I've exhausted your use!

"It's that guy over there!" Nash said in a cheerful voice, pointing her hand towards the source of the unrest in the library.

'Just what's her point,' Veila asked herself, turning her eyes over to where her colleague directed her.

And sure enough, the young man that had just broken all the records of how long an outer disciple could ever study cultivation manuals… was surrounded by people who clearly disliked him.

"Look at this trash, thinking he can change something…"

"He isn't as big of a moron as we thought if he figured out he can use the library to hide from us!"

"Just leave him be. He will soon get tired and will have to leave. That's when we will nab him!"

The entire library was filled with all sorts of conspirational voices that only had one thing in common.

All of those voices targeted that strange disciple with full, unbridled malice!

'What the hell?' Veila freaked out, standing up from her chair.

"Right on point, am I?" Nash smiled, satisfied with the reaction she got out of the fellow inner sect disciple.

The relations between different divisions of the sect maybe weren't the best, but they amounted to rivalry at most, nowhere near enmity. As such, Nash likely saw this situation as a chance to amuse herself at Veila's expense.

"This is freaking insane…" Veila muttered while observing the situation.

Soon, one of the onlookers approached the strange disciple's table, looming right over the poor kid's head.

Yet, seconds passed and turned into minutes… but the young disciple didn't even bother to acknowledge the presence of his bully!

'He is not normal,' Veila thought. 'If they treat a genius like this worse than garbage… maybe I could get him transferred over to my division?'

A spirit of ambition flared up in the girl's soul.

Then, her face tensed up.

'No, I can't do it here,' she thought, glancing over at Nash's satisfied face. 'Not with her watching.'

Veila took a deep breath. She then turned around, facing Nash again as she turned her back on the young disciple's struggle.

"I need to get going. I have an important meeting lined up," Veila came up with a random excuse before moving towards the exit.

"Sure thing, lass," Nash laughed. "To think you would crush over a random garbage so hard you couldn't stand to watch him getting bullied…" she then uttered while trying her best to hold back her laughter.

Nash then failed miserably at her task, bursting out in laughter as she added.

"So you just left!"

'Hold it together, girl,' Veila thought while clenching her fists in hopes of keeping her emotions away from her face. 'Inform the elder first, think about how to help him later!'

***

'I'm finally done…' Theo thought, putting away the last of the books that caught his immediate interest.

Over the past three days he did nothing but study, study and then study some more. Those three days were also where his college experience came in clutch.

He wasn't the brightest man under the sun; Theo had no qualms about admitting it. But five years in university taught him how to cram before the exams.

As such, three days of focusing his all on nothing but studies while employing all sorts of tricks to speed up the process of consuming the books were just enough.

Just enough to completely drain Theo's cultivation-improved body out of strength. And at the same time, just enough to feed him enough data for the young man to start planning his next move.

'The selection is going to be the crucial moment,' Theo thought, hanging back on his chair as he looked up.

There was some commotion happening around him, he couldn't help but notice. But after giving one of the people trying to talk him down a glance, Theo simply turned his eyes back toward the ceiling.

'Let's ignore them for now,' he decided as he took a deep breath. 'So, those are the things I need to do to prepare,' he thought, doing a safety check on all the necessary preparations he had in mind.

Then, Theo glanced deeper into his vision, to where his system window kept hiding all this time.

And without any surprise, the system still was in the installation stage.

'Whatever caused my reincarnation sure uses some faulty technology,' Theo thought, allowing his thoughts to get a bit darker for just a second.

Theo then stabilized his chair back in a normal position before standing up from his seat.

Theo's surroundings froze, forcing him to finally pay attention to the mess happening all around.

He was locked, encircled by the fellow outer disciples that stood all around him. Their looks gave it all away what their intentions were for Theo.

And yet, they didn't attack.

'Is the library some sort of a sacred place? A place where they have no other choice but to restrain themselves?' Theo thought, happy to learn of something not only new but also pretty damn useful in his situation.

'Still, I need some things to make this plan work…' Theo hesitated as he looked around, searching for the easiest path to take to get out of the encirclement.

The library was a book galore, but it would be futile to look for spare robes and a bunch of sticks within its premises.

'He said there are about a hundred disciples out of which I will have to choose,' Theo then recounted the details of his task. 'And I need to bring at least five of them up to the first stage.'

Theo fell into a dazed state. And while he didn't even perceive his surroundings, his body moved forth.

And for some strange reason, Theo's fellow outer disciples moved out of the way.

Maybe it was the focused expression on his face. Maybe it was the aura his entire being gave off. Or maybe it was the lack of interest in the presence of his bullies.

Whatever it was, it worked.

Theo regained his senses roughly halfway to the library's exit. A place both exciting as it offered him the chance to obtain what he needed but also filled with dangers. After all, only the heavens knew what would happen once he would the safety of the library and walk right through the welcoming arms of his bullies.

'I need to go all in again, huh?' Theo thought, steeling his face to keep his effective expression as he walked the rest of the way.

And as he expected, the second he stepped out of the premises, he was surrounded by an even bigger group of disciples who then quickly forced him to move towards the outskirts of the local area.

"Now you've done it," one of the bulky disciples stepped out, slamming his fist into the open palm of his other hand. "You don't ignore your betters like that and then get away with it!"

Theo calmly raised his eyes.

'I saw you all moving away,' he thought, putting a small smile on his face.

A smile that didn't fit the situation he was in.

A dissonance.

'There is something weird in me that makes you lose your confidence,' Theo rationalized only to make his smile even wider, filling it with as much amusement as he could come up with.

"Don't you get it?" Theo asked while acting as if he was trying to hold back his laughter.

Then, his face turned still, clear of all the emotions he formerly infused it with.

And so, Theo stared right into the eyes of the leader of the group, the man that was so eager to beat some sense into Theo's brain.

"The times when I had to make use of your idiocy are over," Theo stormed in a silent voice.

The surging rage and pride in his voice didn't match the tiny volume he used.

Dissonance.

Theo turned away and flung the back of his robe to add some might to this simple gesture.

'Please, work,' he prayed with all his mind as his eyes ventured over to his system and the stop-gap measure described in it.

"I've exhausted your use. Scram."