Chapter Forty

Arnin sat on a table with dozens of books stacked beside him. All of them were about the various ways of cultivation a person could choose to go about. Cultivation manuals were separated into various elements which would help to direct the cultivation towards that specific element. Fire, water, air, and earth were the four main cultivation manual types. Each of the cultivation manuals had a particular pattern for absorption of essence based on the element they were related to. Although the four types were considered the main elements, there were still countless other types out there. Some of them were related to darkness, some to light, and many more.

When people decided to find a cultivation manual, they would look at many different types of cultivation manuals, however all of them would be under the same element. Looking at different elements could ruin the state of a person's mind and even impact the pattern of someone's cultivation. It was a risk people didn't want to take. Arnin, however, was different. He had a bunch of cultivation manuals stacked beside him, and many of them were of different elements. The surrounding Moth students and teachers were dumbfounded when they saw the various manuals beside him.

"What is that kid doing? Doesn't he know that if he looks at all of those different types of elements, he may fall astray?" A kid asked his friends. They looked at Arnin with pity and even mockery.

"Who cares? That's one less genius to worry about. Haha!" Another kid couldn't help but laugh slightly.

Unlike Arnin. who came from a humble background, most kids in the Moth group were from prestigious families. They were taught many things about cultivation before they headed towards the academy. Arnin didn't know about the cultivation realms after Essence Manifest until he heard about one from Dane, however everyone in the Moth group knew about it beforehand. The education they got before entering the academy was superior when compared to Arnin's, who received basically no previous instruction.

Surk heard the commotion coming from the cultivation manual section and couldn't help but raise one of his ink-like eyebrows. He walked towards the laughter and chatter and couldn't help but feel dumbfounded at the sight. Quickly, he walked towards Arnin with a worried face.

"Hey, Arnin, you shouldn't look at so many elements at one time. They can ruin your future. Here, let me help you find a suitable cultivation manual." Arnin looked up and stared into Surk's eyes,

"I am fine with what I have. Don't worry, I know what I am doing." Arnin looked at Surk expressionlessly. Surk shook his head and released a sigh.

"If you know what you are doing, then that is fine. However, remember not to go overboard, or your cultivation could be affected." Surk could only warn Arnin with words. He wasn't able to forcefully stop Arnin from doing what he wanted since it was none of his business, but he couldn't help but lament Arnin's terrible decision making.

Arnin watched as Surk left as quickly as he came. He couldn't help but smirk before drowning himself with cultivation manuals once more. He had learned quite a lot about the cultivation patterns that the different elements go through, and although it wasn't enough for him to create his own, it was still a decent amount.

Although all of them revolved around the orb of a person, but the way they rotated, the path they took, and the amount of energy used in a circulation was very different. Not only that, but the cultivation manuals helped to circulate specific components of essence. Although they still had other components inside of them, it was still acceptable. Only when one reached the Essence Manifest realm would they be able to properly divide each component, so only then would the cultivation manuals be very helpful.

Arnin had memorized how the four elements cultivated, and he even looked at other minor elements, such as darkness and light. Elements like metal, wood, lightning, and many others were rare, so he couldn't find anything on them. There were so many different elements, however some of them were not even considered an elements by definition, one example being wood. This was not an element by definition; however, it still fell under the element category because it functioned in a similar way to elements in cultivation.

Since he had read the main manuals on the first level, he wanted to head over to the second level and see the difference.

Arnin walked back to the front desk and asked Surk to take him to the next level. "You're already done checking those manuals out? Did you find anything that suits you? Remember, we can still do a test to see what your affinity is, and with that we will know what sort of element you should focus on." Surk kept reminding Arnin of the same thing over and over again. He didn't want Arnin walking down the wrong path. Cultivation was the basis of life in Afloria; If one stagnated or even completely lost their cultivation, that would be a fate worse than death. Plus, Arnin was a Moth student, which showed that he had great talent in cultivation, so it would be a real loss if he couldn't progress in his cultivation.

