Sa Min looked up. A tower-shaped pavilion of four stories stood before him. It was the Yantra Library. The free resource that the academy offered to its inner disciples. Wasting no time, Sa Min walked up the stairs. He didn't really have any hope of finding the Yantra manual of the Yantra responsible for engraving words on his back.

But whatever…

Who knows. I might be able to find some interesting Yantra manuals here that I have never seen before. Sa Min thought with a clear mind. All in all, it's a good thing for me to increase his knowledge about Yantras and Kas.

In front of the doors, a group of ka wielders stood guard. The Yantra Library held a huge number of Common-tier Yantra manuals; it was only natural for it to be closely guarded from outside and inside.

.

Sa Min took his ID and Seal out of his robe, waiting as the guards checked out those who arrived before him. When his turn finally came, Sa Min stepped forward and handed his things to one of the guards.

The guard glanced lazily at them before passing them over to the elderly guard behind the desk, who was responsible for registering names. "You'll get them back when you leave on time," he said, giving Sa Min a small stick.

Sa Min frowned slightly. This was a time-stick, but for how long?

"How much time, if I may ask?"

The guard raised an eyebrow. "You're new?"

"He's a first year student," answered the old man registering his information.

"Oh." The guard rubbed his forehead with his finger; his companions laughing at him. "I... I totally forgot about that. Anyhow, rank 10 ka wielders in the first transformation only have one hour on the first floor every week. The stick I gave you is a one-hour-stick that will completely melt when one hour has passed. Make sure to come out on time if you don't want to get expelled."

He opened the doors. "And… you probably haven't opened your essence core yet, but I'll say it anyway. Don't use any Yantras, otherwise, you will be… punished."

Sa Min nodded and entered; the guard immediately shut the door.

Without using some memorizing Yantra or picturing Yantra or something, one hour is definitely not enough, Sa Min thought, scanning the red-lit room filled with bookshelves. But I believe as we advance in ranks, we'll get more time.

Except for some whispers and paper fluttering, the room was utterly silent.

Sa Min made his way through the aisle, his eyes drifting between the Yantra manuals.

Thankfully, the bookshelves were divided into sections, and that saved Sa Min a lot of time in searching for the communication-type Yantra manuals. In no time, Sa Min found himself before the communication-type bookshelf; roughly thirty manuals were there.

With no hesitation, Sa Min reached out and snatched one of the manuals from the shelf, its cover displaying the Yantra's name: [The Whisperflying Blade].

He quickly returned it; he was well familiar with it. He pulled another manual, but it held no surprise for him as well.

"The Short Sound Carrying Yantra," muttered Sa Min, looking down at the third manual he'd selected. This one he didn't know. Curious, he opened the first page.

*[Yantra Ability: Record your voice in one cube and transmit it to its twin cube.

Yantra drawbacks: Sound takes three days to arrive. Cubes must be within 700 meters.

Yantra Type: Communication.

Yantra Highway: Reality.

Yantra Smallway: Sound.

Required Ka: The Green Dotted Cubes. Wooden Beak Cubes.

Imprints: 15 gray, 12 white, 21 blue]*

Unimpressed, Sa Min casually flipped through the pages, skimming over the pentagon-shaped dots meticulously placed on every page. With each turn, the dots multiplied, gradually turning into a complete design that unfolded on the final page — a cube with two lines coming out of it, swirling it twice before meeting at the top.

That was the Yantra. That was the design ka wielders needed to craft within their essence core in order to use the Yantra's ability.

I can think of 20 rank 10 Yantra that can do the same, if not better, Sa Min thought, shoving the manual back onto the shelf and searching for another one that would really interest him.

.

Sa Min didn't expect to find anything special, though. After all, the Yantras manuals found here were merely Common-tier manuals of rank 10 Yantras.

Yantras, like ka wielders and Kas were classified from 10 to 1 based on their ability, the number of imprints required, and various other factors. However, when it came to their manuals, the classification was entirely different.

