Night, black as ink, quietly shrouded Nuoding Academy.
Snores began rising in Dorm Seven, and the clamor of the day fell completely silent.
Ling Feng sat up without a sound.
Moonlight streamed through the window, casting cold, stark contours across his face.
Grandmaster's shocked yet dejected gaze still lingered in his mind.
The Clear Sky Hammer.
Innate full soul power.
Together, those two terms had delivered an impact far beyond expectations.
The upside was that, however quickly his strength increased from now on, he had a barely plausible explanation.
The downside was that more eyes would be watching him, and covetous gazes in the shadows would be no fewer.
I have to grow stronger faster.
The system's check-ins are the only shortcut.
He glanced at the bed beside him.
Xiao Wu lay curled up, sleeping soundly, her long eyelashes trembling gently with her breathing.
Wang Sheng and the others were sprawled out in their sleep.
Like a weightless feather, Ling Feng landed silently on the floor, pushed open the door of Dorm Seven, and melted into the night outside.
The academy was empty and quiet at night.
There was only the rustle of wind through the leaves and the occasional chirping of insects in the distance.
His destination was clear-the library.
According to the system's rules, the first check-in at a new location often offered the richest rewards.
During the day, there were too many people and prying eyes. Now was the perfect time.
The library was a small, freestanding two-story building that looked particularly solemn in the darkness.
The main doors were locked.
But that posed no difficulty for Ling Feng.
The improvement in his physique from his level 11 soul power put him far beyond ordinary people.
He circled around behind the building, surveyed his surroundings, and confirmed that no one was there.
Drawing a deep breath, he abruptly exerted himself and sprang up like an agile cat. His hands caught the edge of a second-floor window with precision, and, using his waist and abdomen, he vaulted through without a sound.
He landed silently.
The library was larger inside than he had imagined.
Rows of tall bookshelves stood in the darkness like silent giants, giving off the mingled scent of old paper and ink.
Moonlight passed through the high windows, casting a few hazy patches of light on the floor.
A dust-sealed stillness filled the air.
Ling Feng stood at the entrance without immediately venturing farther in.
He recited silently, System, check in.
[Ding! Host detected at a new location: Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy Library. Would you like to check in?]
Yes, Ling Feng answered without hesitation.
[Ding! Check-in successful! Congratulations, host! Reward received: complete comprehension of "Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer"!]
Boom!
The instant the system's notification ended, an immense torrent of information surged into Ling Feng's mind without warning!
It was nothing like written words or images!
It was "comprehension" in its purest, most fundamental form!
Countless profound principles of exerting force, channeling strength, borrowing force, and swinging a hammer emerged in an instant, as though they had already been branded into the depths of his soul!
How to make minute adjustments to his muscles, how to coordinate his breathing, how to make soul power surge and circulate with each swing, how to perfectly stack the force of all eighty-one hammer strikes, strike by strike, until they finally erupted with the terrifying power to shatter mountains and split stone...
Every technique, crucial detail, and essential principle became clear to him in an instant!
It was as though he had immersed himself in decades of painstaking practice with this hammer technique, reaching the supreme realm of flawless mastery and complete understanding!
Ling Feng let out a muffled grunt, his body swaying slightly.
A faint, swelling ache filled his head, but it was quickly replaced by an incomparably fulfilling sense of strength.
He instinctively curled his right hand, as though the invisible Clear Sky Hammer rested in his palm.
A powerful urge to swing it immediately and unleash that surging force coursed through every limb and bone!
Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!
One of the Clear Sky Sect's core inherited techniques!
Just when I needed a powerful means of attack, the system delivered one!
And it even gave me "complete comprehension" outright, saving countless years of arduous practice and study!
This system really does deliver!
A sharp gleam flashed through Ling Feng's eyes.
He forcibly suppressed the urge to practice immediately and carefully examined the vast knowledge newly added to his mind.
This hammer technique was far more profound and intricate than he had imagined.
It was not merely an offensive technique, but an art of using force to its utmost.
The force behind every strike involved the coordination of every muscle in his body and every thread of soul power.
