On the podium, the Sixth Elder gave some time for everyone to calm down. After making sure that the room was quiet, he spoke up as if nothing had happened.
"Today, we will discuss the Spirit Gathering Realm. I will introduce you to some basic concepts and demonstrate them for you. At the end of the lecture, I will take any questions you might have."
With that, the Sixth Elder didn't stop, but immediately began giving his lecture.
His voice was flat and not very loud, but it accurately reached the ears of every student just like before.
"I'm sure that everyone here understands what the Spirit Gathering Realm is about, but I'll reiterate one more time."
"In the Spirit Gathering Realm, cultivators have to absorb the spiritual energy of the outside world, purify it through a Cultivation Technique, and then store it inside their Dantian."
"As the cultivator advances through this realm's Levels, the spiritual energy in their body will increase dramatically, not only in quantity but also in quality."
None of the students listening showed any doubts or confusion, as this information was common knowledge. All of them had at the very least reached the 1st Level of the Spirit Gathering Realm, and it was impossible for them not to know.
Seeing this, the Sixth Elder continued.
"The first three Levels of the Spirit Gathering Realm are what we commonly refer to as the Early Stage. At this stage, the spiritual energy in a cultivator's body takes the form of mist. Apart from passively enhancing the strength of their bodies, it has no other applications."
"Once a cultivator breaks through the 4th Level, they will enter the Middle Stage of the Spirit Gathering Realm. Upon their breakthrough, their spiritual energy will transform into liquid, allowing the cultivator to use it actively."
"For example, they can consume it to activate martial skills."
The moment the Sixth Elder said those words and just when everyone was pondering about their meaning, his aura surged once again, and he turned his hand into a fist before punching the wall behind him.
Lu Yuan was not close to the scene, but he still noticed a red glow covering the surface of the Sixth Elder's hand. This light gave him the illusion that it was far from simple, as if he was not looking at a mere light but at a scorching sun.
No, Lu Yuan soon realized that this was not an illusion.
As soon as the red light appeared, the temperature in the entire hall began to rise dramatically, as if the seasons had changed and summer had suddenly arrived.
"Bang!"
In a split second, the glowing fist of the Sixth Elder struck the wall.
Lu Yuan, who had been keeping his eyes open, was surprised. The wall didn't break or crack, but a deep, dark pit formed where the fist had hit, with faint burn marks outlining its edges.
"Hiss!", Lu Yuan couldn't help but take a deep breath subconsciously and understood the power behind this punch.
Compared to the reckless destruction that a typical punch would cause, the Sixth Elder's strike was far more dangerous, despite what one would initially think.
Lu Yuan recalled how he had sneak-attacked the Shadow Serpent but only managed to knock it back because of its strong defense.
"If this attack were to hit the Shadow Serpent, it would have severely injured it. Not because of its raw power, but simply because of its penetrative force.", he immediately concluded.
Lu Yuan was not the only one surprised among the students. Even though they had been in the Academy for three years, most students had never witnessed the strength of a powerful Spirit Gathering Realm cultivator before.
Only a few people remained calm throughout this process and even showed a disdainful expression toward the "country pumpkins" around them. Lu Yuan saw that Su Ling'er and Yang Chen were among these students and immediately understood.
"These people either come from cultivator families or have powerful parents. They should have already seen the strength of powerful cultivators before.", Lu Yuan analyzed, but his attention soon turned back to the Sixth Elder.
"This is the Blazing Sun Fist, a Middle-Level Mortal-Grade martial skill that you can find in the Academy's Library.", the Sixth Elder stated in a flat tone, as if he had not done anything special.
"Just like the Middle Stage, the Late Stage of the Spirit Gathering Realm is also a major threshold. Once a cultivator breaks through the 7th Level, their spiritual energy will begin to take solid form, giving them the ability to 'create' things out of thin air."
The moment the Sixth Elder finished, he began demonstrating just like he had done before. He waved his hand to the side, and just when everyone thought that he would attack the wall behind him again, they saw a red light flicker above his palm.
The next second, this light squirmed and soon transformed into a small red sword. Under everyone's shocked eyes, the Sixth Elder grabbed this sword and waved it behind him casually.
The sword didn't touch the wall at all, but despite this, its sharp edge left a deep slash behind, as if it had sliced through a piece of paper.
"Although this sword was created casually, its sharpness and toughness far surpass that of the weapons that you'll commonly find. Only weapons made out of rare materials or even Spiritual Weapons can match it.", the Sixth Elder explained as the sword in his hand dissipated, transforming back into spiritual energy and merging with the world around it.
The Sixth Elder's expression remained unchanged as he glanced at the shocked students.
"That's all for today's lecture. Does anyone have any questions?", he asked, and his words jolted everyone awake.
For a moment, complete silence filled the room, but this silence was soon broken.
"Sixth Elder, I've recently encountered an issue during my cultivation..."
"Elder, I've hit a bottleneck and don't know how to break through the 2nd Level..."
"Why is my Blazing Sun Fist completely different from yours, Elder? Did I practice incorrectly?..."