Royal Library Part 1

She then went into detail and explained the importance and significance of the Royal Library.

"In all of its floors, the pressure on your soul increases as you keep on going to higher levels. Soul cultivation techniques are pretty rare when compared to normal cultivation methods.

The 36 walls of soul technique is a bit different among the normal ones as well as it is a defense technique that uses your current soul as the basis and provides defense, but it has to be practised in every new soul realm and the discoveries in each now soul realm would be different and the technique changes accordingly. You will naturally know more when you advance and we can talk more about it then.

But back to the topic of the Royal library; it was the initiative of the Minister of the Right of the Imperial force to improve the forces of our province and recruit any promising youth. The winners of the Summer competition are kept an eye on and are awarded a visit to the Royal library for picking up any one technique in any of the levels.

It is very likely that the disciples from the rich and noble sects with high status win the competition. And this competition is held in different parts of the province as well for hiring in different branches of the sect. Each sect has the privilege of hosting it in one location and then the disciples that join sects are distributed across its branches as necessary. You guys were lucky that you were able to come into the core of the sect and not a branch one.

All the top three winners of the Summer competitions held in different parts of the province will meet in the Royal library a week from now. They will be given a day to spend their day in the library and peruse cultivation manuals and choose any one among them.

No conflict will be allowed and it is a first come first serve no matter what your status is, to remedy any bullying that might happen. And the best part is that the higher you go in the library the more rare techniques will be available.

And with your comprehension of the 36 walls of Soul, the two of you should be able to make it to at least the 7th level out of the 9 levels. I very much doubt if anyone else can make it up there with you. And with that you will even be noticed by the minister of the Right which may be useful in the future. Ahhhh ~ ~ I am so excited for you guys."

She then packed her zither and waved goodbye and went to her quarters to rest. The performance had taken a toll on her and she wanted to sleep immediately.

Hao Qi then approached Luo and asked him how he had used the runes and where he had the supplies from "I know the runic brush and the supplies are not cheap. Was your share of the profit so huge?"

Luo smirked and then told her that he got the runemaster Long Bo's personal rune brush but that his money was almost all spent. I learnt a few basic runes from him and then used it so that all of us could perceive the 36 walls of Soul technique, especially since me, you and Hua were at the last layer of the technique.

"Anyway, I think you and I need to pack for the trip to the Royal library, right Hua? If my guess is right , our journey will start tomorrow morning probably with an escort from the sect."

Cai MingZhu " Ahh, I think master Fu Lin was supposed to do that but will she be able to wake up in time. I think she was so tired she might have forgotten about the trip. We better contact someone so that they can take care of these matters.

Meanwhile, Xun went to play with the twins in the forest and Hao Qi silently tagged along with them.

Cai , Hua and Luo were found searching for another master to inform them of their situation. They thought of the old librarian and went to the Library to ask him for advice. The chubby old mane was playing with his silky beard while drinking some tea along with some piping hot dumplings and perusing a book.

Cai and the others waited for him to register their presence and talk to them but he did not care in the least. Hua became impatient and cleared his throat "Hmm. HMMM" and still there was no response. Luo then did the same "Hmm.HMMMM" and again they were ignored.

This time Cai took a step forward and then opened her mouth wide in preparation for clearing her throat. Before she could do that though, suddenly a dumpling found its way into her mouth and she instead coughed out in surprise "Master?"

"Ahhhhhh...I hear you three. Don't you have the patience to at least wait for me to finish reading my book? Bah~ the youngsters these days...demanding an immediate response to everything." He then went on to rant, stopping in between, sipping his tea.

After a while he piped down and then Cai took the opportunity to refill his cup of tea while telling him what they would need.

"Master Ren Cho, our master Fu Lin is asleep after having performed the 'Blossom and Mount Tai' for us. These two here have to go to the Royal Library a week from now as they were the winners of the Summer competition. But Master Fu Lin has not informed us of anything and has gone to sleep. We are here to seek advice from you Master Ren Cho."

Ren Cho stroked his beard and then giggled, his stomach moving in waves in response to his laughter. "Lin'er must like you kids a lot for that technique is very taxing and she doesn't use it a lot. When she does play that , she uses a lot of her Qi and then sleeps in for at least 3 days. Alright~~ I'll take you to the sect master and we can resolve this situation pretty quickly."

He got up pretty quickly and they made their way into a building at the center of the sect. They passed through the practice grounds where they could hear a lot of disciples practicing their instruments; some in harmony, some on their own, but all of it melted into a beautiful chorus.

As they reached the center building and informed the secretary of their purpose, they were asked into the sect master's chambers. Ren Cho briefed the situation to her and asked "So, they don't have an escort to the Royal Library. I know that the other teachers are busy as well and Fu Lin won't be waking up for another 3 days. What do you propose sect master Fu Rah?"

She sighed and after thinking for a long while she nodded aggressively "no..no..everyone is busy. Everyone..except you elder Ren Cho. Why don't you go to the library along with them?"

He smiled and said "As tempting as that is sect master, are you sure you want me to go? Because if I go, I won't be coming back until I read a whole lot of books. It could be a year as well, you know?"

She gave a defeated sigh and then stood up and adjusted her robes as she walked towards Luo and Hua. "Your master Fu Lin doesn't stop causing her aunt troubles even at this age. Very well, I will take the both of you. Might as well boast in the face of other sects that we have a couple of winners as well." She then got excited on her own and told them to be ready and packed and wait for her at the esplanade, the following dawn break."

Cai, Luo and Hua returned to their dorms , excited for the next day.