I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

After finishing their meal, the group returned to their dormitory building, which was located in a secluded corner.

With all six of them gathered in the boys' dormitory, the room suddenly seemed small and crowded.

"Hey Wei Ran, you picked such a shabby dorm room for us to live in?" Lei Yao sat down on the lower bunk that Wei Ran had just tidied up and kicked Wei Ran next to him.

Wei Ran stumbled and almost fell off the bed. He rubbed his bottom and said helplessly, "That's good enough. There are only a few of us in this small building. It's secluded and quiet, perfect for cultivation. In the other dormitories, there are too many senior brothers, which would disturb each other."

"There are three rooms in total, shouldn't it be two people per room? In our male dormitory, plus you, there are four people, which will affect each other!" Although Gu Shuohan doesn't care about these things, after all, the men here are friends who have been together since childhood, and they are all good in terms of habits and upbringing, no one would refuse to live in a more spacious and better place.

“This wasn’t my idea. Haven’t you noticed that there isn’t a single female cultivator in our entire Qingshan Temple? Yinuo and Xinxin have become very popular as soon as they arrived.” Wei Ran nodded happily and said, “Master and several senior uncles and elders discussed your cultivation life for a long time, and they also decided on the dormitory arrangements.”

Actually, when they learned about the Taoist priests' arrangements, everyone agreed, and in fact, everyone thought that girls should each have their own room.

An Xin and Fang Yinuo exchanged a glance, suddenly feeling like they were the darlings of the group. Thinking about their upcoming cultivation life, it was sure to be full of sunshine!

"Senior brother, tell us about your daily life in the temple." An Xin was most curious about this.

When Wei Ran heard An Xin call him "senior brother", his ears turned red. "Well, it's actually very simple. It's just getting up early to practice, then eating, going to class, eating again, resting, continuing to practice, eating dinner, free time, and then sleeping."

"Is it that simple? It's pretty much the same as in college, just with more training." Fang Yinuo wondered if life would be boring in the future.

"No, you'll get used to it."

"Wei Ran, how many years have you been here?" Qi Mingxuan suddenly asked.

“I would come during summer vacation when I was in college. After graduation, I became a disciple and lived in the mountains.”

"So that means you've been living in the mountains for over two years now. What level of spiritual practice have you reached?"

"It's the initial stage of Qi Refining. I'm learning other things, but they're all at the beginner level."

"It took more than two years to reach this level?" Perhaps because of An Xin's comparison, Qi Mingxuan was very puzzled by Wei Ran's cultivation speed.

"Among my fellow disciples, I have relatively good aptitude and my cultivation speed is also quite good. Many of my fellow disciples have been at the stage of sensing spiritual energy and drawing energy into their bodies for 3 or 4 years." In fact, Wei Ran didn't say that he was considered to have above-average talent, otherwise Master Zou would not have accepted him as a disciple and given him many privileges.

"What direction of cultivation does Master Zou refer to?"

"There are many paths to cultivation: body refinement, martial arts, medicine, physiognomy, fortune telling, divination, and so on."

"Should we choose one to study, or should we explore both?" Lei Yao asked curiously.

"You belong to the outer sect of cultivation, so you will learn the theory, but you can only have one true direction of cultivation."

"So, you mean the two of us and the four of them are studying separately?"

"Pretty much. You'll probably learn the theoretical knowledge with them, while we'll follow our master and fellow disciples for the rest. Because we're not learning in a single direction, we need to be at least at the beginner level in several subjects, and if you excel in one, you must master that subject."

"Wei Ran, do you have any recommendations?" Lei Yao was forced to come here; his father said Fang Yinuo would be there, so he came without any prior thought.

"Generally, physical training and martial arts are things that everyone must practice, followed by Qimen Dunjia (a form of divination), and medicine is the most popular field."

Qi Mingxuan asked, "Then to which path do talismans and array formations belong?"

"It belongs to 'divination' along with Qimen Dunjia. The Five Elements, Eight Trigrams, Six Lines, and Taiyi Divine Art all belong to the category of 'divination.' It's actually 'divination,' which is quite difficult and belongs to the category of mathematics, physics, and chemistry—the advanced kind." Wei Ran thought for a moment and then added, "Because it has a wide range of applications, there are many subcategories."

"It's similar to medicine, right? Traditional Chinese medicine, Western medicine, and then there are different departments."

"Yes, this place mainly focuses on traditional Chinese medicine, including medicine, acupuncture, massage, bone setting techniques, and medicine making."

An Xin thought that if she could concentrate on her cultivation here, she would become a polymath when she left. So she continued to ask, "Senior brother, besides what we usually teach, do we have a library or scripture pavilion here where we can borrow books?"

"Of course there are. Behind our Daoyi Building is the Shuxianglou, where you can borrow many martial arts manuals, travelogues, historical and cultural books, and so on. You can just get a library card when the time comes."

"It really does sound more and more like a university campus," Gu Shuohan said with little interest, his usual lazy and casual tone.

"Well, you'll see once you learn it. It's amazing; the more you learn, the more you want to learn. There will be new breakthroughs and discoveries every day. Isn't it said that the end of science is metaphysics? Metaphysics is not superstition, but rather a science that is closer to nature and at a higher level."

"Ino, what are you planning to study?" Renault only wanted to be with Fang Ino.

"I haven't decided yet. Actually, I'm only interested in body tempering and martial arts. I don't know if I can specialize in this."

After hearing this, Wei Ran thought for a moment and said, "You can choose a specialty from the basic martial arts, such as swordsmanship."

