The Strongest Knight

The fifteenth day.

There has been no spiritual inspiration born among the trial participants on the cylindrical spirit gathering platform for eight consecutive days.

The remaining trial participants basically have no talent for cultivation, or their talent is extremely weak.

Some trial participants, after shaking their heads and sighing, chose to leave the mountains and continue their wealth and glory in the mortal world.

But there are also those who are determined to embark on the path of cultivation, such as Zhao Qinghe.

This time, Zhao Qinghe was really lucky.

At noon, Zhao Qinghe, who was immersed in the state of summoning spirits, suddenly felt a shock. A spiritual energy suddenly shot towards him, entered from the Tianling point on the top of his head, and merged into his body.

After this inspiration was integrated into his body, Zhao Qinghe felt that his world suddenly became different.

There is a kind of energy all around, which should be the power of heaven and earth that only practitioners of Taoism can perceive.

The inspiration comes into the body, done!

Below, Liu Juncai slightly raised his head and saw Zhao Qinghe's face full of joy. He shook his head and said quietly to himself: "With such a weak talent for cultivation, the road of cultivation is destined to be short."

Zhao Qinghe walked down from the spirit gathering platform, came in front of Liu Juncai and bowed.

Liu Juncai nodded, without even asking Zhao Qinghe's name, and asked a Taoist priest beside him to take Zhao Qinghe into the mountain gate.

Zhao Qinghe didn't take it seriously and followed the young Taoist priest to the other side of the floating bridge.

"Master, where should we go next?" Zhao Qinghe followed behind the Taoist and asked softly.

"I don't deserve the title of Taoist priest. Since you have already entered the sect, let's call each other brothers." The young Taoist spoke respectfully to Zhao Qinghe. Seeing that Zhao Qinghe might be a few years older than him, he also replied in a gentle tone.

"Senior Brother." Zhao Qinghe called out to this young man, who was probably about seventeen or eighteen, without any embarrassment.

For those who practice Taoism, the one who is more accomplished is the teacher, so calling the young man who has just entered the sect "senior brother" is completely in line with the rules.

"I have been a disciple for three years, so I am just being arrogant and calling you my junior brother."

"Junior brother, next, I will take you to the Outer Gate Deacon Hall of the mountain gate, where the hall master will register your information, grant you a Taoist name, and teach you the introductory skills."

"We have a hall master in the Outer Sect Deacon Hall, who is Liu Wenle Zhenren of the Liu generation. Under Zhenren Wenle are five deacons, including Deacon Liu Juncai. They are responsible for managing all matters in our Outer Sect Deacon Hall. Remember to show them enough respect. By the way, our Liuhua Sect has nearly 5,000 outer disciples and nearly 1,000 inner disciples. If you can cultivate to the Three Flowers realm, you can apply to become an inner disciple."

"May I ask what your Taoist name is, brother?" Zhao Qinghe asked.

"I am the first batch of disciples of the Hua generation, and my Taoist name is Peanut." After he finished speaking, the young Taoist raised his eyes and looked at Zhao Qinghe.

Seeing the latter's expressionless face, he couldn't help but say: "Laugh if you want to, don't hold it in. I don't blame you. My secular name is Li Sheng, and the hall master usually gives us a surname like She, which means to give up all worldly things. So my Taoist name became Peanut." Peanut said with a wry smile.

Zhao Qinghe said seriously, "Brother, you are overthinking. In my opinion, this Taoist name is extremely precious. Peanuts are called immortal fruit in our place because they always maintain youthful life that never decays. Using peanuts to symbolize immortality is in line with the moral principle of pursuing immortality. I think that with this Taoist name, Brother will be able to achieve success in his cultivation in the future."

"Haha, after hearing what you said, I suddenly feel happy! All my anger has been relieved!"

......

With Zhao Qinghe's deliberate efforts to narrow the distance between them, Senior Brother Peanut's favorability towards Zhao Qinghe greatly increased, and he even took the initiative to explain the knowledge of cultivation to Zhao Qinghe.

