Loki went along with the subsequent events without thinking about how to cause trouble. He listened to Muni’s speech without paying much attention and then followed the rest of the class to their lodgings.
This time, he didn’t stalk any prey and didn’t have any intention of eating Slav. So Slav didn’t leave the lodgings as he did in the second timeline.
Loki didn’t try to take advantage of this situation and instead went directly to the lodgings without causing trouble. But when he reached his accommodations, he spent the rest of the day walking around and scouting his environment.
It was through his scouting that he noticed that there was a transparent barrier beyond the walls of the accommodation. He doesn’t know how deep into the ground the barrier is or how high up into the air it is, but he knows that in his current situation, the barrier has effectively cut off the accommodation from the rest of the way.
Apparently, the area for accommodation is at the edge of the sect grounds, and there is only one passage that leads out of it. This passage is the gate that they passed through when they entered the lodging area.
The lodging area itself is a large area filled with small, standalone buildings. Each trainee like him picked one house and will stay there for their one year of initiation. As for the matter of food, someone brought it to them three times in the day.
Loki spent most of his day examining his environment and learning as much as he could about his situation. He had wanted to see if he could leave, but since he couldn’t break the barrier, he decided to be patient.
So, instead of trying to run away at night like he did when he was a slave, he slept peacefully in his bed. And when morning came, he went to the first class with the others.
All hundred of them went to class together. They passed through the only gate into the area where they awakened yesterday. But this time, they were led to another building.
There were seats and tables in the building they went into. Upon entering, Muni asked them to choose a seat. After they had all sat, Muni began to address them.
Muni let his eyes roam over them before saying, "This morning, I will be taking you through the fundamentals of cultivation. The fact that you’ve awakened and built your energy well is just the start of your journey. There is still more to go, and those who fall behind from here on out will be in danger of being culled like informed sheep, so I hope for your sake that you will pay close attention to what I have to say."
"I will start from the beginning. What is cultivation?"
After he asked this question, he turned to the blackboard behind him and wrote something on it with a white chalk. The sound of the chalk grinding against the blackboard was a piercing, high-pitched sound that made Loki wince, but he made sure to continue paying attention with a laser focus.
Even though he could rewind time and learn this again, he didn’t intend to relax and waste his time. He intends to make full use of every time he gets, so he was both paying attention and mentally engaged with the class.
Muni wrote the word cultivation on the wall. Then he wrote the numbers 1 to 9 in front of the word. After doing this, he drew an arrow underneath the numbers. The arrow went from number 1 to number 9.
Once he was done, he turned to them and said, "Cultivation is the process of ascension. It is a process of profound change within a person that elevates that person to a higher state of existence."
He paused for a short while before saying, "Everyone can cultivate. But not everyone can cultivate at the same speed and with the same efficiency. This is because everyone has different potential for change and improvement."
"The requirement of potential to enter other sects and cultivate is usually at 40%. This is because this is the minimum requirement needed to advance to rank 3 in one’s lifetime."
"Other sects believe that if someone can’t even reach rank 3 in their lifetime, they will be a waste of time and resources. But that is not the case in the Four Directions sect."
"In the Four Directions sect, we believe that everyone can serve a purpose. This purpose might not be personal cultivation. But even if you can’t cultivate to a higher level yourself, your existence can serve as fuel and resources to help others advance to a higher level. This is why we accept anyone with a potential above 10%."
After he said this, he paused to let the implications of his words sink into their minds. His gaze made some of them shudder. But this only made him smile.
As he smiled, he said, "We believe that everyone can be useful. Even talentless mortal slaves can also be useful. At the very least, they can be used as high-protein meal packs for beasts or ingredients to forge pills or materials to forge weapons and puppets."
"No matter the talent, you can be useful. That’s the essence of the Four Directions sect. In this sect, we have fully embraced the concept of the survival of the fittest. It is why we are the greatest sect in the Blessed Heaven world."
"The only reason why we don’t accept people with a talent lower than 10% is because those people can’t advance past rank 1 and won’t be much different from mortals who haven’t cultivated. So instead of wasting our time on such people, we use them to do other jobs that cultivators are too good for and for bearing children that might one day enter our sect to serve a higher purpose."
"As it is, you’re at a crossroad. Will you become the fire that blazes and ascends to a higher state of existence, or will you be the fuel that helps another fire burn brighter? Only time will tell."
At this point, he couldn’t hold back his laughter. Muni laughed as if he found something immensely funny while the students below him watched on with tightening chests and an increasing blood pressure.