Chapter 249: Chapter 206 Thunder Cloud
The curriculum for the new academic year was somewhat different; the initial courses were all taught by the Master, and their content had shifted to Dao Path planning.
According to the curriculum, students in the third year of Zaiqian were expected to gradually reach the Mid Stage of the Body Concealing Realm within the year. Thereafter, they would determine their own power system, choosing one or two disciplines—Talismans, Magic, Sword, Mind, or Body—to cultivate for life.
However, this did not mean that students from different Dao Paths would no longer attend classes together. Aside from regular courses such as national history, Yu Law, Natural Science, and Hundred Beasts Studies, they also had to periodically attend classes for other Dao Paths.
This was primarily to ensure that Academic Palace Disciples were aware of the abilities practitioners of other Dao Paths possessed at various stages, so that when they ventured into the Jianghu, they could know both their capabilities and those of their rivals.
The Master in the Academic Palace was akin to the head of a university department. The various Masters were all quite dedicated to attracting more disciples.
The first lecture was taught by the Academic Palace’s Sacrificial Officer, Chen Danqiu. He had instructed all students to put on raincoats, bring umbrellas, and gather in the square beforehand.
"What is the Sacrificial Officer trying to do?" Li Wei wondered. "Is he going to pray for rain?"
"It’s clear you don’t listen carefully in class," Yang Yu said, curling his lip. "Praying for Rain is the work of a Divine Talisman Master at the Candle Cloud Realm. It requires the right timing and location: there must be rain clouds high in the sky, on the verge of releasing rain but not yet doing so. Only then can the Rain Praying Talisman take effect, summoning a torrential downpour capable of covering an entire county."
"An entire county..." Li Wei was slightly awestruck. "That large?"
"Otherwise? Places needing a Rain Praying Talisman are those suffering from large-scale, severe droughts. If it doesn’t rain, crops will fail, and the common people will starve. That’s why the status of a Divine Talisman Master is so esteemed."
Yang Yu raised a finger and wagged it, sighing, "If I had any talent for it, I’d truly want to cultivate Talismanic Study. Even if I didn’t reach the Candle Cloud Realm, even if I only reached the Cloud Patrol Realm or just the Rain Listening Realm, I could make a fortune just by writing talismans every day while lying down."
CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.
The sound of footsteps drew nearer. Chen Danqiu, the Sacrificial Officer of the Academic Palace, clad in his light-colored everyday robes, approached. The students, who had been whispering among themselves, immediately fell silent.
Chen Danqiu gave an almost imperceptible nod and said calmly, "Within the Academic Palace, among both teachers and disciples, those who practice Magic are the most numerous, followed by Talismanic Study and Sword Study. The fewest study Body Refinement and Mind Study. The reason for this is not that Magic is superior to other Dao Paths, but that the talent threshold for Magic is the lowest. Even the least talented Cultivator, if they exert enough effort, can still cast the most basic Flying Arrow Technique and Expelling Technique."
Chen Danqiu paused for a moment, then continued slowly, "However, a low threshold doesn’t mean a low ceiling. The Dao of Magic is vast, with countless techniques; easy to learn, but difficult to master. A Magic Master who truly cultivates to the extreme can achieve... this."
He gently raised his right hand, palm facing the sky.
WHOOSH—
A mysterious breeze suddenly swept through the square. Within seconds, it intensified from a mild gust into a howling wind. Waves churned on the distant Chuiyun Lake. Rows of ornamental trees along the shore quivered, their branches and leaves rustling loudly. Dust, fallen leaves, and weeds were swept up from the lawns by the fierce wind, forcing the assembled students to squint and brace themselves.
As the wind raged, cumulonimbus clouds in the sky began to converge over the square. The clouds layered atop one another, their color darkening visibly by the second. Rumbles began to emanate from within the cloud cover.
Chen Danqiu’s expression remained calm and composed. He levitated, his right hand continuously forming different Magic Formulas. Finally, his index and middle fingers formed a sword-finger gesture, which he slashed downwards sharply.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning struck down, landing just over a hundred meters in front of the students. A torrential downpour erupted, and winds howled. Countless thunderbolts encircled the students, striking one after another as if a god had torn open a rift in the mortal realm.
In the midst of the storm, the students dared not move. Some covered their ears, trembling, too terrified to look at the lightning and downpour so close at hand. Others, however, gazed upwards, utterly fascinated, tilting their faces into the rain to watch the Sacrificial Officer in the sky.
Wielding thunder—such was the power of the Candle Cloud Realm.
An unknown amount of time passed before the celestial upheaval finally ceased. The clouds, now much thinner, gradually dispersed, revealing the brilliant sunlight behind them. The Sacrificial Officer slowly descended, his everyday robes showing no sign of being wet.
"Candle Cloud Realm, Thunder Cloud Skill," Chen Danqiu said calmly. "Those who wish to learn Magic can apply once they reach the Mid Stage of the Body Concealing Realm."
With that, he turned and departed with a flourish, leaving behind a group of students as subdued as frightened chicks, a pockmarked ground, and patches of grass scorched black by lightning.
Once the Sacrificial Officer was a good distance away, the students began to whisper among themselves.
Li Wei surveyed the chaotic scene, marveling, "To control thunder... Tsk, to those borderland barbarians, Cultivators at the Candle Cloud Realm must seem no different from deities."
"Some barbarian tribes already worship Cultivators as gods or divine envoys," Yang Yu corrected. He shook the rainwater from his body, removed his straw coat, and murmured, "The Thunder Cloud Skill... If those lightning bolts had struck someone just now, even a Martial Arts Grandmaster probably couldn’t have withstood it, right?"
"Martial Arts Grandmasters aren’t fools. They wouldn’t just stand in a thundercloud waiting to be struck," Li Wei, as a student destined for Body Refinement, retorted. "Besides, the Thunder Cloud Skill requires suitable weather conditions and a period of guidance using Magic Formulas. If it were a real battle between Candle Cloud Realm Cultivators, a flashy Magic like the Thunder Cloud Skill would give a Martial Arts Grandmaster an opening to rush in and eliminate the Magic Master in a single move."
Yang Yu snorted. "Not so fast! Do you think a Candle Cloud Realm Magic Master is an idiot? Knowing they’d face a Martial Arts Grandmaster, they’d surely prepare. They’d use techniques like the Frozen Mist Technique and the Fire-binding Skill to create a series of barriers, preventing you from getting close. They’d definitely have the Thunder Cloud ready by the time the Martial Arts Grandmaster reached them."
Li Wei scoffed, "Definite knockout! A Martial Arts Grandmaster could use Turtle Breath to hide their presence underground. They’d wait for you to walk overhead, then burst out and kill you with a single punch."
"Not so fast!"
"Definite knockout!"
The two argued like elementary school children. Li Ang tuned out their bickering. A Martial Arts Grandmaster hiding underground, waiting for an enemy to pass by on the road? What’s that supposed to be, a poison bomb or a landmine? Should they also engrave ’THIS SIDE TOWARD ENEMY’ on their helmet?
He was interested in something else.
The lightning Chen Danqiu summoned... it must have been naturally generated, right? Perhaps I could use a silk handkerchief to make a kite, attach a metal rod to it, and another metal rod to the other end of the string... a kite experiment to draw lightning. Hmm, when I get back, I should look through past issues of the Academic Palace’s Natural Science journals to see if anyone has tried this before. Lightning rods, Faraday Cages, and such could also be put on the agenda.