Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

”Students, the way of the sword is, by nature, extreme,”

Jiang Ding spoke slowly of his enlightenment, ”The process of comprehending Sword Intent is also the process of affirming one’s path and goals, becoming unwavering, and allowing one’s Divine Soul to undergo irreversible changes.”

”Once you waver and no longer hold firm, your path in Sword Dao comes to an end.”

Jiang Ding thought of Immortal Burning Bone and True Master Yin Jiu.

Both had faltered in their dedication to their Sword Intent. One turned to Magic, while the other turned to devouring the Sword Intent of other cultivators. These seemed like shortcuts but were, in truth, manifestations of no longer trusting in their own Sword Intent. The likelihood of achieving Divinity Transformation was incredibly slim.

Of course, it may have already been slim, hence a desperate need for change.

But this was not the path of a true sword cultivator.

A true sword cultivator at this stage should quietly cultivate, amassing strength until they reach their limit, then seek a worthy opponent for a life-and-death battle. If they fail, they die. If they succeed, they may have a chance at advancement.

If luck is not on their side and they don’t advance or transcend their limits, then they continue seeking opponents, engaging in death battles.

This process repeats.

Generally speaking, after at most nine such battles, advancement is guaranteed.

This is the collective wisdom of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, historically verified and holding much scientific logic.

Below, Hua Xiaohua, Elder Nong, and students like Fang Yilong with their dark and ignorant looks, were all bewildered.

”Therefore, the extreme path of the sword must be supported by an unwavering Dao Heart.”

”What is Dao Heart?”

Jiang Ding continued, ”Dao Heart is the goal, the world view and values of a cultivator. In the Nine Great Immortal Sects, this means revering one’s teacher and respecting the Dao, pledging loyalty to the Sect, and seeking eternal life.”

”All of these are relatively abstract concepts.”

”At Xianmen Sect, Dao Heart equates to thought and moral character.”

”Thought and moral character?”

Fang Yilong and the others were taken aback.

”Yes, thought and moral character,”

Jiang Ding said calmly, ”The extreme path of the sword requires an unwavering heart, and for sword cultivators at Xianmen Sect, one must have a moral score higher than the vast majority of cultivators to continue on this path, always steadfast, and never faltering.”

”This is not encouragement, but a necessity.”

”Students, this is my experience. On this extreme path, our thought and moral character is a crucial pillar. Without it, the sword easily loses its edge, and the Sword Intent is no longer pure.”

”To put it plainly, it is to embrace the ideologies of Xianmen Sect, to see clearly the interests and bigger picture of the Sect, and to integrate one’s own interests into those of the Sect, clearing obstacles with the drawn sword.

In this process, one achieves eternal life.”

”Do you all understand?”

”Yes, we’ve got it,”

responded Hua Xiaohua and Fang Yilong, along with the others, in unison.

”Students, you must place great importance on the curriculum of thought and moral character,”

Jiang Ding nodded and continued, ”Next, we will talk about swordsmanship. The foundational sword skills are the essence of all sword techniques, with all advanced sword skills expanding from them...”

Clang!

The silver-white Flying Sword emerged from its sheath, danced in the air, and demonstrated various sword-wielding techniques, interspersing occasional insights from high-level Sword Dao cultivators, causing Fang Yilong and other Foundation-building cultivators to light up with excitement.

Compared to the teachings of genuine high-level Sword Dao cultivators, their previous instructors were barely scratching the surface, unable to provide much improvement.

Now, their understanding of Sword Dao was growing every moment, broadening their path.

Each person grasped their sidearms tightly, holding their breath, not daring to be distracted for fear of missing any word and losing a chance.

Class time flew by quickly.

Soon, half a month had passed.

”That’s all for today’s class. Students, make sure to preview and review the materials, and read more about Sword Dao Cultivation Methods in the library to build up your foundation,”

Jiang Ding said as the bell signaling the end of class rang and he packed up his textbook.

”Goodbye, teacher!”

Fang Yilong, Hua Xiaohua, and the other seventeen students rose to their feet, loudly paying their respects.

”Class is dismissed,”

Jiang Ding nodded, closed his eyes, and continued to comprehend his magic.

Fang Yilong and the others quieted the noise, bowed again deeply, and then backed away. Only when they were quite a distance away did they start chattering excitedly without end.

All of this

was exactly the same as when An Siyan and Jiang Ding and their fellow students attended their first language class with Immortal Dinghai. It was strikingly identical.

”I wonder if Immortal Dinghai felt the same way during his first lesson at Qingfeng University?”

Jiang Ding reflected thoughtfully.

He knew it was so.

It was precisely because he had once enjoyed the legacy of his predecessors that he was so patient and tolerant in teaching low-ranking cultivators, earnestly considering every aspect of their difficulties.

Perhaps among these seventeen students, there would emerge another Immortal Dinghai who would, in nearly a thousand years, similarly recall his own naive self of today.

Jiang Ding sat cross-legged on the Nurturing Cradle, deducing and comprehending magic, and before he knew it, several months had passed.

Bang!

Bang, bang, bang...

The bell for class rang once again.

”Good day, teacher!”

Jiang Ding opened his eyes with a hint of grogginess, as if he had just been woken from a light sleep. He felt somewhat downcast, not quite adjusted.

Then, collecting his thoughts, he greeted them with a smile, ”Class, please turn to page seven of ’Sword Dao (I)’...”

Via the Nurturing Cradle, Jiang Ding’s voice reached all seventeen students simultaneously, tailoring a bespoke teaching plan for them based on their experiences, cultivation methods, divine soul, mana, sword intent attributes, and other assessment results.

Half a month quickly passed by.

”Goodbye, teacher!”

The little ones left again.

In this way, the mundane life at Qingfeng University’s Adult Swordsmanship Department continued day by day with teaching, comprehending magic, and cyclic repetition, rather monotonous.

Fortunately, as an avatar of the Sword Dojo, he had long grown accustomed to such a lifestyle and didn’t find it unsuitable.

As for his main body, it was cultivating, refining the Flying Sword, participating in the development of the ’Great Sun Nascent Soul Art’ requiring higher divine soul computational power, and improving swordsmanship.

He contributed sword dao technical support needed for various Xianmen Sect projects, contemplated the Golden Emperor Map, and followed Zhang Junsheng, learning how to manage and nurture undergraduates, postgraduates, PhD students, and so on.

Busily bustling, days and months alternated.

Unknown to him,

eight years had gone by.

”Goodbye, teacher!”

”Keep at it, students,”

Jiang Ding watched the students before him.

The number had grown from seventeen to ninety-two, among them twenty-three were sword intent cultivators. Almost all new sword intent cultivators of the Immortal Sects had come to him, as other schools temporarily had no sword dao teachers.

Regardless of how they might lower the standards, one needed to be a Golden Pill sword intent cultivator to qualify, otherwise, it would be akin to leading astray the young.

Their language, mathematics, ideological and moral education, and airspace combat classes were spread among various institutions like Beidou University. Qingfeng University couldn’t accommodate so many students without the quality of teaching declining.

Besides that, other schools also needed sword dao department students to practice new tactics, with sword intent cultivators scouting enemies and guiding bombardment gradually being incorporated into the military’s training manuals.

Jiang Ding estimated that the number of sword intent cultivators in the Immortal Sects would keep growing for the next several decades, if not centuries, their sword dao heritage transforming into true power, until it reached a limit.

At that moment, a surge of intense joy came from his main body.

”This is...”

Jiang Ding had an epiphany.

”The Scorching Sun Spirit Iron has emerged.”