"In our academy, only those who sign a contract to go into the military exclusively can access the techniques here. Even though you haven’t, I can still show you some basic techniques." Teacher Li led Zhao Fan down a hallway. The main goal of the academy was to recruit young cultivators into the army. However, the army was the last resort for students as before they joined, other sects in the country were given a chance to recruit them. This usually happened after the first few weeks of instruction when students could show their potential and talent in the academy tournament.
Of course, joining a specialized sect is much more lucrative than the army which would often be treated as a last resort.
Woosh
A set of large doors swung open and the pair of people walked in. Zhao Fan glanced around and saw a huge and well decorated hall filled with a vast amount of bookshelves, containing unquantifiable knowledge.
To the side of the room was a desk where an old man sat. "Teacher Li, you have brought a new recruit?"
"No Qing Sheng. I’ve brought a student here to select some techniques" Teacher Li clasped his fists while facing the old man in salute. Zhao Fan realized that this man's position was even higher than his teacher's and quickly bowed. His teacher just took out a jade slip.
"Are you certain? This brat doesn’t look like much" The old man waved and the jade slip flew into his hand.
"Yes, I am certain" Teacher Li replied without any hesitation. Hearing this, the old man put away this jade slip and sat back down.
"Remember, you only have one hour and you can only browse the first floor"
"Thank you." The duo both bowed and went into the sea of bookshelves.
"Teacher, what were you talking about with that librarian?" Zhao Fan asked because he found the situation to be very confusing.
"Unless you are recruited into the army, students can only get books from the library from a talent slip that only a teacher has. We only get one per year and it lets us take out a single technique from the first floor. In fact, the slip is usually used before the tournament for that very reason. We can only use it once, so we have to save it for the most talented kid in our class." Teacher Li explained. Suddenly, Zhao Fan realized what his teacher had done and felt grateful in his heart.
"Thank you teacher. However, why would the academy teach disciples these techniques if they would most likely be taken away by sects because of how well they excel?" When he put more thought into it, it didn't really make sense for the country to give out techniques if it weakens their military in the end.
"There are two reasons. First off, if someone does well in the tournament, the army will send out an offer that would top anything the sects could offer. Second, although there are many sects in our Immortal Flame Empire, we coexist and help each other in times of need, so even if some good seeds get stolen by the sects, they will allow them to grow more in a specialized environment and eventually be even more valuable to the Empire." Teacher Li patiently explained. Zhao Fan instantly understood and switched his focus to the techniques.
"Each shelf is placed in the library based on the category of techniques it contains. There are techniques meant for attack, defense, speed, body strengthening and some other miscellaneous ones." His teacher pointed to different shelves and told him what techniques they contained.
"Since I am hunting in the forest, naturally I need some techniques which make me faster. In order to kill beasts with thick hides or a giant body I need a body strengthening or attack technique." As Zhao Fan thought about his choices, he remembered his time facing the Ironpaw bear and felt cold sweat form on his body. Attack techniques used qi to attack but body strengthening techniques empowered the body with qi and attacked with the body.
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However, he already had Spirit Dash and, although it wasn't great, it was a waste to get another technique focusing on speed. Currently, his greatest strength was his body and so it was obvious that he should focus on improving in this area.
"Teacher, I have decided. I need some offensive techniques.." Zhao Fan said.
"En, I know of a few techniques which might be suitable for you." Cutting him off, Teacher Li went to a few shelves and grabbed several books before heading back and placing them on a table.
"Here, since you have a 'special' body I have gathered a few techniques which will extend your advantage" Teacher Li smiled smugly and looked at his disciple. Zhao Fan was slightly confused by what he meant at first but as he looked through the manuals, he instantly understood.
"Whiterock bones - Uses qi to make bones in any part of the body more durable and able to exert much more strength, Demon Beast Strength - Uses qi to empower any muscle in the body, Devil Rhino Skin - Uses qi to make the skin extremely hard and resistant..." As he read through the introductions of each book, Zhao Fan realized that all if these techniques were for body strengthening. This shocked him because ordinarily, the body cannot contain qi before the Foundation Establishment realm because that was when the body started to be attuned to the cultivator's qi. That meant that his teacher knew about his special condition where he could circulate qi to any place in his body!
