togophonebook Chapter 14 Qingyun Academy
Chapter 14 Qingyun Academy
The next morning, Zhou Bo was summoned to the quiet room by Shen Qing.
"Uncle Zhou, go down the mountain today and sell this Qi Gathering Pill at the pharmacy in the city."
Zhou Bo took the porcelain bottle, somewhat puzzled: "Sect Master, the Qi Gathering Pills are for the disciples, what's the point of selling them?"
"Make clothes for the disciples."
Shen Qing took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, on which were drawn the designs of three robes.
The inner disciples wore blue robes, simple and neat in style, with narrow cuffs for easy movement, and a blue cloud pattern embroidered on the left chest.
The outer disciples wore gray robes, all of the same style, with gray cloud patterns. His own robe was a white sect leader's robe with silver-white cloud patterns, but he also wore a blue belt.
"The fabric should be sturdy and durable, not necessarily luxurious. Each disciple should receive two sets, with the tailor taking their measurements. The remaining money should be used to buy fabric and transported back to the mountain."
Uncle Zhou stared at the drawing on the paper for a long time, stunned.
He had been in the Qingyun Sect for decades and had never seen anything like it.
Throughout history, no sect leader has ever made uniforms for his disciples.
According to the former sect leader, Qingyun Sect disciples have always worn their own clothes, and Shen Qing's actions are the first of their kind.
"Sect Master, this..."
"Just do as instructed."
Uncle Zhou asked no more questions, put away the porcelain bottle and the blueprints, and went down the mountain.
That afternoon, Uncle Zhou returned to the mountain with two tailors and a cart full of fabric.
Five days later, all the disciples' new clothes were finished.
The day the clothes were distributed, the entire Qingyun Sect celebrated like it was a festival.
The inner disciples changed into new blue robes, while the outer disciples changed into new gray robes.
The same style, the same cloud pattern, but wearing it changes even the overall feel.
Wang Ergou, dressed in blue, stood on the training ground, chest out and head held high, his smile impossible to hide.
"I've never worn new clothes in my entire life!" Touching the blue cloud pattern on the cuff, Wang Ergou's eyes reddened.
Su Xiaomei was dressed in a blue dress, her hair was tied up with a blue rope, and she looked energetic from the inside out.
She looked at her reflection in the water tank again and again, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.
The outer disciples wore gray robes. Although the color was not as vibrant as the blue ones, the new fabric and well-fitting cut made them a world apart from their previous tattered clothes.
Some people secretly wiped away tears, while others repeatedly touched the cloud patterns on their sleeves, muttering the three words "Qingyun Sect".
Shen Qing, dressed in a white sect leader's robe, stood at the very front.
The silvery-white cloud patterns shimmered slightly in the sunlight, and the cyan belt accentuated his tall and slender figure.
The white hair at his temples no longer made him look old, but instead added a touch of composure.
"This outfit represents the face of the Qingyun Sect."
With the blessing of spiritual power, Shen Qing's voice echoed throughout the training ground, "Wearing this, you will no longer be peasants from the north of the city, no longer laborers on the docks, no longer beggars on the streets. You are disciples of the Qingyun Sect. Wherever you go, you represent the Qingyun Sect."
"Remember how you felt today."
The disciples responded in unison, "We will obey the Patriarch's teachings!"
The sound caused dust to fall from the mountain gate.
On the system panel, the loyalty levels of all disciples jumped up simultaneously.
Outer disciples saw an average increase of 5 points, while inner disciples saw an average increase of 8 points.
Huang An's loyalty level jumped to 58, and Huang Ning's jumped to 59.
Just a little bit more.
The day after distributing the clothes, Shen Qing issued a new sect mission.
The task has only one objective: to build an academy outside the Qingyun Sect.
When the news came out, everyone was stunned.
An academy? An academy built on Qingyun Mountain?
Under the eager gazes of the crowd, Zhao Shitou, the eldest disciple, stepped forward and said, "Sect Leader, why build an academy? Don't we already have a lecture hall?"
Standing on the training ground, Shen Qing pointed to an open space on the west side of the mountain gate and said, "The lecture hall is the lecture hall, and the academy is the academy. The lecture hall in the gate can only accommodate thirty or forty people, not three hundred."
