Chapter 60: Entering the Book Collection Hall

In the few days after the Inner Academy Qualifying Competition, apart from the occasional people who could be seen talking about Xiao Ming, the rest of the Jia Nan Academy was no different from before.

Xiao Ming did not rush to cultivate in these few days, after jumping several levels in a month, the results would not be too good if he cultivated hard now.

So, apart from chatting from time to time with Hu Jia and Xiao Shan, he was studying some pill recipes.

These days were also the quietest since Xiao Ming had entered Jia Nan Academy.

In the small courtyard outside his room, Xiao Ming was leaning back in a reclining chair, holding something like a book in his hands, watching it sway.

Thinking about these few days of leisure, Xiao Ming felt that his performance had slipped a bit.

These few days were limited to studying some pill recipes, just like his master Elder Huo's usual style, and he had the feeling of living a life of early retirement.

But, he did not feel bad!

He felt very happy.

Just when Xiao Ming was thinking about all this nonsense, a creaking sound came and attracted his attention.

Xiao Ming's dwelling was a small and exquisite detached house, the location was considered relatively good within the academy, which was his S-rank treatment.

Xiao Ming was more than satisfied with this dwelling and did not change his location.

There were not too many people who knew that Xiao Ming lived here, but there were only a few who used to come to him.

He could also guess.

So when he saw the visitor, Xiao Ming was not surprised, he simply asked in a very normal way.

"What brings you here, Hu Jia?"

Pushing open the door, Hu Jia walked up to the lazy Xiao Ming, looked at his languid expression and said without good humor.

"Stop being lazy, my grandfather asked me to take you to his house and then go to the Book Collection Hall."

"Is it finally time?" Hu Jia's words made Xiao Ming slowly stand up.

According to the academy's rules, a few days after the end of the Inner Academy Qualifying Competition, the top fifty students had to start making preparations to enter the Inner Academy.

The top five, like Xiao Ming, were allowed to choose a free moment to enter the academy's Book Collection Hall during these few days, and as a reward, they were entitled to trust their luck and choose something of their own in it.

Xiao Ming had been waiting for several days for news at home.

However, he was in no hurry, as the Book Collection Hall won't be going anywhere.

'Let's hope I can find that Flying Dou Technique this time.'

Xiao Ming thought to himself as he stood up, then stretched his back, put the book that was in his hand inside his storage ring, and then said to Hu Jia.

"Come on, lead the way."

...

In the spacious and bright room, the bookshelves were staggered and crisscrossed, and the shelves were filled with all kinds of old books, which seemed to have an extraordinarily bookish atmosphere.

And at this moment, in the center of this room, four people were standing silently, behind the table in front of them, an old man with white hair and beard was slowly flipping through the information in his hands, the whole room was in a silent atmosphere.

The four people standing in the room were two men and two women, and if one looked closely, one could find that they were the other students who had entered the top five along with Xiao Ming.

Looking at the four students, it seemed that they had been waiting here for a while, but there was not the slightest bit of impatience on their faces.

The reason, other than the fact that there was a Deputy Headmaster in front of them, was that the person who had made them wait was Xiao Ming.

Jia Nan Academy had always been committed to letting students feel the cruelty of society, so the school did not prohibit students from competing against each other, and over time a culture had developed where the strongest had the privilege.

Xiao Ming's fist was bigger than theirs, so he was able to make them wait.

It was already good if Xiao Ming was not too late to make them wait any longer.

After another while, there was a knock at the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

Hu Gan put down the book in his hand and spoke, "Come in!"

The door to the room was pushed open and the people who revealed themselves were none other than Xiao Ming and Hu Jia.

The two of them slowly walked in, their eyes swept across the spacious room before finally settling on Hu Gan behind the table, Hu Jia walked quickly to Hu Gan's side as Xiao Ming took two steps forward and bowed his body in greeting.

"Oh, Xiao Ming, you're finally here," looking at Xiao Ming with a smile, Hu Gan's eyes lingered on his face for a moment.

