Library Pavilion

At once, the bronze fragment's color dimmed. It was as though a warm current spread rapidly through his entire body from where it touched his palm, leaving him feeling pleasantly warm, as if bathing in sunlight.

He did not know how much time had passed before that warm current finally faded away. The bronze fragment became incomparably dull, as though coated in a layer of grime, no longer possessing its former luster.

At the same time, a notification appeared in his mind:

[Skill Points +15]

"What? I can obtain skill points directly?" Liang Bo was utterly astonished, then immediately fell into wild delight.

Over the past half month or so, he had relied on diligent training to gain skill points. Although he could obtain one skill point every six days on average, that pace still could not satisfy him. He wanted to find a faster way to acquire skill points.

Unexpectedly, such a method really did exist. Simply by merging with this fragment, he had directly gained fifteen skill points. That was nearly equivalent to the results of three months of diligent training!

And this was only a single fragment. If he could obtain more fragments of Spirit-Nurturing Treasures, or even acquire an actual Spirit-Nurturing Treasure, would he not gain even more skill points? This was far easier than diligent training and saved much more time as well.

That way, he could devote more time to cultivating his inner strength!

"Calm down, calm down!" Liang Bo took a deep breath and forced himself to settle down.

This method of obtaining skill points might be easy, but it also presented a problem: where was he supposed to find Spirit-Nurturing Treasures?

Judging from the current situation, even Liang Wen had never heard of the concept of Spirit-Nurturing Treasures. Clearly, they would not be easy to find. He could not place too much hope on this; his main efforts still needed to go toward diligent training, since that was the stable way to gain skill points.

As for Spirit-Nurturing Treasures, he could only wait until he entered the True Martial Sect and then find a way to inquire about them.

Knock, knock, knock! At that moment, Xiao Qing knocked outside. "Young Master, dinner is ready. It's almost the hour of Wu."

"It's already this late?" Liang Bo jumped in surprise. He remembered that it had only just passed noon when he entered his room, yet it was now the hour of Wu, equivalent to seven in the evening on Earth. In other words, nearly seven hours had passed without him even realizing it!

Fortunately, he had not chosen to merge with it at the trading venue, or others would certainly have noticed something unusual.

He hurriedly opened the door and had Xiao Qing bring the food inside.

"Young Master, someone named Xie Jia was sent over by the family head earlier. He said this man would be at Young Master's disposal from now on."

"Yes, I know him. Where is he?" Liang Bo picked up his bowl and chopsticks, eating as he asked.

"I saw that Young Master was still cultivating, so I told him not to disturb you. He is waiting outside now."

"He's been waiting all this time? How long has he waited?"

"He came during the hour of You and has waited for about one shichen," Xiao Qing replied after thinking for a moment.

"Let him come in. I have something to ask him."

"Yes."

Before long, Xiao Qing led Xie Jia into the room.

"Greetings, Fourth Young Master!" Just as before, Xie Jia was as cold as ever. He would not utter even half a sentence more than necessary, and his face was utterly expressionless.

"Mm, sit. Have you eaten?" Liang Bo asked with a smile.

"No need," Xie Jia answered indifferently.

Liang Bo rolled his eyes. Even if you were cold by nature, there was no need to be this cold, was there? Could they not have a proper conversation?

Still, he knew that this fellow must be burdened by a blood feud, which had drastically changed his temperament. Apart from revenge, he had no interest in anything else. If Liang Bo wanted to win his loyalty, he would first have to help him avenge himself.

After thinking for a moment, Liang Bo said, "I already have a general understanding of the blood feud you bear. To uncover the truth, the Liang Clan's strength alone will not be enough; we must rely on the True Martial Sect. In two days, I will take part in the arena battles. If nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to join the True Martial Sect. Once I enter the sect, I will help you uncover the truth and avenge you."

Only then did a trace of life appear in Xie Jia's eyes. "Many thanks, Fourth Young Master! As long as Fourth Young Master can avenge me, I am willing to do anything for you!"

"Mm. For the next few days, focus on practicing martial arts in the residence. By the way, I heard from the family head that your inner strength cultivation has already reached the sixth rank. About how long would it take to advance to the fifth rank?" Liang Bo asked while eating.

"Half a year."

"Half a year?" Liang Bo thought for a moment, then took out a bottle of Essence-Cultivating Pills he had just bought and handed it to him. "If you had enough medicinal pills to assist you, how long would it take?"

Xie Jia accepted the pills, opened the bottle, and gave them a sniff. "With medicinal pills assisting me, I should be able to break through within three months."

"Good. Then cultivate as quickly as you can. As for the pills, I will provide them with all my strength."

Previously, he might have worried about not having enough silver, but now, not to mention the family head's support, the one hundred thousand taels of silver from his wager with Sima Kai alone were enough to cover his expenses.

Therefore, he could supply Xie Jia with medicinal pills without restraint and let him raise his strength as quickly as possible. Only then would he be able to help Liang Bo.

After Xie Jia left, Xiao Qing could not help muttering, "Young Master, who is that person? Why is he so cold? And he was far too disrespectful toward Young Master, wasn't he? Young Master kindly gave him pills for cultivation, yet he did not even say thank you."

Liang Bo smiled. "That fellow bears a blood feud. It is normal for him to be a little cold. Don't mind him."

"A blood feud?" Xiao Qing was startled and hurriedly asked what had happened.

Liang Bo told her what he had learned from the family head earlier. At once, Xiao Qing's sympathy overflowed, and she kept urging Liang Bo to help Xie Jia take revenge.

After dinner, Liang Bo saw that it was still early and immediately headed for the Liang Clan's Library Pavilion.

As the Liang Clan's most important repository of martial arts, the Library Pavilion housed nearly all of the Liang Clan's inner strength manuals and martial techniques. It was normally guarded by a clan elder whose cultivation realm could not be discerned.

After Liang Bo arrived at the Library Pavilion, the white-robed old man in charge of guarding it raised his head and glanced at him. "Did the family head send you?"

"Yes. This disciple is Liang Bo. Greetings, Clan Elder. This is the token the family head gave me." Liang Bo bowed, then handed over the token.

Upon hearing Liang Bo's name, the old man immediately smiled. "So you are the little fellow who defeated Liang Cheng. You are quite good. This old man thinks highly of you. Go in, but do not stay too late. You must leave before the hour of Hai."

"Yes, Clan Elder." Liang Bo slowly ascended the Library Pavilion.

The Library Pavilion had three floors. The first stored various ordinary martial techniques, the second held ordinary cultivation manuals, while the third contained more than ten of the family's most precious human-rank martial techniques.

This time, Liang Bo was heading to the third floor.