Just then, a graceful figure rushed over.
“Liu Jie, what are you doing!” Zhao Minji yelled as she caught up.
At the sound of her voice, Liu Jie retracted his palm.
“Heh, Junior Sister Zhao, I was just having a bit of fun with this useless junior brother,” he said, straightening his clothes with a faint smile.
‘One must always maintain their composure in front of a woman, especially a beautiful one.’
Zhao Minji shot Liu Jie a cold glance.
She deeply disliked him, and if not for the Liu Family’s power, she wouldn’t even deign to speak to him.
She walked past Liu Jie, straight to Shen Fan, and held out a Jade Bottle and a Jade Scroll.
“You forced your way to the Second Rank of Meridian Opening with elixirs, didn’t you…? Your foundation is crucial, so don’t be so reckless in the future. It’s not worth it. Here, this Elixir will stabilize your Cultivation, and the Jade Scroll contains a High-tier Martial Skill. I hope you’ll be able to pass the assessment…”
‘She was worried that Shen Fan was so devastated he would resort to extreme measures, blindly using elixirs to advance while ignoring his foundation.
While that could rapidly improve his Cultivation in the short term, the side effects were too severe.
Once his foundation became unstable, advancing in the future would be incredibly difficult.’
“I don’t need it.” Shen Fan shook his head.
‘He didn’t need charity, and he certainly didn’t need pity—especially not from a woman.’
“Hey! Useless Shen, my young miss is offering you a gift! You should be thanking her and taking it! What’s with the act? No matter how you pretend, you’re still useless!” Xiaomei shouted, seeing that Shen Fan didn’t appreciate the gesture.
Shen Fan sneered and ignored her.
‘Just an annoying fly.’
He strode past Zhao Minji to face Liu Jie, his gaze fixed on the mole on the other man’s face.
“Liu Jie, don’t even think about it. She’s not for you!”
With that, Shen Fan turned and headed for the Library Hall.
Liu Jie’s face twitched, a flicker of killing intent in his eyes.
‘A worthless piece of trash at the mere Second Rank of Meridian Opening dares to compete with me for a woman!’
“Useless Shen, are you challenging me?” Liu Jie snarled.
“Fine. During the Outer Courtyard assessment, I’ll show you exactly whether I can make a move on her! And I’ll make sure you learn the consequences of crossing me, Liu Jie!”
“Bring it on,” Shen Fan retorted with a dismissive wave, then strode into the Library Hall.
…
The Library Hall was a grand, three-story pavilion that housed Martial Techniques of all levels, including High-tier and Peak-tier Martial Skills.
Legend claimed it even held techniques of a higher grade, but no one had ever seen them.
When Shen Fan entered, a few Inner Court Disciples and two disciples at the Third Rank of Meridian Opening were lined up ahead of him.
Two disciples at the Second Rank of Meridian Opening, wearing shoulder insignia, stood on either side of the entrance, apparently serving as gate guards.
“Senior Brother Qing, you’re here! Please, come in.”
“Senior Brother Zhang, I heard you performed a great service for the academy and were specially awarded a High-tier Martial Skill! Congratulations!”
“Senior Sister Guan, it’s only been a few days, but your skin looks more radiant than ever!”
The two gate guards were bowing and scraping before the Inner Court Disciples and the Third Rank disciples, their enthusiasm almost indecently effusive.
When it was Shen Fan’s turn, a pair of large hands shot out, blocking his path.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Shen Fan frowned.
“Are you really this dumb, kid, or are you just playing dumb?” one of the greasy-faced gate guards, a Second Rank Disciple, chortled.
“Don’t you know the rules around here?”
As he spoke, he continuously rubbed his right thumb and forefinger together.
The meaning couldn’t have been more obvious.
Shen Fan understood their meaning perfectly, but he had no money and no intention of giving them any.
He shook his head.
“I don’t know any rules. Now, step aside.”
“What! Has all that Cultivation rotted your brain, kid? We’re from the Disciple Association, surely you’ve heard of us!” the other gate guard said.
