The woman who entered the hall had eyes that looked impossibly bright and clear. Looking into her eyes, one almost felt like they could glimpse a world that was full of life, zeal, and passion!

Her eyebrows resembled a pair of swords, and her nose looked like a steep peak. Her lips looked tender enough to squeeze water out of them. The tip of a tongue was barely peeking out the slightly parted corner of her lips.

The woman hadn’t worn any make-up, and her hair was carelessly coiled into a bun and held in place with a single hairpin. Her attire was equally unconventional. Her bottomwear looked both like a pair of pants and a dress; the trouser legs flaring outward like a skirt. Her upperwear consisted of a form-fitting top with short sleeves that barely reached the elbow. It was decidedly unconventional compared to the typical attire of a female cultivator.

The woman walked over to the lectern and sat down gracefully. She then leaned back slightly and propped her chin on her hand. Her sitting posture naturally radiated an air of effortless charm, yet beneath that charm also lay an icy chill as ancient as time itself. She then cast a sidelong glance at the students and declared, “From now on, I am the instructor of the Dao Foundation Theory course. I will be instructing y’all on your cultivation. My name is Ji, Ji Liuli. Remember, my Liuli means ‘displaced’, not the ‘pure lustre of a gemstone’[1].”

A girl plucked up her courage then and stood up, asking, “But the course material clearly states that the instructor is Hsu Henshui. Why the sudden change?”

Ji Liuli replied indifferently, “Forget him. I’ve tossed him out of the entrance gate, and it’ll be a while before he makes it back. Just give it up and attend my class!”

For a time, the students could only exchange speechless looks with each other. The newcomer gave off an incredibly strange presence. On one hand, her smile resembled a whole valley of spring flowers. On the other hand, her stern expression resembled a looming thunderstorm or encroaching tribulation. The students with particularly high perception especially felt as if they were facing a primeval beast, not a human. They instinctively trembled before her presence and could not bring themselves to say a single word.

Wei Yuan had learned poems, poetic essays, and songs from Zhang Sheng. He knew countless words and sentences that were used to describe a beautiful woman. However, none of them seemed to fit Ji Liuli at all. Was she not beautiful then? That wasn’t right either. None of the female cultivators he had encountered since entering the Palace of Absolute Beginning could compare to her.

Seeing that everyone was quiet, Ji Liuli nodded in satisfaction and declared, “If there are no problems, then let us begin our class. Oh right, you may address me as Teacher, Big Senior Sister Liu Li, Two Zhang Five Big Senior Sister, or whatever. Now then, I will explain exactly what a Dao Foundation is.”

What the heck is a Two Zhang Five Big Senior Sister? Everyone was puzzled, but the class was about to begin. They hurriedly sat up straight and brought their full concentration to bear.

The definition of a Dao Foundation had long been established within the cultivation world and refined to perfection over hundreds of thousands of years. Today, it had reached a point where not a single character could be added or removed from the definition. Wei Yuan was just reviewing the definition in his head when Ji Liuli said:

“Simply put, a Dao Foundation is an immortal embryo where you pile all sorts of random shit on top of it until you can’t. Then, you hammer it all into one single entity and call it your Dao Foundation. It is the first stepping stone of your path to immortality, and also the most crucial one. No matter what you accomplish in the future, all of it is built upon this cornerstone. Hence the name ‘Dao Foundation’.”

“As for what the random pile of shit is, I believe you’ve all memorized it. Will someone give me an answer?”

A boy gathered his courage and stood up. He answered clearly, “Foundation, fortune, heavenly timing, earthly qi, prevailing circumstances, accumulation, medicine, and tools.”

“Very good. Knowing what this random pile of shit is just the first step. Knowing how to pair them together is the second step. Two individuals sharing identical conditions will forge vastly different Dao Foundations if the methods they use, or the sequences of their pairings, are different. Therefore, the first step of your path to immortality is truly the most crucial one. Immortal sects and mundane sects; renowned instructors and mediocre teachers—the Dao Foundations they lay for you are completely different from one another. This is why I’ve decided to teach this class. Hmph! It’s his choice to mess up his own Dao Foundation by growing a flower for it, but there is no way I’m allowing him to lead others astray!”

