Chapter 51: Inner Yard Opening
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Clap clap clap!
A huge round of applause!
Everyone in the audience had stood up to pay their respects, and none were stingy with their applause, as they'd been completely captivated by the battle.
How should they describe this final…
It had started out strong and ended with a bang, with Xu Xiaoshou becoming the center of attention.
Everyone thought it was a little weird, but as they looked at this young man in the arena drenched in blood, they all felt that with him around, it was no surprise the match had ended with such a heated battle.
It was undeniable that this had been an extremely fantastic battle!
Xiao Qixiu waved and sent the medical staff to receive Mo Mo from Xu Xiaoshou's hands.
The remaining four staff members all awkwardly stared at Xu Xiaoshou.
"Do you need any treatment?"
The four familiar faces…
Xu Xiaoshou was amused. "It's okay!"
He took off his shirt and rubbed off the dead flesh that had been cooked by the lava, then passed it to them.
"Since you guys are here and I don't have anything nice for you guys, take this as a souvenir!"
"Cursed, Passive Points. +4."
The four staff members turned around and immediately left. This time, they didn't even bother to check out his condition.
He really was a monster. How had such horrifying lava not burned him? What a shame.
During the battle just now, these four people had been the least worried when they saw the lava appear. When they saw the audience start to feel nervous for Xu Xiaoshou, they'd all thought that the audience knew nothing about him. Then again, if they hadn't checked his body before, they probably would've thought him in danger too.
Xiao Qixiu signaled for the crowd to settle down and stop clapping, then smiled and said, "First, I would like to congratulate Xu Xiaoshou on winning the Wincloud Competition. To be honest, this was beyond my expectations!"
The spectators all smiled simultaneously, as they'd all thought the same thing.
Except for Xu Xiaoshou, who was inwardly cursing this middle-aged old man, his expression dark.
"So you thought I couldn't win the competition, huh?" he thought.
Xiao Qixiu didn't pay him any mind and added, "I noticed him in the group play-off because he was stirring up trouble. I noticed him once again in the subsequent matches, as he was making even bigger trouble. In the qualifying match…"
"Ha. Ha."
"I could no longer ignore him. This man almost p*ssed me off!"
The audience burst into laughter, but Xu Xiaoshou's expression darkened.
Revenge!
This middle-aged old man had finally seized an opportunity to tease him!
Xiao Qixiu went on. "However, Xu Xiaoshou is undeniably a black horse!"
"Everyone encounters a turning point in his or her life at some point, be it a setback or an opportunity. It all depends on your own effort to determine if you can overcome your own limitations."
He was taking such a roundabout way to praise him, and Xu Xiaoshou shyly scratched his head.
"Effort?" he thought.
"Well, it was okay."
"However, after your encouraging speech, I'll try harder to earn more Passive Points."
Xiao Qixiu wasn't aware that his words were being twisted by someone else. After he gave another round of appraise, he finally ended the post-game commentary.
"I hope that in the next cohort, there will still be people who can 'impress' me…
"Now to the prize presentation!"
He activated the formation order, and a podium emerged in the arena. There were only ten spots.
The staff escorted the top ten contestants to the podium. Although the rest of the people who'd participated in the qualifying matches were also awarded, they couldn't enjoy being on the podium in this moment of glory.
Xu Xiaoshou glanced over and saw many of his subordinates…
Cough cough, familiar old friends!
Zhao Qingteng, Mu Zixi, Mo Mo…
The medical staff was indeed capable, as Mu Mu had regained consciousness and was able to move on her own.
Xu Xiaoshou chuckled as these people walked by him, and even waved enthusiastically to greet them.
However, he was shocked when he glanced at his information bar.
Zhao Qingteng walked by in front of him and said emotionlessly, "Congratulations!"
"Cursed, Passive Points, +1."
Mu Zixi passed by, playing with her twin ponytails, and looked away, wrinkling her nose at him.
"Despised, Passive Points, +1."
Mo Mo walked over, not even looking at him.
"Ignored, Passive Points, +1."
Xu Xiaoshou: ???
"Hey!" he thought.
"All I did was stab you guys a few times and simply knock each of you out!
"Why are you people so narrow-minded?
"You guys really bear me a grudge, huh?"
Since everyone was being like this, Xu Xiaoshou didn't bother to wave his hand to greet anyone anymore.
Intolerant, shallow, and unbecoming!
The staff gave everyone another space ring, which Xu Xiaoshou really loved. This was his second ring.
"I'm not going to list out all the other prizes. Just take a look for yourself."
Xiao Qixiu turned to face the audience after saying this and raised his voice. "The top ten of the Windcloud Board each gets a chance to enter Spiritual Library Division to pick his or her spiritual skill."
"The top three will each be awarded an Innate Pill. If you don't need it, you can exchange it for other pills of equivalent value!"
The audience was amazed by the prizes, and they all looked envious.
The Spiritual Library division was one of the most important divisions in the entire Tiansang Spirit Palace. It contained countless spiritual skills, including the Acquired Stage, Innate Stage, and even Master Stage skills.
The Innate Pill was a Grade Eight pill that could increase the chances of evolving to the Innate Stage by thirty percent. This was the dream pill that was highly sought after by everyone!
