Found a Treasure

The Hall of Martial Knowledge was dim. Black drapes covered its windows and walls, and an oil lamp on the table gave off a feeble glow.

The registrar, Zou Zheng, sat at the table, rubbing his aching wrist. "Thank goodness we have the Testing Instrument the head made from a meteorite. Otherwise, testing the students' talents alone would be an enormous ordeal, just like in the old days."

Feng Shaotang, master of the Hall of Martial Knowledge, sat nearby. He took a small sip of hot tea and sighed. "Old Zou, the number of students has dropped sharply this year. Talent isn't something ordinary people can simply conjure up. Over at Dragon Gate Academy... perhaps things aren't much better than they are here!"

His words were merely an attempt to console himself. Ever since the court approved the founding of Dragon Gate Academy, an invisible pressure had grown by the day. Both were institutions in the Capital of the Great Chen Empire, but with the court's overt and covert support, Dragon Gate Academy had already firmly surpassed the Knowledge and Practice Institute in student enrollment alone. The Knowledge and Practice Institute's steady decline seemed an indisputable fact. No one wanted to mention it, that was all.

"How did we do this morning?" Feng Shaotang asked, pouring another cup of tea. His expression was hidden in the darkness, but another soft sigh escaped him.

"We tested four hundred and thirty-six students altogether. Only twelve had cultivation talent, and that includes Duke Gu. Far worse than last year!" Zou Zheng said, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Oh? That wastrel Gu Qingzhou actually has cultivation talent? That's a surprise. What a pity..." Feng Shaotang smacked his lips and shook his head too. "We've had fewer and fewer students with outstanding cultivation talent these past years. Our crop of talent is withering away. Could Heaven truly have forsaken our Knowledge and Practice Institute?"

As they spoke, a plump student entered. The little fatty quickly adjusted to the dim room and looked around, seemingly curious about everything. Once he made out Zou Zheng seated behind the table, he bowed respectfully.

"Put your hand on it, relax your mind, and breathe deeply!" Zou Zheng pointed to a square table in the middle of the room. On it stood a hexagonal tray made of some unknown material, holding a drab gray stone sphere the size of a watermelon. His face remained expressionless as he addressed the little fatty.

The little fatty placed his hand on the stone sphere as instructed. The instant his palm touched it, the sphere emitted a hazy white glow. With each breath he took, it grew brighter, until at last it blazed with brilliant light, illuminating the entire room.

"What's your name?"

Feng Shaotang sprang from his chair and asked in unison with Zou Zheng. Only then did the little fatty realize someone else was in the room, and he recoiled a step in fright.

The stone sphere immediately dimmed, and a timid voice sounded in the darkness. "This student... is Fan Dazhi!"

"Excellent!" Feng Shaotang struck his fist against his other palm, visibly exhilarated.

That dazzling light had shown that this student's aptitude was exceptional. In all the Knowledge and Practice Institute's years of testing, students who shone as brilliantly as this Fan Dazhi had been exceedingly rare. Who would have thought this unremarkable little fatty possessed such extraordinary talent? Once the testing ended, he would report it to Academy Head Cheng, who would surely be delighted too.

As Feng Shaotang thought this with joy, Zou Zheng solemnly entered Fan Dazhi's name in the register. He then asked detailed questions about his age, registered place of origin, and exact address before letting him leave.

Beaming, Feng Shaotang picked up his cup and drained it. He rose to pour another cup of hot tea and settled his excitement. Suddenly feeling the urge to relieve himself, he was about to visit the latrine when another student entered.

The youth had handsome, refined features and stood straight, his face glowing with confidence that made him pleasing to behold. Feng Shaotang suppressed his urge and sat back down. Raising his cup, he gently blew on the foam floating on the tea and decided to watch this student before leaving.

"Put your hand on it, relax your mind, and breathe deeply!" As usual, Zou Zheng pointed expressionlessly at the drab gray stone sphere.

