“We’ll wait for you out here, Yù Quán.”
Yù Quán bowed and thanked both Yàn Lìqín and Elder Jiang. Yàn Lìqín nodded, and Elder Jiang waved him off. With that, Yù Quán hurried to pick his technique. Yàn Lìqín had specifically said Yù Quán was to receive a technique, probably because he had already given him cultivation arts, which he evolved and combined into the [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body]. But Yù Quán assumed this meant he couldn’t get a whole martial art, just one technique. That’s not to say the technique he receives will be incomplete, but some techniques are standalone, and others come in a set as a martial art. At least, that is what he knew from what he had read back on Earth. This world could be different, but he didn’t think so.
What Yù Quán didn’t know was what prevented him from choosing a martial art instead of one technique. Would the token track him? Or Elder Jiang? If neither, was he being tested? He didn’t know. It was also possible there were no complete martial arts on the first floor. Regardless of the reason, if he had the chance to get a complete martial art, he definitely would not take it. No martial art is worth the trust of his superiors. Or, in the case of Yù Quán’s fears, his life.
He walked through the door Elder Jiang had pointed to. As Yù Quán disappeared through the door, Yù Quán turned towards a short pedestal in the middle of the room with a mat on it.
“I’m letting him in the Inheritance Archive.”
Elder Jiang was quiet for a while. Then he got back into his comfortable position from before.
“Is a bearer of the Star Gazing Eyes so special to you?”
“Elder Jiang, he has only been cultivating for a couple months or so.”
Elder Jiang’s expression couldn’t be seen by the others in the room, but he slightly twitched when hearing this. After a moment, he finally replied. “...We shall see.”
…
Yù Quán walked into what looked like a standard library. Bookshelves lined the floors and stood to the ceiling. Everything was made of dragonwood, some painted but mostly in natural color. There didn’t seem to be any directions to navigate the library. Yù Quán guessed it was a luck system; luck was always crucial in such worlds. Before wandering off to explore, he thought about what type of technique he would want.
“Right, so I don’t need a cultivation art, and even if there is a complete martial art, I won’t take it just in case Yàn Lìqín is testing me. I’m definitely lacking in offensive power. However, I don’t think I need an attack; I’m sure I can manage with the forms of attack I have for now. Especially if I refine my body more with the [Mùmùlián Eye Refining]. I won’t say no to an attack, but I don't need it so drastically. So, any offensive technique will do.”
With his line of thinking established, he walked into the library. He looked from bookshelf to bookshelf and couldn’t help but feel lost in the countless techniques and arts. Everything from punches to kicks to slashes. Some required weapons or prior comprehension; some didn’t require anything. But none were what Yù Quán was looking for. He didn’t want just any technique; he needed to be stronger. Most of these techniques were average. Even if he could use the system to upgrade them, it would be more efficient and cost fewer points if he started high from the beginning.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
His searching continued for twenty to thirty minutes before he started to give up. He went to lean on a nearby table with books covering almost every inch of the top. He needed a break; all the books and words were beginning to make his head hurt. Yù Quán walked towards the table, turned around, then backed up a step and leaned against the table.
Thud… Crash~
The table immediately gave out under Yù Quán’s weight, and all the books on top had toppled off. Yù Quán had been slightly surprised and even tripped a bit, but he was a cultivator. No matter how early he was in cultivation, his sense of balance could not be compared to regular humans. He soon turned around to see the aftermath. He checked the table to see how it could have happened and found that one leg on the table was shorter than the other. Nearby the leg was an old and dusty manual, which he assumed was used to hold the leg up, and he had just happened to add just enough to the weight to push the leg off the manual and ruin the balance of the table.
“Ugh, couldn’t they have just fixed the table? Or got a new one?”
Yù Quán picked up the manual. It had an old, withered leather cover with gold text on it. It was titled: “Notes on the Yellow Qilin Dance.”
“What is this?”
He opened the book to find writings by what seemed to be an elder. Regardless of who they were, their battle IQ was on another level. Just reading this master’s thoughts in the introduction helped Yù Quán find ways to improve his fighting. How strong could a person be to enlighten a Qi Focusing realm cultivator with casual words? The technique hadn't even been fully introduced yet.
“This seems to be a movement technique! I wasn’t really looking for this, though…”
Out of sheer curiosity, he continued reading. From the words of the author, the Yellow Qilin Dance was once one of the staples of the Yellow Qilin Academy in its prime. Its main component was its versatility. It could be used in many situations. Offense, defense, and evasion were just a few.
“This can’t be compared with anything else in this room! It may only be the notes, but if someone could use them to recreate the Yellow Qilin Dance, they could quickly become a master and make an outstanding contribution to the academy! What is a technique of this level doing in the first floor of the library?”
Then Yù Quán realized the problem. It would have already been done if it were so easy to rediscover the Yellow Qilin Dance. It was probably brought down from higher floors because of its difficulty and eventually went unused for so long that it was used to help prop up the table. This made Yù Quán solemn. How could he do what many had failed? It was almost as if this manual was used as a lesson for naive cultivators. In fact, Yù Quán didn’t have any deduction or comprehension skills when it came to martial arts. He just had his system.
Then it hit him.
“I have the system! Can’t I deduce the entire technique with points?!”
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Qi Focusing Realm
Stage: 1st Level Essence Refinement
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 1)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 1)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 1)
Attributes:
[Star Gazing Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Mortal Avarice Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Mortal Avarice Eyes](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Three-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 5)
[Top-Quality Three-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 1)(x5)
[Top-Quality Five-Finned Boar Aggression Eyes](Level 1)