Seeing the shocked expression on Zhao Fan's face, his teacher revealed a satisfied smile. "These are all techniques which are derived from beasts and all have high requirements for body cultivation." Zhao Fan felt that his teacher's advice was very valuable since he only had an hour and would naturally not have time to look through and find all the suitable techniques for himself.
"Teacher is indeed wise. I have met some fortune, but why would the technique hall contain body strengthening techniques if only Foundation Establishment experts could use them?" Zhao Fan was puzzled; according to his knowledge, only teachers and other important figures in the city would be in this realm.
"Haha, do you think you are the only fortunate one? Some people are able to use body strengthening techniques because of unique constitutions." Zhao Fan's confused expression did not go away so Teacher Li continued. "Obviously not many people have unique constitutions, there's actually another reason. In this city, most everyone is human, however, outside this small city there are countless races other than humans, among which some are attuned to their qi at birth. Since the academy was created by the empire and every city has a branch, there are requirements which make them suitable for every race."
"So that's how it is" Zhao Fan finally understood the reason. As not much time was left, he quickly hit the books again. When he finished reading the dozen or so books, his eyebrows furrowed. All of them were suitable! Although techniques which improved things like skin seemed weaker for offense, they instead brought a boost in many areas. Ultimately Zhao Fan focused on one technique and stood up.
"Teacher I have made my choice" Teacher Li looked at the book Zhao Fan held in his hands.
"Steel Gorilla's Fists is a very good choice since it offers both defense and offense. Good choice!" Since time was almost up, the two stood up and went to tell their choice to the librarian.
"Hmm, a body strengthening technique? If you truly are able to use it then it will be of great aid for the tournament, but for most, trying to learn this is a detriment instead of a boost." The old man felt the need to remind his junior even though his teacher was there, after all, there were too few body cultivators for a reason. Almost no one in the qi condensation realm could even condense qi in their bodies. In response, Zhao Fan simply nodded as he already had his mind set. Back in the forest when he used the body strengthening ability to empower his fist in the crudest way possible to fight the bear, it allowed him to unleash much more power than he thought he could use and he was even able to heavily injure the bear with it's thick defense. From that point, Zhao Fan felt that the way of body strengthening was perfect for him.
Creak
When the pair was about to exit the hall, another student and teacher duo entered through the door. In front was a middle aged man with red hair and a yellow robe while a young man followed him elegantly with his eyes closed.
"Xeng Shi, you have chosen your disciple as well?" Zhao Fan's Teacher asked curiously.
"Yes, while my disciple Liu Zhong fought a rank four Earth snake in the forest he broke through to the fourth level and slayed it." The red haired man spoke while smiling smugly. Hearing that, Teacher Li almost went wild with shock but managed to keep his calm. The highest ranked disciple in his class was only at the middle of the third level so he felt embarrassed to even stay. Hurriedly, he said his goodbyes and went for the exit with his disciple. However when Zhao Fan's eyes fell on the young man he stopped in place.
"Liu Zhong, thank you. I will definitely repay you in the future." Zhao Fan slightly bowed and saluted with his fist and palm. The seemingly sleeping young man opened his eyes and looked at him. The two teachers looked at their students with puzzled expressions.
"It was a small thing, if you want to repay me then get stronger so we can fight in the tournament" Liu Zhong did not seem touched by Zhao Fan's gesture and closed his eyes as though trying to comprehend something. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Zhao Fan caught up with his teacher and they left the hall.
"What were you thanking him for?" Teacher Li was curious to know the answer.
"He saved me when I was in the forest" Zhao Fan's eyes contained a flame of battle intent as he remembered the scene of Liu Zhong easily slaughtering the bear. For the first time in his life, he felt a strong urge to become stronger because of another person. His teacher who was observing him sighed, it seemed that the academy competition would be much more intense than ever before.