"Hmm, good idea, I'll ask about it later."

"I want one too, Ino. I'm a terrible student anyway, so I'll just skip math and physics." Lei Yao immediately declared.

"Gu Shuohan, what about you? What do you want to study?" It seems like he's the only one left without a goal, so An Xin couldn't help but be curious.

"Me? Guess..."

"Tch, no need to guess, you'll find out after you become an apprentice!" An Xin is a master of debunking tropes, hehe, now it's your turn to be anxious and frustrated.

Gu Shuohan was speechless...

"Knock knock knock..." A knocking sound rang out, and the group looked toward the open door.

"What is it, senior brothers?" Wei Ran asked.

"We're here to see our junior sister, to present her with a Taoist robe, and to explain the process of the apprenticeship ceremony later." The two senior brothers spotted the cute junior sister at a glance and waved to her.

"Senior brother, I'm here. Why don't you talk here? They'll be coming along later anyway."

"Okay." The junior sister is quite considerate.

................................................

Ancestral Hall

The tables in front of the statue of the Taoist patriarch were already filled with pastries and fruits.

Master Zou and his other senior uncles and senior brothers were already present.

Master Zou was dressed in a purple robe and wore a golden lotus crown, exuding an extraordinary air. He lit incense made of sandalwood.

Everyone in the hall worshipped the ancestral master together.

An Xin, dressed in a blue Taoist robe, performed the three kowtows and nine bows to his master and teacher, then offered tea and presented his apprenticeship certificate.

The ceremony is completed.

An Xin bowed solemnly and said, "Master, I have a gift for your apprenticeship. Please accept it." After speaking, she turned around and took a bag from Qi Mingxuan's hand, took out an exquisite white jade porcelain bottle from it, and respectfully handed it to Daoist Zou.

"This is a holy product for cleansing the tendons and marrow, removing toxins and healing injuries."

His words astonished everyone present.

"This is a concentrated essence of an energy drink developed internally by the An's Group. Due to the rarity of the ingredients, the quantity is limited, and this essence is even rarer, measured in drops."

At this moment, everyone in the hall had their own thoughts.

Master Zou: My disciple is very thoughtful. Her rapid progress in cultivation must be due to the help of this item. I will make good use of it.

Master Qiu: I wonder if this thing is really that powerful? Or is this brat exaggerating?

Master Chen: I wonder if there are any more such sacred items left. Sigh, I also want such a good disciple...

Fellow disciples: Such a wonderful thing! No wonder she could reach the advanced stage of Qi Refining without ever having cultivated before. Junior Sister is quite something!

Young master and young lady: It's the same water as yesterday, but it's concentrated essence, so it must be even better.

Wei Ran: Xin Xin is so amazing, the things she gives away are all so amazing.

Qi Mingxuan: Isn't Xinxin being a bit too high-profile...?

In truth, An Xin's approach was quite simple. Before doing any of this, she had Di Ting listen to everyone around them. There were no ghosts or monsters; the Taoist temple was very pure and upright, and almost everyone there had no ill intentions. Of course, just look at Wei Ran; besides his naturally sunny and clean personality, he hadn't been exposed to the corrupt world, making him naturally pure and kind. Therefore, An Xin used the An Clan's research and development as an excuse to take out her spiritual liquid. After all, this substance no longer had a significant effect on her enhancement and could only be used as an emergency measure.

It's also possible that in the apocalypse, her team of superpowered individuals was characterized by mutual help and camaraderie, so she would unconditionally offer help and support to those she respected.

"Xinxin, your master can't accept such a valuable item. You should keep it for yourself."

“Master, although this item is precious, I already have some. I used it to successfully cleanse my marrow and tendons before, which is why I was able to cultivate so quickly. It’s truly twice the result with half the effort. The only pity is that the raw materials for this item are almost gone, so it cannot be mass-produced.”

"Alright, I understand. I need to think carefully about how to use this so as not to let my little apprentice's hard work go to waste."

"Hehe~ Master is joking. There are a few bottles of energy drinks in this bag that are not concentrated liquids, so I'm giving them to my uncles and senior brothers."

"Alright, that's exactly what I was going to do to introduce it to you. I'll introduce it while you deliver it."

"This is your Uncle Qiu, who is skilled in the art of Qimen Dunjia."

"This is your Uncle Chen, who is skilled in medicine."

"This is your Uncle Du, who is skilled in divination."

"This is your Uncle Zheng. He is very proficient in body tempering and various martial arts. He will be in charge of your daily training from now on."

An Xin greeted everyone respectfully, bowed, and presented them with gifts.

"This is your senior brother, who is also my personal disciple, Qin Baiyu. In addition to his usual cultivation, your senior brother also takes care of some of the temple's mundane affairs on my behalf. If you have any problems in your life, you can ask your senior brother."

"This is your second senior brother, Li Qingchuan."

"This is your third senior brother, Wei Ran."

An Xin continued to greet, bow, and present gifts.

"Alright, now please have the four outer disciples choose a cultivation path."

"Master, please have mercy. Your disciple, Qi Mingxuan, is 26 years old and wishes to learn the art of Qimen Dunjia."

"Master, please have mercy. Your disciple, Gu Shuohan, is 25 years old and wishes to learn the method of controlling the Five Elements."

"Master, please have mercy. Your disciple, Fang Yinuo, is 23 years old and wishes to learn body refinement and swordsmanship."

"Master, please have mercy. Your disciple, Lei Yao, is 25 years old and also wishes to cultivate his body and learn swordsmanship."