Selecting Techniques in the Technique Pavilion

His primary concern was that Zhu Zhuqing's progress might be delayed by these events, but now was not the time to dwell on such things.

"Let's go, children."

With that, he led the two of them to their respective dormitory areas.

Then, he heard a chorus of "wows."

"Master, is this really our dormitory?"

Even Zhu Zhuqing was somewhat startled; the amenities here were more luxurious than the decor in some of the noble academies in Star Luo.

Looking at the academy from the outside, it seemed so plain; who would have thought the living environment would be so exceptional?

Chen An didn't respond, secretly gloating in his heart, his lips curling upward in a way he could barely suppress.

In the end, he could only give a few instructions before slipping away.

"Get to sleep early tonight; there are important arrangements for tomorrow."

As the night deepened, both children found it hard to sleep, having no heart for cultivation.

Today's events were far from normal for them, and now that things had calmed down, they were both lost in thought.

Was my choice really the right one?

Zhu Zhuqing's hesitation was greater, all because she carried a heavier burden; now that she was alone, self-doubt was inevitable.

Yet, neither of them doubted Chen An—not Luo Xiaoshi, nor Zhu Zhuqing.

They remained at the level of self-doubt, not yet escalating to the point of rejecting everything. By the third watch, exhausted in body and mind, they finally drifted off to sleep.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo."

The crowing of a rooster rang out; these were the livestock Chen An kept at the academy.

Usually, besides being raised for food, they served as Chen An's natural alarm clock. After waking up and washing, he specifically checked on the two children while passing by the dormitory building.

Seeing they weren't awake yet, he left. He wasn't in a rush to wake them today; let them sleep a little longer, for the days ahead would be grueling.

"Better head to the Technique Pavilion first."

On the way, he debated whether to go to the Technique Pavilion or make breakfast, ultimately deciding to visit the pavilion first to replenish the books on the second floor.

This was his special ability: the power to replicate books from a library.

After finishing that, he went to prepare some breakfast.

"Mm, what is that smell? It smells so good."

Zhu Zhuqing was the first to wake, followed closely by Luo Xiaoshi. Since they happened to meet when they stepped out, they walked over together.

Chen An was already eating in the dining hall; seeing them arrive, he looked up and said, "Breakfast is in the back, serve yourselves. Remember to wash your own dishes when you're done, then meet me at the training ground."

The breakfast wasn't lavish, but it looked very appetizing.

There was salted bone and mustard green congee, a few eggs, cups of soy milk, and some large loaves of bread set aside.

He had prepared the large loaves purely out of concern that the two children wouldn't be full. While the taste wasn't particularly great, it had the advantage of being shelf-stable and filling.

"Whoa."

After they finished eating efficiently, they realized they couldn't finish everything, so they decided to split one of the large loaves between them.

Even with sauce, it was quite a shock to their systems, but fortunately, they were accustomed to various types of food and did not waste any.

Once finished, they cleaned up their own things. By now, Zhu Zhuqing had settled her mindset, treating herself as a student seeking knowledge.

Upon arriving at the training ground and seeing Chen An waiting, they hurried over.

"Not bad, that was quick."

The only reason Chen An had set the meeting point at the training ground was that he hadn't shown them around the place yet.

"The first lesson today is to familiarize you with the academy. Then, I will select suitable techniques for you."

Zhu Zhuqing was slightly stunned. Compared to Luo Xiaoshi's confusion, she was more shocked than anything.

Coming from the Zhu Family of Star Luo, she had naturally heard of techniques; her family possessed an ancestral set suitable for the Hell Spirit Cat.

But that was as far as it went.

That was why she was surprised when Chen An spoke of choosing techniques; such things were secret legacies of families and sects across the continent.

"Understood, Teacher."

Zhu Zhuqing replied, while Luo Xiaoshi remained silent, merely nodding; it was clear he was feeling a bit timid.

"Then let's go."

Mostly, Chen An was too lazy to make a map. He thought about the conventions of his first day of school in his past life and simply decided on this approach.

Phantom Star Academy was not small. Aside from the training ground, dormitory building, and cafeteria, there was also the breeding farm and the Back Mountain Training Ground.

Beyond these was the office where Chen An worked, and he gave them instructions that they could come find him there in the future.

After swimming around for a while, the group arrived at the Technique Pavilion.

"Is this the Technique Pavilion?"

Zhu Zhuqing looked at the building, which was not particularly imposing, and murmured to herself.

The Technique Pavilion had three floors and occupied the second-largest footprint in the academy; from the outside, it looked more like a library.

"Come on in."

Chen An deactivated the defensive measures in front of the door and led the two little ones inside.

Upon entering, they could see various bookshelves clearly separated into three distinct areas, each labeled: Internal Arts, External Arts, and Esoteric Arts.

"Wow."

Luo Xiaoshi let out an exclamation of wonder, and Zhu Zhuqing was equally stunned.

The scene before her made her feel that the foundation of an ordinary family could not even compare to this single floor of techniques. If one were to add the contents of the second floor, it might even rival her own family's library.

As she thought this, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but glance toward the second floor, her intuition telling her that these things were not just for show.

"Stop looking at the second floor; those aren't books you can read right now."

Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously, "Then Teacher, when will I be able to go to the second floor?"

Chen An thought for a moment before giving his answer: "Wait until you reach level 70."

"Alright, children, go find an internal art technique. Just follow your heart; fate will guide you."

Chen An spoke in a mysterious, airy tone, sounding exactly like a religious zealot.

In reality, he just didn't want to explain that the library's origin had gathered here to give birth to book spirits.

They could help people choose suitable techniques and even acted as security for the pavilion.

To the people of Douluo, that would be even more absurd than believing in fate.

"Mm."

The two nodded, then dove into the sea of books.

"This one, no."

Zhu Zhuqing scanned the books casually, following Chen An's advice to sense them, and indeed, she could feel a sense of repulsion or affinity.

Once she felt it, her inner doubts vanished, and she turned her focus to sensing them with her heart.

"This is the one!"

She pulled the book out, and on it were written the five large characters: Nine Nether Profound Technique.

Upon seeing these characters, Zhu Zhuqing felt a momentary trance, after which she saw the figure of a woman standing atop the netherworld, though she couldn't describe the specific sensation.

She only felt that she should worship that figure.

"What is this? Master, what happened to me?"

After regaining her senses, Zhu Zhuqing found herself lying on Chen An's lap.

Realizing this only after the fact, she felt it was inappropriate and stood up with reddened ears.

Chen An said with a smile.

"This is the inheritance of the technique. It seems you are very well-suited for it."

He didn't mind Zhu Zhuqing's shyness; children in this world were precocious and he was used to it, not to mention this child was still so young—he had no interest.

He had rushed over the moment Zhu Zhuqing entered the inheritance state to check the technique, surprised that it was something that should only be accessible on the third floor; he wondered how it had been obtained on the first.

Then, after a cursory glance, he realized it was just an abridged version, so it was fine.

"Hm?"

As luck would have it, just after Zhu Zhuqing woke up, the other one also fell into a similar state.

"It seems both of you have quite the affinity."

Chen An murmured, then flashed over to catch Luo Xiaoshi as well.

Luo Xiaoshi's case was even more outrageous; the book he had found was actually an unnamed technique, and if Chen An remembered correctly.

This should be the technique of a certain monkey, and in terms of quality, it was only a hair's breadth away from the Nine Nether Profound Technique.