Of course, the top three this year were a little unusual, as Xu Xiaoshou, the champion, was the only person who could use this…
The other two had already reached the Innate Stage!
Xiao Qixiu felt rather helpless too, as the quality of this cohort was higher than usual, and the Innate Pill, which was usually a popular prize, looked rather pathetic to them this year.
Of course, being able to exchange the Innate Pill for other pills of equivalent value was a pretty flexible option.
Xu Xiaoshou was pretty thrilled, as his cultivation level wasn't as high as those monsters.
These rewards were indeed timely for him. The Innate Pill would be useful to him, same for the opportunity to enter the Spiritual Library Division to pick a spiritual skill.
God knows that he had enrolled into the Spirit Palace for three years and only gotten a chance to enter there to get a White Cloud Sword Technique. Since then, he hadn't gotten a chance to enter there again.
Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoshou felt sad.
Just look at the other contestants. They all had huge reserves of spiritual skills to use. Look at Mo Mo. Her spiritual skill rank was probably higher than the Innate Stage!
A poor underdog like him could only rely on his self-invented skills, which were rankless.
Hmm?
But he had won at last.
"Heheh!" At this thought, Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, feeling good about himself.
The audience in turn felt conflicted as they watched the prize presentation ceremony being carried out in the arena.
At last, Xiao Qixiu smirked and said, "Very well. We've finally reached the last segment.
"The opening for Inner Yard!"
When he said this, people started to discuss enthusiastically.
"It's finally here! I've been waiting for this moment. I wonder how many will make it to the Inner Yard this year!"
"If I remember correctly, Su Qianqian was the only one who made it last year. I think the years before that saw few cohorts with people who made it."
"That's right. The benchmark for qualifying to enter the Inner Yard is too high, but the quality of the students there is really cream of the crop."
"Yeah, even with the thirty-three people in the Inner Yard, adding up the others wouldn't even surpass a hundred people…"
"Yup!"
Xiao Qixiu took out a paper from his pocket and read, "First Inner Yard Opening, Zhou Tianshen!"
Zhou Tianshen, who was sitting among the audience, stood up in disbelief and pointed at himself.
"Me?"
"You sure you aren't mistaken?"
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Chapter 52
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It was understandable that he didn't believe it.
The guy had already been cut down by Xu Xiaoshou when there were thirty-two people left in the match, and thus had long since given up hope. As such, he couldn't believe that he was actually able to join the Inner Yard.
The crowd cheered. Some were envious, some were jealous, but most were just curious.
Many were wondering if the bar had been lowered for this year, given the fact that someone ranked below 32 on the Windcloud Board was allowed to join.
Xiao Qixiu continued saying, "The second candidate to join the Inner Yard, Zhao Qingteng."
Zhao Qingteng, who was usually cool and aloof, couldn't help but smirk, his fingers tracing the guard of his Ice Stream Sword.
"Second ne…"
The audience clenched their fists, noting that the record had been broken.
"Third candidate to join the Inner Yard, Mu Zixi."
"Fourth candidate to join the Inner Yard, Mo Mo."
Xiao Qixiu read out two names in a row, causing quite a commotion in the audience.
Mu Zixi grabbed her pigtails. She looked very excited, so much so she even hopped once on the spot.
Mo Mo, on the other hand, remained cradling the bronze cauldron in her hand. She took a whiff of the incense within, her face deadpan.
"This is awesome!"
The audience was extremely excited, as if their names were the ones that had been called instead.
But someone voiced their doubts all of a sudden. "Hold on. It looks like only people at the Innate Stage were called…"
Everyone was stunned, finding that it was indeed the case.
Even Zhou Tianshen, who was outside the 32, was only able to join the Inner Yard due to having broken into Innate Stage in that battle with Xu Xiaoshou.
"In previous years, it seems like only people at the Innate Stage were allowed to join too."
"If that's the case, Xu Xiaoshou would definitely be able to join then, since he has Innate Level Physique…"
"Not quite," someone interjected.
"Those with Innate Level Physiques have reached the end of the road. It would be very difficult for them to go further from there. Furthermore, his powers are only at level eight."
Everyone started to feel tense then, as someone with Innate Level Physique making it to Master Stage was virtually unheard of.
The reason was simple—training was simply too difficult to achieve further success.
That was an unwritten law of sorts, which applied to more than just the Tiansang Spirit Palace; it was something that applied everywhere in the entire Shengshen Continent.
Everyone's gaze fell on Xu Xiaoshou. None had expected the champion to be the one who'd caused the audience the most worry.
They wondered if an exception would be made for someone at Acquired Stage to join the Inner Yard.
They wondered if the number of candidates allowed to join the Inner Yard would go up to five, which was unprecedented.
Everyone started to feel very tense.
Xu Xiaoshou was rather intimidated by the looks he received all around, yet the next second, he felt nothing but glee.
Anticipated, Passive Points +2130.
He took a breath, like he felt nothing at all. But, despite having become the champion, he was nonetheless feeling rather tense.
Xiao Qixiu turned his gaze away from the paper, folded it, and put it away. His expression was cold as he said, "Four candidates. That will be all."
