Chapter 11: Friend Group!
And it was true, so Ken moved on with a clear mind, knowing that if he passed this secret realm trial smoothly, he would have nothing to worry about for a good while.
Nothing related to losing control because of a powerful force dragging his safe zone from its roots.
One less danger was one more relief for Ken, but that didn't stop the fact that he had to gain more information quickly.
Thus, the lecture.
The path to the lecture's space was closer than the pagodas but in a different direction, and the way to it made one progressively enter a more profound state of concentration.
One that needed you to be sharp to notice.
As always, the sky was a masterpiece, a painting with countless strokes of colors, with birds and spirits flying through, adding more beauty to it.
Arriving towards a cliff, Ken had already started meeting and greeting a lot of new disciples, but at the edge, when he took a look at the large number of people, he couldn't help but stop for a few seconds.
Then he jumped, falling down slowly to the ground.
Though it could be counted as jumping, it was more like walking on empty air before he floated down.
Whatever was down below, it was magical, as it forbade gravity from doing the work it was supposed to do.
Rows upon rows of seats, organized like that of a stadium with a large platform below for the elder, were found beneath Ken's feet.
He quickly found a place in the middle-to-front zone and sat down, then he looked closely at the platform.
It had pillars erected majestically, a roof on top, and a lotus-like jade for the elder to sit comfortably on.
He then noticed how comfortable it was to sit in this place; energy was conserved, and the mind was opened, and beyond the platform, only fog could be seen.
Beyond it were the mountain peaks where the elders resided, making Ken delve into thoughts of what these elders were like.
He couldn't tell much from the memories he had, if one wonders, as the opinions, thoughts, and worldview of the previous Ken were entirely different from his.
"Hello there." Once again, before Ken could take the initiative, a fellow disciple sat next to him, and a few others did too.
From what he deduced, it should be a friend group.
[Max Denter, nothing much to say about him, coming from a merchant background, just make sure you keep a good relationship with him; it could help you speed up plans.]
The first one wore the same white robe, but he had slightly reddish hair, and his eyes were wide, looking like a kind, adventurous young man who was the life of the friend group.
[Lux and Danny, commoners like you, got lucky enough to find that they barely had spirit roots; they each have talent in other fields, but when it comes to cultivation...]
The ones behind him both had black hair, but their faces were vastly different; while one looked simple and plain, the other... looked a little dumb with his round chubby face.
"Hello." Ken smiled as he shook his hand with the disciple next to him and nodded to the 2 boys behind him.
"Are you looking forward to the lecture too?" the disciple asked.
"Hmm? The lecture... I'd be lying if I said otherwise. I'm Ken. What about you guys?" Ken spoke as he glanced at the platform and then back at the disciples.
"I'm Max, and the guys behind me are Lux and Danny." The one close to Ken spoke, introducing his friends.
'The way he speaks... it's strange.' Lux, the one who was directly next to Max, thought, but it was just a passing one.
"Hello, Ken, Nice to meet you." he then said.
"Hi." Danny, the one who looked dumb, said.
"Nice to meet you too." Ken smiled once again.
"The previous lectures were more about the life in the sect and many instructions that we had to digest; it's only now that we start the real stuff." Max said, speaking to the entire group but facing the new face, Ken.
The topic they would have this time was the reason they were excited, as only from now on can they learn about cultivation and its stages and hardships and even ask questions related to their techniques.
All in all, things were about to get more serious for them, and all the emotions came with that.
"The previous lectures only lasted for an hour or two; I wonder if this one will be long." Lux added.
"I hope we can digest all of it, especially you, Danny." Max said while looking at the chubby friend.
"Danny is a little slow in the head." Max then said as he faced Ken.
"I can see that." Ken said jokingly, trying to ease the tension.
"Hey, I'm not that dumb." Danny got defensive.
"You say that after it took you a week to understand the cultivation method, the slowest after you took 2 days." Max shook his hand.
"I wonder how much of this lecture I'll be able to understand." Max said once again, he looked somewhat anxious, as if he hoped the lecture would start now just so he could get it done with.
"By the way, since this lecture is about the first major realm, how far have you guys gone with your cultivation techniques?"
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