The crowd of disciples were in an uproar.
How could they simply accept this turn of events?
Are they all going to die?
What is the sect going to do about this?
Where can we run too?
Where are these 'Golden stars'?
"Enough"
The man stopped them before it developed into a larger problem.
If any of them truly wanted to know the answers for the questions they seek, then he already knew where to find them.
"Brother and sister disciples Joan, Jacob, and Aakriti will be in charge of guiding you this year, direct your questions at them" the man did not wait, directly leaving the stage.
The three to his side took charge.
"Listen up, I Jacob will be in charge of guidance for those above the 12th layer of Qi gathering, within 2 years I will teach you both my and others experiences on breaking through to foundation establishment, all of you above the 12th layer follow me"
After a moment of pause a part of the crowd started to split away to follow him, most seemed to be in the age range of nine to fifteen years old but every now and then a few old men could be seen among them.
From a crowd of over six thousand at least two thousand followed.
From this alone one could tell that the sect wasn't a small scale operation, Bran Ai and the rest of the small children had more or less gathered around the same general area yet they had simply disappeared into the crowds.
Most of the young kids had arrived relatively early, there being hardly anyone waiting here before then. When the crowds started arriving en masse the kids felt a little overwhelmed but by sticking together they more or less got over it.
"I am joan, I will teach those above the age of seven and those below the 12th layer of Qi gathering. My disciples behind me will assist me, they are all stronger then you and more then capable to teach, as long as one is willing to listen we will all teach sincerely. Follow me into Nara forest, I will train you in the art of group combat"
A huge crowd got up and left past the gate.
Only 213 small children remained.
A younger woman in her early 20s gave them a cheerful smile.
"I am Aakriti, my job is to teach you little one's everything from reading, writing, to speaking and cultivation. You will learn how to use spiritual energy to regulate your body temperature, to make barriers, to the little things like lighting a fire and summoning rain"
The children down below simply nodded in agreement, many of them were distracted looking at the large crowds enter the forest, they wondered what was inside.
"Now then, first things first. Let's do a little light exercise".
The kids quickly reacted negatively to this.
"We already walked all day can't we just rest?"
"Walking, walking, walking, walk, walk, why must we walk everywhere"
"I don't wanna do it"
"Aaarghhhh"
"Please let us... just let us read instead"
Aakriti "..."
Bran Ai had to agree here, from day one they had been pushed beyond their limits without rest or food until recently.
A half day of meditation and sleep was simply not enough for the vast majority of them to be in healthy spirits.
'Ah what a pain, my master told me it would be an easy task but before I even start they are already complaining'
Aakriti was reluctant to do this in the first place, she didn't care about teaching others it was simply a matter funds for her.
'150 low grade spiritual stones per month and six bottles of spirit nourishing pills plus an additional three middle grade spiritual stones at the end of the year' said her master.
She had to take it, a normal person earned at best 20 - 55 spiritual stones a month by doing odd jobs let alone all the extras.
Only problem... she has never taken care of anyone before, she had always focused on her studies and stayed inside to cultivate.
Aakriti closed her eyes for a second, drawing a breath before exhaling.
"Quiteeee! Listen up you little squirrel's I am the one in charge here and I make the rules, now lift your arms above your heads!" a rapid fire response.
Silence spread across the group.
A few kids decided to follow instructions and just get it over with, others stayed adamant, while some simply sat down choosing to pout.
'Eh good enough, I was never told I needed to do a good job anyway, not my fault if they choose not to learn'
Aakriti comforted herself.
"Stretch you body like your trying to reach towards the sky, then bring your arms down... Now repeat"
Slowly the crowd begrudgingly joined in, but more then half still chose not too.
Aakriti tried her best to remember the faces and spiritual energy of the kids that didn't join in 'Dare to ignore me huh? let's see how it goes for you later'
"Ok that will do for now. Now then take out your [Basics of cultivation] booklet and [letters and speech] booklet, we will start from chapter one"
"..."
"I didn't bring them"
"Why didn't you tell us to bring them"
"Hey share yours with me"
'...You little brats! I just met you why would I tell you to bring them! This is your personal responsibility!' She screamed in her head.
Bran Ai breathed a sigh of relief, he was right to bring his bag along.
"Then just share one with the person near you for today, if you forget to bring them tomorrow you will have to stand in the back, Ok?" Aakriti stated staying calm on the surface.
The kids looked around them each in search of a target to mooch of off.
Very quickly an interesting phenomenon occurred.
The kids started separating themselves into groups based on how well dressed one was, followed by a further division between genders and once more based on how appealing one looked to each other.
Simple clicks had been formed.
Few children put on the new clothes they had just received making it easier for certain groups to form.
Not everyone based decision on this format, simply choosing the person nearest to them thus making them a sort of outcast inside their own group.
Others had already mooched to get here without a map and thus also had a much easier time breaking social barriers.
'Well will you look at that, the little brats are playing favorites already' Aakriti watched as each groups slowly formed between 4 to 8 kids sharing a single booklet.
Bran Ai looked at the group that formed around him, indeed most were very unkempt and clearly famished.
Only one odd boy with by far better clothing then themselves choose to even get near them.
"Okay today we will only read the first chapter of letters and speech followed by a brief explanation of spiritual roots and how they affect cultivation"
Bran Ai payed half attention to this, he was more focused on trying to please those he shared a book with.
'Don't make a mistake Ai, it's my chance to make a friend or two'
A bit desperate to connect he was willing to please those around him rather then focus wholeheartedly, he deeply valued the ability to connect to others far more then what should be considered necessary.
He was not to level of ass kissing but he did come off a little creepy.
His creepy over eager nature would be of great assistance in avoiding unnecessary trouble in the future.
The first lesson went by fairly quick with it being only a single chapter practicing reading letters and their pronunciations, as for writing they were simply told to copy the text one thousand times every week to ingrain it into their heads.
It did not have to be said that the vast majority of the children would not be successful in this endeavor.
"Ok with that out of the way let's move on to the next topic" Aakriti did not waste time opening the next book immediately.
The kids copied her action to her surprise.
"Ok, To start us off I will explain what spiritual roots are and why they are a must to use magic"
She pulled out a white disk before continuing.
"Spiritual roots are the most basic requirement to cultivate, they are theorized to have been created when a God and mortal procreated, It is believed the God was a male due to the fact that for a Goddess the chances of producing offspring are basically zero"
"Miss what does procreate mean?" someone asked.
"It's when two people of opposite genders bone each other" Aakriti simply answered.
"And what's a God? and what does bone each other mean" Another pair of fair questions.
"It means to keep quite until I finish this lesson" Unwilling to answer both these questions she decided to move on.
"It is believed that spiritual roots are a deities divinity allowing for cultivators to use supernatural powers otherwise inaccessible to us, from the summoning of fire, to the warping of one's shadow, to the ability to give the ethereal solid form, all of these abilities are only possible due to the spiritual roots existence"
'That's one theory at least, but they simply need a quick explanation for now' she knew such a thing caused heated debate in the cultivation world and was best left alone.
"Now then you all had your spiritual roots tested before coming here and today you will learn what your spiritual roots mean for your future"
The white disk then floated up into the air and 213 rays of light shinned on the children.
'Isnt she just telling us a bunch of maybe's?' Bran Ai couldn't be sure now but he had a feeling this was the truth.