Doubted, Passive Points +1869.
Doubted, Passive Points +1511.
Doubted, Passive Points +1042.
…
The Information Bar was flooded by such lines, and Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. "I'm not in?" he thought.
Even though he'd put on a nonchalant façade, he was still nonetheless the champion. Even if he hadn't shown it outright, he'd nonetheless felt for sure deep down that he'd gotten it, yet this was the outcome.
That was all?
The others on the stage were equally as stunned. The smiles on the faces of the three who'd just been admitted instantly froze.
While they wouldn't openly admit it, they'd all been nonetheless impressed by Xu Xiaoshou, yet here was this baffling outcome.
???
The audience wasn't as reserved as the contestants. One after another, the spectators instantly went berserk.
"What? No more? Four candidates? Are you kidding me?"
"Xu Xiaoshou is the champion, man! He is funny, but you could not joke at such a time?"
"Oh the irony. The champion isn't admitted into the Inner Yard, and yet the one outside the thirty-two… hey, let me go! I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say!"
"Are you out of your mind? Zhou Tianshen is right behind you!"
"…"
Zhou Tianshen was furious. He immediately rose to his feet and said, "If this is how it's going to be, then I, Zhou Tianshen, would like to forfeit my candidacy into the Inner Yard."
He glared at Xiao Qixiu without a slight hint of fear in his eyes.
"Well said. Same goes for me."
"It's not like you're in."
"Oh, you shut up."
"…"
Xiao Qixiu's words had set the audience on fire. They were practically boiling with anger.
He didn't say anything to address their protests, and instead walked up to Xu Xiaoshou, looking at the kid without saying anything.
"The kid is still pretending that it doesn't matter eh?" he thought. "But…"
Xiao Qixiu was experienced enough to read all the hidden bitterness on the kid's face.
"The kid is still just eighteen, after all."
"Huff…" Xiao Qixiu sighed.
Xu Xiaoshou backed away, pinching his nose.
Xiao Qixiu was baffled.
"Oh, that little sh**!
"The kid really does know how to put up a fight. And there I was feeling pity for him."
Xiao Qixiu stopped sighing and took a great big breath. He clapped Xu Xiaoshou on the shoulder and said, "You could still stay in the Outer Yard for another year, so as to make a breakthrough into Innate Stage as soon as possible."
Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.
He had almost forgotten that if he were unable to join the Inner Yard within three years, or stayed at the bottom of the Contest of Wind and Cloud, he would be kicked out of the palace.
"So, that's to say someone actually spoke on my behalf?" he thought.
"Was it this middle-aged guy who did so, or…
"Elder Qiao?"
He took a look at the audience.
Elder Qiao was one of the few who had remained quietly seated in the audience seats. He simply nodded and said nothing.
Encouraged, Passive Points +1.
Xu Xiaoshou felt warm and fuzzy deep down.
He was undoubtedly feeling disappointed and dejected.
Yet, he didn't like being pitied, so he just had to do it when he saw the sympathetic look on Xiao Qixiu's face.
At the moment, however, he was truly touched.
Xu Xiaoshou sincerely voiced his gratitude. "Thank you."
1
Xiao Qixiu shook his head and grinned. "You'd do enough by just sparing me your antics. Your thanks are too much for me."
He had no idea why this kid, despite being his junior, still managed to get on his nerves with all the antics he pulled.
Furthermore, he also seemed to have the subconscious tendency of lowering his status whenever he talked to Xu Xiaoshou.
"Yeah, that's probably how Old Qiao feels as well, I guess," Xu Xiaoshou thought. He pouted slightly and said nothing in return.
Xiao Qixiu then turned around and said loudly, "I hereby announce that the Contest of Wind and Cloud of this year is officially over!"
"Dismissed!"
Everyone in the audience was feeling vexed, but they couldn't do anything to protest the outcome.
They'd witnessed the birth of a dark horse and thought the ending would be utmost spectacular, yet the outcome had been unexpected.
The champion was unable to even get a place in the Inner Yard.
This would've been fine with them if Xu Xiaoshou were an ordinary champion, but he had defeated so many with Innate Elemental Powers, which meant he was anything but ordinary.
They wondered if his powers and potential were indeed not worth the Spirit Palace making a one-time exception.
"Good work! Xu Xiaoshou!"
Many didn't leave right away and came to encourage him instead. Before long, cheers were coming from all over the place.
"Xu Xiaoshou! You're the best! I'll love you forever!"
"Xu Xiaoshou! Hang in there!"
"…"
Encouraged, Passive Points +663.
Encouraged, Passive Points +414.
Encouraged, Passive Points +520.
"…"
Xu Xiaoshou was touched again seeing the waves of encouragement washing all over him.
This was especially so for the line: "Xu Xiaoshou! Hang in there!"
He vaguely remembered that that line had come about in the group matches, where he had pretended to be ganged up by over 40 people.
"Thank you," he whispered in gratitude.
The sun set, and the crowd eventually dispersed.
Xu Xiaoshou smiled as he responded to those who came up to him just to encourage him, whether he recognized them or not.
"Dejected?" Elder Qiao came up to him and asked.
