Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 309: Library (Please Subscribe)

Chapter 309: Chapter 309: Library (Please Subscribe)

The next day, early morning.

Zhong Shenxiu, wearing a badge on his chest, arrived at the entrance of the second-floor library.

The two stone gargoyle statues didn’t move an inch, just quietly watching him as the blood-red doors opened.

Creak!

A wave of musty air hit his face as Zhong Shenxiu saw rows of bookshelves extending endlessly into the room.

The area reminded him of the library in his primary school from his previous life, with only about a dozen wooden shelves; further in, a row of forbidden bookshelves was sectioned off with iron bars.

At a rough estimate, there were at most a few thousand books, certainly no more than ten thousand.

But if they were all related to the mystical, that would be considered quite a profound foundation indeed.

At this moment, the library was empty.

After all, the Five Rings School only had a mere four members now.

Zhong Shenxiu thought for a bit, then first went down to the cafeteria, got himself a cup of coffee and a sandwich, and returned to the reading room and chose a table to sit at. He casually approached a row of shelves and pulled out a yellowed book.

"The History of the Five Rings?" Just as I thought... most of these books aren’t actually mystical texts but rather contain peripheral information about the mysterious...

No magic spells, no magic potion recipes, no descriptions of the Spirit Realm... and none of the dangerous and forbidden experiments... Those are probably all in the forbidden section.

But even so, for an ordinary person who has never been in contact with the world of mystery, being able to read all these ordinary titles would probably lead to an understanding of the world’s mysteries, and this is precisely the knowledge I lack.

What Zhong Shenxiu needed was this very foundation, and he didn’t mind; instead, he brought it back to his seat and, while sipping coffee, swiftly flipped through the book.

He read quickly, almost ten lines at a glance.

And while these paper books seemed to carry a lot of information, they actually had thick pages and large font sizes, so they didn’t take long to finish.

Zhong Shenxiu immersed himself in the library, thirstily absorbing knowledge.

Although these ordinary books didn’t touch on the true advanced knowledge of mystery, he already possessed "The Worm’s Whispers" and "The True Blood Mysteries" and didn’t think much of the others; what he was missing was this type of foundation.

For instance, some obscure languages, like the Ancient Akkadian language even older than Ancient Sumerian, were available here in a complete dictionary.

This made Zhong Shenxiu realize that, even when panning for gold in the sand, one could still scoop up quite a few treasures.

Two days later.

He was munching on a hamburger while flipping through a travel book in his hand.

The author of the travel journal was likely some ’Perfector’ from the Five Rings School, and although it spoke of various ordinary places they visited, it also revealed quite a few secrets between the lines.

It came from the ’forbidden section’.

Hmm, perhaps the books in the forbidden section were dangerous, maybe even protected by the effects of some nameless arcane techniques.

But for Zhong Shenxiu, that was just that.

After finishing the interesting books in the ordinary section, he reached his hands into the forbidden section.

Neither the rituals guarding this place nor the stone gargoyles outside showed the slightest reaction, as if they were dead.

"So, crossing the Crimson River and becoming an ’Ascender’ results in the sublimation of the soul... and even if the body dies, one can still exist in the form of a wraith... Of course, these cases are rather rare."

"And a ’Perfector’ can definitely achieve this, therefore they truly have no weaknesses."

Zhong Shenxiu turned another page and saw the description of the Golden Sky Tower.

"That gold-colored golden tower, its surface studded with step after step... bringing eternal despair to those who climb, for they can never see the end... Only by imploring the stars above to cast down their light can one see the path to the peak of the tower..."

"It seems... indeed, once a mystic reaches the fourth rank, they must start to make choices, unable to reach the pinnacle without the favor of a great being?"

Zhong Shenxiu’s eyes moved, "This feeling, why is it the same as the last world? Without communicating with an ancient god, one cannot break through to become a Great Grandmaster? Do I have to go through it all over again, polluting myself?"

According to the intelligence he had previously acquired, at the fourth rank of the "mysterious ones," one indeed faced a choice, and now it all seemed to match up.

"However, if the rank of ’the perfect ones’ is equivalent to that of Martial Arts Grandmasters, wouldn’t it also be equivalent to Divine Power Practitioners... corresponding to Pastors!"

"In other words, the essence of my position as a Pastor probably reaches its limit with becoming ’the perfect one’."

"And creatures equivalent to the Primordial Pill in this world are likely ’longevity’... To achieve my goal, do I need to slay a ’longevity,’ or become one myself?"

To be honest, the paths of this world did not compare to the Corpse Dissolving Immortal Path in the Yan Han World.

"If ’longevity’ corresponds to the Primordial Pill, then ’Ascenders’ are merely equivalent to the Primordial Spirit and still have great hidden dangers... Naturally, I can only end them."

After a long while, Zhong Shenxiu closed the book.

Having understood some of the situation in this world, he scheduled his plans accordingly.

’During this period, although I’ve immersed myself in the literature, I’ve also occasionally attempted to explore the Spirit Realm, still unable to find the Red River. Is it indeed that the advancement on the mystic side is becoming more and more difficult?’

’Must I rely on Heavenly Show Points? But they are precious and must be reserved for the main body to break through...’

’Besides, this is not a breakthrough in Cultivation Technique, but the Spiritual Body not finding the Red River; even Heavenly Show Points might not be useful.’

With these thoughts, Zhong Shenxiu saw Jason enter, "The teacher is looking for you."

Jason’s expression was slightly grave, "Your first lecture is tonight."

"Has it finally come?"

Zhong Shenxiu nodded and closed the book he was reading.

Jason adjusted his glasses, "Eh? I don’t seem to have read this book before?"

"These are trivialities, let’s go find the teacher."

Zhong Shenxiu dismissed him off-handedly and followed Jason to a classroom.

Different from other classrooms, this one had no windows and candles were lit in the center, creating an aura of mystery.

Camilla was already waiting there.

Not long after Zhong Shenxiu and Jason walked in, Professor Davis entered the classroom, carrying a black book.

"Good evening, sirs, madams, and the newcomer, Li Wei Mojito!"

"Good evening, Professor!"

Zhong Shenxiu nodded with a smile.

"You’ve spent these days buried in the library; it seems you must have some understanding of our Five Rings School by now?"

Davis put down the book and spoke seriously.

"Yes." Although the Five Rings School was in a sorry state now, it once had a period of strength and could boast a weighty historical heritage.

At least, Zhong Shenxiu found pleasure in reading their books.

"Good, next I will be imparting the mystical curriculum... hmm, your basics might be poor, remember to take plenty of notes, and learn from Jason and the others."

Davis added after a casual question, raising his teacup, "By the way, have you self-studied before? How far have you explored the Spirit Realm? Be careful, there are many dangers before reaching the Gate of Utter Darkness..."

"Uh, I’m already a ’non-ordinary.’"

"Pfft!"