As we trailed behind Senior Disciple Song, I paid attention to the architecture of the sect. It was majorly based on Chinese origins from what I remembered of the pictures from my old world, but here and there I could see some Western influences. There were even what I thought Indian style pillars scattered around.

Most xianxia worlds that I had read about had been written as being completely Chinese based, but I supposed in actuality that was never going to be true. Walking down a side path, we suddenly came upon a large clearing. There was a huge open circle, on whose cardinal directions were more paths leading to different parts of the sect.

There were a large number of disciples bustling around, going in and out of the buildings that were situated at the edge of the circle. In the middle of the entire area was a huge raised platform with steps leading upto it.

Seeing the awestruck look on the everyone’s faces, Senior Disciple Song stated, “This here is the Sect Plaza. Almost all the trading halls of the sect are established here, so it sees great traffic everyday.”

He led us up to the large platform, saying, “This is the Duelling Platform. It is used to hold duels and competitions in the sect. It is also used to settle any major disputes that people may have with each other, but it hasn’t been used for that in the past 5 years.

Pointing to a building to our east, in which a huge number of disciples were jostling each other around, he said, “Over there is the Mission Hall. That’s were you can take up missions to complete for the sect. As new disciples, you have an obligation to complete at least one mission a month. After a year has passed, that requirement will be increased to two times a month.”

“Opposite to the Mission Hall is the Pill Repository. You can buy pills there for all your cultivation needs. But be careful, they can be very pricey.” Senior Disciple Song had a bitter look on his face as he said this, like he had personally experienced the quagmire of inflated prices.

“Where are the weapons kept?” someone in our crowd asked.

Running a hand through his hair, Senior Disciple Song mused, “I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but its not as if you will find it, so I guess its okay. The weapons cache of the sect is kept in a place called the Weapons Store. It is in a very secretive place, and no, I cant tell you more than that. I’m under oath not to.”

There were disappointed looks on all the newcomers faces. Looking at them, Disciple Song just gave an exasperated sigh and said, “Its not as if you can get anything out of knowing where the weapons are held. The entire place is covered with arrays, and those without sufficient authority will get blasted into smithereens if they even set a foot near that place. The only way you can get a weapon out of there is if you have contributed a lot to the sect, or if you can show one of the elders that you have enough spirit stones to buy one.”

Understanding dawned on everyone’s faces. While the rest of them seemed satisfied with the explanation, I smelled something fishy.

That is a lot of security for just a weapons cache, I thought. I mean sure, the weapons in a xianxia can become literal nukes at the higher realms, but as far as I can see, The Path of The Night Sect is nowhere near that level. No, there is something else going on here.

Shaking myself out of my reverie, I noticed that we had finally stopped. Gods, this place was huge. I looked in front of me, and for the first time since coming into this world, my jaw dropped.

There was a huge beast in front of us, almost the size of an elephant. It was sort of chimera, with a lion’s head, a bear’s body and a horse’s hooves. It stared at us menacingly, as if daring us to step forward. Its eyes passed over each of us, before coming to rest on a person

I slowly turned my head to see who it was, not wanting to make any sudden moves. When I saw who the beast was staring at, my eyes widened in surprise. It was Snobby Girl.

She was staring right back at the chimera. There was almost a small smile on her face, before she gave an imperceptible shake of her head. The beast, as if suddenly realising where it was, continued its searching sweep, growling slightly.

Snobby Girl turned slightly, and before I could avert my eyes, hers caught mine. Seeing that I had been caught staring, I just gave her a small smile, to say that her secret was safe with me. Her eyes widened slightly before she nodded stiffly. There, progress. Snobby Girl definitely had something special about her, but I had already decided that I wouldn’t put my nose where it didn’t belong.

By now, the newcomers were scared silly. They had not dared to move from their place in fear that the chimera would attack. I looked at Senior Song, and he had a grin on his face, like there was something really funny going on.

“Now Apu, that’s enough. Stop scaring the children,” a loud voice came from behind the chimera. It turned its head back, then hurriedly ambled off to the side, sitting down on its haunches meekly.