"Yeah.
"Very much so."
Xu Xiaoshou looked at the sunset while Elder Qiao looked at him.
"This kid…" he thought.
Despite having said he was fine to so many people, he was sure being frank with him.
"That's how it is with life,' he said. "Ups and downs all the time."
"Yeah." Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head and seemed to recall something. "Ups and downs, but if you're lucky…"
"You sure are one hell of an optimist." Elder Qiao shook his head, then took out two bottles of pills for him before walking into the sunset.
"Good work."
"Teach those unflinching old farts a lesson. Make them see that they were wrong."
1
Xu Xiaoshou was rather stunned, thinking that there was definitely a lot to swallow in those two lines.
He then looked down at the two bottles of pills in his hand.
A bottle of Spiritual Cultivation Pills.
Another bottle carrying Red Gold Pills.
Sunset, Elder Qiao, and pills again…
Xu Xiaoshou smiled faintly, finding the scene oddly familiar, yet something was missing.
He took out a Spiritual Cultivation Pill and took a whiff.
Hsss.
The sunset seemed to sway, so much so that even his shadow seemed to shudder.
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Chapter 53
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Chapter 53: Spiritual Library Division
He slept soundly all the way until morning.
He slept so well that he'd swear it was the best sleep he'd gotten in his entire life so far.
There were no mosquitoes around, he didn't need to worry about matches the next day, and there was no need to wake up to practice swordplay in the middle of the night just to ease all that tension.
As for that dull, dreadful ending from the day before, he had completely put it behind him after being dejected for a while.
Death was unable to completely do him in, so he thought nothing of that minor setback.
"It's just the Inner Yard after all," he thought. "And maybe I'm just not ready for it!
Urgent knocks were heard at his door again, waking him up. He went over to open the door.
"It's you?"
The person before him was none other than a staff member from that waiting room who had delivered him the Red Gold Pills from Xiao Qixiu.
"Please be quick. Elder Xiao is waiting for you." He deliberated for a moment. Then, afraid that Xu Xiaoshou would take his sweet time getting ready, he added, "You're the only one who hasn't shown up yet."
Today was the day he would head inside the Spiritual Library Division to pick his spiritual technique. It was already noon, and was indeed getting late.
"Alright, lead the way."
Xu Xiaoshou simply waved his hand and told the staff to lead the way, as he had nothing to pack anyway.
The staff member immediately rushed to get ahead of him.
"By the way, are there any special rules, written or otherwise, that I should know about before getting into the Spiritual Library Division?" Xu Xiaoshou took out a bottle of Red Gold Pills.
Again?
The staff member was startled, and immediately waved his hand in the negative.
"Nothing of that sort. Elder Xiao will personally explain the rules when he sees you all." He pushed the Red Gold Pill bottle back, then drastically lowered his voice. "I've already broken the rules once, so I really can't do this again."
Xu Xiaoshou frowned. "Take it!"
The staff member looked like he was about to cry. "There really are no hidden rules, and even if I took this, I wouldn't be able to tell you anything. I've never been to the Spiritual Library Division."
"Oh, that so?" Xu Xiaoshou hesitated for a bit, realizing that he wouldn't be able to fish anything out of the other man.
The last time he went there was about three years ago, and it actually wasn't his soul that had been in control then, so he'd forgotten everything.
Furthermore, he was rather dumb back then, having picked the "White Cloud Sword Techniques," which he was unable to master more than the first move of, even after practicing for three years.
He was determined to be smarter this time.
But then again, he had little confidence in his potential and figured that it wouldn't quite matter what he picked anyway.
Sigh.
Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned dull, and he had no intentions of taking that bottle of Red Gold Pills back.
The staff member took a deep breath, as if he were about to make some very, very important decision, and said, "I cannot take this!"
Xu Xiaoshou looked at the staff member, surprised that he wasn't actually backing down but was instead glaring at him with his teeth clenched.
Shing!
Xu Xiaoshou then drew his black sword out of his chest.
"Take it."
Sigh. The staff member then took the pills and shoved them into his sleeve.
"Lead the way."
"Very well."
The sun was hot, and the leader of the staff members looked up, trying to let the sun dry his tears.
"Oh, elder," he sighed inwardly.
"It's really not my fault. Xu Xiaoshou just insists on bribing me. Wuuuuuuu.
"I'm sorry for breaking the rules again…"
Cursed, Passive Points +1.
Impressed, Passive Points +1.
Xu Xiaoshou was amused, wondering what could've possibly caused such ambivalence.
…
The Spiritual Library Division, Inner Yard.
The Inner Yard had a concentration of Spiritual Energy several times that of the Outer Yard, which enabled one to be invigorated as soon as one entered the place.
Every disciple who first joined the Tiansang Spirit Palace would get a chance to enter the Spiritual Library Division once. While this was mainly to let them select the techniques they would soon practice, having them experience the difference in Spiritual Energy concentration between the Inner and Outer Yards also served as a way to encourage them to be diligent in their training.
Furthermore, it was said that every Inner Yard disciple would get their own private compound, which had an array that, when opened, would increase said concentration by several times over.
