Chapter 1319 – The Dojo
There seemed to be words carved on the stone tablet but the young man couldn't really make out the words since he was standing a distance away. There also seemed to be several men either standing or sitting in front of the stone tablet. These men looked like they were in the midst of a discussion as they examined it.
There was a statue made of white jade in the distance. It was a statue of a person with a determined gaze, clad in armor and a flowing cape, who held a large sword. It seemed extremely realistic and gave off a heroic air. It was a statue of an unfamiliar person who was neither a historical character nor a hero of the current times.
There were also several people who sat cross-legged around the statue; their eyes were fixed on the statue as though the most incredible scenery could be found above it. They simply couldn't tear their eyes away.
Those people in front of both the stone tablet and the statue were probably those who had joined the Immortal Dojo, right?
Was this what the Immortal Dojo truly looked like?
The young man looked in confusion at these disciples who seemed like they were cultivating. He couldn't understand what they were doing.
The layout was completely different compared to a large majority of the sects.
"Junior brother, this is your identification tag. Please keep it with you at all times," a clear voice rang out beside him.
The young man jumped and turned to see a beautiful young woman dressed in customized swordswoman robes, as she held out a metallic identification tag toward him.
The young barbarian accepted the tag and said, "And you are?"
"I'm Chu Xia, a registered disciple. You may call me senior sister in the future," the young woman said with a smile.
The young man from the Brute Race immediately realized that the beautiful young woman was one of the six major disciples and two hundred registered disciples of the Immortal God Emperor. He said respectfully, "I'm Debiao Manchui. Nice to meet you."
"Don't stand on ceremony. You're very well regarded by our master, and you're expected to become the most powerful person amongst his disciples in the future. I hope that you're able to make swift progress and avoid wasting any time," Chu Xia said, who seemed to have taken to this slightly awkward junior disciple from the Brute Race. "Junior brother, do you have any experience cultivating the martial way? Who was your master?"
"No. I… have been cultivating the brute techniques from the Mogan Riverwitch Divine Temple. My physical cultivation is inadequate…" the young man stammered.
"Oh, I see. Based on what I know about your current basics, why don't you start cultivating from scratch? You may head over to the stone tablet area to gain an understanding of your current condition and select a body-refining technique," Chu Xia said as she pointed at the stone tablet that the young man had seen earlier. "These are the basic techniques that were personally engraved on the stone tablet by my master. It covers the three main categories of body-refining, spirit cultivation and the Spirit Spring stage. There are one hundred and eight different kinds of techniques in each category, and every person should be able to find something suitable for themmself, regardless of race."
That was great.
The young man of the Brute Race was delighted.
The Brute Race of the Mogan River was in possession of very few techniques and the legacy of the Witch Divine Temple was very fragmented. There was only a single torn manual within the divine temple; it was very fragmented and had no sequel. It was also very difficult to cultivate, so when he realized that he could peruse the techniques that the Great Emperor had personally left behind and could choose the technique he favored, he felt like he had a sudden windfall.
He paused for a moment as he remembered something, then he pointed at the statue in the distance and asked, "What about the statue over there? Are there secret manuals of the martial way engraved on its body too? Why are there so many people around it?"
"That statue is an Emperor Technique Divine Statue. My master said that it contains peerless Emperor techniques, but it cannot be mastered through words. You would need to carefully observe the statue and contemplate on its meaning. If you develop an affinity with the statue, you would be able to understand the mystery within it. Even if you don't obtain a complete Emperor technique from the statue, you would be able to comprehend a peerless divine ability that would be completely yours," Chu Xia said with a smile.
Obtain an Emperor technique?
The young man from the Brute Race's eyes widened in shock when he heard the words 'Emperor technique'.
Was it that easy to obtain an Emperor technique from the Immortal Dojo?
Complete sets of Emperor techniques were extremely rare, even among many races that had once produced Emperors in the foreign domain. All the Emperor techniques that still existed were very fragmented. Since Emperor techniques were extremely profound, even if a Martial Emperor had left his martial techniques behind, his descendants would not be able to pick up the profound principles within them if they weren't talented enough. Thus, martial techniques tended to be fragmented many generations later.
The Brute Race young man had a sudden urge to rush over to the statue.
Chu Xia smiled as though she had seen through his thoughts and said, "However, to see the true will of the martial way through the Emperor Technique Divine Statue, the only ones able are martial artists who have successfully managed to cultivate their spirit, and grasped their yuan qi. You should start from refining your body first and take everything one step at a time. There have been some who refused to heed my advice, rushing over the moment they heard that it contained Emperor techniques, throwing all caution to the wind in an effort to meditate on the statue. However, they didn't manage to get anything out of it even after spending several months, and were eventually forced to retreat and start from the basics."
"But what about them…?" the young man from the Brute Race asked as he pointed at the people surrounding the statue.
Chu Xia explained with a smile, "Those are disciples who have come in search of a master, but had already started cultivating even before entering the Immortal Dojo. They are strong enough, so they are able to meditate on the statue and comprehend their personal battle techniques. My master has said that although these people could meditate on the statue without having to start from scratch, it would take them a lot of time to comprehend it because they have cultivated miscellaneous techniques; they would have to head back to the pure martial way before they can even manage to glean anything from the statue. They should be able to improve but they wouldn't have as much potential as those without any basic knowledge, such as yourself."
