Su Wan

While he waited, Lu Nan did not idle about. Instead, he seriously contemplated the Breath Concealment Art in his mind.

Thanks to his powerful comprehension, it did not take long for Lu Nan to grasp seventy or eighty percent of the Breath Concealment Technique.

"As long as they aren't more than three major realms above me, I can perfectly conceal my aura?"

Muttering to himself, Lu Nan circulated the Breath Concealment Technique. In the blink of an eye, his aura swiftly vanished.

But soon, an aura at the seventh layer of Body Tempering began to circulate around him.

"Three major realms... That means that, as long as they aren't the Peak Lord or Sect Leader, no one in the Sword Sect can see through me. That's not bad news!!"

Examining himself, Lu Nan continued practicing the Breath Concealment Technique.

The aura around him shifted constantly, at times the seventh layer of Body Tempering, at times above the Body Tempering Ninth Layer.

After playing around for a while, he settled his aura at the seventh layer of Body Tempering.

In the blink of an eye, it was closing time, but Lu Nan did not leave at once.

Instead, he turned to look at the rows of bookshelves inside. After pondering for several seconds, he shut the Scripture Pavilion's doors.

Then he turned and walked deeper inside...

"There's nothing to do if I go back now. The spirit plants in the Mysterious Space haven't matured yet, and I've used up all my resources. I might as well broaden my knowledge in this Scripture Pavilion."

Lu Nan mulled it over. After all, he still knew far too little about this world.

Though it was said that the more one knew, the faster one died.

That clearly did not fit his current situation. Besides, since the Sword Sect had opened this Scripture Pavilion to everyone, there naturally could not be any important secrets within.

Knock, knock...

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door, bringing Lu Nan, who had already reached the first row of bookshelves, to a halt.

"Hmm? Who could it be at this hour???"

Filled with doubt, he quickly headed to the Scripture Pavilion's entrance. When he pulled open the door, a beautiful figure came into view.

"Su Wan???"

The visitor was none other than Su Wan, the talented young woman who had stolen the spotlight during the Three-Pulse Competition.

Looking at the startled Lu Nan, Su Wan smiled softly. "Junior Brother, sorry to disturb you. Is the Scripture Pavilion closed??"

She remembered Lu Nan as well. After all, his looks stood in a class of their own.

It was a pity that his talent was lacking, but that did not prevent her from having a favorable impression of him.

"No, no. Su Wan... Senior Sister, this is??"

Lu Nan came back to his senses and hurriedly shook his head.

"I came looking for books on Alchemy. Good thing it hasn't closed yet!!" Su Wan said with a slight smile.

"Books on Alchemy??" Su Ye was utterly stunned.

He had visited the Scripture Pavilion many times and had once searched for books on Alchemy as well.

Yet he had found nothing, so he had guessed they were in the Scripture Repository.

He had even resolved to save up Contribution Points and enter the Scripture Repository once.

Now that Su Wan said the Book Collection Pavilion had books on Alchemy, how could he not be astonished?

Forgetting all about the gap in their status, he stared at Su Wan in delight.

"Senior Sister Su Wan, you... you mean the Book Collection Pavilion has books on Alchemy??"

As he spoke, his eyes burned as he looked at Su Wan, and his fervent gaze made her pretty face flush faintly.

After all, Lu Nan was a rare beauty among men.

When Lu Nan had first seen his own appearance, he too had been unable to stop himself from thinking, Holy crap.

But they both soon realized their lapse in composure. Su Wan hurriedly said, "I heard from Master that the Book Collection Pavilion holds many classics left behind by our predecessors. Quite a few of them concern Alchemy!"

Lu Nan's eyes immediately lit up. "Senior Sister Su, I've been in the Scripture Pavilion for days, yet I've never seen anything related to it."

"Of course. Those classics are all stored on the Second Floor of Scripture Pavilion. Only Formal Disciples may consult them," Su Wan explained softly.

"Formal Disciples??"

Seeing the confusion in Lu Nan's eyes, Su Wan continued, "Junior Brother, you are currently a Disciple-in-Training. Only after passing the assessment a year from now will you become a Formal Disciple."

"Only Qi Condensation Layer Three counts as a Formal Disciple??" Lu Nan asked in surprise.

Su Wan nodded. "Junior Brother, are you interested in Alchemy too???"

Lu Nan scratched his head and chuckled. "My talent isn't much, but my mind is fairly quick. So I wanted to try and see whether I could become an alchemist."

Su Wan smiled without speaking. How could becoming an alchemist be so easy?

Yet, seeing Lu Nan's handsome face, she still said softly, "Then I'll make a copy for you in a moment!!"

"Thank you, Senior Sister Su!!!" Lu Nan said joyfully.

Then, somewhat bashfully, he lowered his voice. "Could Senior Sister also make some copies for this Junior Brother on Artifact Crafting and Talisman Crafting?"

"????" Su Wan looked at him in confusion.

"I want to try more things!!" Lu Nan scratched his head, then quickly added, "I won't let Senior Sister work for nothing. I have thirty Sect Contribution Points here. Consider them my payment for this time!"

As he spoke, he took out his Identity Token. Seeing this, Su Wan asked curiously, "Where did you get Contribution Points? I remember the three months just ended."

"I earned them from Herb Garden Duty over the past three months!"

Su Wan nodded. "No need!! It's only a small effort. If you succeed, then help waive my Alchemy fees in the future!"

"Thank you, Senior Sister! Thank you, Senior Sister!!" Lu Nan thanked her repeatedly before turning to lead the way.

But just as he took a step, he remembered that he had no idea how to get to the second floor.

There was not even a staircase on this floor!

He could not help turning back to look awkwardly at Su Wan. "Senior... Senior Sister Su, this... I don't know how to get to the second floor!"

"Junior Brother, there is no need to trouble yourself. I know how to get to the second floor. Wait here for a moment!"

As Su Wan spoke, she removed the token hanging from her waist and headed toward the depths of the Scripture Pavilion.

Seeing this, Lu Nan instinctively wanted to follow, but immediately stopped himself.

Since it was a sect rule, he had better not violate it.

If he were expelled from the sect because of this, the loss would far outweigh the gain!

He silently waited where he stood. Unexpectedly, Su Wan was very quick.

In just over ten minutes, she came out.

She walked straight to Lu Nan's side and handed him a stack of books. "Junior Brother, here are the things you wanted. I wish you success!!"

With that, she swept away in a waft of fragrance, quickly departing.

Watching her retreating figure, Lu Nan tightened his grip on the books in his hands.

"I'll count this as owing you a favor!!!"

Lowering his head to look at the thick books in his hands, he wasted no time and swiftly shut the doors.

He headed straight for his rundown room, ignoring the pockmarked ground.

He quickly reached the wooden bed and sat cross-legged upon it, picking up one of the books and beginning to read.

Before long, he had roughly gone through every book.

There were nine books in total, covering Artifact Crafting, Alchemy, and Talismans.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Nan decided to start with Talismans.

Compared to the other two, Talismans required the fewest materials.

He only needed a Spirit Brush, Talisman Paper, and Cinnabar, all of which were easy to buy.

Moreover, those were only needed for formally crafting Talismans. For ordinary practice, he could use common brushes and paper.

For Lu Nan, who was as poor as a church mouse, nothing could have suited him better.

Having made his decision, Lu Nan opened the three books on Talismans again.

He studied them carefully, delving into and comprehending their contents.