Usually busy with his official duties, it had been a few months since he had such close contact with Xiao Ming.

Now, Xiao Ming had changed a lot, and there was a stern look between his eyebrows, so he thought it was the result of his training in Black-Corner Region.

To be able to go wander around the Black-Corner Region alone at this age and then come back unscathed, it could be said that in Jia Nan Academy, he was the only one of his kind.

After all, it naturally went without saying that the Black-Corner Region was so chaotic that not many normal people wouldn't think twice about entering, and Hu Gan had to admire Xiao Ming's audacity.

After a long while of staring at those eyes as dark as black ink, his old eyes finally detected a flame-like fury and instability beneath the calm, which looked like the ferocious violence of tens of thousands of fire-attribute magical beasts gathered together.

'The Dou Qi in his body seems to be flowing smoothly, but there is an additional magical beast-like fury that was not there before. Is it a high-ranked beast flame that he found somewhere?'

After sweeping his eyes over Xiao Ming's body, Hu Gan surprisingly was able to sense the nature of the Dou Qi in the other party's body, with such tactics, he was worthy of being the Deputy Headmaster of Outer Jia Nan Academy.

'But to be able to cause such an effect, I'm afraid ordinary magical beasts can't do it, and Old Huo didn't mention that Xiao Ming had any opportunity'.

Unable to understand it in his mind, Hu Gan did not ask out loud, he just hid his thoughts in his heart, stood up from his chair and smiled.

"Since you are all here, then I won't beat around the bush anymore, you should also know the purpose of calling you here."

"You are the top five in this round of selection, and according to the rules, you are qualified to enter the Book Collection Hall to try your luck."

With that, Hu Gan walked up to the wall behind him and casually tapped his palm a couple of times, a low rumbling sound rang out, and immediately a dark passage appeared in front of Xiao Ming and the others.

"Come with me." After waving his hand to the five people, Hu Gan took the lead and entered the dark passageway, followed by Xiao Ming who had a curious face and followed him without hesitation, followed by the other four people, although Hu Jia was next to him, she knew how to behave and did not follow.

After entering the passage, Xiao Ming discovered that the walls were inlaid with large luminous stones.

The pale light illuminated the passage with a somewhat hazy light, but this light was enough for Xiao Ming and the others.

Several people followed Hu Gan and hurried quietly, without making a sound.

After walking along the passageway for about half an hour, some light finally appeared at the end of the passageway, and when they saw the light, the few people in the passageway could not help but quicken their pace.

The blinding sunlight descending from the sky caused Xiao Ming and the others, who had been walking down the passageway for a long time, to close their eyes slightly.

Only after a long time did they slowly open them, only to be mildly surprised at the scene that appeared in front of them.

In front of them was clearly a small valley, where a steep mountain stretched upward to the end of their view, and in the middle of three cliffs, there was an extremely wide open space.

In that space, stood an astonishingly large ancient hall.

His eyes slowly roamed the huge, ancient hall and finally came to rest on an extremely ancient plaque outside the hall, on which faintly appeared three blurred characters, eroded by the years.

Book Collection Hall!

Although the ancient calligraphy had been ravaged by the years, Xiao Ming and the others were still amazed by the ancient mood contained in the writing.

As expected from the mysterious Book Collection Hall, in the Outer Academy of Jia Nan Academy, this plaque alone marked its identity.

Hu Gan slowly led the five people to the Book Collection Hall, but when he was about to go the distance of 20 meters, he abruptly stopped and clenched his fists in the direction of the Book Collection Hall:

"We already have the top five in this Inner Academy Qualifying Competition. According to the rules, I brought them here and ask the elders to open the door."

Hu Gan's words, carried by the Dou Qi, resounded continuously for a long time in the small valley.

Shortly after Hu Gan's words fell, two gray-robed figures appeared sitting unannounced at the entrance of Book Collection Hall.