Longzang

Chapter 28 The Legacy of Our Ancestors (Part 1)

Zhang Sheng and the Taoist priest sat in the courtyard, while Wei Yuan stood behind Zhang Sheng listening.

The Taoist stroked his beard and said, "This year's intensive instruction consists of seven courses, one per day, each lasting half a day. The names and contents of the courses are all here."

Zhang Sheng took the jade paper handed to him by the Taoist priest and glanced at it. It contained seven chapters: 'General History of Humanity,' 'History of Tang,' 'General Knowledge of the Immortal Path,' 'On the Foundation of the Tao,' 'On Heaven and Earth,' 'On Qi and Destiny,' and 'On Techniques.' Each chapter had a detailed explanation. Zhang Sheng was naturally familiar with these topics and pondered, "Why is the curriculum so focused on history?"

The Taoist said, "The True Lord Yanshi said that by understanding the past, one can understand the present, and by taking history as a mirror, one can know the rise and fall. Our human race started from humble beginnings, and our ancestors went through all kinds of hardships and difficulties to achieve what we have today. We must never forget the aspirations of our ancestors."

Zhang Sheng nodded and said, "The Ancient Knowledge Faction must be very pleased, otherwise they wouldn't have approved this motion so easily."

The Taoist said, "True Lord Yanxing did indeed put in a lot of effort to promote centralized instruction. If your disciple wants to participate in centralized instruction, he can register first and then pay the tuition fee."

"There are also tuition fees?"

"The tuition fee is ten taels of silver per lesson, payable in advance for seven rounds, totaling four hundred and ninety taels of silver. The cultivation resources required for the lessons will be calculated separately."

Zhang Sheng was taken aback: "So expensive?"

The Taoist priest said, "After all, the instructors also need to be supported, and the resources consumed during the lessons must also be taken into account. If disciples from each hall participate in the centralized instruction, the masters can save a lot of time and energy to use on other things. In the past, each hall trained its own disciples, and many expenses were not noticed. Now that they are taught together, everything has to be calculated, so it naturally feels expensive."

That makes sense, but after Zhang Sheng estimated his savings, his expression became a little unnatural.

Zhang Sheng completed his cultivation and descended the mountain, disappearing for seven years without a trace. He made no contributions to the sect and, according to custom, received no monthly stipend. Upon his return, he was fined another three years' salary, meaning he had no income for ten years. Zhang Sheng's cultivation had previously been incredibly rapid, consuming a great deal of resources. Even though the Azure Sky Palace provided most of those resources, he hadn't saved a single penny.

Now, upon taking stock, Zhang Sheng realized that his remaining savings were barely enough to pay for Wei Yuan's tuition for three months, and that was just the basic tuition. Cultivation courses required resources, and the Taoist said those would be separate!
Zhang Sheng hesitated for a moment and asked, "I wonder if there are any discounts or preferential treatments for the tuition fees?"

Seeing the Taoist hesitate, Zhang Sheng's face flushed, and he quickly said, "It's alright if you don't have one."

The Taoist sighed, "To be honest, junior brother, some disciples do receive preferential treatment regarding tuition fees. For example, the disciples of True Lord Yanxing and True Lord Fengyuan only need to pay 70%."

The two True Lords were the leaders of the Reform Movement. They promoted centralized teaching, and most of the instructors were drawn from the Reform Movement. It was only natural that they would give their own disciples preferential treatment.

Seeing the Taoist priest hesitate, Zhang Sheng knew something was wrong and immediately pressed, "What else?"

The Taoist finally said, "The key to the implementation of this centralized teaching initiative lies with the several True Lords of the Zhigu Sect. It was only with their approval that we have this centralized teaching. The Zhigu Sect has many disciples, and in order to encourage their participation, the two True Lords have made a special provision that if any Zhigu Sect disciple signs up, the tuition fee will only be charged at half the rate, and the same applies to the consumption of resources."

Zhang Sheng became increasingly agitated as he listened, and slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming, "The faction that knows the past is only half-full, and the faction that innovates is only 30% full! What about my Heavenly Azure Palace?"