Arnin shook his head and rejected. "I don't need to do a test. I am just looking at the moment, and if I find anything that suits me, then that is my luck. I don't want to do some test for it." Although Arnin said that, he wasn't really looking for anything specifically. Even if he stumbled upon something that was suitable for him, at most he would look at it with more detail. His goal isn't to find a cultivation manual that suited him, rather it was to create one. This was why he didn't want to do unnecessary tests for affinity. He already had an element that he wanted to focus on, and that was time. People were able to focus on more than one element; however, it was hard to find a cultivation manual that would allow this, and it was also much harder to progress in. Arnin had decided that his main element would be time, while space would be his secondary element, and so on. He was going to have many elements to focus on because he wanted to progress his Demon Lord cultivation. He couldn't be lax, and so he was looking to create something major.

Surk sighed deeply before walking towards the second floor with Arnin. "I have a question for you. How do we know what an element is and what isn't?" Arnin's question was based on the facts that some of things that weren't actually elements were called elements.

"Hmm? Well, when you get to Essence Manifest, you will be able to separate essence into different components. We call these components elements. Whenever a new one is discovered, it is considered an element." Arnin finally understood. Everything was based on the separation of essence. Time was considered an element because of it being a component of essence.

Arnin nodded his head and continued to follow Surk to the second floor. He got his answer, so there was no need for him to ask any more questions. Surk looked at Arnin weirdly, unable to comprehend what he was thinking.

'What is weird person, he asks a sudden question and just goes quiet after. What is he thinking?' Surk pondered about Arnin. He knew that Arnin was actually a great talent, as only people with really high talent would be able to access the second floor right away. Even he himself didn't get that privilege.

"Alright, we are here." The second floor looked exactly like the first floor. There was, however, a greater abundance of book than on the first floor.

Arnin quickly followed Surk towards the cultivation manual bookshelves. Surk looked at Arnin as he picked out various books right away. "Remember not to go overboard. You don't want to ruin your cultivation." Surk knew that Arnin wouldn't listen to him, so he waved his hand and walked away while shaking his head.

Kurse was leading Elidia and the rest towards the library. Although Butterfly students were not allowed into the library until tomorrow, he could still try and let them through with his identity as a Moth student. Every Moth student was able to take in one outsider into the library, however that person would need approval from the academy. Kurse could take in Elidia, while Torne was going to take in Lilise. Since they were both already students of the academy, it wasn't going to be difficult to take them inside.

All four of them arrived in front of the large doors. Since it was not the first time that Kurse and Torne were going inside the library, they knew the procedures pretty well. Quickly, both of them scanned their ID cards on the sphere, and then the door opened up with loud, thundering sounds. The girls began to get excited. They had seen books in their old home, but they were very basic. Being able to go into an academy library excited them greatly.

Torne and Kurse saw the expressions on their faces and felt relieved on the inside. The happier that they made the girls, the harder both of them would try to free them. Their hearts were palpitating at the thought of freedom. It hadn't even been a day yet, but they were frightened by Arnin.

When the doors finally opened, the two girls couldn't help but widen their eyes. The number of books was greater than the amount of people they had seen in their life. They looked around, nodding their heads.

"Lilise, isn't this place huge? It is even bigger than grandpa's house. Wow!" Elidia was trembling with excitement. She loved to cultivate and was really serious about it. Although she didn't have high talent, this didn't discourage her from wanting to reach greater heights. Lilise was also feeling somewhat overwhelmed. The place was way too big. Just a small section seemed to be bigger than her grandfather's home. The books were plentiful, which made her want to quickly go and read them, albeit she could barely do so.

Children were taught to read very early on in their childhood. Because of the higher density of worldly essence, people had longer lifespans, and they would also mature much quicker. This resulted in most children learning to read at a very young age. Although Lilise was able to read, she still found it somewhat difficult.

"Where is Arnin? Take me to him." Elidia looked at Kurse and Torne and said in a heroic manner. Both of them began to get even more excited.

"Yes, let me first find out where he is. Maybe the front desk people have seen him." Kurse quickly ran towards the front desk. What met him was a golden eyed, bronze skinned prince. Although he was a man himself and didn't find other males to be attractive, he couldn't help but feel astonished. The person in front of him was like a heavenly god that descended from a handsome land.

"Can I help you?" Of course, this person was none other then Surk. He was just so handsome that it was blinding. He noticed Kurse's expression, however he was unaffected by his reaction. He continued with his professional attitude.

