“You’re that mortal boy, right? Xing Yi?” The librarian asked. His arms were behind his head, and he had a curious expression on his face.

Xing Yi, slightly surprised, replied, “Yes I am, Senior Immortal.”

The librarian’s expression turned dark, and he replied, “Do not call me Senior Immortal. I am not immortal you fool. Just ‘Senior Bai’ is fine.”

His heart skipping a beat, Xing Yi bowed and said, “Yes, this junior will.”

The librarian harrumphed. “It’s truly disappointing. There was no use in allowing you into the sect. But because of that medallion…”

Senior Bai continued, “In any case, you’re here to stay. Now, what are you looking for?”

Xing Yi felt extremely awkward when he heard Senior Bai’s displeasure. But he did make sense, why did the Head Steward even allow him into the sect? It didn’t make any sense.

“I’m here to borrow books on external cultivation, Senior Bai,” Xing Yi answered.

Senior Bai replied, “I expected that to be the case.”

Around them was an entire library. There were many shelves, and the ceiling was very tall. Xing Yi had never set foot into a library until this day. The ceiling was also incredibly beautiful. Made out of marble, jade and gold, it created elaborate patterns of mythical creatures.

They were directly in the middle of the library, the librarian’s desk being the centre point of it all. The four main paths of the library were in the four cardinal directions, and they all intercepted here.

Suddenly, two books came flying through the air from the right. They flew as swiftly as arrows until they landed upon the librarian’s desk. The librarian flipped through both of them and then gave an approving nod of his head.

Xing Yi wasn’t growing numb to the magical wonder of cultivators. Flying books? He didn’t feel that was anything out of the ordinary anymore. But was he still impressed?

Very much so. His envy for spiritual roots only further grew as he laid his eyes on the librarian’s telekinetic powers.

“In the library, we only have half a bookshelf dedicated to external cultivation. And these two books,” Senior Bai gestured to the two books he had in hand, “Are not to be taken light of.”

One was vermillion, the other was a dark blue.

“This one,” The librarian gestured to the vermillion book, “Is a comprehensive guide to external cultivation. The author is unknown, but the material is quality and doesn’t have any holes in it. You’ll be needing to refer to this constantly.”

“And as for this one,” He gestured to the dark blue book, “It is actually the cultivation diary of a high-level external cultivator. He didn’t write it in anticipation of it being released to the public. Everything here is completely raw and honest. To an external cultivator such as yourself, this is priceless.”

He tossed them onto the desk in front of him and stroked the small stubble on his chin.

“Now, off with you. All words that have need to have be said, have been said. Your mortal existence is not a pleasant sight to see,” Senior Bai eyed Xing Yi with an annoyed voice.

Xing Yi couldn’t help but smile and hastily grab the books, placing them inside the leather bag tied to his waist. He turned around and walked out of the library, past its many mighty, colossus bookshelves and distant ceilings.

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As he walked through the door and down the steps, he spotted another disciple walking towards the library in front of him. Right as Xing Yi’s gaze landed upon him, the latter perked up and stabbed daggers into him with just a look.

Xing Yi’s entire body shook in fear as he immediately averted his gaze and scurried away from the building. When he looked back, he saw that the disciple was gone and had gone inside. Xing Yi sighed.

Even the disciples with the weakest cultivation could spook him like a rabbit using their spiritual sense. Li Yuwan had told him to not look at anyone and to stay as far away from trouble, but he still ended up inciting someone’s attention.

It was the day after Xing Yi had ventured out to the arena to witness cultivators sling their magical spells and spill their own blood, and he decided to travel to the library to learn how to cultivate externally. It was the only place he could go to as in the sect as one would either have to learn from a class teacher or their master.

Most learned from a teacher that managed a small class of ten to fifteen, whereas a small minority learned one-on-one from their own master. And as for him, he didn’t even have the ability to learn from a class teacher. He was all on his own and thus had to get it from the library himself.

It was the worst way to learn and a massive handicap.

Although Xing Yi couldn’t read yet, the boy struck up a deal with Li Yuwan to read out and explain the books he borrowed. And in exchange all she wanted was his gratitude and favour.

Xing Yi thought that to be an unfair trade but he didn’t think much about it and just went with it.

If his gratitude and favour is what she wanted, he would give it to her.

He travelled back to the teleportation pagoda, greeted the disciple there and showed them his jade seal. Within the next moment, he was displaced and inside a completely different one. The man in residence of this teleportation pagoda was a familiar face. It was the long-haired disciple that had bags under his eyes and a slumped position against the back of the wall.

He elicited a slight grunt upon Xing Yi’s arrival and didn’t bother to say anything else, presumably to continue on with his cultivation.

Xing Yi bowed to him to pay his respects and then travelled back to the Servant Hall.

It was a short walk, traversed upon warm, compact dirt and grey pebbles.

It continued to amaze him how beautiful the sect was. Everything was rich with life and wouldn’t stop shining with magnificence. It was like a completely different world compared to the one he had been living in his tiny village that was in the middle of nowhere.

In his journey to the sect, he had been to so many places and met so many people that he knew how small of a place he had lived in.

If history had went the way it was supposed to, he would’ve been a farmer, married a women, gave birth to children and then lived until disease took him. That possibility gave him a profound feeling that caused fear to whiplash around in his stomach, stopping him in his tracks for a short time.

This was a large place. Much too big for a mortal boy like him. He didn’t fit in at all.

He breathed in as he took in the green colours of nature and gazed at the two books in hand.

This wasn’t going to be easy at all.

It was something very obvious that if he were to point it out, they would call him stupid or idiotic. He was sure that if any other people were to know his situation, they would be jealous without no ends. But he felt that it was critical that he knew what he was taking on.

It was at this time that he experienced that same battle of hope and dread. It stormed within the very tomb of his stomach, sending him up and down mentally as he stepped up the steep mountain side which lead to the Servant Hall.

He focused.

The outside world had been his calling.

And cultivation was his challenge.

Understandings of the universe locked into place as he realised the significance.

It was going to be hard.

From his conversation with Li Yuwan, external cultivation was akin to pushing a boulder up a mountain. It was more brutal and treacherous than internal cultivation by tenfold. It almost made it seem glorious to Xing Yi. He was going to embark on a path even more difficult than internal cultivation!

He knew it wasn’t something to be smiling about but he couldn’t help feeling cheery and excited for what was in store for him. He was like a deer walking right into a bear’s cave.

He made the final steps and walked inside the complex and met up with Li Yuwan.

She began reading to him the vermillion book, which was the guide to external cultivation.

It was titled, ‘Cleansing the Twelve Principal Meridians’.

Li Yuwan’s words flowed smoothly against his ears as she explained to him and read the book out loud to him. He paid attention and took notes with her help.

He learned much and absorbed its knowledge like a cloth being dropped into water.