Silence quickly returned to the Monolith Square as everyone calmed down after the first wave of discussions.
While the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm was a huge event, that was something for later.
For now, they had to quickly readjust their states of mind and mentally prepare for the upcoming cultivation lecture.
After all, nobody wanted to miss out on potential benefits from the cultivation lecture just because they had been distracted by the Four Symbols Mystic Realm.
Just as everyone was patiently waiting in silence, the ground directly in front of the stone monolith began to emit golden light.
This golden light formed a small emblem on the ground, growing in intensity with each passing moment.
And just as the light grew to a blinding point, it suddenly vanished altogether, leaving only an old man standing in its place.
He looked to be in his late seventies, with long white hair that was tied up in a topknot.
This was a person whom everyone here was familiar with.
With his appearance, every disciple present stood up and clasped their fists towards him.
"Greetings, Elder Mo!"
"Be at ease. Take a seat," the old man slowly gestured with his hand.
He spoke in a seemingly nonchalant way as always, yet his voice still reverberated across the large Monolith Square in a mysteriously balanced manner.
Those who were seated further away heard it with no issues, while those who were seated nearer did not get bombarded in a thunderous manner.
No matter where they were seated, every disciple present heard his response at the exact same volume, as though he was speaking from right in front of them.
Just like the last time, Mo Tianfeng did not start the lecture immediately.
Instead, his gaze silently swept across the seats, scanning the numerous disciples who were present today.
In response, everyone sat up straight and tried to portray their best side.
"Today, I will be giving a lecture on choosing your cultivation path," Mo Tianfeng started. "Cultivators all over the world walk different paths on the road to the pinnacle of the cultivation world. However, how would one know which path they should take? Who should focus on body strengthening, and who should focus on mental techniques? Should one focus on the spear or the sword? What about which elements to specialise in? These are decisions that all cultivators have to make at various points in life..."
As he spoke, Mo Tianfeng lightly tapped the stone monolith behind him, and a buzzing sound could be heard.
Weng-!
The numerous engravings on the stone monolith lit up, emitting a gentle golden light that was easy on the eyes.
From the top of the stone monolith, an emblem of light started to spread out in all directions, eventually growing large enough to cover the entire Monolith Square, hovering over them like a roof over their heads.
When the light from this grand emblem fell upon them, everyone felt their breaths slowing down and their minds clearing up.
Their senses were also improved by several levels, allowing them to focus much better on the lecture.
The various disciples here could not help but feel surprised by this effect.
When the monthly cultivation lectures were held in the Sect Library, a similar grand array was also used for the same reason of helping everyone focus.
However, the effects were far greater here at the Monolith Square.
With this, everyone understood that the sect administrators were truly serious about developing the Monolith Square, and that it had not been a whimsical decision to hold the monthly cultivation lecture here this time.
Zhao Yunxiao was similarly surprised, but he quickly regained his composure and turned his focus back to the lecture.
No matter what, the ongoing lecture was the most important thing at the moment. Anything else could be thought about after the lecture ended!
"Everything in the world can be aligned to the concept of cultivation. One's movements, day of life, breathing, thoughts, and everything else... there are no exceptions," Mo Tianfeng continued. "A musician would be more attuned to the Law of Tunes. A farmer would be more attuned to the Laws of Earth and Wood. A swimmer would be more attuned to the Law of Water. As long as you understand the fundamental laws, even your interests and hobbies can be applied to your cultivation path..."
As he spoke, small bubbles started appearing out of thin air around him. Under the light of the golden emblem overhead, they looked like little stars as they slowly floated out towards the seats.
Lu Zhiying immediately remembered this scene.
During the previous lecture, the same thing had happened in the lecture hall as well.
Gu Qiansi had described it as a law phenomenon, something that could happen when top tier cultivators like Elder Mo talk about the path.
Back then, Lu Zhiying had been rather fascinated by this occurrence, and she still was right now.
However, the current Lu Zhiying was at least able to control her curiosity towards these bubbles and focus her attention on the lecture content instead.
Choosing one's cultivation path... this was a topic that was deeply related to her current situation!
As a new cultivator, there were plenty of decisions that she had to make.
Weapons.
Techniques.
Combat styles.
Training regimes.
These were just a few of the many matters that she had to make a decision on, and each of them was already difficult enough to decide!
As long as you understand the fundamental laws, even your interests and hobbies can be applied to your cultivation path...
Lu Zhiying thought about what Mo Tianfeng said, and tried to apply it to herself.
Just what were her interests and hobbies, and how could they be applied to her cultivation path?
At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao was thinking the same thing.
The only problem was that there were many things that he was interested in, so which should he focus on?
Up until now, he had believed that the answer was simple – he should just focus on whatever he was the best at doing.
He understood his own lack of talent, so things that required straightforward training and hard work had always been the most effective for him.
Body strengthening and endurance training were the things that stood out to him, so they were also aspects that he had been working on all along.
On the contrary, forging was something that required finesse and talent on top of mere hard work, especially if one wanted to rely on this as their path to pursue greater heights.
If he followed Mo Tianfeng's advice, he could still try to adopt it as part of his path since it was part of his interests.
But would that really be wise?
Would it not be spending double the time and effort, only to reap half the amount of rewards?
No, that's not right.
There's more to this than just that.
