Li Tian was in-charge of monitoring and teaching cultivation to a group of one hundred students.
He did not hurry and took his time enjoying and familiarising with the landscape of the sect.
He arrived there just in time for the class to start and discovered that the students were already waiting for him in a neat fashion.
They were all in the Xiantian realm, he had to teach these group of students once every month and as for the foundation realm students he only had to teach them once every six months.
This provided him with ample time to cultivate and explore his other interests.
The students were all seated in concentric circles around a big stage and were all facing towards the stage. At the top of the stage, a meditation mat was placed and Li Tian walked up the stage and sat down.
Spreading his spirit sense he realised that these were probably new students as they had all just broken through to the Xiantian realm. Their knowledge about the cultivation realm was shallow and the were like a blank canvas. It was up to him to paint whatever he wanted on it as long as the result was positive.
He thought, perhaps this was how the sect kept track of the elders and evaluated their performance.
There were thousands of outer sect disciples and if they were all divided into classes of one hundred for every outer sect elder, Li Tian could not even begin to imagine how many core realm experts were in the sect.
This served to remind him of how insignificant he is in the grand scheme of things and how he was now only qualified as cannon fodder.
He had to hurry up and increase his cultivation.
His lecture started and he began by teaching them the value of cultivation methods. One could go through the Houtian realm without a cultivation method but it would be more beneficial it you had one. However to cultivate in the xiantian realm there was no other option other than to take one.
Cultivation needed will, resources and luck without which one can never hope to reach the peak.
He goes on to talk about battle skills and different grades of treasures suitable for the Xiantian realm.
He enlightenments them on the different stages within the xiantian realm and their significance and concludes by doing an aptitude test before telling them to get cultivation methods suitable for their talents.
His lecture was concise and straight to the point. When the students left, they had a lot of information to digest, knowing their talents allowed them to save a lot of time in experimentation and they can simply go on to do was is mot suitable for them.
This was the difference between having and not having guidance on the cultivation. It was precisely the reason why sect disciples generally cultivated faster than rogue cultivators.
Generally they were stronger too unless they met some exceptional rogue cultivators.
Li Tian returned to his cave abode in delight, this experience was more enjoyable than he had thought.
He felt that in teaching the students and answering their questions, his own understanding had deepened further.
His cultivation depended on the strength of his body and bloodline and thanks to the resources provided by the system, his cultivation was extremely fast leaving him little time to contemplate the esoterics of each realm.
One week passed and he met his foundation realm students. There were fifty in total and like the xiantian realm students, these ones too had newly broken through the realm.
This time rather than going alone, he brought Shi Ruo along as she too could benefit from the lectures given that she was also a foundation realm expert.
The exchange was also a stimulating one, at the end leaving him even more contented than the disciples. His comprehensions increased and thanks to his endless cultivation resources, his cultivation increased by leaps and bounds.
This help him consolidate him realm.
Two months quickly went by and other than teaching the students, he spent his time studying runes.
His knowledge of the subject increased with each passing day.
Today as he was heading to class, he heard a discussion and paid attention only to realise that the subject was an assignment he gave to his students.
He had been in cultivation during this period of time and had successfully broken through to the fourth level of the core realm.
Due to this he didn't know how much of a ruckus he had caused due to his question.
He had asked his students to come up with an answer to the question
"WHY DO YOU CULTIVATE?"
A simple question but how many people can actually answer this question.
During this time there have been many arguments within the sect as to who had the correct answer to the question.
Everybody who heard of it had their own thoughts on the matter there were many debates on the subject but no conclusion was made.
Some of the elders had debated the topic but could not give a unanimous answer and could not come to an agreement due to conflicting ideas and philosophies.
This fanned the flames and it spread throughout the entire sect. This only served to increase the respect they already had for Li Tian.
Some of the powerhouses of the sect heard the question and could not help but wonder how a core realm expert could have come up with such a question.
They already had their answers but we're still curious of what Li Tian had to say about the matter.
One day during a cultivation session, it came to Li Tian, why do I cultivate?, is it to fulfil the ultimate goal of the system?, is it to fight for supremacy?, revenge?, fame?, or is it because it is the general trend of this world?
