Ying Yue reached the prayer grounds with Zhangsun Shan and saw thousands of disciples standing there and had joined their both hands together. Zhangsun Shan gestured to Ying Yue to stand at one of the rows. Ying Yue did so and joined her hands together for the prayer. She looked ahead and saw a man who was standing on the podium. He was wearing white robes and had long black hair.
"Miss, close your eyes," said a disciple who was standing beside her on the row beside hers. She looked at him and asked, "What if I will not close them?" The disciple was Wenren Yu who slightly opened his eyes and replied, "You will not be able to concentrate then." He then closed his eyes. Before Ying Yue could say anything to him she heard the voice of the person who was at the podium.
"A new disciple has entered the great Taiyi academy. Disciple, you should close your eyes. I know you must be thinking why you should close your eyes and join the hands together?" said the person in white robes.Ying Yue was surprised after she heard him because she was at least a hundred meters away from the person. Not only that, he had his eyes closed at that moment which would render a normal human being unable to see anything.
"Miss, close your eyes," Wenren Yu repeated. Yin Yue hummed and immediately closed her eyes. "This place is full of surprises. I have done the right thing coming here," thought Yue when she heard that person voice again.
"I am Yong Shen, a master of inner sense cultivation. There are various ways through which a person can cultivate and this is a part of that. Knowing yourself truly is the biggest mystery in this world. 'Praying and meditation' are the simplest way to know about you, that is why this praying class is there. I think the new disciple has received half of her answers . For today we will mediate for an hour," Master Shen announced.
"What? One hour meditation, that too standing at one place? I will die at this rate," Ying Yue said to herself when she felt a light hit on her shoulder from a stick whose front part was flat. A loud shout escaped her mouth as she opened her eyes. She found a person in a green dress who was holding that long flat stick in his hand.
"How dare you hit me?" shouted Ying Yue at him when she found all the disciples still had closed their eyes as if nothing was happening there. She looked at Wenren Yu who had shut his eyes. "Miss Yue, this is the class of prayer and meditation. A slight body movement and you will get a hit," asserted Yong Shen. Ying Yue was caressing her shoulder and was utterly confused to see Master Shen in front of her. Because a moment ago Master Shen was on the podium.
"How did you get here, Master Shen?" Ying Yue asked, confused. "You were there a few seconds ago and now you are right in front of me," mumbled Ying Yue. Yong Shen smiled and replied, "You will soon learn about this, Miss Yue. Please close your eyes and do not move at all if you do not want to get another hit." Ying Yue nodded when she heard another student get a hit. She was scared by this teaching practice,
"But do you not think it is harsh to teach disciples like this, Master Shen?" She asked curiously.
"If you will not get this hit then you will never concentrate on yourself," answered Master Shen.
"But that is learning with no enjoyment but with a threat," opined Ying Yue.
Yong Shen smiled hearing the reason. "It is no threat. It is to train your body to not move at all even in the harshest condition of the environment. You can see that hardly any disciple are showing any kinds of movement." Ying Yue looked around then ahead and saw Yong Shen was correct. "They have learned the first step towards the inner sense cultivation. Some of the disciples are immune to our conversations here," said Yong Shen further.
"What? How?" Ying Yue questioned.
"They have controlled their minds. They go into a deep meditation where they only hear only one voice that is the voice of their own," asserted Master Shen.
"So, this one-hour session is to know your inner self?" Ying Yue asked with a raised brow. Yong Shen nodded. "There are two classes for this. One is in the early morning when the sun rises," he further added.
"Now, I have answered other half of your questions so you must implement this," stated Master Shen. Ying Yue nodded. She joined her hands together, closed her eyes, and started meditating. For the first five minutes, she was doing great but then she lost control over her mind. "This cold wave will make me sick. Why do they have to choose their prayer ground on this hill? Wait, why is their academy at such a height? It would be good if it would be in the plains. How is it possible that some of the disciples here were not able to hear our conversations? Ahh, my right leg is numb. If I moved from my place then that man will hit me again. I do not want to get a blow again." Such thoughts were running wild in Yue's mind.
"Just thirty minutes more and then this torture will end. I need to get inside my room then I might get saved from this torture. No, I should have asked more questions from Master Shen that way I could have stalled him long enough to move at my place. Should I get another hit and so that the master will come here? It is a great idea. Let's try this," thought Ying Yue when she heard Master Shen's voice.
"The class ends today. You can open your eyes," announced Yong Shen.
Ying Yue immediately opened her eyes and smiled. "Finally the class is over," she murmured when she got a hit at her same shoulder again.
"Hey, why are you hitting me? Do you want me to die?" Ying Yue shouted at the man. But his expressions were neutral when she turned to look ahead. She found only a small proportion of disciples had opened their eyes and they got a hit from the wooden stick.
"Your body must get used to this one hour time," Master Shen announced from the podium.
"Then how the heck who are meditating and are lost in their own selves will be able to come out of that meditation?" Ying Yue asked in annoyance and then sat on the ground. "I do not want to know myself," she then murmured. The man who hit her just a moment ago told her that she should not give up on things easily. Ying Yue looked at him and realized indeed she earlier gave up on herself and recklessly jumped from that building. She got up from the ground and reoriented herself in the same position as before.
An hour later when class was over she found that all disciples come out of the meditation slowly. "Were they actually meditating or just acting?" murmured Ying Yue when Wenren Yu spoke, "as Master Shen said earlier- their bodies are used to it and they know when the one hour ends. You should not complain about the teachings as they will shape you into someone good."
"What? You do not need to lecture me and why are you talking with me so casually?" Ying Yue questioned him. They stepped down the stairs when she was hit by someone at her shoulder which made her lose balance but luckily the girl head caught her. She looked at the person who hit her and found that it was none other than her roommate Sui Wenyen who sheepishly smiled before apologizing to her.
Ying Yue turned her face away and then walked away from there. She came to her room and quickly lay down on her bed.