A Day of Shock and Delight

A Day of Shock and Delight

Once upon a time, Ye Yun had been just like those outer disciples downstairs, envying the inner disciples who could enter the second floor of the Cultivation Manual Pavilion.

But now, through his own efforts, Ye Yun had successfully entered the inner sect. Today, beneath the envious gazes of others, he too stepped onto the second floor of the Cultivation Manual Pavilion. He felt an immense sense of accomplishment.

At the entrance to the second floor stood a curtain of light. It could detect the strength of a visitor's cultivation; only those in the Qi Refining Realm could pass through successfully. Anyone below the Qi Refining Realm would be injured by the curtain of light. Once, a newly admitted outer disciple had tried it and ended up bedridden for a full week.

After passing through the light curtain, rows upon rows of neatly arranged purple bookshelves filled Ye Yun's vision. A faint fragrance lingered in the air. Once inhaled, it made his mind feel refreshed and lifted his spirits considerably.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the bookshelves were all made from century-old sandalwood. Century-old sandalwood had a calming effect on the mind—no wonder it produced such results.

The cabinets were divided into small compartments. Every martial art was stored within one, while a shield resembling a light curtain covered the outside, keeping the manuals safely protected.

The second floor of the Cultivation Manual Pavilion was divided into four areas: the cultivation technique area, the martial skill area, the movement technique area, and the secret art area.

The cultivation technique area contained all kinds of manuals that enhanced true qi and strengthened its power. The martial skill area contained offensive and defensive arts involving sabers, swords, fists, palms, and more. The movement technique area held arts for fleeing, shifting positions, evading attacks, and increasing speed.

As for the secret art area, most of the manuals there were arts that injured the enemy by a thousand while harming oneself by eight hundred—techniques that could save one's life at a critical moment.

Ye Yun pondered for a moment before walking toward the cultivation technique area.

After making a round through the cultivation technique area, he found that there were more than a hundred manuals for cultivating true qi.

Looking at so many martial arts manuals, Ye Yun's heart brimmed with anticipation. He hoped to find one that suited him well. His steps unconsciously quickened as he headed toward the bookshelves ahead, preparing to examine every manual from beginning to end.

As he looked at the introduction and opening passage of the first manual, his special ability began to work. A piece of information automatically surfaced in his mind.

"Wood Origin Art: The true qi cultivated by this art flows on without end and recovers at an extremely fast rate. Compatibility: two points."

"Essence Cultivation Technique: The true qi cultivated by this art is upright, balanced, and incomparably pure. Compatibility: six points."

When Ye Yun saw the information on the Essence Cultivation Technique, his eyes lit up. He had not expected his luck to be so good—he had encountered a martial art with six points of compatibility right away. He committed the information to memory and moved on to the next manual.

Time trickled away, second by second, as Ye Yun searched through the martial arts manuals.

More than half an hour later, after examining roughly eighty manuals, Ye Yun found another martial art with high compatibility.

"Nether Illusion True Formula: The true qi cultivated by this art carries a bewildering effect when battling enemies and can enhance the user's movement speed. Compatibility: nine points."

After reading the information, Ye Yun could only smile bitterly. With no other choice, he first memorized the location of this manual and decided to wait until he had examined them all.

Looking at the Nether Illusion True Formula, Ye Yun felt that it must be connected in some way to Phantom Serenity Palace, one of the two palaces. The more he looked at it, the more it seemed like a martial art meant for women. Thinking of this, he could not help complaining that his special ability was unreliable.

Ye Yun turned around and looked toward the next manual.

Even if there were no manuals better suited to him later on, and even if he had to cultivate the Essence Cultivation Technique with its six-point compatibility, Ye Yun would not cultivate the Nether Illusion True Formula. Even with nine points of compatibility, it was still a no. He, Ye Yun, had his pride, all right?

Just as Ye Yun was thinking this, he received the information on the next manual.

"Sunflower Formula: To practice this art, one must first castrate oneself. Even after castration, success is not guaranteed. The true qi cultivated by this technique can double one's speed while circulating. Disciples who see this are advised to choose carefully. Compatibility: eleven points."

When Ye Yun saw the requirements for this martial art, he initially thought some elder had written them down on a whim to mess with the disciples. But when he saw the final line of warning written in red, he knew the requirements were real.

Then, when his special ability gave him its compatibility rating, Ye Yun felt a chill in a certain place below his waist. His whole body felt terrible.

All at once, he felt that the Nether Illusion True Formula did not seem so bad after all.

Turning his head, he saw that roughly forty manuals remained. Ye Yun was almost afraid to keep looking, but when he thought about how not looking would mean choosing from only those three manuals, he could only grit his teeth and continue.

Thus, with an uneasy heart, Ye Yun spent more than ten minutes examining all the remaining manuals.

Perhaps Heaven felt that he had suffered enough shocks just now and could not bear to watch any longer, so it sent Ye Yun a gift.

"Ice Profound Force: The true qi cultivated by this art is incomparably cold. Its attacks carry a unique icy force that can enter the enemy's body along with the attack and freeze their internal organs. This technique is extraordinarily difficult to cultivate. Choose carefully. Compatibility: thirteen points."

The appearance of Ice Profound Force made Ye Yun's eyes light up. Although it also had a red warning telling him to choose carefully, it did not frighten him. At least it did not have the Sunflower Formula's special requirements. It was merely difficult to cultivate, but Ice Profound Force had a compatibility of thirteen points with him. Ye Yun was confident that he could cultivate it successfully.

Having made his choice, Ye Yun no longer hesitated. He took out his identity token and touched the mechanism's protective shield. The instant it made contact, the shield slowly faded away. The booklet containing Ice Profound Force appeared before his eyes.

After choosing his cultivation technique, Ye Yun headed toward the martial skill area. Manuals of the same type were placed together there. He already had the Profound Yin Twelve Swords, so he planned to choose a martial art for unarmed combat.

Ye Yun came before the cabinet containing fist techniques and began examining them one by one. Among more than thirty fist techniques, he found only one with five points of compatibility. He did not pay it much attention and turned to search through the cabinet containing palm techniques.

An hour later, Ye Yun had finished looking through palm techniques, fist techniques, finger techniques, and claw techniques. At last, among the claw techniques, he found a martial art suitable for him.

"Nine Yin Cold Claw. Compatibility: ten points."

This martial art had the same ten-point compatibility with him as the Profound Yin Twelve Swords. Moreover, it could work very well with the Ice Profound Force he had just chosen.

Now he had Ice Profound Force as his cultivation technique, the Profound Yin Twelve Swords and Nine Yin Cold Claw as martial skills, and Treading Snow Without Trace as his movement technique. All he lacked was a secret art. As long as he chose a suitable secret art, then once his cultivation and mastery of martial arts rose, entering the Hundred Strong Ranking would be just around the corner.

Walking toward the secret art area, Ye Yun found that it contained pitifully few martial arts manuals, only a dozen or so. He looked toward one of them.

"Burning Blood Art: At a critical moment, burn thirty percent of the blood in one's body to double one's speed for half an hour. After half an hour, cultivation will fall by one minor realm. Compatibility: one point."

Seeing this martial art, Ye Yun finally understood why the sect had kept the Sunflower Formula in the Cultivation Manual Pavilion despite knowing full well how treacherous it was. The effects of successfully cultivating the Sunflower Formula were indeed immensely powerful.

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