I craned my head to look at the new arrival, but couldn’t see anyone. There was loud chattering from the front row, before the voice said again, “Yes, I know I’m short. And no, Apu has never accidentally stepped on me. Now are you just going to stare like fools or actually pay respects to your elder?”

There was a wave, as those in the front row bowed, followed by the ones behind them. There was a collective shout of “Disciple greets Elder” before we straightened back up. Wanting to get a look at the owner of the voice, I unbent my waist a little faster. I could only catch a glimpse of the person before my sight was blocked by those in front of me, but it was enough.

To sum it up in a word, he was short. Shorter than anyone I had seen before. He was like a dwarf, but he did not share any similarities with those from my old world.

Again said the voice without a body, “What are you waiting for? Follow me.”

***

We walked for a few minutes more before arriving at a tall building. It had traditional Chinese curved roofs, and was two stories tall, but was actually taller than some of the five-story ones back on Earth.

Between the two floors was a huge plaque with the words ‘Scroll Hall’ written on it in bold calligraphy.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I didn’t notice it previously, but I seemed to be able to read and speak the language of this world like it was second nature. A result of fully assimilating the memories I guess.

We stopped in front of the huge double doors that led inside the building. Behind us, Apu was following with clopping sounds. Now that I looked at him, he was a bit cute.

A large grinding sound distracted me and I looked towards the front again. The doors to the hall were opening slowly, likely operated by some array that the elder must have been controlling. Once the doors were open, we all streamed inside, and for the second time in a day, I was struck with awe.

It was the biggest library I had ever seen. Rows and rows of books, scrolls and manuscripts filled the shelfs. They extended up till the ceiling which you could not reach even if you stacked seven people on top of each other. Simply put, it was heaven for bibliophiles like me.

Once all of us were inside, the doors slammed shut behind us. The elder whose name I still did not know rose up into the air in front of us and spoke in a booming voice, “Even though none of you have reached Qi-Condensation yet, the sect in order to make you stronger has allowed you to choose a cultivation manual now. The entirety of the first floor is open to you. Do not try to go to the second floor, as only Foundation Establishment disciples may go there.”

Pointing to his left, he said, “The shelves on that side contain cultivation methods, and the books on the opposite side have martial techniques stored within them. The section in the middle is dedicated to general knowledge, for those who want gain a deeper understanding of cultivation and its nuances.”

“Normally, disciples are given two hours to choose what they need, but since you all are completely new to cultivation, I’m giving you five hours instead. Now scram, and let me read in peace, ” he commanded, then settled behind a counter with a manual appearing in his arms. He seemed a little short tempered, but then, anyone dealing with teenagers all day would be.

Every single one of the new disciples rushed to the section where the cultivation manuals were stored, leaving me behind. Licking my lips, I thought about what I should do, before moving towards the section with general knowledge. Before I chose a cultivation method, I needed to understand more about my spirit roots.

***

Sitting in the area with books on spirit roots, I was growing increasingly frustrated. About an hour had passed, and I had skimmed through more than ten books. All of them agreed on the classification of spirit roots, but what I could find just got me annoyed at my situation.

According to the books, spirit roots were divided into five types: Mono, Bi, Tri, Tetra and Penta-Elemental roots. Of them Mono was the best, and Penta was the worst. And each of these types were further divided into Low, Middle and High grade.

Pulling up my status again, I confirmed that I really had High grade Tetra-Elemental roots. Great, so I had the second worst type of root in the world. In the books, it was written that High grade Tetra-Elemental roots could only cultivate upto Core Formation. Anything beyond that was impossible.

I wanted to tear my hair out. This body was the worst. Not only was my potential limited, I could only go till the Gold Core realm. That was not enough to survive when I knew Nascent Soul monsters existed. The Sect Leader was one.

By now, I had given up on being the MC of this world. Everything about me screamed average. There was no golden spoon that would propel me to being the strongest in the world.

Growing despondent, I sulked to the area where the cultivation manuals were stored. I searched for about two more hours for any manuals that were old, decrepit or looked like they hadn’t been used anytime before, but my luck did not support me.

Looks like I will have to give up on my cultivation journey, I smiled sadly. I was just about to pick out a random manual suited for my spirit roots when I had a great idea.

