“What is the Dao Web?” Mu Yanxin asked as he sat cross-legged on the bed, meditating to digest the spiritual energy from the food he had just eaten. This was another new term he had never heard before.
“It is a super network constructed by the Great Gods of the Heavenly Court using supreme Divine Abilities.”
“You can enter it simply through the Terminal Ring to look up information, study Cultivation Methods, communicate with other fellow Daoists, and so on.”
As the Terminal Ring spoke, it emitted a projected light once more, displaying screens in front of Mu Yanxin.
When he first heard of such a miraculous network, Mu Yanxin was completely skeptical.
To cultivators, Cultivation Methods and experience were incredibly precious; they were only taught to disciples, and some were even passed down solely through word of mouth.
If a disciple of a Sect lacked sufficient status, they were not permitted to access or study higher-level core Cultivation Methods.
Sometimes, Forbidden Wards were even placed inside a disciple’s mind to prevent enemies from searching their souls and causing a leak of the techniques.
Various Classics, experiences, and knowledge could all be sold for money, or were only revealed during exchanges between cultivators of the same level.
How could such precious information be placed on something like the Dao Web for anyone to view?
But when Mu Yanxin saw the screens projected by the Terminal Ring, he was stunned. The one in the front was a detailed map labeled Kingdom of Qingxu.
Then, the map quickly zoomed in to show a region called Rain Prefecture, then further into a smaller map of Yuzhen City, and finally the 3D map of the Great City he had seen earlier.
On the second screen were explanations for the series of terms Mu Yanxin had asked about earlier, such as Steel Ship, factory, Program, Drone, and so on, even including an explanation of the Dao Web.
According to what was stated there, the functions and utility of the Dao Web were even more powerful and diverse than what the Terminal Ring had described.
It was an all-encompassing Great Law established by the Heavenly Emperor so that all living beings could embark on the Cultivation Path.
The third screen contained content related to the local customs and conditions Mu Yanxin had asked about.
However, there was too much varied information for him to process at once, so it seemed less important to him than the previous two panels.
The fourth screen was a news portal with lines of information such as “Extraterrestrial War Status,” “Qingyue Immortal Kingdom Convenes New Cultivator Assembly,” “New Spatial Rift Discovered on Giant Fortress Star,” “Rain Prefecture Gaokao Results Ranking,” and so on.
“Master, whatever you wish to know, you can search for information directly on the Dao Web. You only need to enter keywords here or speak them aloud,” the Terminal Ring said.
Mu Yanxin impatiently looked at the information regarding the Sect Entrance Exam and the High Sect. The results shocked him beyond measure.
The so-called High Sect seemed like the branches of a sect from his previous life, but also somewhat like a private school or an academy.
In this world, below the Sects, they were divided into Primary Sects, Chu Sect, High Sects, and Great Sects, followed finally by the Sect itself.
A Sect would select outstanding disciples from its subordinate Great Sects to join its ranks, but Great Sect disciples who attained Graduation were not necessarily required to join their original Sect.
This involved a new concept: Graduation. This was a term Mu Yanxin had never heard in his previous life.
In these branches, teachers only taught fixed Cultivation Methods and knowledge, establishing fixed periods known as semesters.
Once the semester ended, regardless of how well they learned, the disciples would leave these branches. This was Graduation.
Among them, Primary Sect lasted six years and Chu Sect lasted three. All people in Canglan Country were required to enroll in these two stages, which was known as Obligatory Cultivation.
Three years of High Sect and four years of Great Sect were not mandatory; one had to pass exams to enter.
The Sect Entrance Exam was the assessment from Chu Sect to High Sect. It was a standardized and fair competitive exam for all Chu Sect disciples across the country. Only the best among them could enter a High Sect.
After graduating from High Sect, there was the Gaokao. Only those with outstanding grades could attend a Great Sect. Only after graduating from a Great Sect would there be an opportunity to officially join a Sect.
Failing even a single step meant one could only become an Itinerant Cultivator. It was a truly ruthless system of elimination.
Primary Sects only taught the most Basic Cultivation Methods and common knowledge of cultivation to build a foundation for the disciples.
It was not until Chu Sect that they officially entered the realm of cultivation and were guided on how to practice.
Mu Yanxin also discovered something that surprised him: in this world, there was another stage before the Qi Refining stage, called the Body Refinement Stage, which was divided into two realms: Postnatal Stage and Innate Stage.
Mu Yanxin looked closely and saw that it was actually martial arts Cultivation Methods. As expected, in this world, Mortals without a Spiritual Root entered the Dao through martial arts. No wonder the Original Host’s physical aptitude was so strong.
Primary Sects taught the Postnatal Stage Body Refinement realm, while Chu Sect taught the Innate Stage Body Refinement realm. At this point, the Basic Cultivation Methods learned by all disciples were similar—a compulsory course experienced by the entire populace.
But it was different at the High Sect level. High Sects began teaching the Qi Refining stage. From here, based on the different Sects they belonged to, disciples were taught Cultivation Methods from various factions.
Buddhist, Daoist, Demonic, Confucian, Military, Miscellaneous, Mohist—many different factions had completely different cultivation directions.
Therefore, before the Sect Entrance Exam, disciples needed to apply for the High Sects they wanted to attend based on their aptitude and wishes, listing up to three back-up choices in order of preference.
High Sects were also divided into three levels. The highest was the Heaven-grade High Sect, the ultimate goal for countless disciples.
These were generally established by top-tier Sects, with teachers at the Nascent Soul or even Spirit Transformation stages teaching Sect secret manuals and providing various resources.
This was equivalent to the treatment of a True Disciple in Mu Yanxin’s previous life.
Next was the Earth-grade High Sect. It seemed the Spiritual Moon Sect was also of this rank and was an excellent choice.
Although it lacked the treatment and resources of a Heaven-grade High Sect, it was established by a first-rate Sect and also featured good teachers and cultivation assistance.
The treatment was similar to that of an Inner Disciple.
Finally, there was the Human Grade High Sect. Human Grade High Sects were the most numerous, and their quality was inconsistent.
They ranged from those established by second-rate Sects to those of unknown tiny sects and factions.
Their teaching levels varied wildly; the strong ones could approach the level of an Earth-grade High Sect, while at the weaker ones, not a single person in the entire High Sect could pass the exam for a Great Sect.
At the Great Sect level, teaching was further refined based on the original direction of cultivation.
This included traditional disciplines like Weapon Refining, Pill Refining, Formation Array, Talisman Craft, and Sword Cultivation, as well as emerging fields such as Music Path, Culinary Arts, Program, and Medical Arts. The Great Sects called these majors.
Great Sects corresponded to Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. After Graduation from a Great Sect, one could join a Sect.
Generally, one would choose to join the Sect that established the Great Sect, though one could also choose to become a free and easy Itinerant Cultivator.
Mu Yanxin quickly realized the benefits brought by this training system.
With universal cultivation, geniuses in any direction would not be overlooked, and they could choose the Sect that suited them based on their strengths.
Sects no longer needed to worry about where to find talented disciples.
At that moment, Mu Yanxin casually looked up the Spiritual Moon Sect he was about to attend and suddenly cried out in shock, “What the hell? Spiritual Moon Sect only accepts women?!”