Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

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The speed at which my persona’s synchronization value has been dropping is very unstable; sometimes it’s fast, and sometimes it’s slow.

In a nutshell, it’s completely metaphysical and mysterious, with no discernible pattern whatsoever.

But one thing is clear: when I’m acting out a certain persona, the synchronization values of the other two personas are definitely falling.

It’s just a matter of how much and how fast they drop.

Also, if the synchronization value drops too low, the corresponding talents of the persona template and the illusion techniques of Mirror Flower Water Moon will start to get discounted.

Therefore, I have to constantly monitor the synchronization values of each persona, to ensure they don’t fall too low.

Currently, Ling Yunpo’s synchronization value is still okay, but Luo Yan hasn’t been growing at all.

So, even though Qiu Changtian has already obtained a batch of spirit stones, it’s not wise to immediately transform into Ling Yunpo and go seek favor from Senior Sister An by offering treasures.

I can only return to Kunlun Heavenly Pillar with Xu Yinglian, return the Tai Yi Dividing Light Sword to the Ziwei Master, and then find a place to read the save and teleport to Penglai.

In Penglai Immortal Island of the East Sea, right after becoming a proud disciple of Yuqing View, Luo Yan was taken away by the sect’s White Jade Puppet to the warehouse to collect a starter pack.

It’s all textbooks, utterly ridiculous.

At the very top of the pile of textbooks is the kindergarten trio of cultivating immortality:

“Imperial Records of Mystical Granaries,” for fasting.

“Inscriptions for Preserving Mind and Refining Qi,” for qi refinement.

“The Supreme Scripture of Ascending to Truth with Three Jumps of Spirit Response,” for practicing qi circulation.

Of course, Luo Yan doesn’t actually need to use any of these.

During the days of portraying Qiu Changtian, he had already practiced to the Qi Refining Rank, but under the effects of Mirror Flower Water Moon, he had concealed his cultivator identity to appear as an ordinary person with no cultivation.

If ever faced with a deadly danger, there’s no need to pretend anymore, I can boldly cancel the Mirror Flower Water Moon.

At that moment, whether it’s Qiu Changtian’s Kunlun Daoist magic or Ling Yunpo’s Shushan sword techniques, I can use them with ease…

But it’s pointless.

The combat capabilities of a Qi Refining Rank cultivator are too weak; it is better to stay in the sect and practice diligently instead of risking various dangers.

Apart from the three basic textbooks, the rest are general knowledge textbooks:

“The Great Hollow Three Scenes Treasure Script of Shangqing Dongzhen,” teaching the drawing of various talisman scripts.

“The Essential Volume of the Tai Yi Divination and Six Ren Secrets,” teaching how to setup various formations.

“The Transmission of Nine Directions for Processing Spirit Grass by Immortals,” teaching how to handle various spirit grasses.

“The Daoist Alchemy Point Casting Law for Three Primal Treasures,” teaching the refinement of various elixirs.

“The Zhouyi Alchemical Seal Chart of Kettle Sword Diagrams,” teaching how to cast various magical treasures.

…

The rest are about divination, summoning spirits, astrology, calendrical science, and all sorts of things, totaling up to thirty-three books, which left Luo Yan somewhat dazed.

Good Lord, am I here to cultivate immortality and seek eternal life, or to learn technical skills and craftsmanship?

Could it be that this Penglai Yuqing View is the vocational school of the immortal cultivation world?

What’s even more preposterous is that, although I passed the entry exam with a perfect score, I didn’t become an inner sect disciple or apprentice under any elder.

According to the White Jade Puppet, the reason is that Yuqing View values independent specialization choices, allowing entry-level disciples to familiarize themselves with different courses first, and then choose the appropriate teaching elder based on their “true interests and hobbies.”

Now here’s the problem. Without the sect-defined apprentice ceremony, once you have attended a few classes and wish to take an elder as your master, will your chosen elder be willing to accept you as a disciple?

It still comes down to connections!

If you still don’t get it, here’s a simpler analogy: it’s like the college entrance examination no longer determines which specific school you go to, but only whether you can attend university.

You can then choose the university you like for a “trial period,” relying on your good performance during that time for mutual selection with the university…

It’s barely a step away from outright saying, “You need to have contacts within the university.”

With such a networking system, no wonder Penglai Yuqing View is the weakest among the Three Pure Orthodox Sects, garbage!

