In a corner of the General Affairs Hall.
Ye Chenfeng stood with his sword in his arms.
His presence was sharp, profound, and deep.
In just half a year, he had already entered Late Qi Refining.
His speed was truly terrifying.
"Misjudged him?"
"Impossible. Can't you see that this boy is only at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer?"
"Presumably, he's only just entered the outer sect. Counting the time, that took him a full half year."
"Besides, didn't he also comprehend the Intermediate Five Elements Instruction? It's perfectly reasonable and normal. There's no need to be surprised."
Elder Jian's weathered, authoritative voice traveled from the sword pellet in his Dantian into his mind.
His words made perfect sense.
Yet Ye Chenfeng still felt something was strange.
"That may be true..."
"But I keep feeling that this Junior Brother Lu... isn't quite ordinary."
"How strange... am I really overthinking it?"
Shaking his head, Ye Chenfeng withdrew his gaze.
He could not be bothered to ponder it further.
Turning around, he looked at the many missions on the blackboard and was about to choose one.
Then Elder Jian's voice sounded again.
"No need to look. You cultivate the Sword Dao. Tempering your sword heart requires slaughter."
"Go on. Take every mission outside the sect that you're currently eligible for."
"You probably won't be back for a while this time. It'll be a good opportunity to help you improve properly."
Elder Jian's voice brooked no argument.
Ye Chenfeng did not think much more about it either. He could only take his identity Jade Slip and accept several of the most dangerous kill missions, one after another...
After leaving the General Affairs Hall, Lu Li did not hurry back to his cave abode.
His identity Jade Slip contained detailed information about his mission.
The mission would not begin until tomorrow, so he still had some free time today.
It was the perfect chance to visit the Scripture Repository.
"This time, I'll copy down all the remaining books and miscellaneous accounts."
"I'll send them all back together during the next cross-world communication."
"Counting what I recorded a few days ago... we've more or less mapped out the situation within a thousand li of the Azure Pool Sect."
Without pausing, Lu Li walked briskly as he considered this.
During the few days since entering the outer sect, aside from cultivating, he had been doing his best to gather information of every kind, useful or otherwise.
That included miscellaneous accounts and stories, as well as geography, culture, and so on.
Back in the servant quarters, he had neither the opportunity nor the connections to access these things.
He could only learn a little from scraps of other people's conversations.
Now that he had the opportunity, he naturally had to get a clear picture.
That would allow him and Great Xia to better understand his surroundings and this world.
As these thoughts turned in his mind, the Scripture Repository came into view.
The Azure Pool Sect's Scripture Repository was divided into three halls.
The front hall held miscellaneous accounts, stories, geography, and cultural records, all free to browse.
Entering the middle hall required contribution points, and it housed tier-one spells.
The rear hall was off-limits to anyone who had not reached Foundation Establishment...
"Although the front hall doesn't have any valuable spells..."
"The miscellaneous accounts and historical anecdotes are useful information to me too..."
Entering the front hall, he saw numerous ancient books arranged on rows of wooden shelves.
Lu Li walked to the shelf he had not finished browsing last time.
He took out a book and began reading it carefully.
As a cultivator, even though he was only at Qi Refinement, his memory and all five senses had improved.
Moreover, Lu Li had always been intelligent. Before transmigrating, he had graduated from a prestigious university of science and engineering.
Now that he cultivated as well, memorizing miscellaneous accounts was a breeze.
"Records of Eastern Desolation Star..."
"Eastern Desolation Star encompasses five continents, spanning hundreds of millions of li... the Western Continent is truly a remote region..."
"The Azure Pool Sect is situated in the Western Continent, governing three commanderies. To its left lie dynasties and kingdoms; to its right, fellow sects..."
"Before and behind it lie mountains, rivers, and perilous lands..."
"The three commanderies sustain Azure Pool... Azure Pool shelters the common people of the three commanderies... taking disciples, slaying demons... honored as a holy sect..."
