Ast sat up straight when his teacher, Mr Young, whacked him against the board. Most of the students that had lost their focus, battling sleep to make it through the last class were jolted awake. The last few days were rather tough for the class, everyone barely slept more than three hours a night. A lot of sects and wayfarer academies would open their doors for the annual recruitment ceremony. None of them wanted to be left behind by their peers so they worked extra hard on their final preparations.
"I'd like to first and foremost, congratulate you on reaching this far," Mr Young smiled. "Each one of you worked hard for the past three years. And I'm happy to announce that we have a new record. Twenty-five out of a class of thirty is at the 8th Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm and the rest have reached the ninth."
A round of applause followed right after the announcement. That meant that every one of them had a shot at being chosen by some of the best sects and academies.
Mr Young motioned for them o quiet down. He walked to his table and grabbed a handful of nuts from the small calabash bowl sitting on top of some old scrolls.
Ast watched intently at every gesture of his teacher. Why was he keeping them on the edge of their seats by doing random tasks? At some point in time, one of his fingers wandered to his mouth. He was too busy waiting for Mr Young to resume his speech that he didn't notice that he chewed away bits of his nails.
Mr Young cracked the nuts and popped them into his mouth. He chewed them for what felt like an eternity. He gulped them down, wiped the small flakes that coated his mouth and walked to the centre of the class again.
"That was punishment for sleeping in my class," He laughed.
The class groaned.
"Usually, during the last school week, teachers are tasked with giving you a brief introduction on what comes next," He pointed at the word "Foundation". "As most of you have heard Foundation building is the next step along your paths. There are two main things you should take with you today. One. Don't rush this phase. It determines how far you'll reach in future. Two, don't try to copy or follow someone else's established path, from this phase onwards you can only use manuals as a guide and not something to be emulated or part of your repertoire.
"Our ancestors usually followed this oath a few million years back then. This lead to the reliance on natural talent to carve one's path. This meant that bottlenecks were as common as the sands on the beach. Through years of advancements, we've learnt that having one's unique path from the moment you build your foundation~although much harder increases your potential. The moral is don't search for quick gains. As in this game slow and steady always wins. Class is dismissed."
The class nodded as if they'd understood what their teacher had said before rushing to pack up their things. Ast stayed in the classroom for a few more minutes. He was lost in thought about what his next move was. He was torn between resting it continuing training. One option gave him the illusion of working hard and improving. The other simply unsettled him. He didn't want to get into one of the bad sects and look back and chide himself for not working harder.
"Mr Hatatzer. What occupies your mind to such an extent?" Mr Young's youthful voice slithered into his ears, breaking him from his daydream.
He sighed, thinking if he should tell Mr Young about his dilemma. Rubbing his chin, he realised that the teacher's wisdom would be much appreciated at this moment.
"I'm just wondering if I should rest or get back to training. The Entrance exam is two days and I don't want to waste a single second," he blurted out.
"Training for two more days in a row would do you know good," said Mr Young. "Resting itself is a form of training. Simply meditate without guiding your qi for the next two days to raise your mental energy levels. You'll need it."
Mr Young's words made sense to him, yet deep down he wanted to train harder for the next two days. He gave up on his thought once he saw Mr Young's frown.
"Socialise with friends Mr Hatatzer, your mind and body need all the rest they can get. The exams are much more brutal than you'd want them to be."
Mr Young waited for him to gather his books and scrolls before leading him through the door. Ast looked back at his teacher's silhouette as it got smaller. He made a quick plan of how he'd spend the two days.
It took him less than ten minutes to reach his school-issued housing, dropped his books and left for the city. There were a few things he wanted to do for the past few weeks that he never got the time. The Tainted Rose Pavillion was Drownt city's most popular hangout spot that doubled as a market of sorts.
He leapt onto his flying sword and soared towards it. No matter how many times he flew using this thing, he couldn't eliminate the feeling that he'd fall to his death. He wondered how those on the path flew on the sword with their hands behind their backs. He had to use those hands to balance. Sometimes he wanted to bury himself. There was no difference between him and a chicken flapping its wings.
Tainted Rose Pavillion was a few meters away by the time he steadied himself on the blade. He descended to the court and slipped the sword into its sheath.
"Ast!"