He An touched the stone sphere with his right hand and drew a deep breath. At first, the sphere showed no response to his breathing. Then a pale yellow glow slowly seeped out, its color deepening until the sphere turned a brilliant yellow, crystalline and translucent like the rising sun. Its light filled the room with dazzling brightness.

With a crack, the teacup fell to the floor and shattered. Feng Shaotang leaped up in astonishment once again, paying no heed to the hot tea splashing onto his feet.

"What's your name?" Feng Shaotang asked urgently, his chest heaving.

"This student is He An!" the youth answered calmly. The dazzling yellow light revealed every fine detail of his features, making him appear all the more strikingly handsome.

He removed his palm. The stone sphere's glow gradually faded, and the room sank into darkness again.

Zou Zheng's hand trembled as he wrote the youth's name in the register. After asking several detailed questions, he watched the youth turn and leave, then let out a long breath. Shock and delight still filled his face.

"Old Zou, we've found a treasure! We've found a treasure!" Feng Shaotang slapped the table and laughed. A moment later, his expression turned solemn. "Remember! Not a word of this to anyone. Go outside and explain that today's testing is over. We'll resume tomorrow!" Zou Zheng nodded his agreement.

Gathering up the hem of his robe, Feng Shaotang first rushed to the latrine as though his backside were on fire, then hurried toward the Academy Head's Pavilion.

Great waves surged through Feng Shaotang's heart. This was the first time he had seen a glow so dazzling, so much like a blazing sun, and the first time he had encountered a student with such extraordinary talent. Even the finest students tested at the Knowledge and Practice Institute over the past decade had only cast light across ten feet of space. Yet when this student named He An was tested, the stone sphere's brilliant yellow glow had been so dazzling he could scarcely open his eyes. The youth's future achievements in the martial path would surely know no bounds.

Dressed in black robes, Cheng Zi Ya sat by a window in the Academy Head's Pavilion, a wine jar in his left hand and a huge bowl in his right. He took a fierce gulp.

He was slightly tipsy, his face faintly flushed but his eyes clear and bright. Now and then, he gazed absently at the lingering snow outside the window, his thoughts unknown.

Feng Shaotang charged up the pavilion stairs, his footsteps pounding. From the bend in the staircase, he spotted Cheng Zi Ya through a distant window and waved his arms, shouting, "Academy Head! Academy Head Cheng!"

With a creak, the door opened.

"Hall Master Feng, what has you so alarmed?" Cheng Zi Ya strode out. Feng Shaotang ran up to him and stopped, pressing a hand to his chest as he took several ragged breaths before recounting what he had just seen.

After hearing him out, Cheng Zi Ya froze for a moment. Then he planted both hands on his hips, threw back his head, and roared with laughter. "Old Feng, we've found a treasure! Hahaha... well done! Come, let's tell my senior brother!"

Chuckling, he patted Feng Shaotang on the shoulder, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned toward the Literary Institute.

In the Hall of Extending Knowledge, Wei Zhilin sat beside a desk, engrossed in a scroll. The hall door suddenly opened. First, a head poked inside, then swiftly withdrew. A long leg stepped through next, revealing half a black-robed figure.

"Zi Ya! You've been Academy Head for years, yet you're still so undignified?" Wei Zhilin said with an amused laugh, putting down his scroll.

"Haha! Senior brother, I have tremendous news for you!" Cheng Zi Ya stepped inside, planted one hand on his hip, and laughed loudly.

"Oh... what could make you so happy?" Wei Zhilin asked with a smile.

Cheng Zi Ya reached out and pulled in Feng Shaotang, who had been standing outside, then had him recount the events in the Hall of Martial Knowledge in detail once more.

Wei Zhilin's expression changed dramatically when he finished listening. "How many people know about this? It must not get out!"

Cheng Zi Ya smiled smugly. "Apart from the three of us here, only Zou Zheng, who kept the records, knows. Rest assured, senior brother!"