Another girl gathered her courage and rose to her feet. She argued, “Don’t you think that’s an unfair statement, Teacher? I heard that Teacher Hsu is a pretty good fighter.”

Ji Liuli’s response was to lift a long finger and remotely lift the girl into the air. Then, a vine whip appeared out of nowhere and struck her right in the bum!

After the invisible energy restraining her disappeared, the girl floated back down to her seat. However, she jumped as soon as her bum made contact with the chair before gingerly sitting back down. She didn’t dare to put her full weight on her seat, however. That said, not a single wrinkle could be found on her clothes. The lash inflicted neither damage nor injury even though it was obviously painful.

It was only then Ji Liuli replied, “That depends on who his opponent is. You just saw me handling him like a kitten, yet you still asked a foolish question. Your inability to see despite having eyes is why I lashed you!”

This time, it was a thoughtful Wei Yuan who gathered his courage to ask, “There are all sorts of Dao Foundation in the world. Is it really fair to judge them all by how good they are in a fight?”

“How else would you judge them?” Ji Liuli countered before explaining, “As you say, there are all sorts of Dao Foundation. Naturally, distinctions must be made, and the sole criterion for such distinctions is combat prowess. It is best if you are a capable fighter starting from the Dao Foundation stage. If not, then during the Avatar stage. If still not, then during the World Ruler stage. If still not, then what is the use of you, pray tell? An ornament to decorate the immortal mountains? Or are you telling me that you can put up a fight only after you’ve reached the Ultimate Unity stage?

“Frankly, someone who is as soft as cotton when it comes to combat is nothing but a waste of the world’s spirit qi even if they did manage to reach the Ultimate Unity stage!”

Every student looked flabbergasted. Her statement was both astonishing and disrespectful to say the least. These were true immortals they were talking about!

Ji Liuli continued, “Returning to our main topic, do you think you can make it to the Ultimate Unity stage if you’re lousy in combat? No, you will simply die before you even make it to the halfway point of your path to immortality, if not sooner! Therefore, you only need to remember one thing: we are living in an era of fighting. In this era, you fight to live, fight to cultivate, fight to break through to the next stage, fight for everything!”

The woman then looked at Wei Yuan and said, “You’re Wei Yuan, right? I remember you. Everyone else received a boon from the Founder himself, but you received a boon from the Founder’s literal stepping stone.”

Laughter broke out in the Enlightenment Hall, and he couldn’t help but feel a little warm in the face. However, Ji Liuli raised a finger again and lifted most of the boys and girls into the air and gave them all a lash. Only five students in the entire hall didn’t receive a punishment.

“The boon is weird, but it is still a boon. Those who received a proper boon from the Founder are one thing, but you lot didn’t even receive shit. What gives you the right to laugh at him? This lash is to teach y’all some self-awareness.”

Most of the students were gnashing their teeth in pain, but to their credit, they weren’t fussy about it. They knew that the pain was just an illusion, and that they weren’t actually injured. It would pass in a moment or two. Incredibly, not a single student in the class burst into tears.

Wei Yuan found this a little strange, however. Most of his classmates hailed from aristocratic families, and he had encountered a good amount of spoiled brats during the unified exam. He wondered why they were acting so obedient and polite in the Enlightenment Hall.

He failed to figure out an answer before Ji Liuli continued, “There are over one hundred and fifty students in your term, yet only thirty-seven of you are sitting with me. Do you know where the rest of them are? They are receiving private tutoring from their seniors right now because they refused to participate in the centralized learning method. They all belong to the Traditional Party, and you, whether you like this or not, are now part of the Reform Party.