Apart from talking about considering one's interests and hobbies, Mo Tianfeng basically hinted that anything could work as long as one was sufficiently engaged in the matter.
Going by that train of thoughts, as long as he believed in his path and worked hard on it, then it was bound to work!
Therefore, it was not a matter of carefully considering if something was a wise decision before committing to it.
As long as he wanted something enough to commit to it without reservations, that would be enough to make it a wise decision!
Zhao Yunxiao clenched his fists in determination.
That's right.
This was something that he had already known.
Once he had decided on his path, he had to wholeheartedly focus on trying to make it work, and that in itself should be able to make it work!
After that, it was just a matter of how much more work he could put into making this happen!
As Mo Tianfeng continued to speak, everyone present slowly fell into deep thought as they contemplated their own choices.
But before they knew it, Mo Tianfeng's lecture had already come to an end.
The beautiful looking bubbles that had spread across the entire Monolith Square slowly faded away, dissipating into nothingness.
Overhead, the grand emblem slowly shrank until it disappeared into the top of the stone monolith.
Even the engravings on the monolith itself stopped glowing, turning back into ordinary-looking carvings.
It was only then that everyone finally regained awareness of their surroundings as they exited their state of enlightenment.
"...And that concludes today's lecture," Mo Tianfeng said in his usual slow and calm manner. "If there's nothing else, do think through what I've said today. I hope that it will be of some help to you in the future."
"Thank you for the lecture, Elder Mo!"
Everyone stood up and clasped their fists towards Mo Tianfeng, just like they had done when he first appeared.
But immediately after, Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch.
Because all around them, people started raising their hands – something that he had never seen in the past.
Or rather, he had only seen it once. That was none other than when Lu Zhiying did this during the previous lecture.
Even Mo Tianfeng could not help but feel surprised.
"What is the matter? Is there something wrong?" Mo Tianfeng asked.
"That's not it, Elder Mo," one of the more senior outer disciples was the first to speak up. "It's just that I do have a question that I am unsure if it is appropriate. May I ask it without worrying about the consequences?"
"Go ahead," Mo Tianfeng answered.
"So, I was just wondering why the cultivation lecture can't be held more frequently, so that everyone will be able to gain deeper insights into the path of cultivation?" the disciple asked.
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
Even the manner of asking the question was almost identical to the way that Lu Zhiying had spoken last month.
He finally saw where this was going.
Lu Zhiying had gained Mo Tianfeng's praise after she spoke up during the previous lecture, so these people were probably trying to emulate the same feat!
However, was that kind of question really appropriate?
In a way, was not that effectively questioning why the elder was not working harder to help out the outer disciples?
"I have a question as well, Elder Mo!" another disciple spoke up, unwilling to be left behind. "I was just wondering why can't there be more arrays that help out with comprehension, so that everyone will be able to understand things better?"
"I have a question too! I was just wondering why we can't be receiving more cultivation pills?"
"Me! I have a question! I was just wondering why we can't allocate more sect points for sect jobs?"
"I have a question as well! I was just wondering..."
One by one, the disciples spoke up about the questions that they had in their heads.
However, after the first dozen or so disciples, the rest of them, who still had their hands up, slowly began to lower them.
Despite their eagerness to get Mo Tianfeng's attention, they were not entirely clueless either.
They could see that as more questions were being asked, Mo Tianfeng was quickly losing the amiable smile on his face.
Seeing how the situation was taking a turn for the worse, they immediately decided to abort their initial plan!
"Hua Sheng," Mo Tianfeng said solemnly, his smile no longer anywhere to be seen.
"Disciple Hua Sheng is here, Elder Mo," Hua Sheng answered respectfully.
"I want to hear from you. Do the outer disciples feel that the sect is treating you badly?" Mo Tianfeng asked.
"That is definitely not the case, Elder Mo," Hua Sheng answered. "Despite our lacking aptitude, the Black Tortoise Sect continues to provide us with opportunities to learn and cultivate, even providing us with resources that we would never be able to obtain elsewhere. We cannot be more thankful to the sect."
"If it is as you said, then why am i hearing otherwise right now?" Mo Tianfeng replied.
"I apologise for not having taught my fellow disciples well," Hua Sheng bowed. "With your permission, I will see to the punishment for their ungratefulness."
"Permission granted," Mo Tianfeng nodded. "I will let the deacons know of this, but remember to do things in moderation."
"I understand," Hua Sheng answered.
The two of them spoke in a calm manner, as though they were having a casual conversation. However, the contents of their conversation were heard by everyone present.
Those who had asked questions earlier felt as though they had just been struck by a bolt of lightning.
They felt a chill running down their spines as they thought about what they just heard.
All they wanted was to gain some benefits like Lu Zhiying did last month, so how did things turn out this way?!
Zhao Yunxiao shook his head in disapproval upon seeing this.
These people had no idea how frightened he was when Lu Zhiying did this last month, and this was precisely why!
He could not help but glance over at Lu Zhiying, wanting to see her reaction to what could have happened to her just as easily as well.
However, Zhao Yunxiao was surprised upon realising that Lu Zhiying had no reaction whatsoever.
Not only did she have her eyes closed, but she also had a calm expression on her face, with her breathing regulated at a slow and consistent pace.
Zhao Yunxiao immediately realised what was going on.
While everyone else had ended their state of enlightenment along with the end of the cultivation lecture, Lu Zhiying had remained in such a state even until now!