Private compounds were hard to come by.
Not everyone was like Xu Xiaoshou, who'd managed to get himself a private compound when he was still training at the Outer Yard.
Some even had to sneak up others' doors just to train.
Xiao Qixiu brought eleven others with him, walking as he talked.
"Although you've all been here before, I'm about to reiterate the rules one more time."
"Each of you can select an Innate-level spiritual technique. Once you're done, get to registration right away. Be careful not to cause a scene, and fighting inside is absolutely forbidden."
He turned around and locked eyes with Xu Xiaoshou. "Got it?"
Exasperated, Xu Xiaoshou asked, "Why are you looking at me?"
"Heh."
Xiao Qixiu's expression seemed to say "you of all people should know why," and he added, "I'm not going to be discreet about his. What I said was meant for you!"
Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.
Everyone else around laughed their lungs out.
Ridiculed, Passive Points +11.
Xu Xiaoshou immediately felt rather exhausted, and he shot a look at Xiao Qixiu that seemed to say, "I'm not talking to you." Then, he walked to the tail end of the entourage.
He then found Zhou Tianshen in the entourage as well, and that piqued his interest.
He recalled Xiao Qixiu having said that only the top ten would get a chance to visit the Spiritual Library Division again, but he remembered having eliminated Zhou Tianshen when they were fighting for one of the top thirty-two places.
"Wait a minute," he thought.
"Under-the-table deal then?"
Xu Xiaoshou went up and put an arm around Zhou Tianshen's shoulders. "Why are you here too?"
The other man wanted to say something but decided not to.
Xu Xiaoshou then chuckled. His look seemed to say that he understood, and he dragged the man out of the entourage and whispered, "Just tell me, how did you manage to get here. I swear I won't tell anyone."
Zhou Tianshen tried to think up a way to go about this.
He had taken Xu Xiaoshou to be his friend after that battle, so he felt that he couldn't do anything to provoke him.
However, by the look on Xu Xiaoshou's face, he seemed to be urging him to speak the truth, so he had no choice but to be honest with him. "An opportunity given to me after making it into the Inner Yard."
Xu Xiaoshou's smile froze.
"Okay, sure!" he thought. "No problem. My own fault for putting salt in my own wound."
"So umm… they all can pick two techniques each?"
"Yeah." Zhou Tianshen nodded. "They can pick one now, and then they can come again to pick another after they master that one."
"D*mn, that's convoluted," he thought.
Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and left.
"That middle-aged guy was right. I'm better off not talking at all."
Disturbed, Passive Points +1.
He was stunned for a moment, then turned around to see the worried look on Zhou Tianshen's face, as if he were worried that what he said had hurt him.
"This is one straightforward guy indeed," Xu Xiaoshou chuckled inwardly.
…
"We're here."
A building that was three stories tall appeared before their eyes after they took a turn on the winding path.
The building looked plain and was sparsely decorated. There weren't even any carvings to be found on its pillars. Other than the huge crimson pearl that seemed to be emanating heat on the roof, nothing about the building seemed to be out of the ordinary.
The plaque hanging above the door said "Spiritual Library Division" in black lettering.
The writing looked rustic and magnanimous.
It seemed to suggest that it was a good place for studying.
Xiao Qixiu took out a reddish-black Elder Token and placed it on the array printed at the door, which then opened it.
"Get in there. The first floor contains Acquired-level techniques, the second floor contains Innate-level ones, and no going to the third floor.
"You have six hours to pick your techniques. Don't get too engrossed, and be mindful of the time allotted. Get to registration once you're done."
He then took a look at Xu Xiaoshou and said, "Remember what I said on our way here."
Everyone was having a good laugh again. As the student who was specifically picked on by the "instructor," Xu Xiaoshou had no choice but to walk inside with his head hung low.
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Chapter 54: 54
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The Spiritual Library Division was bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside.
Xu Xiaoshou scanned the place and found that there were hundreds of shelves around, with every shelf either having jade scrolls or ancient texts on them. There were easily over 1000 Acquired-level spiritual techniques to be found on that one floor alone.
"Tsk, tsk, this is something."
He walked to the end along with the crowd and turned, reaching out his hand and touching the first technique.
That was a snippet of an ancient text that one could read, yet an array had been installed on it, causing the reader to only be able to read the name and introduction but not the content inside.
Xu Xiaoshou didn't dwell on this book. He glanced at it, then shook it a bit, but nothing happened.
He then shook even harder, and still nothing happened.
He put the book down and went for the second book.
The result was the same.
In contrast, the others in the crowd passed through the first floor and made their way to the stairs leading to the second floor.
Xiao Qixiu had made it very clear that the first floor contained Acquired-level techniques, which no one out of the group batted an eye at.
It wasn't every day they were allowed to come inside this place. Given that there were no restrictions on what they could read, they all naturally headed to the second floor.
Zhou Tianshen had thought to do the same as them initially, following the rest to the stairs, but when he saw that no one else was behind him when they turned a corner, he stopped instead.
"Where's Xu Xiaoshou gone to again? Is he still on the first floor picking techniques?"
Zhou Tianshen was puzzled. He figured that he should advise his friend if that were the case.
