The week proceeded without much incident afterward. Most of the cohort had caught up and opened their first meridians, a rhythm had finally been established at the sect.

Jiang Tao had finally found a routine that consisted of lectures, cultivating and devouring the books allowed to them in the library pavilion. Iy

It was at the end of their second weekly foundational lecture with Elder Yan Ming when things started picking up again.

“Each one of you has unlocked a meridian or two. As such it is prudent you find your own paths, the upper levels of the library pavilion are now open to you,” Elder Yan Ming announced to the assembled disciples.

“The assembled knowledge of the dominion is vast and varied. Explore with diligence and discernment, find what resonates with you—a scripture that aligns with your way,”

The hall erupted into a buzz of excitement as the disciples realized what this meant, they could finally have techniques.

Jiang Tao felt a surge of anticipation, finally the exciting part.

They descended upon the library pavilion like a swarm of eager bees, overwhelming the elder in charge of the pavilion.

He stood on the bottom floor with Zhou Yixing and Zhang Yuhan who had somehow wormed his way into their duo.

“Where do we start?” Zhang Yuhan asked eagerly, scanning the rows of ancient scrolls and texts lining the shelves.

“This feels overwhelming,” He agreed watching their fellow disciples go hunting. “There's so much,”

Zhou Yixing stroked his chin.“It’s a treasure trove, just have to find a scripture that aligns with paths common to my clan”

“What are paths are those?” Jiang Tao could not help but ask

"The Zhou clan is varied but light, water, and karma," Zhou Yixing responded, his tone tinged with pride. “I'm leaning towards light same as my mother”

“Sounds like you have it planned out already, how about you princ- Yuhan,” he hastily corrected, the other boy was pretty sensitive over being called by his title.

“As the children of the emperor, all of us are to inherit the Sunfire sutra” Zhang Yuhan replied confidently. “So it's pretty much decided unless I choose multiple paths.”

“It seems I'm the only clueless one here,” He joked.

Zhou Yixing gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Brother Tao. The path will reveal itself to you in time. That’s part of the journey. You have more options with no expectations holding you back,”

Jiang Tao nodded, feeling a bit more confident. “Alright then, let’s start exploring.”

----------------------------------------

They made their way up to the upper levels and split up. He left himself to wander, letting intuition guide him. Pausing occasionally to pick up a scroll or book that caught his eye, but quickly moving on once he felt it wasn't the one.

I need something powerful something that will set me apart. He thought, fingers trailing over the ancient texts.

After searching for an hour, a particular section called to him and he pulled out a tattered scroll.

"Whisper wind codex," he read aloud, his curiosity piqued.

He was about to read some more when it was unceremoniously snatched from his hands by a passing disciple. The boy had short black hair and an annoying smile.

“Sorry, but this one has fate with me,” the thief said with a shameless grin.

“Hey! That was mine," Jiang Tao protested his tone a mix of irritation and disbelief.

The disciple shrugged nonchalantly, unfazed by his glare before walking off.

Jiang Tao blinked in surprise as the disciple dashed off with the Whisper Wind Codex. He glanced around, momentarily stunned by the audacity of the theft.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Wow…Do these kids think I'm an easy target? He thought in annoyance.

He let out a deep exhale. Whatever I'll find something even better. Not worth the distraction.

He continued his search going further up. After a while, he stumbled upon a particularly old-looking scroll tucked away in a corner. Its cover was weathered. Intrigued, Jiang Tao carefully unrolled it.

“Stormsong Manuscript,” he murmured before shooting a paranoid glance over his shoulder.

His eyes scanned the yellowed parchment taking in the diagrams and ascribed techniques.

He couldn't help the involuntary grin that made its way across his face. This was it. The whispering wind codex already forgotten about.

Forget the Wind, I will be the storm.

He quickly pocketed the scroll and descended to the lower levels, eager to start studying the manuscript. He spotted Zhou Yixing still browsing the shelves and decided to leave him to it.

Jiang Tao approached the elder's table where several disciples registered their chosen scriptures.

The Elder in charge of the library pavilion was a matronly woman with an ever-present frown deeply etched on her face.

She took the manual and logged without so much as a word before handing it back. It was finally his.

"Thank you," Jiang Tao said respectfully, feeling a surge of excitement as he turned away from her workstation. It was finally his! he was going to be a proper cultivator!

As he exited the pavilion, he found Zhang Yuhan just outside engrossed in conversation with an unfamiliar girl with light brown hair. Zhang Yuhan noticed Jiang Tao approaching and gestured for him to join them.

“Third sister, this is Jiang Tao. Jiang Tao this is my third sister Zhang Xinyu,” He introduced them.

“Oh? You've made a friend, I was starting to get worried Zhang Yuhan” she teased, her tone light but with a hint of playful skepticism.

Zhang Yuhan chuckled, unfazed by his sister's comment. “Please third sister, I'm the one who should be worried, you haven't spoken to anyone who isn't family since we arrived,”

She sniffed haughtily "It can't be helped all the female disciples are as dull as bricks, too concerned with scheming their way into the arms of a prince even that cultivation maniac Li Hua seems taken with first brother and the less said about Yu Yanling the better,"

Well, aren't you straightforward? He observed her with a growing sense of intrigue. He didn't know what he expected a princess to be like but it sure wasn't this. Spirited was right.

"Well met, Princess," Jiang Tao greeted with a bow.

She gave him an assessing gaze, before replying “Likewise,”

“Brother Tao, what scripture did you obtain from the library?” Zhang Yuhan asked

“I managed to secure the Stormsong manuscript, I plan to walk the path of the storm,” he replied, holding up the scroll.

“Storms are an interesting choice, I happened upon the radiant flame scripture I think it will synergize excellently with the Eternal Sun sutra. Third sister is still undecided,” Zhang Yuhan said.

Zhang Xinyu rolled her eyes. “I haven't found anything that speaks to me yet, I'm in no rush”

----------------------------------------

Later that evening, Jiang Tao sat cross-legged in his cultivation chamber, the Stormsong Manuscript spread out before him. He wanted to nail these qi awakening realm techniques before their first official sparring sessions.

The manuscript had come with a potent qi cycling technique that was miles better than what he had been doing before, the efficiency was unreal.

He felt like he could unblock his second meridian already, which was exactly what he was about to do.

He cycled his qi through the meridian the manuscript had instructed, it deviated from the common order of meridian unblocking instead focusing on a sequence that would maximalize his affinity for water, wind, and lightning qi.

The cool air of the room chilled his bare form. He had been advised to go shirtless when unblocking further meridians something about impurities.

He focused intensely, following the precise instructions laid out in the Stormsong Manuscript. The qi building up like a gathering storm, wearing away at the blockage.

Minutes stretched into what felt like hours as he maintained his focus, pushing his limits with each cycle of qi. The room around him seemed to fade away, leaving only him and the manuscript's teachings. He visualized himself as a conduit for the storm's power.

Finally, with a surge of energy that emanated from deep within his core, Jiang Tao felt a distinct click within his body. It was as if a barrier had been breached, opening up a new pathway for qi to flow unimpeded. He gasped as he realized he had successfully unblocked his second meridian.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a horrific sight. Ew!

Tao grimaced as he looked down at the blackened residue that now covered his skin.

Gross! I guess this is what impurities meant. He thought in disgust.

"Well, this is... unpleasant," He muttered to himself as stood up. “Gotta get clean”

He waddled out of the room trying to avoid touching anything.