Volume One, Chapter 137: The Lecture Begins

Leaving the battle arena, Mo De first returned to the reception apartment to change his clothes.

Putting on the outfit that fellow had bought for him, Mo De looked at Mu Qing, who was sprawled out on the bed fast asleep, and decided not to wake her up. He picked up the quilt that had fallen to the side and draped it back over Mu Qing to cover her long, slender, and straight legs.

With a sympathetic expression, he patted the head of the giant bear pillow, silently offering three seconds of mourning for the unfortunate pillow in his heart, before tiptoeing out of the room and gently closing the door.

He hurried toward the lecture venue. Upon arriving, Mo De discovered that it was not the multimedia hall he had imagined, but merely an ordinary classroom.

There were not many students in the classroom, scattered sparsely in various corners. Mo De swept his gaze across the room and spotted Ning Muyu in the front row.

Pulling down the brim of his hat, Mo De fished out a white face mask dedicated to disguising himself, put it on, and chose an inconspicuous corner to sit down.

The lecturer on the podium glanced down at his watch and, confirming that the scheduled time had arrived, gave two light coughs and began the topic of today's lecture.

"Today's lecture topic continues to revolve around the three major schools of metal-type abilities."

As expected of someone qualified to lecture at one of the top three superhuman academies, the old professor captured Mo De's interest with his very first sentence. Pulling out paper and pen, Mo De concentrated and listened carefully to every single word spoken by the old professor.

Regardless of the type of ability, the process of cultivation generally involves three aspects. Through a long process of evolution, these three aspects have formed three major schools.

Namely, the Craft School, the Augmentation School, and the Arcane School.

The Craft School encompasses artifact nurturing, technique refinement, and other such contents. Most supernatural beings who focus on this school will nurture one or several natal artifacts, utilizing them to cast the combat techniques and abilities they have cultivated.

The Augmentation School focuses on the tempering and polishing of one's own physical body. Superhumans of this school disperse a large amount of psychic seeds into their flesh, continually hammering their physique until it becomes increasingly formidable.

The final Arcane School has a vast scope. Practitioners utilize techniques to embody the Dao, constantly exploring and tracing back the fundamental origin of magical abilities. Compared to the first two, the Arcane School can be said to be the most common school of all.

Nowadays, the three major schools are no longer as incompatible as fire and water as they were in the beginning.

In the early days of the New Calendar, a certain major faction split into the "Sword Sect" and the "Qi Sect" simply because of conflicting ideologies, leading to endless internal strife and their ultimate mutual decline. Examples like this were actually quite common during that era.

Modern superhumans no longer reject other schools; while choosing one as their primary focus, they will also understand information from other schools. Many superhumans from the Craft School and the Augmentation School will also study skills from the Arcane School to boost their combat prowess.

"The previous two lectures focused on the Craft School and the Augmentation School of metal-type abilities. I suppose the students who attended are quite yearning for the grand divine arts such as 'Sword Splitting the Heavenly Gates' from the Craft School and 'Vajra Indestructible' from the Augmentation School." The old professor adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping across the sparsely populated classroom.

It was not that he, as a lecturer, lacked excellence, but rather that among the students who awakened metal-type abilities in the top three academies, there were truly very few. Some senior students had already heard what he had to teach, and naturally had no need to sit through it again.

Oh? Why are there suddenly two more attendees today? Could these be the winter camp trainees the department head mentioned earlier...

The old professor was somewhat pleased to see new faces in the classroom, and his enthusiasm for lecturing grew stronger.

Meanwhile, Mo De, sitting in the corner, felt a twinge of regret that he had missed the previous two lectures. What a terrible pity!

"Speaking of arcane arts, everyone certainly won't find them unfamiliar. Because starting from the first awakening stage, we all come into contact with arcane arts to varying degrees. It's just that the arcane school of our metal-type ability is somewhat different from those of other attributes."

The lecturer reached out and took out a short metal rod, tapped it gently with his finger, and watched as the rod elongated, expanded, and twisted and folded in mid-air.

"Unlike other ability attributes, the metal element tends to cluster and condense together, so when we want to casually condense fireballs or water droplets like superhumans of other attributes, it is an extremely difficult task."

"Aside from supreme powerhouses, most metal-type superhumans can only manipulate metal impregnated by their own psychic seeds. Therefore, within the arcane school, we metal-type superhumans suffer a considerable inherent disadvantage." The old professor manipulated the cloud formed by the transformation of the short metal rod to pick up a piece of chalk, flew to the top of the blackboard, and began writing notes.

"The psychic seed mimicry ability of us metal-type superhumans is stronger than that of other superhumans, and everyone present here must already be capable of virtually manifesting various weapons. However, we cannot conjure a long metal sword out of thin air. To accomplish this, we need to carry a corresponding amount of metal on our person. Because of this exact reason, basically no metal-type superhuman solely cultivates the arcane school. Everyone treats the arcane school as an auxiliary means of cultivation."

"Psychic seed mimicry will eventually dissipate; only by holding a genuine sword blade in one's hand can one sustain the continuous release of blade auras and sword qi." The old professor paused his endless lecture, picked up his thermos cup, and moistened his throat.

"Except for those fellows holding spatial storage items who can conveniently carry a large amount of raw refined metal, for ordinary people like us, the quantity of metal products we can carry on our person is ultimately limited. However, I still suggest that you usually carry some of this raw refined metal." The old professor reached out and recalled the metal mass wrapped around the chalk, driving it to continuously pull and stretch until it finally became a slender metal wire weaving between his fingers.

"Sometimes, what a hundred-refined steel cannot accomplish, we can make up for with extreme gentleness." The old professor smiled slightly, and the metal wire slowly dispersed around him.

"I suppose that after everyone refines their natal artifact, no one will be willing to melt it down and disassemble it back into its original metallic form, because doing so undoubtedly ruins the painstaking efforts and resources spent on previous refining. Therefore, keeping a few small, clinking metal objects on your body at all times can help you out in times of desperate need." The old professor retrieved the metal threads floating all around him, weaving them into a small piece of fine metal net.

"Sometimes these small items are actually far more useful than a single saber or sword..."

"The refining of exotic metals also falls under the scope of the arcane school, and I will explain the related contents in detail in subsequent lectures. After all, for metal-type superhumans like us, becoming a weapon refiner can also be considered a broad and smooth path to success..."

On the stage, the old professor continuously explained various practical metal arcane arts to everyone, while also pointing out many common misconceptions held by beginners regarding the mimicry of metal psychic seeds.

Off the stage, Mo De, huddled in the corner, eagerly devoured the knowledge he was hearing, continuously deepening his understanding and perception of his own metal-type ability.