He peered around the corner and found Xu Xiaoshou doing something at a shelf near the entrance.
He took a closer look and missed a step on the stairs, causing him to almost roll down the steps.
"Sh**!" he thought.
"What's that guy doing?
"Shaking ancient texts??"
Zhou Tianshen was completely baffled, thinking that Xu Xiaoshou was definitely very bold.
He'd completely forgotten what Elder Xiao had just said as soon as they'd gone inside. The way Xu Xiaoshou was shaking the books, it would only take moments for the caretakers to come and pick a fight with him.
Zhou Tianshen was exasperated. He headed back there and stopped Xu Xiaoshou from shaking the books again. "What the h*ll are you doing?"
"Looking for techniques." The look on Xu Xiaoshou's face seemed to suggest that he'd done nothing wrong.
"You call this looking for techniques?" Zhou Tianshen was so exasperated that his voice raised considerably. "What you're doing here is ruining the books. You'll be done for when the caretakers get here!"
"Quiet!"
Xu Xiaoshou then shushed him and said, "You know nothing, do you? The books are protected by arrays, so there's no way they could be ruined. You on the other hand, why the h*ll are you being so loud? Looking to get your head chopped off?"
Zhou Tianshen shrunk back and added, "But that's no reason for you to do what you did. Just in case, you know, the books do get ruined."
"They won't!"
Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand in dismissal, then stared at him instead. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be upstairs looking for Innate-level techniques?"
Zhou Tianshen was speechless.
"So you did know that the Innate level ones were up there, huh?" he thought. "Then why the h*ll are you shak…
"Huh?
"Hold on."
He paused all of a sudden and started pondering.
"The guy knows that the good stuff is upstairs, so what is he doing here still?
"Oh…
"I see."
He recalled the conversation he'd had with Xu Xiaoshou on their way here, and his face lit up with sudden understanding as he asked, "You have other ways, then?"
Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded.
"Other ways, yeah, right. I'm trying to find gold in the sands, dude!"
"Pfftt!" Zhou Tianshen pouted for a bit, then continued, "What gold could you find in the first floor, eh? The way I see it, you're picking sesames in a pile of sh** instead."
Xu Xiaoshou's hand that was shaking the text stopped. He was kind of offended by Zhou Tianshen's words.
"So what? You know how to go about it then?" he thought.
"Whatever. You've been here before. Might as well teach you something, then," Xu Xiaoshou sighed, figuring that these people of foreign worlds were indeed hopeless. However, he figured that it would do no harm to remind a guy who'd been kind enough to come and remind him about some things.
He pulled Zhou Tianshen over and pressed the other man's head low, saying, "Listen now. The real deal, the truly powerful techniques, will definitely not be put right in front of you.
"Only by selecting certain texts like me can you seek the lost treasures."
Zhou Tianshen looked doubtful, and he retorted, "What? You think you can shake treasures out of these old books?"
"That's hard to say…"
Xu Xiaoshou stretched himself a bit, a mysterious grin on his face. "You know, the likes of golden pages, ancient maps, pieces of broken scrolls and whatever. They're often found wedged inside the common ones."
"How do you know that?"
"Hehe, I've read enough books to tell."
Zhou Tianshen saw how confident Xu Xiaoshou was and figured that he might not be lying, but then again…
He wondered if such ways that seemed to have come out of nowhere would actually work.
"Believe it or not. Have it your way."
Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes, tired of explaining. Then he returned to shaking the ancient texts again.
Zhou Tianshen looked at Xu Xiaoshou, then shifted his gaze upwards as he thought about something. His gaze was so intense he could've seen through into the second floor.
He thought for a bit, then found himself reaching for a book on a shelf.
"We have six hours, so I'm going to search for three hours and then head upstairs if I don't find anything."
"Yeah, just like that."
He nodded in the affirmative and looked at Xu Xiaoshou again. The other man almost looked like he were glowing.
While Xu Xiaoshou did look like a lunatic, most of those who were thought to have sense had all been taken out by him. Zhou Tianshen then figured that there was maybe something to what the former had said.
That was probably how he'd managed to become champion.
Zhou Tianshen's eyes widened, as he felt he had seemingly discovered a piece of Xu Xiaoshou's secret to success.
Swoop, swoop, swoop.
He started shaking the books one by one, finding nothing.
"I knew it!" he thought. "That the road to success would be anything but easy!"
Zhou Tianshen's eyes lit up.
Moving on!
Swoop, swoop, swoop.
Still nothing.
"Failed again, as expected…"
"Great. I guess this is what grandpa meant when he told me about the trials and tribulations one experiences on the road to success."
"Thinking could actually enable one to discover shortcuts to success. Now I know why grandpa kept telling me to think more."
A stout kid rubbed his hands and then kept searching the books on the first floor of the library, his eyes seemingly sparkling the whole time.
…
On the other side.
Xu Xiaoshou had already searched several shelves. His Sense told him that Zhou Tianshen was actually searching the places he'd already searched, and he almost fainted at the thought.
He walked up to Zhou Tianshen and said, "I've already searched the places you're looking through!"