Possibly, only the reigning Martial Emperor was able to call the martial techniques cultivated by others as 'miscellaneous martial techniques'.
A slow understanding dawned on him as he listened to Chu Xia's words.
Chu Xia observed the young man from the Brute Race as she spoke.
Her fellow disciples and herself were all curious to know more about this young barbarian, who had been personally named as a registered disciple by their master. She could naturally see that this young man from the Brute Race had a very poor foundation and his aptitude was average at best, but their master had said that he had 'matchless fortitude', so she guessed that he probably had a more determined will than ordinary men.
She couldn't help but respect this young man when she saw how he managed to calm down and assess her words in a brief moment, despite earlier being tempted by the statue.
That statue had been personally sculpted by her master and it was full of grandeur and mysteries. She had once also lost herself to the mysteries contained within. The disciples who had passed the assessment would all insist on attempting to comprehend the statue the moment they heard about the Emperor techniques that it contained and would only return to cultivate the basic techniques after they failed.
"There are one hundred and eight of such statues scattered across the square and all disciples of the Immortal Dojo are allowed to meditate on them at any time. There are no restrictions imposed on the disciples of the Immortal Dojo. As for what each person is able to comprehend from the statue, it would depend on each person's luck and affinity. According to my master, there are three thousand Great Daos and all these Daos are not found in the universe but in one's heart. Each person's viewpoint is like a grain of sand or a flower, perceiving different things, and this principle also applies to the Dao," Chu Xia said.
Her respect and admiration of Ye Qingyu was evident as she spoke.
One hundred and eight statues?
The young man from the Brute Race was astonished.
If there were one hundred and eight stone statues, wouldn't that mean that there would also be one hundred and eight different Emperor techniques?
Uh… it was hard to believe that the Immortal God Emperor was in possession of so many Emperor techniques. Anyone else who made a similar claim would be dismissed as a lunatic, but was there even a need for the Immortal God Emperor to exaggerate?
He had completely calmed down after he heard Chu Xia's words.
Yes, there was no need to be in such a rush.
Since he was already a disciple of the Immortal Dojo, there was no need to be so anxious. If he continued to make progress one step at a time, he would be able to achieve his goals one day.
"Many thanks." The young man from the Brute Race clasped his hands together in thanks before he continued, "I'd like to find a body-refining technique and start over from the beginning. Could you tell me which stone tablet I should use?"
Chu Xia said, "The square is divided into one hundred and eight districts. We are currently in district one and all the foundational body-refining techniques are found on the first ten stone tablets of this district. Please feel free to pick the technique that suits you best. If you're hungry or thirsty, you'd be able to collect free food and water from the food and drinks area if you show your identification tag." Then, she handed him a 'Guide to Life at the Dojo' manual and said, "If you have any further questions, please feel free to refer to this manual."
Chu Xia left after she had told him everything he needed to know.
Before she left, she told him, "Our master has high hopes of you, so work hard and don't let him down."
The young man from the Brute Race felt even more motivated after her words.
He realized that he was someone who was highly regarded by the Immortal God Emperor himself.
"Master, I've already made all the arrangements," Chu Xia reported upon her return.
Ye Qingyu nodded.
The young man from the Brute Race truly had a peerless fortitude but that was his only strength. He wasn't talented—in fact, his natural aptitude was poor, but Ye Qingyu wanted to find out how one's determination and fortitude would affect one's cultivation journey when provided with sufficient resources and techniques.
There were also hundreds of disciples who passed the entrance assessment, similarly untalented but they either possessed incredible fortitude, or calmness, had no desires or yearnings, or were extremely old. These people would typically be considered trash who would never be able to cultivate.
Other than these hundreds of disciples, there were also tens of thousands of disciples who had been admitted into the Immortal Dojo. People with exceptional talent made up around thirty percent, while those of average talent also made another thirty, and thirty nine percent were those of poor talent.
Ye Qingyu would accept everyone as long as they had a kind heart and came with pure intentions.
He wanted to see how far these people would go.
He had to comprehend the true meaning of the word 'Life' from his [Life Sword Mantra].
He considered all the disciples who entered the People's Dojo as 'life'.
He had already realized that the most precious part of the legacy left behind by the peerless War God was the [War God Sword Mantra]. He had used the power of life to grasp the true meaning of the [Life Sword Mantra]; after the nourishment provided by the World Tree, he sensed that he had already unleashed the maximum power of the [Life Sword Mantra].
However, after his discovery at the Black Demon Abyss and his conversation with Ye Chongsheng, he realized that he had not noticed the true value of the sword manual of the [Life Sword Mantra], neither had he comprehended the true meaning of the word 'life'.
I will use the people as a cauldron to craft a strand of sword soul!
This was what he had gleaned from the past six months.
He planned to leave the management of the Immortal Dojo to Bai Yuanxing and his five main disciples, then he would leave the Ancient Sky Dragon Domain and head toward Storm City of the Chaotic Ruins Domain, in search of the person who had once given him his Dao foundation.
There were profound secrets to be found within each of the nineteen cities of chaos.
If he had to name forces that he hadn't been able to get a firm grasp on, it would be the races who governed the nineteen cities of chaos.
However, he had an unexpected encounter at Storm City.
