First Stage

Jack walked to the class to teach his new students. There were 100, so teaching them all at once was difficult. Still, he didn't have the time to split and teach them separately, so there was no other choice.

Opening the door, he walked in and sat in his seat. Everyone quieted down as soon as he entered, so there was no need to warn them to be quiet. These children were the smartest he found; they knew when to talk and be quiet.

Without any greeting or introduction, Jack started his lessons.

"The air around us is filled with energy; if you absorb this energy, you can gain strength," he said abruptly; he has limited time and cannot start from the basics. He chose smart children for a reason; it's their duty to decipher his words and learn.

Unfortunately, most of them still didn't know how to write. Jack arranged for a few trusted teachers to come and teach them how to write and read, but for now, most cannot make notes. Still, he cannot wait for them to learn; time is precious; if they spend months learning mortal knowledge, that is three months lost from the time they could have cultivated.

"Our bodies are containers. Cultivation is the art of storing energy in the body. There are different techniques. What I teach you is called the Heaven's Way technique, which is the best in the world."

"Heaven's Way… as is obvious from its name, follows natural laws; in general, there are two main roads that cultivators could choose from."

"One is the orthodox path; the Heaven's Way path is an orthodox path."

"The other is the rebellious path, which is the unorthodox path."

"Orthodox path means honestly meditating and progressing; the rebellious path means taking shortcuts."

"Orthodox paths strengthen your energy but slow down your progress; the rebellious path also strengthens your energy but doesn't decrease your speed but increases it. Of course, nothing is without price. Rebellious paths have consequences and are much more dangerous. You are lucky; as talented children, you do not need to use rebellious paths."

Jack was teaching the children what he predicted would happen in the future; as of now, there is not a single other orthodox path in existence, let alone a rebellious path.

"My students, your job is to follow my instructions and cultivate. I will provide you with enough resources to reach the core formation stage. Know your luck and appreciate it."

"Now, I'm going to explain Heaven's Way. Listen carefully. For those who can take notes, as your teacher, I ask that you share your notes with your classmates. Don't be stingy; this is not a competition," Jack said kindly.

"When energy enters your body, it transforms from neutral to one you own; any energy you own is called mana."

"Heaven's Way changes the nature of your mana from aimless to purposeful; your mana becomes sharper and softer at the same time; the key is controlling it, sharpening it when necessary, and softening it when needed."

"The body is like a city; it has walls, roads, and different structures. It needs a water supply, food, and air. Heaven's Way is a manual, a map about how you should circulate your mana in the body."

"To transform its nature, it has to go to different buildings, receive certain nutrients, stored in different places."

"For the first stage of energy gathering, Mana must circulate seven times, rest for five, and store half in the heart and half in the hands and feet; once you do that, your mana will change its nature and turn into Heaven's Way mana."

"Once you manage to form even a bit of Heaven's Way mana, it becomes easier after that. You can use what you already have to help the rest of it change and transform."

"For the second stage, it gets harder. You would need special nutrients; if you were a loose cultivator, you would have to run around to find the necessary materials. But don't worry; I have already prepared everything."

"For now, there is no point in teaching you about the second stage; first, let's break through the First layer of Energy gathering. There is no technique for entering the first layer; as long as you get a bit of energy and transform it into mana, that would count as the first stage."

"Now, close your eyes; let's start!" Jack said.

Nearly all the kids looked at him blankly; only a few smart ones, like Faith, closed their eyes and tried meditating. Jack sighed, seeing nearly none of his students understood what he was talking about.

"Michael!" he called.

Michael came from outside, bowing.

"Teach these children how to enter the first stage of energy gathering; I will teach them when they get more advanced!" He said this and left. His time was precious; he could not sit here and teach them for hours and hours.

Michael bowed as Jack left but was troubled. He is not good at talking.

"Well, children…" He thought hard about what to say next.

"Umm… Energy… You sit down, close your eyes, and concentrate; then, you feel the energy." He scrambled a sentence.

"I smell something!" one of the children trying to meditate shouted in surprise.

"Me too!" another also said this and opened his eyes in excitement.

One of the children nearby looked around uncomfortably as if trying to look inconspicuous and failing.

"Energy doesn't have a smell! It's like water! Yeah, it's like swimming in the water while touching the air, a pressure that you would normally ignore," Mike tried explaining.

"What is swimming?" one of the children asked. They lived in a village in the middle of a rural area, and they barely had water to drink, let alone to swim.

"Forget about swimming. Close your eyes and feel the air. You are talented; you should be able to feel it quickly!" said Michael.

"I'm hungry!" said a 6-year-old girl; they ate breakfast 3 hours ago; it was natural for them to get hungry.

"Everyone, get off your benches and sit like me!" said Mike.

He was usually unable to talk in front of crowds, but he was doing well now; it might be because it was an order from Hero-sama.

He sat in a meditation position.

"Everyone, sit like this!" Mike called again.

The children, who were generally more mature than ordinary children, still obeyed him and sat on the ground; still, very few actually sat like Mike.

"It's a game! Close your eyes, don't talk, don't laugh, anyone who shows any expression, or opens their eyes wouldn't have lunch!" Mike warned.

The children lasted a few minutes before getting tired and laughing. Even though smart, they were still too young.

Then, the energy in the air began to have waves.

"Someone succeeded?" Mike looked with surprise; his eyes landed on a girl with red hair. After a minute, she opened her eyes and said, "I felt it!"

Mike sighed with relief; with one student succeeding, the rest is easy. He called a servant and said, "Bring it."

After a few minutes, the servant brought lots of candy, plates of food, and delicious-looking stuff, all appetizing and having delicious smells.

The children wanted to come and eat but were stopped by Mike.

"You only get it if you also feel the energy like Faith," he said. Faith herself wanted to share it, but Mike stopped her.

After eating a little while, everyone watched with pitiful eyes; Faith lost her appetite and stopped eating.

"Faith, if you can teach another one of your classmates, I'll let you share your food with them!" Mike said. There was far more food than was needed for one person, so even 100 of them would have enough to eat.

Faith smiled brightly and said, "I can do it."

Faith worked hard for hours, and another girl finally reached the first stage.

"Do girls feel the energy quicker?" Mike doubted. Still, it might be luck; after all, a two-person sample size doesn't prove anything.

By this point, everyone was hungry, tired, and frustrated. Still, as handpicked geniuses, despite sitting on the ground for hours and trying to feel something as abstract as the energy in the air, they didn't break down crying or become depressed; most were still sitting with closed eyes despite everything.

When Mike finally allowed them to share Faith's food, everyone rushed; they were already close to their limit.

After eating, Mike sent them away. It was only the first day, but having two people reach the first stage on the first day was already an achievement. Most would take months to reach this step; even geniuses would take weeks.

It can be said that Faith and the other girl were monster geniuses to feel the energy after hours.