Strange New Knowledge Gained

Liu Shuyue did not slow down until she had walked a long way in one breath.

She turned back. That magical Ability Store was already beyond a hill, and through layer upon layer of trees, she could only vaguely make out a faint cluster of light.

The shopkeeper had not chased after her.

Perhaps, just as he had said, this transaction had been a fair deal. Even so, she could not let down her guard.

The moment Liu Shuyue understood what she had gained, she realized that her initial judgment had been completely wrong! What did it mean, trading four abilities for one? If she had known Broadly Read Through the Ages was like this, she would have gladly added several more abilities to the deal!

She had actually witnessed another history—an immensely vast history! All manner of people had established all manner of dynasties within it. Their rise and fall unfolded like a magnificent painting, far more complex than she had imagined, and far beyond anything she had learned.

She could not understand why an ability that could so greatly expand one's knowledge and experience had been classified as an ordinary eighth-grade ability. Its description was also completely contrary to the truth. What did it mean by, "You think you can learn lessons from it, but in truth you cannot"? Even people in that history had clearly stated otherwise: "Using history as a mirror, one may know the rise and fall of states," and "Later generations must not forget the lessons of those before them"... It had to be said, either the shopkeeper had been too careless and mixed up the labels, or he had deliberately been testing her.

But now, the latter seemed far more likely.

Returns and exchanges within a month?

She would never return this ability for the rest of her life.

Liu Shuyue had not actually said everything.

Ever since she had first begun her studies, a doubt had remained in her heart. Since the Lotus Cloud Sect existed to assist rulers in governing the world, why did the sect's library contain so few records of disciples who had assisted rulers in the past? Logically, whether their achievements had been good or bad, they should have been recorded truthfully. The good could be emulated, while the bad could serve as warnings. Yet she had never found anything of the sort. Whenever she asked her master, her master would only smile without answering. Or perhaps the sect's elders simply paid no attention to any disciples who descended the mountain, as though changes in the world had nothing to do with the Lotus Cloud Sect.

With Liu Shuyue's speed, it would have taken her at most a month to travel from Kunlun to the capital of the Great Qi Kingdom. Yet she had already spent nearly half a year on the road.

Over those past months, she had passed through more than ten towns and cities, seen many sights she had never encountered in the sect, and learned many things books had never taught her. By rights, with sect disciples assisting them, the dynasty should have flourished and the people should have lived in peace and prosperity. Yet the reality she had seen along the way was nothing like that. Bandits and thieves ran rampant in smaller places, official roads and villages lay abandoned, and only a few large cities were somewhat better.

And no matter how she inquired, she had been unable to learn anything about the disciples from the previous generation who had left the mountain. She truly could not understand it.

The mountain gates opened once every hundred years, and cultivators could generally live beyond that age so long as nothing unexpected happened. Even if the disciples who descended the mountain had died halfway through their journey, they should still have left behind many deeds and achievements.

Yet there were not even many folk legends about immortal disciples.

Liu Shuyue could almost conclude that the previous disciple had failed.

Perhaps, just as the sect elders had mentioned in their cautionary examples, that person had become trapped by worldly desires and forgotten their original purpose. Or perhaps they had become too deeply involved in court affairs and strayed from the sect's intentions.

She had no way to verify this with the authorities, because doing so would shake the image of Lotus Cloud Sect disciples as all-knowing assistants.

If the previous disciple had failed, then what about her?

After all, every generation of disciples had learned the same things she had, and their talent had been no worse than hers. If they had achieved nothing, would she also follow in their footsteps?

This string of worries and unanswered questions had made it impossible for her to travel with peace of mind.

Yet at this moment, Liu Shuyue was no longer as worried as before.

Because she had received the guidance of countless "predecessors," watched many court struggles unfold, and learned how to remain true to herself and fulfill her duties. It was as though she had glimpsed countless possible futures for herself—and had the chance to choose the best one among them.

What an astonishing ability!

Her master had told her that her heart should remain as still as water at all times, but Liu Shuyue still could not help curling her lips into a smile.

She had absolutely come out ahead!

Seen this way, the shopkeeper had not been taking advantage of her misfortune after all?

