided into more than twenty regions, some containing many plaques, others very few.

"Exactly twelve hundred people." Zhou Xianlong took up a pointer and gestured to the screen. "They come from all corners of the country. Each region represents a different faction. This is the first thing you must understand."

He pointed to the first row and tapped lightly. A circular emblem appeared on the screen, featuring seven different patterns: skulls, ghosts, bugs... This region also had the largest number of people, accounting for almost a third of the total.

"What is the status of the First Cultivation University? Although there are many practitioners, even as a newly established institution, our invitation cards could not possibly be sent to unknown or declining sects and organizations. We sent them only to the Grade A and Grade B factions in the current cultivation world rankings. And these three hundred and forty-seven individuals were all sent by the largest organizations currently operating—geniuses from all over the country."

"Does anyone recognize this emblem?"

Except for Qin Ye, almost everyone raised their hand.

"S9527, you don't know?" Zhou Xianlong's next sentence almost made Qin Ye fly out of his chair with a kick.

Didn't you see I didn't raise my hand?!

How much malice do you harbor toward me?! Have you already seen through the avatar of the true husky?

"I don't know," Qin Ye replied with a stiff face.

"S2328, tell him." Zhou Xianlong flicked his pointer, and Su Feng said in a deep voice, "The Ghost Artisans Association, established on June 8, 1951. All seven major ghost artisan industries nationwide, including the Ghost Markets, are managed by them. In the year 2000, they transferred the management rights of the Ghost Markets to the Special Investigation Department in exchange for the rights to run schools."

"Currently, they have three affiliated schools nationwide: the 'Chuanran Affiliated School,' the 'East China Petroleum Affiliated School,' and the 'Salang Life Industry Affiliated School.' All of them were founded by the Ghost Artisans Association, providing a complete educational pipeline from kindergarten to high school."

Qin Ye secretly memorized this, and Zhou Xianlong nodded. "Good. S9527, I don't blame you. After all, you came from an unconventional background. But you must remember, these things are what you need to teach your students. As an instructor, and a primary one at that, you cannot simply teach them how to slay ghosts—that makes them mere killing machines. You must also tell them what this world is like. This is your weak point, and you must study it diligently."

"Learn to be a person, learn to do things, and only then learn knowledge. This is the motto of every university in Huaxia."

Qin Ye stood up, cupped his fists sincerely, and said, "I have been instructed."

Zhou Xianlong pressed down with his fingers, signaling him to sit, and looked across the entire classroom. "Everyone, let me say this again: any student before you is likely a branch or direct descendant of some major family. However, the motto of the First Cultivation University is... treat everyone equally!"

"Forget their status, forget their origins, and treat them as the most ordinary students. If you cannot do this..." His gaze swept across the room like a hawk, leaving the implication hanging in the air.

After a brief pause, he continued, "Furthermore, these students are entering with pre-existing skills. Cultivation is not science; science is universal, but cultivation is not. For instance, the methods of the Cao Ghost Matriarch cannot be used by corpse drivers. How to tailor your teaching to individual aptitudes depends entirely on your own abilities."

He straightened up and tapped the screen with his pointer. "Beneath the Ghost Artisans Association are the disciples of the Three Major Daoyin Traditions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Below them are the disciples of the Primordial Teachings, the largest sect in the five northwestern provinces. And below that are the Form and Will School, a Taoism tradition in the three southern provinces passed down for thousands of years..."

He spoke fluently for a good half-hour, explaining these sects crystal-clear before finally stopping.

Qin Ye nodded gently. Until today, he had no idea that so many hidden sects still existed in Huaxia.

He acutely grasped the school's second strategy: spare no cost, so long as they are elite!

This demand was not about gathering existing talent, but about forging it.

Once inside the school, whatever backing you had outside meant nothing. Could any family background possibly surpass the Special Investigation Department?

Studying and training in the school meant facing malevolent spirits, which inevitably involved casualties. This was to ensure the instructors had no external worries and could train the students ruthlessly!

"Just like on the bus..." He narrowed his eyes to look at Xu Anguo, who was smiling cheerfully in the front row. "These... are the key points of the second stage of instructor evaluations. If anyone violates the school's will and produces graduates who score a hundred on theory but have zero practical capability... I'm afraid they will never again be qualified to run for associate professor."

"Very well, now we proceed to the second item: announcing the welfare allocations for official and elite instructors, as well as the promotion score criteria and necessary conditions." Zhou Xianlong took a sip of tea and said, "The reason the First Cultivation University can attract S-grade and A-grade elites from all over the country relies not only on state support, but also on generous remuneration!"

Qin Ye's ears instantly perked up.

Like a husky spotting dog turds.

"This is divided into two parts. The first part: explicit welfare. These are the benefits you can see on the surface. The most basic is a monthly salary of one hundred thousand. But more importantly, it's fifty spiritual stones per month."

Zhou Xianlong pressed both hands on the podium. "The second part: implicit welfare. I believe... this is what everyone cares about the most."

He used his pointer to tap the screen once more. Instantly, the nameplates on display vanished, replaced by rows of underground passageways. Glass vessels filled with various items were tied with iron chains and plastered with talismans.

The sheer number of them... looked as though they were filming an imperial treasury!

"Is that... a Nether Horse?! A Nether Ganoderma?!" Qin Ye didn't recognize most of them, but that didn't mean others didn't. The moment the image appeared, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the quiet amphitheater.

Even Su Feng's gaze suddenly turned blazing hot as he straightened his back.

"This age... over three hundred years? Are there still Nether Ganoderma of this vintage left?" An old man gripped his armrests so tightly he nearly stood up from his chair. Not far away, a man in his forties took a deep breath and said excitedly, "Five Emperors Coins... and they were naturally formed across five consecutive tomb burials, with the coins from the topmost layer leaking down into the lower one, involving five consecutive emperors! Carrying this item, below the level of the Impermanence, one is practically invincible!"

"Is that a sarira? A Buddha bone sarira?" "Wait... look at what that is!" "Where on earth is this?"

Qin Ye's expression also grew solemn. On the screen, after passing through the room lined with glass vessels, the camera entered a massive space!

It resembled a filing room, formed by countless cabinets arranged on shelving units. Moreover, these shelves were computer-controlled; one only needed to input a number for them to move right in front of the viewer!

Each cabinet was about a meter in size, and on the screen, a hand opened one of them, pulling out a long wooden box.

In the dead silence, as the box slowly opened, a superbly preserved ancient sword, accompanied by a plaque placed before it, was carefully lifted out by that hand.

Hum—

The moment the sword was drawn, every single cabinet in the entire image began to vibrate in unison!

Not just within the screen, but even inside the amphitheater, everyone felt a sudden tingling sensation across their skin!