Kurse quickly pulled himself together and straightened his back. "We are looking for a fellow Moth student who was seen in the library earlier. He is around five years old and has black hair." He quickly began to describe the looks of Arnin. Surk shook his head and smiled at Kurse.

"Can you give me some more distinct features, or can you tell me his name?" He asked with a pleasant grin.

"Oh yea, he has three tattoos on his forehead. They look like horns. His name is Arnin." Kurse scratched his head with embarrassment as he described something more unique. His former description was very general; however, the name and the tattoos were extremely unique to Arnin.

Surk's eyes glinted before he looked deeply at Kurse. "Why are you looking for Arnin? He is on the second floor at the moment. If it is serious, then I can go and call him" Surk noticed that there was more than one person looking for Arnin.

"Yeah, it is kind of important. Would you mind asking him to come down?" Kurse spoke spoke bitterly. It was important for them, but Arnin may think otherwise.

"Sure, just tell me your name, so he can know who it is." Surk smiled and asked for his name. Although he could go up and just say someone wanted to see him, he felt that getting the names of the people would be more appropriate.

"Umm, about that…" Kurse began to hesitate a little. He didn't want Arnin to know that he was the person calling him down.

Elidia noticed his hesitation and walked up confidently. "Tell him that Elidia is calling him. He will know who it is when he hears my name." Elidia acted like Kurse's savior at that moment. She felt good when helping others, especially when she was helping them from someone she disliked, like Arnin.

Surk raised an eyebrow when he saw how Elidia spoke. Although she may have seemed to have spoken with righteousness and confidence, he felt a hint of arrogance in her tone. He smiled inwardly before nodding his head.

"Alright, I will go tell him that Elidia wants to see him. However, whether he comes down or not, I can't guarantee it." Surk smiled before quickly heading towards the second floor. Although he didn't know if the matter was something important, from the way Elidia spoke, he felt that something interesting was going to happen. This somewhat excited him, although he didn't know why.

He made it to the second floor relatively quickly and located Arnin even faster. The latter noticed that Surk was coming towards him with a smile. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Surk suspiciously. "What is it?" He wondered why this man was looking for him so hurriedly. Although he felt something familiar about Surk, he couldnt put his finger on it. It wasn't disgust, but something else.

"Some people are looking for your downstairs. They say that it is important. A girl named Elidia is part of the group." Surk watched Arnin's expression when he spoke, however he didn't notice a change. It was the same calmness, causing him to feel somewhat depressed. Still, he didn't know why he felt this way.

"Alright, I will go see what they want." Arnin got up and headed towards the first floor. He was confused as to why Elidia would come to find him and what group was with her, however he had an idea about who it might be. Surk followed from behind and watched Arnin with some interest.

Arnin finally reached the front desk and saw the group that wanted to see him. It consisted of Elidia, Lilise, and his servant and slave. He smirked when he saw them because he already knew what was going to happen. He expected them to approach him eventually, as he had heard Torne and Kurse discussing their plans.

Elidia saw Arnin smirking and couldn't help but feel somewhat infuriated. However, when she thought of how she was going to cause Arnin some problems, she began to feel better and more confident.

"Arnin, I need to talk to you about something important." Elidia stepped forwards and spoke in a somewhat arrogant manner. Surk watched from behind as his eyes glistened. He was excited because he had a feeling that things were going to turn bad soon.

Arnin casually waved his hand forward, gesturing her to explain. There was a hint of playfulness in his eyes when he saw Elidia's attitude and how Lilise was standing behind with some reservation. He didn't care what they thought about him since they were just a part of his contract. He only made things easier for the two because of Lilise's relationship with Nekaia. That was it.

"I want you to set these two free. I don't want them to be a servant or slave anymore. I know all the bad things that you did to them, so let them free, or else…" Elidia spoke confidently, however she found it weird that Arnin didn't have a single reaction. He just kept smiling.

"Or else? Or else what? Enlighten me." Arnin leaned against the front desk, however he could only touch the lower half of it, as he wasn't able to reach the top.

"Or else I will tell everyone about what you do, and I will even tell my grandpa. Let's see if he favors you then." Elidia thought that this would affect him, however she thought wrong.

"Alright, go tell everyone. You know what, let me just show the world how evil I am." Arnin then walked towards the group.