The Taoist priest's eyes flickered as he looked away, saying, "Your esteemed hall has a total of three disciples this year, none of whom are on the preferential treatment list."

Zhang Sheng was furious: "There are over a hundred disciples in this class, yet only disciples of the Azure Sky Hall have to pay the full amount? This is outrageous! Such injustice cannot be tolerated! I'm going to find the manager to argue with them!"

Upon hearing the word "theory," the Taoist could only smile bitterly and said, "Junior brother, you may not know this, but in the past few years, the Zhigu and Dingxin factions have been fiercely fighting. Only the Tianqing Palace has remained impartial, 'theorizing' with both sides. Although these were all matters unrelated to the conflict between the two factions, they inadvertently ruined many of their plans and created considerable enmity. To put it bluntly, the Dingxin faction hasn't increased your palace's tuition fees several times over; they're already showing great magnanimity." Zhang Sheng, however, refused to accept this and sneered, "I understand. The Dingxin faction just doesn't want my Tianqing Palace disciples to participate in the centralized instruction. Fine, I won't go. I'll just teach them myself! Hmph, those aristocratic families all have their own unique methods for cultivating wisdom, claiming to be precocious, but in the end, wasn't Yuan'er the one who got first place?"

The Taoist glanced at Wei Yuan and said, "Junior Brother, this disciple of yours is indeed a prodigy, unmatched by others. Oh, Junior Brother, you've decided to teach him yourself, right? I'll go report that now..."

"Wait!" Zhang Sheng reacted quickly, grabbing the Taoist priest and saying, "Let me see the list of instructors!"

Helpless, the Taoist priest had no choice but to take out another piece of jade paper and hand it over.

Zhang Sheng took the list and immediately understood. Two of the people on the first page were people he had "discussed" with, clearly indicating personal grudges. The remaining senior Taoist masters were highly respected and learned, but Zhang Sheng considered them nothing special; he respected them but didn't admire them, so he had little interaction with them. When he turned to the second page, Zhang Sheng's expression changed slightly.

"Feng Chutang? He's started teaching too?"

The Taoist said, "This is the intention of True Lord Feng Yuan, who wants him to contribute to the cause of the palace. True Lord Feng said that when he imparts knowledge, he not only resolves the doubts of his disciples, but also resolves his own doubts. I heard that Senior Brother Feng and you had a somewhat...unpleasant relationship back then."

Actually, the Taoist priest was being tactful. Back then, Zhang Sheng and Feng Chutang's relationship was more than just strained; it was practically a blood feud. The two had publicly fought three times, each time until they were both severely injured before stopping. They had also sparred countless times in private.

Given their relationship, it would be strange if Wei Yuan didn't get a severe beating if he ended up in Feng Chutang's class.

To everyone's surprise, Zhang Sheng said, "Let's go!"

"What?" The Taoist priest could hardly believe his ears.

"We're participating in intensive instruction!"

"But, but what about Senior Brother Feng..."

Zhang Sheng snorted and said, "Since he dares to come out and teach, then we dare to learn! Does he have the nerve to make things difficult for juniors? At most, he'll just assign more homework. Yuan'er, are you afraid of hardship?"

Zhang Sheng had asked this question before. Three years ago, Wei Youcai answered it, and now Wei Yuan answered it himself: "People from our village are the least afraid of hardship."

Zhang Sheng said, "Very good, sign up!"

The Taoist priest paused for a moment, sighed, and said, "Then please pay the tuition fee, junior brother!"

Zhang Sheng's face stiffened instantly. He said, "I just returned to the palace and didn't even have any immortal silver on me. Please wait a moment while I go back to my cave to get it."

The Taoist priest said, "It's alright, I'll wait here."

After Zhang Sheng left the courtyard, the Taoist looked at Wei Yuan and said, "Your master needs to go away for a while. Since we have nothing else to do, I'll tell you about the origin of my Taichu Palace. This is also part of the general knowledge course for immortals."

(End of this chapter)