"Here, look"

As he said so, the lecturer took out one more rod. And then he proceeded to alter the form by creating a square.

"This is obviously a square. Our ancestors did try to make such constructions with energy strands. It turned out however that it wasn't working like a shield. Energy could pass through it. After many trials and errors, it turned out that only a triangle of strands had such a property. That is why we used solely triangles to form our cores"

"You might ask yourself how do you absorb energy into the core now that you have it. After all, it is composed of nothing but shields so it shouldn't be possible for energy to go through it, either entering or exiting. And the answer is extremely simple. Slightly open the triangle and push the energy inside it then close it. The pyramid's faces are like lids and can be closed and opened at will"

"It only requires you to concentrate"

"Since all of you have at least reached the second stage of refinement, it means that you have already accumulated that much internal energy inside yourself. Don't be overconfident though as this is just the start of the journey and you have yet to truly walk the path of spiritual warriors"

"I believe most of you are already aware of the fact that only after reaching the first stage of spiritual accumulation will you truly become spiritual warriors and esteemed cultivators. However, are you all aware of when such a thing happens? Let us review this part"

"First and foremost, a wannabee cultivator has to create his core. Once the core is formed, he may start the road to cultivation by absorbing spiritual energy and trapping it inside his core. In order to reach the first stage of refinement, the core has to be filled entirely with spiritual energy. At that moment, and you have experienced it, a change occurs"

"The spiritual energy inside the core will 'disappear' however, it doesn't really disappear as it will be diffused throughout your body and recreate it anew. We consider it the first refinement. That is when the dam that is your core has reached its limit and let go of the energy it contained"

"It is a natural reaction so there should not be a need to fear. It is a welcome reaction in fact. The energies will force the impurities of your bodies outside it and make you stronger. It is why you have strength beyond mortal adults while still being kids"

"This natural occurrence will happen five times and corresponds to the five stages of body refinement. Only after finishing those can you finally start to truly work on becoming a spiritual warrior"

"At that time, once you fill out your core, instead of the energy escaping, you will have to forcefully retain it inside your core until it hardens. This will truly create a solid core and be the basis for the spiritual accumulation. I advise you to first focus all your attention into the five refinements before trying to learn of what comes next. If you are still too curious, go check the library or related lessons"

"I believe I have gone through most of the basics and it is now time for me to answer your personal inquiries. Feel free to raise your hands if you have some. Make sure to listen to the questions of your fellow disciples as you might feel the same during your own cultivation"

From there was a long session of Q&A between the lecturer and the students. Talking about the basics wasn't that time-consuming so most of the time was supposed to be about answering the doubts of the newcomers. Of course, the questions asked were very specific but the answers given by the lecturer were simple yet detailed enough that everyone was benefitting from this.

Jin was likely one of those who benefitted the most from all this since he had zero knowledge at the start. Now, he knew what he had to do and how to do it. Use the candles to see the energy, absorb it, turn them into strands, make a core. That would be his goal for the moment.

That being said, he didn't quite comprehend while a pyramid of four triangles was chosen as the form of the core. Wouldn't it be better to have a bigger core to stock up on more energy? Why wouldn't they make a figure composed of more triangles? As he was curious about the answer and really needed it before he messed up somewhere, he decided to raise his hands for a question.

This didn't escape the lecturer who had paid attention to the sole inner court disciple attending his lesson. While there were many more who had raised their hands before Jin, the lecturer decided to answer him first once done with this one.

This was one of the benefits of being an inner disciple in a sea of outer ones.

He was prioritized.

And so, the lecturer said: "Inner court disciple over there, what is your question?"

And everyone turned towards him. If seeing an inner court disciple at this kind of lesson was close to unheard of, seeing one asking a question directly was unexpected.

They all wondered what kind of very complex question about the basics this inner court disciple had. And they were stunned when the question turned out to be: "Why do we shape the core as a four-triangles pyramid and not a form composed of more triangles?"

It was a sound question but...how could they say it...The answer was obvious, wasn't it?

Even the lecturer seemed a little taken aback by the question. He expected something deeper as well. Regardless, if answering such a simple question could net him some favorability points with the inner disciple, he didn't mind amiably answering.

"It is true that it is possible. However, if you had more triangles, the shape will get bigger since the strands have a fixed length corresponding to every individual. Now, if the core is bigger, wouldn't it require more energy to fill it? Then, you would need to work longer to fill it. As such, it would take much longer for you to cross over the five stages of refinement. The core would be stronger, that is a fact, but you would need, at every stage, much more energy to go forward. And, as you all are aware, a spiritual warrior of higher stage can easily subdue one of inferior stage. Some geniuses are capable of jumping one or even two stages but no more"

"As such, having a bigger core has been deemed a disadvantage. It requires more resources and more time. While you might be stronger than your counterparts of the same stage, you will be left behind on your road towards the peak. It is up to you whether you wish to be a titan amongst chicken or a god amongst all"

"That is the reason every cultivator will make a four-triangle pyramid"

Unknown to everyone, the only things that Jin heard was that it was possible and it was making one stronger...