Chapter 347: Turning the Page (Fourth Update)

Elder Mocang walked out of the Library and looked at the two people in charge of guarding it.

"Be careful during this period! Aside from the first floor, every single book borrowed from the other floors must be recorded in the registry! If there is any abnormality, be sure to inform me as soon as possible!"

The two replied respectfully

"Yes!"

Only then did Elder Mocang feel slightly more at ease, and he couldn't help but look back once.

The main gates were already closed, and everything was peaceful.

Although Chu Liuyue's words had been a bit harsh, this was Taiyan Academy after all; she was a smart person and likely wouldn't go looking for trouble for herself.

But for some reason, a faint sense of unease lingered in his heart.

He didn't know where this unease came from, but his heart felt as if it were suspended in mid-air, as if an accident could happen at any moment.

He frowned, thinking perhaps he was overthinking it. He brushed away that sliver of worry in his heart and turned to leave.

However, just as he stepped away, the two guards standing at the entrance suddenly sensed something. They both turned to look at a grayish-white stone monument placed to the front right of the Library's main gate.

At that moment, a line of text suddenly appeared upon the monument!

"Snow-Treading Walk — Mysterious Grade, Mid-Tier!"

A moment later, the characters on it gradually converged, eventually forming a single point of starlight that shone brilliantly upon the stone monument.

"Is this... has it already started!?" one of them asked in shock and uncertainty.

"How is that possible? The one being opened is a Mid-Tier Mysterious Grade martial technique! Wasn't it said that Chu Liuyue is only a Second-Tier martial artist right now? How could she possibly open a book of this level?" the other immediately denied.

"But... her strength is comparable to a Fourth-Tier martial artist! Logically speaking, she should be able to do it, right? It's just... even for a Fourth-Tier martial artist, opening a Mid-Tier Mysterious Grade technique would take some time. Elder Mocang just left, and it hasn't even been fifteen minutes since Chu Liuyue started. How could she have done it? Could it be someone else in the Library?"

"According to the rules, during the time she is here, no students from our academy are allowed to enter unless there are special circumstances. Right now, she is the only person in the entire Library!"

"..."

The two exchanged looks, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

If their guess was correct, it meant Chu Liuyue was even stronger than they had imagined!

"Calm down, calm down! Even if she opens books quickly, studying them will consume a lot of time. It hasn't happened before, but usually, even if people stay here for a month, they can at most read a hundred or so books. And among those, only a few can truly reach proficiency."

"That's true. Let's just record the first book she borrowed first."

One of them took a booklet from his robe and recorded the text that had appeared on the stone monument.

However, before he could finish writing, the other man suddenly cried out in alarm.

He looked up in confusion

"What is it?"

The man was speechless, his hand pointing at the stone monument trembling slightly.

"She... she has already opened a second book on there!"

"What!?"

The man in charge of recording hurriedly looked over as well, and sure enough, he saw another line of text appear on the monument!

"Crimson Flame Slash — Mysterious Grade, Mid-Tier!"

Another Mid-Tier Mysterious Grade martial technique!

The two stood frozen on the spot.

The impact of this event was so great that they didn't dare confirm if it was real for a moment.

"A-am I seeing things? It's another Mid-Tier Mysterious Grade!?"

The man in charge of recording rubbed his eyes. The text had already transformed into a second point of starlight, right next to the first one!

In other words, the levels of these two books were the same; Chu Liuyue had indeed opened a second Mid-Tier Mysterious Grade martial technique!

"This... how on earth is she doing this? She should have only read the beginning of the first one, right? How did she open a second one already?"

"Perhaps—she is just picking the martial techniques she likes, so she's reading very quickly?"

"It's possible. A cultivator's time and energy are limited; choosing one suitable technique to study meticulously might be better than looking at ten."

"...But even so, her speed in opening books is far too fast. If she keeps this up..."

"Impossible! There are barriers on those. Every time she opens one, she has to consume a portion of the power. How could she keep doing this? Forget it, don't worry about that for now. Just record the second book as well. If Elder Mocang finds out we missed something, he won't let it slide easily—"

At this point, he suddenly stopped.

The two exchanged another glance.

In this situation, if things continued to develop like this, it would likely cause Elder Mocang to have a complete breakdown!

***

Inside the Library, Chu Liuyue quickly skimmed through the book in her hand, then put it back, shrugging with some disappointment.

Another Mid-Tier Mysterious Grade.

Ever since Elder Mocang left, she had stayed on the second floor.

She had randomly chosen a bookshelf in the middle and begun her search.

To her disappointment, she had already gone through this entire bookshelf, yet the best they had were only Mid-Tier Mysterious Grade.

Most of them were still Low-Tier Mysterious Grade.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Chu Liuyue walked toward another bookshelf.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a book.

She focused her gaze—

"Yellow Grade, High-Tier!?"

Chu Liuyue was truly startled.

She had originally thought that everything kept here would be at least Mysterious Grade; she hadn't expected there to be this level?!

She rubbed her temples, starting to feel that she had been a bit too polite when speaking to Elder Mocang earlier.

She continued forward somewhat helplessly.

This time, she actually did want to find a few decent books to read and learn some new martial techniques.

Because, unlike mysterious formations and medicinal formulas, high-level martial techniques usually have sect lineages.

Under normal circumstances, the martial techniques a martial artist performs can reveal their origin and so on.

She was the same.

Her mind stored many high-level martial techniques, but those belonged to her past life.

Once displayed, people would certainly notice something was wrong.

Therefore, while she intended to continue practicing these techniques in secret, she also had to select some new ones.

Although her search so far had been somewhat disappointing, to avoid wasting the opportunity, she went ahead and skimmed through those books as well.

She possessed a photographic memory; even if she just flipped through them quickly, she could remember them clearly.

Furthermore, because she had practiced high-level martial techniques herself, she could always understand these lower-level techniques very quickly.

Chu Liuyue moved along the bookshelves, reading book after book, as if she were constantly throwing books into her own mind.

One book.

Another.

And another.

"How is she still going!?"

The two guards outside the Library saw a large patch of starlight gradually lighting up on the grayish-white stone monument, and they finally both broke down!

(End of Chapter)