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Lin Xuan was assured that he would not be found out, so he continued to live his life as before. And soon enough, he was proven correct.

Although Sect Master Yun He was furious, he could do nothing but keep searching for Zhang Yu and Zhou Yan.

With no progress. Even some nearby cultivation sects were suspected, and Cloud Valley entered conflicts with a few of them. Of course, none of this had anything to do with Lin Xuan. As a low-level disciple, all he needed to care about was to keep kept quiet and continue cultivating.

Overall, there were no changes in Lin Xuan’s daily life. He maintained his usual diligent demeanor, he spent the same amount of effort as before, and perhaps the only difference was that he also spent a little time each day to try and examine the mysterious lights.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

“It seems like I need to go look up some information, I might be able to find a clue from some ancient books,” Lin Xuan murmured to himself as he laid on his bed. An alternative option would be to asking one of his seniors for advice, as they were experienced with the outside world and may have heard some things.

Certainly, this was a possibility, but to Lin Xuan, it was a joke. Since if he was to ask an Elder and they were to know the truth, then would stop them from killing him for the Bue Star Sea?

Lin Xuan wasn’t foolish enough to risk his life.

Besides, his questions might reveal his connection to Zhang Yu and Zhou Yan…

Those blue lights were his own secret to keep. Lin Xuan clearly understood that he should figure it out on his own, and never let others know.

With this decision, Lin Xuan went to bed, deciding to begin searching for books the next morning.

…

The next morning, Lin Xuan arrived in front of the main hall.

The main hall, built into the mountainside, stood magnificently. This was one of the core areas of Whirlwind Cloud Valley where all the books and ancient scrolls were stored. This place was heavily guarded, with three guard posts and 5 guards per post, and also various Spirit Beasts patrolling the areas in between.

The Spirit Beasts were actually just wild monsters, but unlike the ones in the wild, these Spirit Beasts gained the power to control Spiritual Qi as a result of how they were raised. 

In other words, they were cultivators’ pets.

Their strength, however, was not to be underestimated, as they can cultivate to the same levels as humans, and a Spirit Beast of the same level would always be stronger than a human. 

Moreover, once they recognize a master, they would be highly loyal. They will never betray their master and would even fight to the death. It was because of this that Whirlwind Cloud Valley used many of them as guards.

“Roar!!”

A roar echoed through the hills, as Lin Xuan got within two hundred meters of the main hall. After the roar faded away, a  red flash of light arrived in front of Lin Xuan. It is a large red tiger, however, unlike normal tigers, this one was twice the size. With light flames all over its pure red body, it caused the nearby grass to burn.

The imposing manner was definitely that of lions and tigers. Its tyrannical aura would make any humans have their blood run cold.

Flaming Tiger, level-1 low-grade Spirit Beast!

Spirit Beasts were divided into eight stages, corresponding to Spirit Condensation through Tribulation Ascension. Each level was divided into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade.

With the first level corresponding to the Spirit Condensation stage, the second level being Foundation Establishment, and so on…

At the same rank, however, although Spirit Beasts have more power, they cannot win against cultivators because they do not possess the same level of intelligence.

The Flaming Tiger’s body exceeded three meters in length, sending out flames from its whole body. It was truly an imposing sight; however,  Lin Xuan couldn’t care less, since it simply had the mind of a domestic animal. And although Lin Xuan was looked down upon by the others in the sect, he was still at the end of the day, a legitimate disciple.

Each Spirit Beast at the sect knew the characteristics of all the disciples, as they had the relevant information imprinted into their minds so that the beasts would be able to distinguish between outsiders and students.

The Flaming tiger, after arriving in front of Lin Xuan, growled lowly. However, Lin Xuan’s appearance was undisturbed, and the Spirit Beast began to examine Lin Xuan. As it recognized Lin Xuan, it moved to the side, and hostility in its eyes gradually faded away, quickly replaced by a pleasing look.

Once through the door, Lin Xuan arrived in the hall. He looked around. The entire library was divided into three levels, the first level containing the most volumes and was open to all students. However, most of the books on the first level were merely storybooks and hold little value to cultivators.

The true collection began on the second level, as they contained instructions for Alchemy, spell books, as well as different cultivation methods. These books were only allowed to be borrowed by Foundation Establishment Stage experts and higher.

The defenses on the first level are even more powerful than those on the second level, as it is guarded by not only an Elder but also layers upon layers of spirit formations.

As for the third level, that was where the most precious items were kept, they contained the cultivation manuals of each generation of Sect Masters for Whirlwind Cloud Valley, as well as the best training methods they discovered. Only those accompanied by the Sect Master were allowed entrance there, as for the guard for the third layer, there were several high-level Spirit Beasts.

As each disciple was only allowed to borrow up to three books at a time, Lin Xuan began to carefully search for information.

The entire first level occupied several thousand square feet, with rows of bookshelves, neatly organized. Lin Xuan began on the left side and started to look through titles.

Divine Mountain Nine Yang Art, Mystic Yin Scripture, Sun and Moon Divine Palm, Devil’s King Fist…

A martial arts skill book was a common thing to cultivators, but to common people who were unable to cultivate, it was a high-level skill.

Lin Xuan shook his head and moved on to another corner.

Hundred Herb Records, The Master Doctor’s 13 Journals, Golden Needle Pulse….

Book after book, with hundreds of years of lost medical knowledge, but the knowledge contained within was useless to cultivators. These books only taught how to make low-level medicines and to cure various diseases of common people.

Looking at the next title, the corners of Lin Xuan’s mouth reveal a sneer… no wonder these books were open to all disciples. They offered no value to cultivators, the books were all completely useless, and were simply kept here for appearance sake….

Cultivating truly followed the law of the jungle, to gain power and respect, one must first have the strength to take it. With this thought in mind, Lin Xuan became even more determined to cultivate.

Translated by: James1kd2

Edited by: UnderTheMoon