Book Elder

"Would you mind taking me to where the Soul Master theory books are first, Book Elder?"

After thinking it over, Lin Huo still declined Book Elder's offer to have someone fetch the books. Once he got there, he could judge for himself what he needed to study.

"Alright. I have nothing better to do, so I'll take you there myself."

Book Elder seemed to be an especially kind old man. Without any airs, he walked alongside Lin Huo and led the way.

Perhaps because Soul Master theory was too valuable, Book Elder led Lin Huo deep into the library. Along the way, Lin Huo saw quite a few figures standing behind the bookshelves, like hidden sentries lying in ambush.

That piqued Lin Huo's curiosity.

There was a person guarding every two rows of bookshelves. Even if they were library staff, there was no need to station so many of them.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Lin Huo asked directly, "Book Elder, there seem to be quite a lot of people in the library. Are they all here to read?"

For some reason, Book Elder suddenly slowed down. A great deal of displeasure appeared on his aged face.

Looking at the puzzled Lin Huo, Book Elder merely shook his head. His hoarse voice carried a trace of loneliness. "Sigh, my library may be large enough, but how could there be so many people reading books?

Soul Masters these days simply learn whatever their academy teachers teach them. Very few are willing to settle down and study theory on their own.

The people you see in the library now are merely guards arranged by the academy."

"They're all guards?" Lin Huo was greatly surprised. He had seen no fewer than thirty figures along the way.

And those were only the guards stationed in plain sight. The number of guards hidden in the shadows was likely even more astonishing.

Book Elder saw Lin Huo's surprise at a glance. However, he found this young student quite pleasing, so he patiently explained:

"Student Lin Huo, you're still young. It's normal that you don't understand some things. You must know that keeping inherited knowledge confidential is the foundation upon which a faction survives.

If all the books in this library were stolen by some thief, it would not only be our Fire Clan that could establish a Blazing Fire Academy. Even the Wang Clan or Li Clan could gather their resources and open another Blazing Fire Academy.

Now you understand how important our library is, right? Even with all the guards currently stationed here, this old man still thinks there aren't enough."

Lin Huo recalled Book Elder mentioning that the library's secret repository contained Self-Created Soul Skills. More likely than not, it also held even more important books.

With that in mind, it was understandable why the Blazing Fire Grand Library was guarded so tightly.

But the tighter the security was, the more curious Lin Huo became about the Blazing Fire Library's secret repository. He casually asked:

"Book Elder, you mentioned before that there are Self-Created Soul Skills in the library's secret repository, but one has to meet certain requirements to learn them. What does it take to qualify?"

Book Elder immediately shot Lin Huo an annoyed glare. "You little brats are all the same. The moment you hear there are Self-Created Soul Skills, you practically lose your souls over them."

He raised a hand and lightly tapped Lin Huo on the head. Then he earnestly advised, "You mischievous little brats shouldn't aim too high. At your age, you should read more Soul Master theory to build a foundation of knowledge, cultivate diligently, and raise your Soul Power Level. That is the proper path.

As for Self-Created Soul Skills, they are exceptionally difficult to cultivate. If you lack the talent, you'll only waste your time and hinder your cultivation.

If you want to cultivate a Self-Created Soul Skill, you'd best wait until the day your Soul Power Level can no longer advance before considering it."

"Book Elder, actually, I..."

"Enough. Don't say any more."

Lin Huo wanted to ask further, but Book Elder raised his hand and cut him off first.

He had not expected Book Elder to be so resistant to Self-Created Soul Skills. The moment the subject came up, he received a lecture, making his question completely pointless.

Truthfully, Lin Huo's real intention was not in the Self-Created Soul Skills themselves. He had merely wanted to use them as an excuse to probe whether the secret repository contained any other valuable knowledge.

Lin Huo had no interest in Self-Created Soul Skills at all.

After all, no matter how impressive a Self-Created Soul Skill was, could it possibly be more overpowered than an unreasonable Pokémon move?

Unless it was a protagonist cheat like the Great Sumeru Hammer or the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, Lin Huo could not even be bothered to spare other Self-Created Soul Skills a second glance.

Unfortunately, because Book Elder had misunderstood him as aiming too high, he clearly had no desire to discuss the secret repository any further. For now, Lin Huo could only give up.

"Alright, we're here. From this point onward, the next fifty bookshelves all contain books on Soul Master theory. Look through whatever books you want."

Stopping before a row of shelves, Book Elder went to a nearby desk, pulled out a chair, and quietly sat down.

He wanted to see what books this seemingly clever boy, Lin Huo, would choose to study.

"Thank you for leading the way, Book Elder. I'll go study properly now."

"Go on."

Book Elder waved a hand, and Lin Huo turned and entered the rows of bookshelves to make his selections.

Thanks to Huo Tian's one-on-one lessons during the full twenty days they spent in the carriage, Lin Huo's foundation in Soul Master theory was actually not bad.

He had come to the library mainly to broaden his knowledge and, along the way, gather information to verify his own ideas.

As one of the highest institutions of learning on Douluo Continent, Blazing Fire Academy's library truly had an extraordinary collection.

After searching for a while, Lin Huo quickly found all the relevant books.

Carrying a huge stack of books out from between the shelves, Lin Huo turned his head and saw that Book Elder had switched to another table and was sitting there waiting for him.

Lin Huo gave Book Elder a friendly smile, walked to the desk, and set down the stack of books, which stood as tall as a person, beside the table. Then he took out a pen and notebook from the Quenched Copper Three-Jade Plaque and prepared to begin studying.

When Book Elder saw the Quenched Copper Three-Jade Plaque in Lin Huo's hand, a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

"Lin Huo... Sigh, I might as well call you Little Huo. Little Huo, how did you obtain that storage Soul Tool?"

The Quenched Copper Three-Jade Plaque had come from a perfectly legitimate source, and they were currently inside the academy, so Lin Huo had no intention of hiding it.

"You mean this, Book Elder? It was a reward the academy gave me after I rendered a service."

Lin Huo only said that it was a reward from the academy, without mentioning a single word about perfecting body tempering.

Even if the academy had not specifically told him to keep it secret, he knew just by thinking about it that this was not something he could casually reveal.

"To receive such a reward, Little Huo, you must be quite remarkable."

After praising him, Book Elder saw that Lin Huo was being vague and did not press further. He simply leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and looked as though he were about to doze off.

Seeing Book Elder sitting there as though he were about to fall asleep, Lin Huo felt rather helpless.

He was the kind of person who felt uncomfortable all over whenever someone stayed beside him while he was working.

This old man looked as though he were sleeping beside him, but for all Lin Huo knew, he might be watching him through narrowed eyes.

Still, from their conversation along the way, Lin Huo had roughly guessed that Book Elder's status was anything but ordinary.

Besides, Book Elder was already so old, yet he had personally led Lin Huo all the way here. Lin Huo really could not bring himself to chase him away now.

With no other choice, Lin Huo could only pretend Book Elder did not exist and focus on his great undertaking of studying.

And once he sat down, he remained seated until evening.