“Divine body?!”
The elder of the Library Pavilion was instantly stunned. It was something he never dared imagine. The shock hadn’t yet faded, and it still felt unreal—until Elder Mo spoke of the bronze mirror shattering.
“When the bronze mirror breaks, the divine body emerges…”
Elder Mo would never joke about something like that. Besides, the heavenly phenomenon that night was still fresh in memory. When he looked at Qin Xiu again, his gaze grew fiery. This was a divine body—reviving the Royal Academy, reviving the Great Li Empire, was just around the corner!
But why hadn’t the Dean taken action personally? How did he manage to take someone from the hands of the Heavenly Profound Sect?
“Did His Majesty betroth the Royal Princess to him?”
“Uh… not yet.”
Qin Xiu’s mind went blank. This elder of the Library Pavilion was surely a figure who could shake the entire imperial capital, yet he spoke even more bluntly than the Dean. And what did he mean by ‘not yet’?
Still, there was no denying the Royal Princess was indeed stunning beyond compare.
Elder Mo puffed himself up with pride for a while before finally turning to Qin Xiu, saying, “You probably don’t have a matching cultivation method or martial skill yet, but within the Royal Academy’s pavilion, all kinds of top-tier cultivation methods are available.”
“With your divine body, just go directly to the highest floor.”
The Library Pavilion had five floors. The higher one went, the higher the grade of cultivation methods and martial skills. To prevent students from relying on their ancestors’ merits, even accessing the third floor required making contributions to the academy. Let alone the fifth floor—the most elite level of the Royal Academy—very few even among the personal disciples of elders had stepped foot there.
But in the face of a divine body, rules existed to be bent. Neither Elder Mo nor the Pavilion Elder found this unusual. In fact, choosing anything less than the highest-level method would be a waste of Qin Xiu’s divine body.
“Qin Xiu, which type of cultivation method are you interested in? This old man can help guide you.”
Faced with the warm hospitality of the two giants of the academy, Qin Xiu still wanted to take a look for himself. Besides, he was confident that for his Chaotic Divine Body, the Azure Dragon Battle Technique left behind by his father far surpassed any cultivation method in the Great Li Empire.
“Dean, let me take a look first. Would you mind helping Nishang…”
Before he finished, Elder Mo readily said, “Don’t worry. From this moment on, Nishang is my personal disciple.”
“I’ll teach her the same way I taught Zhirou. How about that?”
Yun Nishang was instantly overjoyed and touched. The Dean of the Royal Academy was one of the peak powerhouses of the Great Li Empire. And now, just because of a few words from Qin Xiu, she received the same treatment as the Royal Princess.
Yun Nishang had no interest in comparison, but she couldn’t help but recall that her sister’s arrogance came from being accepted as the personal disciple of the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Profound Sect.
“Thank you, Elder Mo!” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Qin Xiu clasped his hands in thanks. In truth, Yun Nishang’s talent wasn’t bad, but during the years that Gao Wanhua controlled the Yun family, the resources distributed to Yun Nishang were pitifully little.
After that, Qin Xiu entered the Library Pavilion. The first floor contained cultivation methods and martial skills that disciples could freely borrow—these were all mid-tier Yellow-grade techniques. In Lingqu City, these would be top-tier clan-guarding techniques. No wonder so many sought entry into the three major powers. As long as they joined the Royal Academy, once they graduated, they would be able to dominate an entire city.
Qin Xiu didn’t linger and went straight to the second floor. There were upper-tier Yellow-grade cultivation methods and even fragments of Mystic-grade techniques. A few students were browsing. They found Qin Xiu’s handsome face unfamiliar, but when they saw the Dean and Pavilion Elder behind him, they all respectfully stopped what they were doing and greeted them.
“You may continue. Just remember to stay quiet.”
Elder Mo waved casually, then led Qin Xiu further up. This immediately sparked whispers among the disciples.
“What’s going on? Who is that guy? Even the Dean and Pavilion Elder are accompanying him?”
“Isn’t the third floor restricted even to royal family disciples unless they have sufficient merit?”
As they speculated, things suddenly grew silent—because they realized Qin Xiu didn’t stop on the third floor. He kept ascending.
What’s going on… the fourth floor?
