The topmost point of the Steel Searing Heaven Peak was a flattened arena of about five thousand square meters.
The four hundred-something new disciples of the Crimson Snow Sect were all standing here, divided into forty circles. Across the border of the circular area, more than a dozen senior disciples were staring at them with a somewhat hungry gaze.
Elder Long, the mountain master, was striding through the gaps between these circles, his face clouded in fury. This was their first lesson in martial cultivation under the sect. Naturally, he wanted to leave a deep impression on their young hearts.
"Almost all of you reached my class half an hour late. What excuse do you have for yourselves?"
"Elder, the first lecture ended almost at the same time yours is supposed to begin!"
"How could we cross the distance between these two mountain peaks with mere minutes in our hand?"
"The routine has to be readjusted!"
"Silence!"
With a spirited roar, Elder Long snuffed out the protesting voices in the crowd.
"The lecture routine is just fine as it is. That's how it has always been since the birth of this sect. The intent behind it should be clear to anyone with a working brain.
"We want you to reach the classes in time, regardless of the distance and the short timeframe for the journey. If any of you have a working brain, shout it out loud for the idiots around you!"
Several disciples responded to his call, eager to stand out.
"The sect wants us to work hard on our physical capabilities!"
"With a strong physique, the journey can be made in time."
"This is an indirect pressure to cultivate techniques that increase speed and stamina!"
Elder Long nodded in satisfaction.
"You've pretty much guessed it! This routine is an incentive for you to focus on your martial cultivation. You've seen how the sect master travelled down from his mountain peak during the assembly. If you attain even a tenth of his abilities, this routine will feel just natural!"
Many eyes in the crowd brightened at the explanation. Finally! It made sense!
Of course, the fact remained that such abilities couldn't be cultivated overnight. Most of them would be missing half of the lectures every day for quite a while.
Instead of addressing the issue, Elder Long began to introduce the martial cultivation path in detail. If it was intentional, it definitely meant that he didn't care about those stragglers.
"Martial Cultivation is a difficult path. But it is impartial to all practitioners. Talent and affinities don't matter as much as pure hard work. That is why I find it to be the fairest road to finding the dao. Unfortunately, our Crimson Snow Sect's accomplishments, resources, and investment on this path cannot be considered the best in the continent."
He gave the disciples a spike of enthusiastic hope, and then he dashed that hope with his own hands.
Han Xuhan, sandwiched between Xiao Wu and Xuanyuan Zhou, had been somewhat distracted up until now, thinking about the latest quest his system had issued centered around his new friend.
As the Elder's discouragement registered in his mind, even he had to stop thinking about the quest. The lecture seemed to be heading in a rather intriguing direction.
"The gist of the matter is, investing a large quantity of resources in nurturing the disciples' martial cultivation almost always produces the same result. From a group of four to five hundred disciples, less than half a dozen gain considerable success in this path.
"The rest, the vast majority, cannot reach the standard a sect like ours demands. The overall quality of the batch takes a nosedive, causing us to lose face in various competitions and friendly visits between sects."
"Of course, this doesn't mean that these remaining disciples won't have any success in pursuing martial cultivation. They're still leagues above the standard of an average sect's disciples.
"And as long as they put in the work, they can eventually reach the same level as the outstanding few. Some will need a little more time, some will need a bit more resources, some will progress with better guidance.
"Poor aptitude or lacking talent cannot hold back their progress as much as these do in the other two paths, although heavy investments of resources can boost their speed."
Pausing to let the indirect encouragement sink in, Elder Long sighed.
"But our sect master is a practical man who chases after quick and effective results in every aspect. Hence, he has forced our mountain peak to cut down the original cultivation scheme by a great margin. Since he took over the sect, we've been teaching the new generations based on a very small, hyper-focused curriculum—Weapon Arts."
The breathing of the entire crowd quickened abruptly at the last two words. Noticing their excitement despite the volley of lamentations, Elder Long couldn't help but smile.
"Each of you will be provided a basic weapon from the sect's Weaponry, based on our judgment of what suits you. Your personal inclinations do not matter much during the classes.
"We, the Elders of this mountain, have only one goal; that is to bring a warrior out of you, a martial expert who can defend and defeat, attack and kill, meet the heavenly tribulation of flesh refinement head-on and live. Our goal is to produce the best possible martial cultivators in each weapon's domain, reducing the waste of resources on mediocre results."
Elder Long's excited roar boiled the blood in many youthful hearts. Hundreds of fists in the crowd were clenched and sweating, hundreds of eyes were shining brightly, and the eagerness in their countenances could not possibly be more pleasing to a teacher.
Elder Long nodded to himself. This was the perfect time to drop the bomb.
"This is why, to gain the most optimal outcome, we will have to reduce the number of disciples attending my classes. Those who show their potential and sincerity will be heavily favored, both in terms of resources and guidance, while those whose weapon arts progress do not satisfy me...
"They can just practice the moves in their backyards every day. It won't matter much in the long run. This way, our sect master will be satisfied with the cream of the crop, and not feel a heartache over the performance of the rest."
The excitement created by his earlier words was so great that the threat of being expelled from his classes for poor performance only stoked the fire of competition.
The entire outer court assembly had one thought in mind: 'I have to show my sincerity! I have to work harder than everyone else!'
Satisfied with the effect of his lecture, Elder Long moved on to the next phase.
"Now, some basics have to be mastered before you can effectively move with your weapons. Stances, exercises, and movement techniques are inseparable from martial cultivation. So that's where we'll be starting from. Let's see how many of you know how to stand properly!"
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the senior disciples who had been silently waiting nearby rushed into their encirclements like tigers leaping among a herd of prey.
"You! Why are you slouching?"
"This guy won't straighten his neck!"
"Why the hell are your legs spread so wide? You got a pair of big balls? Or is something up in your butt?"
"Hands! Why are your hands covering your crotch? Nobody's gonna stare at it, kid! Keep them on your sides, straight and loose!"
"Who told you to puff out your chest? Want to be punched there?"
"But I'm a girl!"
"That doesn't get you a pass! Tuck that chest in!"
Witnessing their enthusiastic abuse, to which the Elder turned a blind eye, a shiver ran down Han Xuhan's spine. This was authority-endorsed bullying!
No wonder these guys looked so hungry since the lecture had begun! They were just eager to inflict generational training trauma.