Chapter 377: Chapter 370: "Large-Scale 1000-Person Book Club

"What’s with all the fanfare?"

Zuo Xian and Zuo Xi exchanged a glance. Although they had braced themselves, the scene was still a bit more than they had expected.

The group walked toward the entrance of the grand auditorium. A staff member assigned by the university to handle reception checked their IDs and handed them each a book.

"What’s this? The orientation handbook?"

Zuo Xian asked curiously as she took the book, glancing at its cover.

Instinct Theory?

’What the heck is this? Looks pretty boring.’

Zuo Xian was clearly not the studious, well-behaved type; she looked completely uninterested at the mere sight of a book.

"This book is Principal Zhou’s new work. It will become one of the foundational courses at the Martial Arts University in the future."

The staff member explained to the group with a smile.

"Principal Zhou’s new work?"

Hearing this, Zuo Xian’s eyes lit up. Her interest was instantly piqued, and she prepared to tear off the plastic wrap to take a look.

At the mention of Principal Zhou’s name, the others in her group also grew curious. However, the staff member said, "Why don’t you all wait until you’re inside the venue and seated before opening them? There are still many people waiting to enter behind you, and we can’t hold up the line for too long."

"Hold up the line?"

The group looked at him strangely.

’We’re just going to take a peek inside the cover, read the foreword at most. How could that possibly hold anything up?’

Seeing their confused expressions, the staff member gave a polite, but knowing, smile.

’Take one glance, and you might not be able to walk away. It’s already happened a few times.’

Though puzzled, the group decided to go along with it since that’s what they were told. They entered the grand auditorium, books in hand.

The moment they stepped into the grand auditorium, they sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off.

Outside the auditorium, it had been noisy and bustling, but inside, it was eerily quiet.

Except for the camera crew bustling about, adjusting their equipment and setting up the best angles, all the guests and students were sitting in their seats, holding a book, their expressions somber and completely silent.

Some looked thoughtful, some looked shaken, some had looks of internal struggle, and some appeared overjoyed.

’What is going on?’

This made Zuo Xian wonder if she had walked into a massive study hall for a thousand people instead of an opening ceremony.

The others couldn’t help but glance at the books in their hands, their curiosity growing even stronger.

They tiptoed to their assigned seats according to their student numbers. The first thing they did after sitting down was open the book’s cover and begin to read.

The first page of the book wasn’t a foreword or an introduction, but a single sentence—an epigraph that seemed to distill the essence of the entire work:

"With Spirit, command the flesh. With the finite, attain the infinite. Humanity alone is enough to transcend all."

Even as Spirit Guardians, who knew little about the Martial Dao, they felt their spirits stir upon reading this sentence. A strange, tingling sensation, impossible to suppress, coursed through their bodies.

From just one sentence, a simple arrangement of a few words, they could vividly feel the formidable will and spirit of the person who wrote it.

Then, as Spirit Guardians, a sense of defiance rose within them.

’Humanity alone is enough to transcend all...’

’How could anyone dare to make such an arrogant claim?’ They were curious to see what was actually written in this book, to find out if it was just empty, pretentious prose.

And so, like everyone else around them, they silently buried their heads in the book and began to read intently.

The more they read, the more the book seemed to magically grip their attention.

Zhou Yuanjue had published papers on instinct before, but the descriptions had been too general, making them difficult to understand, especially for Spirit Guardians who were born with a special Magnetic Field Ability.

But now, everything was laid out clearly in *Instinct Theory*.

The entire process—from an ordinary person taking their first step into the Martial Dao, to achieving mastery, and then perfection—was all listed out and unified under a single theoretical principle.

Even an ordinary person with no exposure to the Martial Dao could understand the theories and ideas presented in this book and gain some insight from it.

And as Spirit Guardians, they too seemed to have an epiphany after reading it. They were shocked to realize the theory could apparently be applied to the abilities of Spirit Guardians as well.

The reason they could use certain unique abilities and magnetic fields was because their bodily instincts were innately different. In other words, the shackles on them were born with a sort of logical loophole, which was what allowed them to wield special powers...

’In that case, could this theory be used to strengthen their own abilities?’

The group was lost in thought. Meanwhile, the insights gained by others from the Martial Arts Realm were naturally deeper than those of the Spirit Guardians. This was especially true for some of the Peak Martial Arts Families in attendance. The speculation about the brain’s instincts, along with Zhou Yuanjue’s proposed method for suppressing them, plunged them into a state of revelation, sparking countless new ideas.

A path that was once dark and uncertain now seemed to have a glimmer of bright dawn.

To them, this book was no less than the most precious treasure.

At this very moment, on the Donghua Martial Arts University’s official social media account, the live stream from inside the grand auditorium was being flooded with comments. Everyone found the abnormal scene in the auditorium extremely strange:

"I’ve seen it all now! A perfectly good Martial Arts University opening ceremony has been turned into a massive thousand-person book club!"

"LMAO! I’m dying! Did you guys see the dude in the bottom right corner of the screen? He’s built like a giant black bear, but he’s poring over a book like he’s deep in thought. It’s so out of place. They didn’t hand out advanced calculus, did they?"

"Question, what book are they actually reading? I zoomed in on the live stream and can vaguely make out something like ’... Theory’?"

"It’s *Instinct Theory*. Apparently, it’s Principal Zhou’s latest book, and it’s going to be one of the foundational courses at the Martial Arts University. Seems pretty important."

"So curious, what kind of content could get people so captivated? Can some god-tier person there please take a picture of the contents for us to see?"

"Curiosity +10086!"

"..."

The live stream of the opening ceremony instantly made the onlooking netizens extremely curious about the book everyone was holding.

Just then, Zhou Yuanjue, Feng Chuan, Zhang Zhizhen, Zhao Beidou, Ji Yunzhou, and a line of other high-level university officials walked out from backstage and took their seats on the main platform.

Their appearance caused a stir in the live stream chat, but in the auditorium itself, there was absolutely no reaction.

Everyone was still engrossed in the books in their hands.

"Ahem, testing, testing."

It wasn’t until Feng Chuan turned on the microphone and feigned a sound check that the audience finally snapped out of it and looked toward the stage.

Perhaps it was because the shock and contemplation from *Instinct Theory* still occupied most people’s minds, but upon seeing Zhou Yuanjue and so many S Class Martial Arts Families, the crowd didn’t show much excitement. Their eyes even revealed a hint of bewilderment.

As a result, no one really heard much of the opening remarks given by Feng Chuan, the vice-principal and master of ceremonies.

"Next, for the first item on the agenda of the inaugural opening ceremony of Donghua Martial Arts University, let’s welcome the Principal of Donghua Martial Arts University, Mr. Zhou Yuanjue, to give a speech!"

Only when Feng Chuan said this, and Zhou Yuanjue took the microphone and slowly stood up, did the audience finally come to their senses.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!!

In an instant, thunderous applause erupted from the audience. All eyes were fixed on Zhou Yuanjue, filled with anticipation.