"Hey, you might have overlooked something," Zhou Tianshen answered without looking up. His hands were busy shaking through all the books. No one could stop him from reaching success.
Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned glum. The other man actually made sense.
"But we don't have that much time!"
He pointed at the end of the first floor and said, "Search over there instead. We'll split up. Remember to share when you find something."
"Hmm…"
"Seems like a good idea." Zhou Tianshen stopped doing what he was doing and decided to do as told.
"Remember, the weirder the stuff you find, the better. If you happen to find a piece of blank paper, you're inches away from becoming a god."
"Blank paper?" Zhou Tianshen then looked like he had just realized something and clenched his fists. "I'll keep that in mind."
"And don't just search the shelves. Look through the dusty corners, and there might be pieces stuffed under the legs of tables and chairs. If you find something, let me have a look first!"
"Man…" he thought.
"You want to cover that much, eh?"
Zhou Tianshen was stunned at the thought there might be legendary obscured pieces hidden somewhere.
That was the champion for you!
He gulped and came to believe all of a sudden that Xu Xiaoshou's thought patterns would definitely lead him to fame and glory.
Xu Xiaoshou saw him walk away and returned to flipping everywhere he could flip, not missing even a single corner.
He figured that Zhou Tianshen might not find anything satisfactory, but he was different.
Knowing oneself was a precious trait. Xu Xiaoshou knew how rare his potential was from the fact that he'd only been able to master one move, even after practicing the White Cloud Sword Techniques for three years. As such, he knew that he had no hopes of being able to master any of the Innate-level techniques.
What he was looking for at the moment were techniques that were practical, yet had few requirements in terms of talent. As for level, he figured that it would be better if it was beneath the Acquired level.
As for those powerful techniques, he saw fit to just let the Passive System take care of them.
As for broken pieces…
He deemed it imperative to find any pieces of those. Although the chances of finding such pieces were low, every book he read had something of that sort.
Just in case, man!
He turned around to look at Zhou Tianshen. Truth be told, he actually had high hopes for the other man.
There was a saying about it, after all.
What was it again?
Luck favors the dumb?
He might just actually run into some rare techniques.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
A+
A-
Chapter 55: 55
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Chapter 55: Third Person on The Treasure Hunt
On the second floor of the Spiritual Library Division.
The place was different from the first floor, given that there were no shelves. There weren't even ancient texts or jade scrolls. The only things around were white halos spaced far apart from each other.
Every single halo represented an Innate-level spiritual technique, and there were nearly one hundred of them to be found on the floor.
Mu Zixi, with a rather bored look on her face, played with her pigtails as she walked past one of the halos.
Unlike the others, she had set her sights on something and managed to find what she was looking for right away.
It wasn't every day that they got to enter the library, so she didn't want to just register her stuff and head out so quickly. Everyone was still inside. It would've been boring for her to stay outside all on her own, so she'd stayed inside the library.
She scanned her surroundings as she aimlessly walked around.
The halos were rather mystical. They would light up immediately once someone entered them, preventing another from getting inside.
Mu Zixi walked around and found something wasn't right. She counted the halos that were lit up.
"Eight?"
"Why are there only eight halos lit up when there are eleven of us here?" she thought.
"Where are the other three?
"We aren't allowed to enter the third floor, so are there still people on the first floor, then?"
She frowned, finding this turn of events amusing, and ran all the way downstairs.
…
Swoop, swoop, swoop.
Swoop, swoop, swoop.
Rhythmic and minute shaking sounds were heard. Mu Zixi sneaked up on the source of the sounds.
"Zhou Tianshen?" she thought.
"What is he doing?"
Mu Zixi was puzzled.
She saw the stout kid pick up a book and shake it before returning it to its place and reaching for another one.
That wasn't all. Mu Zixi looked on, finding it scary when he suddenly stopped at a corner and pounced on a dusty box, his eyes lighting up as if he'd found some kind of treasure.
He then got up there, pushed the box away, and started fiddling with the dust.
He seemed to be having a good time.
Mu Zixi was completely baffled, and was feeling a little puzzled at this sight. Who would've thought the stout guy would actually enjoy games that were so childish?
But this was the Spiritual Library Division. He was here to play games instead of selecting spiritual techniques?
"Zhou Tianshen!"
"What are you doing?" she yelled at him, arms akimbo.
The stout guy, who was busy moving the boxes, was startled, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was only Mu Zixi.
"Gosh, you scared me to death. I thought the caretakers were here…"
"Hmph, so you're telling me that you can just fool around as long as the caretakers aren't here?"
Zhou Tianshen was stunned when he heard this. Then, wiping the sweat from his brow, he said, "I'm not fooling around. I'm looking for techniques!"
Mu Zixi, amused, watched his blackened hand leave marks behind on his face and said, "Look at your messy face. Since when do people go about looking for techniques like this?"
"Yeah, that's what you think." Zhou Tianshen said, disgruntled. Then he pointed at Xu Xiaoshou. "Xu Xiaoshou's looking for techniques like this too, okay?"
Xu Xiaoshou?
Mu Zixi looked in the direction he was pointing and immediately spotted a lanky figure.
However, the sight that greeted them was completely different from what they'd expected.
