"Li Dingguo, do you want to take a look at the newly built Library Pavilion next door?"
"I want to find the two auxiliary cultivation skills the Great King mentioned and learn them all. They should be useful in the future."
That evening, after an hour of cultural lessons had ended, Ai Nengqi had just stepped out of the temporary schoolhouse and spoke to Li Dingguo beside him.
"Sure, let's go take a look together."
"Just as the Great King said, the more cultivation skills helpful to Martial Artists we learn, the better. Too many skills never weigh a person down."
Li Dingguo had already been planning to visit the Library Pavilion next door. Ai Nengqi's suggestion was exactly what he wanted.
The two strode down the corridor to the left, heading for the nearby Library Pavilion.
At that moment, two more figures followed behind them.
As expected, they were Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier.
They were not fools, and they were determined to compete with Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi, hoping to overtake those who had come before them.
Therefore, Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier did not want to miss any opportunity to improve their strength.
As for the other twelve talented youths, they had not yet become Martial Artists and were not qualified to enter the Library Pavilion.
Their most urgent task now was to quickly gain entry-level mastery of the Tiger Roar Fist and break through to become early first-layer Martial Artists. Only then could they be formally accepted by the Eight Great Kings.
Otherwise, once the half-month deadline arrived seven or eight days later, they would have no choice but to be thrown out.
They had been selected as geniuses by Zhang Xianzhong, but that did not mean they were truly geniuses.
Whether they were mules or horses, they still had to be led out for a run before anyone could tell.
Even though Zhang Xianzhong selected people through visual judgment and divine-sense perception, that did not mean he could never make mistakes. Occasionally misjudging someone was entirely possible.
After all, Zhang Xianzhong did not currently possess those legendary treasures capable of testing a Martial Artist's aptitude and vitality on the spot.
Such mysterious treasures were exceedingly rare and immensely precious. Even among major powers, not every household possessed them.
Only a small number of thousand-year-old aristocratic families, wealthy clans, imperial families, and other great powers possessed such rare treasures.
Even among the current imperial family and the families of dukes and marquises, no more than ten had treasures of this kind.
Before long, Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier entered the small Library Pavilion in succession, its doors wide open and its interior brightly lit.
The two soldiers guarding the entrance of this Library Pavilion, which Zhang Xianzhong had only had completed today, had seen Li Dingguo and the other talented youths several times with Zhang Xianzhong and were familiar with them.
Having received the Great King's explicit instructions, they naturally did not stop the four upon seeing them arrive and allowed them to enter.
This newly arranged Library Pavilion was one of the Rebel Army's most important places. Naturally, Zhang Xianzhong had his trusted subordinates guard it, lest the precious books within be stolen.
Unlike most Rebel Army leaders, the ambitious Eight Great Kings, Zhang Xianzhong, understood very well that these secret manuals and even rare surviving copies, painstakingly collected, were the true foundation of the Rebel Army.
Such an important place would naturally not be open to outsiders, lest theft occur.
"There are quite a lot of books here!"
"Indeed, nearly a hundred of them!"
"No problem! I can feel that my Mental Energy has greatly increased, and so has my memory. I can already recite all the books our teacher taught us!"
"That's true. My learning ability is far stronger than before I became a Martial Artist. Even though there are many books in this Library Pavilion, I should be able to learn everything I am interested in within a month or two."...
Looking at the elegantly arranged small Library Pavilion, its orderly shelves at the front and on both sides packed with books, the four discussed it in amazement.
"Heh..."
Li Dingguo chuckled inwardly. After unexpectedly awakening the Talent Panel today, my Mental Energy increased again. During the cultural lesson just now, I was already able to remember everything at a glance!
With such a rich collection in this Library Pavilion, this is undoubtedly a rare and excellent opportunity to solidify my foundation!
Never mind anything else! I'll spend some time memorizing all the precious books here first, no matter what type they are!
His eyes lit up, and he walked straight toward the first row of shelves on the right.
Since he had already decided to memorize every book here, there was no need to pick and choose. He only needed to read through them one by one from beginning to end and commit everything he saw to memory.
Li Dingguo knew well that in the Rebel Army's future, peaceful days like these would not come often.
If the Eight Great Kings' Rebel Army suffered a crushing defeat in the future, they might not even be able to keep these books.
This was not nonsense, but a foreseeable fact.
When Rebel Army soldiers were fleeing in panic while being pursued and slaughtered by enemy troops, who would have the leisure to worry about so much?
Naturally, preserving one's life came first. In such circumstances, everything else could be abandoned.
"This is a medical book?"
Li Dingguo picked up an old-looking book at the very edge and discovered that it was a medical text.
"Medical Skill works too!"
"As the saying goes, medicine and martial arts are inseparable. Learning some Medical Skill will be very useful to me in the future."
"If I am lucky, reading through enough medical books might even form a new skill."
In any case, Li Dingguo would not miss a single cultivation manual or miscellaneous book here. Starting by reading and memorizing medical books was not bad at all.
To say nothing else, Medical Skill was quite useful in these chaotic times.
Not only could it provide excellent assistance for a Martial Artist's own cultivation, but the true value of medical books was no less than that of martial arts cultivation methods.
In this world, where natural disasters and man-made calamities grew ever more severe, it was impossible to go through life without ever being injured, poisoned, or falling ill.
Moreover, the Vitality and Blood Soup Li Dingguo had once consumed had likely been researched and formulated by masters of Medical Skill.
Simply learning from relevant books to identify spirit herbs, spiritual roots, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and other essential knowledge for cultivators would bring countless benefits to his future.
If he encountered all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in deep mountains, ancient forests, wild plains, vast marshes, rivers, lakes, or seas, only to miss them because he did not recognize them, that would be an absolute blood-curdling loss!
Besides a cultivator's own aptitude and talent, martial cultivation could not do without the support of all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, spirit herbs, and spiritual roots.
Only then could one avoid depleting both vitality and blood along the path of cultivation.
Otherwise, if cultivation resources could not keep up while one desperately buried oneself in arduous training, not only would martial progress be slow, one might even be crippled by the backlash caused by depleted vitality and blood.
Now, seeing nearly ten medical books here, along with several miscellaneous books recording information on spirit herbs, spiritual roots, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Li Dingguo was not disappointed. Instead, he was overjoyed.
After calming his mind, he took a book on Medical Skill, sat down on a wooden chair to one side, and began reading and memorizing it with great relish.
"This book actually contains formulas for spirit medicines such as Vitality and Blood Soup?"
"This is wonderful. This is exactly the knowledge I want to learn and master as soon as possible!"
After reading and memorizing for only a short while, Li Dingguo discovered that among the secret formulas recorded in this medical book were methods for preparing Vitality and Blood Soup!
Moreover, there was not just one preparation method, but several, each corresponding to one of the three major realms of the Body Refinement stage.
"Unfortunately, I do not recognize any of these medicinal herbs. But that is fine—I'll memorize these formulas first!"
"After all, there are plenty of books here concerning spirit herbs, spiritual roots, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. I should be able to find the relevant records."
He forcibly suppressed the wild joy in his heart, drew a deep breath, and tried his best to calm himself. Then he devoted himself wholly to the task, beginning to memorize and recite every word and sentence...
This was a rare opportunity for him, one that would allow him to greatly enrich himself and gain an understanding of this wondrous vast world.
No matter what, he had to memorize every secret manual and book here without missing a single word, turning them into his own foundation.
Now that his Mental Energy had increased once more and he possessed the ability to remember everything at a glance, accomplishing this would not be difficult, nor would it take too much time.
Before you continue