But when she thought of the young shopkeeper's fake smile, which had never changed from beginning to end, she still gave a dissatisfied snort. They were both extraordinary people, so why did he have to speak with the sharp, mercenary manner of a peddler? Could he not have simply laid the abilities out and introduced them openly?

And besides... the name of this shop, "Mala Tang," was strange too.

Not only was it inelegant, it was even a little vulgar.

Could those three words carry some profound meaning?

"Mala Tang... Chen Xuan..."

Liu Shuyue silently repeated the names. Just what faction do you belong to? A strange god of the wild mountains, or a mysterious sect from overseas? And what world do these historical stories belong to?

If she ever had a chance to see him again, she would have to ask him properly.

After cleaning up the bloodstains, Chen Xuan let out a long breath.

He really was the shopkeeper of this store now.

That feeling, both unreal and utterly tangible, had been circling in his heart. If he had not been worried about disturbing the neighbors late at night, he would have wanted to shut the door and shout a few times. He wanted to vent, yet desperately restrained himself. At that moment, he felt like a normal person pretending to be normal in an incredibly bizarre dream.

But no matter what, facts were facts.

He took two deep breaths and calmed himself down first.

Now that he was the shopkeeper, what should he do next?

"Right... check the inventory."

Chen Xuan tossed the rag into the sink, walked to the computer at the counter, and maximized the inventory window.

The overview showed: Ability Inventory: [4], Available Ability Providers: [1]. The 1 still referred to Chen Xuan himself. Liu Shuyue's name did not appear there.

"Looks like the number of abilities and the number of providers aren't linked one-to-one," he mused. "Once these abilities are traded, they become ownerless abilities? And since I'm the shopkeeper, I can act as a temporary provider at any time?"

Then can I use these abilities?

He opened his own section, then dragged the inventory ability "Alchemy" into it.

In an instant, a vast amount of information flooded into his mind, making him grunt in pain.

It actually worked!

The swelling pain came and went quickly. A moment later, Chen Xuan felt his mind filled with a huge amount of knowledge, such as how to distinguish ordinary herbs from Spirit Herbs, and how to refine them into pills. Without a doubt, this was the knowledge Liu Shuyue had learned. Now it belonged to him.

The inventory count had also become 3.

But what did that matter? He was the shopkeeper, so he could participate in transactions whenever he wanted. Giving abilities to himself would not cost him anything! If abilities were treated as money, it meant he could withdraw the store's deposits whenever he wanted without paying any interest.

Besides, abilities were far more useful than money!

He eagerly wanted to drag over the other abilities in the inventory as well, but found that he could not—his own page had only four slots. The software looked like an Excel spreadsheet, but there was no way to add or remove entries.

So he could only possess four abilities at once?

Was everyone like this, or did it vary from person to person?

Chen Xuan immediately thought that it was probably the latter.

The reason was simple. Liu Shuyue had traded away four abilities at once. If the limit had been four, then she would have given up everything just to obtain Broadly Read Through the Ages, which made no sense. Moreover, judging from her reaction, though she had been somewhat displeased by the one-for-four exchange, it had still been within an acceptable range. She had not felt much regret over losing those four abilities either. This showed that Liu Shuyue had far more bargaining chips than just that.

After all, she was a cultivator, while he was an ordinary person.

Chen Xuan accepted this easily. Four was four. Since there was no way to increase the limit, he could at least adjust the contents, right? He dragged Can Eat a Lot and Can Sleep a Lot back into the inventory, then dragged Heart Calming Incantation and Spirit Sword Technique onto himself. That series of actions succeeded as well.

A cool stream of air rose from the soles of his feet and coursed through his entire body in moments—he immediately understood the function of the Pure Heart Art. It was a passive cultivation method, like the inner strength in kung fu movies. Once learned, it would circulate on its own. It could strengthen the body and could also be used together with other abilities.

He also discovered that even entry-level cultivation methods had extremely strict aptitude requirements. If he had tried to learn the Pure Heart Art through normal means, he might not have seen any results even after practicing for more than a decade. But Ability Transaction could bypass that threshold, as though it forcibly grafted the ability onto his body. Not only could he master it, he could use it with ease.

It was as though Liu Shuyue's memories and accumulated experience of cultivating the Pure Heart Art had been transferred to him as well.