The practice of Taoism can be divided into four major realms.

Refining essence into Qi, refining Qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, refining emptiness into Tao.

Let’s not talk about the last three for now, and just talk about the first level of refining essence into qi.

Refining essence into Qi can be divided into three small realms, namely the nine levels of Yuan Jing, the three flowers gathering at the top of the head, and the five Qis returning to the Origin.

The ninth level of Yuan Jing is the first hurdle that Zhao Qinghe needs to overcome after the spiritual energy enters his body. Generally speaking, after digesting the spiritual energy in his body, he can naturally be promoted to the first level of Yuan Jing.

At the first level of Yuan Jing, nourishing oneself with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth begins to show results. One only needs to sleep two hours a day to stay energetic.

One and a half hours, one hour, half an hour, two days and a half hours, three days and a half hours, four days and a half hours, five days and a half hours, ten days and a half hours.

When one reaches the ninth level of Yuan Jing, the human body’s energy reaches its limit. Once one is able to maintain energy with just a short nap every ten days, one can then strive for the Three Flowers realm.

Only after achieving the Three Flowers realm can one become an inner disciple of the Liuhua Sect.

In addition to the unpredictable talents of Taoism, the Taoists have five basic zodiac signs: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, as well as other exotic zodiac signs such as thunder and wind.

The zodiac sign can be measured after the inspiration enters the body.

You should practice the cultivation method that suits the zodiac sign you are in.

Liuhua Sect is a middle-class sect in the Tiannan cultivation world. It has a large number of skills for various zodiac signs, so there is no need to worry about not being able to find skills to practice.

“Those with the most outstanding talent in cultivation can complete the entry of the power of heaven and earth into their bodies without even the need for spiritual inspiration. From then on, they can make rapid progress by practicing step by step in the blessed land.”

"Junior brother, your talent for cultivation is not good. You can't attract much power from heaven and earth through independent cultivation. You have to find a way to gain more spiritual energy."

"You see the densely packed spiritual energy on the Spirit Gathering Platform, right? When the trial is over, all the spiritual energy will be taken away by the deacons and elders in the sect as rewards for the sect."

"In addition to the one task that outer disciples must complete every month, if they complete additional tasks, they will be rewarded with spiritual energy."

"Those of us who have weak talents in cultivation can only maintain this level of progress in cultivation by spending time, energy, and even our own safety to gain extra inspiration." Peanut sighed.

Seeing that the stairs were about to be completed, Zhao Qinghe asked one last question: "May I ask how many days did it take Senior Brother Huasheng to complete the spiritual energy entering the body? How long has it taken to cultivate so far, and what realm are you at?"

"I'm ashamed. It took me three days to complete the spiritual energy entering my body. I have been practicing for three years since I started, and only last month did I reach the fourth level of Yuan Jing." Peanut looked ashamed.

Zhao Qinghe's mouth twitched. It took three days to complete the spiritual energy entering the body. How could this be considered as average talent? How could he be listed as a person with weak talent for cultivation alongside himself who completed the spiritual energy entering the body in fifteen days?

After crossing the floating bridge, the long flight of stairs finally came to an end, and the Outer Gate Deacon Hall came into view.

After entering the outer gate deacon hall, Zhao Qinghe discovered that there were three more floating bridges like the entrance, each leading to a higher mountain.

However, Zhao Qinghe can only stay on the mountain where the Outer Gate Deacon Hall is located for now.

The mountain where the Outer Sect Deacon Hall is located seems to be cut in half, so its area is no smaller than an ordinary town. Even with nearly five thousand outer sect disciples living here, it still seems very empty.

Huasheng led Zhao Qinghe into the spacious hall of the Outer Sect Deacon Hall, "Reporting to the Hall Master, Huasheng, the 122nd Outer Sect disciple, brought Zhao Qinghe, the new Outer Sect disciple, to see you!"