That floor contained Mystic-grade cultivation methods. Even those from the imperial family didn’t have the right to enter as they pleased!
“The Royal Princess only gained access to the fourth floor because she became the Dean’s personal disciple and picked a Mystic-grade sword technique.”
At least, that’s what was said publicly.
“Who is he? Could he be His Majesty’s long-lost illegitimate son?”
“Are you dumb? An illegitimate son getting this treatment? If you ask me, he must be a royal prince raised outside the palace to temper him.”
“Still, no matter how close, could he be closer than the Royal Princess…?”
The fourth floor of the pavilion was filled with dazzling Mystic-grade techniques. Yun Nishang stood in a daze, feeling as if it weren’t real. Were these techniques really hers to choose from?
“Qin Xiu, going further up leads to Mystic mid-grade cultivation methods preserved by generations. I can say for certain that His Majesty kept nothing for himself.”
“Even the methods passed down through the royal bloodline are just Mystic mid-grade.”
Elder Mo explained, “The higher the grade, the better, of course, but it’s also about fate and what suits you.”
“You and Nishang can take a look. If you find them difficult to cultivate, there are still many powerful methods on the fourth floor.”
Yun Nishang looked at Qin Xiu, “Qin… husband, why don’t you go up first? I’ll choose one from the fourth floor, that’s enough for me.”
Under Qin Xiu’s gaze, she bashfully corrected herself. But the word “husband” was barely audible.
She was content. Back then, the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Profound Sect gave her sister a so-called meeting gift, which was just an upper-tier Yellow-grade martial skill. Now, she was free to choose from Mystic-grade techniques. The source of this chapter is NovelPing.
Don’t be fooled by the one-grade difference—when it came to tier leaps, it was a chasm. The gap between Mystic and Yellow was far greater than the difference between lower- and upper-tier within the same grade.
Qin Xiu thought for a moment and agreed.
“The Dean is right. If the technique is too advanced to comprehend, it might even be slower to cultivate than a lower-grade one.”
“I need to grow faster than Nishang, and once I master it thoroughly, I can pass it on to her.”
With that in mind, Qin Xiu stepped alone onto the top floor of the Library Pavilion.
There weren’t many cultivation methods or martial skills on the top floor. Each scroll was placed on a stone pedestal and shrouded in a layer of light.
On the left were cultivation methods. On the right, martial skills.
Qin Xiu went straight for the martial skills.
Through the light barrier, he saw scroll after scroll of Mystic mid-grade martial techniques before him. Touching the light would reveal a phantom demonstration of the technique—two of them were even demonstrated by Elder Mo himself.
“Mountain-Splitting Sea-Cracking Palm… hmm, my Azure Dragon Battle Technique can already condense dragon force into fists and feet. Choosing this would be a waste.”
“Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Capturing Fist? Sounds like it would conflict with my own technique.”
“Moonshadow Thousand Ridges… not bad. Wait, this one uses dual daggers as weapons, meant for assassination. It requires soft spiritual Qi, slender frame, and long legs. Women would find it twice as effective…”
Qin Xiu didn’t dare read further, afraid he’d come across something like ‘To practice this, you must first castrate yourself.’
Eventually, Qin Xiu came to a sword technique scroll. When he touched the light screen, an aged but sharp voice rang out.
“The Starsteel Seven-Slaughter Sword was created by this old man after a battle with a Star Spirit Body, tailored to my own spirit body.”
“This sword technique is meant to kill with every strike—unrelenting and unstoppable. Junior, if you’ve made it to the top floor, you must be an outstanding talent of the Great Li Empire.”
The ancient voice had remained dormant for countless years. It wasn’t directed specifically at Qin Xiu, but was a warning to every future junior who made it there.
“But this old man must warn you: this sword technique is my life’s work. A clear sword heart and supreme mastery are only one part of the requirement.”
“Secondly, you need spiritual Qi far more abundant than the average cultivator. Otherwise, it’s impossible to unleash the full power of the Seven-Slaughter Sword.”
“Therefore, if you don’t possess a spirit body, no matter how talented you are in the sword path, this old man advises you to go back down. Don’t let the allure of a Mystic mid-grade technique blind you—else it will all end in vain joy and sorrow.”