He was confused, because he could not answer such a simple question.
It bothered him for a long time but he finally came up with an answer that suited him.
His reason for asking this question was to give others the opportunity to evaluate themselves like he did.
He could not wait to hear their response and see if there were others who had the same thought as himself.
Ever since these questions started coming to him and he started answering them, without even realising, the aura around him transformed and became mysterious.
His mentality had changed and deep within him, he felt as though something was being birthed.
He realised that during this period, as he seemed to focus more on finding and correcting his weakness, his mental fortitude seemed to strengthened and the way he looked at things seem to change.
Only during this period did he come to understand how ignorant he was in his previous life.
The aura that exuded from his body left everyone in shock as they saw him approaching. Behind him was Shi Ruo who at this moment was very shy due to the attention they were receiving from everyone.
The hall today was extremely full, amongst those present were xiantian, foundation, core realm experts and some hidden hidden rebirth realm experts, observing with their spirit sense.
There were also spirit senses that no one could detect in the hall observing the whole situation. Li Tian had no idea that he had already came to the attention of very powerful individuals.
Sensing Li Tian's aura, they started discussing.
"This kid is a genius. Whose disciple is he?"
"He is a new disciple from a lower world, brought in by my daughter" another voice responded and then they all returned to silence. No one could tell what they were all thinking but they definitely had plans.
At this moment Li Tian spoke
"Why do you cultivate?"
Many people wanted to voice out their opinions and Li Tian gave them the opportunity to speak, no matter their cultivation level.
They gave numerous reasons, some spoke of vengeance, others of fame and some about immortality.
A core realm disciple from the inner sect stood up looking very arrogant as he proclaimed that all the reasons mentioned before were wrong and said in the end all cultivators have the same desire and that is to stand at the top.
Hearing these numerous and insightful answers, Li Tian turned to his students and asked if the had something different to say but the shook their head in denial. Turning, he looked at Shi Ruo with a questioning gaze but she too shook her head in denial.
Li Tian closed his eyes and started speaking
"The essence of my question does not lie in the word CULTIVATE but in the word YOU, in the self.
According to the general consensus, the cultivation path is meant to bring about perfection and eternal life. That can clearly be seen in the fact that rebirth cultivators undergo seven tribulations to bring about the perfect body and soul and extend their lifespan, all this only to breakthrough to the fish-dragon realm. But if the fish is perfect, why become a Dragon?
If the path of revenge is wrong, the path of fame is wrong and cultivating only to seek immortality is wrong then what makes the pursuit for the peak correct?
Cultivation itself is a treacherous path that goes against heaven's way then why do we seek to follow heaven's will.
Saying the pursuit for the peak is the only true way is imposing limits upon yourself and all those who chose to follow it.
Where does the peak lie?
I asked myself these questions, what if I die without taking my revenge?, what if I die without achieving fame, what if I sacrifice everything and stand at the peak and all else bend to my will. Invincible but lonely?
What a worthless existence
I came to the conclusion that I cultivate for freedom. The freedom to live and die as I please, the freedom to love and hate, the freedom to take and save lives, the freedom to have control over my own fate..."
As he spoke he didn't notice that deep within him a bright light was shining at the point for his heart.
His words became fanatical and heretical as he continued
"I cultivate for freedom, I want freedom. Freedom..."
He paused but at this moment silenced had filled the room
He continued "no one can force their will upon me.
Not man
Not the gods
Not the devil
Not the ghost
Not the Buddha
Not even the heavens
To me my will is the only and eternal truth
In my pursuit to seek boundless liberation, I hereby claim the name
UNCHAINED WILL..."
He paused again before continuing
"This in response to the question, there is no right answer on how to achieve the dao. It all depends on the individual--the self"
At this moment the entire hall was silent.
Some were lost in thought, some looked at him with deep veneration like they were witnessing the birth of a sage.
Li Tian himself had no idea where the inspiration came from but he didn't have the time to think about suck.
He had much to contemplate so he stood up and left.