“Ten silver to get in, otherwise, get lost!”
The Disciple Association was a student-run organization within the academy.
Ostensibly, it assisted the administration, but in reality, it specialized in bullying the weak.
They collected protection fees in the dormitories and around the classrooms, used “room inspections” as a pretext to peep into female disciples’ rooms—the list of their misdeeds went on.
A flicker of anger ignited in Shen Fan’s heart.
He himself had suffered at the hands of the Disciple Association on more than one occasion.
“Let me tell you something, kid. The Disciple Association is in charge of managing the disciples here, and we’re backed by Senior Brother Zhang Wu, one of the Top Ten Disciples of the Outer Courtyard. If you don’t cooperate, a whole group of us from the Association might just pay you a ‘visit.’ You’ll be in for it then, so…”
SLAP—
Shen Fan sent the babbling Disciple Association member flying with a single slap.
“Too noisy,” he said coldly.
The greasy-faced disciple froze on the spot.
The disciples behind Shen Fan were equally stunned, especially those also at the Second Rank of Meridian Opening.
They simply couldn’t believe that Shen Fan had dared to strike a member of the domineering Disciple Association.
“Kid, you’ve done it now! You’re in big trouble, you…”
Shen Fan sent the greasy-faced disciple flying again, then walked over and stomped on him viciously a few times, cursing, “The Disciple Association ain’t shit!”
His Monument-breaking Palm was now on the verge of reaching the Perfection Realm.
Even a disciple at the Third Rank of Meridian Opening would lose to him if they both used Basic Martial Skills, to say nothing of two outwardly strong but inwardly weak disciples at the Second Rank.
With his current power, he had no reason to fear the Disciple Association.
Shen Fan strode through the door.
Inside the door was a large hall with a staircase.
Elder Qing Pao, who had the kindly air of a neighborly grandfather, was responsible for managing the entire Library Hall.
Shen Fan sensed that Elder Qing Pao’s aura was even more terrifying than that of a High-Tier Ferocious Beast; he was undoubtedly an expert at the Martial Master Level.
Since it was his first time in the Library Hall and he didn’t know the procedures, he simply copied what the disciple in front of him did.
After completing the registration, he followed an Inner Court Disciple at the Fourth Rank of Meridian Opening up the stairs.
“You, the disciple at the Second Rank of Meridian Opening. Come down here,” Elder Qing Pao called out to Shen Fan.
“Yes, Elder?” Shen Fan asked.
“The second floor is for Inner Court Disciples. You are not qualified to go up,” the old elder said flatly.
“Go to the first floor. You’ve just broken through to the Second Rank of Meridian Opening and have no merits to your name, so you may only choose one Low-tier Martial Skill and one Mid-tier Martial Skill. Remember, you have one hour. If you’re not out by then, you will face the consequences.”
Shen Fan felt helpless.
‘This is the sad reality of being an Outer Disciple; our status is so much lower than that of the Inner Court Disciples.’
It was yet another reminder that at Black Water Academy, just as in the outside world, rights had to be earned with commensurate strength.
He went back down, turned, and entered a doorway.
Before him was a circular Library Pavilion nearly twenty zhang across.
Orderly rows of bookshelves stood tall, clearly organized into categories: Basic Martial Skills, Low-tier Martial Skills, Mid-tier Martial Skills, and Other Scriptures.
‘As for the High-tier and Peak-tier Martial Skills, they must be on the 2nd Layer,’ he thought.
Within the three main Martial Technique categories were further subcategories for Palm Techniques, Fist Techniques, Finger Techniques, Leg Techniques, Saber Techniques, Staff Techniques… the collection was comprehensive.
Since he had just advanced to the Second Rank of Meridian Opening and this was his first visit to the Library Hall, he could only acquire one Low-tier Martial Skill and one Mid-tier Martial Skill.
‘I need to browse as many as possible to choose the ones that are most suitable for me.’
He first walked over to the section for Mid-tier Martial Skills and began browsing casually.