These manuals were ranked into a mere six tiers, ranging from Common-tier to Mysterious-tier, and their rank depended solely on how common they were. The more common a manual, the more it lost its value, whereas the rarer the manual, the more valuable it was.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

And in spite of the fact that a manual being Common-tier or Mysterious-tier had nothing to do with the Yantra's strength itself, Yantras with Common-tier manuals tended to be weaker among Yantras of their ranks.

The reason for that was quite simple: people didn't like to share powerful Yantras.

Even though the Common-tier manuals were not worth much compared to others in the same ranks, ka wielders still needed to pay for them.

The Yantra Library here was offering them as free resources to the Inner Disciples, even if only for a limited time.

As for whoever wanted Yantar manuals above Common-tier, there was a big store not far from here called Treasure Hall that offered that and more. They just need enough merits.

Sa Min closed the last communication-type manual out here and put it back. Nothing about engraving words on someone's back. But Sa Min was not disappointed. He didn't expect anything to begin with.

'I'll check the Treasure Hall once I open my essence core.' Sa Min thought as he moved away to another bookshelf. 'There are all ranks and types of Yantras manuals there.'

Naturally, he wouldn't be allowed to check them with his eyes like he's doing here. But that's fine, he only needed to give them hints about the ability, and they would tell him all the possible Yantras.

The Yantra's name was all he needed.

There were other places he could go as well. Especially in the cursed area.

Sa Min took his time, examining other manuals, before he eventually decided to leave, the small stick in his hand had shrunk and was about to disappear.

Stepping out of the library, he went straight to the desk at the side to retrieve his belongings.

"You are that Sa Min who beheaded an outer disciple yesterday, aren't you?" The old man behind the desk spoke casually as he continued to register information.

His words grabbed the attention of the other guards and the inner disciples, who were on their way to the library.

Sa Min sighed in his heart, giving the man as respectful of a face as he could. "Pleasure to meet you, Senior."

He didn't want to go around defying everyone while he hadn't opened his essence core yet.

The old man looked up at him, no anger or annoyance in his eyes. He just seemed like he wanted to put Sa Min on the spot for the heck of it. Perhaps he was just too bored of jotting down names all day and wanted something interesting to break the monotony.

"You know, after you'd killed him, his poor wife killed herself and her daughter out of grief," he said.

Sa Min widened his eyes a bit, acting as if he were surprised. "That's… I had no idea," he lied. He had actually heard the story earlier this morning when everyone was gossiping about him in the lecture hall.

She'd killed herself and her daughter, and? What did that have to do with him?

"Why did you do it?" The guard who had opened the door to him jumped in with a hint of curiosity. "Why did you kill him that way?"

Putting on a sorrowful expression, Sa Min stayed silent for a few seconds, trying to come up with a convincing story that would put an end to this problem once and for all.

Finally, he let out a weary sigh. "I guess I must say it, don't I?"

They merely looked at him.

"That man was actually from my own clan," Sa Min said, a hint of regret in his voice. "We had some issues in the past. I don't want to go into details and disrespect him, especially now that he's dead. But before the competition, we agreed to settle our problem with a fight to the death. That's why he didn't surrender."

Sa Min paused, glancing at everyone as though he had no choice. "How could I back down when he himself chose not to? That would kill his honor as a man."

Their curiosity satisfied, the inner disciples who had been standing there to eavesdrop continued on their way to the academy.

A few guards nodded in understanding.

"That would certainly hurt his manhood," one guard said.

"And I was wondering why he didn't simply surrender, now this makes sense."

"I knew there had to be something more to it. You wouldn't just kill him without reason."

The old man handed Sa Min his ID and Seal; from his face, he didn't seem to have gotten the scene he wanted.

With a slight nod, Sa Min turned and strolled away, tucking his stuff into his inner pocket. 'When it comes to crafting lies, I dare say no one can surpass me,' Sa Min sneered in his heart.

After a short walk, Sa Min stopped and took a deep breath, clearing his head of the message problem for the time being.

Once ka wielders opened their sea core, the first thing they did was, without doubt, shatter the blocked passage that led to the essence. Only when you opened the two cores did you enter the path of cultivation. But Sa Min wasn't in a rush. There was still a matter that bothered him.

The Qing family!