People usually forgot about them, but there was someone who was intimate with every nook and corner of their library. I hurriedly walked over to the front desk and bowed low in front of the short Elder.

There was silence for a few moments before I heard him ask rudely, “What do you want brat?”

Taking that as permission to straighten myself, I inquired in a polite tone, “I just wanted to ask for some advice in regards to choosing a cultivation method, Elder-”

“Liu. My name is Liu Chen,” he replied. There was a bit of warmth in his eyes now. To a librarian, their library was like their home. It gave them great joy to help people find what they needed.

“It has been many years since a newcomer has come asking me for advice. Come, tell me what you require, ” he said with a smile.

Glad that I had come to him, I asked, “Are there any manuals that have been discontinued or are not used by anyone here?”

His eyebrows raised slightly. This was a strange request, for disciples usually wanted to know about methods that were the strongest or fastest to cultivate. “A weird question, but not one I can’t answer. Follow me,” he said, getting up out of his chair.

I walked behind Elder Liu, excited to see what he had in store for me. Going to one of the last rows, he flew into the air, rummaging in a shelf that no one was able to reach. He eventually came back down with dozens of leather bound manuals floating in front of him.

He deposited them on a table in front of me, and nodded for me to go ahead. Without waiting on ceremony, I dug into the feast.

After an hour, I had narrowed my selections down to three manuals. Presenting them to Elder Liu, I asked him, “Could you please tell me more about these, Elder?”

Taking them from my hands, he looked them over and gave a smile of appreciation. “You’ve got a good eye,” he praised me. “Records of the Divine Ape and Transcendent Law Gathering are some of the highest leveled scriptures in this hall. This Art of the Inner Minds is a bit of a curve ball, but nothing I’m ignorant about. So, which do you want to know about first?”

I looked them over before pointing at Record of the Divine Ape.

“This is a body cultivation method,” Elder Liu explained. “Body cultivation is not dependent on the spirit root, but in return, is increasingly dangerous. Our copy of Records of the Divine Ape goes up till the Nascent Soul level, but we stopped giving it to disciples as no one who cultivated it got past foundation establishment.”

“Coming to Transcendent Law Gathering, it is truly a great scripture, but unfortunately useless for you and everyone in this sect. Although it promises a chance to reach Godhood, it requires a Bi-elemental spirit root, and one hasn’t appeared for the past two thousand years.”

I immediately discarded that one from my list. I was searching for something that allowed me to go past the limits of my spirit root. Records of the Divine Ape sounded good, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to deal with the pain and high mortality rate of body cultivation.

Turning my head towards the last manual, I looked up at Elder Liu expectantly. He gave the manual a troubled look before saying, “Although this manual meets all your requirements, I don’t you should cultivate in it. To be frank, I don’t think you can cultivate it. I encourage you to choose another one.”

“Why is that so, Elder? Please enlighten me,” I cupped my hands and bowed.

“This Art,” he sighed, “is very dangerous to cultivate. What this method requires is meditation. But not just any kind. You must clear your mind of every single thought, so much so that you may as well be a vegetable. Your body must be on the verge of shutting down, as only then can the surrounding spirit qi can enter it. This state is very dangerous for the body, for with a single misstep you can fall into a coma. But that’s not the real difficulty.”

He paused in his speech, unsure of whether he should continue. As if overcoming an internal debate, he continued, “This Art is dependent on the spirit root, but not limited by it. Traditional cultivation methods store qi in the spirit root. That’s why a person’s highest cultivation is set by his spirit root. In this art, while taking in qi in the meditative state, you cycle it through the spirit root. But you store the qi in your mind. And that’s the difficulty of it. The amount of spirit qi you can store is limited by your memory. That is why no one has ever been able to move past Qi-Condensation using this method.”

Finished with his explanation, he stared at me, waiting for my decision. The more I had listened to him, the more I had been convinced that the Art of the Inner Minds was perfect for me.

After all, I had at my disposal meditation techniques from the twenty-first century. And as for the memory problem? Pfft. I was someone who had memorised every single law existing in the USA.

Looking at the manual in my hands, I finally felt that I had gotten my golden finger.