“Three years later, there’ll be a minor exam where you are pitted against the students from the Traditional Party. You will be competing on the same stage to see which side has mastered the teachings better. The Traditional Party has twenty-one students who received the blessings of the Founder, so starting today, my mission is to create the most combat capable Dao Foundations for you, and your mission is to take out your opposition, all twenty-one of them, in three years!”

Everyone here was a competitive soul, and Ji Liuli’s words caused their blood to boil so hot that they forgot even the pain in their backsides. Right then, a boy shot to his feet with gritted teeth and yelled, “Is someone who did not receive the Founder’s boon destined for failure? Surely not!”

Ji Liuli gave him an approving look. “Good question! In truth, receiving the Founder’s boon is like getting a small head start on the long and arduous path to immortality. If we only look at these three years, then I can’t say that catching up to them would be an easy task. But if we look at the long term, it makes little difference whether or not someone received a boon or not. Even within these three years, there are, in fact, numerous example where an ordinary disciple ultimately surpassed someone who received a boon.”

An immortal’s journey was long, and three years was but the flick of a finger. Every student who hadn’t yet received a boon was motivated and filled with fighting spirits after hearing this.

"But don’t think that passing the minor exam is the end of it. Within the Palace stands the Myriad Manifestations Hall in the Palace where every Dao Foundation that has ever manifested is recorded. Once you have forged your Dao Foundation, it too will be recorded within the hall. When the time comes, everyone will know exactly where your Dao Foundation stands among all the others! I shouldn’t need to tell you what that means, right?”

Her words filled some students with ambition, and others with shock. It was basically a grand ranking spanning several thousand years and containing every disciple who had ever studied in the Palace of Absolute Beginning. Their name and placement would be immortalized in the hall forever. If the time came, and it turned out that their Dao Foundation belonged in the bottom half of the ranking...

Ji Liuli wasn’t done yet. “The Myriad Manifestations Hall is merely the beginning, however. A major exam will be held in ten years, and all Dao Foundation—even those who attained great completion in the Body-tempering stage—disciples are expected to participate. This will be your first major exam, so there will be an official ranking system. The next step after the major exam is the Merit Ranking. All cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning are ranked based on their merits. Besides the overall ranking, there is also a separate minor ranking specifically for Dao Foundation cultivators.”

The students exchanged glances with each other. Suddenly, everyone realized that the road ahead was long and full of exams and placements. Some of them looked troubled as a matter of course.

Ji Liuli expected this reaction and let out a cold chuckle. “The Palace of Absolute Beginning is huge, but there are only so many resources to go around. Or should I say, there will never be enough to go around. Who gets more, and who gets less are decided by these rankings! I’m aware that some of you hail from prominent backgrounds, and you probably think that your families would be able to compensate for the resources you failed to obtain in the Palace. In that case, allow me to remind you why your families afforded you those resources in the first place.

“The youngest among you is six years old, and the oldest is nine years old. What if you gained one or more siblings a couple years later, and some of them turned out to be even more talented than you? Would your family still afford you those resources then?”

Some aristocratic children grew paler when they heard this.

“That’s why you should appreciate all of my lessons! If you’re willing to suffer, then I will make a powerful warrior out of you! Doesn’t matter how many rankings there are; I’ll lead you all to crush all of them!”

The students inevitably boiled with passion once more.

After that, Ji Liuli began explaining the various basic knowledge of Body-tempering in detail. Her speech was exceptionally swift yet concise, and Wei Yuan could not help but feel that he was lagging behind in terms of comprehension. He could only memorize every word she said with all his might. Before he knew it, class was over just like that.

Three chimes sounded and signalled the end of the lesson. Then, Ji Liuli said, “Don’t go anywhere, Wei Yuan. You’ll be coming with me to the Council Hall.”

1. She’s saying that her name is 纪流离, not 纪琉璃. As they have the exact same pinyin, she has to clarify this for the students. Also, this carries more meaning than you know, so just keep it in mind for like, IDK 1000 chapters. ☜