Luo Yan kept a straight face, picked up his textbooks, and joined the other disciples in the classroom for lessons.

The lecturer today is Elder Shi Ding, instructing on treasure casting.

It is said that this elder’s cultivation level is not high, and he is quite weak among the Nascent Soul Stage elders.

However, he excels in the most obscure skill in the offbeat left path of “Artifact Refining,” a field with few students due to its high resource consumption, and even fewer masters.

Within “Artifact Refining,” there’s a very important skill called “Sword Casting.”

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As for the importance of Flying Swords to Immortal Cultivation Sects, there’s no need to expand on that here.

Therefore, although Elder Shi Ding’s cultivation level isn’t great, his status within the Penglai Yuqing View is quite high. Even if he were to visit Kunlun or Shushan, he would be personally received by sect leaders.

The many disciples in the classroom all vied eagerly to show off in hopes of gaining the elder’s favor.

As a matter of course, having seen all kinds of performances, Elder Shi Ding took no interest in these enthusiastic disciples. He always arrived at the very start of class, didn’t allow questions, and left as soon as the class ended, quite aloof.

As for disciples like Luo Yan, who had guessed what the outcome would be and thus adopted a very passive attitude, it was even less likely for them to catch his eye.

Later on, Luo Yan started to do what the other students sitting in the back did, lying down and sleeping right in the classroom.

Before finding a way to maintain his Synchronization Value, he might as well lie low and not even think about finding a master.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly felt someone patting his shoulder from the side.

Hmm, Shi Liuli?

“I didn’t expect you to actually pass the entry-level exam,” Shi Liuli greeted him with surprise in her voice.

“Senior Sister,” Luo Yan quickly broke into a smile, “Yes, I got lucky and passed.”

“Well, then you should study hard.” After chatting with him a bit more and making sure he was keeping up with the class, Shi Liuli casually said, getting ready to stand up.

She had just happened to pass by and saw a familiar face in the classroom, so she came over to check on him.

Since he had successfully joined the Yuqing View and could keep up with the lessons, she, as his senior sister, had fulfilled her duties.

She had lost interest in this naive little junior brother.

Seeing her about to leave, Luo Yan also felt a bit helpless and powerless.

Qiu Changtian, relying on his Daoist Heart Clarity, had a smooth journey in obtaining a master, with the path turning green all the way.

Ling Yunpo was fortunate enough to have met Senior Sister An, who took good care of him with dedication and responsibility.

Luo Yan was the most unfortunate one, with neither the environment to climb higher nor the luck to meet a benefactor like An Zhisu. He felt as if he were trapped in a quagmire, with a golden finger but no strength to use it, and for the moment, he had no good solutions.

The Kunlun Mirror was speechless in the shadows: The girl initially showed some interest in you, but you insisted on maintaining a “false” persona, forcibly pretending to be mediocre and harmless.

As a result, she couldn’t tell the difference and directly considered you to be a common man. Does that make sense?

Now I have to take action myself, and it’s also a good opportunity to test the feasibility of that idea from before.

Thinking this way, it quietly activated Mirror Flower Water Moon, opening a crack in Luo Yan’s mask, which was perfectly disguised until then.

While weakening this persona, it also leaked out his true character.

Then, temporarily lifted the mental suggestion!

Shi Liuli, who was just about to leave: ?

She suddenly sensed that this naive and stupid little junior brother seemed to have changed into someone else in that moment.

All of a sudden, the naive quality was gone.

However, upon closer inspection, there wasn’t any change, right?

Was it her misconception?

Shi Liuli thought about it for a moment and then decided to regard it as a misconception.

Just as she was about to get up and leave again, the Kunlun Mirror continued to widen the opening, further releasing his true character.

Consequently, the true character clashed with the false persona, like two incompatible magnetic fields chaotically overlapping, intensifying the discord Shi Liuli felt.

Hmm?

Uh, uh? No, wait! There’s something off about this junior brother!

Shi Liuli sat back down, turned her head, and looked at Luo Yan with suspicion.

Staring…

“Senior Sister… what’s wrong?” Luo Yan feigned embarrassment and asked.

Shi Liuli didn’t respond.

She certainly couldn’t just accuse, “Are you pretending to be a fool,” because if he really was intentionally feigning naivety, he would not admit it outright.

Hmph, an interesting junior brother. What are you hiding? Let me, miss sharp-eyed, uncover your true face!