Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 9 Alexander's Kindergarten Life
The next day, the sun shines brightly.

Early in the morning, Zhou Ling was sent to the Taoist temple by his mother.

He and the children who had been successfully admitted the day before arrived at the Jiaqi School Building on the east side of the main campus.

The school building was spacious and bright, with clean floors.

The prayer cushions were neatly arranged.

On the platform, there was a long wooden table made of green sandalwood, with a bronze incense burner on it, from which wisps of green smoke rose.

The teacher hadn't arrived yet, and the children were making noise and playing around.

"Hello! My name is Yuan Hu."

Sitting in front of Zhou Ling, a dark-skinned child dressed in a linen outfit greeted Zhou Ling in a boisterous manner.

Hello! My name is Zhou Ling.

Even Zhou Ling, who was taking a deep breath and trying to stay alert, could only give him a perfunctory greeting.

[You are breathing in spiritual energy. Spiritual affinity +1, Spiritual energy +1]

[Total number of breaths of spiritual energy: 82/1000]

I spent most of yesterday at the Taoist temple and increased my spiritual energy breathing by more than 50 times.

At this rate, it will take less than half a month to achieve [spiritual affinity].

"Once my Qi perception improves further, I can try practicing basic cultivation techniques!"

Feeling that his body's affinity with the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to have improved again, Zhou Ling secretly pondered to himself.

Because I have read many books about cultivation.

He also had some understanding of cultivation.

The cultivators in this realm are mainly practitioners of magic, but there are also other types such as body cultivators and soul cultivators.

Once a cultivator has gathered their Qi and is able to absorb spiritual energy, they can choose a cultivation method that matches their own spiritual root attribute and begin cultivating.

The next step is to activate the spiritual acupoints within the body to become a Qi Refining cultivator.

A cultivator's meridians are intricate and complex, like a network of intersecting veins.

Various acupoints of different sizes exist along the meridians.

These sacred sites are transit stations for spiritual energy.

In the early stages of Qi Refining, most of the spiritual energy absorbed by cultivators from heaven and earth is stored in their spiritual acupoints.

As the Qi Sea gradually expands, the substances will gradually flow into it.

Once the Qi Sea expands to a radius of three inches, it means that one has already become a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Activating the first spiritual acupoint signifies becoming a true Qi cultivator.

After that, there are nine spiritual acupoints for each level, and after eighty-one spiritual acupoints, there is the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Seeing that Zhou Ling ignored him, Yuan Hu scratched his head in boredom.

Yuan Hu glanced at his deskmate and saw that he was dressed in fine clothes and adorned with expensive jade ornaments. He subconsciously dared not strike up a conversation.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the school building, and a girl in a yellow dress walked in.

It was their instructor, Liu Yan.

The children, who had been making some noise, quickly quieted down.

With a warm smile on her face, Liu Yan walked slowly to the podium, looked at the children, and said with a smile, "Children, from today onwards, you are also considered outer disciples of the Lingxia Sect."

Whether you can become an inner disciple in the future depends on your cultivation over the next few years.

Liu Yan did not rush to give a lecture.

Instead, they asked the children what they had eaten for breakfast.
What's the best thing you've ever eaten?
And other routine issues.

He also shared some interesting anecdotes about his experiences entering the desolate region.

They encountered golden-horned sheep, blue-eyed snow wolves, and huge black-haired pigs, among other things.

He went into the mountains with several fellow disciples, but one of them accidentally ate a poisonous herb. Fortunately, one of them was an alchemist, and he managed to save his life with the help of a elixir.

On another occasion, a fellow disciple was lucky enough to find an egg of an ancient beast with a bloodline, which he directly exchanged with the sect for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and successfully established his foundation.

The children listened with great interest, and each of them showed a look of longing.

Only Zhou Ling was quietly taking deep breaths.

He saw the corpse of a black wolf when he was born, and went into the mountains twice with his parents.

Naturally, they were well aware of the bloodshed, danger, and cruelty of venturing into the mountains; it was just that the instructors had deliberately downplayed some of the risks. Liu Yan remained cheerful and talkative, but she also paid attention to the children's emotions. Seeing that the atmosphere was quite lively, she asked with a smile, "Children, among you, who has already achieved Qi Sensation and activated the spiritual acupoints within their bodies?"

Normally, it's rare for someone of this age to have their spiritual acupoints activated.

But some children are born into prestigious families, and some are also quite gifted.

It's common for children to develop these skills from a young age, and it's quite normal for them to activate their internal energy points around the age of two or three.

"Instructor, I have activated six acupoints!"

The chubby boy with a small eye and a chubby face sitting next to Tu Hu raised his hand, sounding somewhat smug.

Liu Yan smiled and nodded, saying, "Your name is Zheng Youwei, right? Your Zheng family is a Foundation Establishment family."

"Teacher, I'll take three!"

"Instructor, I'll take five!"

······.

The children responded enthusiastically.

"Not bad!"

Liu Yan praised it repeatedly.

Zhou Ling was startled. Among the thirty-six children, ten had already activated their spiritual acupoints, with the highest number being seven.

Wang Xin, who was standing to the side, seemed to want to raise her hand, but then put it down shyly.

A hint of helplessness flashed in Zhou Ling's eyes. He had originally thought that with his talent, he would definitely be ahead of these little brats.

But now it seems I was overthinking things.

The child's talent in this realm is much better than he expected.

Moreover, this is only the intermediate class.

I suddenly felt immense pressure.

It's just too much for an adult with cheat codes to lose to these kids.

Liu Yan's gaze swept across the classroom, and she said with a smile, "Don't worry about the other children who haven't activated their spiritual acupoints yet. They just need to work hard in their cultivation."

"According to the academy's requirements, if you cannot reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining before the age of ten, you will have to leave the academy."

"In addition, if you cannot reach the sixth level of Qi Refining before the age of sixteen, you will also have to leave the academy."

"Only outer disciples who have reached the sixth level of Qi Refining are qualified to stay in the academy and participate in the inner disciple assessment."

"If it doesn't pass within three years, you'll have to leave."

"Wow, this is like going straight from junior high to high school!" Zhou Ling thought in surprise, and could only continue to take deep breaths.

[You are breathing in spiritual energy. Spiritual affinity +1, Spiritual energy +1]

Is it possible for an ordinary, independent cultivator to reach the fourth level of Qi Refining at the age of ten?
You should know that your mother is currently only at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

This isn't a kindergarten; it's clearly a college entrance exam prep class.

Competition among cultivators begins as early as the kindergarten.

With Zhou Ling's knowledge, he understood this as well.

There are differences between people; after all, the quality of one's spiritual root aptitude is what matters.

Hearing Liu Yan's words, the other children seemed relieved and regained some confidence.

The first lesson at the Taoist academy passed quietly in this atmosphere.

At noon, the children each took out the food prepared at home.

Suddenly, the schoolhouse was filled with the aroma of various foods.

For lunch, Li Ru prepared spirit rice, stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat, and a bowl of spirit egg and herbal soup for Zhou Ling.

For independent cultivators, this is already quite a generous reward.

Wang Xin's lunch was exquisite, consisting of delicate spirit cakes, spirit vegetables, spirit fruits, and spirit chicken soup.

All of them were spirit stones; although the quantity was small, they didn't look cheap.

Zheng Youwei also consumes spirit food, but mostly spirit beast meat.

Only Yuanhu is a common ingredient.

However, he ate with great relish.

(End of this chapter)