Borrowing force to counter force, each strike grew stronger than the last, until all eighty-one ultimately united as one, unleashing boundless might.
Paired with a top-tier tool martial soul like the Clear Sky Hammer, its power was simply unimaginable!
Amazing!
Now this was truly coal delivered in the snow!
With this hammer technique, my combat ability will undergo a qualitative leap!
And combined with the Clear Sky Hammer's overwhelming might... A cold curve rose at the corner of Ling Feng's mouth.
He could almost see his future enemies collapsing in despair beneath his relentless, terrifying onslaught, each hammer strike heavier than the last.
After a brief surge of excitement, he quickly calmed down.
The reward was excellent, but he could not let success go to his head.
He looked around the dark library.
Bookshelves stood in rows amid layers of shadows.
Since I'm here, I can't just check in and leave.
There might be something interesting hidden here.
By the moonlight, he began slowly pacing between the bookshelves.
His gaze swept over the titles.
"An Introduction to Martial Soul Fundamentals," "Illustrated Guide to Soul Beasts (Elementary)," "An Elementary Analysis of Soul Master Cultivation"... Most were books on basic theory, covered in a thin layer of dust. Clearly, few people read them.
He stopped before a row of bookshelves that looked older and more substantial.
The books here were clearly much older, and even the lettering on their spines had grown somewhat blurred.
"A Study of the Continent's Strange Soul Beasts," "Conjectures on Martial Soul Mutation," "A Record of Rumors About Ancient Ruins"...
The contents of these books seemed more unconventional and obscure.
Something stirred faintly in Ling Feng's mind.
He had little interest in orthodox theory, but these unconventional, miscellaneous subjects might offer different perspectives, or even reveal secrets overlooked by the mainstream.
He reached out, brushing his fingertips over the rough spines.
Suddenly.
His fingers stopped before an exceptionally thick ancient book with no title on its cover, only a dark wood grain.
An extremely faint, barely perceptible energy fluctuation emanated vaguely from the book.
Had his spiritual power not been sharper than an ordinary person's because of his transmigration and the system's rewards, he would never have noticed it.
What is this?
Ling Feng raised his brows slightly and carefully pulled out the unusually thick book.
It weighed heavily in his hands.
Its cover was made from some unknown dark wood, cold and hard.
He tried to open it, only to discover that its pages seemed bound together by some force. He could not open it at all.
He applied a little more strength, but the pages still did not budge.
He injected a thread of soul power.
Like a clay ox sinking into the sea, the soul power vanished without stirring any response.
Interesting.
Ling Feng's interest was piqued.
There really is something unusual in this library.
He examined the book closely, but aside from its unusual material and his inability to open it, there was nothing abnormal about it.
The faint energy fluctuation also flickered in and out, elusive and difficult to grasp.
After a moment's thought, he tried putting it into the system space.
Whoosh.
The book instantly vanished from his hands, successfully stored away.
The fact that the system space could store it meant it was at least an "item," rather than an ordinary inanimate object.
Although he did not yet know what use it had, there was no harm in keeping it for now.
Perhaps he could find a way to open it later, or trigger a new check-in condition.
After doing all this, he tilted his head and listened for a moment.
Outside the library, everything remained utterly silent.
Time to head back.
He walked to the window, about to return the way he had come.
His gaze happened to sweep over the ground outside.
His pupils abruptly contracted!
Beneath the shadow of a large tree not far from the building, a figure had appeared at some unknown point and stood there silently!
The person seemed completely merged with the darkness. Had the angle of the moonlight not happened to shift and reveal part of a hem, spotting them would have been almost impossible!
When did he get here?
How much did he see?
Ling Feng's heart instantly leaped into his throat. Every muscle in his body instinctively tensed, and his soul power began circulating silently.
An academy teacher? Or... someone else?
The figure seemed to notice Ling Feng's gaze as well and slowly raised his head.
The moonlight illuminated a pair of deep, tranquil eyes bearing a trace of scrutiny.
Their eyes met.
The air instantly froze.