Xu Xiaoshou, who was in his simple white garb, was leaning on a shelf, a book in his hands. He looked dazed, as if he were pondering some big question that was bothering him.
The bit of sunlight coming from the windows above shone on the young man's chiseled face, making the scene look like something out of a painting.
Zhou Tiansheng was completely baffled.
Mu Zixi got engrossed in the scene for a bit before recalling how Xu Xiaoshou had wiped at his neck, saying that it stank. She then quickly snapped back to reality.
She looked at Zhou Tianshen and snickered. "Well, the way you both look for spiritual techniques is definitely really similar."
Zhou Tianshen was all quiet as he looked at his blackened hand, then at Xu Xiaoshou's clean face, feeling that he'd been several cheated.
"I think I need to explain myself…"
"No need to explain anything. Better get your face washed instead."
"Oh? Don't you wanna know the secret to that guy becoming the champion?"
"I'm no… huh? What did you say? Come again?"
"Well, I'd better just get my face washed."
"Wait, hold on. Come here for a bit."
…
Xu Xiaoshou naturally wasn't just acting cool in a sunny place because he'd sensed the two's conversation and what they were doing.
He was actually engrossed by the broken piece he'd found.
"10 Sections of the Finger Sword?" Xu Xiaoshou mumbled.
He'd actually been able to find quite a number of such broken pieces after searching for two hours. However, all those techniques required certain special elemental traits, and it'd taken him just one look to tell that those weren't for him.
All but the "10 Sections of the Finger Sword," that is.
The technique's level was unclear, and it didn't require spiritual strength. All the technique required was sword will and arts of the finger. When fully mastered, one could easily slice a river open with a single attack.
It was as if the technique were tailor-made for him.
The experience of a transported one was actually d*mn useful!
The only thing that concerned him was if the sword finger technique would stack with Glow of Sharpness, yet it was also the part that got him thinking.
According to the introduction, it melded sword will with one's fingers…
"Not with any sword-like item, like 'All Things are Swords,' but with one's own fingers eh?" he thought.
This was just like the third way a swordsman could train in the way of the sword, then!
The mainstream way of combining a sword with spiritual techniques was one way.
Fighting with pure sword will that he created, which he'd had no idea would actually work, was the second way.
Yet this "10 Sections of Sword Finger"…
Combining sword will with one's own body?
"I guess you can find all manner of weird stuff under the sun…" he thought.
He was completely shocked by this wild, unconventional way of thinking. Combining sword will and a sword-like item would produce Sword Telepathy. He wondered what combining sword will and one's own body would produce.
"Hold on," he thought.
"Sword will is something that gets produced from one's own training in the first place. Does the "combining" concept even apply here?
"But wait.
"It says here that it could be done."
He was completely puzzled by what he was reading.
He decided that if he were unable to find anything else, then he would settle for "10 Sections of Sword Finger."
Even if nothing else came out of his training with the technique, such a unique way of training would keep him occupied for a very long time.
"Heh, who was it who thought something this weird up? I guess I've met my match, and whoever invented this was a genius."
He tried looking for the name of the creator. Unfortunately, it was a broken piece, and there was no mention of the creator.
He packed his stuff and looked at the time. There were still four hours left, which meant he had a lot of time left to explore.
So he went back to searching high and low.
…
Swoop, swoop, swoop.
Swoop, swoop, swoop.
Mu Zixi rather regretted having bought Zhou Tianshen's mumbo-jumbo. She was holding two old books in her hands, and her favorite dress was all dirtied. She looked a mess.
"Zhou Tianshen!"
"There's nothing at all!" She forcefully shoved a book back onto a shelf.
The bang startled him.
He stuck his head through a crack in the wall, then said with a disgruntled expression on his face, "Oh gosh, miss. Don't you go scaring people like that! Becoming champion requires sacrifice, alright!"
Mu Zixi was actually fuming at the moment, yet she laughed out loud when she saw Zhou Tianshen's face.
His face was all blackened, and given that there wasn't enough light around, she was only able to see his white teeth.
Pfft!
"I think you really need to wash your face. Hahahaha!"
"Shh! Keep it down!" Zhou Tianshen shook the piece that he'd managed to find in the crack. It was indeed a page from somewhere. "See?"
"You found something?" Mu Zixi's eyes glittered, and she immediately headed over to him.
Zhou Tianshen dusted off the page by blowing on it, causing both of them to cough.
"An old image?"
The image was of an old one-armed man lifting a saber while bending backwards, looking very twisted and weird on that tattered, old parchment.
Mu Zixi immediately pouted. She could tell from one glance that the technique would fit Zhou Tianshen just right, but would be of no use to her.
She was just about to grumble when she turned around and saw that dirtied man staring at that old image, seemingly in some sort of trance.
"You learned something?" She was stunned.
"Indeed."
"What Xu Xiaoshou said was true, then? That the treasures are indeed on the first floor?"
"Yeah."
Mu Zixi found her motivation for finding techniques there again, but then she quickly realized something, which caused her to freeze.
Zhou Tianshen was in a trance, Xu Xiaoshou wasn't around, then…
"Who was speaking to me?" she thought.
She turned around in fright.