Longzang

Chapter 577 Enlightenment Conference
After dealing with the scattered cultivators, Wei Yuan was already compiling a list of those who had formed their Dao foundations in this batch. Just one month after the war, Qingming had already replenished its ranks with over 300,000 refugees, bringing its population back up to 1.7 million.

We have to thank Cui Shutong for this. He seems to be extremely eager for weapons and armor, so he doesn't want silver, he only wants armor as payment, and he's willing to give the refugees an extra 50%.

With Qingming's current steel production capacity, producing 10,000 sets of heavy armor daily is not a problem. Thus, Cui Shutong sold over 300,000 refugees to Wei Yuan within a month. During that same month, only over 30,000 refugees came to Qingming on their own. News was scarce among the refugees; many still believed Qingming was at war and dared not come.

With the population expanding, the cultivation levels of those who survived countless battles increased rapidly. In addition, with the great war just over, almost everyone had an inexhaustible supply of military merits. As a result, the number of cultivators who had reached the Great Perfection of Body Forging from the common people increased to four thousand in one go.

In addition, the Xu family youths in the new city finally achieved physical forging, with more than 800 people reaching the perfect state of physical forging and being able to forge their foundation.

In addition, the Taichu Palace also sent a letter, transporting three thousand Dao soldiers in a giant ship, asking Wei Yuan to train them, with payment to be settled separately.

With the addition of independent cultivators and those sent by the Cui family, the total number of students in this cohort exceeded 10,000 for the first time.

With so many people needing to build their foundations, and most of them becoming the backbone of Qingming's work in the coming decades, Wei Yuan naturally attached great importance to it, regarding it as the most important matter in the near future.

So he summoned all the cultivators of the Taichu Palace to offer their advice and strategies, and at the same time, he mobilized the Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chicks from the mortal world.

Finally, Bao Yun's suggestion was unanimously approved. The gist of it was that with so many people, a sense of ceremony was necessary to increase the chances of attracting good fortune. Wei Yuan immediately took the word "good fortune" to heart.

A sense of ceremony first requires a resounding and awe-inspiring name, so the Azure Netherworld Foundation Training Class was renamed the "Azure Netherworld Six Realms Enlightenment Conference." As for which six realms are being referred to, the students can use their imaginations.

Then there's the venue and equipment. It's no longer a bare training ground. Instead, there are individual cubicles made of cloth, with meditation cushions placed inside. This way, the students don't disturb each other, while the instructors patrol the entire area, providing help and guidance as needed.

With partitions and utensils, it became possible to distinguish between superior and inferior. Those cultivators who paid money enjoyed VIP treatment; their foundation-building area was much higher than other areas, the partitions were made of mahogany, the futons were woven from calming grass, and a plate of calming incense was lit.

In addition, there are distinguished individuals and super VIPs who have paid a lot of money. They have a small bell in front of them, and if they feel unwell, they can summon a mentor to provide one-on-one service at any time. Moreover, the cultivators arranged in this area are all handsome men and beautiful women.

By establishing hierarchical levels, a sense of ritual immediately emerges.

The final step in the ritual is to have a prominent figure in charge, demonstrating Qingming's profound strength, deterring petty villains from all sides, and preventing spoiled brats from causing trouble.

The best candidate was originally Wei Boyang, but Wei Yuan didn't expect so many people to be in this round of Dao Foundation training, so he let him leave early. Therefore, he had to settle for second best and look for other candidates.

Everyone subconsciously ignored Ancestor Xuan Yue. If this patriarch were present, he would definitely say a few words, and then the situation would be difficult to manage.

The Cui and Bao families' Yu Jing have already returned, and besides, it's not appropriate for them to be so deeply bound to Qing Ming.

Wei Yuan suddenly thought of someone: Zhu Yuanjin. At that moment, he heard Zhu Yuanjin calling his name.

Wei Yuan rushed over and saw her sitting at the table, handing him a storybook and saying, "If you want me to show up and oversee things, give me three more similar storybooks."

Wei Yuan took a look and found that the book was produced by Human World, and was the one given to Zhu Yuanjin last time. He wondered which young phoenix had written it.

The story is about a woman who is murdered and reborn ten years in the past. The rest of the story is similar to the original, except that there is an added scene where her betrayed husband cries and begs for reconciliation while clinging to her feet.