"Very good!" Wei Zhilin nodded. Master told me to pay extra attention to those two youngsters and temper them. He must have recognized their identities long ago. To think that He An possesses such astonishing talent! The Knowledge and Practice Institute hasn't seen anyone like him in years. At that thought, he too stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

News of He An and Fan Dazhi's stunning test results spread among a select few in the Knowledge and Practice Institute's upper ranks. In the days that followed, the pair received special attention.

Teachers from the Practice Institute were assigned to teach them cultivation methods, insights, practical combat techniques, and other cultivation knowledge. Chen Sangyu also made a special effort to explain many fundamental theories of cultivation to them in detail.

He An could finally confirm that the pure void energy he had sensed before was indeed Heaven and Earth primordial energy. Fan Dazhi could also absorb Heaven and Earth primordial energy, though not as quickly as He An. To everyone's surprise, however, he could mobilize his mental perception and release a faint thread of divine sense.

With accomplished teachers guiding them, the two improved by leaps and bounds each day, leaving Chen Sangyu clicking his tongue in wonder.

Bi Yunfei was deeply dejected. Once the test results came out, he learned that he alone among the four roommates lacked cultivation talent. Gu Qingzhou was a duke, so Bi Yunfei considered it only natural that he could become a cultivator.

But why could He An and Fan Dazhi, who came from backgrounds just as poor as his own, become cultivators too? He had endured poverty since childhood, struggling desperately through hardship and adversity. Only after countless trials had he become the sole scholar in his county admitted to the Knowledge and Practice Institute. He was clever, diligent, ambitious, and exceptionally perceptive, so why was Heaven so unfair? Why was he the one without cultivation talent?

He wandered, lost and desolate, through a deserted bamboo grove on the mountain behind the Knowledge and Practice Institute. Breaking off a bamboo branch, he lashed out wildly, venting the resentment and frustration in his heart.

Time flowed like water, and deep winter gradually arrived. At the Knowledge and Practice Institute, He An and Fan Dazhi stayed busy every day, studying the collected classics of the hundred schools in the Literary Institute and learning cultivation from the various teachers of the Practice Institute. Their days were quiet but fulfilling.

Before they knew it, the year's end was approaching. Ding Wenruo occasionally sought out He An and Fan Dazhi for help with difficult passages in the classics. Han Chanjuan kept a lower profile, leaving hurriedly after classes every day, though she sometimes invited He An and Dazhi out for a meal.

"These two are thoroughly versed in their arts, and true qi surges within them. The student named He An, in particular, has a robust, fully integrated dan foundation. To possess such cultivation at so young an age is truly astonishing. I even suspect... did this boy begin training in his mother's womb? Stranger still, the heart methods and freehand techniques they have practiced for years bear some resemblance to those of our Knowledge and Practice Institute, while also incorporating the strengths of techniques from sects throughout the world. Though varied, they distill complexity into simplicity and are exquisitely ingenious. There are profound principles within them that even I cannot comprehend. According to the pair, He An's uncle, He Kui, taught them. It seems this He Kui is no ordinary man!"

The speaker was Chen Sangyu, who sat in the Hall of Extending Knowledge. Wei Zhilin and Cheng Zi Ya occupied the seats of honor.

Hearing his words, Wei Zhilin stroked his beard, smiled, and nodded. Cheng Zi Ya's eyebrows jumped, his face brimming with irrepressible joy.

Chen Sangyu continued, "Both are now progressing at tremendous speed. Without competing in true qi or being overwhelmed by a higher realm, He An can exchange over a hundred moves with a Martial Arts Instructor without falling behind. The student named Fan Dazhi... seems exceptionally gifted at manipulating Heaven and Earth primordial energy and using mental perception. These two... I suggest it is time to open the Library Tower's inner repository to them and let them study more profound arts!"