"The academy of the future will have lecture halls, a library, a training ground, and dormitories. In the future, my Qingyun Sect Academy will teach classics, history, philosophy, military strategy, and the various arts of immortal cultivation."
Shen Qing looked at the disciple in front of him who was listening intently.
"Do you think the Qingyun Sect will always only have these few dozen disciples?"
No one answered, but everyone's eyes lit up.
"The day the academy is completed will be the day when Qingyun Sect opens its gates wide and accepts disciples. At that time, you will be the senior brothers and sisters, the first batch of students in the academy, and role models for the future junior brothers and sisters."
"The academy is not being built for my sake. It is for your own."
As Shen Qing's loyal lackey, Wang Ergou was the first to step forward: "Sect Master, I'll do it!"
"Sect Master, I know how to lay the foundation!"
"Me too!"
With someone taking the lead, the crowd immediately became excited, but Shen Qing raised his hand to calm them down.
"Repairing the academy counts as a sect task, and completing it will earn you Immortal Affinity Points. The top three disciples who contribute the most and perform best each day will receive additional Immortal Affinity Points. On the day the academy is completed, all disciples who participated in the construction will be ranked according to their contribution, and the top ten will receive a Qi Gathering Pill."
These words ignited everyone's passion.
Qi Gathering Pill! Another Qi Gathering Pill!
Construction began that afternoon.
Qingyun Mountain is not short of timber and stone. The forest behind the mountain is full of pine trees that are as thick as a person's embrace. The quarry on the mountainside was carved out a hundred years ago when Qingyun Sect was at its peak, and the stone is piled up like a mountain.
Shen Qing led his disciples up the mountain to cut timber and quarry stone, while Zhou Bo was responsible for drawing lines, setting foundations, and guiding the construction.
All Shen Qing gave up was his Immortal Fate Points.
For him, the Celestial Affinity Points cost almost nothing.
All he needed to do was record each person's working hours and workload, then convert them into numbers and post them at the entrance of the dining hall.
The disciples saw the numbers following their names increasing every day, and their enthusiasm grew stronger with each passing day.
Two weeks later, the outline of the academy began to take shape.
The foundation of the lecture hall has been laid, and the bluestone base is three feet above the ground.
The timber for the library was piled up to one side; it was all pine wood, as thick as a person's embrace, and it had been planed smooth and flat.
A large open space, about twenty zhang square, was cleared out of the training ground. The ground was compacted with yellow soil and lime, making it hard and flat to walk on.
The craftsmen that Uncle Zhou invited from the foot of the mountain originally thought they had taken on an ordinary job.
Once they got up the mountain, they discovered that the main workforce, apart from Wang Ergou and his group of laborers, consisted entirely of teenagers.
These young men, dressed in tattered clothes, worked with an almost reckless intensity.
Some were felling trees, some were transporting stones, and some were ramming earth; the division of labor was clear and orderly.
"Old Zhou, your disciples are truly remarkable."
An old carpenter, pipe in mouth, clicked his tongue in amazement, "I've been working for thirty years and I've never seen such a hardworking kid."
Uncle Zhou smiled but didn't say anything. He simply turned his gaze to Shen Qing, who was standing by the foundation in the distance.
The white-robed sect leader stood with his hands behind his back, watching his busy disciples with a faint smile on his face.
He entered Qingyun more than ten years before Shen Qing, and had seen the carefree attitude of Fushan Daoren and the sharpness of Mo Wentian.
Even Shen Qing, who had just entered Qingyun and whose behavior was quite eccentric, gradually changed under the guidance of the Taoist priest Fushan, or rather, they got used to Shen Qing's eccentricity.
But now, Uncle Zhou felt that Shen Qing's strange behavior had returned.
He didn't intend to say or do anything, because he thought Qingyun was good as he was.
In just half a month, the academy's progress was nearly twice as fast as expected.
Zhou Bo estimated that the main project would be completed in about half a month.
During this time, Shen Qing's cultivation level also steadily improved.
[Current number of bound disciples: 33]
[Total spiritual energy available for extraction today: 10 strands]
[Host's current cultivation level: Peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining]
After entering the ninth rank, Shen Qing finally reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining after more than a month.
Zhong Xiu still contributed the majority of the spiritual energy, and Shen Qing's cultivation speed is now six times faster than before.