Chapter 35: Diligent People Can Cultivate Even in the Classroom (With Gratitude to Alliance Leader Xuxia JL)

Chen Shian and Wen Zhixia went to take their lunchtime break.

He returned to Class Five, while she went back to Class Eleven.

Glancing at the time, it was already twelve forty-five; there were only forty-five minutes left until afternoon classes resumed.

He didn’t know whether Wen Zhixia took naps at noon, but he figured the girl had probably gone back to her classroom to study as usual. Otherwise, she wouldn’t look a little sleep-deprived, her face slightly flushed from lack of rest.

Just as Wen Zhixia had said, although he was the only day student in the class, there were still seven classmates in the classroom studying during the noon break.

Anyone who comes to the classroom to study outside of school-mandated hours is bound to be disciplined. All seven of them sat quietly in their seats, reading or working on exercises. No one spoke; five of them were girls.

Since he had only just joined the class, Chen Shian wasn’t familiar with most of his classmates. He didn’t have a list to match faces to names—apart from a few rowdy ones whose names he knew, he couldn’t name most of them. But he had memorized all their faces.

Of the seven present, he could only recall the name of the vice class president, Qiu Yufu. He’d seen her name on the Honor Roll that morning: twenty-seventh in the science track, with a total score of six hundred fifty-six.

Such a score would easily secure a top-three spot in an ordinary county high school’s grade ranking, but here in Class Five, it didn’t even make the top ten—let alone match Lin Mengqiu’s seven hundred-plus points.

Chen Shian walked into the classroom lightly.

Four of the seven students looked up at him when he entered; the remaining three only noticed his presence after a while.

Without the bustle that came with a crowd, and in the absence of group energy, all seven appeared well-mannered and silent, finally fitting the stereotype of academic elites.

No wonder the school divided students into so many classes—the atmosphere truly mattered.

Chen Shian sat at his desk. Lin Mengqiu’s seat beside him was empty, and he felt a little unaccustomed to it—a reversal of her own discomfort at suddenly having a desk-mate.

With barely forty minutes left, Chen Shian decided against napping.

He sat calmly in his chair, legs naturally apart, hands resting gently on his knees, and began to meditate.

He didn’t sit cross-legged—there wasn’t enough space; the desks were too cramped. In truth, posture mattered little for meditation: cross-legged, standing, lying down—as long as body and mind could quieten, the state of cultivation could be entered.

Silent sitting and meditation was the first lesson in cultivation, and an important practice. Chen Shian had learned it since childhood. No matter how busy his days, he always made time to meditate.

In truth, cultivation had no absolute levels, but to help Chen Shian form a clearer concept, his master divided it into several stages.

The first level was bodily tranquility; at the beginning, the essential thing was to quiet the body, shaking off external distractions through breath regulation and muscle relaxation.

The second level was quieting the conscious mind—the acquired consciousness, which is the most active in daily life, processing information, making decisions, and interacting with the world. But in cultivation, it must be calmed so that the deeper voice within can emerge.

The third level was quieting the innate spirit—the subconscious, which holds deep emotions and memories, often beyond individual control. Many go their whole lives without reaching this level; it is a matter of talent and environment—a process of returning to zero.

The fourth level was the quiet unity of body and mind—a further sublimation of the first three, where one feels the unity of self, experiencing profound tranquility, yet with thoughts exceptionally clear, as if able to perceive all things and sense the world’s wondrous spiritual resonance.

The fifth level was entering the void—at this stage, the cultivator can draw in and nourish the spirit with the world’s mysterious spiritual resonance, experiencing unspeakable changes from body to mind. Only then is one considered to have truly entered the Dao.

The sixth level was unity with Heaven and Man; at this point, the boundaries of the body and mind dissolve, blending with the primal energy and laws of the universe and nature, drawing on that ineffable resonance. This is the Dao’s method—when meditating, one can even send thoughts outward, breaking through the limits of individual perception.

This level was vast beyond comprehension, as if starting in a hollow, moving forward to find a pond, then a lake, and finally discovering the endless sea.

Abilities like out-of-body travel or transmitting messages across great distances are possible here, although their strength varies with each cultivator’s attainment.

Chen Shian once asked his master whether there were realms beyond the sixth.

His master had replied that he didn’t know; after all, these divisions existed only to aid his disciple’s understanding.

As Zhuangzi said, “Heaven and earth are born with me, and all things are one with me.” Perhaps cultivation is not truly about stages—becoming one with the Dao and returning to innate clarity is its true essence.

In fact, Chen Shian wasn’t fully convinced by his master’s divisions. His master said that reaching the fifth level was entering the Dao, but he felt that only the sixth level was the true beginning.

The deeper he delved into this stage, the more boundless he realized the Dao was. With no precedent to follow, everything had to be grasped by himself—a fascinating journey into the unknown that he deeply enjoyed.

The so-called attainment of the Dao has always been not a result, but a process. How far one can go depends entirely on oneself.

Interpreting the world through Daoist practice is no different from analyzing it with mathematics or science; only the methods differ. This journey into the world for study and experience was a rare chance to broaden his horizons and mind, and the longer he traveled, the more he appreciated his master’s intentions.

Other students aimed for university entrance; he sought the Dao. The paths differed, but the striving was the same!

…

Chen Shian sat upright at his desk. After closing his eyes for merely ten breaths, he was already deep in meditation.

The thin, mysterious spiritual resonance of heaven and earth began to merge and respond to him, a subtle interplay of stillness and movement emanating from his being.

The classroom was quiet at noon—only the sounds of writing, pages turning, and the fan whirring could be heard.

The air conditioning was centrally controlled by the school and wasn’t switched on at noon, only the fans ran, so it was inevitably a bit stuffy.

Yet, inexplicably, all seven students studying in the classroom felt a refreshing coolness.

Unlike the chill from air conditioning blowing on the skin, this coolness spread from within outward. Not only did it sweep away the previous heat, but it also brought clarity and peace to body and mind.

This coolness came gradually, step by step, so those deeply absorbed in their studies barely noticed. Others, who had been unable to focus due to the heat, did notice the change, but couldn’t figure out why the room had suddenly become so comfortable…

Occasionally, someone would glance at Chen Shian.

Truly, the Daoist master lived up to his title—even his midday nap was different from others; he slept sitting upright?!

At that moment, Chen Shian’s consciousness was already extended outward. He hadn’t reached the level of fully leaving his body, but even so, during meditation, his senses could break free of his own hearing and sight.

To see, it was still vague—only some indistinct light and shadow appeared in his sea of consciousness.

But to hear—his hearing was astonishingly clear. Within a radius of some two kilometers, if he wished, he could catch every faint sound.

The blurred lights and shadows in his consciousness outlined the shape of the campus. Like a butterfly, his awareness merged with nature, drifting out of the classroom, out of the school—outside was the noisy street, clusters of swiftly moving lights…

“Meow.”

“Huh, where did this stray cat come from? We’re closing for lunch, nothing left to give you.”

“Meow…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll cut you a piece…”

Seeing the cat-shaped, small, dazzlingly bright shape and hearing the familiar meow, Chen Shian’s face twitched.

You little rascal, Fat Mo! I told you to guard the temple, but here you are wandering the streets, scrounging for food!

All the merit I earn for Pure Serenity Temple, you undo with your antics!

The black cat squatting at the fast-food shop’s door, waiting to be fed, suddenly looked back towards the school, as if sensing something. But when the chicken reached its mouth, it bolted off at once…

“Ah, you naughty cat! You eat my food but won’t even let me pet you!”

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