"Excellent!" Cheng Zi Ya exclaimed, his delight written all over his face. "Senior brother, these two youngsters are something! What do you think?"

"Mm! What they lack now is merely practical combat experience and the ability to adapt when facing an enemy. Unfortunately, those cannot be taught or rushed. They will have to travel the world and slowly temper themselves in the future. As for that master named He Kui, Zi Ya, you can send someone to investigate him. Perhaps... he has old ties to our Knowledge and Practice Institute. Let us do as Sangyu suggests and allow them into the Library Tower..." Wei Zhilin said thoughtfully.

Any student at the Knowledge and Practice Institute with cultivation talent could enter the Library Tower and choose suitable arts once their cultivation reached a certain level.

The Library Tower held an immense collection. The Imperial Preceptor had placed all the philosophical classics and secret martial manuals from the Hall of Proclaiming Culture in the Former Dynasty's Imperial Palace there, along with everything he had collected throughout his life and the written records of his own insights.

When He An and Fan Dazhi entered the Library Tower, the collection before them utterly stunned them. Both floors of the enormous tower were packed with books. Neat rows of shelves stretched before them, and even the corners held stacks of volumes. Some had yellowed; others were covered in dust. Walking through these mountains of books and seas of texts, the pair felt almost at a loss.

Only with guidance from the Library Tower's teacher did they notice the paper labels on each row of shelves, marking categories such as "The Art of War," "Internal Arts Manual," "External Arts Manual," "Complete Guide to Weapons," and "Fist, Kick, and Palm Techniques." Within the rows, further labels divided them into more detailed categories.

Most students at the Knowledge and Practice Institute studied the Knowledge and Practice Heart Method. Created by Imperial Preceptor Li Xingzhi himself, it allowed cultivation all the way to the true self peak realm and was already among the finest heart methods in the world.

What they needed to select in the Library Tower were combat arts. After browsing for a long time, He An chose a volume titled "Startling Swan Sword Art." Fan Dazhi had no interest in weapons. He looked around for quite a while before selecting "Primordial Energy Manifestation."

The two continued leafing through books in the Library Tower's vast, oceanlike collection, spending a long time picking and choosing. The teacher responsible for overseeing the tower did not stop them, merely reminding them that their time inside was limited.

Just as they were about to leave, Fan Dazhi discovered several damaged books on an old shelf in a corner. A turtle was drawn on the cover of one, and he picked it up curiously to leaf through it.

"This Black Tortoise Scripture is an incomplete cultivation manual collected by the Imperial Preceptor. It originated from a Buddhist divine ability. Supposedly, mastering it makes one impervious to blades and spears, with unmatched power. If you like... you may take it to study as well. But an incomplete manual is still an incomplete manual. Whether you can succeed will depend on your own fortune!" the teacher reminded them at just the right moment.

Fan Dazhi skimmed it. The contents were obscure and difficult to understand, but it seemed to be an art related to circulating Heaven and Earth primordial energy, so he happily tucked it into his robe.

After browsing for some time, He An also picked up a tattered booklet from the shelf. He read only a few pages before putting it into his bag without hesitation.

The Library Tower teacher's eye twitched, and he could not help warning him, "The one you took is an incomplete copy of the Spirit-Shocking Finger. It contains only a handful of moves, including 'Spirit-Shocking' and 'Immortal-Slaying.' They say no one has successfully cultivated it in several hundred years. Are you sure you want to take it to practice? Young man, chances to enter the Library Tower's inner repository are rare. Don't say I didn't warn you!"

He An smiled and cupped his hands to thank the teacher. The two left the Library Tower. Just as they descended its wooden stairs, someone approached them from below.

"You're He An?" The man was tall and powerfully built, standing half a head above the pair as he looked down at them.

Taken aback, He An studied the stranger before him and said calmly, "I am indeed He An. May I ask... what you want of me?"

The man said nothing. He pulled a paper card from inside his robe, bearing two bold words: "Challenge Letter."