This collection of miscellaneous history was titled Records of Eastern Desolation Star.
At most, seventy percent of its contents were credible.
The section on the Azure Pool Sect in particular... was heavily padded.
Leaving aside where this title of "holy sect" had come from, Lu Li already found something wrong with the claims of sustenance and protection alone.
"Rather than sustenance and protection... it's more like the relationship between herders and livestock..."
"The three commanderies have a population of nearly a million... anyone with aptitude who doesn't want to become a Rogue Cultivator, never knowing if they'll live to see tomorrow, has to join Azure Pool."
"Those who enter Azure Pool as servants have lives worth no more than ants. Even after entering the outer sect, they're still 'bled dry and drained of marrow'..."
"As for the mortals... that's not right either!"
Lu Li had once done the calculations.
According to the Azure Pool Sect's claims, it protected the common people and ensured favorable winds and timely rains...
"The Chronicle of the Three Commanderies I read yesterday clearly stated that Azure Pool's founding patriarch established the sect, spread his teachings, and protected a million common people..."
"Thousands of years have passed, yet the latest commandery chronicle still lists a million common people..."
"How is that possible... there must be something fishy going on..."
Pondering silently, Lu Li casually picked up another book of miscellaneous accounts and read it carefully.
His mind ravenously absorbed useful information.
The front hall did not contain only miscellaneous accounts.
It also held records of general cultivation knowledge, including artifacts, Demon Beasts... unusual phenomena, and more...
This material held enormous appeal for Lu Li.
He read it closely, examining every word and sentence.
Before he knew it, the sky had darkened.
"Clang!"
The bell announcing the hall's closure rang outside the door.
It made Lu Li rather reluctantly put down the book in his hands.
"Fine, that's enough for today."
"Tomorrow, I have to go to the Artifact Hall for my mission."
"Today, I'll head back first, compile my recent observations into a book, and send it back to Great Xia."
He stretched.
He cupped his fist toward the disciple on duty who had come to usher everyone out.
Lu Li left the Scripture Repository.
The outer sect had many mountains. Though the sky was darkening, the last light still lingered.
It bathed the mountains in an alluring shimmer like golden sand, while the cold, rolling waters gleamed as well. It was quite beautiful.
Streaks of light from flying swords swept through the mountain ravines.
They startled flocks of birds and beasts.
After returning to his cave abode, Lu Li did not rush to make contact.
Instead, he took the booklet recording his recent observations from his Storage Bag and carefully added everything that had happened today.
He wrote down all the missions he had accepted, the cultivators he had encountered, and the questions troubling him. Only then did he take the jade pendant from inside his robe.
"Hum!"
Spiritual Power stirred faintly.
Amid flickering spiritual light.
The cross-world communication connected.
"Hello, Comrade Lu Li!"
"Hello, Director Li."
"..."
After their familiar greetings, Lu Li passed the booklet in his hands across.
At the same time, he casually took the latest strategic command analysis report from the other side.
"Director Li, there's quite a bit of information in this batch."
"But I think most of it is useful. You can have the other comrades analyze it carefully."
"Oh, and I asked around about the Spirit-Testing Stone we discussed last time. The Artifact Hall sells them for ten contribution points, while the sect marketplace sells them for twenty Spirit Stones. Once I've saved enough, I can buy one and send it back."
"Yes, Comrade Lu Li, there's no rush on that."
"Cultivation resources are precious right now. All resources must go toward you first. We'll set aside the spiritual aptitude testing for now."
Li Yuanchao's authoritative voice came through.
Before Lu Li could respond, Wang Zhiwen's excited voice sounded from the other end of the jade pendant.
"Little Comrade Lu! I have good news for you!"
"After our research team worked day and night without rest, tackling this for half a year..."
"Our research into the Five Elements Instruction cultivation method... has finally achieved another major breakthrough!"