She, of course, wouldn't allow it. After severely humiliating her ex-husband, she kicked him out. From then on, her ex-husband was reduced to wandering the streets, begging for a living. She, on the other hand, lived a happy life with the Emperor, the princes, and the regent, occasionally having to meet secretly with the young, handsome, and domineering emperor of the enemy country for the sake of the nation's safety. In Wei Yuan's opinion, this story was already beyond what was acceptable; he had only skimmed through it, and his mind was filled with countless "Holy crap!" exclamations. He had learned this word from Xu Wenwu, finding it particularly expressive of his feelings.

However, this was the only hobby of Master Yuan Jin, so Wei Yuan gritted his teeth and assigned the task. To his surprise, a young phoenix immediately accepted it! Wei Yuan was quite astonished, wondering what kind of talent could write such a bizarre plot.

With Zhu Yuanjin secured and everything prepared, the first Qingming Enlightenment Conference with 10,000 participants was held.

On the day of the conference, numerous students lined up in more than a dozen long queues and entered the training ground one by one. The VIPs and super VIPs, who had initially thought the conditions were rudimentary, immediately felt better upon seeing the students below who could only sit in makeshift shacks. They thought Wei Yuan was quite shrewd and that the money spent was well worth it.

So one by one, the young noblemen stood by the railing, pointing and whispering at the poor people below.

Seeing their expressions, Wei Yuan couldn't help but admire Bao Yun's talent. This young lady had said before that watching these ordinary students was part of the paid content for VIPs and super VIPs, which could effectively enhance their Dao heart.

As everyone entered, for some reason, they all saw a woman in red sitting under an ancient tree on the hilltop. Although they couldn't see her face clearly, her natural elegance and focused concentration as she read a book touched countless hearts, making them think that if they could marry such a woman, their lives would not have been in vain.

Many insightful people suddenly realized that this woman's extraordinary abilities must be due to Yu Jing!

In the blink of an eye, rumors spread throughout the venue, and everyone knew that Qingming had actually invited Ancestor Yujing to personally provide guidance!

As a result, many of the Dao Foundation Ancestors watching the ceremony on the sidelines were moved to tears and bowed down in reverence. The largest Dharma Image they had ever seen in their lives was the Dharma Image, and they had never seen the Great Power of Yujing so vividly before.

In the blink of an eye, the Enlightenment Conference began, with hundreds of mentors circling the venue, offering guidance and making final persuasion, urging everyone to choose a template foundation.

A moment later, the bell tolled nine times, and in an instant, all beings were activated. In the blink of an eye, a beam of light shot into the sky from the VIP area, revealing that someone had successfully forged their foundation—a celestial foundation at that! This immediately attracted the attention of everyone present!
Wei Yuan, however, knew that these people could have already established their Dao foundation long ago. The reason they spent a lot of money to come to Qingming to forge their foundation was because they saw the opportunity for early enlightenment brought by the beings in the blink of an eye.

Secondly, achieving the Foundation Establishment stage under the spotlight is incredibly prestigious, even more so than a grand advancement ceremony. Who else gets ten thousand people watching their Foundation Establishment advancement?

The young nobleman who was the first to advance to the Heavenly Foundation stage didn't bother to consolidate his foundation. He hurriedly appeared before the railing, laughed three times to the sky, and his Dao heart instantly became exceptionally clear. He knew perfectly well that such a glorious moment would probably only come once in his life.

A moment later, two more beams of light rose into the sky, one from the heavens and the other from the earth. The two men laughed loudly, looking up at the sky, but no one paid them any attention.

Wei Yuan stood with Xu Wenwu on a high place and said, "This is a rare opportunity to comprehend the myriad aspects of life. You will gain a deeper understanding of this world if you carefully contemplate it. If you gain any insights, the next step will be to arrange for you to establish your Dao foundation."

Xu Wenwu said in a deep voice, "I'm ready! Let the storm rage on!"

Wei Yuan was shocked and quickly shouted, "Shut up!"

But it was too late; Xu Wenwu, his heart pounding with passion, had already finished speaking.

The die was cast, and Wei Yuan had no choice but to say fiercely to Xu Wenwu, "From now until you have forged your Dao foundation, you are not allowed to utter a single word!"

Xu Wenwu was unaware that his luck would become extremely unstable when he was by Wei Yuan's side. The boast he had just made had already raised his tribulation to a higher level.

(End of this chapter)