The Main Hall Library

A few days after winning, I was allowed to enter the Main Hall library. When I went to the Main Hall early in the morning, Elder Mon was waiting there.

“I’m sorry. Have I kept you waiting?”

“No, I just arrived as well.”

That was what Elder Mon said. It was probably true. There was no need for an elder to be considerate toward an outer disciple.

“Thank you in advance for today.”

“Even if you say that, my role is to keep watch over you.”

Elder Mon’s role was to make sure I did not lay a hand on books or scrolls that I was not permitted to read. Normally, that kind of role would be assigned to an inner disciple. But it seemed Elder Mon had volunteered for it. What was she thinking?

I was led by Elder Mon into the library. There were ten times as many books and scrolls as in the Wallside Hall, no, even more than that. I looked around wide-eyed.

“I’ll show you the sections that contain books and scrolls you must not read yet. You absolutely must not lay a hand on them.”

With that, Elder Mon showed me the section that contained materials only Taoist practitioners of the Spirit Formation Stage or above were allowed to read.

“May I start reading now?”

“Yes, choose what you wish to study.”

As I read the titles, I went around the room once. Then I selected three books and one scroll dealing with martial arts for using a broadsword and placed them on the table. There were books called Phoenix Will Broadsword Art, Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique, and Broadsword Performance Forms, and a scroll called Essential Principles of the Broadsword.

I sat in a chair and flipped through Phoenix Will Broadsword Art to check its contents. It was indeed the Taoist broadsword art I had been searching for. It described techniques for strengthening one’s muscles while controlling the flow of qi and freely wielding a heavy broadsword. I memorized it in about five minutes.

Next, I picked up Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique and began reading. This martial art increased power by cloaking the broadsword in qi, and the method of wrapping it in qi used a unique technique that made the qi take the shape of a fox when it was swung.

Broadsword Performance Forms was something that compiled the use of the broadsword into a performance routine. It was probably something like a body control art using a broadsword. It felt similar to Immortal Foundation Qi Combat Art. And the scroll Essential Principles of the Broadsword was a summary of tips for fighting with a broadsword.

All of these were written in the Immortal Secret Script, but I had already become able to read them without difficulty. It took about an hour to memorize them all using my instant memory ability.

Leaving those manuals on the table, I went to look for other books and scrolls. There was a shelf filled with books on qi training methods, and there I found Meimei Gong, Secret Transmission. I could not help smiling as I picked it up, returned to the table, and memorized it.

This Meimei Gong, Secret Transmission described training methods for raising one’s qi level from the Eleventh Tier to the Fifteenth Tier. As soon as I had memorized Meimei Gong, Secret Transmission, I returned it to its original shelf.

I felt a little tired, so I rested my brain while pretending to read Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique. This was camouflage for Elder Mon, who was watching me. If I did this, it would look as though I were studying Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique. In truth, I was only resting my brain.

After about thirty minutes, I began searching for other things again. Then I found manuals called Thunder Technique Fist and Immortal Qi Body Control Art.

Thunder Technique Fist was a fist art characterized by carrying out defense and offense at the same time; it used soft movements to deflect an enemy’s attack while simultaneously stepping in hard and delivering a tremendous punch.

And then there was Immortal Qi Body Control Art, which I picked up because it caught my attention. What caught my attention was the name of the author. It had been written by Jin Weiru, the founder of Gyorei Cave.

When I looked toward Elder Mon, she was reading a book on alchemy.

“Elder, is this a book written by the founder?”

I showed her the quite tattered Immortal Qi Body Control Art. Elder Mon glanced at the book and nodded.

“That is a manual written by the founder concerning qi and body control. It is a difficult text, so it seems few people read it these days.”

According to Elder Mon, the methods in Immortal Qi Body Control Art were old-fashioned. It seemed that Immortal Foundation Qi Combat Art was what you got by removing the waste from Immortal Qi Body Control Art and refining it. Since I became curious about what exactly had been refined and how, I decided to memorize Immortal Qi Body Control Art as well.

“By the way, Kou, can you read without using a dictionary of the Immortal Secret Script?”

I had thought she might notice, and it seemed Elder Mon had not let it slip by. I could have pretended to use a dictionary, but if I did that, the number of books I could read would decrease drastically.

“Because I studied.”

Elder Mon made a troubled face.

“Elder Tsuen, the premise you mentioned—that he would have to translate as he read and therefore could not learn multiple techniques—has fallen apart.”

The elder’s muttering reached my exceptionally sharp ears.

“By the way, shouldn’t you narrow it down to one book and focus on memorizing it soon?”

“I’ll look around just a little more, then I’ll concentrate.”

It seemed I was starting to arouse suspicion. I began searching for the manual for Dragon Qi Sword Art, which had caught my interest. Around that time, I began seeing inner disciples come to the library to look for books and scrolls.

“There it is.”

I found the manual for Dragon Qi Sword Art. This was a sword art distinguished by its unique use of qi. Its foundation seemed to be processing qi in a special way and circulating it through the entire body to strengthen the muscles throughout the body.

Strengthening one’s muscles with qi was the foundation of Taoist martial arts. But a martial art that used such specialized qi was probably unique to Dragon Qi Sword Art. That processed qi was called dragon qi, and by circulating that dragon qi through the entire body, it apparently strengthened the muscles more than other martial arts did.

Even the normal method of circulating qi was already demanding, so if it strengthened the muscles that much, the burden on the bones and muscles would become severe as well. It seemed the reason one could endure that burden was because dragon qi also strengthened the bones and muscles themselves.

However, because it was a sword art that placed a heavy burden on the body, its basic principle was not to make consecutive movements using dragon qi. In other words, Dragon Qi Sword Art was a style of offense and defense with deliberate variation in pace.

I memorized Thunder Technique Fist, Immortal Qi Body Control Art, and Dragon Qi Sword Art. Then I killed time by pretending to study Phoenix Will Broadsword Art and Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique. I still did not want anyone else to know about my instant memory ability.

Time passed, and evening came.

“It’s about time.”

I raised my head at Elder Mon’s voice. I had wanted to memorize more manuals, but in a single day I had memorized eight manuals: Phoenix Will Broadsword Art, Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique, Broadsword Performance Forms, Essential Principles of the Broadsword, Meimei Gong, Secret Transmission, Thunder Technique Fist, Immortal Qi Body Control Art, and Dragon Qi Sword Art. That should be enough.