Zhang Sheng and the Daoist sat in the small courtyard, while Wei Yuan stood respectfully behind Zhang Sheng, listening.
The Daoist stroked his beard and said, "This term's centralized instruction comprises seven courses in total. There is one class each day, and each class lasts half a day. The titles and details of the courses are all listed here."
Zhang Sheng took the jade paper handed to him and glanced over it. Written upon it were seven subjects—*General History of the Human Race*, *History of Tang*, *General Knowledge of the Immortal Path*, *Treatise on Dao Foundations*, *Treatise on Heaven and Earth*, *Treatise on Providence*, and *Treatise on Arts*—each accompanied by a detailed description below. Zhang Sheng was naturally familiar with these subjects, and he mused, "Such weight placed on history in the curriculum... What might be the reason for that?"
The Daoist replied, "True Monarch Yanshi says that understanding the past allows one to understand the present, and that using history as a mirror reveals the rise and fall of realms. Our human race arose from humble beginnings; our forebears cleared the wilderness and endured myriad hardships to build the world we have today. We naturally cannot forget the aspirations of those who came before us."
Zhang Sheng nodded. "The Traditionalist Faction must be quite pleased. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let this motion pass so easily."
"True Monarch Yanxing indeed expended immense effort to push centralized instruction through," the Daoist said. "If your disciple wishes to attend, you need only register him first and pay the course fees in full."
"There are course fees?"
"The fee is ten taels of immortal silver per class, paid for seven rounds in advance, coming to a total of four hundred and ninety taels of immortal silver. Cultivation resources required during classes are billed separately."
Zhang Sheng was taken aback. "So expensive?"
"After all, the instructors must be compensated, and the materials consumed during lessons have to be factored in," the Daoist explained. "If disciples from the various halls attend centralized instruction, their masters will also save a great deal of time and energy to dedicate elsewhere. In the past, each hall raised its disciples independently, and many expenses went unnoticed. Now that everyone is taught together, all costs are tallied, so it naturally feels expensive."
The reasoning made sense, but as Zhang Sheng mentally tallied his savings, his expression turned somewhat unnatural.
After completing his cultivation and descending the mountain, Zhang Sheng had spent seven years in the outside world with neither hide nor hair heard of him. Having contributed nothing to the sect, he had received no monthly stipend by rule. Upon returning, his stipend had been forfeited for another three years, meaning he had had no income whatsoever for a full decade. In the past, he had cultivated at breakneck speed and consumed vast quantities of resources; even though Sky Azure Hall had covered the lion's share, he had never put aside any personal savings.
Taking stock now, Zhang Sheng realized his remaining wealth was barely enough to pay three months of Wei Yuan's basic tuition—and that was just the baseline fee. Cultivation classes required resources, and as the Daoist had said, those were billed separately!
Zhang Sheng hesitated, then asked, "Might there be... any discounts on these course fees?"
Seeing the Daoist hesitate, Zhang Sheng felt his face grow hot and hurriedly added, "If there are none, that's fine as well."
The Daoist sighed. "To be candid with you, Junior Brother, some disciples do receive preferential treatment. For example, disciples under True Monarch Yanxing and True Monarch Feng Yuan need only pay seventy percent."
The two True Monarchs were the leaders of the Reform Faction. They were the ones who had instituted centralized instruction, and most of the lecturers were drawn from their faction, so giving their own disciples a discount was only natural.
Yet seeing the Daoist hesitate to go on, Zhang Sheng knew something was amiss and pressed at once, "What else?"
The Daoist finally confessed, "For this motion of centralized instruction to be implemented, the key lay with several True Monarchs of the Traditionalist Faction. It was only because they gave their nod that we have centralized instruction today. The Traditionalist Faction has a great many disciples, so to encourage their participation, the two True Monarchs made a special provision: if any disciple from the Traditionalist Faction registers, they are charged only half price, and the same goes for consumed resources."
The more Zhang Sheng heard, the worse it sounded. He slammed the table and rose to his feet. "Half off for the Traditionalists, thirty percent off for the Reformers! What about our Sky Azure Hall?"
