The Manor Library

The library was enormous, with two floors. By the time he entered, the sun had just risen. Warm sunlight streamed through the windows, scattering irregular patches of light across the bookshelves, books, and tables.

Tap, tap, tap.

Su Ziyu headed straight for the second floor.

He had already gone through every book on the first floor as a child. Most were literary or historical works, with little research value.

The second floor was even larger than the first. Su Ziyu entered the shelves, made a small circuit, and arrived before an iron door.

This had been his grandfather's study. His grandfather had always liked sitting alone inside, reading and sorting out work matters.

As Su Ziyu remembered, he had only ever caught a furtive glimpse inside while using a trip to the bathroom as an excuse. That had only been possible because his grandfather had accidentally failed to shut the door all the way.

At the time, he had seen only a plain desk and several large shelves. The books upon them were wrapped in thick covers and looked exceedingly valuable.

As he approached the iron door, Su Ziyu's brows furrowed. His shadow seemed to grow somewhat restless, revealing a red eye that flashed and vanished in an instant.

Su Ziyu caught the scent of danger. His nerves immediately tightened again. With one hand on the doorknob, he gave it a slight twist. Dark matter moved like a nimble key, stirring twice within the old lock cylinder. With two clicks, the door opened inward on its own, letting out the grating creak of something left untouched for far too long.

The air was thick with the sour stench of rotting vegetables soaked for days. Su Ziyu's nose twitched. He also caught another distinctive smell—a faint trace of blood.

The room was roughly thirty square meters. Rows of shelves lined the walls, each compartment holding heavy books in all kinds of colors. Some appeared to have been opened before, their pages visibly creased, while others were like imperial concubines neglected by the emperor, covered in a slightly thick layer of dust.

Behind that row of shelves stood a wooden desk. Several hefty books lay atop it, many opened flat. Ink, a fountain pen, and a yellowed ancient book sat in one corner. The chair was blocked by the last row of shelves, making its exact appearance impossible to see.

The room remained dark. Su Ziyu could not find the light switch; he had observed all of this through the All-Seeing True Eye.

Clearly, someone was still using this study!

His grandfather was already dead, so it could not possibly have been him. Then it was very likely the First Elder his aunt-in-law had mentioned?

Su Ziyu gradually tensed up and walked toward the desk step by step. He remained vigilant the entire time, one hand in his pocket, ready to summon the Dread Demon Eye. The crimson eye within his shadow flickered faintly as the Void Shadow Beast quietly merged into the room's shadows.

After only a few steps, Su Ziyu finally reached the desk. He looked toward the blind spot in his previous view, and his eyes instantly widened.

A shriveled old man sat in the chair. Beneath his ragged black robes was a body so thin it was little more than skin and bones. His head, seemingly devoid of flesh, remained forever lowered, while his deeply sunken eye sockets appeared to be reading something.

This scene was beyond Su Ziyu's expectations. He had thought some powerful Beyonder would appear here, yet it was actually a corpse that looked as though it had been dead for years...

He did not let down his guard. Stepping over the corpse-like body, he looked at what the other man was reading. It was a book with slightly yellowed page edges, containing many incomprehensible symbols and words used exclusively by sorcerers. With only a brief glance, Su Ziyu noticed several striking terms within it.

He could vaguely make out words such as Morning Star, advancement, ritual, potion, spiritual Awakening...

His brows lifted slightly. The skeletal old man was actually reading a secret tome concerning advancement to Morning Star!

Above the Awakening level was Morning Star.

Why were so many Beyonders unable to advance to Morning Star? One reason was that the Morning Star Tier threshold was indeed high, requiring considerable comprehension. Another major reason was that the method of advancing to Morning Star had never been widely disclosed!

This seemed to be intentional on the Federation's part. As a result, many independent Beyonders had no way to obtain the method for advancing to Morning Star. That was also why so many people chose to join cults.

After all, cultists could use all manner of bizarre sacrificial rituals to pray to the evil gods they worshipped for the power to advance to Morning Star. Some ancient sects also possessed records of methods for advancing to Morning Star.

Sure enough, Grandfather had left behind a method for advancing to Morning Star!

That yellowed ancient book was right before him!

Suppressing his excitement, Su Ziyu reached for the book. Just as he drew back his hand, his pupils abruptly contracted. His shoulder suddenly dropped as he nimbly dodged the attack of a bony palm, only to find himself face-to-face with a wrinkled visage and two eyeballs that contained nothing but whites.

Hiss...

Su Ziyu retreated two steps. At the same time, a familiar feeling surged through him. This old man—or rather, this skeleton—felt strangely familiar, as though they had met before.

"Give it back to me!"

The skeletal old man spoke. His lips were shriveled like tree bark, with not a single tooth visible. It was almost impossible to tell whether the being before him was still human or some kind of monster.

Su Ziyu calmed down as well. His gaze lingered on the old man's face for several seconds before he took a deep breath and said lightly,

"Second Granduncle, you... you're still alive?"

Su Ziyu recognized him. He understood where that familiar feeling came from. This old man, so emaciated that only skin and bones remained, was actually his second granduncle, Su Jingtian!

This sorcerer, whose fame had once shaken the world, had spent his entire life stuck at the Morning Star threshold.

In the end, he disappeared from the public eye with the strength of a Half-Step Morning Star.

Su Ziyu had heard news of the old man's death. So he had not died at all, but had hidden in Grandfather's study. From the looks of it, he had been researching a way to advance to Morning Star?

Thinking back, after Grandfather died, Second Granduncle had also disappeared in almost the same year. The timing matched.

Su Ziyu looked at Su Jingtian, his expression turning grave. Su Jingtian had already possessed Half-Step Morning Star strength back then. By now, he was likely already a Morning Star!

Moreover, Su Ziyu could smell a force on him that differed from Morning Star. It carried the signs of distortion and contamination!

Just like Su Mingyi's entire family!

It was very possible that his second granduncle had also been contaminated by some ghostly thing!

A contaminated Morning Star Tier powerhouse!

Just thinking about it made Su Ziyu's scalp prickle.