The Daoist's gaze flickered as he looked away. "Your hall has three disciples in this cohort, and they are not on the preferential list."
Zhang Sheng was furious. "There are over a hundred disciples in this cohort, and only those from my Sky Azure Hall have to pay full price? This is simply intolerable bullying! Such blatant injustice cannot be accepted! I am going to find the administrators and have it out with them!"
Hearing him speak of having it out with them, the Daoist could only smile wryly. "Junior Brother, you do not understand. In recent years, the Traditionalist and Reform factions have clashed fiercely. Only Sky Azure Hall remained strictly impartial, 'having it out' with both sides. Though it was over matters unrelated to their factional struggle, you inadvertently spoiled plenty of their plans along the way and forged no small amount of bad blood. To put it bluntly, it is already broad-minded of the Reform Faction not to have multiplied your hall's fees several times over."
Zhang Sheng refused to accept it, sneering, "I see. The Reform Faction simply doesn't want our Sky Azure Hall's disciples attending centralized instruction. Fine, if we don't go, we don't go! At worst, I'll teach him myself! Hmph, those great clans all boast secret methods to unlock wisdom, claiming their children are precocious geniuses, yet wasn't it Yuan'er who took first place in the end?"
The Daoist glanced at Wei Yuan and said, "This disciple of yours is indeed exceptionally gifted, hard for anyone else to match. Ah, so Junior Brother is certain you will teach him yourself? I shall go report it at once..."
"Wait!" Zhang Sheng reacted with lightning speed, grabbing the Daoist. "Show me the list of instructors!"
Left with no choice, the Daoist produced another sheet of jade paper and handed it over.
Zhang Sheng took it, and a glance made everything clear. On the first page alone were two people he had "had it out" with in the past—people with whom he had genuine personal grudges. The other senior Daoists were esteemed elders of deep learning, but in Zhang Sheng's eyes, they were merely decent; he respected them, but could hardly say he admired them, so they had had little interaction. But when he turned to the second page, Zhang Sheng's expression changed slightly.
"Feng Chutang? He came out to teach as well?"
The Daoist said, "It was True Monarch Feng Yuan's idea, asking him to contribute to the palace's undertakings. The True Monarch remarked that in transmitting the Dao, imparting knowledge, and dispelling doubts, one not only resolves the disciples' confusion, but also clarifies one's own. I hear that back then, your relationship with Senior Brother Feng was somewhat... strained."
The Daoist was putting it mildly. Back then, the relationship between Zhang Sheng and Feng Chutang had gone far beyond merely strained; it had bordered on a vendetta of life and death. The two had clashed in open magical combat three times, fighting until both were grievously injured before stopping, not to mention countless private sparring matches.
With that history between them, if Wei Yuan ended up in Feng Chutang's class, it would be a miracle if he wasn't flayed alive.
Yet Zhang Sheng said, "We're going!"
"What?" The Daoist could hardly believe his ears.
"We will take part in centralized instruction!"
"B-but what about Senior Brother Feng...?"
Zhang Sheng snorted. "Since he dares to teach, we dare to learn! Would he really have the gall to make things hard for a junior? At most, he'll just assign more homework. Yuan'er, are you afraid of hardship?"
Zhang Sheng had asked this question before. Three years ago, Wei Youcai had answered it; now, Wei Yuan answered for himself: "We folks from the countryside fear hardship least of all."
Zhang Sheng said, "Very good. Register him!"
The Daoist froze for a moment, then sighed and said, "In that case, Junior Brother, please pay the course fees!"
Zhang Sheng's face stiffened instantly. "I have only just returned to the palace and do not have the immortal silver on me. Wait here a moment; I shall return to my cave dwelling to fetch it."
"No matter," the Daoist said. "I will wait right here."
Once Zhang Sheng left the courtyard, the Daoist looked at Wei Yuan and said, "Your master will be gone for a while. Since we have nothing else to do, I'll tell you about the origins of our Palace of Grand Beginning. That, too, is part of the General Knowledge of the Immortal Path."
Chapter 28